apologies to all
this one was in response to a listserve thread
about hoodoo and spiritual activism
ima just put it up now, but im tired and dont feel
like working on it, i will clean it up tomorrow:
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i agree that activism of the spirit is the highest level of activism
which is why i have focused my organizing activities on the hoodoo tradition
jesus has turned more heads that marx ever thought of
i tend to think of spiritual activism the way i think of my art
i do my activist thing because i was trained to make a contribution
whenver and however i can
but i dont expect it to really change the world
it may change the conditions of specific individuals and groups
but after almost 40 years in the struggle i dont expect a lot
i do it because i have been trained to do it and as a child of
the 60s i would feel bad not to help however and whenever i can
but my art, thats a different thing, i expect my art to influence
generations after generations and to really make change
not in my lifetime, art doesnt work like that, but its capable of
changing generations, of actually influencing the destiny of humanity
in the same way that say for instance ishmaels mumbo jumbo
changed african american literature from christian based to hoodoo magic based work
and in the same way that change keeps reverberating through african american culture
generation after generation, thats the kind of influence i want my work to have
and i feel the same way about the hoodoo tradition
if we can make the hoodoo tradition powerful it will influence
generations and generations in the same way that christanity, islam, judaism
and so forth have shaped their cultures,
we can use the hoodoo tradition
to shape our culture (and thru it the world)
and shape the destiny of the blackrace and all humanity
i dont believe there is any more powerful contribution to make
than to shape a spiritual tradition in such a way that it evolves
along the lines you think suitable
if we do it properly, we can do it the same way that islam has shaped its culture
that chrianity has shaped its, judaism, hinduism, etc etc,
and because we
are in at the beginning more or less of this process we are the ones
who will determine the lines of hoodoo evolution and its influence on
the destiny of humanity
its on us to make sure its a strong contribution and try to alleviate the
weaknesses that can so often attend to spiritual activism and result
in abominations like jonestown or other such
accordingly as part of that hoodoo activism i dont want to shape
hoodoo as a religious tradition, i would like to leave it a magical and
spiritual
tradition, one that questions and is skeptical rather than basing its power
on blind faith
in part because it has traditionally been so and i believe there is a
strength
in that approach that a religious tradition does not have, a flexibility
but it is because of the religious component of contemporary hoodoo
the fact that so many practitioners of other atrs have interfaced with hoodo
that i have reached for the compromise of aspiring to the prophetic
even withini religious traditions the prophet is free of institutional
hierarchies
(much like the hoodoo vis a vis the other atr hierarchcial religions)
the prophet is a part of yet not
the prophet is an individualistic practitioner (much like hoodoo (and mystically inclined artists for that matter)
and there is not much difference between the sorceric and the prophetic
they manifest the same powers, except that one serves only clients and self
the other also serves god(s) and the community
i was made aware of this distinction reading a work on the prophets of east africa
and the book made the statement that the difference between the diviners
(which is basically what we are) of the masai and others tribes and the
prophet diviner (the diviner who is also ackwnowledged prophet) is that
the prophet diviner is not only concerned w/clients but with the
guidance of the entire society (or tribe)
and that the prophet diviners practice went beyond the private readings of the diviner to include public ritualwork (which for me is those of us who practice performance ritualwork)
i have been asked what i mean with term destiny workers
or destiny players
and basically i mean folk who are trying to shape the destiny of humanity
who feel that human destiny is not a given but that we shape it daily and
that with study and application it can be shaped as we see fit
that part of my interest in adding highmagic to the folkmagic focus of
hoodoo today
striving to be able to shape reality so that it reflects our vision of
what it should be
and not necessarily just accepting it as it is
folk who are comfortable using ageold techniques of ideological and
prophetic orchestration
to try to shape the destiny of humanity in the direction of their vision
for humanity
i dont agree that the end is near
i have an unshakable faith in the ability of humanity to make its
adjustments
and to continue to evolve - to shape its own destiny
part of this faith is a faith in myself as one of the worlds destiny players
i am constantly trying to assess the challenges and opportunities that
will face
future generations and try to input into the cultural mix (the tribal
soul)
he psychological and cultural traits that i think will finesse
these challenges
and keep humanity growing on
the good foot
i realize this is perhaps misplaced confidence on my part
but nevertheless it is
and i have decided that the hoodoo tradition is the most promising
instrument
of this ongoing effort to forge a more appropriate human destiny
and part of my hoodoo mission is to develop this confidence and this power
and the necessary skills to manifest this prophetic power in
the hoodoo practitioners of the future
my most fundamental phrase that i hope to imbed in the culture is:
cast your vision young hoodoo as far as you can see
determine the challenges the tribe will face
prepare the tribal soul to meet them
so i dont agree that the end is near
i do agree that americas dominance is only a phase
and yes the change might be catastrophic
but i have an abiding and unshakable faith in
the ability of humanity to make whatever adjustments
are necessary in our ongoing evolution to higher ground
and i believe in the activism that enables that struggle
even when it looks most hopeless
i believe that it is our responsibility as
the awake and aware in the land of the half sleep
to use our powers to take care of the community
and provide guidance and protection
my spiritual activism is my primary focus
but i do not see that as dichotomous with my
community activism and see them as two sides
of the same coin
how strong can we be
if the community is weak
in spirit and struggle
arf
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