The Ninth Truth of Ifa: We should never initiate harm
to another human being!
January 2020
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!
Thank you for visiting our website and for reading our blog! We pray you find some of what you are seeking to remember.
There are many calendars in use around the world. The Hijri Calendar, the Iranian Muslim Calendar, the Buddhist Calendar, the Yoruba Ifa Calendar, and the Chinese Calendar to cite a few. It’s December 31, 2019 New Years Eve of 2020 as I am finishing up my editing. By the time you read this Post we will be in the new calendar year 2020 according to the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is today's internationally accepted civil calendar and is also known as the Western or Christian calendar. But it doesn’t really matter what calendar we’re using or what decade or year or month, or week or day, hour, minute, moment it is, does it? Does it?
The only thing! THE ONLY THING that matters is the choices that you and I make in each of those moments, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and decades to come! CHOICE! (YIYAN!) That’s what we are here doing! We’re here making choices and all the calendars are doing, is providing a framework for us to ‘frame’ our choices in time. There were choices that led to Isoki (contrast, contraction). There were choices that led to Isopo (connection, connectivity, belonging). And, there were choices that fueled Na Wa (expansion, growth, transformation). You and I made those choices individually and collectively and what we see around us in this moment are the consequences of all of those individual and collective choices. Needless to say, many if not most of us are displeased with much of what we see! But it doesn’t have to stay that way because we still have YIYAN ASE, the power to choose!
Let’s use our imagination for a moment. In this moment you can choose to imagine adopting the Ninth Truth of Ifa as a guiding principle, a core value in your life (We must never initiate harm to another human being!). How does that thought make you feel? Now, image for a moment that everyone else in the world did the same thing, not just imagining it, but also making it a part of his or her essential identity. How does that thought make you feel? Oh! Forget about judging whether such a thing is possible. Forget about trying to figure how to get the whole world to agree to it. Because all that is important in your world is that you do it. In the moment that you do, your world changes because your Ase Ami (Energy Signature) changes.
The Sixteen Truths of Ifa create a fabric that shelters the devotees and adherents from the pitfalls, obstacles, and challenges of the L’oja. When you shift your Ase Ami, you shift what you attract into your and our world. Remember, as we have shared throughout this series of Posts, ‘we are spiritual beings having an experience of embodiment’. We are a tangible, visible form of a Sentient Energetic Entity (SEE) that is beyond any sense of limitation. We are, in fact, the creators of worlds and realities.
So as we begin counting the days, weeks, and months of the year 2020, and the decade to unfold, let us not forget all of those moments in which we are making choices that will have an impact on someone’s life for better or for worst. As I contemplated this Post, I thought about sharing some statistics about all of the madness and sadness going on around the world, but I’m glad that I decided not to add to the negative emotional energies by bringing it here. This Post is about the power of our choices, and about uplifting our spirit. It’s about your and my ability and responsibility to leave the world a better place by virtue of our having been here. Some may be inspired to make large scale, highly visible changes because their Ori calls them to that journey. But it’s not about the magnitude of change or the scope of the change that you bring to the world. It’s about the vibrational quality of what you resonate to the world and multi-verse.
Truth (9) of the Ifa Corpus applies not only to physical harm but also emotional, social, financial, or any other form of harm or hardship. DO NO HARM! And, this not only applies to actions that you might take through physical agency but also to actions you might take through spiritual and metaphysical pathways. This means you should not wish, pray for, conjure, or will any form of harm to be visited upon another person. If indeed we have the power to move the Ase, to bend reality, then certainly it is better to wish, pray for, conjure, or will that our ‘enemy’ or ‘tormenter’ have a revelation of consciousness or a change of heart rather than to wish harm upon them. Let Olodumare and Orisa be the judges of whether harm is the only way to deal with a soul in violation of righteous behavior. This is not to say that we sit passively by in the face of a clear threat to our life and wellbeing, but even then, we would not be the one to initiate harm and our Ori will certainly be guiding us in the process. We trust that the Orisa will protect their own!
It is difficult for some of us to believe or conceive of the mysteries that our Ancestors brought from behind the veil. The religious world has cast a dark shadow over many of the practices of our Ancestors and much has been loss because of our experiences in contact with the western world. Many of us have forgotten that we have the power to affect the world - for better or worst - through powerful spiritual methodologies and our innate potentials, our Ogun Ibi (Birthright).
Now, broaden your thinking! Experience Na Wa as we invite you to consider Truth (10) of Ifa - You must never harm the universe of which you are part!
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.
Support Ifa
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.
Karl Stone Art Collection
Another way that you can support the activities of the Ifa Community is by purchasing something from the Karl Stone Art Collection. These Art pieces make beautiful additions to your home decorations, and great gifts for special occasions. A portion of your purchase will be donated to the Isoro Traditional Council of Chiefs in Ile-Ife and a portion to Ile Awo Orisa. (View Art)
Modupe! Thank You!
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!
