Category Archives: Life

Allowing Others to Grow and Evolve

Posted on by
Reply

Every one of us is experiencing personal growth and evolution in some form right now. Just take a look at social media. You will see posts from people expressing how they are loving and taking care of themselves, what they will and will no longer accept in their lives, how they are healing from childhood wounds, and so on. People are setting boundaries for themselves that they are not allowing others to violate. They are honoring themselves and giving themselves grace as they navigate the waters of personal growth. We are all shedding our old selves and transforming into the beings we were created to be. We are not who we used to be.


As we all continue to grow and evolve, it is essential to remember that others are growing and evolving as well. Not only are we not the person we used to be, but other people are not who they used to be either. This includes people you may have had differences with, people who may have hurt you in some way, or people you just didn’t get along with. Often, the version of a person that we remember most and hold onto is the one that we associate with the emotion that stems from a personal experience or something we heard or read about them. This version may no longer exist.


As you continue to grow and evolve, release yourself from previous versions of yourself that no longer exist. But as you do, also release others from the version of them that you remember or knew them to be. Give people the space to grow and evolve and allow them to be the newest version of themselves. Holding on to an old version of a person and judging them in the present based on who they were in the past does not serve us, nor does it serve the greater good.
Let’s remember that we are all growing and evolving into who we were created to be. Holding ourselves and others in the energy of the past inhibits our growth. It’s time for all of us to become who we were created to be and give others the space to do the same.

In luv and dessert,

~Leisa Monique

Advertisement

Monday Mantra-I Release The Story

Posted on by
Reply

Who would you be without the story that you have told yourself about yourself?

Something that we all need in life is to feel significant and valuable. The world doesn’t always give us that. Often, we use the circumstances of our lives to create stories about ourselves. So often, these are stories of overcoming. We luv a good overcoming story, don’t we?! Feeling like we’ve overcome life’s circumstances offers us feelings of significance, worth, and value that we desire.

If you’ve followed my writing for a while, you will remember that I strive to help readers understand that we are inherently valuable and significant, just as we are in all of our being. We don’t need a story to validate us.

I hope you will use today’s #MondayMantra to let go of any story about yourself that you may be holding on to. I hope that you will come to understand your inherent worth, value, and significance because you are all of these things just as you are.

n Luv and Dessert,

~Leisa Monique

Monday Mantra: Right Where I’m Supposed to Be

Posted on by
Reply

No matter where you are at in your life right now, no matter what you are experiencing, no matter the “challenges,” please know that everything you are experiencing is here for your personal growth and evolution. Nothing has come to hurt you, it has come to help you evolve, develop, and grow. Embrace the space that you are in and always know that you are right where you are supposed to be.

In Luv and Dessert,

~Leisa Monique

Monday Mantra

Posted on by
Reply

If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know that here at #EMDF we embrace Monday and use the day to create a magnificent day and week. if you are new to the EMDF family I hope you, too will embrace Monday and use it to set the tone for the rest of your week.

I am super excited to kick off #MondayMantra, a weekly affirmation that you can use to get your Monday started. I will post a new Mantra every Monday in an effort to get more people to embrace the beauty of Monday rather than dread it.

In Luv and Dessert,

Leisa Monique

When the Teacher is Ready…

Posted on by
Reply

We have all heard it said that when the student is ready the teacher shows up. I was in a conversation recently with my BFF Sandra Dee and I was sharing with her all of the opportunities that I have been getting to be a panelist and speaker for various events. There have even been amazing career opportunities that have presented themselves. Its been pretty exciting for me. As we talked about it I recalled a time when I was frustrated because I wasn’t getting these opportunities. I’ve had this brand for over 10 years and have been in this space of inspiration, activism, self-worth, and self-luv for all of them. And though I have served as a keynote speaker and been a panelist countless times, it is only now that the opportunities are pouring in.

“What do you think the difference is,” she asked me, and as I thought about it, I thought about how I felt when presented with these opportunities in the past vs. how I feel now. Suddenly the light bulb turned on and I realized what was different. My confidence! In the past when I was asked to speak I would get extremely nervous. Oh, I would do it and do a great job but the process was almost excruciating. To the point where I would be tempted to pull out of the engagement. And I have done that too. I have canceled events that I had planned, had family emergencies so that I didn’t have to go through with a speaking commitment, or serve as a panelist or be in front of people. I was operating from a place of fear.

I have now reached a point in my life where I have learned to trust myself and the Spirit within me. I trust that I am capable of. I trust that I can execute. I trust that what I have to say is what is needed at the moment. I trust in my purpose. I am confident in the wisdom of my words. I am confident in ME. Getting to this point in my life has been a long and arduous process. It has been a beautiful process though, filled with all kinds of experiences. Some that still incite tears when I think about them and some that brought the badass me that I didn’t realize was there. There were some that brought sadness and despair and there were some that required me to develop my talents, skills, ideas, and strategic thinking. All of them played a role in me becoming the confident woman that I am now.

