So you’ve set up an altar (or shrine) for your ancestors, and you make regular offerings to them. Yet, you find yourself wondering if you’re truly connecting with Spirit or merely going through the motions.

Here are some tips that I’ve found helpful for building a stronger connection with your Egungun (ancestors).

MAKE IT A PRIORITY: Your relationship with your ancestors is just that – a relationship. And like any relationship, you need to be fully committed in order to make it work. You also need to make sure that you are available if you want them to communicate with you. This means spending time in silence, prayer, meditation or any activity that uplifts your spirit or slows down the rhythm of your life so that meaningful spiritual communication can take place.

BE GENEROUS: Yes, the ancestors can guide and help you in ways beyond your imagination. But never approach them with a list of demands. Your loved ones in Spirit work with you but not for you – it’s a partnership. Be prepared to give, not merely receive. Remember, your ancestors are not “dead”; they are alive in another dimension and are still learning and growing. The Egungun are fully aware of your thoughts and feelings, so be sure to send them positive energy and love to support them on their spiritual journey too.

BE OPEN: Despite what some people might have you believe, the ancestors have no limitations when they want to communicate with you. They can use anyone or anything to deliver a message: they can communicate through dreams, feelings, inspiration, nature, literature and music. And they are not stuck in the past. They are fully aware of modern technology and can manipulate lights, television sets and even cell phones to get your attention. Be open and alert. They know you well and will use the best method to get through to you.

BE TRUSTING: Don’t expect a lightening bolt from the sky. Messages from Spirit are often subtle, soft. So subtle that you might miss them. Pay attention to your feelings because ancestors often communicate through feelings – not words. Pause for a moment. How do you feel right now? Where is it that feeling coming from? Is it coming from you or from Spirit? What inspired you to read this article? Was it your idea or did your ancestors inspire you to read this? Spirit is all around you and guide you more than you realize. Trust what you feel inspired to do.

TAKE ACTION: Don’t waste Spirit’s time. One of my mentors said this to me one day. It takes a lot of energy for your ancestors to communicate with you. And you’re wasting their time if you never listen or do anything to move your life forward. Are you living in fear or faith? Are you taking steps to empower yourself? Are you empowering others? Are you leaving a legacy that others might aspire to follow? Take at least one step each day to move your life forward. Your ancestors are alive and well. Make them proud by living your life to the fullest.

Blessings

James Weeks
Producer, Across The King’s River

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The reading with Tahira West rocked! This gifted young medium brought through powerful messages from my Dad and from my grandmother in Spirit.

And the messages were not only on point but on time. Through Tahira, Grandma gave me not only encouragement but ideas for the funding of my film: potential partners, potential strategies, potential sources. Grandma also told me to give a “shout out” to other members of my family.

Dad, on the other hand, was bossy as ever. Dad said he wants me to talk to him aloud, not silently like I usually do. And he assured me that he’s working hard to open doors for my film and stands firmly behind me whenever I need a burst of inspiration.

Yes, the reading with Tahira was empowering, even though I feel my connection with my ancestors is rock solid since I make it a point to communicate with them every day.

After the reading I wanted to learn more about this rising medium and life-coach who is building a solid business around her passion for healing and transforming lives.

CEO of Pure Peace Life Coaching, Tahira West was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and moved to the U.S. when she was 12. “I have always done what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I always chose to follow my heart. There is nothing that brings me more joy than to let people know that love can be found inside of them,” she says.

Tahira, 30, readily admits she’s had her share of life’s ups and down. In fact, she founded Pure Peace Life Coaching in 2010 after she heard her last employer say: “I have to let you go.” That’s when Tahira understood the message the universe was trying to send her. It was time to start working for herself, building her own “empire one brick at a time and by healing the planet one broken heart at a time.”

“Our mission is to serve you. The you who you’ve always dreamed of but never thought could be real. We illuminate your positivity by reminding you that you are perfect the way you are. We reinforce that all the answers you need come from within you,” says the mission statement on her website.

Most of Tahira’s clients are executive women who long to be “heard, acknowledged, treated fairly and respected and for all that they do,” she explains.

She was born with the gift for coaching, she says, as well as the gift for mediumship. But she only started offering her mediumship services recently. “I see my messages like a movie and I hear them too at times,” says Tahira.

