Offerings That Shift Humanity

We are living in a highly charged current, with our personal landscapes shifting like a kaleidoscope. In this divine turbulence, every moment presents an opportunity for profound transformation. Each of us, whether consciously or not, contributes our energy to shape these moments, moment by moment. Thus, life is quite literally what we, humanity, collectively will it to be. Harmony on Earth is sustained when the sum of harmony within each soul reaches a critical mass. The quality of our hearts and minds is reflected back to us in this collective experience. Therefore, the question becomes: what energy are we, as individuals, harnessing in our souls, and thus contributing to the collective? How are we steering the human experience?

What and how we give or withhold our attention is the power necessary to amplify or restrict any possibility within the human experience. Our attention and ase (spiritual power, the ability to create and transform) can be a channel of oppression or freedom. Where these possibilities or energetic waves come from is another conversation, but the point is to be aware and make conscious choices about how we apply our own energy. We must be aware and intentional rather than passively hijacked and swept away by any random wave that crashes into us.

Let's consider this from another angle. If oppression exists in our human experience, it means that a significant proportion of Earth's residents are lending the attention and ase that generates oppressive energy through thought, word, and deed. This may be difficult to recognize, especially for those of us who are warriors of liberation. We often say things like, “People are crazy” or “This world is a mess.” But we ARE the people, and WE are participating in this world, even if only temporarily. Aht aht, I hear you start seeds, etc. Wherever we came from, we are here now and thus a contributing actor. When we embrace life as an interdependent experience, we can examine the collective return on the personal investment of our thoughts, emotions, and actions. We can consciously withdraw or deposit our attention and ase, accessing the power to shift into another reality.

An overtly oppressive existence in humanity can be a return on people inflicting the same in personal relationships. This can show up as suppressing another's sovereignty, sabotage, mental abuse, emotional manipulation. We may be egregiously self-important without realizing it. All of these behaviors are forms of trafficking in oppression, echoing the voice of our inner critic as it persecutes and subdues us. How each of us applies our attention and ase is OUR choice to make. We don't have to forfeit that power and be passive conduits of anything we haven't chosen from a whole and free space. We don't have to stand on the sidelines and shake our fist at how humanity is unfolding; we can consciously decide and sharpen our ase to shift our personal and collective experience.  

So, where do we begin?

We pull our unconscious back just a bit from the currants of reality, so we can observe them. We can accomplish this by harnessing pure ase and cultivating inner stillness. How will this add to the experience of the collective? This moves us from the autopilot, unconscious position, to an active and aware state.  With a clear awareness and charged ase, we naturally begin to shift our personal patterns. Since the human experience is driven by the sum of our personal patterns, we then redirect our collective experience, or better put, align our collective experience.  

So let’s get it!

Ase, the power to create and transform, is sourced from Spirit and channeled through the three energy centers of the soul: the will, heart, and mind. We’ll delve deeper into that soon. Today, however, we will explore a process of refining our ase and awareness, called Ori offerings. Ori is our reflection of the Divine and the seat of our personal power.

The Ori offerings are specific behavioral practices that strengthen the awareness and power of our energy body, consciousness, and Spirit. Just as certain exercises condition the body to perform at its peak, these practices condition our Ori. When these exercises become a way of life, it builds and sustains a high level of potency, accuracy, efficacy, harmony, and most importantly, freedom in our personal, practical, and spiritual affairs. Overtime, you will notice a profound clarity, an ease in eliminating patterns, and a pronounced ability to direct your intent.

Warning. Each Ori offering is deceptively simple. We’ve been conditioned to believe only elaborate and complex rituals and techniques equate to power. It’s actually our discipline in building upon rather simple movements that gathers clean energy and tremendous power.

**Ori Offering 1: Meeting in the Here and Now**Today’s offering to Ori is to meet every single action with your full attention. Be entirely present in each moment and each task. Engage all your senses in the here and now. The key is to hold your awareness in the present, and not be carried away from the moment by your thoughts. Do not dwell on the past or think about the future. Hold your attention steady on the task at hand. Overtime you will see, feel, and sense your intent and the subtle interaction within your environment. You will be wholly present in your actions and thus capable of extending or interrupting previous conditionings. An added bonus is the beauty of the interdependence that is revealed through this and the other Ori offerings as well.  

When bathing, let your thoughts flow with the motion of the towel over your skin, noting the sensations of the towel, water, and soap. Observe your skin. Maintain your full awareness until you finish. Apply this same presence when eating, driving, dressing, cooking, and conversing. Listen to each word of the speaker, paying full attention to their facial expressions and body language, their changes in tone and pauses. Resist the temptation to form your responses while listening.Be fully present when resting, shopping, writing, walking, etc. etc. Remember the key is to intercept the mind's effort to carry us away from the moment. If you find yourself distracted, gently redirect your attention to your senses. It may also help to interrupt the thought with a statement of presence, such as "In this moment, I give my all."

To take it a step further, in every task, do your absolute best. Give it your full effort, whether it’s a task you enjoy or one you dislike.

Practice meeting in the here and now for at least 20 minutes at a time throughout the day, every day. Bit by bit, it will become a habit—first nature.

I know the rule of thumb is to not make any guarantees; I say with full confidence, with deep devotion to these practices, the texture of your life WILL begin to transform. The NA Institute shares only techniques that produce results. We stand on that!

May we have the courage, strength, and passion to live as vessels of freedom in our personal and collective experience and sever our relationship with the spirit of oppression.

Be free,

Iya Ife