The Ifa Concept of Elenini

The Ifa Concept of Elenini Published March 29, 2012 | By admin Ifa teaches Ori, personal consciousness, is eternally linked to !un, the collecti"e #pirit of our ancestral linea!e$ %his means the life lessons of each indi"idual are absorbed by the collecti"e #pirit of !un in the process of atun&a, meanin! reincarnation$ %he ele"ation of an indi"idual life has an impact on the ele"ation of the entire family linea!e &hich in turn has an impact on the 'uality of life e"ery&here on earth$ Impro"in! the 'uality of life on arth, literally impro"es the condition of the planet, affectin! the 'uality of interaction bet&een humans and the #pirits of (orces in )ature Ifa calls Orisa$ In simple terms the de"elopment of !ood character affects life on arth and life in the realm of the ancestors$ %he metaphysical implication of this &orld "ie& influences ho& &e see our self and the &orld around us$ %his is kno&n as consensus con sensus reality, meanin! human consciousness literally shapes and defines the &orld &e li"e in$ (or e*ample if you belie"e you are born in ori!inal sin, and you  belie"e nothin! can chan!e your essential nature, there is no compellin! reason to en!a!e in spiritual discipline to impro"e your life$ If you belie"e you &ere born a !ood and blessed person, in an abundant uni"erse there is no limit to &hat you can accomplish$ %he &orld remains the same, ho& &e percei"e it is e"erythin!$ +llan icheru from )airobi -enya is a part of my e*tended family and a serious student of comparisons bet&een an Ifa &orld "ie& and the cultural conditionin! that commonly influences life in the .est$ If &e are to make effecti"e use of the ancestral &isdom preser"ed in Ifa to liberate our consciousness from the need to scape!oat others, &e need to first e*amine those ideas that end in failure to take responsibility for our personal !ro&th$ In an article posted on the discussion board of a&ostudycenter$com, +llan icheru makes the follo&in! obser"ations/ It seems that many people are obsessed o bsessed &ith issues of sur"i"al in the &est$ %hat is the funny thin! about +merica it is promoted as the &orlds best country &here you can achie"e all your dreams$ .hen I arri"ed in the nited #tates I reali3ed people &ere obsessed &ith sur"i"al and o"er&helmed by the pressures of !ettin! by$ %he &ay you percei"e the &orld determines the &ay you treat yourself and others4$ I ha"e come to reali3e that the &estern &orld"ie& has !i"en rise to a mentality of sur"i"al that has affected the &ay Ifa is practiced in the 5iaspora$ I reali3ed this &hen it occurred to me I &as usin! Ifa as a sur"i"al tool and not as a tool for spiritual !ro&th$ I belie"e this is the same mentality you see increasin!ly around the &orld & orld as other countries accept the &estern &orld"ie&$ .hat is the &estern &orld"ie&6 %he &estern &orld"ie& is based on certain beliefs$ %he main  belief is that scarcity is the foundation of )atural 7a& this is the belief that there is not enou!h for e"eryone$ It is based on the idea the reason I am able ab le to place some food on my table is  because someone else needs to be hun!ry$ %his belief is deeply in!rained and informs many other beliefs that make up the &estern &orld "ie&$ I ha"e summari3ed them as follo&s/ 1$ 8ompetition and sur"i"al of the fittest is )atural 7a&$ %his means In order for one to sur"i"e, one must compete &ith others and become b ecome increasin!ly effecti"e in the accumulation of thin!s$ 2$ %he en"ironment is hostile and must be dominated and controlled$ %his idea has de"eloped and pro!ressed throu!hout &estern history$ I belie"e famines and other natural disasters e*perienced in the .est led to the belief the en"ironment is hostile and must be dominated$ %his is a dri"in! force in the creation of &hat is no& kno&n as .estern science &hich studies the

&orld &e li"e in to dominate, e*ploit and control Mother )ature$ ou can see the de"elopment of this idea from early uropean immi!rants &ho spoke about :con'uerin!; the &ilderness in +merica in order to sur"i"e$ $ .e are physical machines that li"e and then die and the main purpose of life is to en?oy it as much as possible$ %he man responsible for this belief &as 8harles 5ar&in$ %he belief that man is nothin! more than a machine &ho li"es and &hen he dies, he is con"erted to nothin! more than dust$ Man comes from dust and to dust he &ill return$ Of course the &hole mentality has created the mentality that life is totally meanin!less and empty$ @$ %he en"ironment is separate from us as are other people$ A$ iolence is the natural state of the &orld$ C$ %hose that are inferior must be dominated by those &ho are superior to enable the superior  bein!s to sur"i"e$ 9$ 7inearity is la&$ 10$ 7ife is about takin! as much as one can in order to insure sur"i"al$  )o !enerali3ations are al&ays true, but this sur"ey of commonly held beliefs does !i"e us a basis to be!in an e*ploration of ho& to de"elope !ood character from an Ifa perspecti"e D especially for those of us &ho did not !ro& up in a culture that supports an Ifa &orld "ie&$ If &e study Ifa &ithout e*aminin! our fundamental &estern ideas, and if &e do not come to understand ho& these ideas conflict &ith the &isdom of Ifa, &e are simply !i"in! &estern "alues a different name$ 8ompetition based on a belief in scarcity !enerates ?ealousy$ %hose &ho embrace this &orld "ie& ?ustify the deni!ration of others &ho are pe rcei"ed as a threat to earnin! a li"in!$ %his is one of the root causes of racism and is a common moti"ation behind the use of racial slurs$ (rom an Ifa perspecti"e this is ibi or bad fortune created by in"okin! an elenini$ In this e*ample the elenini is the self4!enerated demon &ho constantly tells us that od created some people to be  better than others$ %he demon is used to distract a person from the idea that they are not ade'uate to pro"ide for their families, &hich is a lo!ical conse'uence of the idea of ori!inal sin$ Once an elenini has your ear there is no moti"ation for chan!in! your &orld "ie&$ %he only &ay to feed this demon and sustain the illusion is to surround your self &ith others &ho are acti"ely en!a!ed in creatin! the same illusion$ .hen this elenini mo"es from family to community and from community to country it becomes the basis for demoni3in! other nations and is the sin!le most common e*cuse for &ars of a!!ression that is to say &ars that benefit the fe& at the e*pense of the many, resultin! in a demonic illusion of us a!ainst them, &hich has no basis in metaphysical principles of 8reation$ %he elenini comes into bein! as the pro?ection of !ossip &hich is a manifestation of collecti"e  ?ealousy$ Ifa teaches &e li"e in an abundant uni"erse and each person has a personal destiny$ If &e embrace our personal destiny, 8reation blesses us &ith the !ood fortune of lon! life, family support and abundance$ Ifa identifies abundance as pro"idin! that &hich &e need, &hich can be different from pro"idin! &hat &e &ant$ I &rite these &ords the day after people &ere riotin! as