Her advice to those who want to develop their mediumship? “Be calm. Be introspective. Be still. Don’t force it. It will come. Trust Spirit.”

Blessings, James

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH TAHIRA? You can find her at any of the links below:

WWW.Purepeacelifecoaching.com

https://www.facebook.com/PurePeaceLifeCoaching

https://www.facebook.com/tahira.west.1

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So you’re thinking about booking a divination session or a spiritual reading and you’re not sure how to begin or what to expect…

Here are five tips to consider…

TIP # 1.: Make sure the diviner is sane: I wish I could say I’m joking but I’m not. Sad to say, there are folks in my profession who are not emotionally balanced (or even sane) and should not be giving advice to anyone. They are in need of serious spiritual help themselves. On the other hand, some folks are control freaks and some might take advantage of you financially. And don’t be fooled by titles. Titles without character mean absolutely nothing. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll also find wonderful priests and priestesses in our community. Just get some references before you book a reading. Or at the very least, talk to the diviner before you book a reading and try to get a sense of who they are and what they are really about.

TIP # 2: Be Open To What Spirit Has To Say: Although your questions and concerns will always be addressed, keep in mind that the orisas and your ancestors might have other messages that differ from your original reason for wanting a reading. They might make you aware of things you might not be aware of but should know for your own growth and development. Don’t assume that you already know yourself 100%. Few folks do. The spiritual journey is all about gradual awakening. Know that there’s a hidden side to you that Spirit will eventually bring to light.

TIP # 3: Do The Ebo Ritual: If the reading calls for ritual (ebo), do it. Do not think you are smarter than the orisas and do not need to follow through with ebo if it has been prescribed. You will learn the hard way (trust me on this). Ebo is a way of harnessing and releasing powerful energies to bring about necessary change. We use ebo for many things: improving health, enhancing the probability of success, improving relationships, etc. Not all situations call for ebo. But if Ifa calls for it, be sure to follow through.

TIP # 4: Take Action: Be the change that you want to see in your life. Spirit/ritual is not going to do all the work for you. Take one step in the direction of your dreams each day. Find what you’re passionate about and organize your life around it. Flee from toxic people. Surround yourself with folks that inspire you to reach your full potential. Discipline yourself. There’s no time to waste on the road to self-discovery and greatness.

TIP # 5: Be Patient: One well-known Yoruba proverb says patience is the father of character. It’s true. Be patient as you work toward your goal. Be patient as you tackle your problems. And be patient with the messages/predictions of Ifa. Some messages might not make sense during your reading but might make sense months later, or even years later. Time has no meaning from a spiritual perspective. Just know that all things will unfold for you in the right time.

Final Thoughts: A reading should be a healthy, empowering experience. Enjoy the reading! Enjoy your journey!

James Weeks

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“Christians look toward the sky. We look toward the ground.” That’s what Baba Oluwale Ifakunle said as he poured an ancestral libation at the Divine Space and Sacred Territories conference that was recently held at Harvard University.

Organized by the African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association, the conference featured scholars from around the world and focused on beliefs that are central to our sacred traditions. (Read more about the Divine Space and Sacred Territories Conference here: )

I didn’t get a chance to attend this conference, but I had the good fortune of meeting Baba Oluwale Ifakunle last year, and I’m reflecting on what he says about “looking to the ground.”

In the book, Ifa Will Mend Our Broken World, Yoruba scholar, Dr. Wande Abimbola, also talks about looking to the ground.

“With the exception of the Orisa Sango, all the other Orisas dwell on the surface of the earth or in the earth’s crust,” says Abimbola. “The planet earth is a very sacred place.”

Grand Canyon

All of this talk about looking to the ground and the sacredness of the earth makes me think of my childhood in the Caribbean. I’m from the island of St. Croix and loved to run around barefoot as a kid.

I still do.

In fact, one of my favorite rituals when I go home is to take off my sandals and sink my bare feet in the rich, dark Caribbean soil. It soothes my soul as I look at the rolling hills, the trees and the plants.

And I think about the wisdom of my ancestors. Their struggles, their vision, their spirit, and how I vow never to sell the land that has been passed down to me.

