Even though there are three challenges or states in the heart, we can transform those three problematic states of the heart, disappointment, debauch and indolence or over-extension, through seven gifts or talents that we all have; which help us in conquering emotional challenges.
1) The first gift is love with wisdom. Through love and wisdom we have three ways in which we can transform disappointment, debauch patterns, or indolence: one, through reflecting ourselves accurately; two, by not pushing, not holding back, but trusting; and three, by nurturing ourselves in equal proportion to how we nurture others.
2) Love, shows us that we won’t be disappointed, and move into debauch patterns or over-extension patterns if we become very clear about what we need and want emotionally and what we don’t need and want. Most of us know what it is like to have equal and not special relationships, such as relationships with co-workers or colleagues, equal but not special. We also know what it is like to have relationships that are special but not equal. Oshun tells us much about relationships that are equally and mutually fulfilling, where one is not giving more than the other, where the result is creative love, a deep spiritual connection, and a mental stimulus. It’s love that is nurturing, comforting, and supportive to each other equally.
3) Abundance. Esu teaches us that another way that we can transform disappointment, debauch, and indolence emotionally is by communicating the abundance of feelings that we have, and especially those nurturing feelings to three very important people in our lives.
4) If we are willing to communicate the abundance of feelings that we have, then we move into another emotional state which is the feeling of luxury that is not only experienced emotionally within but also externally. Here Yemayá teaches us that we should no longer be willing to support a dichotomy of being emotionally filled inside but not emotionally filled outside or the other dichotomy of feeling externally full but internally empty. True emotional luxury is the sense of fulfillment internally and externally without any disparity or dichotomy. And so, one way that we can transform disappointment, debauch, and indolence emotionally is by making sure that we place ourselves in situations where we are both internally and externally emotionally fulfilled, which is the meaning of true luxury.
…we can transform disappointment, and debauch and indolence emotionally is by making sure that we place ourselves in situations where we are both internally and externally emotionally fulfilled, which is the meaning of true luxury.
5) Having that experience of internal and external fulfillment then moves us into an emotional state which can also transform disappointment, debauch, and indolence. This is being clear about what gives us pleasure. This is pleasure, fun, and play that’s healing, revitalizing, renewing, and regenerating itself. It’s an incredible ability to experience pleasure at that depth, not superficial pleasure, deep pleasure. Yemayá reminds us to really get in touch with what gives us pleasure and to have the capacity to bring fun, play and pleasure into our lives, regardless of what we might be facing emotionally.
Yemayá reminds us to really get in touch with what gives us pleasure and to have the capacity to bring fun, play and pleasure into our lives, regardless of what we might be facing emotionally.
6) Happiness. Here, Obatala is speaking about complete happiness. This is tangible happiness; it is happiness that one can definitively point to, not abstract happiness. It’s happiness where we can tell the reasons why we are happy and are able to acknowledge people, places, interests, and things that make us happy. Tangible happiness is experienced externally.
7) Satisfaction or contentment. This is our gift from Ori. When we abide by the counsel of our Ori we experience a sense of satisfaction or contentment that comes from deep within and radiates out into all aspects of our lives. Here we have the promise of Iwapele, indicating that all the stations of our life, or all aspects of our life, are internally giving us emotional contentment and satisfaction. This is a lot of energy that’s coming from deep within that’s very fluid, like Yemayá, and that’s radiating out. It’s satisfaction and contentment that comes from deep within.
We have explored the mental tests and challenges in consciousness brought to us by the Odus of the northern quadrant of the Opon Ifa collectively known as Ori-Opon. We have also explored the emotional tests and challenges in consciousness brought to us by the Odus of the western Quadrant of the Opon Ifa collectively known as Osi-Opon.
In the next articles we are going to go into the challenges in consciousness that affect our energy, or our life force or our spirituality, our intuition, and our vision and insight, which is represented to us by the Odús of the Eastern Quadrant of the Opon Ifa or Otun-Opon.
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