The greatest challenge we are confronted with when Ifá is brought out in the world is how the sacred centre of timeless tradition, as reflected in Ifá, is misrepresented and understood on basis of a world view alien to the traditional world view. To truly appraise and understand Ifá means that a re-appraisal of a traditional world view must be accomplished as well. This means in simple terms that the simplified mechanistic modern world view brought upon the world by Cartesian dualism gives a poor foundation to realize the profound wisdom of Ifá. Contrary to the sentimental materialism of the modern era Ifá reflects the holistic belief of a world interconnected between man (eniyan), spirit (orisa, imule) and light (ala), the common field of interaction of these powers are called Aiye. The world is seen as reflected in the dynamic pulse of Odu itself, replicating the breath of all living organisms. Ifá provides the tools for happiness and contentment in a world of dissolution and depression, but in order to understand how to use these tools – we need to understand the fabric of the world, the mechanisms of nature and creation. These are the wise gifts of Ifá to the New World, and these gifts and secrets are all found in the vast corpus of wisdom passed down through generation in the ese Ifa, or sacred verses from the Ifá corpus of wisdom.
There is a tendency in the west to overate power and in this sense praise sorcery as nobility and create respect by abuse of power – but power unrelated to its sacred centre will not induce happiness, because the understanding of the why and how of these divine powers are not adhered to. The world is fragmented and the actors in this world ceaselessly search for meaning, purpose and a sense of self worth. Ifá has the remedy to solve these sad conditions by telling you that you are born with a happy destiny and providing you with the tools for how to walk the path towards embracing this destiny of joy and contentment.