August 2024 Update

Onward Month of ♾️ 8 ♾️!

Hello and good day beautiful people. Sending you sweetness and peace.

I pray this month is treating you well, and that you are using whatever reflections you are able to across the spectrum of your experience to ground in the fact that you have permission to be more of who you are.

Thus far for me, this month has shown itself to be a portal through and to a space of reflection, reconfiguration, remembrance, rewinding and release. I’m calling back my energy—or rather, I am shifting where I have focused my attention and thus allowed my energy to flow and power to be used. Everything has been under review…and re-negotiations are under way. I am ultimately [re]birthing myself.

Really, we are dying and being reborn all the time…shifting through multiple dimensions billions of times per second…moving through loopings of space and what we have fabricated as time, though we don’t quite understand its true essence. The consideration of this experience called existence can seem so overwhelming that truly the only thing one can really do to maintain a semblance of grounding is to literally touch/remember that connection of any/every part of the body to the ground. It is also supportive to stay still, accept that it is what it is, and enJOY the ride.

Speaking of joy…it brings me so much pleasure to share the official music video for Ayọ̀ Ọya. The 4th track of my recent album FORÍBALẸ̀, this song is dedicated to Eegun, Ifá, the Winds, the Waters, and the energies of Joy and Transformation within and outside of us.

Click below to watch on YOUTUBE. I appreciate support through views, likes, shares, and comments of encouragement there. The shifts I am making in my life include how I show up and am supported within virtual and social media spaces. I have been in a new configuration practice with Instagram—getting myself to a 0 point in some ways—as I decide if/how I move forward. My current recognition is that it is not in alignment with me or there is misalignment in how I’m using it. Either way, I wish to step into a place of more ease within it, even if that means letting it go. Regardless of what I decide about Instagram, I would love to consider how the cultivation of my YOUTUBE space can be a channel for bigger and more aligned expression.

A bit more background on this music video: It was filmed by Kara Mack of Africa In America, and depicts an exploration of my process with the choreography she created for this song during my movement cultivation work with her a couple years ago. 

We began working together in preparation for a larger film I envisioned for FORÍBALẸ̀. After our first session or two together, it became clear that the work was deeper than the idea of a film. This practice was a profound somatic exploration of [my]self. 

Shoutout to bad-ass Kara and me for the magic of this moment. It was captured in one take on my iPhone 12 Pro with little to no editing—minus what I did with the beginning and ending transitions, titles, and cards. Um…yeah, we did that and have a spectrum of magick we can and will do, and have already done!

I am proud of this music and its accompanying visuals; the work everyone involved did to create it all; and what it has inspired and how it continues to do so. Please support artist folks in all the ways, and particularly tangible ways that provide resources so that they can continue bringing joy and healing through their gifts 🫶🏾

Continuing on JOY…

An other than human creature that often comes to mind when I consider joy is Hummingbird. I had shared a write up for this little big one in a 2020 newsletter. Guess which month? That’s right: August…the month of 8. Interesting cycling and looping back.

Hummingbird kept making an appearance recently through various sweet and playful synchronicities; so it was only fitting to [re]share its teachings in this newsletter. Past, present, and future all exist now. It’s a trip how many messages continue to be relevant if not spot on. We are always different; therefore “old” information will always be received as “new” and can always be useful if we are being fully present and open.

• ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ •

Here are some descriptions for Hummingbird based on teachings from my elders and messages that are coming to me from this sweet creature:

• Being completely in our joy

• Savoring the sweetness of life

• Being in the full beauty and radiance of our souls

• Balancing moments of movement with moments of stillness

• Being light (versus heavy)...letting go of what doesn’t serve us so that we can soar or be quick when need be

• Not underestimating our power

Additional thoughts...

Now is the time to really savor the sweetness and find it in even the most challenging of circumstances. Make a practice of being in your sweetness and joy however that looks to you. During a time in history that many can view with negativity, Hummingbird is reminding us to find the sweetness in every situation. Yes, there is chaos, [insert a negative/not preferred experience occurring with any part of the collective/on any part of Earth], upheaval, destruction. But can we identify the sweetness that has come about in light of it all?

