THE MANY WAYS OF KNOWING

.... by Asaiah Hanif-Saeed, PhD, MsD., KRT
.... Everything happens for a reason. This is a term that I often hear in my daily travels. What I find interesting, is usually after the person says it, they have no idea of the reason behind the event that happened. When pressured, some become philosophical and make a statement that implies that we are not meant to know some things; an ideology that never rests well with me. Those who are more honest simply say that they do not know. ....Of course, I have no problem with the actual statement itself for it is true. There is a reason behind all things that happen and I would like to add that YES, we can know the meaning, reason and rhyme behind it.
.... In my Egyptian shamanic studies, one of the greatest skills my teacher, Master Ra imparted to me was the many ways of knowing; the many ways of communicating with higher spiritual beings.
One of the tools most often used is the shamanic journey which information can be retrieved by entering a higher state of consciousness. The shamanic journey allows one to tap into a transpersonal consciousness where limiting thoughts, ideas, philosophies and belief systems are transcended. When properly performed, you are allowed communication with higher, benefic spiritual entities or archetypes who want, more than anything to help humankind in our evolution. With proper training, almost any one can become adept at using this method to help answer simple and difficult questions in their lives and retrieve information to know the reason behind a particular issue or event. However, this is not the only type of oracular technique available for true knowing.
.... Another is dreams, visions and epiphany. Often times we over look certain ideas, themes and images that come to us in our dreams. The dream worlds, more often than not, communicate to us with surreal images that can be difficult to understand. However, when there is something that our benefic spiritual helpers want us to really grasp, if we think about the dream and write it down the very moment we awake, usually the message of the dream state is revealed to us.
.... Another way of knowing is through the use of animals. Much can be gleaned by the sudden appearance of an animal and watching its behavior. Each animal has its own meaning and symbology. You watch its behavior, the direction it appeared from, the direction it’s traveling, the time of day and how its appearance is synchronistic to you at the very moment it appeared. This could give you volumes on the meaning behind an issue or event. It is also of great help if you know the god or archetype that rules either the animal, the current time, and the day or all three.
....A third way of knowing can be accessed through reading natural objects of nature. This type of spiritual communication can be found in many traditional African shamanic societies. For example, some Zulu shamans of South Africa have a method of divination that incorporates the use of a collection of sacred objects which they find along the way during their initiation into the society of shamans. This divinatory system may include things such as stones, bones, and objects of metal and just about any other object that finds the shaman initiate on his/her journey. The Yoruba shamans of West Africa, whose ten thousand year old shamanic tradition is alive and flourishing, have a divinatory system where they cast cowry shells to communicate directly with the mind of the Supreme Being. This art is taught to the initiate who is under a long tutelage of their master shaman who is called a Babalawo.
....What I have just described are different forms of oracles, ways through which spirits communicate with humans. There are basically two types of oracles, high and low oracles. Low oracles lack the science of divine mathematics as its medium of contact, thus, allowing spirits of any type of conscious development access for communication. Usually, it’s the spirits of a low development that find their way through. A good example of a low oracle would be the Ouija board.
....High oracles work differently. They are structured upon a divine mathematical system that allows it to access the underlying creative intelligence that is, the mind of the Supreme Being. Good examples of high oracle are Ifa’s Opele and the Ikin as well as the Egyptian Oracle system that I use in my practice. Traditionally, African shamanic cultures used tools of divination to help keep the culture in balanced harmony with nature. Whether the individual needed a personal consultation or the group needed spiritual guidance, the shaman was able to divine and commune with the spirits by using Oracles.There are many ways of knowing, some that I have not mentioned such as astrology and numerology. With time and patience, one can learn these ancient ways of knowing that allow us to peer behind the veil of the unknown and partake in its knowledge. So the next time we find ourselves saying, “Everything happens for a reason,” we will know the reason.

Asaiah is an initiated shaman and therapist in private practice in Marietta, Ga. Email him at Conta
c t@TwinSpiritShamanicCounseling.com or call 678.230-5571