Ananda, Dwana, and Pauline — Photo Credit: BlogHer
Happy Internet Geek Tuesday!
While I was co-hosting the BlogHer Multi Culti party with my digital sisters Pauline Campos and Dwana De La Cerna on July 26 at the Sheraton Chicago, I had so many wonderful conversations with the dynamic members of the BlogHer community. The conversations reminded me how diverse we are as bloggers with different ethnic backgrounds, family histories, gifts, life experiences, opinions, perspectives, and talents. Check out some of the event photos below. All photos are from BlogHer.com. Click here to see the entire collection.
Did you attend the Multi Culti Party? If so, what were some of your favorite moments?
Walrond’s book celebrates the concept that what makes us different makes us beautiful — and may even be the source of our superpowers. Her book personifies how I feel about the BlogHer community.
Our differences make BlogHer more beautiful and powerful. Together, we are able to tap into our superpowers as bloggers and give voice to what so many others may not have the access, courage, or right to say online and offline. And for that I am truly grateful!
What makes the BlogHer community beautiful and powerful to you?
Reading yoga-inspired magazines is one of the ways I deepen my yoga practice and teaching skills. Tathaatsu Magazineis a personal favorite. The word Tathaatsu means “So Be It.”
I like the magazine because it is filled with information on Ayurveda, feng shui, healthy food, holistic living, mantras, meditation, spirituality, travel, wellness, and yoga. Tathaatsu’s web site is filled with great resources too. Make sure you visit it this week!
What magazines do you read to deepen your yoga practice?
Depicted/Connected features 11 culturally diverse women who were primarily born and raised in the D.C. area. They are depicted through Tim’s self-constructed lens which captures how they have experienced the evolution of D.C. as a city. Through the paintings, he says, “I have sought to celebrate these women as individuals, connected to their environment, but also to discover through them metaphors for greater aspects of the human condition – connected to all of us.” If you are in D.C. on September 27, please plan to attend this amazing event. See you in September!
SIDE NOTE: Just in case you couldn’t tell who is featured in the painting above, I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s me. Tim included a door from Republic Gardens, a club I used to hang out in during the 1990s and early 2000s.
The club has a rich history too. It first opened in the 1920s when owner W.G. Tindel converted a brick rowhouse (1355 U Street, N.W.) into a restaurant with a backyard summer garden on U Street, the heart of D.C.’s African American culture and life (the reason I moved to the neighborhood 23 years ago). During the next 30 years, it became a major destination for fans of live jazz. Two of my favorite jazz musicians Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker performed there.
When I look at the sun-like gold window on the red door in the painting, I am reminded of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess. She is associated with the colors red, gold, and yellow. She represents royal power and returning life and joy after dark times, as the sun becomes stronger and warmer after the winter solstice.
Tim Okamura and amazing ladies at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH TIM OKAMURA:
I met Tim on June 9, during his photo shoot for Depicted/Connected at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery. Smith Center invited me and five amazing women to participate in the photo shoot. The first thing I noticed about him was his easy-going spirit, positive energy, and kind smile. He was able to stay focused and have fun too.
Tim Okamura and Ananda Leeke at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
After the photo shoot, I went home and Googled Tim to learn more about his work. When I visited his Facebook page and saw his painting, “Les Nubians Combat Pour L’Amour” and “Courage 3.0,” I became an instant fan. I also listened to his 2011 interview on NPR’s Tell Me More with journalist Michel Martin. During the interview, he discussed his passion for hip hop, his hip hop radio show in Canada, and his ”Bronx Brooklyn Queens” series of paintings that feature African-American women of New York City. I Googled the series and fell in love with each painting. What a powerful body of work!
More About Tim (from his official bio):
He earned a B.F.A. with Distinction at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Canada before moving to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts in 1991. After graduating with an M.F.A. in 1993, he relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where he continues to live and work. His artwork has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery in London, England; galleries throughout the U.S. and Canada; and he was short-listed by the Royal Surveyor of the Queen’s Picture Collection for a commissioned portrait of the Queen of England. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Toronto Congress Center, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Davis Museum in Massachusetts, as well as the private collections of celebrity clients such as John Mellencamp, Uma Thurman, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. He is represented by Lyons Wier Gallery in New York, and Douglas Udell Gallery in Canada. To learn more about Tim and his work, LIKE him onFacebook and follow him on Twitter.
