by James Weeks | Apr 7, 2014 | Blog
Are you taking your medicine? 
No! Not Western medicine! African ritual medicine!
As a professional Ifa diviner based in Oakland, California, I sometimes struggle when it comes time to explain the importance of ritual (ebo) to both new and old clients.
Luckily, my Yoruba friend, Olushola, recently helped me out.
“Just tell them that it’s like going to the doctor and getting medicine,” he said.
I love that analogy because it’s simple…
But in reality it’s way more complex than that, as anyone in the orisa community will tell you.
For starters, in most cases you’re not actually ingesting ritual medicine. Secondly, in many African traditions, you don’t have to be physically present when ritual work is being done.
In the Yoruba tradition, you’ll know if you need “ebo” because it will be revealed during a divination session with a trained Ifa priest/diviner.
Besides health issues, here are other common reasons for why ritual might be needed:
1. Help with financial issues.
2. Help with relationship issues.
3. Ward off spiritual attacks from enemies.
4. For optimum emotional and physical health.
5. To fight witchcraft or sorcery.
Are you in need of some kind of ritual medicine now?
Based on what I know about life and the work that I do with my elders, I have to say yes.
Why?
Because 1. There are things that are going on in your life right now that you are not aware of but should be addressed spiritually. 2. Because it’s a mistake to assume that things are well just because all seems well now. 3. Because ritual can give you the spiritual and competitive advantage you need to move forward in life.
In some cases, ritual (ebo) is a matter of life vs death…
Don’t assume that tomorrow will be like today! It’s important to pay attention to things that you cannot see and address them spiritually, if necessary.
I shudder to think what my life would look like without the help of my elders and all the powerful rituals that have been done on behalf of my family over the years.
I know one thing! It wouldn’t look pretty!
In Nigeria, ritual work can go on for days or even weeks. The elders I work closely with in Ile Ife, Nigeria spend an average of 2 to 3 weeks working on a ritual. It’s a team effort. As many as 5-7 Ifa priests might work together just to complete one ritual for a client. And they might spend 4 to 5 hours a day working on the ritual.
“Ise t’o l’agbara,” (it’s hard work, they say)
How long does it take to see results or changes? It varies. Sometimes you’ll notice the effects right away, but in other cases it can take weeks, or even months, so it’s hella important to be patient.
Also, some situations might call for more than one ritual treatment, (just like a medical patient might need to have more than one surgery or might require ongoing physical or emotional therapy over a period of time.)
What experiences have you had with indigenous rituals or African rituals? I would love to hear about them so be sure to leave a comment.
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Blessings,
James Weeks/Producer, Across The King’s River
by James Weeks | Oct 8, 2013 | Blog
A balance of cosmic forces in your life…
Obatala priests in Nigeria: (Photographer Unknown)
That’s what the Ifa spiritual tradition is all about – balance. “If it’s too hot, cool it down. And if it’s too cool, heat things up,” my mentor, the late Dr. Afolabi Epega, once said to me during divination training.
Baba Epega, a 5th generation Ifa priest, also said: things should neither be too positive nor too negative.
What’s wrong if things are flowing too positively (or smoothly) for you? A lot of folks struggle with that spiritual concept. Where’s the harm in that?
From Ifa’s point of view, if everything is going smoothly (positively), how can you grow? How can you reach your full potential? How can you develop faith?
Too much positivity lulls you into a sense of complacency – it dulls spiritual awareness…
Though we dislike negativity, it can provide the impetus we need to move in the right direction. Sometimes you have to be forced to do what’s good for you. The negativity on your job, might force you to find a job that’s more fulfilling.
Same thing for the negativity in your relationship. It might inspire you to question why you’re in the relationship in the first place.
Don’t be too quick to curse the negativity that has appeared in your life. Negativity isn’t always your enemy, sometimes it can be your best friend, a blessing in disguise.
If you’ve enjoyed this article, sign up for my monthly inspirational newsletters below. It’s free!
James Weeks
Producer/Across The King’s River
by James Weeks | Oct 4, 2013 | Blog
The request from the client was urgent….
He needed $15,000 to pay off some debts in a hurry and every request he made for a loan has been rejected so far.
So he was hoping that maybe I could use my skills as an Ifa diviner or as a numerologist to help him win the lotto.
I wish I could, and I would do it for him in a heartbeat (for free) if I was certain I could…
But the truth is that no diviner, no medium, no psychic, no seer that I know will make such a claim. And I would be highly suspicious of any spiritual worker who makes such a claim because if they could predict the lotto, I doubt they would be doing spiritual work.
So, here’s what I told my client:
I told him to be patient. And I reminded him that we’re all on a spiritual journey and while we may not always get what we want (even when we do spiritual work), we get what we need.
And many times what we need are challenges – difficulties that force us to change the way that we live and/or the way that we think.
Sometimes, the very things that we think we need are taken away from us so that we can learn that we didn’t need them in the first place.
That’s what happened to me…
I lost my job in Corporate America in 2011 and wondered how I would survive. I now realize that I didn’t have to worry.
These days I earn my living as an Ifa diviner while I work on my film. Granted, I don’t always know when or where my next dollar will come from. But I know that it will come.
My lesson was to learn that Ifa and the ancestors and my elders have my back. Yet it was a difficult lesson to learn and it came with a price – a very high price.
Without challenges there can be no faith. Without faith or trust, there can be no growth. Yes, winning the lotto might be nice.
But that’s not what you need and that’s not what I need.
