Benefits of Reverence

There are many benefits to living the principle of Ancestor Reverence. Not to be confused with worship, reverence is not connected to any religion! In other words one is able (and encouraged) to venerate their Ancestors even if their religious beliefs are Christianity, Buddism, Islam etc.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Reverence- “To offer honor or respect to (someone) as a divine power”

Divine- “Relating to, or proceeding directly from God. Supremely good (superb)”

After my brother, nephew and best friend made their transition I was so grateful that I was already in the habit of honoring my Ancestors. For me it gave me a safety blanket in having to navigate such profound “loss” in my life. The benefits of Ancestor Reverence have been plenty, here I will just name three. I’ve listed these in the order that ring true for me and would encouraged that you examine the benefits that acknowledging your Ancestors has brought to you.

With reverence it required me to be present, to know that messages from my loved ones would come in various ways and usually in the smallest way. Most of us have heard of “angel numbers” (when we see a number repeating itself an angel is around) for me those numbers have a double message because my brother was a master in Numerology. Needless to say I smile when I see 11:11 or 3:33 or my total at the register is 4.44 or 4.15 (his birthday). A friend who recently lost her father said that when she sees a red bird she knows that it’s her father reminding her of their love. 

Venerating loved ones helps to heal relationships. Often times people pass away without having much needed conversations with their loved ones, often times many questions are left unanswered. As souls in a human experience we often are only able to see things from our view. However our Ancestors help us to have a better understanding through an aerial view. More times than not there are no justifications for some of the hurt that humans cause other humans yet for the person hurt, understanding can offer relief. I know this first hand!

Surrender is vital. “All things work together for the good of those who love the lord” Romans 8:28 I heard my nephew remind me of this moments before my sister called to say that he had died. In the odu Ikafun we are reminded that “What will happen will happen”. I am truly grateful to my Ancestors for teaching me about navigating life & one of the key components is to surrender. After all nothing is happening at random, surrender to “the Force”.

Ase’

Funerals are for “the Living”

It’s an old saying that I recently heard (again like for the first time) from a sweet coworker. “Funerals are for the living”. She was saying this to me at the right time, as my Aunt passed away a week ago & my son made it clear that he “didn’t want to go to the funeral, it would hurt too bad”. About two weeks later I went to my stepmother’s funeral and for several reasons I could clearly see how “funerals are for the living”.

It allows the living to reflect on their life with the person who has died.

It allows the living to see family and loved ones that they haven’t seen in years.

It allows the living to sit with our own mortality…one day we all have to sit in “that box at the front of the church”.

It allows the living to celebrate with lots of love, in a way send off the person who has died.

Funerals are certainly for the living, the dead is unconcerned, even if they may be in attendance.

The funeral is for the living so much so that sometimes the funeral itself does not reflect the person who actually did the dying.

The funerals are for the living, one of it’s very reasons for existence as a rite (ritual) is to help the grieving process….. of the living.

The physical goodbye, the release, the ending and just the beginning…funerals are for the living!