The First Truth of Ifa: A Single God, Pt. 2
The L'oja - The Marketplace
March 2019
Homage To The One Who Sends and to those who are sent! Homage to Orisa and Egun!
Ifokanbale Omo Orisa! Peace of Mind from Olodumare Children of Orisa!
Ire ati Ayo!
Good Tidings and Joyfulness!
I honor your gods, I drink from your wells, I bring an undefended heart to our meeting place. I have no cherished outcomes, I will not negotiate by withholding, and I am not subject to disappointment. I am here! And They are all here with me! Ase! Ase! Ase!
Lord of my Ancestors, I have no knowledge except that which is given to me through inspiration, that which is sent to me by way of an angel, and that which I am blessed to acquire by way of some discipline. I thank you for guiding my words, my thoughts, and my actions so that all that I say and do may serve to point the seekers in the right direction. Ase! Ase! Ase!
In this Post we want to conclude our exploration of the First Truth of Ifa – ‘There is a single God’ by understanding the vantage point from which we are trying to comprehend what lies behind our conceptualizations of God. Certainly, you have had the experience of saying to someone, ‘Wow! Do you see that?’ only to have them reply ‘No!’ But when they took a few steps to the right or to the left they were able to see what you already saw from your vantage point. So, understanding the vantage point from which we are forming our opinions about God is very important.
In the Ifa Spiritual Tradition there is a saying:
Aye L’oja! Orun N’ile!
The world is the marketplace! The Spirit World is Home!
A marketplace is an open space where a market is or was formerly held in a town. It is the arena of competitive or commercial dealings. Broadly speaking, a marketplace is a space set aside for the exchange of goods and services. But this particular kind of marketplace is just a small part of what is referred to as the L’oja. Where the ‘marketplace’ is for the exchange of good and services, the L’oja is the 'dynamic reality' were thoughts, feelings, emotions, beliefs, and every other aspect of being human is in a constant state of change and exchange. Even the very molecules, atoms, and energetic vibrations that express themselves as our experiences, are constantly involved in this process of change and exchange.
I don’t usually send you to a video as part of our monthly Posts but in order to further understand this dynamic reality, the L’oja, we have to look at how science, metaphysics, and spirituality are beginning to converge and reinforce some of our ancestral beliefs about the nature of the L’oja. So, before reading further please take the time to view these two videos. The content will put what I say about the characteristics of the L’oja into a broader context. (The videos will open in a separate page.)
Characteristics of the L’oja and the Nature of Our Experiences:
The L’oja is a marketplace that encompasses the entire Creation, as you perceive it.
The L’oja exists as part of a Unified Field of Energy.
Your experiences in and of the L’oja are mediated through the sense organs of your body.
Your body is not a fixed and separate ‘thing’ but an every changing probability.
You are not your body.
Since the brain is a part of the body, it is also in a constant state of change and exchange.
You are not your brain although you can experience and influence the activity of your brain.
Your mind is a result of the activity of the brain, and therefore, it is also in a constant state of vibrational flux.
You are not your mind. Notice that when you say, ‘I’, whether it was when you were 6 years old, or 15, or 30, or 70 years old, your sense of ‘I’ always remains the same. And notice that the experience of yourself as ‘I’ is aware of the thought processes of your mind as if the ‘I’ is an observer of the mind.
Your mind is the seat of your physical Ori.
Your physical Ori is an expression of your perceptions and experiences in the L’oja, and your physical, mental, and emotional reactions to those perceptions and experiences.
Your physical Ori is both an ally and a potential enemy because of its ability to distort your perceptions ‘reality’. (I’ve discussed the concept of the Pain Body aspect of your mind in previous Posts.)
The L’oja is the realm of duality and contrast.
When you eliminate your body, brain, and mind as your ‘True Self’, you must come to the conclusion that the ‘I’ who is aware of the body, brain, and mind must be something else or of a different vibrational nature.
This something else is the entity that uses the Ara Ojubo, the body temple, (along with all of its aspects mentioned above) to experience the L’oja.
You, the (‘I’) entity knows that the L’oja is a ‘programmed reality’ orchestrated by your thoughts.
You (this Entity) experiences Na Wa (expansion) by contemplating and reconciling its own sense of its immaterial existence with the manifestations of the ‘programmed reality’.
If we have such difficulty in agreeing on the ‘slice of space-time’ that we call ‘Now’ (refer to video 1), how can we possibly hope to agree on the identity of God as a separate and objectified ‘thing’? For ‘something’ to be Omnipresent (present everywhere and at all times) and separate at the same time is a contradiction.
Referring to the video, “The Illusion of Time”, we come to the conclusion that ‘God is The Consciousness, The Awareness, The Sentient Energetic Entity (SEE) in which all of the slices of space-time are ever-present and occurring. But from the vantage point of the L’oja we cannot hope to fully comprehend the totality of what lies hidden in concept we call ‘God’.
So, in the Ifa Spiritual Tradition, we acknowledge that there is but a single God, and we look and reach behind the veils of illusion to find those unified forces that enable us to best navigate our way through the L’oja. As one Babalawo put it, “Ifa persists because it works!”
The L’oja is the process of the Primordial Sentient Energetic Entity (SEE) experiencing itself as the Realm of Infinite Possibility. Every aspect of Creation, whether animate or inanimate, material or immaterial, seen or unseen is a part of that process. Ifa acknowledges this at fact, and senses the presence of ‘One God’, ‘One Source’, in the L’oja expressing itself in and through everything. This perspective gives rise to Isopo (Connectivity), the sense of oneness between each manifesting individual and the entire creation.
Emi ni okan ti Ase! Ase ni ti mi, nigbagbogbo!
I am one with the Ase!
The Ase is with me, always!
Emi ni okan ti Orisun!
Orisun ni ti mi, nigbagbogbo!
I am one with the Source!
The Source is with me, always!
Therefore, Ifa says: There is a single God!
To you be your way! And,
To me, mine!
I hope you will reflect on this message and share your comments and questions with me for our future Posts on this and other topics.
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Modupe!
Aajiirebi! May the Unblemished Cloth of Orunmila Continue to cloth us with the Wisdom Of the Here and the Hereafter!
Ase! Ase! Ase!
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Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
My Olodumare, Orisa, and Ancestors bestow on you Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
