Author, Speaker, Teacher, Filmmaker

What a great way to start our first week at Novalis Ubuntu! As I mentioned in my last blog, Sobonfu Some‘s second visit to Cape Town proved to be more than we ever imagined.   From her visits to our care homes through the workshops and rituals we held at the Institute, her wonderful presence calmed and healed all those who came into contact with her.  As for myself, I only wished I had spent more time with her, with so much going on it was hard to keep up with her pace!

Sobonfu’s visit began with a warm welcoming at Novalis Ubuntu where, with Robin Goff with other volunteer members of the Light Center and our friendly staff, she dedicated a whole afternoon to meeting with us and sharing her insights in support of the challenges we are currently facing in the lack of funding for our current programs.     Then off she went to a tight schedule as she visited the Thembaletu Center, Siyaphambile Orphan Village, Baphumalele Orphan Village, St. Francis Care Center,  St. Georges Care Home, Bonnytoun and even the ANC’s Veterans League in Khayelitsha!   Everywhere she went she was greeted with love and appreciation as she shared her African wisdom and teachings with the recipients of our outreach programs.

As the weekend neared, we held three events at the Institute, all of which I had the privilege to attend.  On Thursday she was a special guest at the Spiritual Movie Circle’s screening of “For the Next 7 Generations”, a film about 13 grandmothers from different indigenous tribes through out the world who are advocating a return to living in harmony with nature.  Sobonfu mentioned how she had met the grandmothers and how being around them had inspired her so much.  For all of us who were there, the evening was very uplifting.  Most grandmothers in our societies are somewhere in a nursing home, whereas these grandmas, or Go Go’s as we call them here in South Africa, are still rocking the boat and inspiring the world.

Then on Friday evening Sobonfu shared with us about what its like to “Awaken the Spirit of Ubuntu” inside each of us.  Or in another words, how to awaken the Spirit of Oneness in each of us.  She mentioned how we can only achieve this by having and being part of a community where we can share the gifts we came to give to the world.  Powerful stuff!

Her last event was Saturday morning when she facilitated an “Introduction to the Grief Ritual” workshop.  There were 21 of us in the room, and we not only experienced a part of this ritual as taught and performed by Sobonfu’s tribe, the Dagaras, but also had a chance to learn how to create a safe space where, either by ourselves or as a community, we can mourn for the things we have lost.  “We all have something to mourn” said Sobonfu.  The moment of clarity came for me when Sobonfu spoke about how the different ways in which griefs manifests in our societies in the forms of disease and disconfort when not properly expressed, and how allowing a space for regular grieving would help the entire community, even those who were not there.  As she said “In a community, we are always connected, whether we want it or not.”

I’m looking forward with anticipation to Sobonfu’s next visit to Cape Town, and deeply grateful for the opportunity to have spent time with this great teacher who went out of her way to spend time with us, and remind us the essence of who we truly are.

muntu ngumuntu ngabantu…   a person is a person through other persons… that is Ubuntu!

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Today is officially my first day at Novalis Ubuntu after a nice long holiday break.  Its so great to be back because we’re starting the year with the arrival of my African hermana Sobonfu Somé who arrived last night from Burkina Faso and I get to hang out with her all week and continue to learn the amazing ways of the Dagara people.

In case you don’t know, Sobonfu Somé is one of the foremost voices in African spirituality to come to the West. Destined from birth to teach the ancient wisdom, ritual, and practices of her ancestors, Sobonfu, whose name means “keeper of the rituals,” travels the world on a healing mission sharing the rich spiritual life and culture of her native land, Burkina Faso, which ranks as one of the world’s poorest countries yet one of the richest in spiritual life and custom.

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Last Friday I had the chance to participate in a casting session for a Pepsi commercial shooting in Cape Town.    I must admit that, though I appreciated the opportunity, I really wasn’t too excited about it.  Since I’ve become a more conscious about what I eat, drink, and think about, I really don’t drink any sodas save the rare occasions I make it out to the movies.   The contrast in taste between the salty popcorn and the sweet colas is just too good to be missed by my palate.  Perhaps it is conditioning, but then again, what isn’t?    I suppose the question I was asking myself was, why go to a Pepsi commercial casting if, on the one hand they seem to always be looking for very young people, on the other hand, I’ve been so ‘into spirituality’ that at times there doesn’t seem to be anything spiritual about Pepsi?… my thinking went.

But I decided to go anyway.  After all, I realized that often times, when opportunities like this one show up in my life without me pursuing them – a friend literally arranged the casting for me – they are normally being thrown my way for a reason.  After weeks of visualizations, prayers and affirmations to improve my financial condition in South Africa, how can I not see this as an answer to my prayer in a language and way I can understand and even doing something I enjoy?  It is an opportunity to make some pretty good money, and also an opportunity to re-visit what I left behind in LA back two years ago before moving to Cape Town.

I left the casting feeling very much the same way I felt after every casting in LA: filled with thoughts of ‘should have’ and ‘could have’s.  I should have done this, said, that.. blah, blah, blah… And I remember, that unlike my time in LA, at one point I just stopped myself and simply affirmed  “Gabriel, what is mine is mine by Divine Right and if this is meant for me so shall it be regardless of what I’m thinking right now.  I deeply love and accept myself, and I know I’ve already done my best, and I now release this casting to its highest good, knowing that God or Life is the true Source of my Supply”. I just felt better after that.

Saturday I go the call from the casting agency telling me I’d gotten the job.  To my surprise, the commercial is the beginning of a worldwide Pepsi campaign to encourage people to recycle their cans, and to live a happier sustainable life.   Nothing spiritual about Pepsi? Think again, I told myself.

The commercial shot yesterday and it was great to be on the set once again.   It was a very long day shoot, and in between takes, I had a chance to meet some really amazing creative people who love and excel at what they do.    I even had a deep conversation about Ubuntu with a very talented Calvin Samuel who is a cinematographer looking to tell stories that change people’s hearts.  It is so great to know there’s many of us out there, wanting to make a difference in other people’s lives.

I went to bed with a deep feeling of gratitude, knowing that the Universe is supporting me in ways I can’t even imagine.  But I feel it, I see it, and I know it.

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