June Brings Many Things!

Hello love!

Can you believe June is here! For once I am excited about where we are in the year. I'm feeling pretty joyful and even expectant of awesome things. That's a wonderful space to be in - very freeing and light. 

Now that doesn't mean that things are all peachy - quite the contrary. I've got some big things and big decisions and possibly major changes coming up in my near future. But instead of being afraid and stagnant, I am curious and open. I remember reading about approaching problems in this blissful way. I wondered if I'd be able to do it - if I'd be able to let the problems flow and to flow with them to their resolutions without pulling or pushing or dragging my feet; with no resistance and no attachment to the outcome but with a preference still in it all.

I can say yes now :). 

So probably the most important thing coming up is my surgery. On June 10th I go in for another myomectomy to remove more fibroids. This time I have 15 and my doctor feels that the best way to remove them is with an abdominal surgery as opposed to a laser surgery. So that means another c-section incision, this time probably across instead of down like my previous one, and 5 to 6 weeks of recovery. Yeah, that's going to be interesting :). 

The good thing is that this will be built in slow down time. Sure, getting it through recovery from surgery is not ideal but I am wise enough to not question the Universe (God). So I will be doing lots of reading for fun, crafting because it makes me happy to crochet pretty things, watching movies and Netflix series (Grace and Frankie anyone??), journaling and generally relaxing and healing. I will not lie and say I'm not looking forward to it. 

And in this time I'll be shifting too, shifting to do more of the work that lights me up and less of the work that drains me.  

In that spirit, I have decided to do one Facial Treats class on June 28th while I'm recovering and to do a handful of Holistic Skincare Consultations and Empowerment Readings in my last few weeks.

Yola had this to say about her Holistic Skincare consultation: 

You are amazing at what you do and what you do goes beyond wellness and beauty consultation; it allows people to be seen, heard, and know that they matter and all of this while educating them that beauty and wellness is rooted in nature and simple is powerful!!! 

And Tameka had this to say about her Empowerment Reading: 

"Leah's Empowerment Readings are Spot-On!" If you are interested in an empowerment reading, but not quite sure about it, count my testimonial as that last little nudge you need to go for it!
At worst, I thought I'd get a vague overview that could be applied to anyone's life. At best, I though Leah may touch on a few things that were relevant to me. My expectations were much more than exceeded. Not only was Leah 'spot-on' with things in my reading I'd never expressed to another soul, her detail and video delivery were also a pleasant surprise. She not only made sure I understood her process, but through her gift, I immediately understood how her reading applied to my life.
Leah will welcome you with her warmth, guide you with her wisdom, and empower you to be the highest form of your true self!

If you are curious about any of these and want to chat about it, reply back and we will before the 10th :). I do have a 4 spaces available for this next week also - if you want one of those, jump on my schedule and we'll go from there!

Thank you for being a light in my life!

Mind, Body, and Spirit for the Dancer - New Project!

It’s been a soul searching kind of month :). So many things have come up! I’ve had to deal with lots of disappointment and with the realization that some of my dreams weren’t really mine and really needed to die. And that process has been hard. It’s been a constant job to maintain my happiness and hopefulness. On all levels, mind body and spirit, I’ve been struggling to stay afloat. 

But through this tumultuous month, I’ve also realized great comeback moments. I’ve been reminded constantly of my value AND of how I shortchange myself. I’ve seen first hand how my own perspective clouds a situation and creates an entirely different false reality. I’ve had so many opportunities to practice my word for the year Courage. There have been so many ways, all in the space of 20 something short days, to put every aspect of my will and belief in myself to the test.  And when I have looked and have operated on faith and have trusted, help has been everywhere. And the whisper of intuition and the Universe has been in my ear, on my mind, and in the words of other people to me guiding me to the light that comes after the little deaths. 

I want to tell you about one of those conversations today. If you’ve been with me for a while, you probably know how important a holistic approach to life is for me. You might be familiar with my particular struggles with mental illness and you might also know that I believe taking care of your mind body and spirit is necessary for a happy, healthy soul that can overcome mental illness’s hold over one’s life. You also probably know how important being a dancer is to me - how vital to my life it is and how much I’ve worked and sacrificed for it. 

Well in my work that spans the worlds of mind, body, and spirit, I’ve often had difficulty figuring out how to bring my dance life into that work. It felt like there wasn’t a place for dance in my holistic beauty, health and wellness training. I felt like I just wasn’t sure how the two meshed. 

I toyed with the idea of creating a community of dancers that all cared about learning more on holistic beauty and wellness and for a time I did that - but kept feeling like it wasn’t gelling. And so I let that idea go for a time. 

