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I was brought to Malidoma Some´ and the Dagara Medicine through my connection to one of the women involved in the healing Sister Circles in Boston, where I am a Community Service Specialist for over 40 years. In this role, I have been a teacher, mentor, advocate, community activist, program developer and administrator. I have lent my voice and skills to many organizations whose mission is the empowerment of women and children. I have worked on issues of women's empowerment, adult basic education, housing, substance abuse, health and wellness, employment and training.
My connection to the Dagara Medicine was the entrance for me to do my own personal healing, to connect to my ancestors, to ground and root me to the knowing in my bones. Everything that I knew innately and had stored in my bones came alive for me when I came in contact with this medicine. I finally had names, words and experiences for things I felt and knew. It was easy for me to embrace this medicine because “my spirit came alive with the sights and sounds of this ancient culture.”
The Dagara medicine and wisdom now informs my daily walk, how I move and have my being in the world. Being in ritual, supporting and leading ritual, helping others go through ritual is where and when I am fully alive. Being in service as a midwife, supporting others as they give birth to themselves and their life purpose is what sustains me. Holding space, the container, creating a force-field, as Malidoma says to be an instrument for spirit to come through, so others may discover who they are, their purpose and stand in their power, is when I am able to share my gifts and the medicine.
Why Elder initiation?
In the “Healing Wisdom of Africa” Malidoma talks about adversity as initiation - a rite of passage - so to speak, as “a necessary ingredient in the removal of whatever stands between us and our essential self… an ordeal that stretches the physical self far enough to release something else that brings more awareness, more sense of responsibility and more wisdom. Every bump in a person’s life is an opportunity to grow and change...opportunities that call us forth, propelling us into the higher grounds of our lives”.
In 2009 when I was invited and accepted as a candidate for Elder Initiation I was in the height of such an ordeal, an initiatory experience that forced me to really face myself. Stripped of the the mask and everything else, all I had left was myself. This is when the healing and transformation began.
It’s fair to say that ancestors and the Great Spirit knew I was not ready for elder initiation in 2009. Am I ready now? I have learned from my ordeal. I am more compassionate because I know what it means to need compassion. I am less judgemental because I know what it means to be judged, I am a better listener because I know what it means to be heard. I am more patient because I know what it takes for change to occur, I am better able to set boundaries because I know my own value, I am more nurturing because I know the value of being nurtured, I am kinder because I see myself in each person I meet. I express gratitude more often because I am aware that I did not get to where I am by myself. I practice humility as I now understand what an honor and sacred trust it is to nurture another’s gifts and to stand in witness of their birth and transformation.
As an initiated elder I will bring my wisdom and commitment to the Dagara medicine to create a safe and sacred container for women and girls to tell their stories so that they can peel back the layers of their lives to get to the medicine, where healing begins.
To rise to this service in community, I need the support of community.
Every gift, large or small, will move me closer to walking with the staff of elderhood, to use the skills and tools of the Dagara Medicine to heal our broken pieces and create a mosaic that is a composite of all our good, and manifest it in the world.
I will be in deep gratitude of your support.
Barka! Baraka!
Ashe!
My connection to the Dagara Medicine was the entrance for me to do my own personal healing, to connect to my ancestors, to ground and root me to the knowing in my bones. Everything that I knew innately and had stored in my bones came alive for me when I came in contact with this medicine. I finally had names, words and experiences for things I felt and knew. It was easy for me to embrace this medicine because “my spirit came alive with the sights and sounds of this ancient culture.”
The Dagara medicine and wisdom now informs my daily walk, how I move and have my being in the world. Being in ritual, supporting and leading ritual, helping others go through ritual is where and when I am fully alive. Being in service as a midwife, supporting others as they give birth to themselves and their life purpose is what sustains me. Holding space, the container, creating a force-field, as Malidoma says to be an instrument for spirit to come through, so others may discover who they are, their purpose and stand in their power, is when I am able to share my gifts and the medicine.
Why Elder initiation?
In the “Healing Wisdom of Africa” Malidoma talks about adversity as initiation - a rite of passage - so to speak, as “a necessary ingredient in the removal of whatever stands between us and our essential self… an ordeal that stretches the physical self far enough to release something else that brings more awareness, more sense of responsibility and more wisdom. Every bump in a person’s life is an opportunity to grow and change...opportunities that call us forth, propelling us into the higher grounds of our lives”.
In 2009 when I was invited and accepted as a candidate for Elder Initiation I was in the height of such an ordeal, an initiatory experience that forced me to really face myself. Stripped of the the mask and everything else, all I had left was myself. This is when the healing and transformation began.
It’s fair to say that ancestors and the Great Spirit knew I was not ready for elder initiation in 2009. Am I ready now? I have learned from my ordeal. I am more compassionate because I know what it means to need compassion. I am less judgemental because I know what it means to be judged, I am a better listener because I know what it means to be heard. I am more patient because I know what it takes for change to occur, I am better able to set boundaries because I know my own value, I am more nurturing because I know the value of being nurtured, I am kinder because I see myself in each person I meet. I express gratitude more often because I am aware that I did not get to where I am by myself. I practice humility as I now understand what an honor and sacred trust it is to nurture another’s gifts and to stand in witness of their birth and transformation.
As an initiated elder I will bring my wisdom and commitment to the Dagara medicine to create a safe and sacred container for women and girls to tell their stories so that they can peel back the layers of their lives to get to the medicine, where healing begins.
To rise to this service in community, I need the support of community.
Every gift, large or small, will move me closer to walking with the staff of elderhood, to use the skills and tools of the Dagara Medicine to heal our broken pieces and create a mosaic that is a composite of all our good, and manifest it in the world.
I will be in deep gratitude of your support.
Barka! Baraka!
Ashe!
Organizer
Lula Christopher
Organizer
Boston, MA