they &aited in line to purchase the latest update of ame Boy$ It seems apparent to me that committin! "iolence to buy a toy is the result of conditionin! and does not reflect any transcendent 'ualities of the human spirit$ %he difference bet&een kno&in! &hat &e need and &hat &e &ant is an important distinction$ nderstandin! this distinction is the reason &hy !ossip is taboo in traditional oruba culture$ If you !o to traditional Ifa elders &ith a complaint about another persons beha"ior and that person is not present to !i"e their side of the story, the elder &ill not listen to the complaint$ ossip is defined as sayin! any thin! critical of another person &ithout that person bein! present$ )otice the definition o f !ossip says nothin! about the truth of the matter$ 8laimin! a statement is true is the sin!le most common ?ustification of !ossip and in traditional oruba culture in"okin! truth does not create an e*emption to the need for the other  person to be present$ %he inability to make the distinction bet&een &hat &e need and &hat &e &ant fuels the flames of ?ealousy$ In order to ?ustify ?ealousy it is necessary to d emoni3e those &ho ha"e somethin! you dont ha"e and think you need$ Once &e demoni3e another, the ne*t step is ?ustification of treatin! them in abusi"e &ays$ %his process brin!s the elenini of abusi"e beha"ior into the &orld and has a tendency to be passed from one !eneration to the ne*t$ Because the need for lo"e and comfort is so stron! in a child, anyone raised in a home that feeds the elenini of abusi"e beha"ior associates abuse &ith lo"e$ %his association co"ers the spectrum from "erbal a buse, to physical abuse, and from physical abuse to se*ual abuse$ If you read the physiolo!ical literature describin! children &ho claim to be possessed by the de"il, behind each incident you find a deeply &ounded child$ In other &ords the child ima!es demonic possession in hopes it &ill protect them from abuse$ In contrast the elenini of abusi"e  beha"ior is a demon &ithout a name and &ithout a face$ Because of cultural conditionin!, children &ill embrace a reco!ni3able demon like the 5e"il in a desperate attempt to &ard off the in"isible elenini it is a conflict that can only lead to mental illness, &hat Ifa calls ori buruku, consciousness that brin!s death and destruction$ %he !enerational curse of abuse is often sustained throu!h addicti"e beha"ior$ %he addiction numbs the feelin!s of !uilt and creates an openin! for i!norin! the conse'uences of our actions$ %his problem has become so epidemic in .estern culture &e are at risk of losin! the ab ility to compliment one another$ +ddiction destroys the ability to access empathy, &ithout empathy there is no family and there is no community because there is no trust$ .e trust those &ho share a common e*perience and &ho are able to communicate that shared reality$ %he impact of addiction on the culture is the suppression of empathy$ %o make a compliment or e*press concern is often "ie&ed as a si!n of &eakness and sho&in! &eakness makes us "ulnerable from attack by those &ho are ?ealous of &hat &e ha"e$ In Ifa e"eryone has a responsibility to bless all those &ho are youn!er$ %he ability to bless another is the ability to offer support and empathy of another persons effort to find their  personal destiny$ In Ifa &e bless those around us based on the belief that if your life !ets better, my life !ets better$ Ifa teaches that life on arth is desi!ned to &ork and that li"in! in ali!nment &ith the fundamental principles of 8reation insures a !ood life for e"eryone$ %he ability to bless others needs to be honest and sincere to be effecti"e$ It also needs to be free of ulterior moti"es$ If I say somethin! nice to you because I am tryin! to manipulate your  beha"ior to !et somethin! from you I &ant, I am not blessin! you, I am he*in! you &ith kindness$ %his form of he*in! can be insidious because it is seducti"e and not al&ays easily identifiable$ In .estern culture, &here the art of effecti"ely blessin! another is rare, bein! seduced by false kindness is an easy trap to fall into and results in a loss of trust$ (rom a

 psycholo!ical point of "ie& the loss of trust, is the foundation of the loss of hope$ .hen hope is lost in a de"elopin! child, hopelessness so&s the seeds of depression, despair and ine"itable "iolence$ + child &ithout hope becomes increasin!ly a!!ressi"e and e"entually turns to "iolence in a desperate effort to dischar!e the pain the condition in"okes an elenini that ?ustifies anti4 social beha"ior in the false hope that it &ill fi* the &ound caused by a "iolation of trust$ It ne"er &orks$ %he pro!ression forms a se'uence of e"en ts that moti"ates children to take a !un to school and murder other children$ %he pundits &ho al&ays seem to be baffled by the eruption of "iolence in schools are simply un&illin! to e*amine fundamental contradictions in .estern culture$ %he media has an un&ritten rule/ describe an e"ent that occurs, but do not use that e"ent as the basis for challen!in! the underlyin! principles of &estern culture$ +s a result, all indications of conspiratorial beha"ior are described by the media as a theory$ %he notion that there are no conspiracies, contradicts the fundamental principle of politics, &hich is formin! alliances to support self4interest$ %he e*istence of lobbyists &ho !o throu!h tremendous effort to conceal their actions is proof that conspiracies e*ist, but b ecause the clients &ho support lobbyists also finance the media by buyin! commercials, the threat of lost of income is used as a  prete*t for shapin! the media "ie& of reality$ .e ha"e all heard the e*pression :it takes a "illa!e to raise a child,; but rarely do &e hear the meanin! of this phrase from an +frican perspecti"e$ In a traditional oruba "illa!e