The Wonders of Asé

Aboru Aboye.

The supreme deity Olodumare manifests, supervises, sustains, nourishes and organizes the entirety of the vast creation through His divine energy, current or dynamic power known as ase. It is through ase that Olodumare is everywhere present in the cosmos. All things animate and inanimate, visible and invisible, eternal and impermanent are suspended in, saturated by and immersed in this divine energy. Olodumare accomplishes His will and purposes through ase. When Olodumare commands and initiates action, it is ase which fulfills to perfection the order of Olodumare and manifests His declared purpose. This ase is mysterious, wonderful and life giving. Ase is the very spirit of life, strength, vitality, creative intelligence and ability which emanates from the heart of Olodumare. There is also a unique and special feature or function of this divine current. It is through ase that Olodumare causes us to experience Him, thereby coming to personally know of the reality of Olodumare and the reality of the divine world and the realm of invisible realities.

Just like music captures our attention, it draws us towards its source and fills us with inspiration, motivation, joy and power, so does Olodumare capture our attention, captures our heart and mind and pulls and draws us towards Himself and the higher worlds through the living and divine 'sound current' of ase which is experienced in the life, and in the spirit of the initiate and devotee, as an enlivening, attracting, empowering and motivating power, which increases, modifies and adjusts our understandings of life and gives us enthusiastic and optimistic power to live effectively and make positive and wise decisions and changes in our lives and environment that increase and improves our quality of life and manner of living.

It is by rightly giving direction to and right utilization of divine ase, and by following this current back to its source that we find perfection, completeness and unassailable safety (salvation). This Olodumare ase makes it possible for us to live an extraordinary life, a life of unalloyed happiness and undisturbed peace. Through the acquisition of ase we become imbued with a life condition characterized by imperterbable peace, inexhaustible inner strength (strength of good character, virtuous conduct, good concience and genuine and unwavering morality), divine intelligence and pure goodness (loving-kindness). It is through this ase that we discover, acquire and develop the God-Powers in our own lives. The power to see into the spiritual-divine world, the power to travel and see what is happening in far away places, the power to know and discern the thoughts and feelings of others, the power to bring spiritual-emotional-mental-physical healing to others is obtained by acquiring ase and by continuously being immersed in ase and by giving good use and direction to the divine ase.

Ase gives us the ability and power to love when we are surrounded by strife and hate. Ase gives us the ability and power to rid ourselves of selfishness and greed and live in the spirit of humility and altruism. Ase gives us the ability and power to make qualitative and profound changes at the root and fundamental levels of our being.This ase enhances and complements our character and personality,  and it activates the inner powers of our spirit; through ase you are fitted to take upon yourself the God-powers, becoming in the truest and honest sense of the word a godly or godlike person. The heart and secret of the Ifa faith is that it solely concerned with the acquisition of this divine ase through Isese. Isese is the divine culture, science and methodology of becoming a partaker of ase. Through this ase we are able, even while living in this world, to ascend and travel to, in spirit-vision to the divine realm of the Orisa and speak to them and learn from them face-to-face. The wonders of ase are glorious. By continuing to receive and imbue our lives with ase we experience divine transformation and we move from perfection to perfection, grace to grace and glory to glory until we are fitted to finally approach Olodumare in His divine palace and behold him as he is, in all of his royal radiance, beauty and splendor. This is the true heart and purpose of initiations, ebo, iwure, propitiation of Ori, reverencing of ancestors and worship of Orisa----the continual acquisition of Olodumare ase. It is only through ase that we are able to receive light, power and divine intelligence from Olodumare. It is only through ase that we are able to approach the Supreme Deity. Ifa-Orisa-Isese is faith is not so much a religion as it is a means and science of acquiring divine energy, divine power and divine intelligence. 

It is the nature of the sun to give light and heat. It is the nature of water to be fluidic and cool. It is the nature of the summer to be hot and it is the nature of winter to be cold. It is the nature of the wind to blow and move. In like manner it is the universal nature of mankind to live isese--divine culture, discipline and manner of life, rooted in humility, simplicity, truthfulness and kindness as the fundamental basis and requisite of receiving ase.

May you be empowered, blessed and inspired by these truths. Ase. May you be well, happy and peaceful by the power of these truths. Ase.

Alafia. Awo Orunmila Ogunda Aiku (Ifabiyi)