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!
Thanks to all of you have become regular readers of this Blog. I pray that the information we share has been meaningful in helping you to navigate your chosen path. Here’s a snapshot of what we covered in 2018.
January: Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship, Part II
Ifa looks at the nature of the physical world, the physical universe, and then asks the question, “How can we act and interact with the essence of this reality in such way that we can live the best possible life?” “Can metaphysical and spiritual principles influence and affect the physical laws of the universe?” “Is the physical reality a collection of individual and separate pieces, or is it an integrated whole governed by a unifying principle?”
There are surely those who live in doubt about the existence of life, awareness, and consciousness in an insubstantial reality after death, but most spiritual traditions declare with faith and certainty that there is a ‘hereafter’. Different spiritual traditions have portrayed different images, notions, or conceptions of this hereafter existence but none deny it. Ifa declares emphatically that there is an existence after the death of the physical body and the recognition, acceptance, and acknowledgement of that truth is one of the fundamental tenets of the Ifa Tradition.
February: Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship
Ancestor Worship, Part III
“Alafia Baba Umar! Thank you for sharing your blog on the ancestors and Orishas. I enjoy reading them. I’ve learned a lot about metaphysics and the physical world and find it comforting to know even at the moment when I’m feeling alone I am not alone because ancestors are with me. As discussed in your blog, I’ve decided to start setting a plate for my ancestors. One of the Korean stores I shop in always has a small plate of food set by a statue of Buddha, a candle, and a portrait of a family member. I never asked why but now I see the importance of this daily practice. …”
The Emese and the Isoro Traditional Council of Chiefs are the most reliable repository of information about the history of Ifa to be found any place in the world, including who has been initiated as a Priest, Priestess, Iyalorisa, or Babalawo.
March: Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship
Ancestor and Orisa Worship, Part IV
We can think of the Divine Source of Creation (Olorun – God) as having three aspects, the Primordial Essence (the Ase), the Sentience or awareness of Itself, Consciousness (Olodumare), and the creative impulse that proliferates creation, (Olofi-dumare), the Creative aspect.
Under the misguided representations of many Western Cultures and Religious Systems, the role and status of the Female and the Feminine Principle has been diminished. This has led to a significant imbalance in modern societies with an over emphasis on the Male and the Masculine Principle, and has progressively spread its negative influence even to indigenous cultures around the world.
So, creation is wholly and completely dependent on two aspects, the material of the womb and the creative impulse. These two are interdependent, inseparable, and incapable of manifesting without mutual cooperation. Hence, the Feminine Principle and the Masculine Principle each have equally important roles to play in the creative process.
April: Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship
Ifa & The Orisa, Part V
The Ifa Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship has persisted for thousands of years, among millions of people, across multiple generations. The reason that it has persisted is simple. It is because Ifa brings to devotees and even to non-devotees a volume of knowledge and protocols of behavior that are effective in helping us to explore the possibilities, understand the mysteries, seize the opportunities, and overcome the challenges of everyday life.
Unlike other ‘religious’ traditions that tend to position the followers as helpless and often unworthy creatures, and to focus the attention of the believers on a life after death and on an unseen God passing judgments and decrees from somewhere up in the sky, Ifa provides us with a down-to-earth navigation system for tapping into the Ase (spiritual power) that exists in every aspect of creation, inanimate objects, insects, plants, animals, environmental and cosmic forces, universal laws, and scientific knowledge.
May: Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship
Ifa & The Orisa, Part VI
Isopo is a Yoruba term that means ‘connectivity’ – the state or extent of being connected or interconnected. Things that are connected have access to and the possibility of communication with each other. Things that are connected are linked or related to each other. Things that are in a state of Isopo feel an affinity (a spontaneous or natural liking or empathy for someone or something) with each other. We should always stop and think about the things we believe, why we believe them, and how we understand or perceive the things we believe.
In the beginning there was nothing but the Ase, the Realm of Infinite Possibility, and the Ase became self-aware. This Sentient Energetic Essence (SEE) recognized itself as the Realm of Infinite Possibility and determined to experience the fullness of its potential. That determined idea ignited the creative impulse and set into motion the phenomena of the entire cosmic reality.
June: Ifa: The Spiritual Tradition of Orisa and Ancestor Worship:
Isopo, Part VII
Isopo is a fact, a Law of Creation that permeates everything. However, when it comes to us, you and me, and the sentient spiritual forces that dwell in and around us, Isopo also becomes a matter of choice. While certain aspects of our existence in the L’oja (marketplace) are subject to the Law of Isopo, our behavior, our conduct, our thoughts and actions are a matter of choice.
