Orisa Lifestyle Academy

10/17/2025

never settle again...

ObafemiO.com

10/16/2025

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10/16/2025

When I started to study Odu Ifa, I wanted it to be organized and indexed according to a Western mindset. I kept expecting EjiOgbe to be about ONE thing. I was looking for OyekuMeji to be all about ONE thing, and so on.

It took a few years before I fully accepted the reality that Ifa has its own order. My need for a particular order was completely irrelevant.

I see lots of other students of the tradition struggle in very similar ways. Some people have a hard time accepting the reality that we do not practice numerology, astrology or alchemy, as they are known in other parts of the world.

If you’re like most people, you’re still trying to impose YOUR ideas onto Orisa Lifestyle. In spite of the obvious, you continue to try to fit a square peg into a round hole and force yourself to see things in the tradition that do not exist.

It may be that you want Orisa Lifestyle to be related to the Egyptians. You might be trying to convince yourself that Awon Iyami is your misunderstood fairy godmother. Or you might be like I was; struggling to organize the knowledge into neat compartments that fit my understanding of “order.”

Whatever it is, I encourage you to let it go and start to see Orisa Lifestyle for what it is, not what you want it to be. Ultimately, you have come to the tradition to be transformed, not to transform the tradition.

Humble yourself. Let the tradition tell you what it is, how it works and why things the way they are. Acceptance is the first step towards acquiring true wisdom and experiencing authentic happiness.

Obafemi Origunwa, MA | OrisaLifestyle.com

10/16/2025

Orunmila, the head I use to serve you is a useful one. Without this head, I cannot serve you well, my lord. Protect my head, Orunmila. Let me use this head of mine in devotion to you. Àse!

Obafemi Origunwa, MA | OrisaLifestyle.com

10/16/2025

La Comparsa is the Cuban carnival tradition. About yen years ago, I was the Spanish teacher at Ile Omode, Oakland's premier independent Black school. At that time, I was invited to Cuba by an elder, who needed a translator. I was happy to accompany him, mostly because it afforded me the opportunity to gather songs and folklore for my students.

In this snippet, I was in SANTIAGO, during an impromptu procession. Much like New Orleans, where the carnival tradition is synonymous with Second Line drumming, the people of Santiago will pull together a procession for just about any reason at all!

Obafemi Origunwa, MA | OrisaLifestyle.com

10/16/2025

La Comparsa is the Cuban carnival tradition. About yen years ago, I was the Spanish teacher at Ile Omode, Oakland's premier independent Black school. At that time, I was invited to Cuba by an elder, who needed a translator. I was happy to accompany him, mostly because it afforded me the opportunity to gather songs and folklore for my students.

In this snippet, I was interviewing a very nice lady - a Yemoja devotee - who was explaining to me the relationship between orisa and carnival. I was surprised to hear that one of my favorite carnival songs - El Alacran - was referenced. She went on to tell me all sorts of great secrets about Comparsa and orisa.

Obafemi Origunwa, MA | OrisaLifestyle.com

10/15/2025

It’s hoodie season!!!

Obafemi Origunwa is a babalawo based in Atlanta. He is the founder of the Orisa Lifestyle Academy. His mission is to use Orisa Lifestyle to help African Americans deliver on the Ancestral Promise.

10/15/2025

In the Holy Odu IkaOse, we see something uncharacteristic; Orunmila rejects the call for help from someone in need. He was advised by Ifa to sacrifice against somebody who would come to him, pretending to be in need of help. In reality, however, this person pretending to be in distress would really be plotting to bury Orunmila on the spot! It turned out to be Agbigbo, carrying a deadly coffin on his head. With a single glance into the coffin, Agbigbo had already taken the lives of three primordial kings. When Agbigbo approached Orunmila, it was Esu who advised him to use the nail and stone used in the sacrifice to nail the coffin shut. Orunmila complied and Agbigbo has been carrying that coffin on his head ever since.

This is a lesson in cynicism. It dramatizes the space between disillusionment and enlightenment, where illusions die, and truth begins. Unhealed cynicism turns to bitterness.
Refined cynicism becomes discernment — the power to see clearly. This verse reveals how the cynic cuts through deceit to make room for creation. Destruction becomes sacred when it serves truth.

am looking for leaders who are ready to improve the world through positive influence. If that is you, find out how Oloye Obafemi Origunwa and the Orisa Lifestyle Academy can help you take your practice and your life to the next level.

Join us today: ObafemiO.com

10/15/2025

The cynical Oluwo

10/14/2025

Like mother like daughter: a daughter who observes her mother’s wardrobe cannot help but to dress with good taste. Likewise, our return to the Ancestral Promise is a return to the source of our culture. May we wear the tradition with good taste. May we wear it with style and grace. Let us do things the way they used to do them so that things turn out the way they used to turn out. Ase!

I am looking for leaders who are ready to improve the world through positive influence. If that is you, find out how Oloye Obafemi Origunwa and the Orisa Lifestyle Academy can help you take your practice and your life to the next level.

Join us today: ObafemiO.com