We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yahzmen Reynolds. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yahzmen below.
Yahzmen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
As I was in an institutional community the defining moment for me was realizing that I would be looked at as radical or rebellious for calling the pharmaceutical company out on its BS. I didn’t want to become a full nurse practitioner because I was not OK with giving patients medicine that was killing them. I wasn’t OK with giving them treatments that hurt their body more than it actually helped them and continued a cycle that kept our people in generational trauma, generational curses, and continuing habitual patterns spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially; that will keep our people in mental slavery in this society. I then became a CNA and still had to step out of that space because I hated how they were treating the patients in the facilities. It is sick that the individuals that work in these facilities are looked at as a problem if they speak up too much and actually ask for real change in these spaces and then people are forced to except that change is never going to actually happen or they have to keep their mouth shut to keep a paycheck even though that paycheck is not keeping them afloat in this society. I stepped away from the healthcare space because I also was appalled by our society forcing people and using fear tactics to get a jab that actually was making people sicker. That was actually lowering the immune system of our people so that they were more susceptible to pathogens in conjunction with created environments for our people to be on low vibrational energies that caused dis-ease, Which then tells the body that it’s self is the problem which creates an environment for the body to become sick or the cells in the body to create/ accept viruses and not know how to heal itself. So I decided to come out of white institutions / utilize them for my proper benefit. I was speaking to spirit, I asked and said, “I would like to learn about medicine in a traditional way, a way that my ancestors knew medicine. Medicine that was healing treatments and healing modalities that actually were elevating and empowering our people to be their highest selves”. This is where I’ve found, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, healing circles and communities, nature, sound bowls, affirmations and so much more as a way of life. Mixed with eating right and speaking, thinking, and spiritually aligning myself with my purpose. I’ve physically created and attracted a new world to me. Where our people are free and living inside and out harmoniously with our The Most High and planet. As I am still learning in my studies our people are hurting like this not only because of societies programming, but because of how we treat ourselves as a people, the things that we accept, do, speak, think, and allow in our own bodies and homes AND how we treat each other is why our society is the way that it is. If you look at the state of the black man and black woman, it perfectly mirrors the states of the world and that is how powerful a black woman and black man actually is. We control the state of this earth whether we like it or not! Once our community truly realizes that, only then can we make a real change, so I study herbal medicine, ancient healing modalities and return back to The Most High, nature, and my ancestors Because that is where our people belong.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
About myself: Hi my name is Jasmine Reynolds. I am 25 years old. I’m from Indianapolis Indiana and I am a A highly spiritual entity, creative, a studying doctor/medicine woman, and all around goofball!! I enjoy creative acts, poetry, research, nature, spiritually inclined places, dancing, modeling, singing, and so much more! I own a pottery business called Ocean house pottery that provides the community with creative outlets that give energy and emotional management techniques to the community. As that is only the starting portion of my business. Ocean House is the entire entity and will house a few different spaces for the community to be apart of and enjoy but for now pottery is the entry way into this new lifestyle for our people!!!!
How I got here!: I was studying for my bachelors in life and health science and my minor medical sociology at IUPUI in Indianapolis and I realize that I was taking classes that weren’t actually pouring into what I needed to do or I didn’t feel like I was actually achieving my purpose. I felt like I was learning about the research I needed to learn but in a way that was for the opposition more than it was actually for our people and I didn’t want to be a part of it. So I came out of that space and I asked spirit to help me understand traditional medicine and I gravitated towards herbal healing modalities and other healing modalities that allow our people real healing, real health, real life w/ real results in their beings and in the life they actually want to live. I became a potter when I was in sixth grade and I loved it. I built a bunny, the bunny is actually on my Instagram, and my second piece was a mouse! From that point forward I fell in love with Pottery. I took a Pottery class every chance I got when I was in school on up, I took a break from it for a couple of years because I had lost touch with that love. I was no longer in institutions that provided that class but I found it again in Houston! I was modeling for a fashion show and I became a vendor and sold my pottery pieces at the fashion show and I walked in the show as a model as well. From that point forward I knew that I wanted to be a Potter in conjunction with studying to be a medicine woman.
