Experience: The first time I visited Atlanta with my family, we spent a significant amount of time exploring the historical monuments but none of them impacted me as significantly as Behold, a sculpture by Patrick Morelli. The piece was commissioned by Coretta Scott King as a tribute to her late husband Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Cast in bronze, the figure of a nearly nude African father offering his new born child to the heavens towered over me in the center of the park. The base of the sculpture read “Behold! The only thing greater than yourself” and explained its depiction of an ancient West African ceremony, where upon a child’s birth their father reminds them of the power of their being by reminding them of their true composition.

1 - Your body is your first gift.

If you were born within the context of the Western medical-industrial-complex, the first bits of information your body received laid the foundation for a cold, sterile and apathetic experience of reality. Hyper-masculinity in medicine makes the ceremony of birth a procedure, ultimately dishonoring the necessary rituals to ensure the sensitive technology of the nervous system is supported in adjusting to this realm. What should be weeks of intimate initiation into the experience of humanity is a rushed process driven by an egotistical fear of litigation.

2 - Your first gift is a supercomputer.

Supercomputer is an understatement. Under no circumstances could western technology manufacture the miracle that is the human body. Even with decades of research on artificial intelligence, the larger cultural rhetoric continues to reinforce the belief that the body is the untrustworthy site of sin. Western society emphasizes the negligence of the human body; normalizing overstimulation as a means of creating conditions for dehumanization through over productivity.

3 - The supercomputer is not in control.

If your body is your first gift, it’s not you. So what are you? The Yoruba term “Ori” translates to head. The “Ori” is a Yoruba metaphysical concept that refers to the essence of the “All That Is” imbued upon each human being at the time of incarnation. In Christian theology, the concept of “Ori” is how we arrive at the understanding that each human being is created in the image and likeness of God. In Eastern mysticism, “Prana” and “Qi” are parallel concepts to “Ori”. Your “Ori” is responsible for your existence, your destiny and the animation of your physical body.

4 - The supercomputer works best when aligned with the Ori.

Your body is a technology that exists to house, honor and enhance the capacity of your Ori on earth. Your Ori’s primary focus is on ensuring you are acting as a tuned instrument in the larger symphony of life. When you allow yourself to be in alignment with this shared desire, you are able to go beyond the perceived limits of the body. Yoruba spiritual practices and tools exist with this intention. You are meant to bring heaven to earth through your physical form.

5 - Your adornment can enhance your supercomputer.

All forms of adornment serve the purpose of strengthening the energy within the human body. Jewelry supports in conducting electricity that sustains an energetic field at a specific frequency around the body. Few forms serve the body at the level of headpieces. Scarves, crowns and headdresses all support in containing and protecting the powerful raw energy of the Ori.

The (Ori)gins of Technology