A Palero's Definition of Love!

Exploring this Munanso’s perspective on the Reality of Ancestors and Spiritual Love

Palo is a Life changing system, linking the living with the Ancestors in formal Trato. By its very Essence it is also Death changing.  It impacts the way that we as Palero’s die and empowers that transition, empowering not only the process by way an Ancestor incarnates in the expression of a fetus carried in a Sacred Womb but also the process by way the Human Being excarnates as that Spirit and Soul moves into the World of the Ancestors.  

All Human development (the pyramids, temples, technologies, plant breeding, agriculture, and so much more) is inspired by Ancestors.  This includes also the european dismantling of the sacred hoop which was also inspired by ancestors, although ones who were and continue to be spiritually immature, stunted and even spiritually suicidal.   Although at times we say “these dismantlers are soulless”, that is an expression and is not factually true, because without a soul, one cannot have a human experience.   We may say that person is “soulless” because we cannot understand the evil behavior of the individual, it is also perhaps our prediction that because of the ultra-evil behavior of the individual we anticipate that the soul of that person is going to be spiritually dismantled upon re-entry into the Ancestral world due to their total lack of spiritual progression and their internal process of spiritual suicide. 

Palo is about bringing to justice all of those injustices.  It is about the Sacred Hunt that “hunts” and brings to justice all those things that destroy progression, and it is about “harnessing” all those things that enhance and nurture progression.  

We are an incarnated Ancestor.  Broken traditions and “lost” memory, mean that Ancestors have to vibrate that much more strongly to relate to us and stimulate us.  We are the ones who need to understand that we will be ancestors, and it is our Right to prepare ourselves for that Transition.

To be vigilant of our mind is to be vigilant as to how we phrase things, it is to look at what we are saying, how we are saying it, and why, this way we know that we are not just justifying our own inadequacies through our expressions.  The power and strength of the Ancestors is in our Mind, our mental body, because that is where spirit begins to ride, to take action.  Our Minds are Sacred to our Ancestors and as Paleros our Minds must be an accurate, empowered and healthy “vehicle” for our Ancestors to ride!

Bakongo do not see those who die as DEAD, saying “Ancestors” rather than “dead” or “deceased”.  Through our use of the word DEAD (and its sound vibration), we empower our separation from our Ancestors because when we think about “dead” we think of gone.  Bakongo understand that the Ancestors iare in a World that is within the SAME Divine Cycle as our “Living-Physical” World.  The Taino distinguished Ancestors from living through the absence of a navel.  The Taino had such good Vittiti (Spiritual Sight) that they saw the Ancestors as clearly as the living and could sometimes only distinguish if the “person” was an Ancestor through absence of navel.  Ancestors become ‘the dead’ through the non-ceremonial process of burial that is typically engaged in this society, where they  just throw a corpse in a hole and move on to the next one.   

Through constantly strengthening the mental body, we develop more productive results in all aspects of our lives, and especially as Paleros.  However we need to realize that we always gets results, even if that result is frustration.   This leads us to engage our mental body strongly to overcome mental blocks.

The Ancestors relationship to the Living is often distorted through a misconception of energetic, spiritual reality. The relationship is not a separation:  We turn to a phenomenon readily visible in the world, a Tree.  There are trees which root everywhere under the ground, and send up saplings all over.  Symbolically this reflects the Ancestors as the roots under ground and the Living as the sapling in air.  If one cuts the sapling from the root, the sapling dies.   However the sapling is no “different” in Essence than the Root, it is just the expression that came up into the air.   The Root keeps living and sprouts up again in the form of the “Living” Being. In this metaphor we see the WHOLE TREE as a LIVING BEING, a LIVING ORGANISM, A LIVING ENTITY, that lives in TWO WORLDS (the one filled with Sunlight and the one that is in the absence of direct physical Sunlight).  We also see certain trees (such as locust, choke cherries, mulberries) which sprout back up when the trunk is cut off.  The tree that we see sprouts right back up from the Living Roots!  Metaphorically we can see the separation of the Living and the Ancestors as the separation between the sapling and the Root System!  It is a separation in terms of space or environment, or worlds in which the two aspects are “living”.  In this system  fluids come from root to sapling and back.  The root takes in water and the sapling takes in sun, the root sends up water with minerals, the sapling sends down sugars made from sun through the magic of the leaves.   

As we adjust our thinking and the way we say things and conceptualize things, the natural environment tells us about spiritual reality.  The Sacred Patakis (Stories) are told every day as we look at the Phenomenon that is life.The stones, trees, grasses, animals, sun, moon, are all telling that story!

