OBASI OHA TRACS

CHIISM proposes more than the promotion of just mere symbolism and ancient African relics. Chiism is harbored in the spiritual intentions behind African proverbs and idioms. CHIISM is a conduit for a collection of inspirational and motivational words of wisdom with the intent of teaching various attitudinal precepts. It is not simply based on the historical relics that belong in museums and advocated solely by so called “historical” gurus. CHIISM is a synthesis of Africa’s spiritual tradition of direct communication with God. We are cognizant of Africa’s diverse religious traditions but have embraced the ones that emphasize the direct connection with God, but do honor and respect the ones with different tenets.

CHIISM is a religious philosophy. We do not just regurgitate mere cultural practices and traditions without philosophical tenets. Great African authors and practitioners of African spirituality understand the importance of traditional symbolism, but still understand that 21st African spirituality must rise to accommodate the 21st century global community and must find information inherent in their bowls to feed the minds of the new age thinkers.

CHIISM is a synthesis of African spiritual tenets with universal relevance. Although the founder was Igbo he never preached that we should be so closed minded that we think only in terms of the ancient. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. of today do not look like they did centuries ago.

CHIISM rejects any notion that there is a so called “authentic” African spirituality. Instead we embrace all the relevant cultural precepts and philosophical tenets relevant in the 21st century for propulsion forward, to vibrate at a higher spiritual and intellectual forum. Being stuck in the “past” and advocating only historical “facts” that may be relevant historically but irrelevant in today’s reality is not the objective of CHIISM.

It is reversed imperialism by the so called African cultural “historians” or “gurus” who deride African spirituality for striving to ascend century’s old misguided attitude that Africans are spiritually and intellectually incompetent.

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

YAGAZIE!

OBASI OHA TRACS

“The only thing greater than you is the Sun, the greatest manifestation of God. You do not have the right to die until you have made a difference and never live anywhere unknown.” His Holiness Ahanyi K.O.K Onyioha, said this to Oke Dibia for many years as a way to assist her in overcoming some very difficult challenges. Such wisdom he shared with all his children. These were such powerful words because they were confidence builders. Ahanyi reminded us that we can only claim relevance in the world if something worthy or worthy acts toward humanity are attached to our name. We must never choose to be so obscure that nobody even knew we existed when we transition onward. He reminded everyone who had the good fortune to know him, that people who challenge us are not greater than the Sun and unless they can prove they are, they must not be a hindrance to our power to move forward.

Come to think of it, he too heard it from his father and perhaps his father from his as well.  As you move through your day today, know that no roadblock is too difficult for you to weave and bob and get out of the way! If it is not the Sun in your eyes,  move through!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie!

OBASI OHA TRACS

The elders are full of wisdom waiting to be tapped. One elder shared that we have an inner world and an outer world. To experience them requires solitude. Our divinity is exposed to us sometimes when we are alone with ours
elves and doing righteous things. The fullness of life presents itself in how we breathe with ease when we are authentic in our love for lives, and when we honor and respect each other. It is in our solitude that we dare to be alone until we glow in the light of life presented to us unselfishly by Chineke.

It is when we embrace the opportunity to meditate that we find the path in our lonesomeness, deep within to reach that unspoiled clearing. It is in this clearing, embedded in the recesses of our minds that we find the ancestors walking with us, holding our hands, reminding us that to struggle is living, and to live is to struggle. It is in these moments that we find the courage to reach out to our neighbors, and find that the fullness of our existence, is the need to be, to see the same humanity who are our neighbors walking in the clearing, discovering their divinity too.

When the inner world meets the outer world, your existence finds its traditional world of entry. African spirituality is rich with deep philosophical wonderment, a natural blend of perennial data collected from the boundaries of our humanness and captured from the unlimited source fountain of our spirit.

Discover it!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie!

OBASI OHA TRACS

So much world to see, love to share and hopes to raise…are you willing? Are you willing to look at your fellow human beings as the temples of God that need respect, spiritual support and embrace? Are you willing to go beyond human failings as your yardstick for engagement or are you willing to see the good in everyone unless they prove otherwise?

Have you ever wondered how blessed you would be when you stop preaching your religion and start being your religion? How do YOU achieve a state of AMARACHI if you are not willing to give up old ways that rumple spiritual harmony and render your human interaction to the lower instincts?

An old man or woman can walk a hundred miles with a cane and a prayer. He or she will get there ultimately with devotion to achieving the objective of the process, and belief in the reward at the end of the journey. Many who fear religion must remember that it is not the religion that is “bad”, it is the people who misrepresent the religion. We can achieve the objectives in Chineke’s decree for our collective well-being, by simply keeping our eyes open to see the glory road, the ears clean to hear the heavenly sounds of our progress, our hearts open to share our profound blessings, and our mouths willing to speak of Chineke’s glory.

Are you willing?

