The Boss Blog is all about collaboration, elevation and inspiration. Here we share the stories of women making a difference, tips + tools for life and business, what matters to us, and content that allows us to start real conversations. We invite you to grab your favorite beverage, and dive deep into the articles and stories that our community has contributed to this space!
Tamara Johnson-Shealey is our next guest. On this episode, she talks about reaching across the aisle and discusses POLITICS, and what it means to her.
Tamara is a former 2022 Candidate for the United States Senate representing Georgia. She also had a huge hand in introducing a Legislative Session to address the impact of Slavery and Jim Crow on Descendants of Chattel Slavery in Georgia.
Tamara is also involved in The Concerned Beauty and Barber Professionals, an advocacy group that addresses the need to protect the health and safety of Licensed Beauty and Barber Professionals and the clients they serve.
Tamara is an amazing role model in her community with a strong work ethic!
You can find Tamara Johnson-Shealey on her website www.tamarashealey.comand on Instagram, Facebook, and Linked in @tamarashealey.
Welcome to the Podcast where we talk all things Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to women thought leaders, industry disruptors, and business activists.
In this episode, we are talking POLITICS and reaching across the isle.
Don’t worry, we promise to keep it light and bright with f-bombs delightfully placed 🙂
Seriously, it’s mostly comedy & errors with suggestions on how we can maybe, probably do better & asking leaders if they agree!
We know that a women lead world will be better for us ALL; particularly when we look at how the power inherent in Money, Sex & Politics are accessed.
YOUR HOST OF MONEY. SEX. POLITICS PODCAST
Join host Rose Kaz, serial boat burner, humanist & social entrepreneur as she digs into conversations with a variety of female-forward visionaries who actualize their big visions into real-life actions.
These leaders push forward to a world where women are equal to men, underrepresented skin tones find safety, and folks who identify as theys and thems are valued.
JOIN US BACKSTAGE
Our talks here point to the shift we are building digitally to build a better world by doing social media differently. See what are we building behind the curtain, come Backstage, and get involved.
Contact us at SayHiLBI@gmail.com for inquiries and questions. We love to discuss Money, Sex, and Politics!
“ It’s very important, I think for us to stay unified in our mission. Even if we have different copy, we have the very same mission of making a more equal world striving for a more just experience for all humans, not just the lady bosses around us. Although we do know that when we have more women at the helm of roles of leadership, like political office, we often see a better experience for the whole world..” – Tamara Johnson-Shealey
It feels a little trite to write but we are all diverse.
In fact, if someone is speaking on diversity as something outside of themselves, it feels to me almost rooted in white supremacy; like ‘Oh, let’s work on making this place more diverse because it’s been so homogeneous and really we didn’t mind that until that gatekeeping got canceled.’ And to be fair, many of us perhaps didn’t realize we were gatekeeping until we’ve been made aware.
We Are Waking Up
And now that we are waking up to what a truly inclusive world looks like as we recognize the myriad of experiences that make up the human condition, let’s try to activate actually doing things differently in each small circle we can.
Since many of our cultures have racism, sexism, ableism and well, all the -isms, basically baked into the bedrock of our current human experiences, it may seem almost impossible to actually create a diverse world that totally removes the power over dynamic that any -ism seeks to create. This is where I love to not only theorize on solutions but also actualize them into activated conversations that affect social change.
I’ve often been called the sledge hammer in most of my collaborative circles ( cue Peter Gabriel ) because theoretical, armchair conversations on changing the status quo bores me to pieces.
It’s action that makes a damn difference.
In my many collaborations in conversations with thought leaders, industry disruptors and business activists globally these past two years, I have garnered that the world is ready for a new way of considering the diversity of our shared human existence; in a nutshell we are all very different but also very same. Whilst our differences make our outlooks unique and thereby valuable, we all bleed red ya’ll.
How can we actually do something about this wake up call?
What we are building through the LBI Digital Ecosystem is more than just various channels where we connect with Women globally; more than a podcast, a blog or a new way of doing social media.
We are looking directly at ways that we can pull back the curtain on how we have historically done business and flip the script on how we are sharing our tools & resources.
