Creativity – Ananda Leeke

Ananda Leeke’s September Meditation Classes & Mindfulness Workshops

Posted by Ananda Leekeon August 26, 2018August 31, 2018in #ThrivingMindfully, Meditation, Mindful Creativity, Mindfulness, Uncategorized1 Comment

Get ready for the autumn season with my meditation classes and mindful movement and creativity workshops in September. See the dates, descriptions, and links below.

And remember to share my offerings with your family, friends, colleagues, and online network. Invite them to come with you. I look forward to seeing you all soon!

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The #MindfulMonday Meditation is offered every Monday (except Labor Day and the last two Mondays in December). During the class, you will practice mindfulness meditation and learn mindful at work practices on September 10th, 17th, and 24th from 6:15-7:30 p.m. Bring a family member, friend or colleague!

Click here for more information about the #ThrivingMindfully Meetup Group and classes. Don’t worry if you are not a member of the #ThrivingMindfully Meetup Group. You can still attend the class. Drop by and meditate with us!
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Register on Eventbrite for Wellness Wednesday Meditation on September 12th from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Femme Fatale DC, 4620 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in Washington, DC. Bring a friend, family member or colleague!

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I am super excited about leading the Mindful Movement Workshop in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of Unity World Day of Prayer at my church, Unity of Washington, DC on September 13th from 4-5 p.m. at 1225 R Street, NW in DC. Visit Unity’s website for more information.

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When’s the last time you allowed yourself the space to dream, imagine, and create? Come explore how to open your heart to your own creativity through the power of mindfulness at the Open Your Heart to Mindful Creativity Workshop on September 16th from 1-3 p.m. at Femme Fatale DC, 4620 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in Washington, DC.

During the workshop, I will help you explore your inner archetypes (or personalities) and the role they play in your creativity through deep breathing exercises, meditation, journaling, and discussion. The takeaways include ways to tap into your intuition, imagination, and nurturing energy as growth opportunities during the autumn season.

Register on Eventbrite. Bring a family member, friend, or colleague!

Celebrate National Meditation Month & Join #ThrivingMindfully 31-Day Challenge (May 1-31)

Posted by Ananda Leekeon April 30, 2018May 4, 2018in #ThrivingMindfully, Mindfulness, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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Need more mindfulness in your life?

Join the #ThrivingMindfully 31-Day Challenge to incorporate more mindful living, creativity, and technology moments in your life. It starts May 1st and is self-directed. That means you do it at your own pace.

Here’s how the #ThrivingMindfully 31-Day Challenge works. There are 31 #ThrivingMindfully podcast episodes that include guided meditations, breathing exercises, short talks, tips, and resources. They are divided into three sections: mindful living, creativity, and technology. Follow the steps below to access the podcasts.

Step 1: Each day go to the #ThrivingMindfully Soundcloud page and click on the #ThrivingMindfully 31-Day Challenge playlist.

Mindful Living: Listen to episodes 1-15, 29
Mindful Creativity: Listen to episodes 16-21, 30
Mindful Technology: Listen to episodes 22-28, 31

Step 2: Select the podcast episode for Day #1, #2, #3 etc. and listen to it. You can also choose to listen to a podcast that resonates with you. Make the challenge your own. Take what you need and leave the rest behind.

Step 3: Practice the breathing, meditation, and reflections exercise(s) throughout your day and/or week.

Step 4: Join the A Mindful Cup of Tea Facebook Group and share your experiences with others.

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Join me for “Breathe & Meditate,” a free Facebook Live series, on May 1st, 13th, 20th, and 27th from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. EST: www.facebook.com/anandaleeke64. Each morning I will guide you through three short meditations and offer tips on how to create mindful living moments in your daily life.

If you live or visit the DC area in May, consider joining me for two #ThrivingMindfully Meetup Group events on May 19 and May 21. Go here for more details.

Looking for mindfulness-inspired books to read? Check out my three books on Amazon: yoga-inspired novel Love’s Troubadours, mindful creativity memoir That Which Awakens Me, and mindful technology memoir Digital Sisterhood.

