reviews

Please select from the following categories to learn more about others experiences with the Ifa Foundation International.

(click any of the links below to read more)

Empowerment Reviews

Workshop/Spiritual Empowerment Experience™ Reviews

Empowerment/Spriritual Tools Reviews

General Reviews

"It was fantastic to be in an environment of non-judgment, where no one cares about anything but the fellowship, connecting, and knowledge. I left Sunday feeling like a million bucks. So thanks again - Ifafore".


"Alafia Iyanifa Vassa, Every morning I'm blessed to wake up "different". It's hard to describe, but my awareness of myself in my life has changed significantly this week for some reason. The days might not always seem to be great, wonderful or joyful, but at least they are not ignorant. I was becoming frustrated with myself in learning the Odu. I think initially I was going about it with the wrong mindset, perhaps thinking in a linear fashion. So I had to go back to the beginning to find out why I was even wanting to learn this in the first place. In my quest for my truth, the doors of knowledge are presenting themselves. Now I can "see" how the Odu can bring about changes in physical reality. When I am trying to learn something new, I have to dig until I find enough information to stand on that I physically, emotionally and spiritually resonate with one-hundred percent. Otherwise, I might think or say I understand, but really I know it is superficial.
Not to say that I really know anything at this point either, but at least I feel as if I have both feet on the ground and can build from this level. How fortunate you are to have spent so many years working with Ifa. The Ifa Foundation upholds the basic tenants of Ifa by fulfilling the sacred obligation to live in harmony with Nature and pass on wisdom to others. Ase! Some seeds we plant can only be seen in the lives of others. I hope my life will be a testimony to this.

Time to get back to work, hope you have a blessed day!
Mo nife re
IyaD2B"


Love the video, you're doing some amazing work down there. I'll show it to Emily, right in her zone.

Your Sigidi story makes me want to get 10 more! thats really amazing... Interesting, I've been told a similar story from a friend that did the sound track to a national geographic doc. about ancient rock art in the Norther Territory of Australia. He was invited on the expedition, hundreds of miles away in the middle of the outback, and odd things similar to what you described happened at sites that contained specific images. Very cool, yes I'd love to hear more.

Coming down for a visit is a given. Creating the space so it will be.

Ashe

John


"Dear Vassa,

Thank you for having us over ! That day at Ola Olu was magical. Years ago, I was numbly touring monastery after monastery on a study abroad program and asked my teacher, "What's a sacred place supposed to feel like?" He said it felt like the moment right before you fall in love: the anticipation, that sense that anything is possible.

But nope, nothing for me in those beautiful monasteries.

But on your sacred grounds, I cried during the circle dance of ancestors because something in me felt at once heartbroken and joyous, like that honeyed feeling when someone completely touches you and you know you can love them without needing anything back. I think I really need to honour my ancestors. Thank you for the reminder. :)

I also haven't forgotten that I would really love a life reading from you, if you'll do one for me. The prospect is a bit scary and a commitment for me, so I was waffling for a bit, but either curiosity or rightness is winning out. :) Thank you, thank you.

Kanglei"


"Alafia Iya,

The Sango webinar was awesome. Lots of hands on material, with each of the priests giving a different perpective--which all aligned. They've definitely been doing the work and walking the talk. I was impressed with their quiet strength. Interesting how these energies are expressed in older adults who have been on path for a while.

I was wondering if I could have access to the 7:30 pm recording of the Eshu webinar. I received a linked to the 8:30 Eshu and Oya webinars, but would also love to hear what was discussed during the earlier session.
Thank you, -Cherise"


"Alafia Vassa,

The twins are here and they are Beautiful! We are celebrating them and loving them so much! Yesterday it was nice and sunny and then a huge storm came lightning and loud thunder even though it is still hot end of summer here where we live, and we went outside and got wet a little bit. It was pouring! But it cooled things off and it was nice to get those positive ions going, I opened up the windows.