e"eryone your !randfathers a!e is called baba!ba meanin! !randfather and e"eryone one your !randmothers a!e is called iyaba meanin! !randmother$ "eryone your fathers a!e is called  baba meanin! father and e"eryone your mothers a!e is called iya meanin! mother$ %he &ords  baba!ba, iya!ba, baba and iya are considered titles of family relationships and in traditional oruba it is considered rude to call someone older than you by their name$ ou only call someone youn!er than yourself by their name$ .hen you call someone !randfather, !randmother, father, or mother you are !i"in! them permission to function as father and mother$ %his means e"eryone in the "illa!e you identify as a family elder &ill bless you an d be critical in an effort to support your personal !ro&th$ In the oruba lan!ua!e there are no &ords for aunt, uncle, and cousin$ +s a di"iner one of the most common and most difficult problems I encounter is the &ou nd caused by a fatherless child$ %his &ound is none*istent in a traditional oruba "illa!e because there is no such thin! as a parentless child$ "eryone recei"es the blessin! of support from mentors as part of an e*tended family$ %his support is not al&ays in the form of a blessin!, it sometimes takes the form of admonitions to chan!e beh a"ior$ But e"en this action sustains a sense in children that the adults of the community care about their de"elopment$ Bein! raised in a carin! en"ironment !i"es a child a sense of hope and a child &ith a sense of hope can accomplish anythin!$ .hen the British coloni3ed )i!eria one of the first thin!s they did &as make an in4depth analysis of the "arious dialects spoken in the re!ion$ %his study &as used as the basis for teachin! n!lish in a &ay that all but destroyed the traditional Ifa &orld "ie&$ (or e*ample the British schools tau!ht that you do not refer to elders as baba and Ifa instead you call them Mr$ or Mrs$ follo&ed  by their first name$ %his is the British con"ention for referrin! to domestic help$ It &as tau!ht in the schools based on the assumption that all +fricans &ould relate to uropeans in a subser"ient &ay$ %he &ord oyinbo &as the traditional oruba nonpe?orati"e &ord used to describe a "isitor from outside the culture$ %he British took the &ord o yinbo and translated it to mean :master;$ %here are countless other e*amples, the point is this the collecti"e British elenini of racial superiority

&as used to ?ustify the destruction of traditional Ifa culture, and the distortion of the oruba lan!ua!e &hich in turn in"oked the elenini of internali3ed oppression$ %his elenini comes into  bein! &hen an oppressed !roup embraces the demons of the oppressor$ .hen internali3ed oppression occurs the traditional structures for teachin! !ood character are destroyed and once they are lost they become "ery difficult to reclaim$ %he oruba in )i!eria &ho still embrace Ifa as a &orld "ie& insist that Ifa as a reli!ion needs to  be practiced in the ori!inal lan!ua!e$ In order to safe!uard the tradition a!ainst distortions created by those &ho deliberately manipulate the translation of reli!ious &ords used to define  both social structure and !ood character$ Ifa teaches &e are all born !ood and blessed people &e !reet the day by sayin! emi omo rere meanin! I am a !ood person$ +nyone &ho kno&s these &ords to be true cannot be easily manipulated by notions of ori!inal sin and the need to conform to a .estern &orld "ie& as the only road to sal"ation$ (ollo&ers of Ifa are not stuck in the illusion that od is on their side$ If e"eryone is born a !ood and blessed person that means od is on e"eryones side$ .e are in the process of li"in! as a !lobal community and there is no such thin! as them us only us$ %he maintenance of traditional culture breeds pride, breeds hope, &hich in turn breeds independence independence breeds creati"ity and creati"ity is inspiration that passes hope to the ne*t !eneration$ (rom the point of "ie& of those &ho control !lobal resources, all of these emotions represent a threat to the ability of the fe& to e*ploit and control the many$ %he  propa!anda resources used to destroy any traditional &orld "ie& is o"er&helmin! and represents a serious threat to the ability to !rasp the kinds of spiritual "alues that are e*pressed in Ifa$ (or e*ample there is hu!e media support in the nited #tates for a spiritual process called the # ecret$ Many of the concepts tau!ht in the #ecret are consistent &ith Ifa and earth centered metaphysics found in traditional cultures around the &orld$ But there is one ma?or difference$ %he #ecret i!nores the collecti"e po&er of prayer in the process of puttin! an end to social in?ustice$ %his is a bi! piece of any spiritual discipline that is rooted in transcendent principles$ %he #ecret limits its approach to the 'uestion/ ho& do I !et &hat I &ant6 %his approach is the foundation of !reed and !reed is the foundation of ?ealousy and ?ealousy is the foundation of demoni3in! the other &hich is uni"ersally used as ?ustification for "iolence$ %he 'uestion from an Ifa point of "ie& is not &hat do I &ant the 'uestion is al&ays &hat do I need6 I ha"e seen Ifa communities in the 5iaspora influenced by the .estern idea of !ettin! &hat you &ant as the basis of spiritual discipline$ It is an approach that al&ays breeds dysfunction because it contradicts the fundamental principles of the tradition$ It breeds dysfunction by settin! up a sense of competition amon! members of the community based on the idea that the best person is the one &ho !ets &hat they &ant and that if you do not ha"e &hat you &ant the spirits are mad at you$ (rom a traditional Ifa point of "ie& this makes no sense at all$ #pirit is ne"er an!ry at specific indi"iduals #pirit is the idea that (orces in )ature ha"e consciousness that is limited to their function in )ature$ (or e*ample the consciousness of fire is to burn that &hich needs to be transformed$ If you start a fire you can use it to cook food, read a book or keep &arm$ If you sit in the fire and !et burned the fire is not mad at you, the fire does not care &hat you do$ %he fire is focused on transformin! &ood to ash$ If you !et burned it is because you failed to li"e in ali!nment &ith fire as a uni"ersal principle$ If you be lie"e that you need to sit in the fire and the only reason you !et burned is because the fire is mad at you and if you do rituals to appease the an!er of the fire the ne*t time you sit in the fire you &ill still !et burned$ %he notion that Mother )ature is hostile does makes some sense from a short4si!hted  perspecti"e$ %he cycles of )ature mo"e throu!h the sta!es of life, death, transformation and

