Month: August 2026

What Does It Feel and Look Like to Breathe and Be Still, Present, Grounded, and Well?

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What does it feel and look like to breathe and be still, present, grounded, and well?

At 61, it feel and looks like a human BE-ING who belongs to herself, is grateful, and thriving mindfully on a Friday in August!

📸 NOTE: My photo was taken on my paisley summer quilt in my fuscia pink chakra castle bedroom while wearing my grandfather John Leonard Leeke’s 1970s vintage blue and white pajama top.

Every day I get to live is a privilege and opportunity to love, connect with, relate to, receive wisdom from, and honor my loving + wise + well ancestors. Most days I pray, listen to, and talk with them. Some days I look at their photos and other documents, conduct research about them, journal about them and the lessons they taught me and continue to teach me, and create artwork with their photos. When I miss them a lot, I wear their clothing, jewelry, and accessories. That’s what happened last night and today when I realized I was missing my amazing, charming, and debonair grandfather John Leonard Leeke (1914-1989). I included a photo of my grandfather that was taken while he was attending my grandmother Frederica Stanley Roberts Leeke’s 1933 garden party at her parents’ house in Terre Haute, Indiana. The second photo was also taken in 1933.

Get inspired to connect with your loving + wise + well ancestors as you listen to “Ancestral Medicine,” my spoken word poem song that appears on my Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter album.

Get More Information About, Buy & Download Album

Join Ananda Leeke on September 1st at 8:30 AM ET for Adrianne Lind’s 30-Minute Calm Reset Subtack Live

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I am super excited to join my Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Soror Adrianne Lind, a mindfulness activist, yoga teacher, and author, for The 30-Minute Calm Reset on September 1st at 8:30 a.m. ET. We will discuss mindful creativity and what happens when you stop saying I’m not creative. Click here to watch the live discussion.

Join Ananda Leeke & Garnet Jay for Inspire! Podcast Interview with Host Sue Webley on August 29th at 10 AM ET

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Listen to Garnet Jay and I discuss our creative journey that gave birth to Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter, my debut spoken word album.

Click here to watch the podcast interview on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

Sign Up for Thriving Mindfully on U Street Workshops on August 26, September 16 & October 7

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As you may know, I am serving as the 2026 U Street Neighborhood Association Artist-in-Residence and leading the Thriving Mindfully on U Street, a multi-generational mindful creativity project that aims to help U Street residents and others take better care of themselves as they navigate the changes happening in their lives and the city, nurture connections with fellow U Street community members, express and document their love and gratitude for the U Street community and explore their vision of the U Street community in the future, and identify and share their favorite U Street memories, history makers and moments, movements, organizations, businesses, buildings, and places.

In July, I led the first workshop entitled “Thriving Mindfully: A Love Letter to U Street” at the historic True Reformer Building on U Street. It started with a mindful moment that included breathing and yoga exercises to relax the shoulders.

I used my spoken word song, “Flow & Glow” to introduce participants to Thriving Mindfully, my heart-centered approach for being present, well, and the REAL YOU. In addition, I shared an excerpt from my poem, “Home” to help them reflect on their love for U Street (poem featured in my mindful creativity memoir, That Which Awakens Me). Participants also experienced a mindfulness of the body meditation and used two journaling exercises to discuss their love for U Street.

Listen to “Flow & Glow” spoken word song featured on Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter Album
Learn about, buy, and download Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter Album
Get more information about and buy That Which Awakens Me, a mindful creativity memoir (2009)

SPECIAL THANKS to everyone who attended the workshop.

MANY THANKS to the U Street Neighborhood Association and True Reformer Building for hosting the event.

Join me for the Thriving Mindfully on U Street series in August, September, and October. Click on the links below for more information.

AUGUST WORKSHOP: The second event in this series, “Honoring U Street as American History,” will take place on August 26th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Hamiltonian Artists, located at 1353 U Street, NW, in DC. Come share your love for U Street and contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the final workshop). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP: The third event in this series, “The Future of the U Street Community,” will take place on September 16th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the True Reformer Building, located at 1200 U Street, NW, in DC. Come share your love for U Street and contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the final workshop). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

OCTOBER WORKSHOP: The fourth, and final event in this series, “The U in U Street Community,” will take place on October 7th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at True Reformer Building, located at1200 U Street, NW, in DC. Come share your love for U Street and have a final chance to contribute to a community art project (to be displayed during the event). CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

International Underground Railroad Month Event: American Change Agent Authors Are Headed to Caroline County Public Library to Discuss Leek/Leak/Leeke Family’s Underground Railroad Journey on September 12th

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September is International Underground Railroad Month. During this special month of remberance, my dad and co-author, Dr. John F. Leeke and I will lead the “Footsteps to Freedom” discussion on September 12th from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at the Caroline County Public Library, 100 Market Street, Denton, Maryland.

During the event, we will discuss our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion and the Underground Railroad journey our family took to escape slavery in Hagerstown, Maryland, and build a new life as free people in Amherstburg, Canada.

American Change Agent Authors Introduce Their Book and Leek/Leak/Leeke Family’s Underground Railroad Journey to Hagerstown Mayor & City Council

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My dad and co-author, Dr. John F. Leeke and I traveled to Hagerstown, Maryland, and met with Mayor Bill McIntire and City Councilmembers Tiara Burnett, Candice Anderson, Erika Bell, Kristin Aleshire, and Sean Flaherty on August 11th.

During our meeting, we introduced them to our book, American Change Agent: A Life & Legacy of Seeking Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. We discussed our requests for the issuance of a proclamation and a historical marker recognzing our family’s connection to Hagerstown and use of the Underground Railroad to escape slavery in the late 1830s.

We also shared our interest in co-hosting an event that would introduce American Change Agent and our family’s Underground Railroad journey to the Hagerstown and Washington County communities during International Underground Railroad Month in September, Maryland Emancipation Day in November, or later this year.

Several councilmembers expressed an interest in issuing a proclamation and purchased copies of our book. We look forward to working with the them and the City of Hagerstown in the coming weeks and months.

Special thanks to City Councilmember Burnett for helping us secure a meeting with the City Council!

The meeting was live streamed on the City of Hagerstown’s Facebook page. Click the video below to watch our presentation. Start watching the video at the 3.10 minute mark (ends at 15.1 minute mark).

Learn About & Buy American Change Agent
Watch Ask Dr. John Video About Family Connection to Hagerstown and Underground Railroad

Thriving Mindfully As a Creative Reflections: Creative Mornings DC at National Geographic Museum

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As a multidiscplinary artist and writer, I intentionally carve out time each month to participate in Creative Mornings gatherings in DC, Baltimore, or online. Being in community with others nurtures my creative spirit, heart, and mind. The connections I make and conversations I have with other creatives inspires and exposes me to new ideas, opportunities, resources, and events.

On July 31st, I attended the Creative Mornings DC July gathering at the National Geographic Museum. I also served as a registration volunteer and was inspired by NatGeo explorer Rachel Zoe Miller’s talk. Here’s one takeaway from Rachel’s talk: be your average!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THRIVING MINDFULLY

Click the video below to listen to my spoken word song, “Thriving Mindfully Theme” that appears on my Thriving Mindfully As Theresa’s Daughter album.

GET MORE INFO, BUY & DOWNLOAD THRIVING MINDFULLY AS THERESA’S DAUGHTER ALBUM