Then a week or so ago, I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful kindred spirit who brought all of it back to me and showed me the way to do it. See, I used to have a non-profit organization years ago where I taught all about holistic living, natural health and wellness. My focus then was lower income communities because I felt like they were the ones getting left behind. What this kindred spirit helped me to see is that there are a lot more people being left behind and I, with my unique background, could serve one particular group very well.

 Dancers. Yes, I could serve dancers who inevitably deal with so many mind, body, and spirit issues.

I looked back on my time traveling and performing every other week and boom - I saw it all. Being rail thin and thinking I was as big as a house. Feeling inferior to other dancers for no reason other than skin tone or hair type or body type. Starving myself and being on the extreme side of strict to fit a certain aesthetic. Dealing with horrible skin breakouts from stage makeup and bad eating habits. Syking myself in and out before performances, auditions, and competitions. Asking God, the Universe, anyone what I was was supposed to be doing in this dance world and feeling lost and unanswered.  

So many things that I know other dancers deal with day to day. 

I realized that I have a unique voice that can speak to them and I realized just how much I would have benefited from a voice like that when I was in the thick of it. 

And so this is my new project. Am I am ecstatic about it. I’ll be perfectly honest. I don’t know how it’s going to unfold. I don’t know how I’m going to manage it with everything else. But I do know that some things that I thought were so important just aren’t anymore. I’m letting them fall away no matter how scary that is. I’m getting done with NOT looking forward to the things on my to do list. The old adage that life is too short and too precious is true no matter how you look at it. 

So the fact that the thought of this fills me up with excitement and a rush that I can’t explain in words is THE thing that drives me and is THE thing that is important. Feelings like this are what we live for. Feelings like this are what make everything else possible. They are the fuel for the impossible. 

I had to go through a lot of little deaths, disappointments, stark clear moments, and deep dark places to get to the light again. Getting to the fuel sometimes requires that, but if you let yourself flow through it all (that’s what I call operating on faith), I know you’ll find yours. 

#7daysforme Challenge Day 4,5 and 6

Hello Dears!

Instead of posting for each day of these last 3 days, I decided post all 3 of them together, since they all were about writing out how your word applies to different aspects of your life. Here go my thoughts...

Day 4 - How does your word relate to your home life? 

For me when I think of having courage for my home life, I not only think about courage to be the type of person that creates a comfortable, loving home – I’m also thinking about the tangibles too. What is it going to take to have the dream home? What is it going to take to decorate the way I want and purchase the furniture and accessories I want to create a home that feels good and comfy and right? The next step is deciding that I will have the COURAGE to take on whatever it takes. I choose to be the kind of person that dreams big and takes action - and though I may not always make my mark, my big dreams and the COURAGE to do what it takes to reach them are what will get me closer than anything else.

So what about you? What are your insights regarding your Word for the Year and your Home life?

Day 5 - How does your word related to your work life?

This one is super easy for me :-). I can even lay out specific examples of courageous acts I’m going to take!

I do believe that this aspect is what prompted this word for my year. I know that there are opportunities that I could have created for myself that I didn’t because of fear. Simple fears like being afraid to make a phone call or being afraid to send an email have held me back from potential yeses.

And the real fear is a fear of rejection, the fear of a no.

Somehow in my mind, I translate that NO into “No way, you worthless person. Hahaha, silly you – how did you ever think I’d say yes to you.”

Now think a minute…doesn’t that sound like something straight out of a pre-teen chapter book. When you say it out loud it sounds pretty silly and unbelievable. And that’s why Courage is my word.

I don’t want to be ruled by pre-teen drama lol, especially the kind that I create all on my own in my own little subconscious fantasy world. Instead, I’m planning to step into the real world of real life adults that are just as kind, interested (or even busy and uninterested) that I am J. And even if there aren’t kind – how many times has the pre-teen drama ended up showing that the mean teen really had her own issues to begin with and all that meanness had nothing to do with anyone else, least alone the person she was shunning. Something to think about right? :-).

Day 6 - How does your word relate to your personal self - care? 

Applying my word to my self-care is another easy one. Again this is all about the mental dramas that subconsciously get set up in our minds. For me, it’s the mental drama that says “oh Leah, you don’t have the time to do that. Silliness like “you don’t have the time to take a relaxing bath” or “you don’t have the time to make this new mask and try it out for yourself. You don’t have the time to plan a vacation let alone the money.”

I create all these little stories to keep myself from spending time with me and prioritizing me.

