Mama T Energy

In this episode of Wildly Unplugged, we had an inspiring conversation with Mama T, the founder of Mama T Energy, about self-discovery, confidence, and the power of embracing your true self. From her background in theater and communications to her work as a coach and energy guide, Mama T shares her journey of breaking through limiting beliefs and helping others do the same.

Practical Tips to Unplug & Connect with the Wild:

If you’re looking to observe Nature in an Urban Spaces, Mama T suggests:

Living in Los Angeles, Mama T has learned to find pockets of nature in the city:

🔌 Watching a red-tailed hawk from a rooftop

🔌 Turning her balcony into a mini-sanctuary with plants and greenery

🔌Hosting mourning doves that nest on her balcony every year.          

🔌 Take off your shoes and feel the earth beneath your feet. Whether it’s grass, sand, or dirt, grounding yourself physically helps you connect mentally and spiritually.

Even in a busy city, nature is always present—you just have to notice it.

How to Connect with Mama T

✨ Website: Mama T Energy
📸 Instagram & TikTok: @MamaTEnergy
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiara.jena?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr Jenea
🎙️ Podcast: Mama T Energy

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Transcript

  Welcome to Wildly Unplugged, sharing stories of nature, conservation, and creativity. Discover what develops when you unplug and step outdoors.

 Hello. Thank you for being here today, Mama T. 

Thank you for having me. How are you doing today? I'm great. You? Fantastic.  So you started the website Mama T Energy before you got to that point. Tell us a little bit about your journey leading up to that.  Leading up to, oh man. How far do we want to go back?  I went to college at Virginia Tech, so go Hokies studied theater and communication and a little Spanish.

And it's funny when I think about back then I really wanted to be, like, I always wanted to be, like, an actor or model something on the screen. And at the time, I really had a disbelief in myself. And it was also a thing that you don't do, especially you don't live in L.

A. or whatever. And there was A lot of limiting belief around it. So I was like, I'll go to school to be like an editor. Cause I can at least get a job at a news station and work on editing. And it'll put me somewhere in the realm of the industry. And it just was great the way the world works.

Cause I went to in their communications department studying the cinema and then they. Switched it over and they were like, actually, we're going to move this to the theater department. And I was a freshman at the time, so it was like, I had to move to  the theater department. And I was like, okay, perfect. So now I get to be a theater major.

And in doing that, I was able to take all the acting classes I wanted and all that good stuff. And so from there, I had the opportunity to go to Italy and teach English for like camps and utilize my acting abilities there. And it was just like a fun, like we even taught them how to do. Create like a little English skit or whatever was like a big part of the end of the week or whatever all the parents would come and go watch the kids do the skit.

It was so much fun, probably one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. And then from there, acting here, photography there. And All sorts of just random things that led me to learn about just how do I believe in myself more? How do I allow myself to give myself permission to be my authentic self while still and give others the same permission?

And that's what led into Mama T energy. I did take like a hard left turn into selling wine for about seven years. And then, so I can totally talk really, I can get real cork dorky with you if you really want me to. But then it's shifted over to doing something that was. All my own.  I don't even know where to start after that. 

I just learned about this invasive bug and it started over in Pennsylvania and it's moving over to Ohio, but it loves grape vines and like it's affecting the wine industry. So that's immediately what my brain went to when you're talking about a hard left turn.  Oh my gosh, that's crazy. Was it like, I don't even know. 

I have been out of the industry for a minute, so I'm not even sure what the bug is, but that is so sad.  It is. Gosh, it's some sort of moth and it's a really pretty moth. I will tag it in the notes.  So people can learn more about this invasive animal.  Gosh, learning about yourself and being comfortable with yourself and being, having permission, like you really have to get to know who you are if you're going to be acting, right?

Exactly. It's funny because I think for me I love embodying things. And what I've learned from that, my acting experience is that I have a, When someone gives me a script, I can just take it in, I can become it and go with it, but that can go also go to anything in society.

If someone's you're too fat to do whatever, I can take it, I can embody it, and then I can make that my truth. And so it really is. An effort to be conscious and be self aware of what is it that I'm allowing myself to believe about myself? Where am I at putting on someone else's story and limitations onto me and what is actually mine and what do I want to actually choose to believe in?

