Month: September 2025

The Power of Being in Community

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Hey there!

My Saturday morning began with a tennis class filled with other DC residents who share an interest in growing as an intermediate tennis player with the support of a team of coaches who volunteer with D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. Each week that I show up to class, I learn, practice, and give and receive mutual support from a tennis community of coaches and fellow students. Being a part of this community motivates me to continue showing up to the tennis courts with a beginner’s mind and a willingness to learn, grow, and ask for help, especially when I get frustrated with my progress or and struggle with my inner critic.

Watch the video below to learn about another experience I had being in community with my neighbors on Saturday morning and afternoon.

THE POWER OF BEING IN COMMUNITY

Being in community with others positively impacts your well-being because it:

1) Lays the foundation for a shared connection through beliefs, interests, goals, and experiences.

2) Offers you an opportunity to give and receive mutual support that can often show ups as spiritual, emotional, social, or professional support.

3) Gives you a sense of belonging and feeling valued, accepted and understood.

4) Provides a safe space that allows you to show up as you are, give and receive loving kindness and compassion, and build trust with other community members.

5) Creates accountability, encouragement, and growth.

SEPTEMBER SELF-CARE EVENT

Join me for the final session of Thriving Mindfully Mondays on September 29th at 7:30 p.m. During the session, we will discuss and create your autumn well-being toolkit.

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OCTOBER EVENTS

My dad Dr. John F. Leeke and I will be speaking about his journey as a digital senior citizen activist that is mentioned in our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion during the Blogger Week Content Creator UnConference on October 4th at the Silver Spring Civic Center. Join us for a day full of creators, entrepreneurs, and storytellers coming together to learn, share, and build.

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Calling everyone in the Wilmington, Delaware area! My dad and I are headed to the Episcopal Church of Saint Andrew and Matthew in Wilmington for a book talk for our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion on October 26th at 12:15 p.m. During the book talk, we will share our Roberts’ family connection to Wilmington, Leeke family’s Underground Railroad experience, stories from my dad’s life that highlight his work in diversity, equality, and inclusion, and so much more.

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Your Inner Critic, Your Inner Child & Your Joy

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Hey there!

On my walk to the tennis courts last week, I had conversations with my inner critic archetype, Broomfield a/k/a Broomie and inner child/little girl archetype, Puf that helped me face self-care sabotage with JOY!

What a juicy conversation we had that reminded me of how powerful JOY is! Watch my latest video to learn what happened.

How do you define JOY?

What does JOY feel and look like in your life?

For me, JOY is a choice to become aware of and rejoice in the JUICY moments that OPEN YOU up from the inside out. The JUICY moments are filled with goodness. When you can make this choice and appreciate and experience your own JOY, you are able to develop the capacity to rejoice in the goodness of others. That’s called sympathetic joy or mudita. It starts first with you.

Here’s some Thriving Mindfully food for thought. I invite you to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Need help practicing self-care and/or facing your self-care sabotage?

Click the buttons below to get my Thriving Mindfully self-care resources and sign up for Thriving Mindfully Mondays and/or my Thriving Mindfully as an Imperfectionist session for the Thrive@Work Series: How to Thrive at Work During Change and Uncertainty this month.

Self-care resources

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REGISTER

RSVP FOR BOOK TALK
GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AMERICAN CHANGE AGENT AND BUY BOOK

LEARN ABOUT MY BOOKS

I’ve been writing and publishing my poetry chapbooks, novel, and memoirs since 1992. It’s wild to think that I have been learning and growing as a poet and author for over 30+ years.

Did you know I have written three mindfulness books that reflect aspects of my life journey?

Click the button below to learn about and purchase them online.

BUY MY BOOKS


–Love’s Troubadours, a self-love and yoga-inspired novel that is based on some parts of my life and imagination
–That Which Awakens Me, a mindful creativity memoir
–Digital Sisterhood, a mindful technology memoir

I am currently writing my midlife memoir, Thriving Mindfully as Theresa’s Daughter and working on the release of my debut spoken word album, “Theresa’s Daughter.”

Contact me (ananda@anandaleeke.com) if you or your organization or book club would like me to speak about or facilitate a book discussion about one of my books.

Check Out Ask Dr. John, A Father-Daughter Conversation Series About American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion by Dr. John F. Leeke and Ananda Leeke (22 Videos)

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Have you seen Ask Dr. John, a father-daughter conversation video series, about American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion by my dad, Dr. John F. Leeke and yours truly?

We’ve got 22 video conversations for you to check out. See some of our favorites below.

Click the buttons below to watch the conversations on YouTube AND buy the book.

ASK DR. JOHN YOUTUBE PLAYLIST: WATCH 22 VIDEO CONVERSATIONS
LEARN MOE ABOUT & BUY AMERICAN CHANGE AGENT BOOK

1) Why Did We Write American Change Agent?