I do my barefoot ritual each time I go home. Rituals can be as a complex as you need them to be or very simple.

I prefer simple.

It’s a powerful way to stay grounded and connected in a crazy world that’s trying it’s best night and day to uproot you from who you are and what you came to earth to do.

Blessngs

James Weeks

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The client couldn’t believe it. The shift in her sister’s behavior was so profound, my client had a good laugh and called to tell me about it.

For months, the relationship between Tamara, my client, and her sister had been tense, ugly. “Evil” – that’s how Tamara described her sister to me. They both live together with their Mom, and when Tamara consulted me for Ifa divination, the reading indicated that sacrifice was necessary.

And so I dutifully offered one rooster to Esu, the orisa of the crossroads and opportunity, and one rooster to Ifa, since that’s what the reading called for.

A few weeks later, when Tamara called to tell me that things at home had magically turned around for the better, I smiled. I not only felt proud, I felt honored. It also inspired me to go deeper in my studies as an Ifa diviner and priest.

Sacrifice is as old as the hills! It remains an integral part of African healing traditions. It worked in ancient times and it still works today. It’s also controversial because the Western world misunderstands it – or pretends not to understand it.

The truth is that every society and culture on earth practices sacrifice in one way or another. Life feeds on life. Some form of life must die so that you can live. Every meal (whether you’re a vegetarian or not) is a form of sacrifice. Period!

Sacrifice is an ancient way of redirecting energy to bring about desired change: progress, improved relationships, improved health, better business results, etc. To the ancient African mind, only a fool will ignore the call for sacrifice.

In the book: “The Healing Power of Sacrifice,” Chief Priest Yemi Elebuibon, says: sacrifice is important because (a). It is a means of expressing gratitude to spiritual beings. (b). It is a means of fulfilling a vow. (c). It is used for establishing communication and communion between humankind and spiritual beings. (d). It is used for averting the danger of the divinities and spirits. (e). It is a means of warding off the attack and evil machinations of the enemy. (f). It is a means of purifying a person or a community when a certain taboo has been broken. (g). It prevents or expels epidemics. (h). It strengthens the worshippers against malign influences).”

And in the book, “Of Water and The Spirit,” Malidoma Some says: “The purpose of ritual is to create harmony between the human world and the world of the gods, ancestors , and nature.”

Malidoma also explains how disaster struck home when his father, who had been lured away from his spiritual roots by Christianity, refused to perform an ancient ritual for his twin daughters. “One morning Elizabeth caught a mysterious illness that no one could diagnose. She died at noon. During her funeral Marguerite died while running wild with grief. The funeral intensified. People knew what was going on. Twins don’t die on the same day. Pascal, the eldest son, expired two weeks after the funeral of Elizabeth and Marguerite. Nobody knew what killed him. He had been playing with friends and suddenly cried out that he was dying. Julia, the unfortunate mother, died of sorrow during the funeral of her son.”

I’ve always loved this passage in “Of Water and The Spirit” and used to read it over and over again. It boggled my mind how a series of tragedies could be set in motion by failure to perform a ritual. Luckily, Malidoma’s father eventually performed the ritual, but by then so much damage had already been done.

How or why ritual or sacrifice works seems counter-logical to most Westerners. But when the call for sacrifice or ritual shows up in divination readings, I will always advise my clients to comply with it. Just like my ancestors did before me.

Life sometimes has a nasty way of punishing those who refuse to listen!

Now over to you: what are your thoughts on sacrifice (ebo) ritual? What has been your experience? Feel free to comment!

Blessings

James

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Light as a feather! This is how softly your ancestors might speak to you. And this is why you must listen intently – not just with your ears, but with every fiber in your being. They spoke to you yesterday, they spoke to you today, they will speak to you tomorrow and they are speaking to you right now. But you’ll never hear them unless you are willing to sit in silence, to hear the powerful messages that are landing as gently as feathers.

I share this because of a recent experience that I had. I was doing a reading for a client and began receiving messages from her father who is in Spirit. When I asked the Spirit to tell me more about his life, I felt this sensation of him putting keys into my hands. But the keys felt cold. Then, I felt he was connected to a security guard and/or a prison when he was alive.