This year is already set up to be different. I am going to have the courage this year to say NOTHING bad is going to happen if I spend 30 minutes in a relaxing bath. The theoretical roof won’t fall in on my business and my big dreams if I actually plan a vacation. I don’t have to think that I have to be working every second of every day to actually be something. I have the courage to believe that smart work and less work are ok, better even. I have the COURAGE to take a break. I have the COURAGE to plan a vacation and believe that the energy, finances, and free time will manifest. That takes true courage and that is what I am intending for this year! 

So how about you?? How is your word going to impact your Home life, your Work life, and your Personal Self-Care life? Let me know in the comments!  

Tomorrow is the last day of our Challenge - it is the day that you write out your mission statement/personal promise to yourself regarding your word for the year. Spend some time tomorrow and do this for yourself!

Keep Peeling the Layers Back

I want to tell you all a story, not to stir up sympathy for me, but to instead stir up inspiration and self-confidence for you. I’ll admit, that sharing this story is a challenge that I don’t know that I would have taken had it not been for someone prompting me to be less afraid and more vulnerable. It’s just beautiful how it fits right in with my word for the year COURAGE.

So here it goes :-).

Some of you may know that I lived in North Carolina for a year or so about 8 years ago. I can probably count that as one of the worst years of my life. Hands down :-). In that year, I had so many loses, particularly at a time where I couldn’t really afford loses, mentally or literally.

I moved there to pursue my dance dreams of performing with a partner and finally making a distinguishable name for myself as a separate entity from my dance team. I’d tried to pursue these dreams in my hometown of Chicago but never quite achieved what I wanted. I felt like moving was the only option I hadn’t tried.

I did my best to make the decision of where to move in the smartest way. I looked for a job first and when I found one, I thought everything would run smoothly from there.

Wow was I wrong. The downhill spiral started with the job. I was an esthetician at the time and what I thought was going to be a steady hourly rate of pay, turned out to be fully commission based. Imagine sitting at the spa for 7 hours in the hopes that you get some walk-ins. The only guaranteed money you see is a 30% split from the one booked client of the day and that’s if she/he doesn’t cancel. And with most days like this, it was tough to say the least.

At the same time, the dance dreams that I moved there for were quickly falling apart. I realized that I didn’t really know my new partner and we inevitably did not end up getting along well enough for the partnership to last. Then I found myself in the middle of a long-standing feud between two other teams, eagerly wanting to dance with someone, but not really gung-ho about joining a team again anyway. On top of that fact, I had friends in both courts, so choosing was that much more difficult.

And all this time, I was STRUGGLING to make ends meet and often falling way way way short. For instance, for months I didn’t have a reliable car in an area where you absolutely have to have a car and then I lost my license because of a friend, a ticket, and my own fear-based inactivity. Too many months went by where I couldn’t pay my $200 rent, let alone buy food. I spent many a Wednesday at the local food shelter gathering groceries for the week.

And there were tons of things that looked like they would work out and then just dramatically didn’t. For example, I was almost a regional rep for Eminence, my absolute favorite skincare line at the time. I spent a weekend shadowing the PRESIDENT of the COMPANY and do you know what he told my recruiter afterwards – that he didn’t believe that I actually had a chemical engineering degree – that he was sure I was lying. Maybe he doubted that a black girl could have a Chem E degree. Or maybe it was because I was too shy and too quiet to make the kind of impact he expected. Who really knows. All I know is that it was one more thing that didn’t happen.

North Carolina was a string of disappointments and setbacks. I lost so much in that year and a half and hit absolute rock bottom to the point that I didn’t feel like trying anymore. And I could have given up then but I chose not to. All the dreams that are coming true now though, I had back then. I just had a lot of things to work through to stop blocking those dreams and those blessings from coming through. If I had given up in that time when everything seemed impossible, I wouldn’t be here today, figuratively or literally.

What I’ve come to realize is that all of that struggle was necessary for the walls of my resistance to my blessings to be broken down. You never know how many layers there are for you to work through to ‘get out of your own way’. The thing to do is to keep working. Keep peeling off layers. Keep rooting for yourself, even if no one else is and even if you can only muster a small rah rah. My life is testimony to the fact that you can be buried in resistance and you can absolutely peel your way to freedom. I’m getting closer and closer and everyday (just like I know you are too) I’m getting to somewhere better. 

:).