Consider more people appreciating connections with self and others in greater ways; societies addressing things that were not put at the forefront previously; opportunities to rebuild things in ways we prefer that serve everyone. What sweetness can you recognize at this time?

Looking at the radiant iridescent and brilliant colors of Hummingbird just makes me happy, and I am receiving the message that we too should start looking at ourselves with happiness and excitement...loving what we see—the radiance, beauty, uniqueness that is each of us. If you have challenges with looking at yourself and loving what you see, use the Self Love & Appreciation Ritual I created (embedded as Part 5 of the Blooming Into {the Ọ̀ṣun of} Me blog) as a resource until you become more able to ground in self-love.

It’s so fascinating to watch Hummingbirds zip around from one spot to another with bursts of dizzying energy, and then perching and being still. Many of us are having to do a great deal of work that requires the expenditure of quite a bit of energy right now. It is crucial to take the time to be still. We will not have the energy to do what we need to do if we do not rest. Make it a priority—put naps, breaks, and free days into your calendar if you need to. Additionally, letting go of what is heavy and no longer serves us will add to our stamina. We can’t make the moves we are making at all or as properly and precisely as required if we are weighed down by the unnecessary.

Finally, Hummingbird wants to remind us to not underestimate ourselves due to size, level of education, training, knowledge, experience or anything else we can use to place ourselves in the space of judgement and comparison. Yes, there is something to be said about one’s level of expertise about a subject matter before teaching /giving information. And also, your insight and perspective about a topic are valid and import for people to hear. You never know who you will touch. The message is also to not allow the idea of limited knowledge to get in the way of you embarking on a project. Start small, take it one step at a time, and being patient.

And have fun.

PS - A sweet soul shared/reminded that Beija Flor is the Portuguese name for Hummingbird. The literal translation is the kisser of flowers. How sweet, rich, and succulent that is! It reminded me of a photo series captured by Farah Sosa for Extra Ancestral. The image below, from the shoot, features Kushboo, Rachel Hernandez, and me. Make-up and primary styling by Nina Soulfly.

• ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ • ♾️ •

Ending with JOY…

The All That Is enjoyed itself enough to create us so it could deepen that joy and expression of self through our reflections.

May we carry ourselves with joy.

May our joy carry us.

May we know and live as though the joy of [our] existence is enough.

We are sweet.

We are enough.

Àṣẹ

Love,

Onyi

(aka Ọ̀ṣúntáyọ̀, which means Ọ̀ṣun is [enough as] my joy…and part of Ọ̀ṣun’s teachings center loving who we are and being [in] our beauty)

News & Upcoming Events

If you are an organization or individual conducting events or providing services for the community, contact us at info@onyi.love for feature consideration.

Make sure to check the ONYI LOVE Calendar for upcoming events throughout the month!

Tools, Resources & Offerings

Written Tools

• O’s Corner Blog

• Support Guides

  • Loud Sounds & Explosives

  • COVID & Other Vaccines

Sonic Tools

Sound Healing

• Sound Immersion Library: Complimentary sound based healings (also containing verbal channeling, meditations, or conversations) by/with Onyi that are currently not accessible via social media.

• Soul Cleanse

Recorded music by/featuring ONYI LOVE

• Songs of Soothing (album by ONYI LOVE)

• Voices for Ogum (song by Aye Sonidos: ONYI LOVE, Dana ‘Minha Velha’ Maman, Destani Wolf, Emina Shimanuki)

• Usawa (album by Tristan de Liège, ft. ONYI LOVE)

• Usawa Remixes, Pt. 1 (album by Tristan de Liège ft. ONYI LOVE)

• Azure - (EP by Tristan de Liège, ft. ONYI LOVE)

Playlists compiled by ONYI LOVE

• Onyi’s Faves #1 (Spotify)

• Butterfly Things (Spotify)

Conversational Tools

• O’s Corner Podcast (by ONYI LOVE)

• Features Library: Conversations by other hosts ft. Onyi

May you be at ease and heal.

May you stand firm in your healing.