And we cannot just do that by using old models of production, of tech and thereby use of the digital world. Our approach is directly aimed at equipping more women with access to information around money, sex & politics because we know that when Women have more knowledge, this equates to more power. And when Women are more supported, the entire village thrives. And as many of you know, it takes a village to raise anything or anyone up. When Women rise, humanity rises. Again, our differences can create the great equalizer needed so desperately in our world today.
As Women in business, we have an inherent ability to see many facets of a big picture. We can stitch together a network of community through our generations of women leaning into another for support in any facet of humaning; be it child rearing or idea sourcing, meal prep or logistics, long hugs or quick side eyes. Women work quickly to offer outside of the box solutions to big & small problems alike.
Many men will tell you, Women have a unique way to handle even the most daunting challenge. And so as we lean back into embracing our own differences as strengths, I wonder how we can also learn more from the diversity of emotions all humans can feel as a result of accessing more of our passionate or female side. Some may call this being ‘too emotional’. May I suggest it is actually being more human than robotic. Emotions are helpful and show our diversity of emotional intelligence.
A good cry or long embrace isn’t showing weakness, it’s showing connection. That diversity of emotional experience can truly change an otherwise numb human existence into a fully feeling & actualized human moment; even if it’s totally different than your go to feels of ‘powering through’, ‘getting shit done’ or otherwise operating in full logic instead of from the heart. Also, no one ever said they felt worse after a good cry. Just sayn’ !!
Easily noticed but a much more challenging lesson I’ve been learning about having to suit up daily as a Women in tech, is to be more bold than I’ve ever been with my idea of using tech to build bridges of diversity; tucking away my often more emotional side and leaning across the isle to learn other languages of business, art and leadership.
Embracing Diversity
With intersectionality at the forefront of the digital ecosystem we are building, it has become one of my biggest lessons learned to embrace the diversity around me instead of shunning it as something I can’t learn to lean into, even as someone who thought I was so ‘open minded’ and willing to learn new things. That is to say, as a leader of new ways of embracing tech, I cannot simply shun old ways of thinking. I have to learn from and then build better. That old adage of not throwing the baby out with the bathwater has never rang more true. By the way, who throws babies out anyways??
Notably, all big, global tech to date has been built by one particular sector of humanity, white men. Simply based on their experiences alone, that specific tech ( any of it arguably, from Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn to Apple) has not been built in consideration of the diverse voices of ALL humans including, Women of all skin tones and gender identities, humans of varying accessibility and socio economic status.
What we are building through LBI is a way to utilize all the incredible resources that modern technology offers us in a way that authentically honors diversity instead of segregating it out of the equation. We aim to connect the many incredible communities of Women forward movements like Women owned & operated banking platforms like Elle Vest , access to health & wellness resources that Planned Parenthood purveys through the SuperMajority Education Fund, and the leaders of democracy at League of Women Voters .
All these groups separately aim to lean into the diversity of tools & resources our shared human experience calls for. We are working to activate all these thought leaders together by way of our global hub for Women who seek to live in a recognizably diverse, kindly celebrated, most equitable world.
Rose Kaz is the Fem Founder and she’s done this a time or two. Her photo & video production company has taken her around the world but her new app allows her female clients & even women she hasn’t met yet to lean into each other, learn about our opportunity as business activists to support, grow & shop directly from one another. We are building a new economy, globally. WOW!
And the app we are talking about is that which Rose + the LBI Crew has launched where the ask for women is to: ‘ take center stage in their lives; to stand up, speak out & get GLOWING like never before’ Think activism meets B school meets super hip, online resource center! Sprinkle in some new school networking and POW The LBI Backstage Pass is #trending!
Click here to come Backstage, meet Rose and the entire community of femme forward leaders.
Anne Hodder-Shipp is our second guest discussing SEX, and what it means to them. Anne is an expert on INTIMACY. CONNECTION. EMOTIONAL EMPOWERMENT! They are also the author of Speaking from the Heart: 18 Languages for Modern Love, and recently published a new workbook to guide you through the text. Anne is also an esteemed sex and relationship educator and is taking on new clients now!
You can find Anne Hodder-Shipp on their website www.annehoddershipp.com and on Instagram @theannehodder.