And so that's A shift. And so now with that mindset, when I go into acting, I can say okay, this is the Mama T side of things. And then this is XYZ character that I am just putting on for a second.  Yeah. And that's a really good point because somebody saying something in passing. They don't live in my head.

I don't have to listen to what they, their opinion of me is at the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with yourself. Do you do method acting at all? Not really. Like I'm not the whole, I have to be the person the entire time of my life. No, that's just not a part of my like wheelhouse.

I'm like, all right, I'm on the stage. Okay. Now I'm not. Thanks. Bye.  What are some things that you've been in?  Something. Oh, okay. I've done Hairspray. I've done Ragtime Aida Much Ado About Nothing,  Midsummer Night's Dream.  Those are the, I have a very long list of names. Yeah. It sounds like a lot of Shakespeare there.

Shakespeare and a lot of musicals. Those are typically what I do. Yeah. I've podcast. You've got a beautiful singing voice. Is that, do you like doing the musicals more or what's your favorite role to play? I love musicals like I want to sing and dance and just be free on stage that's like my favorite thing. 

That's great. I just, I did stand up comedy once for a five minute thing and like the sound of the applause, knowing that belongs to me like that. Is really just, I can see where that would be really addicting. Oh yeah. It's so fun. And it's just especially as a stage actor yes, I've done film and stuff before too, but I really love this stage.

And cause you can feed off of your audience. And it's really cool to see like those front two rows. Like some people like to act like you can't see people, but no, I can see you in this. If you're falling asleep,  I can tell you, I see you. And like there, I literally. One, doing ragtime, there was a gentleman and he was a little bit older, so I give him his leeway, but he was like, I was actually worried that he was gonna fall on his head because he was, like, falling falling forward, falling asleep.

I was like, ugh! And the whole cast was watching him, the whole show. We can see you, but it's great when you're, like, looking out and you're having like an emotional moment and you're crying on stage and you can see all the other people crying with you and you can just feel that vibration like going back and forth.

It's such a amazing, rewarding experience.  So what inspired you to start Mama Tea Energy? Mama Tea came from like high school. For those who don't know, like My first name is Tierra and most people call me T and in high school, I just had this I don't know, maternal vibe about me.

And so one guy started calling me Mama T and next thing you know, everybody started calling me Mama T. And fast forward to about a year or so ago.  And at that time I was going by like the wine diva, I think, still,  and someone at work called me Mama T out of the blue, not at all related to anything from high school.

Like I live in LA now, so like completely different side of the country, like not at all connected. And he said, Oh yeah, Mama T's always got people's back. Like she's just whatever he was saying. And I was like,  that's memory, core memory unlocked. And I was just like this is who I am.

This is like my, this is something that's really on my heart. And so I was like, this is how I'm going to shift my brain. Cause I was in the middle of shifting from wine to doing more life coaching and that kind of thing. And that was just like the aha moment of, all right, we're no longer like wine, diva, Tiara, we're changing all of that.

And I had a moment of being like a bubbly life, which was a mixture of cause I love. Sparkling wine and bubbles and I help people live an extraordinary and bubbly life. And so I was like, Oh, that's a play on that. So we're letting all the wine go and really digging into that energy work, that like embodiment work and all that good stuff. 

So when somebody heads over to your website, what are some things that they can expect to gain from checking out your website? If they wanted to work with you, what are they walking away with?  Okay. No, they're walking away with a learning a little bit about me, a little bit more about my background, my philosophy on how we really have.

We have control of our life, the ability to, shape our mindset, we can nurture our minds, bodies and spirits. So I really love to take an holistic approach to how we live our lives. So being very self aware around that and making sure that people are under, understand that they have to take radical responsibility.

I can't change your life for you, but I can, Give you some help and some tips and hold your hand along the way, but you have to do the work. And so that's that's what you're going to find. You're going to learn about, and then you'll learn about my different offerings between one on one mentorship.

I have a membership community that's housed over on Facebook where we do zoom calls and movement and fun things. So you can learn more about that and then access to my own podcast, which is coming home with mama tea.   , what can they expect to hear? What's the energy like over there? Oh, the energy over on my podcast. It's fun. It's nurturing. We talk about energy. We talk about manifesting, maintaining a positive mindset and living luxuriously.  And you will definitely get to hear me sing that every single episode. 

