The School of Bwiti

Bwiti is a school, not a religion.  It's the school of life; they teach the art of living. The only rule is "Dont do anything to harm nature". The only prayer is, "Thank you for this day" each morning. There is only one truth and only one God.

The Pygmy tribe are the people to whom iboga was first given.

Wherever I go, Matt follows me, speaking of the Bwiti truths.  In essence, he is saying the same things over and over in different ways. Each time, I understand more. The first time he said it, I thought, "yes, I already know that" as I equate what he is saying to my own life experience. The next time he says it, I think "oh wait, it's deeper than I thought. It actually means a quite a bit more than I originally thought." Revelation hits me. I struggle, making a mental note to try to  remember the lesson. The next time he says it, I begin to feel the knowledge deep inside me and not just in my mind.

I've learned that the mind is just a tool; it's ONLY a tool. My mind tries to impersonate me and control my being. My mind has convinced me all these years that I am my mind. But that is not true. I AM is my essence, my spirit, joined in sacred song with the Great I AM. My mind is only an input factory where the filtering begins, like a water plant. I have the ability to swipe right or swipe left to every thought that tries to enter my mind. Does this thought serve me well? Does it bring life? Does it bring joy? My mind is a tool for me to use, but it is not me.

One of the main lessons of Bwiti is to just be. Be present in the here and now and clear the mind. To be .. is free, Trisha says.

Matt, Christy and Trisha are millennials. They are the ones who rejected the workaholic, money-minded ideals of the previous Gen X'ers. To live, to be, to enjoy life and those around you is where it's at. Pot is their medicine and video games are the driver to their trance. Versus spreadsheets of my generation... Money and things are not what's important. The less money you make, the less you have to pay the man... the less the man controls you. Whether it's right or wrong, I applaud them for finding a way to live life this way. I have to admit there's a part of me that wants to reject or judge them. All they do is hang out high all day long and talk about life? The concept is foreign to me. So here I am being taught the meaning of life by a bunch of millennials... it's a complete undoing of my upbringing and programming.

The only rule is to not harm nature, and at the pinnacle of nature is myself. I may follow this rule by not littering the earth, avoiding plastic where I can, recycling, not killing an animal I don't intend to eat, not polluting the water, etc. But how do I take care of myself? In how many ways do I bring harm to myself every day and think nothing of it. Somehow we can believe that the self sacrifice of ourselves for the good of others or a cause is virtuous. Bwiti teaches that we should treat ourselves like we treat our own firstborn. With our own firstborn, we take a cautious eagle eye to make sure everything is as perfect as possible in their care, preventing harm from coming to them, compassionately holding,  rocking and loving them. If someone else breaks a plate, we say "No worries, I'll clean it up; no big deal". But when we break the plate, we beat ourselves up over it. This is not love of self. I have treated myself like the ugly stepchild, not a most beloved firstborn.

This evening is my spiritual sprinkling ceremony. In the meantime, I'm being, reflecting, and I've been introduced to Bwiti hip hop...もっと詳しく