2) What Is A Change Agent?

3) Discovering & Writing About Our Family’s African Ancestry

4) Our Family’s Underground Railroad Experience

5) Aging & Retirement

6) Impact of Working with DEI Pioneer Elsie Y. Cross and her trailblazing diversity training firm, Elsie Y. Cross Associates (established in 1960s)

7) Working in DEI at the National Education Association from 1968 to 1985

8) The Impact of the Black Church on Our Lives

9) What Does It Mean to Be An Entrepreneur?

10) Our Family’s Divine Nine & Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Legacy

11) Growing Up in Washington, DC and Attending St. Augustine Catholic School During the 1940s and 1950s

12) Attending Archbishop Carroll High School in DC During the 1950s

13) The Meaning of Fatherhood

14) Attending Indiana State Teachers College and Serving As A Member & Chapter President of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity

15) What Was Most Difficult About Writing American Change Agent?

INSPIRE! Podcast Interview About American Change Agent by Dr. John F. Leeke & Ananda Leeke

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If you missed the interview my father and co-author, Dr. John F. Leeke and I had with Susan A. Webley, host of INSPIRE!, on September 6, 2025, about our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, watch the video below.

SEPTEMBER BOOK READING

Join my dad, “Dr. John” on September 18th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for our Underground Railroad Legacy Book Talk for “American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion” at ALX Community – Waterfront, 201 North Union Street, Suite 110, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Books will be available for purchase (cash, CashApp, and Zelle payments). Lite refreshments will be served.

Our book is available on IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other online book platforms.

rsvp for september 18th book talk
BUY BOOK FROM INGRAM SPARK AND SUPPORT US AS SELF-PUBLISHERS

Facing Self-Care Sabotage & Becoming An Imperfectionist

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Hey there!

This week’s Thriving Mindfully Monday session focused on self-care sabotage.

Self-care sabotage shows up in your life as conscious and unconscious behaviors, thoughts, and actions that undermine wellness commitments you make and practices you engage in to support your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

Procrastination and the the thought that I don’t have enough time are my major self-care sabotage examples.

Other self-care sabotage examples include negative self-talk, ditching responsibilities, and perfectionism.

Watch the video below to hear more about my self-care sabotage experiences.

During this week’s Thriving Mindfully Monday session, we explored how self-care sabotage shows up in our Iives with a mindful moment and journaling exercise.

We also used a mindful creativity exercise to express how and what self-care sabotage feels and looks like on paper with drawing and journaling.

At the end of the session, we used mindful journaling to create a coping strategy we can begin using as a self-care intention or affirmation to guide us through our day and week.

Next week, we will revisit self-care sabotage and our self-care intention or affirmation and explore our self-care sweet spot with help from our inner child.

Need help facing your self-care sabotage or perfectionism?

Click the buttons below to get my Thriving Mindfully self-care resources and sign up for Thriving Mindfully Mondays and/or my Thriving Mindfully as an Imperfectionist session for the Thrive@Work Series: How to Thrive at Work During Change and Uncertainty this month.

SELF-CARE RESOURCES
SIGN UP FOR THRIVING MINDFULLY MONDAYS
RSVP FOR THRIVING MINDFULLY AS AN IMPERFECTIONIST

What Changes Are You Currently Facing?

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I woke up this morning thinking about the CHANGES I am facing and the ones I know family, friends, colleagues, and clients are facing. I also wondered about the CHANGES you and your family, friends, and colleagues might be facing. That’s why I am reaching out to find out what’s happening with you.

Please use this week’s Thriving Mindfully Food for Thought as a reflection guide. I’d love to hear what’s happening with you. Feel free to comment or send me an email at ananda@anandaleeke.com.

If you need more help, check out my Thriving Mindfully self-care resources and sign up for Thriving Mindfully Mondays below. I look forward to hearing from you and supporting you during the next four sessions of Thriving Mindfully Mondays on September 8, 15, 22, and 29.

Self-Care resources
RSVP FOR THRIVING MINDFULLY MONDAYS

REGISTER

Join me on September 8, 15, 22, and 29 from 7:30 p.m. ET to 8:15 p.m. ET for a four-week self-care series that offers a virtual community gathering with safe space to ground yourself with a mindful moment and participate in a mindful creative activity (journaling, affirmation and letter writing, collage, drawing, coloring, or painting).

These sessions are offered as a gift with an invitation to make a donation to support my work.

Make a donation here: http://bit.ly/4g6tRm4

Use the schedule below to gather your own writing and art-making supplies for each session.

1) September 8: Wear your favorite cozy clothing. Bring your favorite beverage and/or snack, pen, pencil, paper or journal to explore a reflection question.