“Ah”, Sandra Dee said, “when the student is ready the teacher shows up.” But what I heard was “When the TEACHER is ready the students show up!” And that is was resonated with me. Students were showing up to hear what I have to say because their teacher is now ready. And ready she is!!

In Luv and Dessert,

~Leisa Monique

Thank YOU

Posted on by
Reply

When was the last time you told your SELF Thank You? As you’ve thanked everyone for helping you, encouraging you and supporting you, have you thanked your SELF? It is easy to overlook the very person who dreams, who perseveres, who tries time and time again even when they fail. The person who gets up each day and goes about their day no matter how routine or mundane it may seem. The person who provides for themselves and their families. The person who supports and encourages others. The one who is always there for their friends and family. The person who believes in themselves, and in the power of their own dreams.

So often we make it a point to thank other people in our lives. When someone expresses kindness to us, we thank them. When someone gives us a compliment, we thank them. When someone offers their support to us, we thank them. We make sure to thank others. But thanking ourselves is something we may rarely think of doing but should do more often. After all, it is you that takes care of you. It is you that gets up and moves forward even when you don’t feel like it. Without YOU, you wouldn’t be able to do any of the things that you do. So, just as you acknowledge other and give thanks to and for them, do the same for your SELF and tell YOU Thank You.

~Leisa Monique

YOU are God

Posted on by
Reply
I saw a post recently that said, “God will make a way.” So many of us have been conditioned to believe that the entity that we call God is something outside of ourselves. That’s the kind of world we live in, where we are taught that we are separate from each other and from Spirit energy. But know that God is not outside of ourselves. God is within. YOU are the energy that we call God here on earth in human form. When you look to God you are looking to yourself. You came to this planet with everything you will ever need to fulfill your purpose, serve others and create the life you desire. Look within. Make a way.

Have a Wonder-Filled Day Luving Your SELF First!

Posted on by
1
Valentines Day 2019
In honor of Valentines Day, I am reposting one of my favorite blog posts that I wrote some years ago. I find that it is as relevant today as it was when I first wrote it. Enjoy. 
“Your task is not to seek for Love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
– Rumi, thirteenth-century Sufi poet

“Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Be true to yourself. How you treat yourself sets the standard for how others will treat you.” 
― Steve Maraboli

As we celebrate the day of luv remember to honor, luv and accept your SELF right where you are. SELF is the core of who you are, your essence your Divinity. Accept it, luv it and honor it for doing so you are honoring the Divine in you!

Do something nice for your SELF today: rest, take a hot bath, dance, read a book, listen to soothing music…give your SELF a break from the stress and strain of life and give your SELF something wonder-filled.

I do hope that while you are expressing luv to those in your circle that you will take the time to give luv to your SELF. To guide you into doing do Please download my gift of Luv to you. It is an e-book entitled Daily Desserts to Inspire Self-Luv. I hope that it will indeed inspire you to find luv within you.

In Luv and Dessert,

Leisa Monique

YOUR Journey

Image

Reply

instragram post

Did you choose you or did someone else tell you who to be?

Posted on by
Reply

How did you come to be who you are? Did you choose the person you are, or did someone else-society, religion, or your parents-tell you who to be?

Recently I served as a panelist as part of a discussion on black women, stereotypes, and the #MeToo movement. The discussion centered on the stereotypes associated with black women and how those stereotypes helped perpetuate sexual violence against black women, and how those stories are or are not being told in this time of #MeToo.

During the discussion, the topic of black womanhood came up, specifically what it means to be a black woman. My response was that, as women, we came into our womanhood in a patriarchal society and that our womanhood has been defined by others. Men. A society that is male-centered and male-dominated has decided what the standards for being a woman are, and women themselves have perpetuated this standard. Men have decided the standards for what a woman should be, how she should dress, how she should speak, how she should behave, wear her hair, who she should date, and most importantly, her sexuality.  And all of it is based on the needs, wants, and desires of males.

Question for you: Did you, as a woman, have a say in setting the standard for who you are as a woman, or did you fall in line with what was dictated to you? Do you sit quietly when you really have the desire to roar because you have been told that a lady is not loud? Do you stand by when you see an injustice being committed against others when the warrior spirit in you really wants to fight against that injustice? Do you forgo the short miniskirt that set your heart ablaze when you first saw it, or do you choose the more “appropriate” longer skirt because society says that only whores wear dresses that short?

My point is to inspire you to think about how you became who you are. If you are not being the woman you really want to be then I encourage you to courageously explore who you really are, what it is that you really like and what womanhood means for you and start on the path to becoming that woman. Know that you are supported every step of the way by the Divine. After all, it is the Divine who created you.

In luv and Dessert,

Leisa Monique