Religion vs. Spirituality vs. Culture

Religion vs Spirituality

What is religion?
I've been wanting to cover this for a while, because people always talk about religion like it's a dirty word. You can look it up for yourself, but this is it in a nutshell. When someone has a religion it is simply a way of doing things the same way all the time according to the requirements of that belief system. For example, I wake up and pray to Olodumare and Ori. After that I go work out and clean up and then I complete the rest of my prayers in a very precise and consistent order every single morning. Most of my prayers are recitations that were given to me or suggested to me by my godmother.

What is spirituality?
Now, this is more my opinion than fact. Spirituality is more based on intuition. Rather than sticking to hard fast rules you follow your Ori. It's like tailoring your practice to you. For example, my husband and I go through our prayers in the same order, pray the same prayers, but we add different things that are unique to us as individuals. Why do we do things differently? Because at some point we felt that we were being guided to do so. For example, he has this whole set up he does with Esu to make sure that Esu is not missing out on any offerings. I make sure that Esu isn't missing out on offerings either, but mine isn't nearly as time consuming as my husband's is. Sometimes, I still takes things to the crossroads for Esu and I feel like I should kunle or kneel. For my husband, he's a little concerned with the neighbors being nosy. Nothing is wrong with either one, because we are doing things as we have been led to.

How to you mix religion and spirituality?
We were talking to our children the other day about the fact that Jesus did Jewish things because he was a Jew. We told them about my husband's friend who is a Christian and practices Jewish Holy Days although he CLEARLY of Afrikan descent. Jews generally would not welcome or expect someone of Afrikan descent to practice their Holy Days. Why? Simple. He ain't Jewish. Furthermore, why would a CHRISTIAN practice JEWISH Holy Days? Because the Christian is of Afrikan descent and hates all things Afrikan so he will go to the extreme to assimilate to cultures that look most like massa. As we talked to the children, we told them that no matter what religion the grew up and practiced there was one thing that BETTER be in their houses. They had BETTER have an Egun shrine. Why? Because we are Afrikan and that's what we do. We stay connected to our past. We seek out that wisdom. We know and acknowledge that the Egun gave birth to us all.

The truth is that religion and spirituality are and have always been mixed. One really doesn't seem to do well without the other. One is about dicipline and one is about intutition. When you mix them together, you get what has become distant memory for most Afrikans. It's call culture.

What is culture?
Marimba Ani says that culture:
Brings us from chaos to order
Binds us to each other
Gives us identity
Gives us a reason for surviving
Tells us who we should live for
Tells us who we should die for if necessary
It's an energy source for thriving
Gives us a sense of security
Puts us into a system of accountability, we are accountable to our ancestors
It reproduces what it is.
It's the way we protect ourselves
It's the immune system of a people

Culture is the wholistic view of ourselves. It involves ALL that we do. It determines what we eat, when we sleep, how we interact with each other, how we raise our children, and even the languages that speak as children and the ones that we later learn. So in short, culture is the point at which our religious and spiritual practices flow into our everyday lives. It's hearing our Godmother ask about and respect food taboos of the people she is cooking for and it's about us respecting the taboos of her house. It's the reason that we teach our children Yoruba language rather than Spanish. The truth is that learning Spanish is simply learning another language of the conqueror that slaughtered yet another group of people that were living at one with God and nature. Of course, that's another post for another day. Culture, is setting food aside for your Egun or cooking just for them. Giving a special them space in your house to keep them close to you. Culture is teaching your children to always respect elders, because there is wisdom to be gained simply from their years on this earth. For us, it's learning our connections to the elements in order to show respect and reject the destruction of Onile. Culture is all these things and more.

The truth is that I shouldn't have titled this "Religion vs. Spirituality vs. Culture" as these things are not in conflict with each other. They are as they should be. They are complements that produce the whole. They aren't to be compartmentalized as that is a Eurocentric view and that is not of us. We are whole beings, not broken, and not intended to be in constant conflict.

Spirituality, Dichotomy, and Compartmentalization

I have always proudly stated that I am a very "black and white person." I've always worn it as a badge of pride and in many ways have used it as a measurement by which to gauge the morality of others. Everything was good/bad, black/white, god/devil, etc. I'm sure many of you are wondering what the problem is. Well, the problem is this, the Universe simply does not work that way. It's not comprised of dichotomous opposing forces. It is not compartmentalized for our ease of use. It is, in fact, comprised of many and varied complementary principals. The concept of all differences being opposing is the root of many of the issues that we see every day. Some of them are rather confusing and complex.

