We were lucky to catch up with Jamila Anahata recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jamila, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

In hindsight, I was born to be a creative, an entrepreneur, and a healer. The first time this realization hit me was in my early 20s when I worked in food service and retail on and off. The pressure I felt and the frustration that permeated my Being grew stronger and stronger as I got older, and I knew that working for someone else (especially in a corporate setting) just wasn’t for me.

Although I was very fortunate in finding career paths and jobs that served my interests as I approached 30, the true moment where I knew my life’s calling was put to the test very recently; coincidentally a few months ago…

I was at my previous job of which I overall enjoyed, but I could feel that there was something missing. After being on an intense journey of many themes within the past year, I read a book called “You Are a Bad Ass” by Jen Sincero and as I closed it in completion, I bawled my eyes out.

Not just because the book was that good (which it definitely was, I highly recommend it lol), but it helped me dig deep into the part of myself that has been screaming for attention for years.

Although I attempted my go at entrepreneurship right before 2020, I backed out of it due to the typical confusion, lack of motivation, and exhaustion we all feel when we don’t decide on truly expanding our Person. And my intuition, Higher Self, Guides, or whatever you want to call it, was urging me to try again no matter what circumstances I was in at the moment.

I knew that I couldn’t let myself down this time, and I had to persist in pursuing my passions as the Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Tarot Reader, Content Creator, Alternative Model, Burlesque Performer, and more, that I was meant to be.

Even though my parting with my previous job was bittersweet, I was just so happy and proud of myself that I was moving forward in a direction that was scary at the time, but will have me thanking myself in the near future. Needless to say, I’ve made the right decision and am overjoyed by how much purpose fills up my life everyday.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

If you haven’t heard of me before, hello there, I’m Jamila Anahata, also known as The Soulful Veganista. I’ve been a content creator on all platforms for almost 10 years now with themes surrounding spiritual growth, holistic wellness, goth/metal/horror culture, fashion, and living, vegan food, empowered authenticity and sensuality, mysticism, and much more.

At first I was just having fun on those apps, but then my desire to go full force into being a Holistic Lifestyle Coach (which developed when I began to grow my following online) got more intense in 2018, and after many divine distractions, I found my way back to my true calling this April.

My goal as a Holistic Lifestyle Coach is to empower alternative women & femmes’ divinity so they can elevate from their darkness, meaning that I guide them through their inner work journey while giving them holistic lifestyle practices that they apply to their daily regimen for inevitable growth and expansion.

I typically coach through my insightful tarot reading sessions so I can easily get to the root of what self-limitations hold my clients back from achieving the reality they desire.

Just like many people, I’ve been in survival mode my whole life and couldn’t see myself escaping the daily Hell that I was experiencing. The limiting beliefs, weird fears, negative self-image, and destructive self-talk made me feel that life was ALL about suffering; joy was something you’ve earned, not experienced.

Oh boy, was I wrong. After my vegan and holistic living journey in May of 2013, I slowly discovered that I was doing everything backwards. Life doesn’t control me, I control my life. My purpose and passions aren’t assigned to me by others, I get to choose them. Authority figures don’t tell me who I am, I am the authority of my life.

All those realizations and spiritual downloads were the gateway to me finding my life’s calling, and to wanting to raise the collective consciousness by empowering others to be the operant power of their reality, rather giving their power away to certain circumstances.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I love this question because my business’ slogan is “elevating your divinity to elevate from your darkness,” and I use that to describe my work based on my overall life goal. Just like the quote, my most prominent of desires is to aid Black alternative (punk, goth, metalheads, etc) women and femmes in their journey to be led by their Spirit rather than just their human vehicle.

Or, in other words, do the inner work necessary to be a clear vessel for your Higher Self to channel through you. This gives you clarity and inspiration to move towards your purpose, and allows you the personal freedom of being your most authentic version.

My creative journey is 100% wrapped up in all my passions. Through my art: my divination, my writing, my modeling, my coaching, my dancing, and more, I like to empower others to reprogram their subconscious mind with thoughts and beliefs that align with the desired version of themselves, apply holistic lifestyle practices into their daily regimen, express all flavors of themselves authentically, and consistently do what makes them light up inside and expand their personality.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn over and over again that I wasn’t worth fully investing in. This is something that most people struggle with more than they know…

There’s no set point in time where it all began, it’s more like an accumulation of the negative messages that I’ve internalized from the world around me. Not even from navigating life as a Black woman, but from being conditioned to believe that living is all about being a part of the status quo; living for the approval of others rather than doing what feels right for me.

When I stumbled upon my vegan and holistic journey in 2013, I decided to go about it wholeheartedly and intentionally no matter who was watching. I wanted to grow, to expand, to be my ultimate top tier version, and I finally realized that I’m allowed to pursue that regardless if people perceived me as being “self-absorbed.”

I re-learned that only good can come from me investing in my passions, desires, and gifts I want to share with others. The only one who gets to decide is me and it’s not others’ journey to understand, it’s mine to fully experience.

I also had to unlearn that doing tarot cards, using a pendulum, etc aren’t evil. As someone who was raised Southern Baptist with religious parents, I was extremely nervous when the opportunity to try tarot cards was presented to me at the height of my spiritual awakening.

At first I was reluctant, even as someone who embraced the unknown through my Shadow Work practice and gothiness, but I knew reading tarot cards was a gift of mine as soon as I tried it. My first go at it was with my sister and her friend, and although I didn’t know much of what I was doing at the time, the look on their faces after my intuitive assessment of what I read from the cards will stay with me forever.

They were truly shocked and intrigued by how much my first ever reading resonated with them, and after that, I decided to expand my abilities with tarot and help others uncover their Shadow Self with my healing sessions. I’ve been doing it off and on since 2018, but now I use my intuitive gifts through tarot to coach my clients on how to create the lifestyle of their dreams while releasing past pain.

Contact Info:

• Website: thesoulfulveganista.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/thesoulfulveganista
• Facebook: facebook.com/thesoulfulveganista
• Twitter: twitter.com/jamila_anahata
• Youtube: youtube.com/thesoulfulveganista
• Other: Patreon.com/thesoulfulveganista

Image Credits
Seth Reggie Vail of Vailhouse Studios in Baltimore, MD.