Many speak of animal totems and the meaning of animals that show up or are dreamed of, this is wonderful and you also can go to the more vegetative forms of life and learn that story.  All the animals are telling stories of the reality of the experience.  “Concrete” has distorted our ability to see and experience this, also the devastation of forests, of rivers, of mountains and oceans have damaged our ability to see and learn.  The devastation of the natural environment turns people away from the different organs and expressions of the Mother herself.  Earth is all one, earth continues under ocean. Wherever we go soil is soil,  and the same Sun is giving his blessings everyday and the same water is giving her blessings to the earth.  

We look at a simplified water cycle:  Oceans evaporate water forming clouds, wind blows the clouds over to land, they gather and it rains, rain run into rivers, the rivers flow by us, and run to the oceans.  This is a whole cycle of life and death and rebirth. It is telling us truth about our Soul and Spirit.  Our relationships with Mpungos are so deep that we are able to recognize the Mpungo in the person saying ‘that person is a Chola Wengue” .  The Mpungo is within the whole cycle and the individual walking with the energy of that Mpungo has a powerful relationship to the cycle.  The cycle is telling about Soul, Essence, Spirit and Expression.    When we develop this understanding, it allows us to deal with situations more effectively, we learn how to approach or diffuse a person or situation, and learn how to influence the spirit.

Romanticizing raw energy is problematic, you may allow it to mesmerize you for a minute, but if it is romanticized, it will eat you up. Romanticism takes you into fantasies which are then easily manipulated, this also leads to missed opportunity.

When we walk through native forest it is easy to feel the Spirit, we become uplifted, we begin to hear the Ancestors speaking to us. However the adaptation we need to make  is to be able to walk down a city street and still hear the Ancestors, to be able to pick up the messages without judging the messenger.  Mystery speaks through anyone and anything.  We must not allow the “ugly” environment to be an excuse or limitation in terms of how or if one receives messages.  

We always look for unusual animals, lately snow geese, a mink running by river, and ravens. We have never seen these animals before and they all bring messages  Then under our seed boxes, we found fuzzy animals, never seen before, voles.  All are messages the Spirit is bringing.  This also occurs through dreams, and it is up to us if will clog our ears or open our ears.  

Spiritual Love:

In Simple terms Love is the Forces of attraction.  

Let’s look at Water:

Water is two elements, Hydrogen and Oxygen.  We perceive it as one thing, and the bonds of attraction make it one thing.  What is that bond?  In theory it is an electron (a charged particle with virtually no weight) which makes a connection through an orbital (pattern).  What is shared is almost weightless but is very CHARGED (empowered), it is the force holding two things together.  When we perceive death, we have a seeming contradiction between birth and death. During birth we can see a baby coming out of a Mother, we can see that the baby is connected to the Mother and Father, but at the point of death, the body is put in the ground, not put into a human being, a mother’s womb, but put into Earth.  A physical separation appears to be taking place.  Going back to the water, we know hydrogen and oxygen are two separated (physically)things but a bond holds them together.  Hydrogen and Oxygen can morph into many different things,hydrogen gas(H-H), oxygen gas(O-O), an alcohol group (O-H) and more.  But the physical is not solid as we perceive it to be.  We see ourselves as physical but it is actually a spiritual bond that holds us together, it is only a perception of solid not a reality.  There is so much space in the human body, it only seems solid because of the dimension we are in and the limitation of our physical senses.  We come to understand through this little exploration that Material and Non-material is not two different realms.   

Spiritual love and love is not two different things.  Love is love, it is the same energy, from the same source, it is the same DNA, the same creation.  What separates this in our minds is words and the definitions we give them.  Spiritual love and so called mundane love is separated through the lack and brokeness of tradition and culture.  Conceptually through our miseducation and mis-definition of words and concepts, we don’t “see” a sacred fire, the river, ocean, and worms, connected to mundane love.  However, All those things that connect us to death and life are love.  Love is ALL those attractions in the universe, love is the force of attraction- the attraction of the river to ocean, the attraction of the bees to flowers.  

Love is not contingent on the material.   In our so called physical experience, we learn about the innate energy of life from the external, from everything around us.    The emotion of love- that feeling of deep connection, upliftment in the heart and spirit, that is when one is able to SENSE what holds everything together.  When one has that SENSE then one feels love in the heart, upliftment- and that is a small experience of what holds everything together.  We feel the winds, the sun, the earth, and we begin to feel good- we feel love, because we are able to SENSE those forces of attraction that hold everything together.  Love is a force of attraction, and is not contingent on the material’s (incarnated being’s) perception.   Love is both Potential energy and Kinetic energy.   Great Mystery, Nsambia Mpungo creates, sustains and dissolves everything.  It is a Process of Love.  