This year’s Ifa Festival will commence on the 13th of July 2018. This will usher in our ODUN TUNTUN (NEW YEAR). This year's festival is the Ifa year that celebrates the union of OSUN SENGESE and ORUNMILA as recorded in Odu Ogbe Iwori (Ogbewehin), the 19th Odu in the Sacred Order of the Odus established by Orunmila. The significance of this year's celebration cannot be overstated. It comes around every Ogorun Ogun (100 cyclical years), when the Iboji pada di ibere (when the grave became the point of beginning/existence.) This Ifa Ogorun Ogun requires that the temple of OSUN is to be inbuilt in the temple of ORUNMILA, This symbolises the union of the Orisas with Esu Laalu to be moved at the entrance of the temple. It is a time when Osun rules on the waves of Yemoja to bless and prosper the devotees.
During my talk I mentioned the fact that I was taught we should first carry our problems and concerns to our Ori, then to our Egun (Ancestors), and then to our Crown Orisa(s), acknowledging the Feminine/Matriarchal Principle first in the case of both Egun and Orisa, because the Feminine/Matriarchal Principle is the essence and executor of Isopo (connectivity). I also mentioned that our Egun can intercede in our affairs and can often respond in ways that the Orisa cannot. A woman in the audience, paying close attention to the topic exclaimed, ‘Wow! Are ancestors really that powerful?” Yes, I think they are!
All of the genetic memory of our ancestors, dating back to the beginning of human existence is in our blood, in our flesh, in every cell that becomes a part of our Ile Ojubo (Body Temple), our Eya ti Aiye (Earthly Body), in our DNA and RNA. An entire library of information that can be tapped into, hacked, accessed when we are in the vibration of Isopo, connectivity between physical Ori, Spiritual Ori, and the dimension we call the Spirit World.
Likewise, we should not be satisfied with belief without knowledge about that in which we are choosing to believe. Knowledge transforms belief into certainty. Certainty is born of the original creative impulse and provokes a feeling of spiritual power, Ase! We should strive for knowledge. When belief is transformed into certainty, and that certainty, that sense of conviction, is acted upon, knowledge is then transformed into wisdom, and ‘The road to wisdom is paved with questions!’
In addition to weaving the fabric of Yoruba civilization and Ifa culture, Ifa and its spiritual traditions, stories, parables, ceremonies, rituals, and sayings, are meant to provoke growth, growth in understanding, growth in self-awareness, growth in knowledge, growth in all of the divine attributes that can emerge from the relationship between our Ori and our heart; attributes like love, empathy, compassion, forgiveness, insight, intuition, creativity, and Ase (spiritual power). Our Spiritual Ori is the ‘knower’ of what we must come to know in order to grow from mere belief into the certainty of knowledge.
Ori mi Apere!
Ori mi Apesin!
My Ori, Carrier of my Destiny!
My Ori, The Most Precious!
This is an acknowledgement of our Spiritual Ori and its function in our experience of this life in the L’oja (Marketplace).
Then we say, three times,
Ori mi, mo pe e!
Ori mi, mo pe e!
Ori mi, mo pe e!
My Ori, I call you!
My Ori, I call you!
My Ori, I call you!
This expression can have various meanings and can conjure different energetic vibrations. We should give this some thought!
November: Why Do We Call Ori? Part III The Law of Expansion
The energetic vibrations of our experiences in the L’oja, our intentions, our hopes and desires, our declarations and our prayers all travel (or vibrate) from our physical Ori, to our Spiritual Ori, to Infinite Consciousness fueling the process of Dynamic Expansion.
Spiritual Ori is always communicating with us, sending us guidance and assistance in the form of feelings and emotions, ideas and creative flashes, hints and synchronistic signs, and of course, through Ifa Divination. Spiritual Ori never abandons its responsibility for the Avatar because the Avatar is Spiritual Ori’s link to this world and its vehicle of experience. However, we too often forget that we are not the Avatar but the eternal sentient essence that chose to experience the world through the Avatar for the purpose of following the Law of Dynamic Expansion.
And now, let us call into existence and expand into a better life for everyone in 2019!
If you would like to donate to any of the annual Festivals or to any of the Ifa Temples, Shrines, School, Electronic Communications Center Initiative, or general funds, please contact me by email and I will provide you with the bank transfer information so that you can make your donation directly and securely.
Modupe!
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.
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!