That's why they should go over immediately and listen. Yes.  Gosh, it is so hard to remain positive in today's day and age. I think a lot of social media people expect everybody to be perfect all the time. What are some ways that we can help to improve our positive mindset and shut up that annoying negative voice in our head?

Oh, yeah I think number one is being aware of that negative voice, right? And because it can be like, really sneaky, especially the more and more you start to doing this, like self awareness work, you it might mask like you might not say something blatantly Oh, you're ugly in the mirror. But you might say something like, Oh, I wish that my nose didn't look like that.

So it doesn't sound like you're being mean to yourself, but you're still criticizing yourself. So The less and less you criticize yourself and the more love and compassion you show to yourself, it also opens you up to being more compassionate and loving to the world around you because you're less critical, right?

You're like your own worst critic. And so when you remove that criticism, and then it becomes no longer a habit in your own, your own space and practice, then it's no longer a habit in the world. And then you get to be a better person. You get to be. And then they can get that it's like a ripple effect, right?

They get permission to be nicer to themselves and then they start being nicer to other people around them and so on and so forth. And that's my view of how we change the world. We start with ourselves and work on ourselves and love ourselves more. And then there's so much more love for the rest of the world. 

Absolutely. So what. What are some of the long term goals that you have for everything you've got going on? Long term goals? Oh, I, long term, I would love to have 1, 111 people inside the home membership community. Just changing, The same thing that I literally just said is about like really getting people to take radical self responsibility for loving themselves, creating the life that they desire, living a fulfilling life, and I truly believe when you're happy and you're loving, then the world becomes happier and more loving, and we just have a ripple effect out there, so changing the world one person at a time, and I also, big goal, 13 million people listening to Coming Home with Mama T, those are the big things that I have. 

Yes. That's awesome. Yeah. And it's certainly whatever you focus on grows. Oh yeah. And I think hanging out with somebody as positive as you would definitely help them to focus more on that positive energy.  So when I was on your podcast, just a couple of weeks ago, you were talking about being in the water and I forget.

What country you were in, but I think you were snorkeling or something. You were talking about this beautiful experience that you had with your family. Can you tell us about that? Yes. I was snorkeling off of the coast of Krabi Island and Thailand. And it was amazing. Like the water was like so blue and so clear.

And you could just look down and there was all these different colors.  And it was like bright and vibrant, like yellows and reds. And it was like me and my friends that were swimming around and we were being taken on a boat tour. So our guide who was the most amazing man, his name was Bao. This was like, I don't know, seven, eight years ago at this point.

But I very specifically remember just like how kind he was. He didn't speak any English, but we were able to communicate on this whole day trip. And he was so wonderful. And he threw these some pellets out into the water while our faces were down. So we didn't notice him doing it until all the fish just swarmed into our face.

And it was like, it was a little terrifying at first, but it was just, it was so funny. Like we all popped our heads up and just burst out laughing. And it was just such a free and wonderful moment.  That sounds amazing.  Oh man, I miss like crystal clear blue water and the fish and everything. As far as traveling, what was that experience?

Did you learn anything from being in a completely different part of the world? Oh yeah, that, that was, it was actually really cool. So we did, cause we flew into Phuket and then we went to Phi Island, Krabi. Chiang Mai and Bangkok. And so in Chiang Mai, I think that was probably the most like learning that I got.

We did a elephant sanctuary rather, which I thought was amazing because it was a place where they took elephants that might've been used for like circus performance or, used for some of the places that will allow you to ride the elephants, which actually you have to hurt them to, be able to do that and so this place was more like this is where we're going to nurture and take care of the elephants so we got to pet them and we took one down to the lake and we all like we bathed her and it was and like fed her these like little bananas and it was like so So beautiful and wonderful.

And it's like this massive animal, but they're so gentle and so sweet. And I was a little nervous that she was going to fall on us while we were in the water. Cause the mud was like sinking and I was like, Oh no, I die under this.  But it'll be great. But it all worked out. It was wonderful. And so that was beautiful.

And then we also did a cooking class, which was super cool. And they even gave us all little like cookbooks for everything that we cooked. And so I still to this day have this little cookbook and will you like make the papaya salad out of it and some other stuff. So I just love, I love learning about people and their culture and their food, especially the food. 

