Marti Villanueva

My name is Martha (Marti) Villanueva.  I am 24 years young, was born in East Los Angeles and raised in Watts. I am the youngest child of 5, born to two hard-working parents. Growing up, my parents were always working as they had 5 mouths to feed and bills and a mortgage to pay.  This resulted in my mostly being raised by my neighbor, who was my babysitter from the age of 3 months to 12 years. With that also came a lack of parental attention and affection, which later would lead me to seek the attention elsewhere and bring troubled teen years.

            Growing up in Watts was rough.  I was always taught to survive. I was exposed to things that no kid should have to see. I found comfort in playing with rocks, plants and the soil. I had a strong connection with animals and I was very empathic, but these gifts were overlooked by the adults. I always felt wise beyond my years and it must be because of the experiences that life had given me.

            In my teens, something happened to me that was life changing and would initiate a spiritual journey for me.  I found myself in a verbally and physically abusive relationship that brought so much pain and traumatic moments where I feared for my life.  I wanted to run away from my reality and my abuser. I’d finally realized that all I really wanted was to find peace.  I was going through something internally at this point and it seemed that no one around me could understand what was happening. It became so intense that I ended up in a psychiatric hospital. This only made me feel like I was crazy and that something was wrong with me, when, in reality, I was just heavily misunderstood.

            After the psychiatric hospital, my journey really began to take momentum. I began to read about energies, frequencies and vibrations: this incredible thing that connected everyone and everything. My life began to shift and suddenly I’d started living a life in tune with synchronicities and messages. I had found my connection with the universe. I began to understand that this was why I had been strong enough to get through it: because spirit and the universe were always there inside of me. I was never really alone.    

            At this point, I was in a much better place although I still didn’t really understand what was happening to me and why I felt so different an isolated from the other sixteen year olds.  Until I came upon the term ‘Indigo Child’ and I finally found somewhere I fit.  I could finally understand why I was headstrong and nonconformist, why I was a passionate truth seeker, why I was strong willed and why I had natural healing and psychic abilities.  I have a greater purpose.  I am a light bearer, a gifted soul empowered with spiritual and psychic abilities driven by the soul purpose to awaken, guide, support and heal humanity.

            Fast forward to 2021.  I’m a college student studying Mycology, getting ready to transfer to UC Santa Cruz.  I’ve found different healing practices including Reiki. I know who I am and why I am here. All my experiences had prepared me for this moment. I had begun to work at In the Making (ITM) after being unemployed because of the pandemic. I immediately felt welcomed and embraced.  I loved the sense of community and support.  When the people at ITM learned about my healing practices, they made me feel so accepted and celebrated, something that I always sought.  The place and the people of ITM are magical and have opened up more opportunities for me to share my gift as a healer with the community.