Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Warrior, Scholar, Priest: An Interview with

Awo HRU Yuya T. Assaan-ANU
This post is a very special treat for me and one I have been anticipating
sharing for a long time. It is an exclusive interview with my very dear
friend and fellow Orisha priest Awo HRU Yuya T. Assaan-ANU. Brother
HRU is, amongst other things, an extraordinary writer who has just
published his latest title "Grasping the Root of Divine Power" available on
Amazon.com. A profound contribution to the literary corpus of African
Spirituality, this book promises to become a classic for those seeking to
develop an understanding of how to connect with the enormous power,
wisdom, and relevance of the great African religious traditions. Here, in his
own words, is celebrated spiritual advisor, healer, scholar, and author HRU
Yuya T. Assaan-ANU...

Author, community leader, and spiritual advisor HRU Yuya T. Assaan-ANU

Congratulations on publishing your new book! I had an opportunity to

review this insightful and fascinating book, and was wondering if you
could tell us a little bit about it?

Give thanks. Well, “Grasping the Root of Divine Power” is a primer and
clarifier for those who desire to work with celestial forces. The core
objective of the book is to empower the reader to develop their own
personal spirit power in order to center and elevate their consciousness. It’s
not only a step-by-step instructional but also breaks down some complex
metaphysical and cultural notions that I’ve found, through the years,
become stumbling blocks for traditional spirituality practitioners. In a
nutshell, it’s a book of religious demystification.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’d say I was inspired by my personal council of spirit guides. “Divine

Power” seems like such an immense expression until the understanding of
this idea is etched in one’s soul and psyche. In working with clients over
the years I’ve encountered, all too often, people who were swamped with
information but, had no relevant know-how on how to apply this information
or its fundamental meanings.

It came to me that the best way I could serve, in this season, would be to
develop convenient hands-on guides for those coming into the “knowledge
of self” wakefulness. There are plenty of books, videos, and seminars that
one could dive into but, “Grasping the Root of Divine Power” is my modest
attempt to make a bee-line straight to the core message and significance of
vital foundational spiritual calculations.

What do you want readers to gain from your book?

Confidence. We’re in an age where people need to become shamans,

gurus, and high priest/priestesses unto themselves, first, on the individual
level. Waiting for the “blessing” and green-light from a high priest/priestess
or the passage of initiation into a traditional system prior to making contact
with the spirit guardians that help support and provide spiritual navigation
for your life is unwise, in my opinion. To be clear, I’m not advising one to go
out after reading a few kitchen spell books, and incantations to attempt to
counsel others as a conjurer or energy worker. I would say one needs to
learn to be a minister to the “shrine of self” first. People have become too
dependent on messianic blind faith and we tend to super-impose western
religious concepts onto every sacred experience and expedition so;
“Grasping the Root of Divine Power” teaches you how to wield your own
power…..fearlessly.

The techniques outlined in “Grasping the Root of Divine Power” give the
reader the toolset to embark on that sacred undertaking with self-reliance,
proficiency, and competency. Still, I’d say read other books and observe
other ways of doing things. There is no monopoly on spiritual techniques
and what may work for me, may not work for you; and vice versa. People
get crystallized into one way of doing things often because they were
taught that there is only one way but, this is untrue. Everyone puts their
own funk and soul on what they do. My desire for those who read this work
is that they learn as many modalities as they can, put them in their
munitions store and then truthfully look at how their own portion of Ase
would like to express itself in ways to achieve the same results of the time
tested sages. Ultimately it’s about results…..at least it should be.

Asides from writing, what other professions are you involved in, and
what type of services do you offer to the public?

Well, my Ase has chosen to express itself through Martial Arts, Spiritual
Counseling, Rites of Passage, Music Production, and Professional
Development for Educators. I also operate a program named “Sadulu
House” where I teach African culture/spirituality/philosophy/nation-building
for adults and children. I have a program that I designed by the name of
“R.A.S.” which is an acronym for “Reclaiming All Suns”. It’s a one-on-one
interactive, Rites of Passage Based, service geared towards single
mothers who are raising young boys without the presence of a cognizant
man. I also design and construct spiritual tools (Opon Ifa’s, OBI, Chakra
staffs, KWK…) that I sell.

Outside of your professional work, what are a few of your major

interests and hobbies?

I’m a fervent motorcyclist, musician, outdoor survivalist, and I spend a lot of

my time studying ancient/natural building techniques. I suppose I don’t
really have any hobbies, although despite living off of my music production,
for some time, I still consider it something I do for enjoyment. Walking in my
life purpose is the most enjoyable activity for me. I’m cool with that. I would
say as a disclaimer though, I do get out and have fun, look at funny
YouTube videos, and smell flowers like everyone else but, even in those
moments I’m gathering insight and inspiration for my professional work.

