Mary Wisniewski
Assistant Living Editor
A white building with a blue-trimmed roof hardly seems reason to pause while driving down Pacific Coast Highway. But take a second glance, and notice a sign outside the door that reads: Specializing in restoring broken love affairs. Located next to La Salsa, Readings by Sonia isn’t the typical Malibu boutique. Instead of buying Juicy Couture sweatsuits, patrons can have palm readings, tarot readings, past-life regressions, aura cleansings, psychic readings, crystal readings, charka and energy balancing.
The resident psychic wears a striped shirt and casual skirt with brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She is Sonia Merino, the psychic and spiritual consultant, and she looks nothing like Miss Cleo.
As a child, Merino said she had psychic powers unlike her parents. To enhance her abilities, she read books about various aspects of psychic powers. Twenty-one years ago, Merino opened Readings by Sonia in Malibu, a location both spiritual and strong in energy, she said.
“People do therapy work to help others, and I feel like I can help others too,” Merino said.
Merino’s workplace is divided into two rooms. The first room is a waiting room of sorts and has shelves covered with many articles: antiques from other cultures, candles, a candy dish and a Tinkerbell figurine to name a few. Two blue, thrown-like chairs beckon from the nearby wall to relax in. Within easy reach of these chairs are books such as Danielle Steel’s “Johnny Angel” and Don Miguel Ruiz’s “The Four Agreements” to pass the time.
When the client and Merino are ready for the session to begin, they move into the reading room. It’s a place much more intimate than the last and gives the impression of a small church — underscored by a few small statues of St. Nicolas.
Sessions begin with the client telling Merino their name and birth date. Then the client gives her a personal object from which she ascertains a person’s energy level, Merino said. These three requirements allow Merino to predict the future, she said.
Before Sonia performs a reading, she asks the client whether he or she wants to hear both the good and bad news. “Some people don’t want to know their lifelines,” Merino said. “It’s their choice.”
A psychic reading lasts anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. According to Merino, the more energy a person has, the easier to perform the reading.
“Open your mind and things will open to you,” Merino said. “Walls come up when you aren’t open.”
Merino said she thinks people open up when they find God.
“Once you believe in God, your life gets grounded. Sometimes people get lost and seem to forget God is safe in our life,” she said. She added that she believes people need to reach out to God all of the time.
Regardless of faith, many come for Merino’s advice. “Lots of Pepperdine law students come in to see if they will pass the bar,” she said. However, it’s not just law students coming to Readings by Sonia. Pepperdine students of all majors come to her, wanting to know things like whether they will graduate, what major they should pursue, and if they are dating the right person.
Although junior Savannah Overton has not gone to Readings by Sonia, she likes that Malibu caters to many different needs. “We have the most random places, but I like the randomness,” she said.
Senior Stephanie Nordstrom concurs. “It seems fitting that Malibu has a psychic,” she said.
It’s not just Pepperdine students getting readings; Malibu locals make regular visits, often wanting to know information ranging from whether they have the right job to general relationship advice. Merino offers advice to all her clients based on the amount of energy they have and tells them if what they are doing is right for them.
“I can guide them into the right direction in life,” she said. Regardless of a person’s energy, Sonia advises all to “be strong and have a positive attitude in life.”
Readings by Sonia is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Prices range from a $20 palm reading to a $140 full life reading. Readings By Sonia is located at 22814 Pacific Coast Highway.
08-29-2005