Products/services/what I offer : so I am able to sell my own pieces as one of my avenues in my business, the second portion is to actually wholesale items to businesses who need ceramic items like spiritual stores, candle shops, home decor spaces, you name it but I want to make pieces for those businesses! With in my life it’s important to me to be of service to my community. Third I will offer classes to the community as well or just event spaces where people are able to come and learn energy and emotional management techniques through Pottery and get a beautiful experience, mixed with painting and herbal medicines and so much more, while they create pieces that represent who they are or what they may be feeling in that moment. These are the three services that I provide for the community. As Ocean House grows and gets bigger and my studies get more in-depth I will then open up the other two sections of Ocean House but I will tell the community about those once I am ready to reveal those services to the community in a way that they can actually take it vantage of them.
Problems I solve/ what makes me different: The problems I solve is that our people do not know proper energy and emotional management techniques and healing modalities to actually manage their being in full. Alot of our people are just experiencing life day by day but are not in full consciousness and awareness of their being, so that they can make proper healthy decisions, mental habits, physical habits, and most importantly spiritual and emotional habits that allow them to live the life that they truly would like to live and not find luxury in a life that is based off of their current conditions and environment. As this is very very new for our community because it does and can potentially go against peoples innerstandings of themselves, finding identity in these decisions and environments, religious views and different topics that breeds controversy, the point is to help our people see that it is not taboo that it is not demonic and that it is actually for our best benefit and that these experiences/ controversial topics are made like this by society, the divider, and actually keeps our people in hurt/pain and massive division. Its super important for our people to accept regardless controversial opinions because getting a chance to learn from everyone allows our people to realize how our communities thrived in ancient times for thousands and thousands of years on end. We accepted each section of people depending on geographical location and how they honored The Most High. That was respected despite differences because that was done my that set of people, in a way that allowed them to honor The Most High and connect with the location that they were in. Now of course there are boundaries, there are things that should not be done with this type of knowledge because it falling into the wrong hands can persuade people to become very corrupt i.e. societal programming/society as a whole today. But our people do need these healing modalities and with the right care, with the right in full overstanding and knowledge, we can teach our people how to have healthy principles, morals, and values that create a life of unison and harmony and peace with each other and ourselves! That essentially helps re-create the foundation for the black nation!! Creating spaces that show black people thriving, in tune with ourselves, loving ourselves, and loving each other authentically changes the game! Having these healing modalities and spaces to unlearn and relearn healthy living, mixed with culture and black love makes it cool again to to be iconic in healing! From there, We as a people can say what our stand is, how we treat our people and others, and how we set the example for true elevation for the people in our community/ learning how we co-exist with other nations. This is the space that my business offers, the black nation to become a nation again, what that can look like but most importantly feel like. That is what truly differentiates me from other spaces in this world.
