We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marinés Rodriguez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marinés below.

Alright, Marinés thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

There was a defining moment in my career, I was laying in bed with a close friend who was very knowledgeable and experienced in the wellness and healing world. I had just finished facilitating what at the time was, my standard healing session. She had given me positive feedback and had been impressed with what I had provided. She then started asking me more about my journey and what direction I wanted to go in. I was 28 at the time and started expressing many dreams that felt so far away and I said one particular line which was “my dream is to do healing work full-time by the age of 40.” I will never forget her response- “40!? Why 40!?” and it hit me- why 40? I always had thought that I had to set a goal so far out to achieve it, her belief in me-ignited that belief in myself and triggered a remembering and realization that walk differently on my path-with more direction and confidence. I truly believe it’s so important to have the right people around you!

Marinés, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into my industry at 19 years old, first as a seeker of wellness and wisdom-not knowing where the discovery would take me. My mother had transitioned from one day to another. At the time I was so confused. I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school all my life. I thought that if you were a good person, life was good to you and you lived happily ever after. As a Catholic of Dominican descent-we prayed the rosary for 9 days, a novena- after our loved ones pass-with family and friends and I remember sitting in my living room surrounded by so many people who loved my Mother, and just not connecting to that religious/spiritual practice. I also thought and felt “this cannot be it, there must be more to this thing called life” and on went my search. I started going to Kabbalah classes, then studying buddhism, and hinduism, yoga.. None of them full resonated but they all taught me beautiful lessons which shifted the way I saw and lived my life-they were truly gifts. My Mother had an altar my whole life and I also went deeper into Dominican Spirituality and connected more deeply with my own altar putting my own practice together and letting that shift as it needed to. I also decided to let my Mother’s death become a lesson I could integrate and help empower my life. I learned that life could change at any minute and I developed a new relationship with gratitude and prayer. She also passed due to complications of cosmetic procedures facilitated by someone who was misrepresenting themselves with a fake certification and I set an intention to go on a journey to love and accept myself inside and out.
I offer healing spaces which include blends of Sound Healing, Reiki, Transformational Hypnosis, and Integrative Conversation. I also host Circles and Ceremonies using plant medicines which support us as Ancient Teachers to connect with the Wisdom of Pachamama, Mother Earth and Cosmic Intelligence. I also perform aura cleansings, limpias, prepare spiritual baths, sacred sprays, and anointing oils. I support my community with energy readings using crystals, oracle cards, and the Akashic Records.

I am most proud of seeing and trusting my value while also on my own journey of healing and wellness. I am also really proud that I help women connect to the energy, power, and significance of their wombs!

What I want potential clients to know about my brand and work is that we have fun! I never have a session or event where there is not laughter and joy and life gets so much more enjoyable when we allow ourselves to be humans.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was the concept of “professionalism” and what that meant for me. Before I made my passion into my career, I worked in the non profit and education system. I am from The Bronx and grew up with that hustle and grind energy which was heavily influenced by my love of hip hop. Couple that with being a daughter of immigrants who had to be almost dying to take a day off of school and you have some wild programming of a need to be productive and never take off. When I mixed in professionalism of the work force with that- I pushed myself way too hard, causing so much unnecessary stress, perfectionism, and judgement, which often resulted in shame. During my journey of Decolonizing myself-which I am still on, I have really had to unlearn the programming of wearing my busy-ness as a badge, releasing independency to embrace interdependence and support, and resting only when ill instead of intentionally listening to when my body and mind need it.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think the most helpful practice for succeeding in my field is to make sure we are processing and clearing our own emotions. We live in a time where so much information is thrown at us and our systems are not always processing all of it. For some of us, we are working on our laptops, with the TV on, and simultaneously checking our phones for updates running different apps at once. That doesn’t even include all of the emotions and thoughts arising as a result of these stimuli. This is in addition to the energy needed to hold space for people’s feelings, suffering, challenges, goals, physical and emotional pains and depending on the facilitator’s gifts/process -we may have to find ways to transmute, release, and alchemize that energy. Add children, and or partners into the mix and phew. I think it’s important for people in my field to acknowledge their capacity and how that can change from time to time. As we do our own processing-we can learn from our lives and experiences and make space for this to become lessons, growth and wisdom-which can be shared. If we continuously clear; we can attract and hold more of what we want while also having that space and energy to be of service.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://praypartyrepeat.com
• Instagram: praypartyrepeat

Image Credits

image credits:
Egypt of @iamegypt
Alexmi Polanco of @poderhealing
Eric Santiago of @swdythebronx
Omari Maynard of @m_u_z
Justine Astacio @Lotustheoryny