I feel so blessed to have the information about the ibeji twins and that this will help us as a family. I am so grateful! It opens the roads to so much not only for myself but my whole family. As soon as Jerry saw his neclace, he put it on. He loves that necklace! And Thank you so much for the gifts for Jacob and Luke!! How special for them and us as a family! We are so extremely thankful for you, we love and appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts. Love and blessings to you Vassa! - Karla and Family"


"Dear Vassa,
Our new spiritual tools made is safely and they are all in the house now. Wow! Esu Obara is gorgeous - the vase with the elephant, the shells arranged on top and the metal leaves . I really really like it. I am glad that it is you who did it. The Energy is so fine.
The aje is very beautiful. I like the both very much.
My daughter grabbed the sigidi shield and stopped, looked at me and said it vibrates with power. She also liked the scorpio necklace. It is a very nice necklace.

Thank you again. I will be in touch soon for Ogun. - Mila"


"Hi: Thank you for sharing the Wednesday Webex about the the Ancestors meeting with me. I understand better what it means to connect with the ancestors. Well what I am doing in my Botanica is something similar to what you just have explained in the meeting. I think that depending of our cultural background we get familiar with them but in a different level. I understand know that through the reading I might be able to get information that I have been looking for and will help me to move forward in my path. Also, due to the fact that I was raised by another family, not blood related, my father who passed on in 1997, gave me a lot of information to help me to deal with the tremendous imbalance I grew up with. As I mention to you before,I am steal working hard to work with my real family. It is very interesting how the energy surrounding us has so much influence in our life and manifest in every single level of our existence. From the spiritual plane to our fisiology in our body. One thing I learned that helped me to cope with the anger I grew up with against my mother was understanding how she was raised and what she inherit from her family. I was free of that anger the day I understood that, and I was able to feel the compassion for her. Today I am the one who give her a lot of happiness even that I am far from her. It was very interesting. I was not able to talk but I was watching. Thank you again! I will contact you son! God bless you all!" - RC


"I thank you Iya Vassa,
For everything as always. You're a blessing, and the reading was right on in so many ways. You cleared up so much and have given me more strength to ultimately be who I am. Ase to you! I pray in the near future to come out to Florida :-)
Adabo, Awo Ifagbenle


"Phil and Vassa,
Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for your time, insight and ASE yesterday with my Orisa ceremonies. I know I've told you before, but I am very grateful for your time and teachings-and am very thankful to have you in my life. Thank you for all you do for me and those I love. Yesterday was very special and I will not forget it.
Brought a smile of peace to my face.
Love, Ifafore"


"Hi Vassa:
I was in attendance on the webex yesterday. There was some really good ideas/concepts shared by the group. I enjoyed the thought made about how our human ego starts to fade and the ancestral spirit begins to shows. Because I have often wonder why a deceased family member who was a hell raiser be allowed in my spiritual circle. But after hearing some the others respond about the ancestor spirit it made more sense. I think that was one of the best concepts I came away with. The webex seminars have been very helpful and informative. Thank you for putting your time and energy into organizing them. - Dawn"


"Alafia Oluwo Philip Thanks for the teaching yesterday. You have been a great and extraordinary teacher for me — 17 years of on and off study and support has brought me a long way.If I shared your certainty I would likely have progressed beyond imagining. I am deeply grateful for your insight, even when it was really hard for me to hear. Wonderful to see you in such good health. Will make every effort to come to Ola Olu in the coming year — hopefully for my daughter's initiation or an open house to see the gardens. Take care. I so enjoy the weekly Ifascope as you deliver it." - love Frances





"Thank you so much for inviting me to the webinar on the ancestors. Your webinars are really key to the growth of this Ifa community. I felt it so much tonight. Sometimes, the journey can feel very lonely because one cannot simply walk to the nearest church and gather with fellow Ifa practitioners. The webinar also helped me reflect on my relationship with the ancestors. Sometimes we get so much from them and we have such amazing exchanges with them, but we don’t always take the time to tie the experiences or appreciate them over and over. The ancestor work and the Ifa work have really grounded ME to my PURPOSE. I think people sometimes have an overly dramatized idea of what will happen when they connect with the ancestors. However, I take joy in the subtle but nonetheless amazing communication I’ve had with my ancestors. For me, the fruition of this possibility to connect with ancestors is HUGE. Since I was a young boy, I’ve always asked questions myself about my purpose in this world. It sounds strange that a boy would wonder about those things. I’ve always felt out of place in the world around me. The Ifa work has helped me find a ground to land on. Although I am but a speck of dust roaming in this big universe, I feel more conscious about my position in it. I’m that tiny, distant star that all of a sudden has begun to twinkle. I’m grateful for the inquisitive personality that helped me make some brave decisions when I was young. However, it feels differently when one makes a move and knows that there is a lineal army standing in support even when the currently living family members may not. And again, thank you for holding these webinars. They are really valuable. I look forward to more virtual gatherings. For a long time, the Ifa work has been something I’ve done privately. I think I am ready to leave my sandbox and play with others. - Ashe AL in Miami"