Oxygen, iron, hydrgogen, and carbon (and many more) are spiritual elements as precious as gold, as precious as diamond (which is carbon).  They are all within the medicine pouch of Great Mystery, they are within Great Mystery’s Fundamento!  We put precious Gems within a “Carga” these are raw elements. All the attractions of the universe generate Love.  When we connect with the Fundamento, Cemis, Nkisis, Bilongo, we feel “LOVE” which is beyond the raw physical elements in the medicine, we feel what is “invisible” which is the forces of attraction that hold everything together, this is the Life force itself.  The FORCE OF ATTRACTION is everywhere, it holds everything together and makes everything move.  

On personal level we make it contingent on an object or individual, which creates obsessions and exclusivity.  The mind that is unbalanced or atrophied is materially oriented, and places the experience of love as contingent on an individual or even object, not realizing that (through that person or object) we are having “window” of experience of love.  Love itself is not possessed by that individual.  Through mistakenly designating “ownership” of love to an object or individual or sensation, obsessions are created. 

We see the whole Earth as a Spiritual Entity.  The Sun Moon, Earth are SPIRITS, it is only through the perception of indoctrination that we see things separated and in components.  The Ancients did not separate the seven (or multiple) liberal arts, one would go 40 years to learn something, now one goes 5-8 years to learn next to nothing.

And if we do have an experience beyond “ordinary” reality, we tend to think of it as separate from our life.  If we dream it, we relegate it to pure symbolism, not realizing it actually is an experience.  The use of the word “dream” puts it into the realm of fantasy, but it is reality in another dimension.

If we examine the electromagnetic spectrum, we see the visible spectrum as a very small aspect of that larger continuous spectrum,  which includes gamma rays,  xrays, radio waves, etc.  We see green because the material we are looking at is absorbing all colors but green (in effect we are seeing a “negative” of what is in front of us), but

 if we could see radio waves we would see a color never seen before.  We use xrays to see our bones, the rays are passing right through our body.  All this is making statement son reality of life and death.  

The forces of attraction within whole of the universe include the force of attraction that holds the earth in orbit around the sun, and the gravity that holds us to the earth.

It is our definition of the word/ concept “physical” that we are questioning here.

A note on learning and revelation:  When spirit gives us a flash of insight, we use the mind to go deeper into that thought, we put something on paper concerning that insight.  The Ancestors are always giving us perspectives never given before.  We give that insight more thought and put it on paper and share it with others. This develops that insight and makes it more real to us, then we can have discussions with other people and their spirits may give further insight.  We take a flash of inspiration and build on it.  The flash of the Spirit brings a flash of insight, then we  have to put in the work to fill in the information. It is up to us to put the energy in!  

Revisiting the Odu of the Year for our Munanso!

"Mateka Mbuta, Mavwa Vwinya"

The Kikongo proverb above loosely translated means "The water the Old Man gives removes the Thirst" (ie.  The Old Man gives good advice).  This is a proverb alluding to the wisdom of the Elders, and is a proverb that also alludes to the need for the Yayi and Tata to listen carefully to the wisdom of the Elder(s), especially the wisdom of the Tata Nkisi and, or Yayi Nkisi of the Munanso.  

Back in January we Divined the "Odu of the Year" for our Munanso.  We examined in depth the significance of the Odu, its reflection within the Munanso itself, its reflection within all the Tatas and Yayis who have been initiated within the Munanso, and we also took the time to explore how the energies of the Odu interrelated with and reflected the larger global energies.  

Note on term: We use the term "Odu" to signify the caracol divination that we do within the Munanso.  The term "Odu" itself is Yoruba and the Caracol divination is a Palo absorption of utilizing aspects of Yoruba divination.  It is important to understand that the Bakongo people who arrived in the Caribbean adopted various practices and spiritual tools from various other peoples, including Taino, Yoruba, Dahomey, Mandika, Takua, Kissi, Calabar, (also known -excluding Taino- including Kongo-as the Seven African Powers).  The adoption of practices and spiritual tools from other Cultures was (and continues to be) contingent on one thing- the Results!  If it works, a Palero/ Palera will use it!

