neighborhood services, and the experience i have had working with african-american leaders in the united states. i want to take a moment to say that i will always list on my resume that i have voted for sophie to be president of the board of supervisors more than anybody else, ok? [applause] not to tell stories out of school, but when i first got sworn in and thought i knew a few things, we sat there, myself, sophie and gavin, we voted over and over, and we weren't going anywhere. mayor brown gave me no plan b, so i kept voting that way. mayor brown doesn't tell you

plan b, you have to stick with plan a, which is what i was smart enough to do. but one challenge that exists for our city to think about as we celebrate accomplishments is that san francisco cannot be a great city without strong black leadership, and it has dwindled in the past years. as wonderful as it is that our city elected ms. harris to be d.a., she is taking care of business, but here at city hall, there are issues and decisions, and the need for representations at different levels is not where we need it to be in order to bring back what we have had

in sna francisco. if we want a robust african- american presence in san francisco, we have to start at leadership levels. but sophie has been getting power plants closed, adver -- advocating for transportation plans for bayview, and moving forward to make sure we have a redevelopment plan in bayview- hunter's point. she has been a regal presence for her people,a nd it is a difficult job. with leadership comes criticism, and we view criticism as an opportunity to succeed. i have to absorb criticism and go forth and be more informed. but she has never been deterred,

and she has served in what i hope is a decade where many foundations have been laid, such as city bills, seeing representation from the african- american community is not there. we want people in construction, firms doing better, people at the frontline of making things happen. and sophie says i am not just going to be angry, i am going to create a mechanism so we train young people and are prepared for it. i am looking forward to the parade, to the festival, to all the great things. i see many of our leaders in the media and corporate family members here, and i will always

reflect on what sophie has done and will take that inspiration and be rededicated, because much remains to be done, and i will work to make it happen. now i will present to reverend townsend, a certificate from the board of supervisors celebrating today. thank you. >> good afternoon. this is a great time. i just want to first thank you all for coming. thank you for coming time after time, because it is all about celebration, and if you don't show up, there is no party. thanks for being here. i also would like to welcome our interns from the port. stand up, please. these young people are working

at the port [applause] and this is a social program we have there. we are continuing, as bevan mentioned, we always ask about what is going on with hiring. "i'm on the budget committee," and they are prepared, because i am going to ask that question. i want numbers, what is going on, and what will they do to make it better? so again, i want to thank you once again for allowing me to serve. it is an honor. i used to hear that and not know what it meant, but i do. to serve is an honor. it is an honor. i want you to continue doing what you do, but remember, you have to think about all of us and continue to serve the

interest of the people around you, but we cannot do other people's agenda all the time. you have to do your agenda, and turn around and make your agenda. i am about sick of it, and i am also going to say, we have a lot of work to do and you have to continue educating each other and be short with ignorance, because it's dangeruos. you have to get short with it, but continuing educating people. we have a long way to go, and san francisco is not a healthy place for african-americans. we are sicker than anybody, poorer than anybody, more ignorant than anybody. something has to give. they have always been doing what

they do to us, but it is something we are not doing, and we have to get back to that, because san francisco is a beautiful place. we should be enjoying it, not feeling the burden. i wish the candidates luck. hopefully they go new heights, new places. they need their support, so be there to support them. thank you once again. thank you. >> thank you, supervisor maxwell and supervisor dufty. we absolutely appreciate the fact that it is -- in this city, to serve is not the

easiest thing to do. supervisor mirkarimi just came in. i think our city is gifted in its ability to heap abuse and insult among public officials, so we appreciate all you take to serve the people of san francisco. amen. it was pointed out to me that the mayor is traveling in los angeles and will be back on monday. i think we all know what he's involved in at this time. we won't need to see -- say any more on that. shelley tatum, where are you? shelley is in the back, but also at the information table, sister janet.