You will create an intention and affirmation reminder, sign, page, or poster with an index card, journal page, or colorful construction or drawing paper. Bring your favorite crayons, pencils, or magic markers. Decorate it with drawings, doodles, or stickers.

2) September 15: Wear your favorite cozy clothing. Bring your favorite beverage and/or snack, pen, pencil, paper or journal to explore a reflection question.

You will write a letter to yourself or create a collage. Bring a picture of yourself as a child, a pen, and paper to write a letter to yourself.

Bring poster board, construction paper, drawing paper, a glue stick, scissors, your favorite magazines, crayons, pencils, and magic markers to create your collage.

3) September 22: Wear your favorite cozy clothing. Bring your favorite beverage and/or snack, pen, pencil, paper or journal to explore a reflection question.

You will create a drawing or painting. Bring white poster board or drawing paper, paint brush, watercolor or tempera paint set, crayons, pencils, and/or magic markers.

4) September 29: Wear your favorite cozy clothing. Bring your favorite beverage and/or snack, pen, pencil, paper or journal to explore writing prompts.

CHOICE

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Happy Full Moon in Pisces (September 7th)!

Today, I made a choice to honor myself during the Full Moon in Pisces by slowing down and being S.O.F.T. AF with myself. I chose to rest my mind and body.

That choice created a series of self-care moments that included making one of my favorite green smoothies and curry lentil dishes for dinner and attending an evening yin yoga class.

After yoga class, I came home, took a short walk in my neighborhood, ate dinner, washed the dishes, listened to a Full Moon in Pisces talk, and made some relaxing tea.

While I sipped my tea, I thought about the power of my choices and self-care moments and the impact they have on my emotional well-being. Grounded is the best word to describe my emotional well-being.

What choices can you make to create self-care moments for yourself this week?

Check out my Thriving Mindfully food for thought and sign up for the self-care event series that begins on September 8th. See information below.

Thriving Mindfully Food for Thought

Need help creating your self-care moments?

Go here to get my Thriving Mindfully self-care resources. https://anandaleeke.com/selfcare

Thriving Mindfully Mondays

SIGN UP: https://anandaleeke.com/events

How Are You Defining & Practicing Self-Care?

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Since it’s Self-Care Awareness Month, I invite you to take a moment to watch my video and reflect on how you are defining and practicing self-care.

If you need help, click the button below to get my Thriving Mindfully self-care resources.

SELF-CARE RESOURCES

Join me for my September self-care event series called Thriving Mindfully Mondays, September 8, 15, 22, and 29f from 7:30-8:15 p.m. ET via Zoom.

SIGN UP FOR THRIVING MINDFULLY MONDAYS

Need more one-on-one support, learn how I can help you navigate change with my Thriving Mindfully coaching services.

LEARN HOW WE CAN work together & schedule a 30-minute call

Interested in learning about and/or exploring how you can embrace and practice Thriving Mindfully with Human Design in your life, career, and business? Click the button to read about my human design journey and offerings as a human design doula.

thriving mindfully with human design

Organizations & Companies: I am available to serve as a keynote speaker, trainer, or coach. Click the button to explore how we can work together.

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Welcome to September! Can You Feel A Brand New Day?

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Welcome to September! It’s Self-Care Awareness Month!

September is filled with 30 brand new days.

Each brand new day is filled with 1,440 minutes.

How will you use your 1,440 minutes to care for yourself?

If you need help, click the button below to get my Thriving Mindfully self-care resources.

Thriving mindfully self-care resources

Join me for my September self-care event series called Thriving Mindfully Mondays, September 8, 15, 22, and 29f from 7:30-8:15 p.m. ET via Zoom.

SIGN UP FOR THRIVING MINDFULLY MONDAYS ON SEPT 8, 15, 22 & 29

Need more one-on-one support, learn how I can help you navigate change with my Thriving Mindfully coaching services

lEARN HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER & SCHEDULE A 30-MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL

Interested in learning about and/or exploring how you can embrace and practice Thriving Mindfully with Human Design in your life, career, and business? Click the button to read about my human design journey and offerings as a human design doula.

thriving mindfully with human design

Organizations & Companies: I am available to serve as a keynote speaker, trainer, or coach. Click the button to explore how we can work together.

work with me

Join Me & My Dad, Dr. John F. Leeke, for Our September 18th Book Talk About American Change Agent in Alexandria, VA

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Join us on September 18th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for our Underground Railroad Legacy Book Talk for “American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion” at ALX Community – Waterfront, 201 North Union Street, Suite 110, Alexandria, VA 22314. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Books will be available for purchase (cash, CashApp, and Zelle payments). Lite refreshments will be served. CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO RSVP.

RSVP FOR SEPTEMBER 18TH BOOK TALK