Spirituality-Many indigenous cultures do not have a clear cut belief of good vs. evil. Many times you will just hear stories of opposing forces, but they are mostly used to illustrate balances via personification of various elemental components found in everyday life. Things such as sunrise/sunset, sun/moon, fire/water, etc. Even in popular movies such as Avatar. The fire nation wasn't innately bad. The issue that the other nations had with them was that they caused imbalances and disconnection from the Spirit world. In Ifa, from what I have learned so far, there are also opposing forces. I have never heard them being called evil. Why? I assume that it is because everything has a purpose and that purpose is to maintain balance. Many times we call things evil if we don't understand them. We are connected to all things and all things are connected to us, so if anything is evil that evil will also be reflected in us as a whole.

Dichotomy- Here is the definition from good old Merriam Webster- a division into two especially mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or entities ; also : the process or practice of making such a division. Now, further down it also talked about "two seemingly opposing forces". I am reading the book Yurugu by Marimba Ani and she speaks about this topic a lot because it was birthed from the European thought in order to satiate their need to control. Dichotomies have a tendency to separate and not appreciate. Think about it in regards to the American school system. Segregation was cool except for the fact that the differences between the two were not appreciated or view as equal. One was considered good and the other evil. One was considered strong while the other was considered weak. They never did and probably never will reach the point of being seen as separate or different, but equal. We should, in all things, seek to see the complement rather than the dichotomy even when one of the parts is unbalanced. Nothing is truly mutually exclusive or contradictory, those mindsets come from oppressive mentalities rather than from Spirit.

Compartmentalization-When I was in the church, I remember hearing people constantly spouting, in order of importance, the  things in their lives. It usually sounded something like, "God first, my family and friends, my job, and then everything else." In indigenous beliefs/culture/concepts all of those things are one and the same. They cannot be separated and were never meant to be separated. You may have also heard someone say,"We are all made up of 3 parts. These parts are mind, body, and spirit." or something like that. In indigenous thought we view ourselves as whole beings and as part of, but not separated from, all things in the universe. We are not to view ourselves as pieces and parts to be improved on or ignored independently from the rest of the being. Everything and everybody is connected, and not in the hierarchical sense that many of us have been taught. We are NOT more important than water, animals, rocks, etc. We are all a very minute yet infinite part of a infinitely large universe. You can do nothing without causing changes somewhere else. Our existence is not comprised of a bunch of file cabinet drawers to be pulled out and tended to at our whim. We are whole beings in a whole culture, but have been tricked into believing that we are separate and broken by the belief in a culture not our own.

Absolute Truth?

First I offer the definitions that I found which seem to be pretty similar across the board

ab·so·lute (bs-lt, bs-lt)
adj.
1. Perfect in quality or nature; complete.
2. Not mixed; pure. See Synonyms at pure.
3.
a. Not limited by restrictions or exceptions; unconditional: absolute trust.
b. Unqualified in extent or degree; total: absolute silence. See Usage Note at infinite.
4. Unconstrained by constitutional or other provisions: an absolute ruler.
5. Not to be doubted or questioned; positive: absolute proof.

truth (trth)
n. pl. truths (trz, trths)
1. Conformity to fact or actuality.
2. A statement proven to be or accepted as true.
3. Sincerity; integrity.
4. Fidelity to an original or standard.
5.
a. Reality; actuality.
b. often Truth That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.

I was watching Sanford & Son when this advertisement for a particular ministry came on. One of the phrases that flashed across the screen was "ABSOLUTE TRUTH". For some reason the question for came to my mind, shamefully for the first time. What is absolute truth and how do we know? I will suppose that most understand that truth stands until other proof is offered. Examples are that before there were true understanding of things that are now consider scientific many things in nature were considered to be scary monsters. Now we know better. Now barring that understanding what do you know to be an absolute truth. I am asking because there are so many things in my life and understanding that are up in the air right now that I once thought were true. Please don't offer me anything that is easily disputed. This is really important in helping me figure some stuff out.

A ton of questions for y'all

Could it be that God set everything in order the way that it should be at creation and equipped us with everything that we need? I'm wondering because for us to be the most intelligent of all God's creation (theoretically) why does the rest of the other creation know use food and water the heal themselves and other things that seem to come naturally. They know to be in tune with what is going on in all of nature to keep everything in balance. They know that you save up in times of plenty to prepare for lean times, and not to kill more than they can eat. They have figured all of this out with their "lower functioning brains". If we were given everything that we need for our lives from the beginning why do we continually put everything in his court?

If we were not given everything that we need, how much were we given? How do we apply what we are given? Are we held responsible when we screw things up? You know how you hold you children accountable, but you still know that it takes them more than one time to learn or unlearn a behavior or task correctly?

Who or what is God to you? What do you feel like God controls in the world or in your life? Do you think God is male, female, both, or neither? Where do you feel that angels, demons, and/or minor deities fit in? What about the trinity/triad (Christian, Egyptian, or other)? I just want to know what you all think since all of you are so different.

I do plan of responding and you are free to do so with each other, but I will say in the beginning that this will be kept respectful. I really hope that you give your input even if you only respond to this initial post. This is really important to me, so please be honest and clear. Asante sana/thank you very much in advance.