there are tickets back here for the juneteenth comedy show, the 3rd annual. i've been to both of them. they've both been hilarious, friday june 18, 8:00 p.m. at the african american art and cultural complex. it's a funny, funny good time, and the proceeds all go to support the juneteenth effort, and we would really appreciate if all of you would attend, especially if you are like me, constantly in need of a good laugh and need something to laugh at other than yourself, although it is ok to laugh at yourself, because most of us are pretty funny, most of the time. it's my privilege and honor to

introduce to you this afternoon's keynote speaker. she is a regular on cnn, nbc, good morning america, the oprah show, host of "can this marriage be saved?" she's done so much, i can't give it all to you. but she is the author of "power choices: 7 signpoints on your journey to holiness," "love lessons," and the founder of the international love and money summit taking place september 2 through 5, 2010, here in san francisco. i guess that has to do with the old concept of "there ain't no romance without finance." i said that, she didn't.

most importantly, what i'm most excited about is that for many years, i went to the church with lizzie wade, her mother and i went to church together many years. dr. wade. give her a great hand. [applause] >> thank you. >> good afternoon, everyone. how many of you know you have something to celebrate today? how many of you know you have blessings you can count today? how many of you would like some more blessings to count? all right, because i am so grateful to my beloved

sister, sophie maxwell, for ten years of service, and brother supervisor, and reverend, thank you for bringing us into the present. reverend brown, i rememebr you singing that song 20 years ago. it sounds as good today. thank you. would you like to talk about how to have more blessings? are you sure? give me some energy. all of you know i am a holistic psychologist. i work with the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. the reason i'm asking you to do this, this is called accelerated learning. i only have 15 minutes, so i am going to lose -- leave you with something you can use.

all of you know i started out as a scientist, doing monkey brain research. do you know your brain loves patterns? do you know that? everything repetitive, the brain goes, "ooh, that's a pattern." but put the patterns together, the word is called habits. some of us have good habits, some have habits we could change. those habits that don't support us -- usually i have 3 days, but this will be condensed -- if you understand something and learn better, that means we can do better. it's true. one of the most important things, when i asked, "would you

like more blessings to count," how do we do it? everybody? i have to pay attention to my body, i have to pay attention to my emotions, i have to take control of my mind, and i must stay connected to -- what? spirit. as human beings, we live on four quadrants. remember this. the brain is grabbing patterns. visual, kinesthetic, auditory, learning. if i pay attention to all 4, i end up with what is called a healthy life. and as sophie said to me, i

want to improve the health of the black community in san francisco. can we give her some support for that? we must all pay attention to those aqu -- quadrants. if you want your body to be healthy, it is important you remember this one rule, if you don't remember anything else i say. as above, so below. the great controls the lesser. that is called the hermetic axiom. what matters is you remember we work from the top down. so if i work from spirit and mind, that controls my emotions and my body. i warned you already, i'm a scientist, right? do you know there is hard

evidence that you can reverse illness in the body, you can make your body healthier by having healthier thoughts. good or good? right now, suppose you turned to your neighbor and said every cell in your body is getting healthier right now. tell them that. now do this. every little cell is getting healthier right now. if there's any part of your body giving you a challenge, any part giving you a challenge, that doesn't feel good, touch that part and say "every little cell in my body is getting healthier right now." wherever it is. touch it. if there's a part of your body you've been giving negative energy to, and one of the things

i talk about -- this is hard, one of the things i talk about is how african people were taught to hate their bodies, because anything african was considered bad. there is a chapter in the book called 'being color-struck." that was one of the ways racists in the day could divide and conquer african people, by saying that one is better, they look more like me, if i'm european. what does that mean? that means my thoughts about my body as an african american have to be positive. am i makigng sense? if my thoughts about my body have to be positive, what do i

have to do about my emotions? what do i have to do? i wrote my last book, "power choices," and what i write about, every title has the word "loeve" in it. this one is "7 signposts on your journey to wholeness, joy, love, and peace." why do i keep coming back to love? everybody tap here. you are tapping a bone called the sternum. underneath that is the thymus gland. when we tap it, it releases a hormone, and that hormone makes your heart healthier. this is a simple way to do two things. the physical heart gets

healthier, but i know -- now have a more open heart. if i have an open heart, what can i do with my open heart? let me here you. -- let me hear you. what do we need more of? more hate? every time you repeat it, what are you doing? getting more pathways in your brain. i want you to take this and use it because iw ant everybody to know that if you do this every day, tap every cell in your body and say it is getting healthier, tap your heart and say right here, right now, i open my heart to love -- i was doing a radio show yesterday with jesse