Heading into the New Year

And so we are a few hours away from the New Year and I’m sitting down to write you all. I’ve been trying to write this newsletter for 3 days now :-). However everytime I sat down to write, no ‘right’ words would come out. Every beginning felt contrived, not the right thing to say, lacking of soething. And since I’m a believer in divine timing and wisdom, I decided to let the shoulds go and just write what comes through when it comes through. And now, I’m sitting in my favorite spot, in a lull of the day and the time feels right. So be forewarned, this is a bit stream of conscious and I’m just going for it :-).  

I think it’s because it’s ‘this’ time of year. Our minds are tuned to the frequency of reflection, shedding, and renewal. We are winded down with the expectant energy of a new start, ready to jump forward into the newness, the rebirth, the doover of a new year.

I always am excited about this time. Particularly the feeling that I get to doover what I didn’t get to do exactly how I wanted to this year. What I mean is that I get to try again. Everybody wants a rockin’ year. Everybody wants to look back on it and say, man, I really rocked it out this year. I blazed through all of my goals. I was the me I wanted to be and I embraced happiness 99% of the time. I am 100% rockstar!

But the truth is that often times, we may make it to only 85% rockstar, maybe 75%, sometimes barely 30%. And all I’m saying is that it’s ok, because you know what, a new year gives you a new chance (actually a bunch of new chances) to do it over again – to get just a little bit closer to rockstar status :-).

New Tradition

I want to encourage you to take on a new tradition this new year. You may have already heard of this and if so, I hope you are doing it. If not, go for it, this is a great time to start. For the next 365, create a memories jar. Every time something awesome happens, big or small, write it out on a small piece of paper and drop it in your memories jar. You can get fancy and buy a cute little tin from the dollar store or you can go straight utilitarian and rinse out an old glass food jar for your memory keeper. I suggest keeping it somewhere that you can easily see, 1. to remind yourself to keep up the habit and 2. To remind yourself that good things happen :-).

#7daysforme Challenge 

So remember in last week’s newsletter, I said that I wanted to invite you all to do a very easy, very impactful ritual/challenge with me to set off our new year right? Well over the next 7 days I will be posting my challenge over on Instagram and sending you a quick daily email reminder about it. Don’t worry, I won’t make a habit of sending you daily emails :-D .I just really want our new year to start with a good burst of rah rah energy. And intentional focus is a good way to do that ;-).

Simply, we’ll be answer 1 question a day to help us reflect on what we want for this new year. I encourage you to share your answers on Instagram with a picture and the tag #7daysforme or leave a comment here. Participating makes the mental work that much more powerful ;-). You can find me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/leahrpatterson. Look out for my posts :)!

Best blessings lovely people!

Short and Sweet

Today’s message is going to be short and sweet :). I’m sitting here with my warm cup of tea, relaxing on my way too big but super comfy new couch (that I finally bought after almost a YEAR without one!), writing my weekly newsletter to a tribe of lovely beings that really want to receive what I have to give. My Christmas tree is all lit up to the side of me and my doggies are happily playing in the next room. I just finished a beautiful, empowering Tarot Reading for a dear soul and delivered it in a new (for me), more impactful and authentic format.

I love my new couch :D. 

And I feel good, really good. It’s in moments like this that I remember when I wished my life looked like this and I am thankful. I remember having so much less and striving for so much. I remember being painfully unhappy and unsatisfied and unclear about why. I remember wondering how things could get any better. And then, in moments like this, I look up and I realize better has come :-).

The lesson here is that better does come, if we let it. And if we recognize it and soak up the goodness of it, it can’t help but continue to flow. It’s just the way it is, lucky for us ;-).

Happy Holidays!

And if you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!

 

Photo Recap: Naturally Hurd Hair Event in Little Rock

Hey dears! 

So a few weeks ago, here in Little Rock, we had an awesome event. It was the Naturally Hurd Hair Event sponsored by UnHurd Conversations, a new Little Rock company run by Merica Profit. 

Merica reached out to me about 4 or so months ago about participating as a vendor with my makeup line MOVE Makeup and I have to admit - I was skeptical. I have been involved with so many events as a small business owner. I've vended, I've been a guest speaker, I've paid for my booth, I've had my booth donated, and I've even been paid to have a booth and vend. And my local experience had typically been disappointing. Often times, events ended up being more about exposure than actual sales. If I measured success based on people talked to and brochures picked up - they were definite successes; measured by products sold, not so much. 

So needless to say, I wasn't exactly gung-ho about participating in another local event, especially with so much else on my plate. But Merica also asked me to speak as one of her guest makeup artists and she also seemed to have a good idea of what she was doing, what return she expected, and how exactly she was going to go about pulling it off. 

And so I decided to go for it and participate and am I ever so glad I did! 