“I spent a lot of time in the library, pre internet, of course, looking at the card catalog, trying to find books, or early any old magazines that had anything to do with like sex that could just give me information, because for me in information, lead to safety, through the ways of understanding things that nobody else wanted me to or people intentionally, like, we’re just leaving out of conversations.” – Anne Hodder-Shipp
On the Podcast, we talk all things Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to women thought leaders, industry disruptors, and business activists.
In this episode, we are talking SEX and emotional empowerment.
Don’t worry, we promise to keep it light and bright, f-bombs delightfully placed 🙂
Seriously, it’s mostly comedy & errors with suggestions on how we can maybe, probably do better & asking leaders if they agree!
Join host Rose Kaz, serial boat burner, humanist & social entrepreneur as she digs into conversations with a variety of female-forward visionaries who actualize their big visions into real-life actions.
These leaders push forward to a world where women are equal to men, underrepresented skin tones find safety, and folks who identify as theys and thems are valued.
We know that a women lead world will be better for us ALL; particularly when we look at how the power inherent in Money, Sex & Politics are accessed.
JOIN US BACKSTAGE
Our talks here point to the shift we are building digitally to build a better world by doing social media differently. See what are we building behind the curtain, come Backstage, and get involved.
Contact us at SayHiLBI@gmail.com for inquiries and questions. We love to discuss Money, Sex, and Politics!
This time of year is not easy and joyous for everyone.
There will always be windows of delight and ease that find us.
But underneath the glitter and flashing lights of the Holiday season, many of us are grieving those who are no longer physically with us on Earth.
Others are experiencing anxiety at the thought of spending time with family members whose energy varies from their own.
Some are worrying about how they are going to come up with the extra funding for gifts, travel, and food and to participate, keep up appearances or avoid experiencing fomo.
November, December, and January can provoke a lot of uncomfortable feelings for many people.
You can change the experience.
This is your gentle reminder that you do not need to waste your energy feeling as though you have to keep up with tradition or anything that doesn’t work for where you are at in your life, anymore.
You do not have to put yourself through an obstacle course of anxiety to please anyone.
This time of year in its most natural sense is here for us to slow down, go within, rest more, listen to the cosmos and the energy around and within us.
To drop into our bellies and our hearts and really be present to the energy of love in all its forms.
You have the power to choose how you show up.
While the pulse of consumerism and the pressures and expectations of others are still a very real thing this season, just remember you have the power to choose how you show up and what you show up to.
Megan Monique is a professional intuitive, creative director and native Texan.
When she’s not lighting candles under the full moon and pulling oracle cards for her community, she’s building out creating illustrations, webpages, strategy, editing copy, creating content plans, leading teams, and having intimate entrepreneur-based conversations.
Megan works with thought-leaders to break down their BIG ideas into actionable and aligned steps that build momentum in the direction of their unique goals and desires.
Click here to come Backstage, meet Megan and the entire community of femme forward leaders.
Susan Shloss is our next guest discussing MONEY, and what it means to her. Susan is a Certified Money Coach with over 20 years of experience in financial services. She believes money is a portal for transformation in all aspects of life. Susan loves empowering women to embrace their relationship with money. She also believes that by changing our story with money we also have the opportunity to change our culture of inequity to one of equity and inclusion. Even healing collective trauma. Look for more on her Money Justice and Spirituality Summit coming soon!
“I’m a spiritual teacher at heart. And I’ve been on the spiritual path since I was 12 years old, meditating almost every day for all these years, many, many years. And so the money piece just started calling to me, probably 20 years ago, and I ended up doing a bookkeeping business, which was not my passion. So then, I started to think about being a financial coach or money coach.” – Susan Shloss
On the Podcast, we talk all things Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to women thought leaders, industry disruptors, and business activists.
In this episode, we are talking MONEY and money wisdom.
Don’t worry, we promise to keep it light and bright, f-bombs delightfully placed 🙂
Seriously, it’s mostly comedy & errors with suggestions on how we can maybe, probably do better & asking leaders if they agree!
YOUR HOST OF MONEY. SEX. POLITICS PODCAST
Join host Rose Kaz, serial boat burner, humanist & social entrepreneur as she digs into conversations with a variety of female-forward visionaries who actualize their big visions into real-life actions.
These leaders push forward to a world where women are equal to men, underrepresented skin tones find safety, and folks who identify as theys and thems are valued.
We know that a women lead world will be better for us ALL; particularly when we look at how the power inherent in Money, Sex & Politics are accessed.
