Back in November 2004 a site visitor (we’ll call her V) contacted me by email. V wrote, I've been told that my spirit goes by the name of "Oshun". I would really love to dig deeper into finding out who I am and where I really come from, I just don't know where to begin. I believe that pulling up your website was truly a blessing and anything that you can do to help me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you soon.
V’s email reflects our common journey in the world. We are all seeking to know whom we are, where we really come from, and of course, why we are here. There are many paths to seek answers to those questions. Ifa is one of them. I believe V is one of many who are pulled to the Path of Ifa Consciousness, and like V they just don’t know where to begin. That’s where this Blog and your comments take on some measure of importance. Share! Ask questions! Make comments! Although you may live in an area where an Ifa community, priest, or Babalawo is not available, even though each of us may be limited in our knowledge, collectively we are a library of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. Ile Awo Orisa BlogSpot is where you can become an active part of a living library of Ifa Consciousness.
Many peoples around the world are longing to reclaim what was has been lost. Seeking a sense of Interrelatedness, Interconnectedness, and Interdependence with each other, with the earth and her many creatures, with the cosmos, and with the spiritual forces that influence our lives. You, like most of us are probably longing to revitalize your sense of body, mind, spirit integration and harmony. In Ifa, finding balance is based upon the relationship between your Ori, the Orisa(s) that crown your head, and your everyday choices.
The beginning of the New Year is always a good time to set new goals to improve yourself in mind, body, and spirit. New Years resolutions have been made, many are off to a good start, and some have already been broken. If you have been read you hopefully remembered to get a calendar and mark the days of the month that belong to the Orisa(s) who crowns your Ori (head). If you have not been read then you can do a little something each day for the Primary Orisa and in some way your Guardian Orisa(s) may come to you.
On the Yoruba Ifa Calendar (Preview) there is a 4-day and a 7-day calendar. Here are the first four days of the calendar for 2011 based on the current days in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Date, Day, Orisa(s) worshipped on that day
January 1, 2011 – Ogun – Ogun, Obaluaye, Egun, Eshu, Ori
January 2, 2011 – Jakuta – Shango, Oya, Yemoja, Eshu, Ori
January 3, 2011 – Ose – Obatala, Odu, Eshu, Ori
January 4, 2011 – Awo – Orunmila, Oshun, Olokun, Aje, Eshu, Ori
January 5, 2011 – Ogun (and the days continue to repeat)
*****
January 12, 2011 - Awo
Make a habit of marking the calendar each month and of giving an offering of cool water or some other small ebo on the days of your Orisa. Call their name, thank them for the good that they have helped you to achieve and for the evils that they have helped you to avoid, and call upon them to continue to do the same.
Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni
Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
1 comment:
(Please use this revised blog)
Greetings Baba Sharif,
You make an interesting point that individuals across the world are seeking “a sense of Interrelatedness, Interconnectedness, and Interdependence” whether it is amongst each other, or with other sources of life. As regards to interrelatedness, it is interesting that this pursuit has brought us back to the realization that our Being on earth is but a "basic building block," which dissolves into a ‘dance of energy and relationship’, with no real substance or stuff (as we in industrial developed nations have acquired). Hence, this awareness can lead us to become Consciously aware of our deep universal Connection to everyone and everything.
It is my New Year’s resolution Baba Sharif to Balance my sense of being in the world by my Choice of Interrelatedness, Interconnectedness, and Interdependence with Olodumare as manifested through the Orishas that guide my Ori, namely Mother Oshun and Father Ogun. It is also my resolution to be in Harmony with the Prime Directive, that is, “To seek pleasure and avoid pain for yourself and others, to transform negative energy into positive energy through my conduct in the world, and to nurture life and struggle against death for the welfare of the planet and the co-existence of all living things” (Sharif, 2010).
I think the following poem: "We Have Forgotten Who We Are"
hits home to the spiritual blog message:
We have all forgotten who we are. We have all forgotten why we are here….
But they are becoming more.
The few awakening, are becoming the more.
Each of us, born to forget, must make our way to the place of remembrance in our lives.
Every action we take, ever deed done, leads us to recall and remember.
Call forth who you are. Summon your light from within…
Move beyond your ego. Let go of its heaviness. Unplug your mind from the matrix of materialism and the Jone's.
Train your thoughts, focus on your light....
Forgive. Remember. Declare. Release. Be.
Mikel (2007)
Refrences:
Sharif, U. (2010). The Peaceful Space Project: The Prime Directive Of The Human Family. Retrieved from http://www.sharif-enterprizes.com/peacefulspaceproject/theprimedirective.html
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