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Is possession real?
The answer is an unequivocal "YES", but probably not in the way
you think.
Years ago, when I
used to attend the Bembes that followed initiations, I would marvel at
the invariable possessions that took place during the celebration. When
asked by friends: " Is it for real?" I felt like the late financial columnist
Eliot Janeway who laughingly recalled that he had accurately predicted
30 of the last two recessions! In much the same way, my own personal belief
is that a small percentage of the possessions we witness are real, and
the rest are self-induced.
As I began to wonder
more about this phenomenon, I was struck by the differences in possession
that occurred in Africa vs. the United States. In Africa, an individual,
possessed by their orisa energy, exhibited a much more controlled, less
histrionic, behavior. In the United States orisa communities it was much
more overt, much more Hollywood. Cultures, I concluded, will individually
express energy dependent on their own background and terms of reference.
So far so good.
All of this coalesced
in a recent discussion with two of our apprentices from Spain studying
here at Ola Olu. They wanted to know if, as I state, orisa is an expression
of pure energy, how that energy could control, or take over, our physical
self?
The answer is, the
energy forms a symbiotic relationship with us. It is a pure energy, not
a Hollywood Characterization. In this synergy with our minds and spirit,
great increases in our perception, capacity and wisdom occur. It is not
a result of the energy itself, but rather the result of the combination
of this pure energy with us.
Once again, our human
desire to humanize (anthropomorphize) anything that isn't human, gets
in our way of understanding. In addition, our acceptance of the Christian
Judaic separation of spirituality and logic makes us look for some non-logical
way of seeing spirituality work. And nothing could be less logical than
a not quite God, but more than human form, deciding to take residence
in our bodies! No matter how hard you desire to cling to your psychodrama
view of orisa and their manifestations, it won't change the reality that
Ifa and orisa worship are totally, absolutely and perfectly logical! And,
once you can set aside the visceral need for drama in your spirituality,
you will see the consistency and power of this logic. For rather than
diminishing the wonder and awe of the process, the understanding of it
brings greater insights and humility.
There is another
possibility for understanding our desire to humanize orisa energy. It
results from a paternalistic view of the universe. If somehow Sango, Osun,
Ogun, Yemonja-Olukun etc. are sort of human, they can be counted on to
take care of and protect us. Well, that's the nonsense most Western organized
religions have been trying to sell you for centuries. Ifa's point of view
is that you are capable of taking care of yourself within this perfect
universe Oludumare has created. Learning to access and combine with the
pure energy of the orisa is one component of this.
The logical answer
to possession is that through the logical and proven rituals we have developed,
we create a safe and proven path for this pure essence of energy to enter
the matrix of the devotee. Once this energy enters, not as an anthropomorphic
characture, but as a pure energy source, it creates dynamic short term
changes in the matrix itself. These changes may result in a host of possibilities.
Healing, precognition, wisdom, spiritual growth etc. Powerful as they
are, they are not supernatural. Indeed, they are Super Natural.the natural
result of the perfect construct created by Oludumare.
Just as American
Indian tribes used Peyote to open their emotional and spiritual paths
to journey's otherwise impossible, so Ifa uses fusion with the natural
energies of our orisa to create the same circumstances.
You may ask, " what's
the difference in how you perceive the event?" The difference is that
once you accept possession by humanlike spirits that can control your
bodies and minds, you open the doorway to the illogical universe where
a host of uncontrollable, non-understandable events loom. When you understand
the logic and constancy behind the integrating of pure energy into our
personal energy, you keep that doorway to the illogical and fearful tightly
closed! It is a doorway too long open and past due for closing.
It is our empowerment
that Ifa seeks to open. It is our fears it seeks to close.
- The Classroom - Index
of Articles
- Experience and learn about the
Orisas from Babalawos, Iyalawos and priests by attending the Orisa
Workshops.
- Call 877-811-7316 (toll-free)
for more information.
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