Iya Omitosin is a powerhouse of wisdom — a true light in our community.
I’m proud of her growth as a healer, an Iyanifa, and a businesswoman. She has deeply blessed my life — and the lives of so many others.
She is one of the many powerful voices I quoted in my book, Meditations Across the King’s River, published in 2024. Her insight is timeless, and her courage is contagious.
A Voice of Healing, Truth, and Ancestral Power
Lately, I’ve been revisiting a Facebook Live conversation we had about two years ago. So many gems surfaced — teachings that are both spiritual and deeply grounded in real life.
In the video, Iya speaks about our connection to the ancestors, reminding us:
Spirit communication doesn’t have to be complicated.
To connect with your ancestors, she offers this sacred guidance:
✨ Set a clear intention ✨ Create sacred space for them to come ✨ Trust the messages
She also shared something deeply personal — how years of people-pleasing manifested in her body as fibroids. And how healing began when she chose to speak up.
Healing Begins When We Speak the Truth
We need to speak up.
We are living in times when right-wing forces are trying to silence our voices and erase our stories. We cannot let them. This is not the time to shrink.
This is the time to remember who we are — and to call on those who walk with us but are unseen.
Our ancestors are near. They are listening. They are speaking.
They want to help us rise, not just for ourselves — but for the generations to come.
Watch the Conversation
Here’s a short video with Iya Omitosin. I encourage you to watch, listen, and reflect.
Are You Listening to the Call of Your Ancestors?
Take a moment to reflect:
— What stories are you being called to share? — Where in your life are you still silencing your truth? — How might your ancestors be guiding you right now?
Let’s Rise — Together
I’m looking forward to hearing from you — your reflections, your stories, your voice.
🌊 A Sacred Image from Benin Not long ago, my friend Chechi sent me this gorgeous photo.
Chechi is one of the filmmakers working with me on my documentary film project, Across the King’s River.
She’s also a gifted photographer.
This photo was taken in Benin during the Vodun Festival in January. These women are honoring Mami Wata — a powerful deity of water, transformation, and abundance. She is revered in several African traditions and throughout the diaspora.
🔮 Honoring Mami Wata and African Spiritual Power Like many African spiritual traditions, Vodun has been demonized.
But despite centuries of misinformation and distortion, Vodun remains a powerful spiritual system — a source of wisdom, healing, and liberation.
Our sacred traditions teach us:
To honor our ancestors
To walk in balance
To trust in the wisdom of nature
🛡️ Our Stories Must Be Told This photo reminds me that our work is not over — we must continue to tell our stories and share our history, especially in this season of DEI rollbacks and openly racist agendas.
They tried to erase us. They failed. They tried to silence us. They failed. They tried to strip us of our power. They failed.
We are still here. Our stories will still be told.
🔥 What Stories Will You Tell? 📚 I keep telling these stories— Through my book. 🎬 Through my ongoing film project. 🗣️ Through the conversations I lead and nurture.
And I invite you to reflect with me:
What stories will you tell?
How will you honor your lineage?
What wisdom will you pass on?
🧬 Your Story Is Sacred In a world that wants us to forget, remembering is an act of resistance.
Your story is necessary. The world needs your truth.
The next generation is calling your name. You must answer.
We were catching up on WhatsApp for the first time in 2025.
And I told her to feel free to reach out if she needs my guidance at any time.
She appreciated the offer but said she’s focusing on tuning into her intuition—trusting the inner guidance she already receives.
“I’m listening more closely to the guidance that comes my way,” she said, “especially when I hear the same message from different people.”
“If two or three friends—who don’t even know each other—tell me the same thing, I always pay attention.”
I love Gloria’s perspective—simple, practical, and powerful.
Do you trust your intuition? Many don’t – fear and self-doubt get in the way.
And it holds them back in life…
Remember this: You don’t just have a soul—you are a soul.
Gloria has always trusted her intuition, but now she’s setting an even deeper intention.
“My goal is to recognize the messages and signs even more clearly,” she said. “This is my ancestors guiding me—they’ve always kept me safe.”
How is she being guided to approach 2025 and beyond? More travel. More learning. More alignment. And more abundance and gratitude…
On past trips, she and her son, Shawn, have explored Eritrea—where her father is from. They have also been to Greece, Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand, Dubai, Ghana, Tanzania, and the Ivory Coast.
This year, they’re heading to London and Dublin.
Beyond travel, Gloria wants to deepen her knowledge of financial literacy and investing. Her long-term goal is to build a two-story home in another country and run a retreat business.
But she’s not in a rush.
“If this season calls for just being present—enjoying life as it is, appreciating my child and all my privileges—then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
When it’s time to make a move, I trust and believe I’ll be guided to do so.
In many ways I’m just like them. I teach and advise others.
How well do you know your parents? Your ancestors? How are they influencing you?
I learned something new about Dad recently. I was looking through a folder and found more information about his life and military career.
This photograph was taken while Dad was in the U.S Army. He spent 20 years in the military then we moved home to St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
Here’s what I didn’t know. The Army wanted to promote Dad to the rank of Captain. Dad said NO to that offer.
Then they offered to promote Dad to the rank of Major, and he said NO to that as well.
I don’t know all the reasons why Dad didn’t want to serve as an officer in the military, but one thing was crystal clear. He didn’t need a title to define him. He was always “in charge,” leading in his own way.
Dad encouraged me to be a leader too.
Here’s a challenge for you in 2025. Why not embrace the best qualities of your ancestors and be a leader wherever you go?
But let me remind you: leadership comes at a cost.
Not everyone will like you. Be okay with that. Not everyone will understand you. Be okay with that. Not everyone will appreciate you. Be okay with that.
In spite of this, choose to be your best in 2025.Tap into the divine energy of your ancestors—their perseverance, their vision, their leadership.
How was your first day of 2025? What did you do? Who did you spend it with?
And what are your goals for the new year? I spent the day at home with my family.
I’m excited about the new year. I’ll be working on my documentary film in 2025, and I’ll also be leading small groups to sacred sites of Nigeria and Benin. (If you’re interested in coming let me know).
Be focused as you move forward in 2025. Be determined. Be dedicated.
I also think it’s important to have a mentor in the area you wish to grow in. A mentor’s job is not only to guide, but to push you out of your comfort zone.
I have spiritual mentors, financial mentors, and business mentors.
This photograph was taken during my travels in Nigeria last month. This man is a mentor to many. He’s a babalawo, or traditional priest in the Ifa spiritual tradition of the Yoruba people. Like many of the elders I met, he’s been practicing his craft since childhood, and he’s still fully committed.
One of his gifts is teaching the art of divination. During one of his sessions, he was trying to help a student understand how everything in the universe and in divination ebbs and flows. It always has and always will.
“Life zigzags,” he said over and over again. You need to remember this as you move forward in 2025. “Life will zigzag.”
Don’t begin 2025 thinking everything should magically go your way. It won’t.
Life will zigzag, but it can be fun. This is where the growth happens. Maybe your ancestors have a better plan.
Get a mentor. Stay focused. Stay in the game.
Let’s see what 2025 has in store for us. I will be here to support you. Love James
