Does anyone have an experience with Traditional African Religions, or Traditional Afro-Caribbean Religions?

[Xienkula1]

And inspired by this reference to Credo and African Meditation here's a quote from Zulu Shaman, Dreams, Prophecies and Mysteries pg.13 ''My grandfather also taught me to control my powers of seeing and how to sharpen them and to make them more accurate and efficient. He taught me the art of breathing properly. He taught me the secret art of joining my mind to the great gods in the unseen world. He taught me how to sit still - very very still - and eliminate all the thoughts from my mind and call upon the hidden powers of my soul. In short my grandfather taught me the Zulu version of what is called in English, ''Meditation.'' How to breathe softly and gently like a whisper until you feel something like a hot coiled snake ascending up your spine and bursting through the top of your head - a fearsome thing that is known as umibilini. This umibilini, my grandfather told me, is the source, the primal source of the sangoma's powers. A sangoma must be able to summon this umbilini at will through the beating of the drum and through meditation, very very deep meditation. My grandfather taught me that there are many ways by which one can reach the ultimate truth that is at the full extent of one's mental powers. He told me I could either do it painfully by depriving myself of food and drink and by causing my body to suffer as much as possible, or I could do it through the medium of joy, of happiness and ecstasy. I chose to experiment with these two ways. Sometimes I fasted and tortured my body until I felt like a prisoner undergoing savage interrogation. Sometimes I used the joyous way, as it is called, in which I sat down and thought only beautiful thoughts and ate pure food sparingly and drank only pure cool water and that also very sparingly.''

Edited April 16, 2013 by Xienkula1

[Maan]

I have no experience with atrs. Was just curious. The things I mentioned are supposedly the most important things to aim for according to genuine teachers I've seen. So if thesel were not to exist in the atrs then it would not be a good sign.

[BaguaKicksAss]

I have met many genuine teachers who have mentioned no such thing. One cannot comment on another path unless they have been in it.

 

And yes, there is such thing in the ATRs.

 

It is never about the path, it is about the person. Each person follows their path/s differently.

[Xienkula1]

I have met many genuine teachers who have mentioned no such thing. One cannot comment on another path unless they have been in it.

Hey BKA mentioned no such what thing? Im not sure what you were referring to? I agree with your statement you can't really comment on another path unless you've been in it.

[Maan]

I meant States such as henosis, and was just asking because I didn't know if these were aimed for in atr, thanks.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Maan

[effilang]

I was once inside that python temple, Surrounded by snakes everywhere.

 

The walls of the temple are built in layers, like stairs climbing up, so there are hordes of snakes on every level. Quite fascinating.

 

A little African spirit for you all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmkt0LY1HQ4

Edited April 18, 2013 by effilang

[voidisyinyang]

Qigong master Jim Nance spent 2 years in 14 to 15 countries of Africa studying with shamans the whole time.

 

He had amazing experiences.

 

That was in the 1980s.

[Xienkula1]

Please tell us more Pythagorean Lotus

[voidisyinyang]

Please tell us more Pythagorean Lotus

 

well I'll just say that I was told one of the initiations Jim went through and I couldn't believe it and then I meditated on it and suddenly I remembered I had read a book that corroborated what he did. So basically he personally went to Africa and underwent a shamanic vision quest that otherwise is only described in an anthropology book I had read years ago and I had quoted in my book..... My friend -- Jim had told my qigong friend how Jim had gone to Senegal and was initiated into this Python vision.....

 

 

A good case study by an ivy league anthropology Ph.D. is the book Eyes of the Night: Witchcraft

among a Senegalese People by William S. Simmons: “The smiths have a special avoidance

relationship with the python. To touch this beast, or even to tread where he has passed, would

invite sickness and running sores….An apprentice blacksmith, however, should dream often of

the python if he is ever to become a good artisan.”656

 

656 W. S. Simmons, “The supernatural world of the Badyaranké of Tonghia (Senegal),” Journal de la Société des

Africanistes, 1967.

 

 

Eyes of

the night; witchcraft among a Senegalese people by William S. Simmons documents real

reptilian shape-shifting!

 

So yeah I read that book on my own -- knew of no one else who had ever mentioned it nor discussed it, etc. And then I learn that Jim personally underwent the initiation of the Python in Senegal.

 

Basically he absorbed the Python power but was almost killed by the Python - the other shamans had to pull him out of his vision....

 

So that's just one of many initiations he underwent but he said consistently the medicine people recognized him as having a spirit connection and needing further training and then they basically trained him and then passed him on to other shamans....

