Which side of the road?

Would you like to understand how Ifa was meant to be used to improve your health, your relationships, your family and your work? The Ifa Foundation offers the following:

Recently, while I was lecturing a class at Indiana University, I was asked to give a simple, single sentence, summation of the philosophy of Ifa. At first, I was taken aback. After all, how could you put the nuances of a thousands of year old major philosophy into a single sentence? I paused for a moment, and then the answer sprang to my mind. "Ifa is about always seeing the relationship between individual events as they fit into the basic Truths of the Universe."

In a society which sees virtually everything as a series of individual events, and tends to connect these events only to their personal agendas, this is a difficult concept. Yet, it is the essential Truth that fuels the intellectual and spiritual engine of Ifa.

The ancient scholars of Ifa, unlike virtually every other major religious philosophy, did NOT believe in their inherent supremacy. They brilliantly, and correctly, saw themselves as part of an incredibly intricate living organism---the Universe. They also perceived, through a series of original science discoveries, that this relationship was inherently symbiotic.not parasitic. They understood that it was imperative to the fabric of the Whole that we work with the various parts of our Universe with respect and care. It was not a moral issue. It was a practical one. They sought to achieve a better life for themselves, their families and their descendents by learning to work with the intricate threads that represented individual energies within the fabric of the universe.

Because they did not view themselves as Supreme, they learned to work with these threads without tearing, or ripping, the fabric itself. It took incredible wisdom, great discipline and a delicate and sophisticated methodology to subtly shift crops, health, procreation, success and growth into their most favorable patterns.

Essential to this understanding was the observation that the Universe, and our place in it, was a constantly evolving reality. It was not a frozen, or static condition. And, serendipitously, or with cosmic intelligence, they were wedded to an oral philosophy rather than a written one. Historically, every other major philosophy has codified, or written, its philosophy, and eventually become anchored by what they viewed as absolute and unchangeable truths. Truths, that may have been real when they were written, became unable to adapt and change to the constant evolution of man and the planet.

Ifa was not so burdened. An oral tradition automatically reflects the changes in culture, technology and the physical realities of the land you live and work in.

Through a series of acts imposed upon this great culture, acts reflecting the Supremacist attitude of the philosophies that supported them, these fluid truths took strange and convoluted paths in order to survive. The resulting intellectual, emotional and physical rape of the Yoruba culture produced slavery and forced assimilation. The offshoots of this, Lucumi, Santeria, Sango-Baptist all reflected impositions and adaptations necessary to survive. The Yoruba culture itself made similar concessions to the Cartesian attitudes that dangled Capitalism and technology in a package deal with eternal damnation for their previous beliefs.

Perhaps the situation was analogous to the American Indian selling their land for beads. After all, in their world view, you could not own the land, you could only borrow or use it, so what was the European buying? Nevertheless, the deals were struck, and the results were devastating.

Perhaps they were comforted by feeling they still had their Truths.and that these would eventually save them and repair the world. Yet, and here is the essential point: These ancient Truths are only valid and meaningful when they 1) adapt to the context and energy of where they are being applied, and 2) when they are used with a world view that insists their implementation be examined in relationship to the whole.

From the honest, sincere priest/practitioner, to the flim flam con-man, almost all have been caught in the western world view which prevents their effective use of these Truths.

Without any conscious realization, the Cartesian view that the world was composed of a finite group of things, and that by re-arranging or changing the individual pieces, anything could be accomplished, was adapted by most Ifa priests. The fact that the re-arrangement , or changing, of a particular thing might have irrevocable damage to the Whole, was simply not part of the western Mechanistic world view.

Let me give you some practical examples of how this works in this culture:

We want more houses.we cut down forests ( without re-planting) to build them. The fact that whole species of trees disappear, that erosion and soil destruction is a result is not really considered. The mechanistic viewpoint is: "we'll deal with that piece later."

We want more air-conditioning.we ramp up Freon for our motors...the Ozone layer disappears

We want more profits, we drain our wastes cheaply into the environment.Love Canal, PCB pollution etc.

Each, and thousands of other examples are successful dealing with a thing, without consideration to how it affects the Whole.

Ifa priests/practitioners, accepting this Western world view, as the world view, are operating in a similar paradigm.

The client comes seeking a promotion. The Diviner asks how to accomplish this. The offering or sacrifice is made. The client gets the promotion.BUT, nowhere has the Diviner sought the answers to see if the client is engaged in a career that is meaningful to his whole... meaningful to pride in a job, ability to learn, opportunity for benefiting the community, time to be with family and loved ones.

Time after time the priest is dealing with the client by fixing things without trying to see that the things we are fixing MUST fit into the whole in a meaningful and rational fashion if we are to be whole ourselves.

We know the client here in the West operates from this world view. It is our responsibility as priests not to cater to it.

The obvious question is: What are the universal Truths that represent the Whole? What the ancient scholars of Ifa determined was that as humans, our responsibility was to have a mutually respectful and loving relationship with another human, our children, our community and the world we live in. Each part was symbiotic - dependent on the other for growth and safety.

There was simply no way that the ancient ifa Priest would have sought short term financial gain if it in ANY WAY detracted from, or harmed any of the other parts.

As I said earlier, there is no single part which can remain unconnected to the Whole.Unless you plan on filling your Prozac prescription on a regular basis. And, while amusing, it is another frightening example of dealing with things. The fact that someone is unhappy is not examined and balanced in relationship to the Whole. Instead we attack that piece, that depression, that unhappiness, with a pill to make the symptoms ( but not the dis-ease) go away.

There is one further point that needs explanation that needs to be explored in order to clear your path for fulfilling your Destiny. That has to do with how even the right things can rip the whole asunder.

I pointed out earlier that Ifa was an evolving and living set of Truths. BUT, when any group, no matter how valid their Truths may be in the context of their culture or their experience, attempt to make them the ONLY Truth, it is antithetical to Ifa.

Trying to impose a nationalistic, tribal or race related reality to your practice of this philosophy automatically has you dealing with a thing that is NOT beneficial to the whole. It doesn't matter if you are Bosnian, Tutsi, Black American or Latin.if you perceive any exclusivity, any Supremacist view, it simply will prevent these Universal Truths from being effective.and, it will continue the injustices and immoralities that the Supremacist world view has foisted on much of the world. Ifa is about inclusion.period.

Finally, understand contextual truths in relationship to Universal Truths. For example, let us take Transportation, the act of getting from one place to another, as a Universal Truth. An automobile is an example of a contextual truth that fits into the Universal. Yet, there are sub sets of truth within this. For example, if you drive in England, you will only utilize this successful contextual truth if you drive in the left side of the road. If you drive on the left side of the road on the Los Angeles Freeway, you will likely be killed! So, the same Truth must adapt to the culture and reality of where it is applied.

Those that would have their truths of Habana, Oshogbo or South Carolina become universal Truths that should be applied to your life regardless of where and how you live, are insuring an accident in your life.

The goal of the Ifa Foundation is to apply these Universal Truths as contextual truths of an urban Western society in a way that will improve your life, your health, your relayionships and the world you are part of.

Blessings,

Oluwo Philip Neimark

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