Guess what I am doing next week? I’m taking artist Tina Lassiter’s “An Evening in the Garden of Goddess Delight” workshop on July 11 at Smith Center for Healing and the Arts. Tina describes the workshop as a collage-making “joyshop” that will evoke change, stimulate thinking, and transform the lives of those who accept an invitation for exploration. It’s just what I need to jumpstart my own collage-making painting process.
Tina Lassiter at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
In June, I had a chance to chat with Tina at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery opening of the “From the Outside” exhibition. Some of her work is featured in the exhibit. I love her goddess collages!
More About Tina: She is also a writer, photographer, and Director of Creative & Therapeutic Arts Services at Children’s National Medical Center. Last year, She became a Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist in addition to receiving certifications in Reiki and Acupressure. She is currently working to help Children’s National Medical Center establish an integrative medicine program.
What are you doing to celebrate creativity in July?
The List (and how to get on it): If there is one question we hear from bloggers covering this image- and access-conscious industry, it’s “How do I get on *the* list?”. We’re bringing publishing, PR and brand perspectives to the table to give you an inside look at how it works. BlogHer editor-in-chief (and longtime women’s magazine leader) Stacy Morrison moderates the insightful advice from Adrianna Guilliani from Devries Public Relations, Cristy Turner from Digital Brand Architects, and Genevieve Ascencio from Factory PR.
Photo Credit: JusticeFergie.com
Before I attend the Style Mini Conference sessions, I plan to participate in “Justice Fergie” Stacey Ferguson’s Summer Brand-O-Rama, a FREE four-week email workshop that will provide critical tips on how to cultivate brand partnerships that begins on July 5. Click here to sign up. My goal is to learn how to build brand partnerships that support my blogs and the Digital Sisterhood Network.
Stacey Ferguson a/k/a Justice Fergie and Ananda at BlogHer 12 Brunchalicious Event – Photo Credit ‘ BlogHer.com
Stacey is the queen of branding and empire building in my book! She is one of my virtual and IRL “Empirista” mentors.
BlogHer.com
If you are planning to attend BlogHer 13, check out the questions below.
What are your top three to five conference goals?
What sessions are you planning to attend? And why?
What are you doing to prepare for BlogHer 13?
BlogHer.comBlogHer.com
PS: I will be speaking about social media leadership on July 26 (10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.) and July 27 (11:30 a.m. – 12 noon), and co-hosting the Multi-Culti party on July 26 with two amazing digital sisters, Pauline Campos and Dwana De La Cerna. I hope you will be able to join us at the conference and the Multi-Culti party. Click here to register.
Listening to sacred music during my yoga practice is one of my favorite things to do. I adore the music of Sista Shree, a yoga teacher and mantra singer who has created a unique rhythm that blends a mélange of Soul, Blues, Jazz, Funk and Gospel music with the beautiful vibrations of ancient Sanskrit mantras. She also has a band based in New York City called Hanuman. Click here to watch a video of her singing at Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York City in 2012.
I first discovered Sista Shree’s music during my yoga teacher training at Flow Yoga Center in 2005. Karen Harris, one of my friends who agreed to let me student teach her during my training, gave me copies of Sista Shree’s CDs: “Asatoma” and “Sacred Sound”. We would use them during our yoga sessions. Sista Shree’s music was filled with soulful energy. It had us chanting and dancing in between poses. I still love listening to her music.
In 2008, I interviewed her about her yoga practice, music, and commitment to green living on my radio show Go Green Sangha Radio. Click here to listen to the show (includes other guests).
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Today, I am excited about Exhale, a provocative new talk series about African American women on ASPiRE TV that features five of my favorite creative women: Angela Burt-Murray, Comedian Erin Jackson, Issa Rae, Malinda Williams, and Rene Syler. Thank goodness these ladies have been blessed with the gift of gab. Their candid discussions will offer intergenerational commentary on a wide range of topics including family, relationships, money, faith and everything that African American women are talking about. I know the show will influence, inform, and inspire me and my sistalove friends! That’s one of the reasons I am so excited about it!!!! So watch it tonight at 8:00 p.m.