The Divination of the Year made reference to various Spiritual Forces (Mpungo) and other Powers!  Chola Wengue- Mpungo manifesting as the Rivers, Waterfalls, Sweet water floods, Springs, and Blood in the Veins.  Kalunga- Mpungo manifesting as the Ocean, strong powers of Motherhood and Emotions.  Centeya- Mpungo of the Tornado, Mother of the Dead!  The Odu also made reference to the Seven African Powers, the Power of the Palo Tradition, its adaptability, it ability to transform in order to survive.

Vital points for a Yayi or Tata of this Munanso to remember for this year is to renew, reinforce, expand and empower one's connection to the Munanso.  Negative thinking, lack of self worth, and bitterness, sourness and refusal to take action for progression were/ are to be those things the Power of the Tornado-(Guabancex/ Centeya) was/is coming to take!  Family could be a source of drama and  emotional manipulation, Yayis and Tatas were instructed to stay in clear waters emotionally and not to get drawn in or become victims of emotional manipulation.  The Spiritual Family of the Munanso was to be honored and respected and attention given the Mysteries and effort applied to one's progression and spiritual evolution.  The Spirit of Humility and Gratitude was to be embraced!  Yayis and Tatas were to reflect on their Initiation, the meaning, significance and progress of that.  Divination was to be the key to overcoming anxious or difficult states of mind.  It is not a good year to allow negative feelings to fester, but to air them out through Divination!  

It is a year of a pivotal point of choice.  A crossroads and the choice of road taken would/ will make all the difference.  The choice was simultaneously the choice of the Munanso and the choice of the Individual Yayi and Tata.  In this Odu relationships can be very strained and the power of the Tornado comes testing all those relationships.  Centeya comes to take away all that the individual shows through their actions that they do not value.  It is an odu of renewal but the odu reminds us that renewal cannot occur except through letting go of those things that are not fertile and productive and embracing positives choices that bring about positive changes.  

When we see a tornado ripping through an area, she tears up trees, rips houses, buildings, cars apart, debris is flying everywhere at a high velocity.  People and animals run for shelter and sometimes the shelter they are in is ripped right from them.  Lives are lost, structure is damaged and destroyed.  Tears, frustration and anger are inevitable in the wake of the Tornado, however we must remember that the destruction brought by the tornado forces Renewal!  New structures are imagined and then built and sometimes the choice is made to build newly based on Ancient Practices or to build in a way that is sensitive to our Mother Earth.  The tornado also reminds us of those that "it" took, it reminds us that they were sacrificed in the wake of the tornado.  

We also can look at a raging river.  Is she beautiful?  Many years ago we were doing a Cleansing Weekend and it was raining heavily.  We did meditations in the rain sitting on the edge of the bridge.  At one point I asked those gathered as we looked into the churning muddy raging River below, "Is She Beautiful?"  All those present responded "yes" however from a new age perspective, so I responded "so jump in right now into her beauty".  No one took me up on the offer, but the moment was memorable.  We call her "Chola Wengue La Machetera" when she is in her raging, muddy, swirling, outraged state.  She will take houses pulling them down into her, she will rip out concrete roads, take out bridges, and again like the tornado, she will take lives.  On a global scale every year we see floods but some of the most damaging floods have occurred this year (Pakistan) which continues at this date its effects and devastation.  We have also seen droughts followed by flooding rains.  Again and again we are reminded of the need to appreciate and conserve the precious sweet water that we are blessed with, but which we so often take for granted.  It is a reminder to "count our blessings" and show gratitude to the Mystery for the abundance spiritual and material within our lives.

The odu also speaks strongly of not just the Ocean, but of the Depths of the Ocean, and we all know what happened at the depths of the Ocean this year, the bleeding that occurred of the Blood in our Mother Earth's veins.  This Bleeding on the Global Scale is a cry, a yell of outrage and of consequences, a question and decision- how far will greed go to destroy even its own foundation?  Within our Munanso in the mini-microcosm that it represents, this parallel of the Blood erupting from the depths of the Ocean must be considered carefully, not only on the physical level, but also on the spiritual level.  Globally we continue to hear a cry from Mother Earth of Rage, Frustration, Anger and a call to make radical and revolutionary leaps within Spiritual Consciousness and Physical Progression.  How that cry is answered with each Yayi and Tata of the Munanso is critical and will make the difference in the micro-cosm and contribute to energies within the whole!  Is the choice to embrace Spiritual Consciousness and Physical Progression?  Is the choice to embrace Reconciliation and Thriving with Mother Earth and her Indigenous Traditions?  Or is the choice lack of self worth, selfishness, mediocrity, negativity and the victim syndrome and mental sloth.

