Today we’d like to introduce you to Ani Carla Kalafian.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ani Carla. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
From a young age, I was always sensitive to energies and was clairvoyant. I was first attuned to Reiki in 2011, and have acquired various certificates and skills from all over the world including in the practices of Pranic healing and cleansing. Growing up as an Armenian-American, my intuitive gifts were embraced as the women and elders in my family would gather to drink Armenian Coffee, turn over the demi-tasse onto its saucer, and read the grinds leftover as if they were deeply reading a tarot spread – but with symbols infinite.
I picked up the art of coffee reading naturally and would share my talents with my friends from other diverse backgrounds as a spiritual practice as women do, as well as a great cultural exchange. After years and years of practice, vigorously studying ancient symbols and mysteries as well as indigenous Armenian divination and healing modalities, I have grown into a Coffee Reading Master.
I was born in Los Angeles, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, lived in Armenia for a few years on a quest to get in touch with my roots and strengthen my energy healing journey in my sacred homeland where I ironically elevated my professional career in the vast field of communications, and finally came full-circle back to Los Angeles. I joined the artists collective at Align Gallery on York Blvd. in Highland Park as the energy healing artist and reader. I was in the company of incredible artists of many disciplines and incredibly supportive women. I hosted coffee readings during special events as well as private sessions in the gallery.
From there, I was recruited at the Spirit House Collective, a female-identifying collective of artists and healers based in the Eagle Rock/Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, where I host coffee readings during events, workshops, retreats, and special ceremonies. I also host private coffee reading ceremonies at special events and bridal showers, pop-up shops, and participate in healers festivals/faires and retreats. I host appointment-only coffee reading sessions one Sunday a month at my favorite coffee shop in Glendale called Urartu Coffee.
I like to call it my ‘Armenian Central Perk’ where I do my best to break the cultural taboo of coffee reading in public and encouraging more Armenian women who have been reading coffee for as long as I have or even longer to expand their horizons and do the same to help as many people as they can with their innate psychic gifts. Part of my journey is not always about sharing my gifts but helping guide other women become in-tuned and comfortable with theirs. I work full time in Glendale with the developing Armenian American Museum in development and communications, and I love what I do.
As my professional background stems from creative content production, event planning, and writing with a strong standing in the non-profit sector and culturally immersive projects. I try to live by example and prove that strengthening one’s intuition can help navigate in all areas of life. We all have an inner and higher purpose, so we must work together to fulfill it as one whole collective. If I can’t make time to share my knowledge with those who seek it, then what’s the point of having it?
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My pure happiness is never paired without deep pain. They come in twos, hand in hand. I am an empath. I feel too much, and that’s just the way I am. I stay positive because its a life practice- a choice. At this moment, I am basking in joy, all while sympathizing with others who cannot. I am with them too. I have accepted my role as a messenger in my spiritual path, it is heavy, but it is the most rewarding at the same time. There is power in this duality, I promise.
To be honest, I’ve had an extremely challenging upbringing, to say the least, on top of inheriting trauma within my ancestry as my Grandmother was a genocide survivor and I carry her horrific memories in my DNA code. Being an Armenian of the diaspora is full of ups and downs, as whatever is left from our beautiful ancient homeland, my people still suffer from danger as a landlocked country with two borders closed and disputed territory called Artsakh where I also carry ancestral roots from both my maternal and paternal sides.
Members of our diaspora still being forced into displacement because of war. I met my husband, a Syrian-Armenian, while I was living in Armenia. His family was forced to leave their home in Aleppo when the war escalated, you see, his grandparents that survived the Armenian Genocide in 1915 ended up in Syria to start a new life. And in our lifetime, it once again became too much to bear. At the same time, there was an entire bloodless Velvet Revolution that just took place in Armenia, where hundreds and thousands of people proudly fought for their rights and took power into their own hands- a major milestone for not just Armenia, but the world! We are a culture that tends to laugh and cry, celebrate and mourn at the same time.
My healing practice saves my life and keeps me sane every single day. The thing is, the journey never ends, its all about one breakthrough after another. I am proud to say that I have recovered from old childhood/teen trauma and healed the inherited ancestral trauma. In return, I can comfortably share my family story and find a common thread with people from all over the world who have gone through and are going through the same. The healing path has allowed me to liberate myself from a constant state of victimhood, where I now embrace gratitude, respect, and honor. I do not have a single shred of hate in my heart, not me.
I still work on myself every day, if I don’t, how can I be ready to help others? I try to be available to my family and extended family to share unconditional love and healing the best I can. I stay strong for my husband and my people because we are here together.
The fact that Armenia and Armenians have been around for thousands of years, made it through complete historic turmoil, and still managed to make it through the 21st century is nothing short of a miracle, and I am honored to share our story and culture with the world, and I am also here to listen and learn about other cultures and indigenous healing modalities as well, because the story of human resilience is a mystery and once you live it, all you want to do is dive in deeper and learn more and more.
In my opinion, my culture and country are overwhelmingly underrated, and if I can share just a piece it of it through a tiny cup of coffee paired with an empowering form of divination called tasseomancy/tasseography, I feel more connected and liberated.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I don’t like to compare myself to others; I am who I am. I read coffee grinds intuitively, where the symbols I see are keys of to intuitive information about the individual that can be helpful along their journey. The past, present, and future may or may not show up- it really depends on the person. I am not, however, a fortune teller and I strive to break that stigma. I am a messenger, the coffee grinds are an energetic fingerprint, a pattern, a form that I interpret and translate. Actually, coffee grinds are a visible retainer of water, so technically I am reading water. Our bodies are over 70% water, so the water you drink will encapsulate your frequency- that is what I read.
I like to give my clients homework, make them do research on their own after the reading, and recommend different healing modalities shown or based on their cup. The readings don’t decide where they are going in life but help them prepare for big decisions. But then again, sometimes I really do see events occurring in their future, present, and situations of the past, so it’s really hard to explain until you get a reading yourself and see what the experience is like.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I immediately thought of our old neighborhood in Tujunga, near the rock labyrinth, where me, my sisters, cousins, family friends, and neighborhood kids would just literally play and make up dances till the sun went down.
Contact Info:
- Email: ani.kalafian@gmail.com
- Instagram: @ani.vibes
- Facebook: @ani.vibes
- Twitter: vibes_ani
Image Credit:
Sasha Sheldon
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