How the Wisdom inside Can Silence the Noise and Set You Free 🧘‍♂️🧠😘

Published: Fri, 10/10/25

Updated: Fri, 10/10/25

The question isn't who's going to let me, it's who's going to stop me.

Ayn Rand

I was crazy for Greek Mythology and Anancy stories growing up in Jamaica. I’ve always loved the old tales of the gods. This particular story resonated with me. Mankind was playing the fool, and the Gods wanted a place to hide our power and wisdom. It goes like this:

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Once upon a time, humans were like unto gods. But we abused our power, so the divine council decided to hide our wisdom somewhere we’d never think to look.
“Bury it deep in the earth,” one god said.
“They’ll dig and find it,” replied the Creator.
“Hide it in the depths of the ocean.”
“They’ll dive to it.”
“Place it atop the highest mountain.”
“They’ll climb to it.”
After much debate, the Creator finally said, “We’ll hide it deep within them. They’ll search the heavens, the earth, the sea—but they’ll never think to look inside themselves.”
So it was said and so it was done.

🛸 Alien Arrival in the Motherland: A First Contact Challenge 🛸

They didn’t land in New York. Or Beijing. Or Geneva.
They landed in Algiers.

And the world watched Africa take the lead.

✍🏽 The Prompt:

It’s the year 2125.
A sleek, pulsing craft breaches Earth’s atmosphere, gliding over the Sahara and settling in the North Africa. The world holds its breath. But there is no panic. No chaos. Africa has prepared. This isn’t our first anomaly. It’s just the first that said hello.

Your mission:
Write the first 250 words of the “Welcome Protocol”—the official or unofficial interaction between Earth’s African representatives and the alien visitors.

This could be:

A speech from the Pan-African Space Alliance

A whispered prayer by an elder witnessing the event

A child's voice broadcasting peace in 300 languages

A hacktivist overriding global comms to make first contact

A village oracle stepping forward with eerie familiarity...

🎨 Bonus Visual Submission (Optional but Powerful):

Create a concept art piece (AI-generated, hand-drawn, or digital) of the aliens’ first interaction with African technology, culture, or society.
Think:

An alien hovering above a solar-powered yam market

A Maasai tech-shaman reaching into the alien’s neural field

Alien tendrils touch ancestral beads that begin to glow.

🌍 Afrofuturist Angle:

Africa isn’t a backdrop.
Africa leads.
The cultural protocols, the technology, the worldview—all informed by centuries of myth, struggle, genius, and innovation.

🧠 Judging Criteria:

Originality: How unique and grounded is your First Contact moment?

Afrofuturist Imagination: Does it celebrate Africa's vision of the future?

Cultural Nuance: Does it feel authentically Pan-African in tone, belief, or tradition?

Visual Impact (for art entries): Is your piece cinematic, symbolic, or hauntingly beautiful?

🏆 Prizes:

🥇 First Place: $50 gift card + newsletter feature + pro audio performance of your story

🥈 Second Place: $25 gift card + newsletter feature

🥉 Third Place: $10 gift card + honourable mention

Select visuals will be showcased in a "First Contact Gallery" inside the Urban Fantastic World Compendium (digital + printed).

📅 Deadline: 12th October 2025

📬 Submit to: Marksmanstudios1@gmail.com

Subject Line: "Alien Arrival Challenge Submission"

Attach your story (PDF or body of email) and image (PNG/JPG, max 5MB).

👽 The moment has arrived. They’ve chosen us first.
Now speak for Earth—or for yourself.
Welcome them to the birthplace of mankind.

Generations have spent lifetimes seeking permission, guidance, and answers from somewhere—anywhere—outside themselves. We go digging through other people’s opinions, climbing the mountains of “expert advice,” diving into endless podcasts, YouTube sermons, and viral wisdom bites, while ignoring the quiet, steady voice inside us.
The truth is not hiding out there. It’s been whispering to us all along.

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We keep asking for permission that we never needed.

I’ve seen it in publishing, storytelling, and life: people waiting for someone to tap them on the shoulder and say, “You’re ready.”

I used to do it too. Before publishing my first novel, I wanted external confirmation—from mentors, agents, friends—that my story mattered. I didn’t fully trust that I already had what I needed. It took me years to understand this: no one can give you permission to live your truth.

“When we have begun to take charge of our lives, to own ourselves, there is no longer any need to ask permission of someone,” wrote George O’Neil.

Every time you wait for permission, you hand your power to someone else. You let them become the gatekeepers of your destiny. And the irony is—they’re often just as uncertain as you are.

Truth reveals itself through self-exploration, not validation.

The Indian Jesuit Anthony de Mello tells a story of a man who approached a spiritual master and asked to become his disciple.

“You may live with me,” the master said, “but don’t become my follower.”

“Whom then shall I follow?” the man asked.

“No one,” replied the master. “The day you follow someone, you cease to follow truth.”

This doesn’t mean we ignore guidance or wisdom. It means we don’t outsource the final say. External voices can point. They can’t decide.

Life has a habit of slipping the answers we need into unexpected moments—a line in a movie that hits different, a random conversation on the bus, a sudden gut feeling that came from nowhere. That’s not randomness. That’s your internal compass breaking through the noise.

But you’ll miss it if you’re constantly looking outward.

Self-trust isn’t loud. It’s tuned in.

Trusting yourself isn’t about arrogance. It’s about tuning the radio dial to your own frequency. You’ll overshoot sometimes. Undershoot others. But eventually, you find the signal.

I’ve made creative decisions that went against the grain—choosing to write unapologetically Black speculative fiction in a market that didn’t always “get it.” I had people tell me to tone it down, write something “more commercial.” But my gut was clear: this was my lane.

And every time I leaned into that inner knowing instead of seeking permission, doors opened in unexpected ways. Not overnight. But consistently.

Noise drowns inner wisdom.

We live in an age of constant alerts, breaking news, and performance culture. Everyone’s broadcasting. Few are listening.

The inner voice doesn’t shout. It whispers. It speaks in intuition, restlessness, and strange clarity. It shows up in the quiet moments you’re tempted to fill with distraction.

When you declutter your mind—by silencing the constant chase for external approval—you give that inner wisdom a chance to speak.

The answers have always been yours.

Your greatest teacher lives within you. Books, mentors, and teachings are maps, not destinations. If you keep asking others to chart your course, you’ll end up walking someone else’s path.

Start by trusting the subtle nudges. Sit in the silence long enough to hear your own counsel. Take responsibility for your missteps and your wins. Life’s answers are rarely handed down—they’re uncovered within.

Stop seeking permission to be who you already are; the truth has been inside you all along.

Peace, love and power.