We Need New Rituals: A Dedication to An Established Eternal

Abstract

In the battle of the head vs. the heart, the heart is the most powerful tool. Arguably, the heart holds more power than the mind. In essence, the thoughts attributed to the brain are deeply impacted by how we are processing emotions in the heart. Our hearts dictate how our brains operate, even when we have tools for regulating our emotions and especially when we don’t have tools for regulating our emotions. 

Keywords: memory studies, ancestral health, religion & spirituality of black people, epigenetics, neuro-epigenetics, how to reach the avatar state, the power of love.

Inspiration from Reading: Sobonfu Somé’s The Spirit of Intimacy: Ancient African Teachings in the Ways of Relationships 

Introduction

For the past two years, it has been hard for me to pick up a pen with the intention of sharing. Mostly because I have a deep-rooted fear—or I don’t know if it’s really fear. Let’s say, I have a deep-rooted discomfort with allowing people to see the inside of my mind because to me, my mind is my heart and my heart is my mind. That is to say, my heart is my treasure. Led by my heart, I have been able to unwind the reminders of my purpose (that is to say, reminders from my ancestors that lead me back to my inner God). 

God made us in God’s image [Genesis 1:27], so we are each given a gift. We are each a fractal of God. We are each a small reflection of God’s power. So first and foremost, the first ritual we need to establish is respecting that every soul has a connection to God, Oluwa, Allah, Ala, the One True Source, Universe…[that is to say, please apply whatever version of God is relevant to your own personal belief system]. 

FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE: Each person has a gift. In this life, they should work to uncover what topics and skills matter deeply to them, as this will help to reveal their gifts. And we, as community members, should support them and nurture their gifts by encouraging them to use their talents for the good of the community.  

So, we are again left with the eternal question: how do we connect with the divine? How do we honor the divine? How do we walk in the light of the divine? In my many observations of love and power, we all have unique lights to walk in, and there are tools, rituals, practices, technologies of remembrance that can help us understand the fractional image of God painted within each of us. 

In truth, the DNA in our blood is full of stories, full of remembrances, full of clues, full of answers. Within you and within me, there are thousands and millions of ancestors whose lives, experiences, joys, talents, and traumas are etched into the patterns of our DNA. Consider this: “modern humans” (homo sapiens) have existed for approximately 300,000 years. If you estimate back 400 years, you already have more than 4,000 ancestors needed for you to be here. Now, imagine this, the pain, the love, the trauma of 3,000,000+ people have been written into the biological code that impacts your own traumas, your own joys, your own heart, your own mind. [i.e. things like anxiety are evolutionary instincts that have evolved as a result of the experiences and likely the traumas of your ancestors—whether immediate ancestors or several generations].

Observations of Love & Power 

DNA: Biological Threads of Ancestral Memory 

This leads us to an IMPERATIVE RITUAL: CARING FOR OUR ANCESTRAL HEALTH By Honoring Our Ancestors. If one wants to be balanced and healthy, they must honor their elders. The greatest thing one can do in a modern context to honor their ancestors is maintaining family lineage and tradition. Understanding the stories of your mommy, your daddy, your grandparents, your siblings, your aunties, your uncles, your friends, whoever is your family. 

This is not easy work, but you need to understand the stories of as many of your ancestors as possible. Learn about the hardships they’ve had to overcome, understand the type of love they give and receive. Because in these stories is the plot of how your heart is raveled.

For Reference: There is an entirely “new” branch of biology called “neuro-epigenetics,” which combines neuroscience (study of the brain) and “epigenetics” (study of how social factors can alter genes). Simply put, it has been proven that social and environmental health (or harm) changes DNA, which impacts the way the brain is wired to think.  

DNA is the literal code—ancestral story—that impacts how we think, how we act, how we look, how we feel, how we love, how we hate…

[For more: How trauma’s effects can pass from generation to generation] [Note: I do think it is important for us to be aware of the traumas, but we must also be equally vocal about the gifts, talents, and skills that can also be passed on.]

IB: The Heart, as the Seat of Knowledge

All in all, for Black people (read: indigenous people), this science is not a new science. We have always known that our DNA is deeply connected to the traditions that we remember and honor and upkeep. So it is important to uplift the stories of a shared ancestor, so that we properly honor a trauma or even a strength that has deeply impacted the survival of our families, our people. In other words, knowing the skills, traumas, talents, and issues of your ancestors can help you to also understand some of your own skills, traumas, talents, and issues. [This is much like when they ask you for your family medical history at the doctor. Your family also has an emotional history that has likely affected the way you show up in the world].

Which leads me to the ETERNAL LESSON: Be Mindful of How Your Heart Remembers. Within Egyptian Cosmology, the heart, the ib, is said to govern thought, emotion, morality, memory, intention. If we could all take a moment and be truthful. Let’s take a breath together. 

When you are in any situation, no matter how much you try to regulate your emotions, your heart affects your brain because your emotions affect your thoughts. And even further than that, your morality (your religious belief, your cultural belief) already dictates the limits of your imagination; therefore, the possibilities of what you are even allowed to think are often correlated to the moral codes imprinted in the memory. In fact, the memories in your brain are often dictated by the emotions that triggered your heart.

This is why for instance, someone who is inflicting harm may never remember a moment, but the person who felt harm would remember that moment in detail forever. The moment triggers and elicits a strong emotional response from the person harmed, so it is etched into their brains. Yet, for the person saying it, the moment may have not meant much to them, and because they have no strong emotional connection to the memory, the thought is not as clear in their minds. 

So, the heart influences the way we remember things, and ultimately, affects the way that our brains process the information. This supports my belief that the heart is the more powerful player in the conversation of mind vs. heart.

Ka, Chi, Ori, Sumsum: The Many Names of the Soul 

In most spiritual traditions, religions, and faiths, one can find evidence that the soul, the divine force connecting us to the supreme divinity, is located in the heart, the ib. This shows us that in order for us to truly tap into our greatness, our intelligence, our power, our purpose, our talent, our gift, our blessings, we must develop a healthy relationship to our heart, our emotions, our thoughts, our intentions.

I’ve shared a few teachings from various spiritual traditions that are predominant in my ancestry:

Conclusion

Overall, I guess this essay is a plea. A plea to whoever reads this and to whoever doesn’t. A plea that we can create a world where people are listening to their hearts, even when they are crying, especially when its painful, even when its singing, especially when its magical. In order, to settle the war between heart and mind, we must understand that the heart and the mind are actually in a very intimate relationship. It is up to you to ensure that your heart and your mind have a healthy connection.

So we begin by understanding our hearts, understanding our minds, understanding the love that we need, the love that we give, the love that we crave. The love that we reject. The more we understand our own strengths, our own pain, the better we can be to ourselves and one another. This is the key to the avatar state, to walking in your light. Because we each have a little light, a fractal, a reflection, a stroke in the painting of [Chukwuu. Borebore. Oludumare. Onyame. Oghene. Nyankopon. Mawu. Ataa Naa. Ubangiji. Eba Soko, that is to say, fill in your name for the All, the One here]

And remember that your heart remembers. The story of your life will always be filtered through the lens of your emotions and feelings and thoughts. You are the director of your own movie, so understand the emotions, thoughts, and morals dictating your worldview & accept that your worldview is one in a billion.

Side Note: You can honor hundreds of thousands of your ancestors by understanding their name of God, understanding their belief of the Supreme being… Because in truth, every indigenous (african) spiritual practice is founded on the belief that we are all aspects of one supreme force. We are a piece of the all. Ala. Allah.