Black Folks Healing the Planet 2000

By Robin Scott Manna

As a child, I hated growing up Pentecostal. My dad was a preacher and, yes, my mom is still preaching and teaching. As a teenager I was rebellious, angry and filled with shame and confusion about the religious services regularly held downstairs in our home. During those services I would always "leave my body" so that I could safely, without fear of being pulled in, watch those folks who danced ecstatically in the spirit. They spoke in a strange and foreign tongue, allowed their sweat drenched bodies to move spastically signaling spirit possession, made joyful noises until the wee hours of the morning, and honored and praised a dead man named Jesus. Blessed olive oil and tap water was used for so-called "spiritual healings"and they laid their hands on folks to heal anything from drug addiction and arthritis to a bad case of athlete's foot. I'm really not making fun of this. Miracle after miracle I witnessed at least four times a week growing up Pentecostal. And it was my parents' dream that, when grown up, I would continue their legacy. Hell no! I don't think so! Not in this lifetime! Oh No! Little did I imagine that, 30 years later, I would continue the legacy. Not as a Pentecostal preacher or teacher; but as a Yoruba priestess, Reiki healer and teacher. Initiated into, not one but, two universal, spiritual, life management systems that operate in total accordance with the laws of the universe.Both of these systems offer a metaphysical blueprint for healing our lives and the planet. Both systems date back to the beginning of human life and civilization. And we all know, I hope, that human life originated in Africa. And African spiritual cosmology is the original holistic reflection of the universal principles and attributes of Oludumare (God) and humanity (God in the person of woman/man). As the inheritors of this Divine legacy (and let's not get stuck in the rationalization of it being a stolen legacy) we should be the healthiest and wealthiest folks on the planet. Our ancient ancestors were. If we're not it's only because we (collectively) believe we're not. And each of us is affected and influenced by our collective beliefs, thoughts and values. As conscious Black folks we already know or should know that we've been "duped, hoodwinked, bamboozled" and systematically and comprehensively programmed by the powers that be with collective spiritual amnesia. However, remembering and reclaiming the knowledge of who we are is useless if we aren't "being" who we truly are and "doing" what we truly came here to do. As a people if we don't know who we are, then we can't know why we are. Without the knowledge and implementation of our purpose we're dangerously lost and therefore will be forced to relinquish dominion over our personal destiny and our planetary co-guardianship. So what can we do? I propose, "let's get back real quick to a few basic African centered principles." Personally, I've been spiritually guided to look at three very basic, life alteringly, important principles. Let me share them, Knowledge of Self, Cleansing and Purification, and Living in Alignment with Absolute Truth. We as Black folks must, first, fully understand, know and accept who we truly are as Divine beings in human form. Next, it is essential that we holistically cleanse and purify our spirits, bodies and minds from negative, limiting and unhealthy thoughts, beliefs and conflicting values. And, finally, we must commit ourselves to live in accordance with Absolute Truth as reflected in the universal laws that govern the stars, sun, moon and the solar system. Only then, will Black folks, the original custodians of earth be able to claim our Divine inheritance of "heaven" on earth --today and every day. We're all personally responsible for healing the unhealthy conditions we've created in our own lives and on the planet. By collectively changing our state of mind, one individual at a time, we can restore our lives and earth to its original greatness. By always remembering that; "I Am because We Are and We Are because I Am". As an African people; spirituality and the religious celebration and honoring of God is a part of our basic nature, no matter what denomination or tradition we practice. However, spiritual and religious theories, rituals and dogma, that fail universal test, don't challenge, empower and instruct us on how to look to the God within for solutions. Solutions that serve only other folks and/or don't provide a viable blueprint for the co-creation, actualization, and manifestation of everything our little ole "divine" heart desires are "symbols without substance". Now, when I reflect on growing up Pentecostal, "I see" a religious experience that was deeply rooted in traditional African spirituality (some may not want to see this). This was the foundation for my subsequent spiritual lifestyle and healing practices. My shame was an expression of my unconscious preprogrammed rejection of the most sacred rituals, still practiced today that enhance our communion and alignment with our own Divinity. Today, as a Yoruba priestess, I proudly carry the spiritual legacy of our ancient ancestors which are; to live in universal harmony and balance with nature, to develop good character (Iwa-pele), to honor our ancestors who paved the way for us, abide by the Ifa Odu (the sacred scriptures detailing the Yoruba cosmological blueprint). I believe that prayer, meditation and the breath are the fundamental spiritual keys to self healing and enlightenment. Planetary healing, as stated earlier, begins with self healing. In my spiritual practice, as a Reiki master and teacher (pronounced ray-key, and means spiritually guided life force energy), I utilize this natural, ancient hands on healing system which is like the one used by Jesus and those before him. Reiki balances and aligns the body's energy channels, cleanses the body of built-up spiritual, emotional, mental and physical toxins, accelerates the body's natural ability to heal itself; and promotes the concept that the God within me recognizes the God within you. I challenge us to heed the words," I can of my own self do nothing." Let us reconnect with the guiding light shining from those souls who have gone before us. We must rediscover our collective human purpose, purify our physical and mental vessels in preparation for digesting our Spiritual Truth. Together, in love, we can recreate magic and heart centered joy which will carry us into the next millenium. Because we, who are an African people, a spiritually strong and mighty people, must reconnect all people to a healthier vision of earth. Ashe In the Spirit Robin Scott Manna (Iya Osunnike Anke) Dancing Spirit © 1997