JOIN US BACKSTAGE
Our talks here point to the shift we are building digitally to build a better world by doing social media differently. See what are we building behind the curtain, come Backstage, and get involved.
Contact us at SayHiLBI@gmail.com for inquiries and questions. We love to discuss Money, Sex, and Politics!
Ber-Henda Williams is our first guest discussing POLITICS, and what it means to her. The Power of Girlhood Project was founded in 2021 by Ber-Henda.
The Power of Girlhood was founded to support girls in tapping into their power to create community, discover their value and voice, find career paths and change the world! Ber-Henda is a light and is doing AMAZING things in this world. You can find Ber-Henda on her website www.thepowerofgirlhood.org and on Instagram @Ber-HendaWilliams.
We know that a women lead world will be better for us ALL; particularly when we look at how the power inherent in Money, Sex & Politics are accessed.
“ So I think what really led me there was, I’m a very spiritual person. So I was communing with spirit. And I’m like, Okay, now what? What is the work really, right? Because I work with highly sensitive empathic women who care about social justice, equity inclusion and want to create a culture shift. So the revelation was a cultural shift term. Because in the feminine, there is this dynamic gift of empathy and wisdom, and intuition, community building placemaking agility, these are some of the things that we see femora fest out in the world.” – Ber-Henda Williams
On the Podcast, we talk all things Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to women thought leaders, industry disruptors, and business activists.
In this episode, we are talking POLITICS and Politic Light.
Don’t worry, we promise to keep it light and bright, f-bombs delightfully placed 🙂
Seriously, it’s mostly comedy & errors with suggestions on how we can maybe, probably do better & asking leaders if they agree!
YOUR HOST OF MONEY. SEX. POLITICS PODCAST
Join host Rose Kaz, serial boat burner, humanist & social entrepreneur as she digs into conversations with a variety of female-forward visionaries who actualize their big visions into real-life actions.
These leaders push forward to a world where women are equal to men, underrepresented skin tones find safety, and folks who identify as theys and thems are valued.
JOIN US BACKSTAGE
Our talks here point to the shift we are building digitally to build a better world by doing social media differently. See what are we building behind the curtain, come Backstage, and get involved.
Contact us at SayHiLBI@gmail.com for inquiries and questions. We love to discuss Money, Sex, and Politics!
Dr. Sarah Luna is our first guest discussing SEX, and what it means to her. Sarah’s mission is to become a feminist anthropologist who writes and teaches about sexuality. Sarah is now teaching at Tufts University.
Sarah just returned from Mexico City working on a second project about pleasure activism and sexual pedagogy among queer activists in Mexico City. She is also the author of Love in the Drug War: Selling Sex and Finding Jesus on the Mexico-US Border. She does it all!
You can find Dr. Sarah Luna on her website www.sarahlunaphd.com and on Instagram @saritaluna.
We know that a women lead world will be better for us ALL; particularly when we look at how the power inherent in Money, Sex & Politics are accessed.
“I’m a cultural anthropologist. And I’ve always been interested in issues of sexuality. I think maybe starting in college when I was an undergraduate at UTSA, I helped found a feminist organization that we call lips ladies incensed by a patriarchal society. So, I came from a rather conservative and religious family in San Antonio, but very loving. And I think that that’s part of like why I because I learned about sex being as something that’s like really about marriage and I even like had a chastity ring when I was in high school. So I think that that might explain a lot of my kind of, you know why my academic study has kind of gone in this direction but also in great part because of the force stigma and the way that people who are considered either actual sex sex workers or people who get labeled divorce stigma end up being persecuted in different ways. That really kind of motivated my research.” – Dr. Sarah Luna
Welcome to the Podcast where we talk all things Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to women thought leaders, industry disruptors, and business activists.
In this episode, we are talking SEX with an Anthropologist.
Don’t worry, we promise to keep it light and bright, f-bombs delightfully placed 🙂
Seriously, it’s mostly comedy & errors with suggestions on how we can maybe, probably do better & asking leaders if they agree!
YOUR HOST OF MONEY. SEX. POLITICS PODCAST
Join host Rose Kaz, serial boat burner, humanist & social entrepreneur as she digs into conversations with a variety of female-forward visionaries who actualize their big visions into real-life actions.