Most proud of/ potential community to know: I am most proud of my connection with spirit throughout this journey. Having your own deep connection with spirit allows you to know what is for you and what is not for you. Allows you to be in tune with what your path looks like because you are properly able to feel how that vibrational frequency is embodied in your being, creating the actuality of deep connection to The Most High and your journey! This journey is definitely not for the weak or for individuals who aren’t ready to fully face themselves/who they are and truly heal themselves from the ground up. So I am proud of myself for sticking to the journey of growth, authenticity, love, and light to the best of my ability. When coming into the space you will find the ugly, you will find the hurt, you will find pain, you will find the hidden doors that you have been keeping locked up inside yourself, but most importantly you will find the true you, you will find your light, you will find the individual that you truly wanted to be as a child, you will find your true pathway, your true purpose, and no matter how hard it gets you always have individuals/ people in a community that will love you through your growing process and your growing pains because becoming a new and becoming the individual that you truly wanted to be Requires work. It requires dedication but most importantly requires love for your self in full even when it feels like it’s too much. The beautiful thing about finding your soul tribe is the realization that the reason why you went through so many traumatic experiences in your life, curses, generational pain etc. was to keep you from this very moment of becoming the individual you truly wanted to become. The opposition needed to make your life hard and make your life traumatic so that when you saw the things that you truly wanted, you only recognize the fear and pain that could potentially come from it because the fear and pain that was instilled in you for wanting true love and the desires of your heart was the only way you’d stay away from your true greatness. So just remember when you come to this space you will face those things, but it will all be for the elevation, love, and true authenticity of your being <3
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
So I pick this question because I truly enjoy full transparency, right!! I want people to realize where I am in my journey and where I am going because of how much I trust spirit, 2.) how much I trust myself and 3.) how I actively take steps to achieve this vision in full! Pottery is actually a really non-expensive start up simply because clay is found in the earth, tools are on the more affordable side! The only high cost is big equipment like kilns, a studio space, and the equipment needed to run a full functioning studio. So right now I outsource a studio space as I am learning consistency and the ebbs and flows of business because I have to teach myself in real time. My funding comes from the jobs that I get but spirit has been very adamant with me on not finding positions that heavily rely on society and this government so I rely on a fixed but growing income as spirit aligns me with the right positions that consider and honor my purpose and gifts! I have yet to find large funding that allows me to focus solely on my business, so I do my business as life permits and as I am able to pour into it, which gives me time to unlearn mental habits that not that are not conducive to business etiquette and learn thoughts and actions that allow me to thrive in this world of business. This also allows me time to study for the other portions of my business and allow me to become the medicine woman that I truly want to become in God’s timing and not my own. this allows me to unlearn instant gratification that our society teaches us and learn why delayed gratification brings generational wealth and longevity within what I am building. I.e. the quote “Rome was not built in a day”.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
So I had a found trading and cryptocurrency back in 2019 and I had just stopped modeling and being a host at a creative studio I helped build in Indiana and I realize I wanted more for myself and wanted more out of my life, so I moved to Georgia knowing absolutely no one and only being with the trading team that I was a part of for a couple of weeks. This decision change the complete trajectory of my entire life, I found spaces where my people thrived in flourished, I spent a year learning how to trade and include economic news in my daily living, and I connected with about 15 to 20 students that I helped them utilize trading as an extra source of income! That year I traveled the most visiting Miami, Arizona, Dallas three times, Houston, Georgia and traveling through Louisiana. I got to meet millionaires, make connections with my soul tribe and friendships that have now lasted years and grew tremendously in who I wanted to be in how I wanted to be . I became a completely new person and truly saw my potential for the first time in full. but everything started going south and I started realizing that the opposition played a very big part in the success of the business, I then lost friends, new relationships, a partnership I thought I was going to get married in, and essentially what I thought was family and a state that I truly loved from the bottom of my heart. I had to pivot and move to Houston Texas and live with my mother until I got back on my feet. As I know no one in Texas, used only public transportation for a year and had no clue here anything was, I came to another state and built a life for myself here!! NowI have beautiful connections, beautiful people, my purpose, and living the life that truly resonates with who I am. This is only the beginning of this new life I’ve created!! I truly would never change the way my life has gone up until this point and one of my biggest lessons here was when spirit needs you to pivot, pivot!! Adapt and grow because spirit sees things that you may not and may need you to go a different route to achieve your purpose in full.
Contact Info:
- Website: Coming soon!
- Instagram: @yahzmen.jaylynn
- Facebook: Ocean House Pottery
- Twitter: @jazmen.jaylynn
Image Credits
Kedran Wade- photographer for yoga picture Rahn the Don – photographer for painting photo Mvllibu Managment ( Dia Smith)- creative director for intro picture Night Fall Motion Pictures- ( Photographer) for intro picture