rebirth$ Periodically the sta!es of death and transformation cause massi"e destruction to  populated areas resultin! in !reat dama!e and personal loss$ .ithout these cycles life on arth &ould cease to e*ist$ nderstandin! this process from a bo ard perspecti"e !i"es humans a choice, &e can either place our self in ali!nment &ith )atural 7a& or &e can suffer from the arro!ant illusion that someho& humans can transcend )atural 7a&$ + !ood e*ample of the foolishness of such arro!ance is the Eudson Fi"er$ )o t only is the &ater undrinkable, but you enter the &ater at your o&n risk$ (resh &ater is the life blood of human e*istence, &ithout it &e perish$ Only t&o percent of the &ater on the planet is fresh &ater and in traditional cultures it is considered sacred$ %he pollution of fresh &ater has become so epidemic &e no& only drink processed &ater placed in plastic bottles &hich in turn are an insidious form of pollution$ .e are tryin! to fi* a problem by makin! it &orse$ %his should be a hu!e red fla!$ Once the &ater becomes undrinkable, &e hold on to life by a thin thread$ Eo& did &e reach this  point, ho& did the traditional idea of &ater as sacred substance de!enerate into the idea of &ater as a container for industrial &aste6 %he ans&er is simple arro!ance al&ays breeds i!norance &hen the benefit of the fe& out&ei!hs the benefit of the many$ I &ant to make a profit the easiest &ay to do this is to dump my &aste in the ri"er$ (rom an Ifa perspecti"e the desire to run a business is conditioned by the need to li"e in harmony &ith the ri"er$ %his is a hu!e difference in perspecti"e and &e do not embrace this difference simply by bein! initiated$ .e embrace this difference, throu!h acti"e en!a!ement in daily critical self4e"aluation$ .e ask the 'uestion &hat effect my actions ha"e on the life of others$ .hat are my moti"ations6 +m I actin! from a place of !reed or am I on a spiritual 'uest to disco"er my destiny6 Ifa calls these k inds of distinctions the ability to call red, red and to call black, black$ If I confuse &hat I &ant &ith &hat I need I &ill e"entually hit a brick &all of resistance$ + life b ased on !reed ne"er &orks because it is in contradiction to our di"ine nature and e"entually in those 'uiet moments &hen &e are alone &ith our thou!hts the contradiction comes to the surface in a moment of fear and tremblin!$ Ifa is based on the obser"ation that nothin! in )ature dies, e"erythin! is transformed and a life &ell li"ed is a life li"ed in ali!nment &ith the normal flo& of e"ents$ Ifa teaches e"erythin! in 8reation has Ori or consciousness includes the #pirit of Onile, the #pirit of the arth$ )ot only does the Ori of the planet !o throu!h the natural cycles of all li"in! thin!s, it also reacts to abuse$ If you dump &aste in your &ater supply e"entually the &ater becomes undrinkable$ %he consciousness of the arth in ali!nment &ith the co nsciousness of &ater &ill ?oin hands in an effort at self4preser"ation of the arth Eerself$ %he inability to understand this is a prescription for e*tinction$ + diminishment of fresh &ater &ill e"entually lead to a diminishment of the rain forest, &hich &ill lead to a diminishment of o*y!en, &hich &ill deplete the o3one layer, &hich &ill melt the ice caps causin! a hu!e increase in salt &ater leadin! to an ice a!e$ %he manifestation of a !lobal ice a!e is a manifestation of the periodic death of the planet as it repairs the dama!e caused by human arro!ance$ %his is not a complicated idea$ "idence that &e are in the midst of the re!enerati"e process can be seen e"ery&here$ 7i"in! in harmony &ith en"ironmental imperati"es in"ol"es understandin! the underlyin! principles of 8reation$ %he illusion that &e can control )ature is like tryin! to catch the &ind in a basket, it has no basis in reality$ Much of the media considers the idea that the arth has consciousness and !oes throu!h natural cycles of chan!e a ?oke$ In their &orld "ie& nothin! done by corporations in the interest of !eneratin! profits has a ne!ati"e effect on the en"ironment$ (or e*ample, the British oil industry controls the economy of )i!eria and continues to be a ma?or political influence lon! after the end of colonialism$ +s an e*pression of corporate self4interest there are no en"ironmental safe!uards

in place in the oil refineries in )i!eria$ .hen an oil &ell is pumped dry there are hu!e amounts of residual !as byproducts left in the empty h ole$ %he easiest and cheapest &ay to make sure these byproducts do not e*plode is to burn them off$ %his sends hu!e amounts of to*ins into the air as a result the air in )i!eria smells like !asoline, e"ery&here, a ll the time$ %hese to*ins cause  birth defects and in the past ten years there has been a thirty percent increase in birth defects in  )i!eria$ In the conflict bet&een the 'uestion of the desire for hu!e oil profits and the 'uestion for the need for healthy babies the desire for hu!e profit &ins$ %his "ictory is a reflection of the effect of media conditionin! on ho& &e "ie& self and &orld$ It is a "ictory of the idea that &hat I &ant is more important than &hat I need$ %he same oil company that is destroyin! )i!eria recently created an oil leak in the ulf of Me*ico that destroyed that portion of the Ocean$ %here are no easily a"ailable studies on the lon! term affect of this disaster$ %he elenini in"oked by the false idea &e can control )ature is the demon of scarcity$ %he t&o  places that continue to preser"e natural resources in abundance are +frica and #outh +merica$ %he policy of !enocide in +frica and the policy of !enocide a!ainst the indi!enous people of #outh +merica is a manifestation of the e"il nature of this particular elenini$ It is a demon that says that the human life of the many is e*pendable for the benefit of the fe&$ enocide in the #udan makes no sense from any other perspecti"e$ 8hina &ants oil from the re!ion$ %he political theory of di"ide and con'uer says if a country is en!a!ed in a ci"il &ar the resources of that country can be e*ploited &ithout re!ard to the needs of the local population$ %he nited #tates turns a blind eye to the situation in the #udan because &e borro& billions of dollars from 8hina to