How did you become involved in the spiritual arts?

I would say a successive series of divine opportunities. I can’t say that by

any great insight or brilliancy of my own but, more so I was slated to walk
this path on a DNA level. I can remember as a child, my parents had made
a move out of Harlem and into a very rural area of NJ. During that time I
developed my affinity for nature. Not only did I learn about the complexities
of natural surroundings, but I was also given plenty of freedom and time to
learn that I had stored up in my pre-teen shell a cadre of intuited rituals and
techniques. I remember Saturday’s when I would rush out of the house in
the early AM and just go hiking into the woods (I couldn’t have been more
than 7 or 8 years old). I would find a spot I liked far from two legged people
and I’d light huge bon-fires (I don’t suggest you allow your children this
level of independence). I’d light my fires and begin to pray to the forces I
felt around me and the ones that would appear in my night visions. In doing
this I’d notice that “things” would be different for me when I would emerge
from the woods. My eyes saw more angles of light. My sensitivity began to
change greatly over time and the way I was perceived changed; despite the
fact my forest expeditions were always done in secrecy. I suppose from
those early years I began to develop a very warm connection with the
unseen reality that, at that time, I knew governed the “seen” reality.

I’d say this is when mysticism became an art to me as I saw that I could
twist and mangle it in a way that my mind could grasp. It was the first
inkling that I, myself, was/am a deity and the voices that I’d hear were spirit
comrades. It helped when I became introduced to Islam and, further down
the road, Christianity because I would presume that the God being prayed
to was actually me and it was my own secret I’d keep as I sat in the church
pews, and in the Masjid.

What advice would you offer to someone looking to learn more about
the Ifa/Yoruba/Orisha traditions of West Africa?
I would say to dissect African…no, all traditions with a discerning mind.
Never feel that because a system is what some consider long-established
that it’s beyond your scrutiny. Many systems have been compromised by
the psycho-political onslaught of foreign invasion and the spiritual warfare
waged by those very same raiders. It’s imperative that one not localize
themselves to one region or even one tradition. African’s are global citizens
and the fragments of the dispersed body of African spiritual wisdom must
be recovered from all over the globe much like Auset recovering and
reassembling the pieces of Ausars body. I’d suggest one advance toward
Ifa, Yoruba, and Orisha tradition with the intention of discovering the full
manifestation/reflection of your own self-shape and awareness. Don’t look
at these traditions and practices as being external to you…in other words
don’t dogmatize them. These traditions and spirit entities are a reflection of
what occurs inside of your own inner consciousness. They are YOU
expressed externally.

How has your involvement with traditional African spirituality affected

your life and work?

I’d say my intentions are more focused and single pointed. I’ve done so
many things in my life from owning a Barbershop for 5 years, working in the
Information Technology Field for 11 years, teaching martial arts and music,
owning an independent record label…..and many more diversions from my
life purpose. African spirituality boxed me in. I came to a place in my life
where the spirits that granted certain access to opportunity for me no
longer supported my acts of diversion and distraction. Through studying my
own divine origins I caused a shift in the paradigm of my reality. Once my
life archetype shifted, the spirits conveyed the message to me that I’ve
passed the survival approach of the root chakra and I would have to create
my own success through my magic. The ways that I had used previously to
achieve wealth and access to what I wanted would no longer work for me
because I had left that universe and graduated to another in my life
crossing so, the spiritual currency is different now. It’s been an amazing
voyage and one of the most agonizing and joyous one that I’ve ever
embarked on. African Spirituality and the study of spirit alerts me to how
fragile my mind is. I’m constantly reminded how this flesh brain of mine is
the bottleneck in the flow of Ase in and out of my body temple. So, studying
the enormity of spirit has helped me to see my own thoughts as less key
and focus more on the voice of my own ancient immortal consciousness.
What would you like the public to know about you that they might not
already know?

Well one thing is I currently offer classes to those wishing to learn

traditional African philosophy, culture, metaphysics, and spiritual and occult
sciences. This course falls under the “Sadulu House” Umbrella. Also, I do
offer remote spiritual counseling, readings, and natural spiritual balancing
work.

Are you currently working on any other books or do you have plans to
do so in the near future?

Yes, I have a few more books on the drafting table right now. My very next
work will actually be geared towards the young teenage reader and
employs a more imaginative expression of my Ase as it’s set in a parallel
universe with characters who find themselves slipping in and out of altered
realities……said too much already. Just be on the lookout for it!

How can people get in touch with you for more information about
your work or services?

I can be reached at http://www.hruassaan.com/ or (201)735-7475; as with

the entire universe I also have a facebook page
at facebook.com/HRU.Y.Assaan.