Conducted by Adam Liddle, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Contemplative Sciences Center and the Associate Editor for the Journal of Contemplative Studies.

JCS: Thank you so much for joining us! Let’s jump into our first question: What is contemplation? 

FW: Thank you so much for having me. My favorite definition of contemplation is consideration with attention. I really appreciate that definition because it usefully broadens the scope of what contemplation is from practices that necessitate stillness and silence, which many definitions suggest, to ones that can take a lot of other, different forms. In speaking about the contemplative practices of African Americans, Barbara Holmes notes that mystical contemplative aspects can be found in the musical riffs of John Coltrane, the words of Malcolm X, and the dance routines of the Step Brothers – among other locales – and that the intent of all of these is to help us journey toward joy in spite of whatever our external circumstances may be as human beings. So, this to me is the root of contemplation: really considering all aspects of human existence with the attention and intention to reflect and improve the experience. To use Holmes’s words, contemplative moments carry us toward the very source of our being, so any moment that we can use to reflect and consider our lives with attention is a contemplative moment for me.

Mystical contemplative aspects can be found in the musical riffs of John Coltrane, the words of Malcolm X, and the dance routines of the Step Brothers…the intent of all of these is to help us journey toward joy in spite of whatever our external circumstances may be as human beings.

JCS: Wow, that’s a really amazing definition, thank you. I’m curious about the examples you provided, like Coltrane and Malcolm X. Is there an aspect of listening here, is it about taking in, is it about understanding meanings, or about going with certain rhythms or melodies? What is the active side of contemplation in these kinds of contexts?

FW: It can be all of those. When we’re listening to music, there are certain aspects and brain waves that are activated that take us into other modes of consciousness. When we hear deep or poetic words being spoken that may reflect an idea that we had that we weren’t able to articulate, it can take us into a place of considering that idea more deeply. In the case of movement, as we move our bodies in space, there are ways that our brains and our spirits can open up to receive information from the divine. So, it exists on all of those levels. And for me, as a scholar of Africana religions and a practitioner of Africana religions, I think it’s really important to include all of those modalities, because as Africana peoples, our practices don’t primarily consist of quiet contemplation. We contemplate through movement, we contemplate through spoken word, through music, and these other means. So being able to understand how contemplation intersects in each of those realms is generative. So, thank you for that question.

JCS: That’s really exciting. I’m curious, leading from that into your own work, where do you find contemplation in your research? How are you mobilizing it or thinking about it in your own work?

As Africana peoples, our practices don’t primarily consist of quiet contemplation. We contemplate through movement, we contemplate through spoken word, through music, and these other means. So being able to understand how contemplation intersects in each of those realms is generative.

FW: My current work centers on divination practices using the kola nut, as well as other items. I look at divination as a means of contemplation, and I am thankful to Dr. Velma Love for her work and beginning this. She has a book called Divining the Self where she speaks about how although divination is often looked at in one sense of foretelling the future—and that’s a high focus of it for many outsiders—for those who practice it regularly, it is a means of contemplating our lives, of considering where we are, of taking that quiet moment, of seeking advice from the divine. 

I theorize divination in that way, particularly when we look at women, who are the ones who often perform divination for their families. Not only are they considering their own lives, their own positions, and meditating on themselves, but they also do this divination work for their families, for their children, and for those around them. In my work, I’m interested in looking at how those individual and collective divination practices play into the ways that we reflect on our lives with attention. On both a practical and scholarly level, I’ve developed a guided meditation practice called Orisa-Focal Meditation. I have put out an album where I guide listeners through meditations and bring in the soundscapes as well as visionscapes of Orisa practice. So that’s something that I do in my work to bring together these realms of Africana religion and contemplative practice. 

JCS: That’s incredible work you’re doing. I’m excited to check out the recording of the guided meditation and the works that you offer there, especially the soundscapes. And it sounds like there’s really a rich history and practice around that.

FW: Absolutely. There is. In Ifá, Dr. Wándé Abímbọ́lá, who’s one of the top scholars and practitioners in the tradition and a beloved elder, speaks about how at one point there were 900 different instruments that existed in the instrumental corpus of the Yoruba and how each one is attuned to a different level of spirit, a level of consciousness, a level of connection. So, sound is immensely important to our traditions as well as the movement that often accompanies that sound.

JCS: I’m also curious about what you said about the individual and collective practices with the divination; I’m curious about what that looks like and what the kinds of spaces that are created through these practices look like. What is the experience of the members of the community who are there and witnessing the practice? And what kind of conversation is that? How does that foster contemplative modes?