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie!

OBASI OHA TRACS~~~WE ARE IGBO…PERIOD!

According to many fervent discussions, the Igbos are the lost tribe of Israel. Well, we Chiists have no qualms with people seeking to identify with any particular human family they choose to help them to celebrate this existence called life…we just reject the general application to all Igbos. The problem is that in clinging to this facetious argument for self deprecation , we enigmatically and unequivocally uplift someone else’s identity. We minimize the significance of our own existence and relevance in Nigeria. An Igbo Nigerian proverb states that a fool “Na akpa uka onye odo, onye odo amaghi nke ya akpa”…a fool tells other people’s stories but cannot tell HIS own, and consequently when others cannot tell his story… he becomes a blip in HISTORY

For those who claim Jewish heritage, go ahead and move your minds, mental and spiritual capital in that direction. The rest of us Igbos will continue to research to add to the existing knowledge we have that chronicles the journey of Igbos through the African continent. Not being definitive does not mean that we should journey toward an identity that does not fortify our African identity but instead characterizes us as insignificant in Nigeria, a platform for potential exploitation. Igbos are establishing synagogues not Obasi…Judaic communities not Ezi or Obi…Shalom for hello, not Ndewo… black and white Jewish attire not Igbo colorful Akwa or Okara.

A Jewish man from Israel proclaimed that he witnessed an undeniable sense of the Igbo’s Judaic communities with a deep and conspicuous longing for Jewish study and Jewish life…not Igbo life, JEWISH life! Our young Igbo youth have moved from the damage of Christian dogmatism to Jewish learning and knowledge. Meanwhile Igbos bury their traditions in the cultural graveyard of antiquity and allow the destruction of their sacred relics!

Igbos did not come up from tribes of Semites who traveled across the Sahara; an argument borne out of sentimental proclivities. Similarities with the Jewish people such as male circumcision, and business dispositions, do not mean that we came from the same gene pool!

Igbo history dates back earlier than the age being ballyhooed as the estimated epoch of the said Semitic tribes’ Saharan passage. Vestiges of customary and sacred items were dug-up years ago in Igbo Ukwu and Aguleri, Ohafia, Afikpo, Nkporo, Arochukwu etc.  Some of these objects currently under exhibit at the Igbo Ukwu Museum date earlier!

We are unconditionally Igbo Nigerians…not Jewish…Not Israeli …NOT Semitic or anything else. When the Biafran Republic was acknowledged, it was an episode contiguous to the Nigerian Civil War ischemic in identity resonance, but Igbos on no account have and always shall be nothing else but Igbo…a badge we wear with honor!

Igbo Kwenu!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie!

OBASI OHA TRACS

The educated young African missionary yelled before the village elders who have gathered to hear his message, “Repent so that you can reach the kingdom of heaven!”

An elder asked thoughtfully,” And have you been
to Heaven?”

“No” said the Missionary.”However it is where we go when we live honest lives, love and honor our fellow man and love the lord.”

Asked another wise elder,” This is a peaceful village. We honor and respect each other. We cater to the needs of the less fortunate, respect our elders and honor Chineke. Is heaven like that?”

“Yes sir! That’s the definition of heaven! Except you will sit at the feet of the lord!”

Asked another elder, ” Do you mean that the lord is not here that you have described as the equivalence of Heaven?”

“Well the Lord is in heaven and if you continue to live as you do now, then you shall meet him in heaven. For that matter when he comes back he will take you to heaven with him.”

Another elder beseeches. ” So there is a different heaven? Where is it?”

“It is in the sky. When you die the winged angels will come and carry you there.”

“I see. So I have to die first?

“Yes sir. But oh, the glory when you arrive there!”

The eldest and wisest elder said to the missioner” Step down from there young man! How is it that you have read all the holy books but have no knowledge of the heart of your people? Chineke is the heart of the people. Chineke is the reason we are “heaven-like” in our existence. If you understood the heart of the people, you will realize that we are what we are because the spirit of Chineke is already within us. Our CHI directs our actions and connects us to Chineke’s. We do not go anywhere to be connected…we are already connected! We respect your right to seek heaven as you choose. However, please respect the right of the people to embrace Chineke’s peace the way we see fit. It only works for us when we understand who and what we are.”

As the elders began to leave, the missionary moved to another tree stump.”

“Repent so that you can reach the kingdom of heaven!”

Not to worry. The elders left a message in his heart. It will grow slowly like a seed and eventually blossom! Soon he and his Chi will be left with themselves to discover the world and treasure at his feet. He will remember the day that his elders reminded him to reach in and with his breath discover the treasure waiting within that he is reasoning away.

If we cannot find happiness within ourselves or in our blessed environs, it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie!