These leaders push forward to a world where women are equal to men, underrepresented skin tones find safety, and folks who identify as theys and thems are valued.
JOIN US BACKSTAGE
Our talks here point to the shift we are building digitally to build a better world by doing social media differently. See what are we building behind the curtain, come Backstage, and get involved.
Contact us at SayHiLBI@gmail.com for inquiries and questions. We love to discuss Money, Sex, and Politics!
Nicole Cacal is our first guest discussing MONEY, and what it means to her. Her consultancy, Forbes Ignite, convenes conversations with business and nonprofit executives around hard-to-tackle issues.
She is an amazing Ladyboss whose mission is to help with financial inclusion. You can find Nicole on her website www.nicolecacal.com and on Instagram @nicoleccacal.
We know that a women lead world will be better for us ALL; particularly when we look at how the power inherent in Money, Sex & Politics are accessed.
“My background is in financial management. I worked in the investment management industry for close to a decade. I also studied finance in undergrad. I thought that my whole career trajectory was going to be in investment management. I went back to school, I did my first graduate degree at the Parsons School of Design where I teach now. There, I learned about business design. Really, it’s just using design to solve challenges for businesses. Creating solutions within a set of constraints. That’s all that it is. I use those design principles in order to create solutions for people and for the planet. My mission, going from the investment management world into what I do now, at Forbes Ignite, is specifically to create financial inclusion.” – Nicole Cacal
On the Podcast, we talk all things Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to women thought leaders, industry disruptors, and business activists.
In this episode, we are talking MONEY and financial inclusion.
Don’t worry, we promise to keep it light and bright, f-bombs delightfully placed 🙂
Seriously, it’s mostly comedy & errors with suggestions on how we can maybe, probably do better & asking leaders if they agree!
YOUR HOST OF MONEY. SEX. POLITICS PODCAST
Join host Rose Kaz, serial boat burner, humanist & social entrepreneur as she digs into conversations with a variety of female-forward visionaries who actualize their big visions into real-life actions.
These leaders push forward to a world where women are equal to men, underrepresented skin tones find safety, and folks who identify as theys and thems are valued.
JOIN US BACKSTAGE
Our talks here point to the shift we are building digitally to build a better world by doing social media differently. See what are we building behind the curtain, come Backstage, and get involved.
Contact us at SayHiLBI@gmail.com for inquiries and questions. We love to discuss Money, Sex, and Politics!
Today at LBI, we are celebrating 1 year of being alive, as part of a new digital ecosystem that connects women & femme forward people globally. In our first year, we launched our digital platform, a new gathering place for thought leaders, industry disruptors and business activists called The Backstage Pass.
I am thrilled to announce we are also cheering on our next digital baby to join the family that drops TODAY, at the end of this blog entry!!
If you’ve read any of my previous articles here on the Boss Blog you’ll notice I really want you to know about where I’ve come from and why I am building The Backstage Pass to be truly inclusive and feel like home, like Grandma’s house. Everyone has a different version of home but often Grandma’s house is safe, has some Big Mama energy & her own fair rules.
And inclusivity matters a lot to me and it has since I’ve learned out to love at inception. Not only is inclusivity one of our core values but it is this month’s theme on the BsP. So I wanted to write this reflective, 1 year in the making post from the lens of seeing how inclusive I have really been as a leader, as a marketer, as a writer, an activist, a friend and a human; a short retrospective to see how I’ve done and where I can improve.
And, whilst this entry will certainly touch on my WHY of starting an ecosystem like LBI, I really want you, dear reader, to know HOW we have been accomplishing our big, inclusive vision to build the most important place on the internet for women thought leaders, industry disruptors & business activists.
In 2020, I was devastated. Not fully by Covid, though I did get in my feels deeply about it briefly. I quickly realized that our world, the planet, was making a cry for help; more like a scream really, asking the citizens of this world to have better respect for our health, our resources and ultimately, our people; and at very grave costs of many, many lives. And that cry was amplified and broadcast globally by such groundswell movements like BLM. Rest in power dear George Floyd.
There are many groups both online and off who have been calling for a system upgrade for many, many years. Not only because of lack of inclusivity but also for years and years of systemic injustices & oppression.
