Sacred Space
"Turn the ringer off your phone. Don't answer the doorbell. Tell your loved ones that you cannot be disturbed. If you get distracted or allow yourself to drift, you will never make it to your destination." - Walter Mosley, "This Year You Write Your Novel." I've always loved the advice author Walter Mosley gives to aspiring writers in his book,...
Asiko Olorun (God’s Time)
The comment from Mackala Fall, our FB French translator, caught me off guard. I was telling him how it seems very likely that we'll get funding for our film this year, and I'll be traveling to L.A. in August to meet a potential investor. Mackala simply said: "Don't make haste. Even if we are funded next year or the year after our vision will come...
Setting The Record Straight
African Researcher Discussing Vodun/Voodoo "Respect for nature, a comprehensive worldview that has a solution for everything, the answer of the ancestors to the philosophical questions people ask: "Where are we? Who are we? Where do we come from?" That's how one African describes Vodun/Voodoo in the link I've attached above - a...
A Gathering of Spirit
We return to theme of Vision because we firmly believe it's our obligation. Who's we? The elders. The ancestors. The orisas that empower, protect and inspire us. Why do we return constantly to the theme of Vision? Because we believe that all who embark on the quest for vision ultimately discover that they are not only better off, but...
Ore mi atata: My important friend
"Ore me atata" means my dear friend - or my important friend. That's how my close friend and brother, Ifasola, greets me when he calls. He's pictured with his eyes closed in this photo. I've known him for more than 13 years. He was one of my first Yoruba language instructors. I would meet him at his house for private lessons. To my delight,...
Jagun Jagun : The Warrior
"The constant soldier is never unready, even once/ This was the teaching of Ifa for Igbin, the snail, the courteous one./ Who was going to engage Ekun, the leopard in a sudden fight./ They said that Ekun was always ready for battle, and that Igbin should not engage him. One whom we cannot engage in battle, we leave to the Lord of Heaven" -Owonrin...
To Cross A King’s River
There's not a single reason why you should not be following your dreams - the mission that you feel you came to earth to fulfill. Every excuse you offer is just that - an excuse. But all excuses are invalid. There is only one right answer - you will do what your soul instructs you to do. That's how I interpret the Yoruba proverb that...
An Attitude of Gratitude
The image has been haunting me for days. The image of cancer eating away at Gene - my next door neighbor. An elderly man, a big, strapping man who until recently, seemed to be in good health. In my mind's eye, I still see him bustling about in the backyard, whistling and calling out to me from time to time from over the wooden fence. And...
The Day of Clarity
I took this photograph on a beach in southern St. Croix, Virgin Islands. This photo stirs up powerful memories of the "Day of Clarity." That's the day I told my cousin, David, about my future as an Ifa priest and diviner. I'm not there yet - but this future was revealed to me in a divination session that was performed by an Ifa diviner...
A Blaze of Fire
A blaze of fire - the fire of rage. When I witnessed a friend explode in rage and anger at his own family it forced me to stop and reflect. It also depressed me and slowed me down for a few days. One Yoruba proverb says: "Ibinnu ko se nkankan fun eni" (anger doesn't do anything for anyone). The proverb goes on to say: "agba t'o ni...