"Hi Vassa, I have received the box with all my goodies. Yes, the Esu's are really really gorgeous. The Chango one with two horns sits on my living room table for now, until I take him to Chango. He is so powerful, wow. The Ochosi is really handsome. And Osain wants to go in my purse. I got the soaps and sigidi shield for pud. Thank you for all your gifts. The pocket esu for pud looks very nice. But how did I end up with OKO necklace? Thank you very much for all your great work with Esu's and shipping. All is good. Thank you again. I will be in touch. - Mila"


"Dear Vassa, I’m grateful for everything what has happened. My life is flowing with more success at this time. I feel good and I’m able to smile a little bit more. Now I see life with a longer term view and have the energy to move on. It takes a lot of energy to do what I do at the moment, but it’s an investment for the future. On the road, I do almost every day my prayers and take the tools with me.
- an Ogun spike
- an Esu stone from your IFA Foundation garden
I work with these tools while I’m driving long distances and feel connected. I try to find a balance between work (because I’m not at home for 6 days) and IFA and I’m getting there. Still my goal is set to come to the IFA foundation, I hope this year! I’m thankful you’re here for me. Vassa, thank you so much for the help and the support!" -With love, Enrico from the Netherlands









"Aboru, aboye o, Iya Vassa!

Thank you so very much for allowing me to spend those five days at the Ola Olu Sacred Gardens & Retreat. They were awesome! Vassa, each day since my return to Saint Louis, I'm more grateful to have met you. Your loving energy, compassion, and laughter were a much needed medicine. Our interactions energized my flickering hopes for a future open to active Ifa/Orisa work, learning & teaching, and being part of communities where living is consciously based on the principle that human beings are more valuable than either property or capital." Love, - Gregorio


"Alafia Vassa, It was so good to see you yesterday and to meet John!! Thank you for the information shared yesterday, I love and value this spiritual food. Thank you and Thank John for the valuable information shared! He really did an excellent job in getting the message across about Obatala. It is so important for me to learn how to connect with the Orishas everyday. You know I have been asking Obatala on how to connect more deeply with his energy on Sundays. I am deeply grateful and I feel so supported and loved and guided by this energy! And do I need calm, clarity, focus and direction. Especially now, my goodness am I working on Patience. I love my kids with all my might, but I guess it is time to work on this quality. To connect and to just taking it one moment at a time to not lose my focus. I learned alot yesterday. I am truly grateful. The ifascope is another valuable tool for me, just a flood of information! Thank you. Grateful Heart! Sending Love and gratitude!" - Karla

"We thoroughly enjoyed the webinar, last night and are looking forward to many more. We realized we talked (even though we were muted) throughout, but I assure you, we were discussing the wonderful topic and what was being said by the priest, Madam Vassa and others ( I mention this because one of us thought that we may have seemed to not be paying attention). We are a very close group and we are comfortable sharing with each other when we immediately have questions or moments of confusion. We are also planning a trip to Ifa Foundation next Late spring, in hopes we may catch one of the retreat workshop weekends. I am so happy that everyone among us enjoyed themselves. We're grinning from ear to ear. Ase." -Chris H.