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My online offerings and events are offered as a gift. If they have blessed you, I invite you to show gratitude by supporting my work with a donation on PayPal or with the Cash app: http://www.paypal.me/anandaleeke or http://cash.me/$AnandaLeeke. Thank you for your generosity. It is deeply appreciated!

Mindful Creativity Video: Celebrate National Poetry Month with Present Moment Awareness Poem

Posted by Ananda Leekeon April 27, 2018April 27, 2018in Mindful Creativity, National Poetry Month, Poetry, UncategorizedLeave a comment

As we close out National Poetry Month in April and prepare for National Meditation Month in May, I decided to share a video of my poem “Present Moment Awareness” from my mindful creativity memoir, That Which Awakens Me (available of Amazon) My poem celebrates what happens inside of me when I meditate. May it inspire you to take a moment to breathe deeply, meditate, and embrace #ThrivingMindfully in all you are, think, say, and do.

Mindful Creativity: Highlights from My Smith Center Artist-in-Residency

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 23, 2018January 23, 2018in Artist-in-Residence at Smith Center, Mindful Creativity, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Mindful creativity is what I share with military service members, veterans, their families and friends, and staff when I serve as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center each week. Read and listen to my latest interview with Smith Center.

Check out a short video I made during one of my breaks at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Mindful Creativity: Celebrate National Vision Board Day on January 13

Posted by Ananda Leekeon January 10, 2018January 12, 2018in Mindful Creativity, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Have you ever used a vision board? A vision board is a mindful creativity tool you can use to help clarify, concentrate, and maintain focus on the highest and best vision of your life.

I started using vision boards in the early 1990s after reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way. I have used them for my artwork, business, career reinvention, fitness, home decor, personal style, relationships, travel adventures, yoga practice, and overcoming writer’s block with my creativity memoir, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery and tech memoir, Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online.

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A couple of years ago, I learned about National Vision Board Day, an annual celebration held on the second Saturday in January. National Vision Board Day is my opportunity to practice loving kindness as I give myself the gift of time to reflect on, journal about, and create a written statement and visual expression of my highest and best life. Last year I started my vision board process on January 14 and finished it several days later with three different vision boards (see a photo of one of my boards above).

This year I am spending National Vision Board Day as a creativity coach. I will be facilitating a vision board-making session with a client. Listen to the latest episode of the #ThrivingMindfully Podcast to learn how I use mindful creativity to help my clients create their vision statement and board. The episode includes a guided meditation, breathing and journaling exercises, and tips. Feel free to use it to prepare for your National Vision Board Day celebration.

Interested in learning more about how I help people just like you become aware of and express creativity in your own unique way while outsmarting stress and overcoming blocks and challenges? Check out my mindful creativity services.

Yoga & My Creative Heart

Posted by Ananda Leekeon August 24, 2015August 24, 2015in Art, Creativity, VIDA Voices, Yoga, Yoga MondaysLeave a comment

Happy #YogaMonday!

Mondays are all about yoga in my social media world (confession: every day is a yoga day in my real life world). Today, I am savoring the juicy feelings of gratitude I experienced while leading my workshop on Fierce Living from a Woman’s Creative Heart on August 22 at Embrace Yoga in Washington, DC.

The workshop gave me an opportunity to serve and share from my heart. It also blessed me with two creative yoga workshop participants, Krystal Tingle and Rhiannon Landesberg. Together, we practiced breathing exercises and our favorite yoga poses as we journaled and shared our reflections.

During the workshop, I wore my “Karma: Aham Prema” VIDA scarf I received the night before. It was a special moment because the scarf was created through my partnership with VIDA in May. We used my painting that appears on the cover of my yoga-inspired novel, “Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One” (Amazon) to make the design. It is a part of my VIDA Voices scarf collection which include three additional scarves that use artwork from my books, “That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetical Memoir of Self-Discovery” and “Digital Sisterhood: A Memoir of Fierce Living Online” (Amazon). Click here to learn more about my scarf collection.