FW: On the individual level, those of us who are shrine holders typically perform our own individual divination every four days, and that’s our own moment of contemplation, of connection with the divinities, of thinking about our lives, of considering the things that we want in our lives and the things that we may want to change, etc. So that happens on an individual basis at that time. Traditionally, people who are the heads of families, particularly women, perform divination for their family at that time. So, they focus on their own individual considerations and then those of their family. 

And then, there are also more community-wide processes that happen. So, at festival times and at different points during the calendar year, the community will come together, and there may be a divination done for a town or even for the world. In January, when the new year starts in the Gregorian calendar, there is traditionally a divination that’s done that is for all practitioners of the tradition of Ifá in the world, and that divination tells us some things about what we should be considering, what types of things we should contemplate for the year, what types of things will be of importance to us, and things of that nature. And then in June, which is the traditional New Year in Yorùbá culture on the lunar calendar, there’s another divination that’s done for the world. And so, an individual practitioner may be considering multiple things at one time, contemplating their own individual life, their family life, and where they’re fitting in with the world. For me, this is why the practice is so powerful because it really helps to direct us to contemplate our lives and our existences on each of these different levels all the time.

An individual practitioner may be… contemplating their own individual life, their family life, and where they’re fitting in with the world. For me, this is why the practice is so powerful because it really helps to direct us to contemplate our lives and our existences on each of these different levels all the time.

JCS: That’s amazing. I love the interconnectedness and the different levels of contemplative attention these practices bring. Thanks for sharing all of that. Looking into the future, what’s exciting for you about this emerging field of contemplative studies? Either in your own work or in the work that you see others doing.

FW: I’m a very collective effervescent kind of person, so I’m really excited for the work that all of my colleagues are doing. I’m especially excited for the expansion of contemplation. I think there’s a way in which it has often been considered around Eastern traditions, and so, I’m very, very excited to see Africana traditions come into the discussion and I’m honored to be one of the co-editors of the upcoming special issue of the Journal of Contemplative Studies where we consider Africana traditions.  There’s been a lot of recent work on contemplation in Africana traditions, in the Black church, and in Black activist spaces that has expanded the concept of contemplation when considering where it exists and what its purposes are. For many of us, particularly those who have been existing under oppressive circumstances, a part of the teleology of contemplation is seeking to improve our circumstances, how to contemplate our lives, our positions, and to establish a sense of freedom even where we may still be facing oppression. And so, I’m excited by a lot of that work that I’m seeing happen now.

JCS: That’s a beautiful vision for the field. Thanks for sharing that. You’ve mentioned a couple of authors already, and I’m very excited to go check them out. What other authors and what other books would you recommend for our audience?

FW: Barbara Holmes has done some really phenomenal work in this area. She has two books, one is Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church, and she has another one called: Walking with Our Ancestors: Contemplation and Activism. These are touching on two of the points that I’ve mentioned in terms of expanding this idea of contemplation. Then, there is Cassidy Hall, whose book Queering Contemplation talks about considering queerness in the realm of contemplation and how it works in the lives of queer folks. I think that is another wonderful work that is very much in conversation with Holmes. And then the one that I mentioned earlier, Divining the Self by Velma Love. Although she doesn’t discuss it explicitly using the term contemplation, I think a lot of what she says about divination practices very much points to it as a contemplative practice.

JCS: That’s really great. That’s one of the things that we’re thinking about with this series: so much of the work that’s being done in contemplative studies is not necessarily naming itself as contemplation. And this necessitates rethinking what contemplation is and how we organize ourselves as a field, moving forward in an embracing way. So, all three of those authors sound incredibly exciting. I’m looking forward to reading those myself. 

For many of us, particularly those who have been existing under oppressive circumstances, a part of the teleology of contemplation is seeking to improve our circumstances, how to contemplate our lives, our positions, and to establish a sense of freedom even where we may still be facing oppression.

FW: Absolutely. It’s great work. And like I said I really appreciate the focus on the cultivation of the good life and of joy, of understanding ourselves, of moving toward a place where we have a deeper sense of who we are as human beings and how to exist better in the world. I think that really is the aim of all contemplative practices, to understand our humanity on a deeper level and to raise our vibration as human beings, to raise our spiritual energy with one another, to live more peaceful lives, to live more joyful lives. So, I really appreciate where I see all the work on contemplation intersecting in that realm.

JCS: That’s really well put. Thank you so much for joining us, Funlayo.

FW: Absolutely. You’re welcome. Thanks again for having me.