I AM EXCITED because I am hungry … no starving is a better word. I am starving for positive television programming that features women who look like me and share my interests and concerns.
I AM EXCITED about hearing from Angela Burt-Murray, founder of CocoaFab TV and former Essence editor-in-chief. I miss Angela’s voice. When she was at Essence, I enjoyed reading her letter to the reader each month. Her interviews and articles always informed and inspired me. I need Angela to inform and inspire me each week!
I AM EXCITED about Malinda Williams because she stole my heart when she played the character Bird on the wildly successful Soul Food television series on Showtime years ago. I also adore her down-to-earth personality, passion, and style! I need Malinda to remind me to stay grounded and focused on my passion as I live life with style!
I AM EXCITED about Rene Syler because she speaks her mind and writes with a soulful honesty that makes me say “AMEN.” The first time I learned about Rene was at the Blogalicious Weekend Conference in 2011. She was a luncheon keynote speaker who shared so passionately from her life. I left Blogalicious as a Rene Syler fan. I need to witness Rene’s passionate honesty and humor each week!
Ananda Leeke and Issa Rae at 2012 Minority Media & Telecom Council’s 10th Annual Access to Capital and Telecommunications Policy Conference
I AM EXCITED about Issa Rae because she is incredibly gifted as a digital entrepreneur, writer, director, producer, and actress. I fell madly in love with Issa’s webisode series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl a few years ago. Since then, I have followed her online and watched all of the programs she has created and produced. Last year, I met and heard her speak at the Minority Media & Telecom Council’s 10th Annual Access to Capital and Telecommunications Policy Conference. I need to receive a weekly dose of Issa’s creative energy dipped in authentic and awkward humor.
I AM EXCITED about Erin Jackson because she is dangerously funny. I discovered her humor and wit when ASPiRE TV starting promoting Exhale several months ago. She reminds me to laugh and not take myself so seriously. I love her crazy sense of humor. I need to catch Erin’s laughter train on a weekly basis!
My excitement is so great that I want to see these ladies succeed beyond their wildest imaginations. So I am using my blog and social media platforms to encourage others to watch and support the show. With that said, please take some time to give these five Exhale ladies some social love! Encourage your social network of family, friends, and fans to do the same.
Guess what I did last weekend? I participated in the Digital Sisterhood Unplugged Weekend (#DSUnplugged).
Ananda’s Flowista Manifesto collage dedicating to unplugging
Guess what happened?
I really had a great time unplugging. I was able to chill out, relax, practice yoga, run, sleep in, read some of my favorite magazines like More and Fast Company, attend a fantastic gallery opening (will talk about on my Creativity Thursday blog), complete some of the edits for my Digital Sisterhood book, write my “Unplug” Manifesto as a Flowista (a woman who unplugs from her to-do list and digital life sand practices self-care on a regular basis) with a collage illustration, and reflect on the women in social who have become my virtual mentors. That’s a lot, right?
While reading the July issue of More, I discovered an article in the Second Acts section that featured a profile about two of my virtual mentors, Stefania Pomponi and Cat Lincoln, co-founders of the Clever Girls Collective, a social media agency.
Photo Credit: Stefania Pomponi
Photo Credit: Cat Lincoln
The More article discussed how Stefania and Cat came together as friends to create the Clever Girls Collective and took a road trip to the BlogHer 2009 conference in Chicago, Illinois. I first discovered Stefania at the BlogHer conference and later learned about Cat and the Clever Girls Collective. They impressed the you know what out of me! I loved their community building efforts, commitment to empowering women bloggers, energy, and business savvy. I started following them online and watching them make moves to build their Clever Girls empire and thriving community of bloggers. I also made sure to hear them speak at the various social media conferences I have attended over the years.
Photo Credit: The Clever Girls Collective
They lead and teach by example. They share insights and lessons learned in their online activities. When they speak in public at conferences, they drop “serious knowledge.” That’s why they are two of my virtual mentors.
PS: Virtual mentors are women and men in the digital space who have influenced, informed, and inspired me through their blog, books/e-books, businesses, creative expression, community building efforts, e-books, lessons learned, social good activities, social media engagement, TEDx Talks, thought leadership, videos, webisodes, webinars, and web sites. Many of my virtual mentors are people I have never met online or face-to-face. They may not even be aware of how much they have influenced me. Some are folks I have connected with online and had conversations with via social media. There are others who I have met in person. And then there are a few I have come to know as friends in real life (IRL). All of them add great value to my life!