What you need is the conviction to stay on your path, the courage to keep on fighting, and the wisdom to know that amidst your current challenges you’ll find spiritual gems that can truly empower you!
As always, I welcome comments on these blog posts and would love to hear what you have to say.
And if you’ve enjoyed this article, sign up for my monthly inspirational newsletter below. It’s free.
Blessings
James Weeks
Producer, Across The King’s River
by James Weeks | Sep 15, 2013 | Blog
Well, what’s taking so long? 
That’s more or less what my client wanted to know…
I did a ritual for her about two weeks ago and she was frustrated because she didn’t see any changes yet. And she was hella depressed about it.
I smiled. Then I fired off a quick email to her.
“Just because you didn’t notice any changes yet doesn’t mean the ritual wasn’t effective,” I explained. “The orishas are helping you in ways you cannot begin to fathom. And besides, it’s only been two weeks..”
Fortunately, she got the message. Many people do not.
In this world of high speed internet connection, text messaging and apps for just about everything under the sun (except common sense), it’s hard for folks to grasp that the orisas are not in a rush. Time, from a spiritual point of view, has no significance.
Indeed, our ancestors live in a dimension that is timeless. What does five hours, or five days, or five weeks, or five years mean to them? What does it mean to you?
But let’s get back on track…
While a ritual (ebo) helps to open the road spiritually to improve the likelihood of your success, it’s not a magic bullet. You’ve gotta to be patient. You’ve gotta work hard. And you’ll still experience ups and downs along the way.
But the ritual will help you navigate through or around those challenges…
Everything is not going to go your way and everything is not supposed to go your way. Why? Because if it did there would be no opportunity for you to grow, no incentive for you to change, no way for you to cultivate the fruits of your spiritual journey: faith wisdom and empowerment.
Sure, I get frustrated like everyone else when things don’t go as fast as I hoped or when they don’t turn out how I thought they would.
But we are not to lean on our own understanding…
As priests of Orumila, or students of Ifa. We are to do the very best that we can, then we must leave it in the able hands of Ifa. Ifa knows best. Ifa sees the big picture. Can you?
Blessings
James Weeks/Producer, Across The King’s River
by James Weeks | Aug 31, 2013 | Blog
His passion for mathematics began early in life…
Sangodare Brown
Sangodare Brown was six years-old, in the first grade, and his father had just introduced him to multiplication tables.
But he was hungry to learn more.
So when Sangodare found out his older sister, Philippa, was studying high school algebra he wanted to learn it too.
Then, in the second grade, when his brother was given the high school assignment of memorizing the names of all 38 U.S. presidents, little Sangodare took on that challenge as well.
Even now, at 43, Sangodare’s quest for knowledge has no end…
Not only does he have B.A. degrees in both mathematics and computer science, he’s a scholar of comparative religion, a numerologist, an astrologist and an initiated Ifa priest.
And he’s modest too…
I was impressed when I learned that this brother once worked as a software engineer for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. That’s right — his team was responsible for making sure that the mechanical arm and the display panels on the space shuttle worked properly.
But Sangodare tends to downplay that achievement…
NASA was a stepping stone, he says, but it wasn’t his life’s purpose. His life’s purpose, he insists, is to show the link between science, math and spirituality.
And he goes to great lengths to try to pull this off…
Though Sangodare lives and works as a math teacher in Egypt, his research has also taken him to China, Italy, Senegal, France, Great Britain, Sudan, Turkey, India, Greece, Belgium, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, Cape Verde, Vatican City and Nigeria.
Where some might only be able to see architecture or where some might only be able to see religion, Sangodare sees flashes of numbers and patterns and weaves everything together in thought provoking ways.
Here’s what he had to say in our recent interview:
How Math Is Related to Spirituality
“When you’re dealing with spirituality you’re dealing with unseen forces. The principles that govern mathematics are the same principles that govern the unknown. Math is one of the keys that will enable you to go beneath the surface. It’s always there but it enables you to see what’s there. Most people have no clue about what’s there. Mathematics is the key to everything we know of in existence. It’s the language of how everything in the universe communicates with each other. When we are solving math problems, we must learn how to balance equations, positive and negative numbers. In spirituality, we must learn how to balance positive and negative forces inside ourselves.”
Why Passion Is The Key
“If you don’t have a passion for something, you’re not going to love doing it. That’s why people start to hate their jobs. That’s why they get fired – it’s because they are not on the road to fulfilling their destiny. They have not stepped into their purpose. I know individuals who go to school and get a degree in something, not because they love it, but because they think they will make more money. Don’t worry about the money. Do what you want to do. Do what makes you happy.”
The Biggest Misconception About African Spirituality
“The biggest misconception is that it’s demonic or that they don’t believe in one God, But If you study the oldest versions of Christianity, you can see the connection between African spirituality and the traditional Western religions. Even people who study ancient Egyptian culture and history are not comfortable around indigenous African spirituality. It’s a tragedy that we’ve been conditioned not to love our own.”
What Drives Sangodare Brown
“I’m driven by the esoteric, by cosmology. I’m driven by religion and philosophy, but at the same time I see numbers and patterns and I connect the dots.”
What To Expect In A Reading
“A reading should confirm what you already know. Then, we can expand that reading and we can look into the future to see what type of energy is governing your future and offset any pitfalls that we see might be coming your way. At the same time, there are things that we can do to enhance that which is positive.”
How To Contact Sangodare For A Reading
Sangodare Brown can be contacted at: 281-973-6666 or by email at cbrown@ganphilosophy.com
By James Weeks/Producer, Across The King’s River