finance the &ar in Ira'$ %he elenini in"oked by fear of )ature is the source of !enocide in the &orld and this demon &ill ne"er be banished until &e understand its ori!ins$ 7ettin! people die because of a belief in the scarcity of oil is not only e"il it has no basis in fact$ +lternati"e forms of ener!y are currently a"ailable, they are a"oided simply because they are difficult to e*ploit for profit$ Because the media has conditioned us to belie"e there are no conspiracies, &e prefer to belie"e the lie that the  problem in the #udan is based on the fact that +fricans are unable to !o"ern themsel"es$ +fricans &ere effecti"ely !o"ernin! themsel"es lon! before !o"ernment e* isted in the .est$ %he difference today is e*ternal manipulation based on !reed, reinforced by a lie, and ?ustified by the arro!ance of racial superiority based on the insane idea that such superiority is in ali!nment &ith ods .ill$ In my tra"els throu!hout the nited #tates I am continually ama3ed at ho& se!re!ated our cities remain$ I understand the "alue of peer !roup communities and I appreciate the desire to preser"e culture in peer based nei!hborhoods$ I also fear the philosophy of di"ide and con'uer is used  politically to make sure those &ho are disenfranchised remain po&erless$ %he ne!ati"e reaction  by the media to the Eispanic protest a!ainst stricter enforcement of immi!ration la&s is a case in  point$ I notice a number of ne&s casters &ho e*press dismay that Me*ican +mericans considered themsel"es Me*icans$ I ha"e li"ed in Me*ico for a number of years and e"ery +merican I met in Me*ico considers them self an +merican$ %he media manipulation of their co"era!e of this e"ent is based on a double standard$ +s lon! as the double standard remains unconscious it continues to shape our perception of reality$ %he need to ha"e others conform to your &orld "ie& is the elenini of ethnocentric superiority$ "ery human ali"e on arth shares a common set of emotions, and is faced &ith a common set of challen!es$ 8ulture is a locali3ed e*pression of the ran!e of human emotions as it faces the challen!es of life on arth in a specific en"ironment$ In Ifa these differences are embraced, celebrated and ackno&led!ed as important "ariations on the multiple manifestations of ancestral

&isdom$ Odu Ifa, the oral scripture of traditional oruba culture makes repeated reference to the importance of the si!nificant stran!er$ %he archetype refers to a person &ho comes from a different culture &ho has the ability to see problems &ithin the adopted culture because the si!nificant stran!er &as not raised &ith the same elenini and therefore has a fresh perspecti"e$ "ery culture has its problems, its demons, and inappropriate boundaries$ %hese limitations influence our de"elopment as children and are fre'uently percei"ed as )atural 7a&$ %his is the foundation of do!ma$ Ifa teaches that all do!ma is self4destructi"e because it is based on the false notion that humans can understand the .ill of od$ Ifa metaphysics say the finite cannot kno& the infinite, to kno& od is to become od and that simply is not possible$ Ifa teaches &e can understand small manifestations of #ource as they e*press themsel"es in Orisa$ +s &e obser"e )ature &e learn ho& to li"e in harmony &ith Eer cycles$ In Ifa these obser"ations are the foundation of !ood character because !ood character is belie"ed to be based on the ability to li"e in ali!nment &ith )atural 7a&$ + person &ho does not abuse the en"ironment, &ho learns ho& to use the en"ironment to pro"ide for their family and &ho teaches &hat they learn to the ne*t !eneration is embracin! !ood character on a communal le"el$ Passin! this &isdom on to the ne*t !eneration includes the ability to bless our children, protect our children and to pro"ide a nurturin! home for them and our e*tended family$ ood character is marked in Ifa by the ability to accomplish these fundamental tasks$ .hat a person be lie"es is of little or no conse'uence$ +ctions are the !au!e of !ood character and positi"e actions can be supported by an unlimited choice of &orld "ie&s$ %he ability to reco!ni3e !ood character no matter &hat a person belie"es is se"erely restricted in .estern culture by the elenini that is suspicious of all stran!ers and hostile to&ards most nonconformin! ideas$ %he .estern idea of sur"i"al of the fittest coupled &ith the .estern idea of humans as machines is creatin! a consensus reality that is destroyin! interest in spiritual de"elopment as it relates to  preser"in! the en"ironment$ (rom an Ifa perspecti"e there is a difference bet&een spiritual !ro&th and reli!ious belief$ #piritual !ro&th is the use of critical self4e"aluation to e*a mine the 'uestions/ &ho am I and &hat is my purpose on arth6 %hese 'uestions can be e*amined from any cultural or reli!ious perspecti"e$ + reli!ion is the codification o f commonly held metaphysical beliefs that describe the )ature of 8reation$ Most reli!ions e*ist &ith tension  bet&een those &ho embrace the commonly held beliefs and those &ho e*plore reli!ious symbols searchin! for enli!htenment$ If you belie"e in sur"i"al of the fittest then reli!ious symbols ha"e no "alue as a source of inspiration$ Feli!ious symbols are simply used to ?ustify !reed, for e*ample the idea that od only lo"es the rich$ %his belief pushes peop le to embrace the &ill to po&er, that is to say, their attention is totally focused on the accumulation of thin!s and the need to embrace positions of  po&er$ %his compulsion has no basis in the spiritual process of critical self e"aluation$ %he &ill to po&er is one of the most insidious forms of elenini because it is blind to the dama!e it does to others$ Euman consciousness has e"ol"ed and &e store the seeds of that e"olution in our bodies$ .e ha"e &hat neurolo!ists call a reptilian brain, a remnant of an early sta!e of e"olution$ %he &ill to  po&er is literally the in"ocation of possession by the reptilian brain$ In this state of possession sur"i"al is the only concern and the e"ol"ed emotions of empathy, compassion, and unconditional lo"e are e*cluded from our field of interest$ It re'uires tremendous amounts of ener!y to maintain this elenini and the ener!etic re'uirements of possession by the reptilian brain can drain our bodys resources$ %he conse'uence of lon! term possession by the reptilian brain is

