Yoruba Elder Iya Tahirah Abubakr offers wisdom on the profound medicine of suffering and how we can transform personal and ancestral pain into a beautiful expression of creation.  This time on The Four Sacred Gifts, Anita and Iya discuss:Iya’s upbringing as the daughter of a sharecropper and how indigenous ways of living offered wisdom beyond sufferingThe beauty of village life in rural Mississippi—growing up connected to the land, nature, and communityThe loss of outdoor play and imagination in today’s children, and how this disconnects them from nature and spiritIya’s transformative encounter with Native American culture and how it deepened her understanding of ancestral wisdomRedefining suffering as a sacred teacher and a gateway to spiritual growth and resilienceProcessing trauma and emotional pain so that we are not trapped in the wounds of the pastThey ley lines of truth in the world and remembering that truth doesn’t lie Remembering our ‘indigenality’ as individual and collective beings on this earthHonoring the bloodline of our ancestors and stepping into our full expression as sacred beingsDissolving the illusion of separation by becoming a compassionate, unified world communityAsking why our souls chose to incarnate now—and discovering what sacred gifts we’re here to offerThe vital importance of initiating youth into indigenous wisdom and holding a new vision for the next generationAbout Iya Tahirah Abubakr: Iya Tahirah Abubakr is a Black American with Yoruba ancestry, born River Lee Adams in Pocahontas, Mississippi. Iya was initiated by Ifa Priestess Yamaya in the ancestral traditions of the Yoruba people of western Africa and studied and trained with Malidoma Some' in shamanism. She is a medicine woman, diviner, shamanic practitioner, She provides initiatory guidance and trainings for those who seek greater wisdom in the mystery, she is founder & co-founder for the St. Croix Council of Elders. Iya’s life purpose and dedication are to the service of humanity as a whole and to leave the earth in a greater place than she found it. You can reach Iya at Abubakrtahirah8@gmail.com.  There's a richness to the fact that I grew up as a daughter of a sharecropper. I realize that underneath that was a deep love and protection. Had I not had that, I would not be the person I am today, because beyond the suffering was the indigenous way that we lived in life. That's why I like to bring African people back to understand that closeness to land and living, no matter what we're going through, when we have that connection to land, to nature, that is your friend, mother, that is what carries you." – Iya Tahirah Abubakr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.