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Too many individuals fail
to understand how the various aspects of Ifa really work!
Ifa is not an assembly
line factory where trained mechanics create the items for fulfilling
the orders on Health, Love, and Prosperity etc. Yet, if you really
examined the way you look at how these issues are solved by your local
Priest, you’d find that’s pretty much how you view it.
“Heck, he or she is initiated, they learned the
mechanics of how it works. They can take care of me.”
Well, it’s not about
mechanics. It’s about Wisdom, Knowledge, World View and Character…because
triangulating energy with the major energies of the Universe we refer
to as Orisa, is NOT a mechanical process. It is an emotional/energy
process!
The proper analogy might
well be the difference between someone that paints using number paintings
for their colors and lines, and a great artist whose colors, strokes
and composition all flow from a lifetime of experience, knowledge,
technique and feelings. The result of both is a painting. One, however,
will enrich and bring joy and positive feelings to all that look upon
it, while the other, at best, will simply decorate a wall.
One is a mechanical approach.
One is an energy approach.
To the extent that young
priests, Babalawo and Iyanifa are even taught the mechanics, there
remains years of work, dedication, wisdom and experience before they
can properly use their brush and stop following preproscibed lines
and shapes.
The hardest challenge we
face at the Foundation is to keep our initiates from using their mechanics
to “yes & no” their way through life. To show them
that while “number paintings” are better than no art at
all, they fall far short of what the philosophy offers. Far short
of what they are capable of doing. Far short of the very best interests
of the client.
Priesthood carries with
it tremendous power. It also carries tremendous responsibility. A
great part of that responsibility is your commitment and obligation
to continue to grow, continue to acquire wisdom, continue to amass
knowledge…and perhaps most critically, to continue to use the
tools of divination and Orisa to examine and improve your own life
and character!
In a society that worships
youth, that desires something new and different, the understanding
of how to select and benefit from Ifa is not easy. In Ifa age may
indicate wisdom, but youth, in terms of years initiated, precludes
it.
As a devotee, priest or
simply a client you must recognize the rules and the process. You
must avail yourself of the best it has to offer, not the quick fixes
that only postpones, and often, exacerbates the real problem.
Only wisdom in your choice
and wisdom in the Priest you select can achieve that
Blessings
Philip Neimark
Ifa Foundation & Ifa College
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