As a woman in business who also sees herself as an industry disruptor, I am very grateful for these movements, their leaders & endless dedication to a just equitable world. I activate alongside them as frequently as I am able. And, I still think we can do better to mobilize and organize these various groups with incredible missions TOGETHER. Can we have an inclusive, connective thread to draw these movements together, a network that unites those various missions into one central HUB?? Kind of like the way FB was started with an aim to connect people globally, but instead of being built on a premise informed by dudes slutshaming women in the dorm room, ( fact check, it’s true!)
We are building this safe space where we can amplify both groups & individuals who want to see a more equitable world come to fruition. We are laying the foundation with empathy & kindness, access & inclusivity, collaboration & connection.
In these foundational years, we are focusing on bringing together any human who identifies as a woman, from any and all backgrounds, skin tones, hair styles, income levels, all fields, and all walks of life because when more women have more access to, to resources & tools that are generative instead of extractive, to a community of like minded, humanist leaders, we will see the needle of progress be shifted.
When I sought out to start the BsP, there was not a safe place online where women could honestly and without criticism engage in empowering, equalizing and fundamentally different ways of using social media and I wanted to change that. So how exactly are we doing that?? I’m so glad you asked!!
In the last year since we launched The Backstage Pass, we have held many events, both virtual and in person. We met Backstage before and after our events to organize & mobilize our meetups!
We met in Asheville, North Carolina to connect inside the Asheville Masonic Temple, a space historically not the most welcoming of women as guests, particularly darker skinned women. There we reached across the aisle to talk about funding, access to more monies for business development, education and other financial tools for women & underrepresented groups.
We had great support from local groups also seeking to see a more diverse populace thrive. The NC SBTDC, Mountain Biz Works and local women leaders & business women held down the panel conversations whilst attendees shared their access to tools & resources in our meet & greet.
We hosted conversation about what it means to really lean into other women’s lived experiences in Miami, Florida at the Melanated Beauty Spa with Maghan Morin & Quadeera Teart . We shared lunch, snapped headshots and made great connections to amazing women doing amazing things!
We indulged in a handful of awesome online events including a gorgeous collaboration of poetry & self care co hosted with Chioma Ossai . We got inspired in deep talks about owning your financial worth in relationships with Hilda Zamora Esq & Dr. Jackie Black.
We activated and connected over 40 women running for office in various roles of leadership from every corner of the United States. Women running for seats in the state Senate, House and for City Council, School Board and a variety of NGO leaders all crossed paths in an online forum. I was honored to co produce with the amazing Berhenda Williams, Jenn Buck, Abi Green .
So we’ve made some friends, we hope we’ve influenced some people but more importantly we hope to keep doing so!! The work around equity is not light and needs community to progress. This is no small task and we are here for it ! The BsP is the uniting HUB on the internet that brings thought leaders, industry disruptors and business activists together, in one safe digital space where we can organize and mobilize for that most equitable world.
And as we have connected to women at a global scale talking about hot topics like Money, Sex & Politics as they pertain to our various lived expereinces & how we can build equity and activate these convos outside the Backstage Pass platform, we are excited to bring our second channel live from the LBI Network.
Our Money, Sex & Polotics Podcast will be our second channel in the LBI Network that connects women globally to one another and to more tools & resources to build that equity. Through conversation on the pod about these 3 hot topics, Money, Sex & Politics, we will stream to even more incredible thought leaders, industry disruptors and business activitists just like YOU.
Be sure to have a listen and once you have, please do like, subscribe and share the MsP! Then, head on over to the BsP to meet all the amazing people you will hear on the pod!!
And if you haven’t yet RSVP’d to the big 1 year celebration DIGITAL DANCE PARTY… WHAT ARRRRE YOU WAITING FOR??
Rose Kaz is the Fem Founder and she’s done this a time or two. Her photo & video production company has taken her around the world but her new app allows her female clients & even women she hasn’t met yet to lean into each other, learn about our opportunity as business activists to support, grow & shop directly from one another. We are building a new economy, globally. WOW!
And the app we are talking about is that which Rose + the LBI Crew has launched where the ask for women is to: ‘ take center stage in their lives; to stand up, speak out & get GLOWING like never before’ Think activism meets B school meets super hip, online resource center! Sprinkle in some new school networking and POW The LBI Backstage Pass is #trending!
