Alaafia! This is your host Chief Awodele Ifayemi. If this is your first time joining us, then on behalf of our community, I welcome you.
There is no video this week because I’m in the process of moving and the video equipment is all packed away. However; I was able to cast Ifa for this weeks guidance.
Ifá’s guidance for the week of July 1 2019 come from the Odu Ose Osa. Ifa says that which has been spoiled through neglect can be rejuvenated through consistent correctness; which is how we are able to turn every situation to our advantage.
Ifá says that there is a defect in the attitude of oneself, another, or one’s society that should be corrected. Your task now is to bring conscientious thought and action to an area where stagnation has set in. Perhaps you engage in continual doubt about the wisdom of behaving according to proper principles. Perhaps you indulge in greed, or vengeful thinking, or a harsh manner. In any case, the time has come to root out the decay.
Ifá ask us to work energetically at this task, but only after proper deliberation. We are advised to spend three full days in understanding the defect; another day in resolving sincerely to remove it; and then three more days watching carefully to insure that it does not return. This steady application of attention to the matter is the wind that carries away stagnation and brings new life in its place.
It is likely that the problem is an old one, and equally likely that no solution will be immediately evident. We are cautioned not to abandon the cause; only perseverance will reveal the great reward that is concealed within the problem.
Whether the fault lies in yourself, another, or your community, the requirement is the same. Watch closely while remaining quiet, and sincere. After you have clearly identified the problem, act unswervingly to eliminate it without abandoning gentleness and inner balance in the process. When this course is completed, good fortune will be met.
The image of this Odu is that of a gentle wind dispersing storm clouds. A wind that changes direction often, even a very powerful one, will disperse nothing — it only stirs up the sky. The wind that causes real change is the one that blows consistently in the same direction. There is an important lesson for us in this example.
When faced with a difficult problem to resolve or a goal we wish to achieve, we often are tempted to take striking and energetic actions. Though it is possible to achieve temporary results in this fashion, they tend to collapse when we cannot sustain the vigorous effort. More enduring accomplishments are won through gentle but ceaseless effort, like that of a soft wind blowing steadily in the same direction. Ifá’s truth is revealed to us in this way, and this weeks message comes now to remind you that this is how you should seek to influence others.
The advice given to you by Ifá is threefold. First, establish a clear goal; the wind that continually changes direction has no real effect. Second, apply the principle of gentle influence to yourself; by eliminating your own inferior qualities you earn an influence over others. Third, avoid aggressive or ambitious maneuvers now; these are rooted in desire and fear and will only serve to block the aid of you OrĂ. The desirable influence is the one that flows naturally from maintaining a proper attitude.
In your interactions with others, bend like the willow. By remaining adaptable, balanced, accepting, and independent, and by steadily moving in a single direction, you gain the clarity and strength that make possible a series of great successes.
