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The reason you
are here, and reading this, is because the religions and philosophies
that you grew up with, failed you. It wasn't that they didn't promise
all kinds of goodies if you adhered to their rules, it was that they didn't
deliver! They talked the talk .but they couldn't help you walk the walk!
They told you they
had the exclusive in the religious business.and you believed them.at least
until your lives didn't get better. Now that you are finally looking to
actually experience the love, fulfillment, health and protection that
religion is supposed to deliver, you have only one thing standing in your
way: Your inability to free yourself from the shackles of their thinking!
IF.You still want
religion to be a result of unexplainable magic.rather than a logical system
created by a benevolent God; IF. You still want the paternalism of being
taken care of rather than the empowerment of taking care of yourself;
IF. You still want to believe that Truth can be frozen in time, and that
it's expression in the written word is absolute; IF.you still believe
that God's Truths are restricted to a specific ethnicity, gender or type
of sexual orientation and best expressed by a particular group, or a particular
skin color, then you just don't get it.and you might as well stay where
you are!!!
The biggest frustrations
involved in the Foundation's work stems from those that would take the
beauty, freedom, and eternal living energy of the orisa, and attempt to
freeze frame it into their own Christian/Judaic prejudices and limitations.
Whether it is super imposing a Devil - which Ifa does not recognize -
or attempting to view the priest as infallible and the historical Pataki
as unalterable truths, rather than contextual observations, the result
is the same. You have castrated and minimized the real potential and power
of the philosophy.
This diminution
of the power and potential of the orisa can occur in many forms.but, without
exception, all these forms spring from the well of illogical thinking.
Be it the illogic's of nationalism, racism or gender discrimination, the
results are the same.the philosophy simply cannot work effectively.
Ifa is a philosophy
of results! If you were content with promises, or hanging out with a group
of like minded, culturally similar individuals, you could have remained
in the structure of whatever Western religion into which you were born
or had come to practice. But, if you want results, the kinds of positive
change, achievement, love, fulfillment and joy that the other's promise
but cannot deliver on, you will need to be logical and analytical in your
choices and behavior.
A recent example
that was brought to my attention illustrates how this works.or fails to.
A light skinned
Latin Priest of Ogun went for a divination being performed by a famous
African Babalawo. The group, with the exception of the young Latin man
and his friends, was composed entirely of Black American and African men
and women. They were there, undoubtedly, for a host of reasons. Among
these, were the respect, adulation and pride of sharing with a famous
member of their basic ethnicity. Unfortunately, all those feelings have
little to do with results.
Upon reading the
young Latin man,the famous African Babalawo declared that he "needed to
receive Ori." This was quite astonishing as the young man explained he
had already received Ori. The response from the Babalawo was " what did
your Ori look like?",, and he proceeded to have one of his followers bring
forward an Ori he had received from the Babalawo. The young man suggested
that while his Ori did indeed " look differently", that it seemed quite
logical that an Ori made by a western Babalawo might look differently,
but be just as real. The famous Africa Babalawo refused to accept this,
exhibiting the classic Western Christian Dogma that " it's my way or the
highway." Finally, the young man, unintimidated in the presence of this
supposedly illustrious figure, offered a final logical solution to the
problem. " Why don't you simply cast and ask Orunmila if my Ori is proper?"
He had hoisted the theoretically brilliant Babalawo on his own Petard.
After all, no matter how arrogant or pompous you may be, there is NO Babalawo
of right mind that would not accept Orunmila as the final arbiter!
So, the African
Babalawo was faced with a dilemma He had already said that his reading
indicated the young man needed to receive his Ori. But, the young man
countered that he had already received his Ori. The Babalawo countered
that his "Ori must not be correct" and sought to support that contention
by the difference in looks of an Ori he had given and the young man. The
young man had replied that it was quite possible an American Ori would
look culturally different that an African one. Unable to resolve the issue,
the young man had turned to the logic of Ifa for a decision."ask Orunmila.".But
the African Babalawo refused. Why?
Frankly, there
is no acceptable reason for not asking.. Unless you are afraid of contradicting
yourself in front of your followers. Instead, the Babalawo simply told
the young man he needed to give a hen to his head, and moved on.
These kinds of
situations, where a priest acts illogically, occur daily.and, for the
most part, the followers of the priest deny their own intelligence by
accepting these situations. They do it for some, or all, of the reasons
I referred to earlier. But the end result is always the same: they diminish
their personal growth and results!
For those of you
that are curious, I would suggest a more logical explanation for the famous
Oluwo's behavior. Seeing a Latin man in front of his Opon, and knowing
that Ori was virtually lost in the Diaspora, it never occurred to him
that the young man would know, let alone have, his own physical Ori. So,
when he presented this solution for the young man, a solution which came
from his head, not from Orunmila, he was shocked by the reality, and sought
a way to muddle the issue rather than look dishonest in front of his followers.
When pinned in the corner of logic, by being asked to "ask Orunmila" he
retreated further.
This is not an
indictment of African Babalawo. The same kinds of behavior are, and can
be, expressed by Latin, European, Asian, or any other individual Priest.
This example was used simply because it was an actual event recently brought
to my attention. Within the specificity of this event, there are certain
other warning flags that should be noticed. For example, over and above
the natural reticence you brought with from your Western Religions regarding
never "questioning the priest," or "accepting The Word as gospel" despite
it's sometimes illogical conclusions, is the reputation and fame of the
individual involved. Here, we fall into the Western trap of believing
if you are famous, you must be worthwhile. This leads to an even more
destructive idea.the person must ALWAYS be right because he/she is held
in such esteem. Nonsense. The individual I wrote about has indeed accomplished
some wonderful writings on the philosophy, and may very well be an excellent
diviner in the context of interpreting the energy within the cultural
realities of how he was raised. But, in this instance he was, dishonest,
arrogant, or badly behaved.or all three. It also brings to light our reticence
to criticize someone we culturally identify with, as if similarities in
nationality, culture, sex, or skin color should influence or judgment
and analysis.
Ifa is about improving
our lives. It requires our best efforts to achieve this. These efforts
include using our God given intelligence to see the Truth.
In every one of
our dealings within this philosophy, we must apply the gifts that Oludumare
has given us, to our journey. Among these is the gift of logic and the
refusal to disregard it. It's about results!
Blessings!...
Philip Neimark
Oluwo
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