The mind is a window to infinite and unlimited wisdom when it is managed properly. But when it is not monitored, guided and protected rightly, that same mind can become a pathway toward destruction.

An unproductive and unprotected mind becomes the workshop of the wicked, the vile and the evil.

The mind is like fertile land. When good seeds are not planted, cultivated and carefully nurtured, weeds will naturally occupy the empty space.

Therefore, guard your mind as you would guard fertile land.

What you plant within it will eventually produce its fruits.

A guarded and disciplined mind sees infinite blessings within life’s different circumstances. It develops the ability to foresee, predict, analyze and prepare wisely while crossing the great ocean of life.

THE MIND OF THE PRIEST

Some people rely upon wonderful, knowledgeable and experienced Babalawo or priests for spiritual guidance and direction, but they sometimes fail to understand that a person’s habits are products and manifestations of the mind.

Therefore, we should not examine only what a priest knows.

We should also examine how the priest lives.

A drunken priest depicts a confused and undisciplined mind. Such a person may exercise monumental negative influence not only upon your own life, but also upon your family and future generations.

Likewise, an immoral priest becomes a vessel through which delusion, destruction, disaster, doom, death, disgrace, deception, depression, distortion and danger may enter the lives of those who blindly follow such a person.

Knowledge alone is therefore insufficient.

The mind behind the knowledge matters.

The character behind the spiritual authority matters.

The habits of the person giving spiritual guidance matter.

A priest or initiate who possesses wisdom must first demonstrate that wisdom through the discipline of his or her own mind, habits and inner life.

THE TEACHING OF OTURA IRETE

When a priest or initiate is wise, disciplined and creative, he or she manifests the teaching contained within Otura Irete.

Otura Irete teaches the importance of moderation, wisdom, understanding and mastery of the inner life.

Otura Irete:

He who knows moderation and whose mind is filled with wisdom and understanding will not easily fall into disgrace, disease, disaster, doom, destruction, untimely death, delusion and deception.

I ask:

Who knows moderation?

Orunmila says:

He who continually works upon his mind, his habits and his inner life.

I ask again:

Who knows moderation?

The one who does not steal.

The one who avoids immoral conduct.

The one who avoids drunkenness.

The one who does not smoke.

The one who avoids gossip.

The one who rejects laziness and indolence.

The one who does not cultivate hatred.

Orunmila says:

The one who does not drink alcohol and who does not break his oath to friends and loved ones understands the discipline of moderation.

Otura Irete further teaches us about the individual who rises early in the morning, prays, meditates and thinks carefully about the best way to perform the activities of the coming day.

This is mental discipline.

This is conscious living.

This is the deliberate cultivation of the mind.

CHOOSE YOUR ASSOCIATIONS WISELY

Ifá, through this Odù, advises us to guard our minds and associate with the best and the wisest, so that we may magnetize the best and greatest blessings into our lives and into the lives of our future generations.

Association matters.

The people around us influence our thoughts.

Thoughts influence habits.

Habits influence character.

Character influences our actions.

And our actions influence the direction of our lives.

Therefore, never surrender your mind blindly to another person merely because that person carries a spiritual title.

Seek wisdom together with character.

Seek knowledge together with discipline.

Seek spiritual understanding together with morality.

Seek teachers whose lives demonstrate the principles they teach.

THE MIND AND THE GREAT MAGNETIC FIELD OF LIFE

The universe is a great magnetic field of life.

This should cause us to think, rethink and, most importantly, analyze what is taking place within our own minds.

Ask yourself:

What am I allowing into my mind?

What thoughts am I repeatedly cultivating?

What habits are those thoughts producing?

Who am I allowing to influence me?

Are my associations strengthening or weakening my mind?

Are my thoughts moving me toward wisdom or toward destruction?

Take responsibility for the activities of your mind.

Control what needs to be controlled.

Correct what needs to be corrected.

Remove what needs to be removed.

Plant what needs to be planted.

Then nurture the seeds of wisdom, prayer, discipline, patience, good character, creativity and understanding.

The mind is fertile ground.

Plant wisdom, and cultivate wisdom.
Plant discipline, and cultivate discipline.
Plant good character, and cultivate good character.
Plant prayer, and cultivate spiritual strength.

Protect your mind so that it may become an instrument through which you attract the best and greatest possibilities for yourself, your family and your future generations.

Mo ṣe Ela Aboru.
I say, Ela Aboru.

Mo ṣe Ela Aboye.
I say, Ela Aboye.

Mo ṣe Ela Abosise.
I say, Ela Abosise.

Àṣẹ.