Today, I am celebrating my 13 most inspiring moments from the BlogHer conference I attended on July 26 and 27 in Chicago, Illinois. Check out the photos below. Most are from the official BlogHer photo gallery. I included a few of my own courtesy of my Samsung smartphone!
Photo Credit: BlogHer
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #1 – Attending the opening breakfast keynote on July 26 and hearing BlogHer co-founders Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins, and Lisa Stone share information about the BlogHer community. Click here to watch the video. Here’s what I learned from the opening keynote.
Over the past four years, the BlogHer Publishing Network paid $25 million to 5,000 women and men who write their own blogs for the Network. They represent a major industry and economy of their own!
Based on the conference attendees survey, 57% attendees write one blog, 30% write two to four blogs, and 10% are new to blogging. Life is the most popular topic attendees blog about. Fifty-four percent of attendees came to BlogHer to meet bloggers they read face-to-face. Forty-six percent attended the conference to learn how to hone their blogging strategy. Developing skills was the major goal for 40% of the attendees.
I HEART DATA! That’s what makes me an Internet Geek!
Photo Credit: BlogHer
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #2 – Watching Queen Latifah host the Voices of the Year (the BlogHer “Oscars”). Click here to watch the Queen in action and the amazing bloggers who read their blog posts during the Voices of the Year. I love seeing the Queen in royal form! She has always been a personal shero ever since the 1990s. I love her movies, music, television shows, and COVERGIRL Queen lipstick collection (today I am wearing her Into the Red shade).
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #4 – Listening to my digital sister Arnebya Herndon (my BlogHer 12 roomie) introduce the Voices of the Year speakers for the Opt-Ed segment. Arnebya is the consummate speaker and writer. She knows how to rock a mic with fabulous style (love her dress!).
Photo Credit: BlogHer
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #5: Hearing my digital sister Kelly Wickam share her blog post, “Demand the Supply.” Kelly started by asking the audience to photo bomb her. And they did because she was wearing a fierce dress! Go Kelly Go! Her blog post discussed her early days as a teenage mother and the power of using the word “Unacceptable.” Kelly gave us all permission to use our voices to call out injustice and inappropriate behavior! Click here to watch her video.
Photo Credit – Photo Collage from the session, “What Kind of Social Media Leader Are You?” held on July 26.Photo Credit – Photo Collage from the session, “What Kind of Social Media Leader Are You?” held on July 27.
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #6 – Listening to the leadership six-word memoirs and questions posed by the women who attended my “What Type of Social Media Leader Are You?” sesssions. They were so authentic and thought-provoking. Click here to read the key takeaways from the session.
Photo Credit: BlogHer – Ananda, Pauline, Lori Luna, and DwanaMulti Culti Photo CollagePhoto Credit: BlogHer – Ananda & Lauren Brown Jarvis having a fun time posing at the Multi Culti party.Photo Credit: Blogher
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #7 – Co-hosting the Multi-Culti Party with my digital sisters Pauline Campos and Dwana De La Cerna, and meeting all of the fabulous BlogHer community members on July 26. We had a great time chatting, taking photos, listening to good music, sipping the “Melting Pot” drink Pauline created, and eating tasty “multi culti” food.
Photo Credit: blogHer
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #8 – Hearing my digital sister Majora Carter talk about her work with the Majora Carter Consulting Group and Startup: South Bronx, and how she maintains a “Just Do It” attitude in her work during the “Makers and Creators” luncheon keynote on July 27. Click here to watch the keynote address.
Photo Credit: BlogHer
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #9 – Watching Lourds Lane, creator of the 2013 Broadway-bound original musical, CHIX 6, perform during the keynote luncheon on July 27. I first discovered Lane during the TEDxWomen series held on December 1, 2012. Her TEDx talk and performance touched my soul in a very deep way and reminded me how important it is to find my inner superhero by embracing my imperfections and vulnerability. She rocks the world with her message of empowering women and girls through music and song.
Ananda at AARP BlogHer booth
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #10 – Serving as an AARP blogger ambassador andworking with the AARP team and Kitchen Cabinet bloggers at the AARP booth. I was able to share information about AARP’s caregiving, Decide.Create.Share long-term planning, and Life Reimagined campaigns with many BlogHer attendees. Click here to read my blog post about my AARP BlogHer experience.