Photo Credit: Mantra: Sacred Words of Power by Thomas Ashley-Farrand Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated (December 2004)
Happy Yoga Monday!
One of the juiciest parts of my yoga practice is my mantra chanting. Mantra is a sacred word, phrase or sound that is repeated during meditation to deepen your spiritual and/or yoga practice, and transform your spiritual consciousness.
Ganesh
The first mantra I learned and began using was “Om Gum Ganapataye Namaha.” I was introduced to it during a lay leadership training led by Reverend Beverly Biddle at Unity of Washington, D.C. in 2002. During the training, I learned the mantra can help remove obstacles from your life and resolve problems and difficulties. I also learned it was associated with Ganesh, the Hindu elephant deity who removed obstacles. Click here to watch Deva Premal chant the mantra.
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Today, I am celebrating the work of mixed media artist and sculptor Lisa Schumaier, an Alexandria, Virginia native. I met Lisa two weeks ago while visiting her studio at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a down-to-earth woman with a deep passion. She was happy to explain her art-making process and shared several stories about her artwork.
Artist Lisa SchumaierLisa Schumaier ‘s artist studio
I was immediately drawn to her mixed media collage sculptures of women dancers.
Artwork by Lisa SchumaierArtwork by Lisa Schumaier – my favorite piece
I marveled at how she was able to blend her ceramic work with found objects and recycled materials. Click here to watch a video of Lisa talking about her passion for art and the Torpedo Factory. For more information about her work, visit www.keenthings.com.
This year, I started subscribing to the RailsGirls DC Twitter account and blog. That’s how I learned about the June 13th workshop on how to build apps and other programs with Ruby on Rails. I applied to participate and explained how I wanted to create apps to support the Digital Sisterhood Network.
My new Samsung laptop all ready for Rails Girls DC June workshop
After my application was approved, I made plans to attend the June 10th installation workshop and meet up at Living Social. Nervous is probably the best word to describe how I felt walking into the meet up. I calmed down a few minutes after I settled into my chair, opened my brand new Samsung laptop, and began chatting with other women who like me were embarking on their very first coding journey. Things got much better when I received one-on-one coaching support from volunteers who work during the day as developers. Each person who helped me was friendly, smart, kind, patient, and passionate about helping women learn and understand the world of coding. I left the meet up with more confidence, a better grasp of how to navigate Windows 8 on my new laptop, and a basic understanding of how to access my app on http://localhost:3000, open my terminal and start my app, Heroku.com, and SublimeText.com (the digital space where you can edit code files).
My RailsGirls DC digital sisters Geraldine, Ananda, and Niyati
The June 13th workshop began on a positive note. The first person I met was my Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority sister Geraldine Gooding (@STEMWoman). We connected and introduced ourselves as we entered the Silver Spring Civic Center. Our first conversation was about my bright royal blue and yellow Sigma bag. I’m so glad I carried my laptop in it! It turned out to be a great networking tool!
My RailsGirls DC digital sister Emily and I
When we picked up our registration materials, we learned we were assigned to the same team. I sat down next to Emily Summers, founder of MarketTorque.com. Emily and I chatted about her MarketTorque business and dspire project, and our reasons for attending the workshop. Geraldine sat down next to my yoga digital sister Niyati (@awakenvision). What a reunion!
My RailsGirls DC digital sisters
The other ladies at my table were friendly, fun, and filled with passion and positive energy. The best things about working with them were the support we provided to each other and the conversations we had during the coding exercises.
My RailsGirlsDC coach Greg KenenitzMy RailsGirlsDC coach Melanie Gilman and I
Our group coaches Greg Kenenitz and Melanie Gilman were AMAZING! They really held our hands, encouraged us to figure out challenges, and made sure we learned.