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Merica pulled off a truly incredible event. I had not seen so many African American natural haired women in one place in Little Rock until then. The sense of anticipation, fun, and camaraderie was electrifying and could be felt throughout the afternoon. Merica chose a great 'celebrity' guest, vlogger Chime Edwards and kept the overall program flowing with interesting and engaging content.  

And as for MOVE Makeup, we had a record sales night! 

So you can imagine, the entire experience was loads of fun and I am looking forward to participating again. Above are a few of the pictures we took - hopefully you can view them and get a sense for how awesome of an event it was!

As always, I'd love for you to keep in touch. I don't only share about awesome events in town, I also share my favorite DIY hair and skin recipes plus my keys to living a naturally vibrant and fulfilled life. You don't want to miss out! Join the email list!

Productivity Hack and Beauty Tip

So It looks like Tuesday is going to be my blogging day :). Even though it is technically a MOVE Makeup day in my work schedule – I guess a little check in on my daily holistic life with you lovelies isn’t a bad thing!

So what was the theme of last week? STRUCTURE! I have to admit, I was a beast last week. I mean, I was so organized. And organization my friends – it’s key. Even for a multi-passionate, free-spirit like myself. When I put it all together, plan it out, and then execute that plan, magical things happen! Whoop Whoop!

One of the things that really got me on task was a complimentary coaching session with a powerhouse biz coach Carmen Tseng. Carmen ‘gets’ multi-passionate folk like me. What multi-passionate means is you have a bazillion ideas and are working on at least a handful at the same time. Um yeah – slowly raises hand – that’s so very much me, lol. How about you?

Anywho, one of the suggestions that Carmen had for me was to give each of my current businesses a day. That means on that day, all I do is work on that business. If ideas come up for my other businesses, write them down, say “thank you brilliant mind!” – and get back to work on what’s in front of me.

Can we say SIMPLE but AWESOME! Sheesh! I mean, why had I not thought of that before? Instead, I was cluttering up my mind and revving up my anxiety trying to do a little of this and a little of that all in the same day. Yes, I made progress but at the risk of my sanity – not really a good trade off right?

So that’s my little productivity hack for you guys today – if you find yourself with a great big to-do list, as simple and DUH inspiring as it sounds – make sure you are categorizing and prioritizing it. And if you can, break it down to days so that your mind gets to use its full mental power in just one area at a time.

I promise you, it’s been KEY to beast-mode Leah this week ;-).

Let me share with you my rocked out list:

1.       Completed a Video Challenge offered by Mimika Cooney to get myself less 'clammy' about doing videos! (Just get out there girl!)

2.       Made a video for a FB Ad campaign to bring in new students at the Leah’s School of Latin Dance.

3.       Revise the web copy on this lovely site of mine so that I’m not making anyone feel like they aren’t a part of this party.

4.       Planned out all my Instagram Posts for @mymovemakeup

5.       Participated in a BLAB for Bribes conference with my biz brethren Bridal Tribe, JfoBeauty, and SemekaPro

6.       Taught a ton of dance classes

Jamberry awesomeness!

7.       Practiced on my own dance work

8.       Painted my nails with Jamberry awesomeness

9.       FELT GOOD!

10.   And probably some more that I just can’t remember ;-).

Yep, pretty freakin’ stellar if I do say so myself, lol :).

TIP of the WEEK!

I can’t leave you without a tip for this week because you know – beauty and wellness – that’s my thang.

Double Duty LOVE for Your Eyes

So we know that as we get older, the sensitive skin around our lovely eyes needs more and more love right? Right. And if you wear mascara, eyeliner, and/or eyeshadow getting it off at night (like you all should be doing – I’m looking knowingly at you ;-)) can be a chore. So I have a double duty tip for you.

Start using Almond oil! Almond oil is wonderfully nurturing for the delicate skin around the eye and it can help reduce the appearance of dark circles over time. And it is crazy simple to use. I have a small squeeze jar on my counter and I apply a few drops to both eyes, over the lids and massaging lightly under my eye as well. Then I wet a cotton ball and wipe gently towards the inside of my eye until all of the eye makeup is gone. I also wipe down the lashes and underneath my eyes at the end to make sure I’ve removed all of the mascara. The excess oil left on your skin allows you to give your eyes a little bit of skin therapy without having to try hard at all. How sweet is that?

Almond oil is getting easier and easier to find – I’d check your local health foods store and even explore ordering online. Ebay and Amazon have some great vendors. And who knows, soon I might create a curated shop on Amazon just for you all ;-).

Give it a try and let me know how you like it!