Perceiving the Hidden World
- Awo Tiyanna Tiyi Ogunmola
- Sep 8, 2017
- 7 min read
*This work was approved by Baba Samuel Modupeola Opeola and Olori Asawo Ojeniyi Opeola of Ifa Yoruba Kabbalah Temple (Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria)
Orun is often considered to be synonymous with the term, heaven. However the
official translation of the Yoruba word Orun is, “hidden world”. Although seemingly related, there is a big difference between these two concepts. The idea of heaven brings to mind some far off place that exists somewhere in the sky, while the term Orun can be more accurately a likened to another dimension – a world that parallels our own, remaining hidden from the naked eye, yet ever present all around us.
We all come from Orun. It is where our spirits reside before our journey to the Earth. Orun is our home. The Yoruba say that many years on Earth is just one day in Orun. So in reality, Orun is our origin. Our source. To Earth, we are only visiting.
What is Orun like? Perhaps you have seen it in your dreams. With Earthly words, however, there is no way to express. But there is at least one thing that we know to be true, and that is the dynamics of Orun. Just like there is much diversity on the earth (mountains, ocean, plains, rivers, valleys, deep sea etc.) there is also diversity in Orun.
Have you noticed that on the earth, the people that are indigenous to certain areas look distinct from people whose origins are from elsewhere? They also have their own unique cultures and behaviors. It is as if they are extensions of that particular part of the earth itself; a unique attribute that only that part of the earth can produce – much in the same way that the terrain changes depending on its location and the influence of the environment around it (ecosystem), above it (climate) and below it (geological features).
Well the same is true for Orun. The different parts of Orun are as diverse as the physical features of the Earth. So you will find that there are groups of spirits that gather in certain areas of Orun or that live together as a group/family in that designated area of Orun. These aspects of the hidden world are counterpart to certain features of our earth (i.e. rivers, mountains, forests).
Let us not make the mistake of limiting Orun to a particular “place”. That would be too much of a generalization. Orun is a state of being. It is an existence that one transitions into after shedding the physical body - causing them to subsist at a higher vibrational frequency that goes beyond the physical world. The esoteric sciences of Ifa Yoruba Kabbalah thrive on the understanding of the vibrational power of thought, words, elements, and divine beings and thus, maintains the study of the transcendence of the human mind. There are two scientific laws that can help us understand this reality:
Objects that vibrate on the same frequency both recognize and communicate with each other. An example of this involves tuning forks. Take two tuning forks of the exact same frequency and hold them right next to each other. If you strike one of them, then the other will automatically begin to vibrate as well – one of them has spoken, the other has detected this communication and in turn responded. In reciprocity they continue this communication within a reverberation of the vibrations between them.
The faster an object vibrates, the harder it is to see and hear with the human eye and ear. For example, there are sounds that cannot be heard by humans that dogs are able to detect because their ears are attuned to those frequencies. Let’s use a guitar string as another example of this scientific principle. Simply by plucking the string, what once looked solid becomes almost transparent in the blink of an eye. This is because by plucking it you have raised its vibrational level to the point where seems to almost disappear. In fact, the air molecules around that are effected by the string in the course of its vibration do so at such a high frequency that it does not register to our eyes at all! It is our ears that are attuned to receive the higher vibrations!
Under these laws of physics, our body acts as a filter, through which our senses interpret the world around us; translating our reality into a form through which we can organize the input of information that is gathered from our surrounding world. Our senses simplify that which is eternal by nature and reduces it to an arrangement that can be received by our physical form. This is a survival mechanism that is a result of intelligent design – because our body does not have the capacity to perceive the vastness of Olodumare’s eternal universe.
When our physical body has ceased to vibrate on a level attuned to the laws of material existence we then transition into a heightened state of vibration – pulsating so rapidly that the human can no longer detect it using the five senses. In this state we are able to interact directly with the beings of the spirit world/Orun – without constraint. This is the point at which we return home. This point we call "death".
In order to interact with Orun in the physical plane we must exercise and heighten our perception. We must develop our extrasensory perception in order to push beyond the limitations that our physical body places on us. This is why I refer to Orun as a state of being, rather than a “place”. If we can push our minds beyond the filter of our humanly senses, then we can interact with this hidden world from which we all come.
Understanding which aspect of Orun you are from is an important part of this process. For we need to understand which elements of nature will help enhance our vibrational frequencies beyond our material limitations! Remember that there is diversity in Orun and one’s spirit can be from the river, mountains, forest etc. Once you know (through divination/Akose Jaiye reading) where you are from in Orun, you can identify which elements will enhance your vibrational quality on Earth.
This is a central aspect of the role of the Orisas in our life. Each Orisa governs a particular aspect of nature. So in addition to understanding what part of Orun you come from, you must also understand which Orisa governs your ancestral bloodline. Such Orisa lives in you! When you praise, create, feed or make ebo to an Orisa you are raising the qualities and characteristics of that Orisa within yourself. In addition, using the natural elements themselves, can raise your vibrational ability to attune to the hidden world (Orun).
I can tell you from personal experience that these principles are based on the Laws of Nature - of which the esoteric sciences of the Ifa Yoruba Kabbalah are based. Through divination I was commanded by Ogun to bring him back to my family (after many centuries of disconnect due to the trans-atlantic slave trade). On the night of that day that I made the Orisa Ogun (under the guidance of my teacher, Olori Asawo Ojeniyi Opeola) my ancestral Ogun communicated directly with me in my dream state. Everything was not in the form of words; most of the communication went directly into my mind, for lack of better terms. He told me he was proud of me and that he had accepted my offering of food and he showed me that he wanted plantain on his next feeding. Then something happened that goes beyond my ability to describe in words. But in attempt, I will say that he sent “files” full of information directly into my mind. There was so much going in that I could not detect much of it at the time of input and the only piece of information that I can recollect was the repeated phrase “7 out of 27”.
In the following scenes of the same dream sequence my father and I were in a room full of white snow. My father was of a pleasant mood and he was pleased with me also – as Ogun is the Orisa of his bloodline. Next, Ogun showed me a goat being sacrificed; a knife slicing its throat and dispelling blood. - This was the last of the images in the dream through which Ogun communicated with me.
Later I discovered some things that confirmed for me that this experience was, indeed, direct message from Ogun. First, I learned that some people’s Ogun take plantain, of which I previously had no knowledge of. Secondly I learned that Ogun’s number is 7, which revealed what the repeated phrase, “7 out of 27” meant. Lastly, I learned that in some temples, during the final ritual after creating Orisa Ogun, a goat is sacrificed – just as I had seen in my dream! This led me to believe that the making of my Ogun, as done here on Earth, was acknowledged, consecrated and completed in Orun – the hidden world; the parallel dimension.
For me, this is an undeniable experience that helped me internalize the concept of vibrational alignment with Orun through the Orisas. Igniting or “waking up” the Ogun within myself (bloodline of my father) - by creating the family Orisa and invoking his spirit into it - allowed me to receive communication directly from my ancestral Ogun. It also allowed for the ritual of which I had started in the physical realm to be carried out in Orun. This proved to me that the two worlds - one hidden, the other seen - are interrelated and that our ability to consciously witness and participate in our influence of that world, or the influence of that world on us is dependent upon the practical application of the Ifa Kabbalistic sciences.
The Esoteric School of Ifa Yoruba Kabbalah can help you heighten your perception/vibrational frequency and guide you in your alignment with the Orisa aspects of yourself. If you are interested, contact the Temple for information about the school and/or spiritual services (Divinations, ebo, traditional healing etc.)
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If you live in Africa please use the info above to request contact information for the headquarter Temple in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
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