I really liked seeing the diversity among workshop participants (women of African and Asian descent were represented) and how the workshop organizers stayed on track with the agenda. It included a well-balanced mix of short presentations on Terminal, Ruby, and Rails, working sessions that allowed teams to complete coding exercises, question and answer periods with the coaches, lunch period with networking time (healthy vegetarian food included), yummy snacks (chocolate, Jolly Ranchers, and salsa and chips), and lightening talks (ten minute talks) on lean start up methodology, becoming your own chief technology officer, grit/perseverance/achievement, and becoming a developer.
Special shout out to the June workshop organizer Emily Williamson and the sponsors RubyNation, Living Social, Custom Link, SAIC, AT&T, Mod Cloth, Mobile Commons, Social Driver, Vox, Spree, Inferno Red Technology, and General Assembly.
RailsGirlsDC Workshop coaches, participants, and organizers – photo by Emily Williamson
Hindu Goddess Lakshimi, one of Ananda’s favorite yoga goddesses
Happy Yoga Monday!
During my yoga teacher training at Flow Yoga Center in 2005 and 2006, I developed a series of yoga classes that emphasized the attributes of Hindu female deities better known as goddesses or archetypes and how they corresponded to the seven chakras (energy centers in the body). See a list of some of my favorites below (the meanings are based on my own interpretation and understanding).
Durga is the Hindu warrior goddess of determination, persistence, personal power, and will power who governs the third chakra.
Kundalini is the Hindu goddess of inner power who governs the first chakra (the first chakra is the seat of Kundalini energy).
Lakshimi is the Hindu goddess of material and spiritual prosperity who governs the first chakra (physical survival including material prosperity)
Radha is the Hindu goddess of love and governs the fourth chakra.
Sarasvati is the Hindu goddess of wisdom who governs the sixth chakra. She is also the Hindu Goddess of creativity and the arts who governs the second chakra.
Shakti is the Hindu goddess of divine feminine energy who governs the seventh chakra.
Vach is the Hindu goddess of communication and speech who governs the fifth chakra.
Photo Credit: SallyKempton.com
Earlier this year, I learned Sally Kempton, one of my favorite spiritual teachers and Yoga Journal’‘s columnists, had authored Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga, a book that tells stories, offers meditations, and shares the wisdom of many of my favorite yoga goddesses. Click here to read a Yoga Journal interview with Kempton about her new book. After reading a review of the Awakening Shakti in Yoga Journal, I put it on my Amazon.com list of books to buy. Last month, I purchased it from Amazon.com and decided to add it to my stack of must read summer books (which I will begin reading on June 21, the first of day of summer a/k/a the Summer Solstice).
Photo Credit: SallyKempton.com
Last week, I glanced through Awakening Shakti to see what juicy wisdom and insights I could expect to receive. Here’s what I found. Kempton shares how the qualities of 11 yoga goddess archetypes can help people deepen their meditation and yoga practice and better understand themselves. She also shares her personal experiences with each yoga goddess archetype. I am excited about exploring each goddess archetype’s meditation exercises, invocation mantras, visualizations, and personal Gayatri mantra. I adore chanting the Gayatri mantra, one of the oldest and most powerful of Sanskrit mantras. It’s one of the first mantras I learned before entering yoga teacher training.
Click here to learn more about Awakening Shakti. Be sure to visit sallykempton.com, follow her on Twitter, and LIKE her on Facebook.
Enjoy your day!
OM #YogaMonday OM!
Photo Credit: “OM” drawing by Ananda Leeke
PS: If you would like to read about my yoga journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a yoga teacher in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Today, I am celebrating Tim Okamura, a fabulous painter from Edmonton, Canada (one of my favorite places to visit for art and creativity). Tim’s paintings explore identity, popular culture, and the urban environment. He uses collage, spray paint, and mixed media in his work (and I adore collage and mixed media!).
Tim Okamura and Ananda Leeke at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery
Many thanks to Anthony Palliparambil, Jr., Exhibitions Manager and artist, for organizing the photo shoot and taking photos!
Tim Okamura and amazing ladies at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts GalleryTim Okamura and amazing ladies at Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts GalleryAnanda 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. By the way, Les Nubians are one of my favorite Afropean neosoul singing duos (they make several appearances in my Love’s Troubadours novel).
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.
Ananda Leeke 