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Yesterday evening I saw a post on FB that I really felt warranted a response. However, the response I had was going to be laced with vitriol. I didn't respond. Ifa had already warned us that there were going to be moments of conflict and to back off. Do not engage. Don't worry about what they are saying about you.
Though it wasn't directly about me, I found it offensive. All I wanted to do was just tell them how anti-black they sounded. Would it be worth it though? Would it change anything?
Probably not.
What do you do then? I do something positive with the thoughts and feelings.
I have always believed in God. There was never a moment I didn't. However, when I included more spirituality, and very specifically African and African-American based spirituality, I was able to experience new and more nourishing expressions of God.
I now get to experience not only a Divine Father, but a Divine Mother. She nurtures me. When I'm sad, she pulls me in for a hug and tells me it's alright. When I'm sick, she gives me medicine to help me heal. She encourages me to do things that make me feel pretty. She is protective and strong. She inspires me with new creative ideas.
As I disconnected the Divine Father from the violent, slave master model of other religions, I found a doting Dad. A Divine Dad that only wants the best for me. He is not seeking to abuse and beat me. He wants to encourage me to stand tall as who I am. He is protective and would not let anything harm me. Even when I go the wrong way, He isn't judging me for my mistakes. He is guiding me back to myself. He inspires me to take action when needed and reminds me that rest and play are both actions.
When I sit in a breeze, I get to experience God(dess) as the whispering wind. I can speak my inquiries out loud and they are carried to God's ear. Then I get a whisper back to answer my question.
On a clear night sky with the moon up high, I get to experience God(dess) as the ever expanding Cosmos or Universe. I am reminded of how beautiful, vast, and infinite the Most High is, expressing in ways as numerous as the stars.
When I am need of God's expression in miracles, I see God(dess) in my children. Each of them unique, special, and Divine. I go to my mirror and realize it is God(dess) looking back at me through my eyes. This expression, though having multiple experiences across timelines, is the only expression exactly like this. And I am pleased.
Every plant, tree, herb, flower, root, and stem is an expression of God(dess) as Mother Nature. Imbued with the essence of the Most High, each expressing differently.
When we do decolonization work as black people and recognize how it and WS have negatively impacted how we see ourselves and our Ancestors, we begin seeking to understand more about how our Ancestors actually saw things.
Seeing God(dess) with Ancestral eyes first acknowledges that our Ancestors knew God(dess) before anyone came to their land. Before stolen from their homes. Before colonized on their land. They, our BLACK AFRICAN ANCESTORS, knew God. The idea that they did not though is so insidious that we still have some who would believe what Massa said over what their Ancestors knew.
Here in the states, Hoodoo became the African American expression of God(dess) that sought to still see the Most High with Ancestral Eyes. Working with the medicine of the land, remembering the medicine in our food, our songs, our music, bridging the gap between here and home. And so that it wasn't completely lost, they wove it into the fabric of Southern Black Churches, ensuring it was not completely lost to their descendants. I didn't grow up Christian, but you can tell African spiritual practices are hidden within a lot of the old Black Churches, even if their children now shun the connection.
As we begin moving into 2025, it is beautiful to see the express of God(dess) in our black rituals and traditions. Our Ancestors knew that God(dess) blessing was on everything and what specifically that good fortune is. They knew what brought luck. They knew what brought prosperity. They knew what brought good health.
Our Ancestors learned how to align that wisdom with the energy of where they were and handed it down for generations.
The irony in some people belittling the traditions of their Ancestors is that the people who taught you to belittle your own heritage, they know who yo are and what your rittals mean. They are absolutely making those dishes behind the scenes. They are consulting the Oracles you won't speak to. They are cleansing and anointing their homes, or paying someone else to do it.
Our Ancestors eyes can see God(dess) in every way we miss them being their.
Today see the Most High with Ancestral eyes.
I hope all of our many ways of inviting in blessings for the new year are successful.
Happy Holidays.