Oturuponkeeke Ohanrin keekee Let's give hunger to hunger Let's give suffering to suffering Let's give up our grudge so we can become the leader of the house... - Holy Odu OturuponOwonrin Two people cannot drive a car at once. And while most mature adults intellectually understand the need for leadership, not everyone is ready to allow another person to lead. Vanity and self-centeredness are habits that prevent most people from being able to recognize the limitations of their ideas. Stated differently, just because you have an idea does not mean you have a plan. And just because you have a plan does not mean you have enough experience or resources to carry it out. Here is the struggle, people who lack experience also lack the values that result from direct experience. If you have never built a house, run a business or managed a team, you will not fully value the expertise of somebody who has... until you reach the end of your rope. When the house crumbles, the business fails or the team degenerates into mutiny, then you have all the proof you need that you were not prepared for the task at hand. This is why the Yoruba say, when the child acts like a child, the adult must act like an adult. In other words, it is the responsibility of the more experienced person to anticipate the habits of those who are less mature, less experienced and less prepared. Leadership is not just telling people what to do and even less telling them how to do it. Instead, superior leadership is characterized by your ability to communicate your vision in ways that others can see themselves in it. Likewise, it is facilitated by your ability to create strategies, methodologies and processes that support your vision and reward participants for carrying it out effectively. The 2nd annual Orisa Lifestyle Retreat will bring together leaders of every level of development and experience to share best practices for transcending differences and building success in our homes, shrines and communities. Register today and save $100. When 3 people register together, the 4th attends for free. Find out more at www.OrisaLifestyle.com/retreat Obafemi Origunwa, MA | www.OrisaLifestyle.com
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Spiritual maturity induces a higher call to duty. As I grow up in my practice, I become more clear about what I must do for the next generation of devotees. One of the most important realizations I have arrived at is the total oblivion of mediocrity as a community standard.
If I might quote Mos Def, this ain't a time when the usual is suitable. Many of the elements and devices used to enable Orisa Lifestyle to grow have become obsolete to the point of being self destructive. For example, initiation is not a panacea. All problems will not disappear when you're initiated. Just because you're initiated does not mean you will instantly know your destiny either. The reason for this is that Initiation does not mean change. It does not mean your habits are automatically reformed. Not everybody is a priest. Just because you're initiated does not make you a priest. Priests are born, not made. As the Cubans used to say, don't put a crown on a dirty head. Most of what people hope to achieve through initiation is actually best achieved through change of habit. Also, anything and everything that is indigenous to Orisa Lifestyle can be found in some discipline of Yoruba civilization. If it is not found in Odu Ifa it's embedded in an Oriki, proverb or traditional craft. Whenever somebody uses foreign disciplines as the basis to either validate or invalidate Yoruba indigenous knowledge, something fundamental is missing and standards are being compromised. It is not acceptable for teachers to exceed their true knowledge bases by stringing together ideas with a little bit of Egyptian fantasy, a little Buddhism, a dash of quantum physics and a sprinkle of Joseph Campbell. Let the basis of instruction be Yoruba indigenous knowledge systems and let everything else enhance that basis. Ifa teaches us this way; Let us do things with joy Those who wish to go, let them go Those who wish to stay, let them stay Surely, human beings have been chosen To bring goodness into the world the all knowing one, priest of Orunmila, Cast Ifa for Orunmila He said that, one day, people would come and ask him a particular question He said Orunmila should offer sacrifice Orunmila heard and complied... - Holy Odu IrosunIwori Here, people wanted to be free from the cycle of rebirth. Orunmila advised them that they must first complete the mandate given to them by Olodumare, to bring about the Good Condition. As such, humans are obliged to uplift the unfortunate, use wisdom to govern the world well and mitigate the influences of witchcraft, wizardry and even Èsù. This is what characterizes the Good Condition. Obafemi Origunwa, MA | ObafemiO.com Iworitutu (cool Iwori)
Immortality water stone, immortality water stone It is Iworitutu (cool Iwori) I will not die anymore Immortality water stone - Holy Odu IworiOtura What you do for yourself dies with you. What you do for others lives eternally. This is what prompts the elders to remind us that eniyan nii d'orisa, it is human beings who become orisa. More precisely, it is those human beings whose service has made people remember them with fond admiration who become memorialized generation after generation. The Holy Odu EjiOgbe teaches us this way: Orunmila said, it is human beings who become orisa Ifa knows that it is human beings who become orisa Ifa said, Oduduwa who you see He was human When he did good on earth After his death, we always remember him Orunmila said, it is human beings who become orisa Ifa knows that it is human beings who become orisa Ifa said, Ogun who you see He was human When he did good on earth After his death, we always remember him Orunmila said, it is human beings who become orisa Ifa knows that it is human beings who become orisa Ifa said, Osala Oseremagbo who you see He was human When he did good on earth After his death, we always remember him Orunmila said, it is human beings who become orisa Ifa knows that it is human beings who become orisa Ifa said, Sango who you see He was human When he did good on earth After his death, we always remember him Orunmila said, it is human beings who become orisa Ifa knows that it is human beings who become orisa Ifa said, he himself Was also human When he was wise, and did good on earth After he had gone to heaven, When the people of the world did not see him They started remembering him They did not gorget the advice That he left behind So, it is human beings who become orisa - Holy Odu EjiOgbe May this day of Ose Ifa inspire you to live the medicine that will heal your life and heal the lives of those you are destined to serve. Ase! The Orisa Lifestyle Academy is dedicated to creating opportunities for you to live forever. Over the years, I cannot count the number of people who have asked me about Yoruba rites of passage. They are always surprised when I respond that the Yoruba do not have a rites of passage program in the same sense that other Africans do. The Kru people - who live in the area of Liberia - have an elaborate rites of passage through which all young boys are taken from their homes at about age 5 to live in the men's village. They don't return until they're about 13. To my knowledge, no such thing exists in Yorubaland.