Jenni Prokopy, Veronica Arreola, and Jill Miller ZimonLady M blog founder Monica, Ananda, and Fourth Breakfast blog founder OliviaPhoto Credit: Eva Scott Hanging with Patia Braithwaite & Rae MathisBreakfast buddies Deborah Shane, Theresa Albert, Ananda, and Julie ColeD’Rita Robinson, Chatty Guest blog founder
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #11 – Making new friends, hanging out with current friends, and having great conversations throughout the conference.
Sheryl Sandberg and Lisa Stone
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #12 – Listening to BlogHer co-founder Lisa Stone interview Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg about her book, Lean In and LeanIn.org. Click here to read my “Lean In” BlogHer Moment blog post.
Photo Credit: TrueFashionistaNow.comPhoto Credit: TrueFashionistaNow.comTrueFashionistaNow.com founder Tyrone Farley in action — styling Terez Baskin — Social Media guru Mike Street is standing in the background.
BlogHer 13 Inspiring Moment #13 – Receiving two mini styling sessions from the True Fashionista Now founder Tyrone Farley, my digital brother. I ADORE his style and blog! Check out TrueFashionistaNow.com’s blog post featuring some of BlogHer 13′s best fashion conference moments.
If you attended BlogHer 13, what were your most inspiring moments?
For me, yoga begins and ends with the breath. When I breathe in and out consciously, I come into the present moment. That’s the place where everything is happening. It’s the now space I strive to be in 24/7/365. Today, I want to share a poem I wrote about breathing and being in the present moment. Enjoy!
All I can be is here right now.
Present. Standing still in mountain pose. Grounding myself in Mother Earth.
Knowing that all the stuff that clamors for my attention is just stuff.
That’s it … just stuff that can be paused for a moment with a deep breath.
So I breathe freely and release through my mouth.
HAH
HAH
HAH
HAH
HAH
HAH
HAH
My deep breathing slows down.
I return to normal breath.
The air comes in and out of my nose.
My shoulders relax.
My neck settles into a softness it has not always known.
My chest area feels more open.
My core supports me with additional strength, giving way to a lengthened spine.
I remember the mantra and say it quietly.
All I can be is here right now.
It rearranges itself.
I follow its lead and repeat it in its new order.
Right here now is where I am.
Right here now is where I am.
Right here now is where I am.
Where I am is holding all my stuff that continues to clamor for my attention despite my long deep breaths.
The mantra reappears.
Ayo has listed BABYLON SISTERS on the JuntoBox Films’ web site (a company that is co-chaired by producer/actor/director Forest Whitaker). Through its web site, JuntoBox Films allows film supporters to follow and rate film projects so that they can be noticed by the decision makers of the company.
Join me in giving BABYLON SISTERS support by rating it on the JuntoBox web site. All you have to do is click here, join the site (takes a few seconds because you can use Facebook to join), and give BABYLON SISTERS a high rating.
Your support will help Ayo and her team generate positive feedback so that BABYLON SISTERS will become a greenlit and fully funded project by JuntoBox Films. Let’s make it happen!
Blogalicious is one of my favorite communities and conferences because it celebrates diversity in the blogosphere. It embodies the spirit of Digital Sisterhood and Digital Brotherhood! I have been a fan since the first conference in 2009 (have attended all four conferences too).
Photo Credit: Blogalicious
This year, I am excited about celebrating the fifth anniversary of Blogalicious. Why? First, I adore the theme which is “Create. Build. Fund.” Second, Stacey “Justice Fergie” Ferguson, Blogalicious co-founder and chief curator, and her Blogalicious team (Jazzy Jones, Xina Eiland, Thien-Kim Lam, Jana Pauldin, Terence Gaines, and Joe Ferguson) know how to plan and host signature conferences and events that leave me with an abundance of information, inspiration, and Instagram moments filled with deep connection and friendship that remain etched on my heart for years.
Identifying, understanding, and embracing their inner critics, the inner voice that tells them they cannot or don’t have what it takes to create, build, or fund their dreams, ideas, and endeavors.
Confronting and overcoming their fears, doubts, and obstacles that prevent them from creating, building, and funding their dreams, ideas, and endeavors.
Mapping out their goals and timelines.
