Meet Mani of Melanated Momma in West Hollywood/Los Feliz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mani.

Mani, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve been spiritual my entire life, but its taken different forms throughout the years. I’ve always believed in something greater than me, but I dived into spirituality as a lifestyle practice about two years ago. I had my first “supernatural” moment at my Christian youth camp. We spent three days at Malibu in Canada and during that time, we had quiet time or a meditation of some sort.

During that time, I experienced a spirit energy around me. I saw so many synchronizations and spiritual messages before I even knew what synchronization was. I couldn’t fully explain it, but after that trip I went home and began asking questions, researching, and listening to the interesting spiritual stories of others in my family. At the time, I was still identifying as Christian, but it never fully resonated with me. Eventually, I went about my life and somewhat fell out of the heightened awareness but eventually, 2-3 years later spirituality found me again. This time it was through astrology. Through astrology, I found new age spirituality. Eventually, I realized new age spirituality wasn’t for me. The practices weren’t clicking and I wanted to be connected to my tribe, my group, and my practices. I prayed and I prayed and eventually, I landed where I am now. Now, I am practicing and learning about my culture’s traditional practices. Since childhood, I’ve constantly questioned and pushed to know all perspectives around religion and spirituality. Searching for truth around me in these practices continuously fuels my spiritual growth.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Finding my roots and cultural traditions was harder than I thought. Finding my place in spirituality was harder than I thought. I jumped into spirituality without recognizing it as a lifestyle and thinking it was simply “throw practices together and cultivate your own thing.’ It’s so much more than that. There are elders, leaders, guides, and proper ways to move even in a space with so much freedom. It’s important to practice spiritual autonomy while respecting the traditions and practices of others. The hardest part was finding my autonomy amongst the traditions of others. Everything I thought it was in the beginning…isn’t what it is at all. How I viewed it in the beginning is what caused so much confusion and feelings of isolation. Once I found my tribe and my practices, everything became so clear.

Melanated Momma – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Melanated Momma is my business brand name, but people know me as Mani. I’m a spiritual healer, psychic medium, and astrologer. I’m a spiritual teacher and guide for the most part that emphasizes spirituality in a very practical and attainable way. I empower people as autonomous beings that can connect to higher self and intuition. I currently follow an African Traditional Religion, emphasizing the connection and honoring of her African ancestors. While spirituality may assume the use of divination and reach beyond the realm of physical phenomena, I believe spirituality to be a healing process of self-awareness, unpacking trauma, and delving into health and wellness. Healing and empowerment is my main focus. Healing oneself is the key to healing the world. I reach the world through connection, love, psychic messages and readings inviting people to analyze themselves to elevate. My ultimate goal is to connect the spiritual realm to the material realm and make it more accessible and practical for the masses. Spirituality is more than some crazy phenomena thats outside of it. It’s within us and it’s in everything we do. Well being and understanding of self is spirituality.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is something defined by the individual on their own standards. Personally, success is achieving one’s own goal for the sake of oneself. Its defining authenticity and living authentically. As long as someone’s living authentically, they are succeeding.

Contact Info:

• Website: melanatedmomma.com
• Email: info@melanatedmomma.com

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