That's like my favorite way to like connect is like learning someone else's  how they like to cook. And then, cooking it myself and sharing a meal. Cause that's where you can like, really people feel more comfortable and can get more vulnerable and just deepen our relationship.  Yeah. Food definitely brings people together.

Yeah.  Let's see.  So would you, wow, is that your favorite experience in nature when you were snorkeling or do you have another moment that really stands out to you? I think.  A moment that really stands out to me was I was in, I think it was in like Nags Head  beach. So in North Carolina,  I was probably like 10 years old and I'm walking this beach and it was like, like I was with, Family members, but everyone had gone and just were like, I don't know, napping on the sand or whatever.

And so I just went and walked by myself and I had something flowy on and the wind was blowing. And I just felt so, I felt so at peace. And it was like the first time I really remember like my mind being clear and just really enjoying the waves washing up on my feet. breeze on my face. And it just felt I felt like a goddess in that moment.

And so that's something that's just like nothing like extraordinary happened, but it just felt really good and grounded. And that's like the moment that I think about like this, the beach is my happy place. This is where I come back, come to ground. So being in LA, I can like hop on the Metro and.

Like within an hour be at the beach and so I can relive that kind of moment if I really want to and get to Santa Monica and stuff like that. So I always find that to be important.  Is that do you meditate often? Oh yeah, I meditate. I probably meditated about daily. Meditating on the beach.

It's probably it's been a little too long now that I'm thinking about it. But when I used to drive all the time for work, I would make a detour to the beach like Multiple times a week, just so I could just sit and be with the, like the smell of the sea and just really connect.  Man, that sounds awesome.

You're making me miss Nag's head. Have you ever gotten to see the horses on the beach there? No, that sounds beautiful though. Yeah, it's always a surprise. Like you never expect to see such a big animal just walking along the beach, but it's cool when they show up. So you brought up LA and I've seen images of the traffic.

And that looks horrible.  Yeah, it's a lot of urban areas. So what are some ways that you're able to connect with nature in a big city? One, I don't take it for granted when I see something that isn't like literally yesterday I went to my rooftop and I like to get a little sun, go for a walk and they have little.

Little potted plants all around. So it's very nice view. And so I was just walking around and there was this red tailed hawk that was like sitting there. And I was like, what are you doing in downtown Los Angeles? And I was like taking pictures. And I have a friend who lives in like Idaho and she's like a Falconer.

And so I like send her a picture and I was like, Oh my gosh, I saw this. I thought of you and she's Oh, that's a red tail hog. And it was giving me all this time. And I was like, this is awesome. And so anytime I see nature, especially when I'm like actually in downtown, I'm always like  in awe, we can get that.

And actually we just had some morning doves hatch their eggs on our balcony. So we have built out like a space. So during COVID, when everyone was in lockdown, luckily we have a balcony. We decided that. We're going to make this like a beautiful like a sanctuary for ourselves. So we bought like fake grass so it can feel like we're touching grass and it's green and it's on the ground and then we bought a bunch of plants and just made this like a little nature park for in our home and the space and A couple of years every other year or so, these morning doves will come and they'll lay eggs in one of our potted plants.

And so this year was the year and I got, there were two little two eggs and then they hatched and then I got to watch them grow and fly away. I was like, Oh, I'm like a bird grandma.  So if you get the easy part of it, I was looking into rehabbing birds, like baby birds, and you need to feed them something ridiculous, like every 20 minutes  at all hours and everything.

I'm like, I do not have the patience or time for that. That is a labor of love. That is actually not like the friend that I just mentioned who showed us who told me what the.  The hawk was she did literally did something like that. We were, we worked for the same company and so we would get on like calls and I would see her and there was like this little thing next to her computer because she was feeding this like baby falcon that had something happened and so she brought it in and so she was taking care of it.

And I was like, you are the most interesting person I've ever met.  That is pretty neat, man.  So what is your favorite place in the whole wide world to go to in nature?  Favorite like any beach really like I, if I can hear the ocean, smell it and get my feet in the water, I am a happy girl.  Yeah. Yeah.

Same. I am totally a beach girl. What is it for you that you love about the beach? I find I think it's something about the salt, right? It's it's, I find it to be cleansing. So it's a little bit different than going to a lake. It just feels  just more relaxing to me. And it might be also like going to the beach was a thing that I did with my family every single year.

So we were beach people, not lake people. So that is just like my happy place. And so I feel more grounded when I'm there. I feel more connected to earth as a whole when I'm there. And I think it's also a little bit about seeing that vast And I'm just a person here. And yet I have this ability to connect with anybody, if, especially with the internet, it's like cool.

So it just really puts things into perspective. Yeah. That just reminded me going back to your podcast and connecting with people. What was your motivation for starting a podcast? I like to talk.  I literally, like, when I was a kid, I had, my cousin told me that I had a dorsal battery in my mouth because I keep going and going. 

And so and I'm like, man, I could talk to myself. And literally, I think it was like, I, found myself talking myself through, I don't know, something emotional. I don't know. I was like talking to myself about something and I was like, this would be just really cool to record it. So I should just record it.

And that's really how it started. I hit like the memo button on my phone. And that's where we began.  Wow. So when you're doing, cause I think I've done maybe three where it's just myself talking. And in those, I feel like I got to be a perfectionist and you all go back and redo things. Do you just say it and go, or do you write a script for yourself?

What's your method of madness for that? It's complete insanity. I will say it and go. And honestly, I think that comes from going live. Back when I was selling wine, it was more of an MLM program. And I actually still have a link to it if people really want to get wine. It's on my website as well.

But I was like taking some like coaching courses and they were like, you have to go live every single day to make sure your audience knows that you remember that you're there. And so I was like, all right, cool bet. And so I would hit the live button. I like  every day I think I went live every day for two, three years straight, even if it was like for two minutes to be like, Oh my gosh, I forgot almost forgot to go live today.

I hope you guys are having a great night. Good night. And click and Even if it was that quick, I would go live and so I would just talk about whatever was happening. What was I doing? Sometimes I would be cooking. So I got used to just talking to myself and while doing something or ruminating about things.

And I noticed that the things, the Once I got the most comments or engagement were the ones that I like was a little more like sitting down and focus on like a certain topic that I could help people through or the cooking ones. Those are the two that really stood out to people. So taking from that aspect, I was like, Oh, I can take that and put it into a podcast and go from there.

There's that cooking, bringing people together again.  Very common thread. Yeah. Wow. So going live every day, that is one thing I get to do on TikTok or Instagram is to go live. Cause I am being a chicken about it. What, do you have any tips or tricks or how long did it take for you to start getting a following?

Tips. Just hit the button. I like it. Just hit the button. Just do it. Just do it. Don't worry about talk about something that you are excited about. I think that's the other thing. It's what, don't talk about what you think other people want to hear. Talk about it. Yeah. The things that light you up, and that's going to attract the people that are into the things that you want, you're into, and you're going to build your community around that.

That's my biggest thing. And don't worry about saying or whatever, the people that I follow that have huge followings don't have it. They don't have any acting background. They don't have whatever. And they say whatever. And I find those are the more authentic people are the ones that have the most engaged.

community, regardless of how even if they show up in their bathing suit or bathrobe or whatever, and not at all professional, it's still, they still do well because it's authentically them.  I'm sure the glasses of wine help too. Oh yeah. That was also back in those days. I was definitely drinking wine every day when I was like you had to taste test it and make sure it's a good product.

It's Wine Wednesday! I definitely have, would have people be like, how do you drink so much wine? I'm like, one, I might've drank like half a glass and I didn't necessarily finish a glass or whatever, or maybe I did, who knows?  Some days I did, some days I don't. I'm just built different. 

On your website, what is, your favorite thing to coach somebody through or to work with someone on?  Ooh, my favorite thing to work with someone on is really  helping them understand like their own personal power. So getting them out of this kind of Oh, the world is happening to me.

Nothing is going like for me really getting them to see that, they can step up and like embody whatever version of themselves that they want to and  make a shift and change in their life.  Perfect. And then how can someone find you?  They can find, you can find me on social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Mama T Energy.

Facebook, my personal page is Tiara Jenea with an accent over the A.  And before we go, what is one tip that you have for someone that would like to connect with nature?  My one tip is really like taking your shoes off and getting your feet on the ground. I think one that helps you get grounded and really connect with yourself, but it also gets you connected with nature, whether it's grass, sand, a little dirt, get that under your feet and it feels so good. 

Perfect. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you. Have a good one, Lauren. Thanks. And until next time get outside and see  what develops. 

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