Click here to come Backstage, meet Rose and the entire community of femme forward leaders.
I started teaching guided meditation classes in 2016 in small country down before it was trending. During that time I encountered a lot of people who felt like meditation just wasn’t for them.
They tried it on their own, or had another experience in a class or with a video on YouTube that just fell short.
There is a stigma around meditating that paints this picture where the only way to properly meditate is in complete silence or peace. With no distractions and a calm space.
This concept is far from inclusive.
Many of us do not have access to the time or space where we are guaranteed a silence, alone time or peace.
Over the years, in my experience with meditation I have adapted a new definition that is adaptable for most everyone.
Meditation is not about you getting still or silent. Meditation is about re-connecting with your Self and your High Power, or the high power of the planet or cosmos (whatever you believe or practice).
This means that meditation can look an infinite number of ways depending on who you are speaking with.
Some people find their meditative state in writing or crafting. Others in music or dance. Some of us do prefer to find the silent still moments to go within. You might like reading or hiking.
If you are showing up to your task with intention to connect with yourself and your spirit – you are creating a window of meditation for yourself.
Yes, you can still sit cross-legged on the floor with your fingers in mudra positions. You can still play meditation music while you bike, run, or lay on the floor and breathe.
The point is that meditation can look whatever way you need to it, as long as it inspires connection with self and creates a space inside of you for you to listen and hear what’s coming through.
If you find yourself wanting to meditate because you know it will make a difference in your life but 1) when you try to do it you can’t get your mind to quiet down enough 2) we feel like we’re doing it wrong or 3) we don’t stick with the process long enough to see results.
Let me reiterate this little secret….
There’s no one “right” way to meditate.
Here are some tips to help you break the vicious cycle of meditation-struggle and break on free to the other side of your meditation relationship.
Meditate with a Timer
Meditation doesn’t have to be something that takes up your whole day or even 15 minutes of it.
I recommend getting a kitchen timer that buzzes or beeps, setting it for 1-3 minutes. Dedicate that small duration of time to your sitting, walking, or crafting meditation. If you want to go longer, go longer.
If you’re just starting to create your habit, start with 1 minute. Even tackling several 1 minute intervals throughout the day will make a huge difference for you.
I know what you’re thinking, “what can I possible craft in a minute?” Your chosen meditative active may take you longer, but for that one minute of your timer, you’re intentional focused on being present with yourself and the activity at hand. Not letting your mind wander to worries or other tasks.
Choose Your Intention
If you’re sitting in a quiet room trying to clear your mind to nothingness, it can be an incredibly difficult task. Especially at the beginning of your practice.
Choose an intention for your meditation. Ask yourself what you need more of in that day. Your answer might be joy, romance, connection, love, creative expression, movement.
Whatever you may be needing in that moment, hold the intention of what you want to create or call into your life as you meditate.
Take intentional breaths and recall experiences or dreams in your mind that are aligned with your intention.
You can also place objects around you, smells, colors, sounds that feel aligned with the intention you’re holding for your meditation.
Have Fun with It
We all want to infuse as much joy and happiness into our lives as we can. Why should your meditation practice be any different?
Have fun with your meditation! Make it work for you. Toss the rule book out the window and listen to your body, mind and spirit.
One of the most important things we can do for our meditation practice is to answer what our spirits are calling us to do. Some days that might be to set our timer for a minute and daydream about frolicking in fields of fairies or sitting on a quiet beach somewhere.
Other days, it might be to surround ourselves with water and absorb its healing powers.
Sometimes our meditation practice is laying on the floor crying.
It can look however you need it to. Don’t let standard definitions of meditation leave you feel excluded from being able to start or develop your practice.
Release the rules you’ve put on what it means to meditate and instead, operate from the space of bringing yourself joy, peace or whatever other intention you set out to create that day.
Megan Monique is a professional intuitive, creative director and native Texan.
When she’s not lighting candles under the full moon and pulling oracle cards for her community, she’s building out creating illustrations, webpages, strategy, editing copy, creating content plans, leading teams, and having intimate entrepreneur-based conversations.
Megan works with thought-leaders to break down their BIG ideas into actionable and aligned steps that build momentum in the direction of their unique goals and desires.
Click here to come Backstage, meet Megan and the entire community of femme forward leaders.