OBASI OHA TRACS

You begin so EXCITED, aware and grateful. The sun somehow hangs there in the sky. The little bird sings. The world is rosy and everyone is beautiful. We are curious about our world and strive to be a part of it. Life is so
good. We do not have a sense of foreboding but embrace the unknown as a part of the great awakening. Then you stump your toe. Suddenly, in the middle of your pain, the world is reduced to your bruised little toe. Now for a few days it hurts to walk. With every step you take, you are reminded of your poor little toe. Your vigilance becomes: Which defines your day..the pinch you feel as you walk or the miracle of life still happening?

It is the giving over to smallness that opens us up to misery. In truth we begin by taking nothing for granted, grateful to be alive, to smell the roses and to inhale and exhale. Yet in the middle of our living, our focus narrows and we become angry in a diner because the eggs are runny or the waitress counted the change wrong. When we narrow our focus, we see problems in everything, and we assume the worst.

Worse….we spread it. Be the peace and truth you want to see in the world.

Wishing you love and light!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie.

OBASI OHA TRACS

OBASI OHA NDUMODU (SERMON)

Once at an open field under consideration for the construction of the Obasi Oha in the village of Nkporo in Abia State Nigeria, Ahanyi K.O.K Onyioha asked his audience of six African American visitors to Nigeria
why they thought that visiting Nigeria was a good thing. One African American gentleman noted that the purpose of the visit was because he felt a close relationship with the country and felt compelled to come. The other said she was a good friend of Oke Dibia Dr. Uwa Osimiri and wanted to visit her home, and another said that he wanted to dispel the notion that Nigerians were all engaged in 419. Unsure what 419 was, Ahanyi asked for an explanation. Trying not to sound offensive, the gentleman explained that he meant that Nigerians were considered shysters. Ahanyi asked if he has met one on the trip and the gentleman answered no. Ahanyi persisted, pausing to re-tie the cloth around his waist. “We all stray from righteousness. That is part of our human failings. However, it is important to refrain from making an assumption of a whole swath of people. That is what makes you a good person, judging someone based on facts, not assumptions…facts.”

Often we are burdened with our bad experiences through interpersonal or business relationships that went awry that we spend so much time trying to find reasons to hate people than reasons to like them. Yet in our moment of personal weakness we find solace in accusing and projecting. Life is never lived when we strive to find a bogey man behind every stranger we meet. Life is always made more fruitful and enjoyable when assumptions are put aside and the human connection is made based on the Chiist principal premise” Afurm Gi. I see you,”…. not my assumptions…not my innuendos and not my own fears… you!

The moment we allow ourselves to walk away from where we want to be and enter the valley where we do not want to be, our lives are riddled with regrets. When we find that the world is bleak not as a result of reality but as a result of what door we have opened, as a result of what windows of opportunity we have closed, we are left with asking ourselves” Who are we?”. An answer only we and our Chi are burdened to answer.

The worst part of being in the valley is bringing other people along with us. The good news is that as we grow wings, as we shed our burdens for mother earth to gulp, we soar as we ought to, beacons of love and peace!

Loving light and love to you all!

Otito nile diri Chineke!

Yagazie.

OBASI OHA TRACS

OBASI OHA TRACS

Stop trying to be someone you’re not! CHINEKE CREATED THE MOST POWERFUL AND UNIQUE HUMAN BEING….YOU! – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Som
eone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be You.

Don’t change so people will like you. When people like you for your ability to conform, they tolerate the new you that suits their definition of right and wrong. You become a tool. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. If it does not feel right, it is not right. Resist the temptations to lie to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves.

The Nkomii is a good spiritual book to read. We are led to a deeper awareness of how to live rich, fulfilling lives in a world fraught with stress and anxiety and inhumanity. There is an African proverb that reminds us that only when you can begin with the acknowledgement of “I” can you introduce “Me”. To define yourself to somebody who does not know you, begin by accepting the vessel of light of Chineke that you are. Step up and celebrate the “I Am” in You!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke

Yagazie!

OBASI OHA TRACS

Trouble will find you no matter where you hide and how far you run! Look out…it will come! So you might as well stop running! The shadows following you as you run are your problems…they run with you! When challenges end a
t your door step, stop sealing the door with all manners of security systems (figuratively speaking). Face them head on! Nobody said life would be easy. It never is! Don’t fall apart just because life happened to you!

Nobody in this universe is remotely equipped to immaculately handle every blow thrown at them. Problem solving is not instantaneous. Chineke did not design us that way. In fact, we’re made to get distressed, depressed, hurt, slip and go down! Believe it or not, this is what living is about. We are supposed to go through these challenges yet face them, gain knowledge, adjust, and resolve them over time. This is what in the end shapes us into the person we develop into. Stop whining because life happened to you.

If you need just a little help, reach in and have a heart to heart with your CHI…the greatest Dibia Isi (Psychiatrist) you will ever know…and the consultation is free!

Otito Nile Diri Chineke!

Yagazie!