 

umm his experience in Egypt sounded like the most powerful to be sure -- ahhh.....

 

Let's just say when he told me about it - I said -- because Jim is very big on Jesus - and so I said - you know do you think there is a connection of Jesus to Egypt because like the Lord's Prayer is actually Egyptian and....

 

Jim just knodded his head - and he said: Yeah I know what you're talking about....

 

But anyway he almost died in Egypt because the being he experienced was a golden immortal who asked Jim to look at the face of the golden immortal but Jim only saw the feet. Then Jim heard a voice saying if he looked at the face then he would die and Jim was not able to turn his back to see the face.

 

Umm. I said it sounded like those NDEs where they encounter Jesus or Moses or someone but are not allowed to look at his face since they have to return to Earth and otherwise if they looked at his face they would have to stay in Heaven....

 

Jim goes - yeah but this was different because the golden immortal asked him to look at his face.

 

Anyway Jim didn't tell me not to share that - the first time he mentioned it to me he said it was an Egyptian Goddess who he had seen before in a vision but when I brought it up he said he wasn't sure it was the Egyptian Goddess since he could only see the feet but they had these golden light rays shooting out of them.

 

So yeah definitely some serious spiritual connection -- he shared more but he told me definitely not to write down what else he told me. haha.

 

Anyway I heard probably half a dozen other African initiations he went through -- but the main thing is he was consistently recognized as a shaman - he said they would say to him - ah you're like me - people will always be coming to you for help -- too bad because you will be so busy constantly helping people. haha. With all their troubles. haha.

 

oh well Jim says he loves to hear the stories of when he has helped people so....

 

like when Jim called my house on Saturday - first he talked to my mom and he asked her how she was doing and she said how she had suddenly felt better after Jim had called before and he had talked to me for over 2 hours. Jim just laughed - a big heart laugh - I knew exactly what he did when my mom said he laughed. My mom laughed back in response. So then my mom thanked Jim for healing her.

 

Yeah it's pretty wild considering before my mom was skeptical of meditation or thought I was just being lazy, etc. and now I'm all proud like - yeah I'm going to be like Jim, you know go meditate and my mom's all like - yeah! haha.

 

But basically Jim -- he was talking to me while on the phone driving and I said -- I trust you because you got 360 degree vision right? You know kind of joking. Jim goes - actually I have 4-D vision -- "I can see front, back right and left at the same time." I'm like - wow. He goes - "You can do this too!" I go: "O.K." He goes ' '"No really." haha. I go: "Alright." I mean what do I say to that? haha.

 

Anyway we talked a lot more along those lines. He said some nices things but also just how much he had trained -- and how much he had healed people etc, --

[suninmyeyes]

I meant States such as henosis, and was just asking because I didn't know if these were aimed for in atr, thanks.

This is from the book I have mentioned in one of the previous psosts 'Of water and spirit ' . It is from Initiation chapter and the elder explains stuff in the begginig of the initiation to 13 year olds (20 YO in writers case due to his life circumstances).

 

These initiations are rites of passage and if someone does not go through it , s/he is not considered an adult . This is actually very true and our society overall is like a bunch of irresponasble kids /or young teenagers playing with matches .

Lacking responsability and depth of insight .

In my view being more deeply responsable and mature would be a product of feeling interelated.

Something that runs naturally in African spirituality which is comunity orientated and one is reminded of ones position in existance in that context, as oppose heavely hermit style spirituality .

As Ubuntu promotes : ' I am becouse you are .'

 

 

 

Here we go :

'...

What he said was this : the palce where he was standing was center . Each one of us possesed a center that he had grown away from after the birth .To be born is to loose contact with our center, and to grow from childhood to adulthood is to walk away from it.

The center is both within and without . It is everywhere . But we must realize it exists , find it , and be with it, for withot center we cannot tell who we are , where we came from and where we are going.

...

Nones centre is like someone elses . Find your own center , not center of your neighbours , not center of your mother and father...

'

Than he goes on explaining how humans are both circle and its center , and how when there is circle there is 4 live parts to the circle . Rising part east and north , the setting part west and south . Setting part represents water and rising part fire .

 

What interesting he mentiones in fire part is :

'...the fire is a rope that links us with our real home that we abondaned when we died into being human . We leave our real homes to come into this life , but there is nothing wrong with this ...'

 

What a concept of dieng into being human ! Love it .

Anyway thats all for now .