At this point we find ourselves three quarters of the way through the year and involved in a deepening of the ongoing analysis and exploration of the energies of the Divination of the Year.  We look back on several critical points and decisions that took place within several Tatas and Yayis of the Munanso.  We also look deeply at the decisions that we need to make as caretakers of the Munanso to move with integrity within the energies of the Divination of the Year.  We explore those things that the Mysteries themselves are bringing to our attention, those things the Mysteries are looking to take away and those things the Mysteries are looking to bring renewal to.  

Several Yayis and Tatas have been given (spiritually and also in some cases physically) the Machete, 7 Ribbons, 7 Sunga, $21 (for those that understand what this refers to).  This came about through both the choice of the individual to prefer and choose mediocrity, negativity, procrastination, refusal to embrace teachings of progression, and refusal to transform negative habits into positive changes.  This also came about through the choice of the Munanso not to continue to "enable" mediocrity and negativity especially in those cases where many years have been spent in profound teachings and opportunities.  This decision was presaged in the beginning of the year and shared with some of the Yayis, although at the time we did not see who exactly it was referring to.  In these situations decisions may be difficult but the choice must be made with clarity and certainty and with the integrity of the Munanso at the forefront of the Tata Nkisi's mind.  

The root of betrayal lies in allowing the Ancestors to be "second class citizens".  In a sense this statement flows to the essence of the Divination.  The Divination is calling for our total commitment to the Tradition.  This total commitment is very difficult for those who come with a new age mentality or have been staying with a new age mentality to fully grasp, as new age encourages "butterfly" spirituality (going from one flower to the next).  Total commitment to the Tradition means total commitment to one's Ancestors and the Camino that one's Ancestors have guided one towards.  It means that one puts the needs of Ancestors on equal footing with one's own needs, and is not only what we term a "weekend warrior" or a "workshop Palero".  The root of the Ancestors is Full Time!  It requires a greater commitment to accountability.  

Ancient tradition that has survived to the present, such as Palo which derives from more ancient tradition (Bakongo, Taino and more) is to be protected and defended.  It is to be cherished, care-taken, honored and nurtured.  It can never be just about empty words and part time interest.  We say "somos o no somos" which is a profound declaration as to our commitment to Palo and the Ancestors.  Palo is committed to YOU as a Yayi or Tata, and it is a treasure to be valued and respected, and you as a Yayi or Tata must be committed to Palo!  This year the energies spoken of in the Divination all gather their forces disrupt the complacency that the individual may have fallen into and bring one face to face with the meaning and essence of one's Trato, ones Initiation (RAYADO) for Life!  Somos o no Somos!

Luba Pipe

The Sacred Pipe shown in the photos is a Luba Ceremonial Pipe which was gifted into our hands.  It is a woman who is holding her breasts.  This is a symbol of fertility, it is also an acknowledgement that it is through the woman that Ancestors are born!  The woman is of utmost importance for the Luba People of the Kongo!  

In some circles there is great controversy concerning if women are "allowed" to smoke pipes and what their ceremonial roles are.  This controversy extends both into Taino circles and Palo circles (concerning what women can and cannot do).  We need to always look carefully at why these "rules and prohibitions" concerning women in particular have emerged, to determine if they were part of the Root Tradition (Taino, Bakongo) or if they emerged because of a euro-religious dogma which advocates the disempowerment of the Mothers of Life!  

It is always interesting when a pipe or Sacred Artifact such as this comes into our hands as the Spirit speaks loudly through the piece.  This pipe represents an Ancestor, and therefore was appropriately used during the Ancestral Honoring Ceremony.

In our Taino tradition and in the remnants of the "Myths" that have survived we see a powerful female figure in the form of "Guabonite", the woman who rescues and heals the Casike "Guahayona".  She heals him with plantas and teaches him how to use the sacred stones, cemis and amulets.  In other words she is the womb which gives rise to the practice of Cemis, Medicine, Bohitus.  She is the first "Bohitu" (Medicine Person).  In spite of this clear depiction of the first Medicine Mother, in some circles, sadly, women are not deemed to be significant enough to work with the Medicines and Tobaccos.  Unfortunately these are residues of christian dogma at its worst.  Which is why we always look for the root of any given practice or prohibition that is applied to women.  

We have to be aware and be guarded about the extent to which religious dogma has penetrated into our traditional practices, so that we can make the positive changes to remove those dogmas that do not truly belong within our practices.  Through the hands of Ancestors the trail back to a holistic approach to our traditional practices can be found!