When you pray you hear your own Adura! Adura is a true expression of your deepest needs and desires (requesting), your joys and pleasures (expressing gratitude), and your silent fears (pleading). As you pray the internal and external vibration and rhythm of your Adura sets up a wave of movement in the Ase that emanates from you. You tend to remember the Adura that you say frequently and are more likely to think about them during the course of your day. The more frequent and sincere the Adura the more powerful is the wave of movement it sets up in the Ase. You are very much a part of the fulfillment of your own prayers.
Even sincere Adura in a moment of crisis have its affect and effect. Maybe some of you heard the recent report of the young boy who drowned while on a trip to the beach with his parents and religious group. The boy was standing in knee-deep water when a riptide came in and pulled him out to sea. I did not get all of the details of the report but when he disappeared beneath the surface his helpless community fell to their knees and began to pray. After fifteen minutes underwater the young boy’s dead body was retrieved from the water. He nonetheless miraculously recovered! If you know that the spoken word can change the Ase in a room (for better or worst) and that even an unspoken positive or negative attitude can alter the Ase Ami (Energy Signature) of a group (for better or worst), and that you can connect with other people, especially family members and close friends, in uncanny ways that go beyond simply scientific explanation, then why should you not know with certainty that Adura is a powerful thing.
In Ifa we believe that our Ori is our little piece of Olodumare’s Infinite Consciousness. Ori is our direct link to The Supreme God and Creator of all that exists. We believe that Olodumare has placed a share of consciousness in every living thing including earth, air, fire, water, wood, and metal. Your Ori is your share! A devotee once say to me as a question, we homage Orisa and Egun all of the time but where is Olodumare in our daily practices? It was a very good question and deserved the above explanation of the significance of your Ori. In Ifa we say, your Ori is your God! When you homage your Ori, you are calling on the God, and paying homage to your Ori should be the first and last things that you do each day.
Here is a simple Adura that I have shared with my spiritual godchildren and want to share with you.
An Evening Adura
Ori mi, mo pe e! My Ori, I call you!
Ori mi, mo pe e! My Ori, I call you!
Ori mi, mo pe e! My Ori, I call you!
Iba Se Olodumare! Homage to Olodumare!
I (we) ask that you take my (our) soul(s) into your embrace as I (we) sleep; and nurture it (them) with your love and Ase; and return it (them) to me (us) in the morning.
Ase! Ase! Ase!
A Morning Adura
Ori mi, mo pe e! My Ori, I call you!
Ori mi, mo pe e! My Ori, I call you!
Ori mi, mo pe e! My Ori, I call you!
Modupe Olodumare! I thank you Olodumare!
I (we) thank you for answering my (our) Adura and blessing me (us) with another chance at life. I (we) go forward into the world seeking your signs and your blessings, overwhelmed by no obstacles, deterred by no resistance, and fearing no enemy, for you are sufficient to guide me (us) toward my (our) destiny (ies).
Ase! Ase! Ase!
Here is a traditional Adura to your Ori:
My head, we invite goodness.
We run to count children.
My master, I salute goodness.
The confused head is the head that points to the peaceful head.
You saved me Owner of Heaven.
You, till the end of time, support me.
You habitually support being alive.
You saved me, King, who works on my behalf.
Modupe! Modupe! Modupe!
Adura is confidential intercourse with the divine. It is a state of elevated consciousness and heightened awareness. It is a source of comfort in times of distress and the match that lights the candle of hope in times of despair. Adura is a source of both inspiration and motivation. It provides a vantage point from which we can more clearly see the world. It is a vessel of nurturing energy that can quench the thirst of those who are seeking spiritual hydration. Adura is the thread that ties the meaning we give to our inner reality to that of our outer reality and experiences. In times like we live in today, there is great power and benefits in Adura.
Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni
Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
My Olodumare, Orisa, and Ancestors bestow on you
Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
Adura: An Ifa Prayer Book For Beginners (Preview)
1 comment:
Greetings Baba Umar,
Powerful, inspiring, and motivational posting! The concept of Andura as involving an intimate relationship with the Creator is truly a source of comfort and nurturing energy to me! In testimony, I know that when I wake up in the morning, I feel revitalized and comforted by centering on prayer, reflection, and gratitude to Olodumare. As a result, my desires to pursue Change (through acquired knowledge) and to maintain an existing disciplined and purposeful lifestyle become a foreseeable reality in the daily Gift of Now.
I also want to thank you Baba Umar for the simple Andura prayers you so graciously give us! I look forward to heart fully reciting them on a daily basis as a means of giving homage to Olodumare and to my Ori.
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