Vodou & Resilience

Vodou Heals! It's that simple. Since Vodou means spirit, let me explain this to you in another way.

Everyone is always talking about the resilience of Haitian people. Resilience is ok, sure. But the power is our ability to work with spirits. Spirits can heal, and that is the science behind resistance. Knowing know how to serve spirits within a community for the good of the whole community.

Working with our inner spirits teaches us how to flow. While Haitian sometimes appear to be kind hearted people, and we are. But we are also a force to be reckoned with in the spiritual sense. We don't forget. We forgive ourselves, and we have this knack for being able to move on quickly. It is because we know that time always cycles back to the point of the last misdeed for another revolution. So we flow like the Uroboros.

Want to become more resilient? Here's a tip. Anyone that tells you to forget about some atrocity done to you, your family or your community does not have your best interest at heart. They have theirs. Learn to be present with your emotions instead of trying to stuff them back down into your sacrum will allow you to flow.

The key is to learn to allow energies to flow through you and not embody them. To feel your emotions and go through them. It is the way to a young heart and regenerative constitution. Being acutely aware of the spirits moving through your body teaches you to understand your humanity, the frailty and beastly nature of man.

When we allow emotions to pass through us like waves of water, we can accept the impermanence of all of life.

In my culture, we understand pain is a messenger. Like joy, anger, and other "negative" emotions they signal us towards rebalance and equilibrium. All emotions are useful and have incredible healing powers - when we know how to ritualize their release. By the way, I recognize that some of our rituals have been replaced with seating in pews while we worship an external god, but we always find a way around that too. Releasing energy through ritual keeps our body temple clean and pure. In this way, we can commune with our cosmic forces at will.

As long as you see your emotions as you, you are missing the mark. You are not here to gathering emotions to take with you. Neither are you here to collect material stuff; you can't take with you.

Pay close attention to what I'm about to say. Your divine purpose is to live every moment fully present; to be a present or gift to this world. To present yourself as the gift your community needed and the job of your community is to recognize and accept you and your gift. It does not mean you are perfect; it means you are just a piece of the puzzle.

So here's what I wanted to share with you today. Energetic spirits are always moving through all of us at all times. Some are called emotions. They operate in their realms under their specific laws (Loas - Vodou). They have their place, honor them and serve them like you serve a plate of food to a guest you like.

Do it in a way that allows the other person to digest the fullness of you one bite at a time. Get my book Humina Serving Inner Spirits on Amazon to learn about my journey working with inner spirits (that's my official plug :-).

When you learn this simple truth, you will no longer need to control others. You will stop looking for the fountain of youth because you are eternal already. Your body will become more self-regenerative. You gain "eternal life."

Irmina Tutu
Sodotutu