jackson's daughter, queen of talk radio. yesterday on the show, we were talking about love, and a gentleman called in and said the only way to have healthy love in our community is to have a no-exit policy in our love relationships so you stay and work it out. we got a lot of flak for that. people said uh-uh, no, no, no, i don't want the exit sealed. i want to be able to get out at a moment's notice. and some of you may remember, what did your mother teach you about men? some of it is unrepeatable in polite company, as my mother

would say. everybody's mother who thought they were keeping their daughter safe would say always have your money so you can get out in case he's whatever, whatever. some were told worse things than that babout -- that about men. all the sisters said, no, no, i don't want to feel vulnerable. tap here. tap here. because if my heart's not open, i cannot be in my true power. what's our true power? it's what? come here, supervisor. he has to volunteer with me. if my heart's not open, how am i going to treat him? have you ever seen this before?

pushing people away wait, wait. here's the trick. try and come closer. at the same time i'm telling him i want love, what am i doing? will this work? will this work? >> no. >> thank you. if i want love, what do i have to do? open my heart. that takes some strength, doesn't it? it's easy to say, "i'm not going to open my heart because i don't want you to hurt me." where's the pain if i'm doing this? where's the pain if i'm doing this? doesn't it hurt your heart to

see me push love away? thank you. am i making sense? all right. the last thing, the last thing i want to say to you is if you will remember that there is research, scientific research, a woman in stanford university that has been researching -- are you ready -- forgiveness, gratitude, living with an open heart. shawna shapiro has been doing incredible research, proving that if you are able to let go of resentment -- how many people know what resentment is? it's the poison you drink hoping somebody else will die. we are hoping the other person

will feel the poison and drop dead. if we are able -- i don't care what community you come from, but especially in the african- american community, the only way to heal the wounds of the past is to forgive those who have hurt us, and dr. martin luther king said don't ever let somebody bring you down so low that you will hate them. we can't afford hate. the only pattern that heals the body is forgiveness and love. it's what? does that not take us into the spiritual realm? because, is forgiveness not that part of us that could connect

to the de ivine? i am speaking to you as a psychologist and a scientist. i am telling you forgiveness is good for your heart. it is good for your body. it is good for your mind. because positive thoughts are powerful thoughts. positive thoughts are what? powerful. can you see why? can you see why? if i have a positive thought, i can see possibility. if i can see possibility, what will happen to my vision for life, the contribution i could make? how many of you want your life to have more blessings to count? you know you want it.

you must love your body. heal those emotions and resentment using forgiveness. and you have to use love. i invite you every day to repeat these patterns. i love my body, every scel -- cell is getting healthier and healthier. i fill myself with love and forgiveness. now tell the person next to you, you are so awesome. and i want to thank you for coming out to celebrate juneteenth, because they lift us up and remind us, this is our community. look around. say, hi, community. we are not alone out here, are we, sophie? see, we've got sophie. we have supervisor love over

here. i also want to tell you, please, please keep learning. when we learn better, we do better. you know i want you to read my books, that's why i wrote them. i have classes. if anyone wants to take one of my classes, i am going to give away a class on money. come see me in back. i'd love to give you a free class, because in these economic times, we had better learned how to handle money. no romance without finance. ok. everybody do this. [sighs] i love you. thank you. [applause]

>> most preachers don't know when to shout. shout too early, too late, about the wrong thing. you just got an important lesson on what's wrong in our communities. the breakdown in these issues -- that's why our communities are healthy and we rush to hear about other stuff than the stuff that will make us better. you all need to get on her conference, and we need to have you around more often and get some young folks to hear you talk about the issues that are really what is going on with us, the resentment, the hatred, the

inability to love, to get through the past and beyond the past, that's what has us so unhealthy in our neighborhoods. thank you, and thank you for having someone today who would help us. once again, thank you so much. i left my program over there somewhere. let me right now invite up the honorable supervisor ross mirkarimi, supervisor of district 5, to greet us, and then we will move in. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi.