Niniane Mackenzie writes visionary fiction and nonfiction essays exploring consciousness, metaphysical phenomena, and the hidden architecture beneath everyday experience.

She is currently attending Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) online, pursuing dual bachelor's degrees in Creative Writing and English, and Graphic Design and Media Arts. She plans to graduate in December 2027 and continue her graduate studies by pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) with a focus on Visionary Fiction and Nonfiction.

Niniane maintains her Sandalwood .design Publishing platform on Medium where she frequently posts her metaphysical nonfiction essays.

Niniane resides in an 1860 farmhouse in rural Otsego County, New York, where she is now a practicing homesteader and writer, sharing her home with fifteen rescue cats.

The Journey

Niniane Mackenzie was born and raised in the autumn of 1959 in the rural suburb of Westfield, Massachusetts, on the eastern edge of the Berkshires. She spent her youth hiking in the woods, bicycling, hill-climbing, swimming and canoeing at Hampton Ponds, and enjoying her favorite spot at a local waterfall near Chester, Massachusetts.

During her high school years, she studied The Compleat Astrologer (1971) by Derek and Julia Parker. This formed her foundational interest in Greek and Roman mythology, symbolism, and celestial cycles.

In 1975, she learned Transcendental Meditation (TM) at the local Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, which opened her mind to explore alternate spiritual possibilities and consciousness studies. At the same time, she read Ram Dass's Be Here Now (1971), which broadened her interest in mindfulness practices and thinking outside of the box.

During the late 1970s, Dr. Wayne Dyer became widely popular, offering readers a new way of perceiving reality. Two of his most famous quotations are: "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change," and "How people treat you is their Karma; how you react is yours."

In 1978, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving eight years in Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi, first as a tour guide at the USS Arizona Memorial for two years and then as an Aerographer's Mate (meteorologist) for the following six years during the Cold War era.

While in Hawaiʻi, a wellspring of New Thought and New Age literature and movements became popular. She immersed herself in the lectures of Ernest Holmes' Science of Mind, Hermetic Philosophy, and the largely fabricated esoterica of Max Freedom Long's Huna, which blends elements of New Thought and spiritual practices within a Hawaiian linguistic framework.

In addition, she became acquainted with the Japanese Mahayana Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) Buddhist traditions, the Soto Zen (zazen) Shoboji Buddhist meditations, and her favorite, the Esoteric Shingon Buddhist practices of Kōbō Daishi.

After her honorable discharge in 1986, she moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where she lived for thirty-seven years. She began her academic studies, majoring in English Literature at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, from 1987 to 1990.

From 1991 until 1999, she pursued independent studies in A Course in Miracles (ACIM), attended lectures at the Association for Research and Enlightenment (Edgar Cayce's A.R.E.) in Virginia Beach, and participated in consciousness exploration programs at The Monroe Institute, located in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.

In October 1999, she became homeless in Virginia Beach, where she lived outdoors for the next sixteen years. During that time, she continued her independent studies in literature, philosophy, consciousness, metaphysics, Jungian archetypes, eastern spiritual practices, and mythology. Those years would later become the experiential foundation of her visionary fiction.

In 2015, she moved into an apartment in Norfolk, Virginia, where she remained until 2018. Following her eviction, she began coloring book illustration while residing in a storage unit, later in a friend's garage during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then in a larger storage unit until relocating to New York.

In 2023, she bought an 1860 farmhouse in rural Otsego County, New York, where she is now a practicing homesteader and writer, sharing her home with fifteen rescue cats.