Hi, I’m Keri Mangis, Wholeness Advocate
A self-introduction, as much as possible without the dreaded labels
Branding
A couple of years ago, as I was preparing to launch my new book into the world, I did the dreaded but necessary branding work. There’s nothing I hate more than trying to label myself, for that’s what I thought branding work was—a way to put a label, something final, on who I was.
But I needed to do it, and I got intrigued by a woman who explained that the work was not about putting myself in a box with a label, but an exploration of who I am and what I’m about.
Well, that was a little better, but I still pretty much thought I’d break her process and at some point she’d say, “Here’s your money back. This doesn’t work for you.”
Had that happened, it would have been par for the course for me—the Outsider, once again.
Oh, don’t worry, I love the Outsider label. I didn’t always, of course. Growing up, feeling the outsider is about the worst possible feeling. But I’ve grown in who I am, and I’ve come to embrace that I’m not supposed to align with some existing paradigm, company, model, or structure in this earth. I’m supposed to challenge them. I’m here to question the hierarchies, the cultural conditioning, the gaslighting. I’m here to propose we build something better.
Anyway, back to the branding…I cannot tell you what a joy the process ended up being. And it was easier than I thought, too, to say, I’m this, but not that.
After the several-month process, I finally claimed my brand.
In any position or representation, the snake represents an opportunity for rebirth and renewal through the shedding of old skins. Snakes point to the possibility of transformation and transmutation. Snakes represent creativity, and continuity, and increased consciousness.
The snake, of course, is well-known for shedding its skin many times throughout its life. This is a process I relate to, admire, and, going forward, seek to emulate, not avoid. Snakes know intuitively when it is time to let go of the old and be reborn. They are not afraid to do so. They do not mourn the old skin. They have simply outgrown it.
The specific image of the ouroboros has even more depth and meaning in addition to that of the regular snake metaphor. The ouroboros represents the creation of life through death, the willingness to “eat off” (leave, release, or move away from) what is behind us so that we can move forward. It represents the eternal cycles of life and death on all levels of existence. Ultimately, the ouroboros represents eternity and the unity of all things.
In many traditions and religions, especially in Christianity, the snake is viewed as an evil and sneaky tempter. But in ancient and spiritual traditions, the ouroboros is seen as the representation of Kundalini, or the coiled, potent potential that awaits in all of us to give us greater vision. In other words, it appears to us to wake us up.
But, even in many spiritual traditions, the snake is thought to be asleep, waiting to be roused. Not this this snake. Not anymore. This snake is self-aware, and wide awake to its own potent power to create, to shape-shift, to offer new vision and life.
The snake is power.
Labels, labels, and more labels
My favorite label was given to me by my daughters when they were young. They called me a deep-thought translator. Yes, it made sense. I’ve always been that person who wants to get right to the deep end with people, and have very little patience for the superfluous (yet necessary) small talk. My husband used to say to me when I complained about how hard it was to make friends, “Keri, start with the weather.”
My other favorite labels have been bestowed upon me by readers, and I claim them fully:
A cultural provocateur
A hooligan
Mindbendingly baddass
Labels are hard for those of us who don’t easily fit in. I very much identify with the idea of a multipotentialite, as I wrote about here. Because everything I do is from a place of the “ing”—creating, connecting, building, thinking, imagining, growing, inspiring. How I do it doesn’t matter to me as much as where.
Having said that, the places where I have found the opportunity to use my “ings” have been primarily in the spirituality/personal growth worlds. I taught yoga for over a decade, built and ran a studio for a couple of years, moved on to offer Ayurvedic (alternative health) sessions, bodywork, and energy healing.
Back to labels…I do like to call myself a Wholeness Advocate—because my work is not about healing, or enlightenment, or any of those things. It’s about wholeness. It’s about bringing together our light with our dark, our masculine with our feminine, our yin with our yang. And I mean this for us as individuals as well as for our world. I do not separate spirituality from politics, and I’ll stand on a soapbox for a pretty long time talking about why that is. But the point is this—our world is hurting, and we need each other now more than ever. But in order to be the change we all want to be, we have to start with ourselves.
But most recently, I’ve moved into full-time writing—probably my favorite of all my “ings.”
Writing Topics
I write about almost anything, and I always try to approach my work with mindfulness and groundedness. I also have a bit of a snarky/sarcastic side that occasionally breaches the gates. But there are likely the broad categories I write in:
Embodiment/wholeness Spirituality (non-new agey) Self love/acceptance Healing Personal authority Truth speaking/seeking Breaking down hierarchies/patriarchy Politics/racism/sexism/equal rights Culture, cultural conditioning
But please, don’t hold me to this list!
Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness—A Memoir of New Beginnings.
I self-published my first book on Valentine’s Day of 2020. So far, it has won several awards in the Mind/Body/Spirit categories. More importantly, it seems to be well -received by readers! You can visit the Goodreads page to read some reviews.
And even better, I’m sharing the book on Illumination Book Chapters! You can start with the Prologue and work your way through!
Here is the book’s media kit, if you’d like to learn more.
Formal Resume
I get it, once in a while you just want to see a formal resume—so I’ve done that too. Here is my resume:
Keri Mangis, CAP, E-RYT, might seem a gentle yet candid introvert. But peel back a layer and you’ll uncover an inquisitive explorer of inner and outer realms. Peel back another layer and you might see a brave visionary pioneering her own brand of spiritual revolution. She has studied or taught yoga, Ayurveda, herbal medicine, energy work, aromatherapy, Buddhism, Hinduism, Tantra, Christianity, and other spiritual teachings and healing modalities. An award-winning author and speaker, her work has appeared in Elephant Journal, Urban Howl, The Sunlight Press, Grown and Flown, Rebelle Society, The Good Men Project, Stitch, and elsewhere. Her first book, “Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness,” won the top prize in the 2020 IPA for the Body, Mind, & Spirit category.
Keri Mangis
Award-Winning Author & Wholeness Advocate
Check out my interview in The Edge magazine!
Founder: KeriMangis.com
Author: Embodying Soul: A Return to Wholeness — A Memoir of New Beginnings, winner of the 2020 IPA for Body, Mind and Spirit
Thanks for connecting!