"IT WAS FANTASTIC TO SEE YOU ALL AND LISTEN AND LEARN... Love" -Barbara from Slovenia


"Alafia.. Iya Vassa, I would like to thank you very much for the consultation you performed for me. You confirmed everything I have been experiencing and wanting to do. Your poke was truthful and sincere. I felt so comfortable with you and was able to share things I had not shared, even with myself. I look forward to having you in my life and pray that we can someday sit back and share these times. Ase..Ase..Ase. Thank you your energy has revived me even over the phone. Bendicion," -Brenda

 

 

"The Esu-Obatala has helped me really connect to peace and focus and it has become a space to come to at the beginning of large intellectual projects. The ori potion is also perhaps the best thing I've ever used. I prefer it even to the black soap because it is cooling both to my skin and ori and I feel it evaporating away all of the junk that gets me worried or frustrated. I want to keep deepening this connection and seeing where it continues to take me". -Odabo-John

 

"Alafia Vassa, Wanted to share with you, this is so absolutely amazing! I am so engaged in doing the readings, listening to "hunches" and messages, re-analyzing past readings. You said it would make me a better mom... whoa! I can't believe how wise and composed I sound! how I see other approaches... and the best gift is tapping into the joy, making any annoyance really short and just get it out of the way! And never feeling lonely or afraid!  My daughter  tells me "you seem to have found your call..." or" mom you are soooo weird" (the best compliment) I'll never be able to thank you enough for hanging in there during my suspicion, my lack of seeing, the downs.... and pushing it a little, again and again,... and again.... to make it happen!" Love and hugs from - Child of Oya

 

"Alafia Iyanifa Vassa, i received my package yesterday. the energy was awesome. my son was so ready for the necklaces. they were beautiful. the ibejis are wonderful. when i held each eshu, i knew i held something special. you are amazing. i love the orishas and always will. i sometimes have to remind myself when i am going through things in my life that i am not alone. i thank you again for everything. i will keep you updated on my son's jounrney. ASE".

 

"When I had visited the retreat with others last year, it was hot, humid and most unpleasant.  I had the absolute worst time breathing outdoors and was dizzy most of the time (lack of oxygen).  After my initiation in November 2011, I have gone through changes on many levels and just today realized that while it is 100% humid out in (funky) NYC, I have not had a problem breathing. I know that this is because of my initiation, I know it is. Not only am I truly amazed but I am also incredibly happy that I can function and breathe on a day such as today in NYC. THANK YOU BOTH for so many things, especially simply for *being* [there, supportive, available and everything else]. I'm going for a walk. G'nite".

 

"Alafia, I want to thank you for the wonderful workshop last weekend.  You and Phil are wonderful.  I came away changed from where I was and I want to thank you for that." - C

"Dear Iyanifa Vassa, What an honor that you wrote directly back to me. You might not be aware of the actual impact you have on women all around the world- we simply admire you for your work, your artistry- just who you are and the light you share. I met Ifa when i fell into a deep depression during my studies in scandinavia- i felt very isolated and lonely. Now i am happy to say that i have been without medication for more than two years- the connection to you through your website gave me all the strength and support I needed throughout this hard time. It was orunmila who told me not to leave my orchestra but to live somewhere in between vienna and munich-- and here i am, with the help of google maps(!), in the middle of nowhere in upper austria, loving and enjoying rural life and even having the possibilty of decorating my own ifa and meditation room! Thank you for being there for us- and also a big hello to your husband!"

 

"Alafia, Vassa I hope you are doing great, I send you so much love in my thoughts! I just quickly want to share with you WHAT A GREAT BENEFIT Ifascope has really had on our family. My family relationships have tremendously Tremendously TREMENDOUSLY have improved from following your husbands such loving advice each week. We as a family have followed it every week this year, and I have seen HUGE benefits. I want to thank You and Your Husband, PLEASE let him know. We have really been blessed with stronger, happier family relationships!! Life was meant for us to be happy, and I am so thankful that we have been able to reach it, thanks to your help. I remember hearing the ifascope at the beginning of the year when Phillip would say the benefits would be family relationships, and I would really hope for it to be true, to strengthen my family happiness etc...And it has!!!  We still continue with Good Character, Daily Orishas, Ori, Sigidi, Twins (I will be sending them to you soon, to be recharged) and our Ancestors, Primary Ancestors, we try to really focus and not get distracted, even though family life is challenging sometimes. But we continue, and we Love And Appreciate you and Phillip. Love and Blessings"

*All Original Communications on File