There is now, therefore, no condemnation...no seriously...well now there's not.

Okay, so I was talking to a sister of mine that goes by Mahogany Homeschooler. She is a beautiful inside and out. We talked about religion, paths, spirituality, and past lives as we always do when we speak. She seems to be more on the path of the Kemetic system while my spirit is tied to the West coast of the continent. Either way we like so many sojourning sistas have a root in the mire of Western Christianity. Yes, that damn quicksand of 1 day of church, 1-2 bible studies (evening and noonday), tithing when you ain't got shit to give and yo lights cut off, and scaring the mess out of you if you even consider exploring other paths. Before you say it, I already know. Your church, pastor, house church, and/or personal path/experience with Christianity was different and this doesn't apply to you.

So here was our main topic. Condemnation.

Now, Christianity is a little tricky with this one because apparently you aren't condemned as long as you are part of the exclusive Jesus club. Once you step away, a.k.a. backslide, you are now open to be condemned by any and all Christians worldwide. Now, this can be done any number of ways depending on your locale. If you are in some "less developed" countries you could be stoned or decapitated, but here in the good old West they will just rip you to pieces verbally and give you an advanced pass to hell. You can do as you please as long as you profess Christ, but once you cross over and denounce him you are now going to hell, and no it doesn't matter how good of a person you are. I could go on, but since you all probably have been adequately exposed to this foolishness I will stop there.

Now that I have chosen to follow the path of Ifa I don't feel the need to judge everyone against my measuring stick. I don't feel that if people don't worship or do as I do that they are going to hell with gasoline draws on. I was raised in a religion that told you not to condemn yet condemned everyone else. Judged everyone except themselves while claiming not to judge at all. I feel that if your path causes you to change for the better and, if possible, reflects your culture somehow then good for you and GO FOR IT! If you can't say this then you probably should reset your navigation system for a path that will challenge you to be more than you are. I don't get so angry anymore at the church folk that won't speak to me all of a sudden though we've known each other for years, I don't get angry when I am black balled, it doesn't bother me that I have a saved, sanctified, holy ghost filled, fire baptized aunt who chose to sit her everybody-going-to-hell-but-me butt out in the car rather than come inside in speak. For the first time I feel pity more than anything. I feel sorry that they have to have the crabs in a mentality to compete for positions and earn points to get into this heaven. I often wonder if I would want to go to that heaven with them anyway. At last I can move in and out of religious discussion without the need to convert.

It's beautiful that I know sistas of all types of beliefs and cultures. It's wonderful that we are all following our own paths. What's best of all is that I no longer believe that they are all going to hell because they don't worship the same God that was used to enslave us, but even then to each his/her own.

Be clear on whatcha ask for!

Are my ancestors listening to me? Yes. Do they still seem to retain their earthly personalities? Yep.

So, I asked them to talk to me in my dreams rather than when I'm awake thinking that I would be able to sleep in mornings. Well, they did show me some things last night in my dreams, but they didn't let me sleep. Actually, I was awakened even earlier. 4:45am to be exact. That's okay because they are just being themselves and I feel that we have a lot of work to do.

I am still very excited about this journey and even excited about being omo Osun now that I understand more about her. The way that most people portrayed her wasn't very palatable to me, but lucky for you, I am going to teach you as I learn. You can't know the "deep things" because that isn't just for the curious, but I am looking to correct some things about The Mother of the Sweet Water.

Last night's roller coaster ride!

E kaaro Iyas and Babas! 

So yesterday I set up the Egun shrine and I left the candle burning. I feel like I have been traveling all night. The sista (omo Oya) that is helping and teaching me more about Ifa is out of town at Black August/Happily Natural. Yesterday, I so wanted to talk to her to tell her that I set everything up, but I missed her call and didn't realize it until late last night. When I went to bed I had a dream(s) that I was surrounded by egun, but it was more of an impression than something I could see. I just knew they were there and it was like we were meeting each other. Then I was suddenly in Atlanta in some club and could see the sista in something like a club full of people. It was like the dream was going back and forth between the two things. At one point I was back in my room and had the impression that she was there. I asked her how she got here and she said, "Astral projection. You said you wanted me to come see the shrine. Good job." Then I heard two big knocks on what sounded like a HUGE door. I looked at the clock and it was 5:13 and I immediately added the numbers, which I never do, and got 9 which is Oya's number. I got up and tended the altar. 

Whoa! That was interesting...

Guess what I did!!!

E pele O people! Well, I have fulfilled my goals for the day. I have cleaned and cleansed my room and that is wonderful, however, it isn't what I am REALLY excited about. I set up my Egun Shrine! Yes, I did it! It was such a beautiful experience. I finally felt connected with them. I started crying and was really caught off guard by how emotional I was because I have always felt really estranged from my egun. I am so excited to be able to tend to them as they have tended to me all this time without my knowing. I am the only person in my family to my knowledge that is doing this so I hope the egun can have all that they need through me until somebody else in the family is open to hearing from them. I am practicing from the standpoint of Ifa/Yoruba as they are really close to where my DNA results put my egun and I have always felt drawn to that tradition. I have a desire to erect a shrine outside eventually, but until then they are being kept close to me. Now, I want to learn to cast obi to make sure that they are pleased with the shrine that I have put together. Any input on this subject is welcome.