a common source of physical and mental illness$ In traditional Ifa the community comes to!ether on a re!ular basis to sin! and dance in praise of  )ature$ %hese rituals are celebrations and they are also dia!nostic tools used by the elders of the e*tended families to determine &ho is ha"in! difficulty in their spiritual de"elopment$ Possession by an elenini especially an elenini rooted in the consciousness of the reptilian brain causes the body to become tense and rid!ed$ It is "irtually impossible for a person in this condition to dance &ith !race and style$ .hen an elenini is spotted steps are taken to brin! the  person back to a state of balance$ rban li"in! is both a plus and a minus$ 7ar!e cities facilitate the de"elopment of technolo!y that can potentially contribute to the &ell bein! of the planet$ %hey also ha"e a tendency to alienate people from the )atural en"ironment$ (or many years I tra"eled to lar!e cities in the nited #tates teachin! Ifa$ In my e*perience the lar!er the city the !reater the collecti"e fear of  )ature$ .e fear &hat &e do not understand$ In rural areas sur"i"al is based on learnin! ho& to li"e &ith natural cycles and the need to nurture the en"ironment$ +nyone &ho has li"ed on a farm has a deeply in!rained sense of the cycles of life, death, transformation and rebirth$ %he ability to identify &here you are in this cycle diminishes the fear of your en"ironment$ My spiritual elders li"e in a small farmin! "illa!e called Ode Femo$ In the )i!erian rain forest there are t&o &et seasons and t&o dry seasons$ %here are appro*imately se"enty Ifa initiates in the "illa!e$ %he ma?ority of them are farmers$ %hree days a &eek they ?ourney to!ether to their collecti"e farms to pull &eeds$ In this type of en"ironment understandin! )ature is the key to sur"i"al$ I kno& hunters from this area &ho track !ame and slau!hter animals throu!h the use of &ords, &ho carry no &eapons in the forest$ %hey are not !i"en permission to hunt by their elders until they learn ho& to assist animals in the deli"ery of babies$ %he farmers do rituals that are desi!ned to influence the &eather and in my e*perience they seem to ha"e that affect$ I belie"e if my elders ha"e these skills anyone can learn them, they e*ist as a lar!ely unde"eloped aspect of human potential$ %he reason these skills are no t encoura!ed in urban settin!s is because they are not needed$ %his lack of need causes atrophy of our ability to effecti"ely understand )ature$ .ith the atrophy of the skills needed to li"e in ali!nment &ith )ature, the rain forest becomes a hostile place, a source of tremendous fear and the source of an elenini that threatens the entire  planet$ If &e fear )ature &e loose the ability to li"e in ali!nment &ith )ature$ "ery time &e cut a tree in the Bra3ilian rain forest the trees in the +frica rain forest need to &ork harder to maintain the o*y!en le"els on the planet$ %his in turn causes a drain on the resources of the forest !radually transformin! the forest into a desert$ %rees produce o*y!en, &ithout a certain numbers of trees &e cannot breathe$ %he !ro&in! fear of this process is reachin! the point &here &e are blindly headin! in the direction of !lobal self4destruction in &hat I &ould call the elenini of en"ironmental phobia$ In traditional cultures the transition from bein! a child into bein! an adult is clearly marked by the entire community in a puberty rite that identifies the child as an adult$ 8hildren need to obey their parents as a condition of learnin! and sur"i"al$ .hen the de"elopmental years are o"er and &e are ready to start our o&n families there needs to be a transition in the &ay &e "ie& self and &orld$ %his transition in"ol"es a break bet&een dependency on our parents to a position of independence and self4actuali3ation$ It is the point &hen dependency needs to shift into self4 reliance and independence$ Because this transition is not clearly marked in .estern culture as a di"iner I fre'uently encounter the problem of doin! di"ination for a child in an adult body$ %his is a serious and

epidemic problem for &hich there is no easy solution$ #peakin! as a man re!ardin! the need for  puberty rites for youn! men, one of the fundamental issues that confront a boy hopin! to become an adult is the 'uestion can he protect himself and his family6 %his 'uestion is essentially a call to coura!e and traditional puberty rites include a challen!e that addresses this issue directly$ Part of the attraction of !an!s in .estern rban culture is that ?oinin! a !an! in"ol"es a test of coura!e that addresses this issue$ .hat !an! initiations lack is !uidance from elder men &ho teach the youn! men the meanin! of !ood character &ithin a particular culture$ .here there is no puberty rite of any kind, youn! men unconsciously make this transition based on media ima!es of manhood$ In the nited #tates the idea of manhood is defined by media ima!es as someone &ho ne"er sho&s emotion, as someone &ho ne"er asks for help, as someone &ho fi*es all their problems by themsel"es and as someone &ho &hen faced &ith an o"er&helmin! problem uses "iolence to accomplish their !oals$ +s a conse'uence of these ima!es "iolence amon! children is epidemic and the media pundits &ho refuse to address the underlyin! issues do so for a reason$ %his definition of manhood !uarantees that men ne"er ?oin hands to effecti"ely ele"ate the status 'uo$ Manhood in the nited #tates has been defined by those &ho control the economy to insure they ne"er loose their control$ %hey do this by constantly preachin! the messa!e there are no conspiracies, protest is ineffecti"e, the dominant culture ne"er makes mistakes, and ?ustice e*ists for e"eryone$ %hese ideas create a state of dependency and the process of !ro&in! up is deliberately discoura!ed$ %he reason children are increasin!ly "iolent is no mystery and the medicine to fi* the problem is not complicated$ %he rituals that !uide a boy to become an adult are &ell documented, &ell understood and not that difficult to implement$ %he fact that they are not common be!s the 'uestion/ &hy6 %he elenini created by this deception is insidious it is the demon that ?ustifies "iolence as a means to an end$ If you ha"e a fear of your ability to defend your family you ha"e insecurity about your o&n ability to access coura!e in the face of dan!er$ %his fear can easily become an obsession &ith the need to constantly pro"e your dominance a!ainst &eak opponents$ In .estern culture this obsession is called