Instead, a child is initiated into the mysteries of his family. Generally speaking, this process is punctuated by three major rituals; birth, marriage and death. Of these, marriage is the only one performed with consent. Maybe that's why folks do it so many times... LOL!!! :) Anyway, above and beyond the particulars of a specific lineage, the child will also be inducted into the professional societies associated with the family's vocation (i.e., carving, weaving, bead making, etc). Through the training and orientation they receive in the professional societies - egbe - the youth come to understand themselves as heirs to the ancestral legacy. And so, there is a common thread of consciousness amongst all youth that, since the ancestors and their craft were never disgraced the youth themselves will also escape disgrace. To ensure continuity of excellence from one generation to the next, the youth typically learn to supplicate their ancestors and professionally-related deities before performing their duties. And so, as a youth progresses from apprentice to journeyman to master craftsman, he will learn to recite the IJUBA, which invokes the members of his bloodline who have passed down skills, distinguished themselves in the industry and contributed to the family name. Likewise, they will learn to invoke the particular aspects of the orisa associated with their family craft. That is, a carver and a hunter will both invoke Orisa Ogun, but whereas the carver is more apt to recite those oriki that emphasize Ogun's creativity, the hunter will focus more upon his knowledge of plants and animals. Both would learn how to perform basic obi divination and appeasement. Together, this kind of lineage and vocational specific orientation highlights the fact that there are no insignificant members of the community. Even if the individual has not distinguished himself, he knows that his cultural inheritance is not to be played with. Any insult to his work is an insult to his family, his lineage and the deity they serve. And so it is, the traditional family unit, whose professional training program infuses the child with a special self awareness. Above and beyond technical proficiency, the youth is infused with a perception of his work as an instrument that contains a VITAL FORCE that animates and drives the process. We call that force ase. Without there being a formalized rites of passage, the traditional youth understands that his family craft is a living entity that is activated through working by the traditional rules. Here in the USA, however, where the culture does not naturally support the West African family structure, it is necessary to borrow principles and apply them to the formalization of rites of passage programs. The OLA16 Rites of Passage Program is an intensive, Yoruba-based approach to teaching Bay Area boys the skills necessary to transition successfully from childhood to adolescence then, into adulthood. Young men completing the 16 challenges of the program will be equipped with the social, cultural, economic and spiritual tools necessary to effect positive change in their lives and communities. Upon completion of the OLA16 Rites of Passage Program, your son will be formally recognized as Omoluwabi. In the Yoruba tradition of West Africa, the person who is responsible, honest, patient, loyal and of good nature is considered Omoluwabi. In the Holy Odu, IreteOgbe, teaches this way: To jump into the stream And move awkwardly to the bank of the stream To drain out water from the sponge These were the declarations of Ifa to Orunmila The one who abandoned his own concerns And was taking care of other people's concerns He was advised to offer sacrifice He complied Please tell King Alara That I am taking care of my concerns first One's personal concerns are important One's personal concerns are necessary Please tell King Ajero That I am taking care of my concerns first One's personal concerns are important One's personal concerns are necessary Please tell King Owarangun That I am taking care of my concerns first One's personal concerns are important One's personal concerns are necessary - Holy Odu IreteOgbe* Through the OLA16 Rites of Passage Program, youth learn to master their natural gifts and talents so that they can make a more meaningful contribution to their lives, and the lives of the people they are destined to serve. This program teaches, teamwork, leadership, values, responsibility and practical life skills, as defined by the 16 Agreements of Orisa Lifestyle. * Popoola, Solagbade. Omoluwabi. Pg 82 There is a popular saying that became a great Blues tune. It says, You can't spend what you ain't got and you can't miss what you ain't never had. I think this is really true when it comes to culture. If you don't have it, you can't exchange with others who do. So, if someone greets you, Eku ojo meta, but you're unfamiliar with Yoruba language, you won't know how to respond. More importantly, if you have no memory of your family ever speaking any language other than English, you probably won't care. Orisa Lifestyle is greater than Yoruba religion precisely because it engages the physical, emotional and mental activities associated with the culture that sustains the religion. Too often, the vast array of rituals and ceremonies, with their chants, songs, drumming, dances and costumes, create so much excitement that you will be carried away with what happens in the shrine and ignore the traditional context for the values espoused by the religion. Without a clear and definitive understanding of the relationship between Yoruba culture and religion, your practice will be one-sided, sterile and hollow. At best, you can hope to become a good magician under such circumstances. Living the medicine means healing your life and the lives of those you are destined to serve. This is, by definition, a collective effort that far exceeds the limitations of the shrine or temple. Learn more at www.OrisaLifestyle.com |
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