Leidene King is the founder of  LCK Coaching & Consulting. She is a recognized expert in promoting racial equity through consciousness transformation via 1-on-1 and small group coaching. Leidene graduated from Duke University with a B.S. in Geology and a minor in Mathematics. She earned her M.A. in Educational Leadership from St. Peter’s University of the Jesuits.  She is also a graduate of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing and studied with Iyanla Vanzant in her Spiritual Life Coaching Program. Leidene is known for her depth of knowledge, keen intellect and notable heartfulness.  She is a highly skilled facilitator of race-based conversations and is a natural teacher able to clearly and powerfully translate complex concepts.Leidene and Patrina begin with a conversation about Jesse Williams’ powerful BET Awards speech in 2016, which condemned institutional racism, police brutality against people of color, and cultural appropriation. Leidene reflects on how Jesse’s words, “Just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real,” inspired the Black Girl Magic movement, which celebrates the beauty and resilience of Black women, and fights against social constructs that encourage women of color to minimize their passion, accomplishments, and shine. Leidene also offers her moving perspective on what it means to be racially ambiguous, how racial identities were created to uphold white power and divide people of color, and why it is so crucial for Black women to rest and reconnect with their divine perfection. She also discusses the importance of community, encouragement, and support among Black women, evolving attitudes toward self-care, and how meditation can help guide your energy toward more gratitude and positivity. The show ends with Leidene’s beautiful thoughts on how the pandemic has unexpectedly brought her joy, as it has supported her in recognizing and appreciating the goodness before us. Episode Highlights:

• Jesse Williams’ powerful BET Awards speech condemning institutional racism, police brutality against people of color and cultural appropriation
• His speech elevated and celebrated leaders and activists in the civil rights movement
• Black Girl Magic
• Story of Leidene’s sister and her experience of being racially ambiguous, being mistaken for Latina
• Feeling of having to overcompensate and assert being Black
• Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome
• Code Switching
• Dividing people of color to uphold white power
• How Black women can operate in consciousness, be a mirror of the divine and be a vessel of health and possibility
• The importance of community, encouragement, and support among Black women in their journey to maintain consciousness
• Experiencing magic within yourself, and becoming more introverted with age
• Energetic price for being magical
• Ongoing journey toward healing, extending grace to yourself
• Evolving attitudes toward self-care for Black women
• Rest is crucial to our optimal functioning, but that does not necessarily mean sleeping
• Deepak Chopra’s Soul Questions at the beginning of every meditation: Who am I? What do I want? What is my purpose? What am I grateful for?
• Energy promotes more of the same - if you sit in gratitude, you will end up with experiences that foster and promote more gratitude
• How the pandemic has caused Leidene to pause, reevaluate, appreciate the goodness in the world, and embrace joy

Quotes:“Just because we’re magic, doesn’t mean we’re not real.”“We make ourselves smaller so as not to outshine, so as not to outdo, so as not to outperform.”“For my mom, all the shades of Black are beautiful and there was never any indication of colorism.”“I've done a little bit of reading on this idea of Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome. And so I'm kind of familiar with this embedded trauma and how we play those traumas out generation after generation. At the same time, I would like us to be moving in a space that supports us in healing some of those wounds so that we are able to be real, certainly at least with one another.”“That's so familiar to me, being a racially ambiguous Black woman, because people don't know I'm Black. So I have to assert that I'm Black. So I'll ‘over-Black’ it.“When I think about the best way for us to maintain our consciousness and operate from this place of awareness and the feminine, for me, it comes from our community. I am at my best when I am feeling loved and embraced and supported and encouraged.”“That's what allows me to be magical to the extent that I'm magical, it's being a part of this amazing, amazing community.”“For me, I feel like when I am most like myself and in my magic, I feel like it's when I'm aligned with my divinity.”“I honestly think sometimes as Black women, we don't have permission to rest.”“I love this idea of consciousness raising so that we are really being fully present for our lives, and actually being very intentional about the choices that we're making so that our outer reality really does reflect the incredible magical inside that we have.”“Absolutely. Because how, how do I stay connected to my magic when I'm exhausted? You can't, it's virtually impossible.”“My life is teaching me and has taught me that there's a benevolent, unconditionally loving unfolding.”Links:Joyfully You Life homepageJoyfully You Life InstagramJoyfully You Life FacebookJoyfully You Life TwitterJoyfully You Life linktreeLeidene King homepage