Edited April 19, 2013 by suninmyeyes

[suninmyeyes]

Drew thanks for sharing about Jim, really interesting to read !

[Xienkula1]

Very interesting Suninmyeyes, thanks for filling us in more on Malidoma Some's Of Water and Spirit, and the circle, that is a really cool concept I have never heard expressed this way "dying into being human" and that this is not our home, this is always how I have felt. Thanks Drew for the info on senegalese witchcraft, shape shifting, and Jim's experience, very very interesting stuff!!!!

[Xienkula1]

So I contacted Labelledeesse at BKA's suggestion and I was fortunate enough to get a reading. The guidance was spot on and the reading unlike any other I have ever received. I also got to see the temple to the Lwa and the vibration was scintillating with Damballah. I will explore this further. At the same time, the friend's father who is a Vodou priest that I never got to meet, I found his contact info and he is at another temple. I never heard back from Vitimus I am still waiting. Labelledeesse put me in touch with one of her spiritual sons but he didnt reply yet. So there are some very interesting connections emerging. Also, a lot of strange occurrences, for instance walking into several clearly possessed people back to back within the last three days who were all directing their focus seemingly target at me with much confrontation. I dreamed of two tarantulas in my sink and somehow needed to get rid of them but could not wash them down the drain so I got the handle of a knife stabbed them both in the abdomen and turned on the water, In the hole where I stabbed them a brown powder started to pour out and react with the water, so the water started to boil and with that I awoke suddenly from the dream. Your insights and continued contributions to this thread are highly appreciated.

[voidisyinyang]

So I contacted Labelledeesse at BKA's suggestion and I was fortunate enough to get a reading. The guidance was spot on and the reading unlike any other I have ever received. I also got to see the temple to the Lwa and the vibration was scintillating with Damballah. I will explore this further. At the same time, the friend's father who is a Vodou priest that I never got to meet, I found his contact info and he is at another temple. I never heard back from Vitimus I am still waiting. Labelledeesse put me in touch with one of her spiritual sons but he didnt reply yet. So there are some very interesting connections emerging. Also, a lot of strange occurrences, for instance walking into several clearly possessed people back to back within the last three days who were all directing their focus seemingly target at me with much confrontation. I dreamed of two tarantulas in my sink and somehow needed to get rid of them but could not wash them down the drain so I got the handle of a knife stabbed them both in the abdomen and turned on the water, In the hole where I stabbed them a brown powder started to pour out and react with the water, so the water started to boil and with that I awoke suddenly from the dream. Your insights and continued contributions to this thread are highly appreciated.

 

 

In case you didn't notice I posted a new interview with qigong master Jim Nance - he says at the end how he is friends with Malidome Some and he said we can talk more about Africa next time....

 

http://fulllotusqigong.blogspot.com/2013/04/why-was-jims-father-so-tough.html

 

Also this video of qigong master Jim Nance - he mentions Africa in it - he prophesized this armed attack and got another force prepared to counter the attack. Then he slept through the battle.

 

http://fulllotusqigong.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-forest-qigong-master-jim-nance_29.html

 

haha.

Edited May 2, 2013 by pythagoreanfulllotus

[RiverSnake]

Hey Xienkula, how's your research int ATRs going?

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited April 20, 2014 by OldChi

[SonOfTheGods]

Yes.

[Xienkula1]

Hey Old Chi, it's going well!

[teriyaki]

Here we go :

'...

What he said was this : the palce where he was standing was center . Each one of us possesed a center that he had grown away from after the birth .To be born is to loose contact with our center, and to grow from childhood to adulthood is to walk away from it.

The center is both within and without . It is everywhere . But we must realize it exists , find it , and be with it, for withot center we cannot tell who we are , where we came from and where we are going.

...

Nones centre is like someone elses . Find your own center , not center of your neighbours , not center of your mother and father...

'

Than he goes on explaining how humans are both circle and its center , and how when there is circle there is 4 live parts to the circle . Rising part east and north , the setting part west and south . Setting part represents water and rising part fire .

 

What interesting he mentiones in fire part is :

'...the fire is a rope that links us with our real home that we abondaned when we died into being human . We leave our real homes to come into this life , but there is nothing wrong with this ...'

 

What a concept of dieng into being human ! Love it .

Anyway thats all for now .

 

Interesting.. I'm drawing parallels to the sun and it's cycles and astrology.. just like the sun's home is in the fire sign leo the lion heart, maybe our home too is in fire of the treasure chest of the heart