Many thanks to Embrace Yoga and my yoga teacher Faith Hunter for blessing me with an opportunity to serve and share from my heart. Thank you Krystal and Rhiannon for attending the workshop.

#CreativityThursday: #Creativityat50 Lesson 5 SIMPLE

Posted by Ananda Leekeon April 9, 2015April 10, 2015in #Creativityat50, Creativity, Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy #CreativityThursday!

SIMPLE is #Creativityat50 Lesson 5. Earlier today, I was creating content for a client’s social media campaign and discovered an Instagram quote by Charles Mingus, one of my favorite jazz musicians (see below).

Mingus’ words reminded me of a lesson my art teacher Tasko taught me 10 years when he insisted I begin painting: get out of your head and into your heart so you can surrender your ego and feel the simplicity of what Spirit is calling you to create. Keep it SIMPLE in your art and creative process is the short version.

How do you approach your art-making process?

Happy #CreativityThursday: Celebrating Creativity of Natural Hair Entrepreneur Evette Chambers

Posted by Ananda Leekeon June 5, 2014June 5, 2014in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy #CreativityThursday!

Today I am celebrating the creativity of natural hair entrepreneur Evette Chambers, my loctician for the past 10 years. Evette is the founder of City Kinks, a Washington, DC-based natural hair salon.

Her skills, style, and spirit are OUTSTANDING. She is a positive inspiration and a natural-born connector who believes in sharing the wealth. She supports her clients in many different ways such as facilitating health and political awareness sessions, encouraging people to follow their passion, sharing information, promoting client businesses and events, and hosting client gatherings. Her generosity of spirit and commitment to community building make her a true blessing!

Did you know that she was featured in Essence Magazine and its special hair issue?

What more can I say about her?

She rocks!

Check out my before and after photos from my session with Evette on Wednesday. My hair is healthy and beautiful because of her great work and teachings. For the past several months, I have been having a deep love affair with her creative expression of an elegant French braid. It is easy to care for and makes me feel “femme chic.” Also, I have received so many compliments on this style. It is definitely one in a million!

Here is a photo of Evette’s creative interpretation of a classic bun that was taken in 2013. As you can tell from my facial expression in the photo, visiting City Kinks is always a fun-filled experience. She infuses her “joie de vivre” into everything she does!

Happy #CreativityThursday: Honoring Dr. Maya Angelou, A Creative Shero

Posted by Ananda Leekeon May 29, 2014May 30, 2014in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy #CreativityThursday!

Today I woke up hungry for the words and wisdom of Dr. Maya Angelou. So I reached for a book of her poems that kept me company during the second semester of my freshman year at Morgan State University in 1983. Her spirit guided me to her poem, “Thank You, Lord.”

Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) - RIP Dr. Angelou. — Dr. Maya Angelou (1928-2014) – RIP Dr. Angelou.

Her words reminded me to say a thank you prayer for waking up another day and being inspired and influenced by her creative spirit. Her poetry and memoirs gave me permission to write and publish my own books.

How did Dr. Angelou inspire you?

Happy #CreativityThursday: Celebrating International Soul Art Day

Posted by Ananda Leekeon May 15, 2014May 15, 2014in Creativity ThursdayLeave a comment

Happy #CreativityThursday!

Have you ever heard of Soul Art and International Soul Art Day?

Laura Hollick, an artist and shaman, is the brainchild behind them (see photo above). She is also founder of Soul Art Studio, a business that guides people to connect with their spirit and create a life and business that expresses it. Hollick says, “Soul Art awakens your inner artist so you can create your reality.”

Photo Credit: SoulArtDay.com

International Soul Art Day is annual celebration held on May 14 that brings together Soul Artist from around the world to connect virtually and create art together for the day. Yesterday, I joined the Soul Art Day celebration by listening to recordings of two Google Hangout session and creating my own body mapping art project.

The body mapping art project allowed me to trace my hands and feet, journal, and create a mixed media collage (see photo above). The collage has become a visual affirmation and celebration of what’s living in my creative heart.

Have you ever participated in an online creativity challenge, event, or project that encouraged you to explore and honor your creative process?