Developing a strategic plan to accomplish their goals.
Click here to learn more about my creativity coaching practice.
For book lovers, my book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (my original artwork is on the cover and featured throughout the book), gives an inside look at my creative journey through artwork, poetry, and reflections. It’s a great summer read (available on Kindle too)!
This month, I am using my Internet Geek Tuesday blog posts to share my BlogHer 13 conference recaps. Just in case you didn’t know BlogHer is the Web’s largest community, conference, and leading guide to the hottest news and trends among women in social media. It is also one of my favorite online communities and conferences!
Today’s blog post features my reflections on the second annual BlogHer Fashion Show (one of my favorite conference events). The theme was “Half Woman. Half Amazing.” I think it should have been “Amazing Women Owning Their Beauty” because the women who walked the runway gave the audience the gift of seeing what happens when a group of sixteen sassy, soulful, and stunning stars shine their beauty from the inside out as they strut what the universe gave them in fabulous clothing and make up.
Audrey Hepburn
They reminded me of actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn’s beauty wisdom: “The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a Woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.” Check out some of their photos below.
Disclaimer: All photos are from BlogHer.com.
Afrobella, co-hostess of the BlogHer fashion show (photo from Blogher.com)Luvvie Ajayi, co-hostess of the BlogHer fashion show (photo from Blogher.com)Grace Hwang Lynch (photo from Blogher.com)Vikki Reich (photo from Blogher.com)Isra Hasmi (photo from Blogher.com)Lianne Farbes (BlogHer.com photo)Meseidy Rivera (photo from Blogher.com)Katherine Stone (photo from Blogher.com)Kareisha Questel (photo from Blogher.com)Natasha Taylor Nicholes (photo from Blogher.com)
Aren’t these women owing their beauty? To learn more about them, see the list below.
My greatest takeaway from the fashion show is that all women have the power and right to define and express what beautiful means to them. And that’s exactly what I did after the show when I asked my dear digital brother Tyrone Farley, founder of TrueFashionistaNow.com to style me. With one small touch of moving my hair to one side, I got a new summer look that truly reflected how I felt: simply beautiful and grateful for a wonderful BlogHer conference experience!
My yoga practice has helped me focus my creative energy and anchored me during my writing process for several books over the past 16 years. I have even wrote poetry about the connection between two of my favorite practices. See my poem below.
When I practice yoga, my ego disappears.
I merge into the Infinite.
We become one.
One Love.
One Creation.
One Vessel.
Messages pass through me.
They become stories, essays, poems, truisms, quotes, prayers, affirmations, letters, e-mail messages, blog posts, and journal entries.
#2
I inhale and raise my hands above my head, pressing the palms of my hands together.
My gaze is focused on my thumbs.
My head is balanced on my shoulders.
My shoulders are rolled back.
My heart shines forth.
My spine is long and strong.
My belly is soft but tucked in.
My arms hang gracefully with splayed fingers.
My legs support my core as my feet ground themselves to Mother Earth.
In this space, I breathe in and out five times.
On my next inhalation, I come into a forward fold.
The blood rushes down from my head.
I get a buzz.
It feels like nirvana.
I take a deep breath and raise myself up one vertebrae at a time.
As I exhale, my arms find comfort by my side.
I stand in place for several moments, feeling the benefits of my short practice.
The next moment encourages me to inhale and bring my hands into prayer against my heart.
I close my practice chanting seven Oms.
Om in my spirit.
Om in my heart.
Om in my breath.
Om in my mind.
Om in my body.
Om in my thoughts.
Om in my writing.
I have also taken yoga and writing workshops taught by my yoga teachers, Yael Flusberg and Kimberly Wilson. Their workshops offered me a chance to explore how different yoga poses and breathing exercises can stretch and energize my body, open my heart to new ideas, quiet my mind and clear emotional space so I can hear my inner wisdom, and focus my energy to meet deadlines for writing projects. They also gave me an opportunity to complete writing exercises after doing yoga poses and to share my reflections with a supportive community of fellow yoga students and writers.
Do you use yoga to support your creative work? How has it helped?
Have you ever taken a yoga and writing workshop? What did you learn?
If you are looking for yoga and writing resources, check out the list below.
When I Lost My Virginity as a Poet from That Which Awakens Me
Ananda Leeke 