These feelings were subtle – light as a feather. But when I shared them with the client everything made sense to her; she became very emotional. Turns out, her father had been in prison for many years in the Middle East before he died. But this was the very first time he attempted to contact her in a spiritual reading. The family had been thinking about writing a book about this sad episode.

I was in awe as she confirmed the messages I received from her Dad. Speaking through me, her Dad said the book project was a great idea. It would bring about healing in the family, he explained.

This experience was one of my most profound moments as a diviner and as a medium.

You see, spirit communication is based on trust. But if you don’t trust yourself and the messages you receive, you’ll never be successful. You also have to understand how you receive messages. How Spirit works with you might be different from how Spirit works with me. You are a unique being, a sacred being and it’s important to remember this. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

Messages might not always make sense to you. That’s because some messages are meant to be delivered and understood by someone else. Messages from Spirit are being sent to you 24/7. Pay attention to subtle feelings and images that you receive…

Powerful messages often arrive softly as feathers.

Blessings

James Weeks

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“Nobody starts out in life planning to give all their power away. But you give your power away when: you don’t believe in yourself, or when you don’t stand up for yourself, or when you doubt yourself, or when you believe that others are somehow more sacred or special than you, or when you believe that you’ve failed and won’t get up to try again. Well, your ancestors have something to say about all of this. It’s time to reclaim the power that you once had and still have.”

- James Weeks

I posted this message on the FB fan page for Across The King’s River recently. It was inspired by a conversation I had with one of my godchildren who will be receiving her hand of Ifa soon. As a newbie to the Orisa tradition she had many questions. And so I set aside some time so we could go over the basics: the important of ancestor worship; the role of Esu in the hierarchy of orisas, and the role of Orunmila, etc.

But I also spoke to her about power, her own power and how she must never forget she is powerful . And if she ever forgets it, I’ll step in to remind her.

I had to tell her this because I’ve seen so many people give their power away. Always looking outside themselves and rarely looking within where so much raw power and intuition resides – for free!

“The orisas and the ancestors will often speak to you from the core of your being,” I told her. “You have to learn to trust yourself. If you can’t do that, you can’t grow. It’s a simple as that.”

Many folks who give their power away have no idea they are doing so. In fact, they have good intentions. They are sincere seekers who are hungry to learn and want to do things right.

And right for them means they want to do things exactly as it’s done in Africa not realizing that how things are done might vary from one lineage to another and we all must decide what resonates with us.

I’m all for tradition and I know Africa has a lot to teach us. But I know we have a lot to offer Africa and the world too. And we can begin by remembering that we also have a wealth of wisdom available to us right here, right now, if we respect the intuition, and originality and creativity flowing on the inside.

We disrespect ourselves and our ancestors when we fail to acknowledge the leadership that comes from our own souls. What your soul has to say is relevant. How you feel is relevant. What you think is relevant. Never forget this.

Every one has a unique contribution to make: every soul, every star, every tree, every bird, every fish, every river, every stone and every blade of grass has something to unique to say about what it means to be Spirit and what this journey to earth is all about.

Never forget it

Blessings

James Weeks

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A client recently asked what type of offering he should make to the orisas: Ifa and Ori. He wanted a clearer spiritual connection to the orisas, he explained.

I told him something he probably wasn’t expecting to hear. I told him he should offer trust because if he doesn’t trust himself or his connection to the orisas he can make offerings all day and night and he’ll never make any progress.

And I’ve seen many people go down that road, and they have nothing to show for it. No peace, no progress, no direction, no real conviction. The forces of life blow them around like a leaf in the wind.

Don’t get me wrong. Rituals and offerings (ebo) are important. Perform them whenever divination indicates they are necessary.

But ebo is not a substitute for hard work, character development and trust. You are already connected to the divine. You are Spirit. It’s part of your DNA. You are connected to the orisas and to your ancestors. I don’t think many awos drive these points home. They should.

There’s no way to grow if you don’t trust your own connection to the divine, or if you think the answer is always outside of yourself, or that the only way to connect with the ancestors is by doing yet another ritual or by performing yet another ebo.

The orisas and the ancestors don’t only speak through divination. They also speak through your intuition and your heart. They speak through nature. They speak through your loved ones and in your dreams. Your connection to the spiritual realm is already there – you just need to listen, feel, and act to access it.

Blessings

James

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