bein! a bully$ +busin! a &eaker opponent ne"er resol"es the internal contradiction because it does not in"ol"e accessin! coura!e in any real &ay$ It is the reason &hy "iolent "ideo !ames are so popular$ It is also the reason &hy it is so easy to recruit youn! men to fi!ht in &ars &ith dubious ?ustification$ In traditional oruba culture the male puberty rite in"ol"es scarification &ith hot metal$ %he test of manhood is to embrace the pain &ithout reaction$ In some &ays the popularity of tattooin! and body piercin! is an effort to reclaim this lost rite$ +!ain the problem is that tattooin! and  body piercin! lack !uidance from elders &ho define the nature and scope of !ood character &ithin the culture$ In the nited #tates &e ha"e been pro!rammed to be suspicious of stran!ers$ I remember as a child dri"in! throu!h the south and seein! se!re!ated restrooms$ "en as a child the idea &as deeply repu!nant to me and as someone &ho became an adult durin! the si*ties I had !reat hope and e*pectations about the "alue and potential success of the ci"il ri!hts mo"ement$ In the fifty years since that time I ha"e seen an insidious sabota!e of &hat I belie"ed to ha"e been noble !oals$ %he folks &ho control the national economy are !reat adepts at usin! the system of di"ide and con'uer to maintain their control$ I site one e*ample there is a popular ne&s station that claims to be fair and balanced$ If you &atch this pro!ram &ith any re!ularity it is clear the  pro!ram has a set policy about cross4cultural relationships$ %he policy is this if a person of color critici3ed a person of uropean descent they are bein! a racist, if a person of uropean descent is

accused of racism they are bein! treated unfairly$ %his policy continues year after year &ithout  bein! challen!ed$ It is an e*ample of media conditionin!$ +t the foundation of this manipulation is the continued ability to send subliminal messa!es that demoni3e the other$ %his in"okes the elenini that says od only lo"es those &ho look like me$ In Ifa the archetype of the si!nificant stran!er is based on the idea that someone from outside a !i"en culture can ha"e an astute perspecti"e on identifyin! internal contradictions &ithin the culture$ Bein! open to this possibility is, from an Ifa perspecti"e, the foundation of humility$ Ifa defines humility as the &illin!ness to consider someone elses opinion$ %he idea that those &ho are inferior must be dominated by those &ho are superior to enable the superior bein!s to sur"i"e is the basis for &hat sociolo!ists call fascism$ (rom a psycholo!ical  perspecti"e fascism is not a political pro!ram as much as it is a method for or!ani3in! culture$ %he fascist model dictates a fe& stron! leaders determine the needs of a people, and anyone &ho re?ects the notions such leaders must be be intimidated, threatened, shunned and e*cluded from the !roup by &hate"er means are effecti"e$ It is the collecti"e manifestation of elenini that is afraid of the si!nificant stran!er and it the process moti"atin! the !radual erosion of ci"il ri!hts in the nited #tates$ %he fascist model has infected many forms of or!ani3ed reli!ion includin! Ifa as it is practiced in the .est$ +cceptance, tolerance, empathy and unconditional lo"e are the only antidotes to fascism and these are perspecti"es that re'uire tremendous coura!e, lon! term conditionin! throu!h positi"e home trainin!, and effecti"e !uidance from elders &ho function as models for this beha"ior$ %hey re'uire coura!e because fascism "ie&s acceptance, tolerance, empathy and unconditional lo"e as si!ns of &eakness$ (rom a fascist point of "ie& si!ns of &eakness are an open in"itation for abuse$ Ifa does not teach turnin! the other check, but it does teach the idea of holdin! on to our fundamental beliefs in spite of opposition from others$ 7inear thinkin! is the final curse of .estern culture because it is not rooted in reality$ +nyone &ho studies history &ill kno& that ci"ili3ations more ad"anced than our o&n once e*isted and thri"ed on the planet, these historical facts directly contradict .estern notion of linear pro!ress$ %he process of linear thinkin! has become so stron! that academia fre'uently distorts history in a "ain attempt to support the linear model$ Once &e become comfortable &ith the idea of distortin! the past it is a short step to&ards manipulatin! the future$ Manipulation of the future in"ol"es manipulatin! others the primary means are throu!h intimidation and threats of "iolence$ Political ?ustification for manipulatin! others is based on a belief that superior indi"iduals ha"e the di"ine ri!ht to make decisions for an entire nation$ Eistory tells us this idea ne"er ends &ell for anyone$ In his article +llan icheru summari3es his comparison bet&een the .estern &orld "ie& a nd the Ifa &orld "ie& as follo&s/ 1a$ .estern &orld"ie&/ #carcity is la& 1b$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ +bundance is la& 2a$ .estern .orld"ie&/ 8ompetition and sur"i"al of the fittest is la&$ 2b$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ 8o4operation and helpin! the &eak is la&$ b$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ .e are spiritual bein!s that come to earth to de"elop I&a pele and make it  better for our descendants$ @a$ #cientific .orld"ie&/ %he en"ironment is separate from us as are other people$ @b$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ .e are all connected to each other$ Aa$ #cientific .orld"ie&/ iolence is the natural state of the &orld$ H%his comes from 7a& 1 and 2 abo"e and the need to dominate and e*ploit others in order to sur"i"e$ Ab$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ iolence is an anomaly and should be a"oided$ .e are all connected to each other and to harm another is to harm one self$ 5i"ination is used to a"o id "iolence$ Ca$ #cientific .orld"ie&/ %hose &ho are inferior must be dominated by those &ho are superior to enable the superior bein!s to sur"i"e$ Cb$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ "ery bein! is a uni'ue bein! here on earth to fulfill a uni'ue destiny$ Eence, it is impossible to compare t&o humans since they &ere each created to fulfill 2 different destinies$ #o, there can be no inferior or superior$ 9a$ #cientific .orld"ie&/ 7inearity is la&$ 9b$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ %he &orld is non4linear$ 7inearity is really an illusion created by Ori$ 10a$ #cientific .orld"ie&/ 7ife is about takin! as much as one can in order to enable one to sur"i"e$ 10b$ Ifa .orld"ie&/ %here is enou!h for e"erybody out there$ +bundance is la&$ %he idea of elenini as the manifestation of a collecti"ely held ne!ati"e belief rooted in do!ma is not difficult to understand$ In a sense it is a description of the pre?udices and bias held by any !i"en culture$ 7ess easy to understand is the concept that ideas ha"e shape and substance in the .orld$ #cience tells us the uni"erse is a !iant si!n &a"e$ In simple terms the uni"erse is a hu!e flash of &hite li!ht$ #ounds cause ripples in this li!ht and the brain interprets these ripples by !i"in! them color and shape$ .hen 8olumbus first landed his boats near the 8aribbean islands the local population did not see them because they did not conform to any kno& shapes in their consensus reality$ It &as the shamans &ho first noticed stran!e shapes on the hori3on and alerted their communities$ %he human eye only sees about four percent of the li!ht spectrum measurable by science$ %his means the o"er&helmin! ma?ority of actions &ithin the uni"erse are unseen by human  perception$ Both #cience and Ifa postulate that &e li"e in a multi4dimensional uni"erse alternate realities e*ist alon! the in"isible spectrum of li!ht$ %he alternate uni"erse closest to our o&n is able to capture collecti"e thou!hts$ .hen the collecti"e belief in elenini becomes stron! enou!h the collecti"e illusion becomes manifest as an obser"able entity an d in time can take the characteristics of a conscious Bein!$ In order for this manifest illusion to sustain itself it needs to feed on human fear, hostility and the adrenalin associated &ith "iolence and death$ %hose &ho control our !lobal resources are fully a&are of this process and en!a!e in rituals desi!ned to further enhance the independence and "isibility of collecti"ely in"oked phantoms$ lenini at this le"el of manifestation are e*tremely difficult to dispel and are fre'uently responsible for &hat can be described as !enerational curses$ %he first step in liberatin! consciousness from the ne!ati"e effects of these demons is to understand their source, so they can be eliminated from indi"idual consciousness in an initial effort to banish them from the

&orld &e li"e in$ One of the elders in my e*tended family, Iya Oshun!o&u&a HMother 8ricket made the follo&in! obser"ations on the a&ostudycenter discussion board &hich clarifies this complicated concept/ I ha"e a "ery !ood friend, John 7i"in!ston, he has a &eb site, and has done e*tensi"e research on :ntity=5emons$; Ee has &ritten a &onderful book o n the sub?ect from a #hamans point of "ie&$ %he book is called +d"ersaries &alk amon! us$ I ha"e had discussions about the  possession of people by demons, &ith John, and indeed he belie"es that it is possible to pick up ener!y forms that are often times referred to as :demons;, :+liens;, :reptiles,; and the like$ But he also states there are self !enerated entities, and Ifa has a name for them, elenini$ HJohn calls them shape4 shifters$ .hen the #haman is lookin! into the ener!y field of the client, he can see or read, outside sources$ Ee can also read inside sources$ Ee can remo"e outside ener!ies, but the ones created from the inside, are untouchable, the only person &ho can !et rid of them is the  person &ho created them$ .hich means the person has to accept responsibility for their creation of the elenini$ Ifa &ill help you identify this ener!y, the more you try to clear the ener!y improperly the more it has a tendency to shape shift$ Only you kno& &hat you are up to, and you can easily block the clearin! if you are not absolutely clear and truthful about ho&=&hy the ener!y &as created$ It is a difficult pill to s&allo&, these ener!ies can mo"e o b?ects and rattle &indo&s, and do all sorts of phenomena that others can &itness, yet the source is the elenini !enerated by an indi"idual$ %hou!ht forms are 'uite infectious, that is &hy I like to tuck a little somethin! e*tra into my prayers, so that I remain clear of infectious thou!ht forms that do not ori!inate from a hi!her source$ I am acutely a&are of lateral mo"es by these ener!ies$ Its like panic D its catchy$ In no &ay are these thou!ht forms or entities a manifestation of di"inity$ %here is a )ati"e +merican folk tale that says/ 5urin! the time of creation, there &ere many forms of ener!y that &ere on our planet$ %here came a time &hen there &as a lot of bickerin!  bet&een them about &ho had the ri!ht to do &hat$ %he 8reator said, :it is time for you to sho& me your intentions and pro"e that you ha"e the ri!ht to be here$; .ell, the positi"e ener!ies !ot a  bit la3y and they failed to make the re'uired case for themsel"es$ Eo&e"er, the other ener!ies !ot busy and made their case and &ere 'uite thorou!h$ .hen the !atherin! came a!ain, the 8reator &as a bit displeased$ Ee had hoped that the positi"e ener!is &ould make a stron! case D they did not$ But he had a soft spot for them, and said that he &ould not banish them and abandon the ne& &orld, but the others &ere ri!ht on$ %hey specifically stated their intentions, and, &ell, they &ere not !ood, but they had made the sacrifice$ %he creator then made the  ?ud!ment$ Ee &ould not e*pel the alternate forces, but he cautioned them, they &ere not allo&ed to cause harm to the free &ill of any other ener!y$ If they &ere disco"ered doin! this they &ere to be remo"ed immediately and ne"er to return to this planet a!ain$ %he entities earned the ri!ht to be here$ If they interfere &ith the free &ill of any other ener!y, they must submit to final disco"ery and be cast out and return to their place of ori!in they are no lon!er allo&ed to min!le &ith other inhabitants of this planet$ #o it is not surprisin! that you find it difficult to remo"e the elenini$ I do hold open the  possibility that there are Ifa initiates and elders &ho &ill be !i"en the ability to e*pose these elenini to their creators, therefore makin! it possible for the elenini to be e*pelled more easily$

%he challen!e of embracin! Ifa as a spiritual discipline is the challen!e of steppin! outside ou r cultural conditionin!, and outside our de"elopmental pro!rammin! in an effort to understand  principles that shape the de"elopment of !ood character &ithout relyin! on do!ma and the need to create elenini as a deflection from the task of acceptin! responsibility for our life$