Homage To The One Who Sends and to those who are sent! Homage to Orisa and Egun!
Igba Olodumare Nigba! It is the time of Olodumare that is time!
In my Posts for August and October I talked about prayer, Adura: The Power and Benefits of Adura – Prayer, and Things We Pray For (click here to review). I hope these messages help each of you on your personal journey. Aye L’oja, Orun N’ile! The world is the marketplace; the Spirit World is Home! Our journey in the marketplace can be difficult and sometimes, painfully so. If you are a regular reader of my Blog then like me you are a person who believes in a Higher Sentient Being and a Spiritual Reality. Maybe you are a devotee of Ifa, or maybe you are still searching for your Path. I traveled a number of paths as I unwittingly found my way to Ifa. Nothing has been left behind! The knowledge and experiences gained during each stage of my journey have helped to make me the person I am today.
As I think back over my journey I can see how the pieces fit together like a quilt or well-designed structure. But as each of the stitches and pieces, the stones and mortar were being put into place the outcome was still unknown to me. When we buy a puzzle at the store you get a picture on the box so that you know what the finished product will look like. The Aye L’oja is not like that! Ooh-no-o-o! That would make this journey too easy. Instead, we have to put the pieces together without a pattern or blueprint. As least not one that is obvious to us when we first strike out on our particular Path. Something about the nature of this journey compels us to reach out. We know that we are not personally in total control of our reality, yet something haunts us with the idea that we can influence even what seems beyond our control. As believers we share a sense of a metaphysical, spiritual connection to something that has the power to influence the course of our lives and assist us in creating a beautiful structure even without a pattern or blueprint. In Ifa, we call that ‘something’ our Spiritual Ori, our assigned share of the Omniscient Consciousness of Creator.
Being able to Witness the Power of Your Prayers is an essential condition for the structure of the Aye L’oja. If Olodumare, Orisa, and Imoles did not answer and support our prayers, and if Egun did not intercede in our behalf, the fabric of the marketplace and the Ase that binds it to the Orun would disintegrate. Prayer, ritual, and ceremony are very powerful means of influencing your reality. Of course there are those who say hogwash! But for the devotees who have witnessed the power of their prayers, time and time again, there is no doubt in their minds or hearts, and ‘coincidence’ fails as an explanation for what we have experienced. We also know that it is not important to convince others, it is only important that we bear witness to our own truth.
Sometimes the timing between the things we pray for and their realization is so close as to make their connection obvious. These occasions fortify you with faith, the strength of faith that can carry you through those occasions when the timing between your prayers and the manifestation of that which you prayed for extends out over a long period of time. Do you consider that some of the things that you pray for may take time, both because of the conditions of the world and because of your own readiness to cope with the reality of that which you have so passionately prayed for? Remember, your Ori is working to protect and guide you at all times!
My own Journey to the Root is not complete! Over the past fifteen years since I traveled to Ile-Ife much has happened that I’ve not yet shared on the Ile Awo Orisa web site. I consulted with Orisa in 2011 to see if the way was open for me to begin that process with you. The Obi answer was an Absolute Yes! My Posts are based on what I have been taught, what I have read, what I have divined, and what I have experienced that has emboldened me On the Path of Ifa. I am a witness to the Power of Prayer. Fifteen years ago, as I tell in my Journey to the Root Journal, I knelt in the Sacred Temple of Ifa and made a prayer. It was a prayer of appreciation, devotion, and commitment to make a difference in some way. I did not know it at the time, but that was one of those prayers that would take time and grow in consequence far into my future. I’ve shared some of the details of My Journey on the Ile Awo Orisa web site, and on this Blog in the coming months and (I pray) years I will continue that process. I hope you will be checking in. Here is a taste of what we have and will be sharing!
The History of Ifa dates back to the Beginning of Creation and of this world, Aye L’oja. There have been three cities called Ile-Ife, the present day city being the Third Ile-Ife. The first Ile-Ile was IFE OODAYE (IFE THE GENESIS OF CREATION). The first Council of EMESE was formed in IFE OODAYE when Oduduwa was the first OONI (King) and the Orisa were the first EMESE Council Members. The EMESE Council has remained in place throughout the three cities called Ile-Ife and they are still the Repository, Guardians, Caretakers, and Final Authority on the Ifa Corpus and the Ifa Traditions of Orisa and Ancestor Worship. Each member of the Emese can trace their lineage all the way back to the members of the original EMESE Council in IFE OODAYE, back to the Orisa. The Emese have ALWAYS remained in seclusion and are very rarely seen by the public or even devotees. They have authorized the Isoro Traditional Council of Chiefs, also based on lineage to the beginning, (of which I am a designated member) to serve as their public face. The EMESE Council is the living Source of the Oral Traditions and Ifa Corpus dating back to the beginning of time.
Upon my return from Ile-Ife I set up the Ile Awo Orisa web site and devoted it to the essence of my prayer made in the Sacred Temple. Little did I know that ten years later; not just ten years later but ten years later to the very day, I would be blessed to become the first every Oluranse Emese. NEVER in the History of Ifa has anyone been designated with such a title and responsibility. To say that I am in awe of this answer to my humble prayer would be a complete understatement. Look for more about the EMESE, the ISORO Traditional Council of Chiefs, and the IFA Tradition on this web site. It is now my responsibility to bring The Source to you. Prayer works! Do not give up on prayers that take a long time to manifest, and do not think that you know exactly what they will bring forth.
About My Title OLURANSE EMESE
Oluranse of the Source – The voice, vision, and authority of ways and practices of our tradition and culture as well as being the source of Sacrosanct and Factual dissemination of Information on the Knowledge and Wisdom of Orisas to the New World (of Cyberspace).
Ise Olorun Tobi! God’s Work is Great and Mighty!
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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!
