Your Collective - Mind, Body & Spiritual Balance
Your Collective is a space where we explore the ways in which we can calm and quiet the mind, so that we can tune into and listen to our bodies and ultimately listen to the whisper of what our soul desires. How do we connect the trifecta so that they can work together in harmony and unity?
Your Collective - Mind, Body & Spiritual Balance
From Urban Stress to Inner Peace
What if you could transform stress into serenity? Join us as we chat with Omon Anenih, the visionary founder of the Dew Centre, an innovative wellness sanctuary in the bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria. Omon opens up about her personal battle with the relentless pressures of urban life, which led her to embrace acupuncture, talk therapy, and yoga. Inspired by her transformative experiences, she created The Dew Centre to offer a diverse array of wellness tools that cater to mind, body, and spirit. Her story underscores the value of having multiple wellness practices at your disposal because different moments in life call for different tools.
Our conversation also delves into the ever-evolving landscape of wellness offerings at The Dew Centre. From the introduction of vibrant classes like Zumba and Afro dance, based on community feedback, to the challenges of making yoga accessible to the older generation, Omon shares her insights on creating an inclusive and non-intimidating environment. She highlights the importance of smaller class sizes and a balance between guided instruction and personal pace, ensuring everyone feels comfortable and welcomed, even if traditional gym settings have felt daunting in the past.
But the journey doesn't stop at physical wellness. We explore the intricate paths of faith and spirituality, reflecting on how early teachings rooted in Catholicism continue to shape current beliefs and actions. Omon opens up about the challenges of reconciling foundational religious doctrines with personal growth, offering a heartfelt perspective on maintaining a relationship with a higher power. Tune in to hear Omon's inspiring journey and discover how The Dew Centre is making a profound impact on the community. Don't miss out—subscribe to our podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and share your thoughts with us!
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you might be when you're listening to this. My name is Sherisse Alexander, your host of Your Collective. On today's episode, I will be having Omon Anenih, the founder and owner of The Dew Centre, located in Lagos, Nigeria. I stumbled upon this best-kept secret in Nigeria and it was the probably one of the most pleasant days of my life because, yes, right in the heart of Lagos, nigeria, there is a quietly held oasis. So today, what Omon and I will be talking about is the importance of finding balance in mind, body and spirit, and the purpose behind why she created this environment in Lagos. So, without further delay, let's dive in. Thank you so much for joining me today, omon. I am extremely grateful to actually have you as a guest here today on Your Collective.
Sherisse Alexander:To those of you that are listening, allow me to introduce Omon Anenih, the founder of the Dew Center, an absolute, beautiful and breathtaking wellness center in the heart of Lagos. Before I turn it over to Omon, I just wanted to extend a sincere and heartfelt welcome and thank you to you for building such a beautiful space and community that really, to me, embodies holistic wellness. I have to say that I truly believe that it is one of Lagos' best-kept secrets, and when I first started coming here to Lagos and I was searching for a place that felt like home and what I mean when I say felt like home, I mean a place where I felt like I could fit in they felt like home. I mean a place where I felt like I could fit in. The first day I walked into the Dew Center, I almost started crying because it was like, oh, I finally found it. So thank you for this beautiful space that you've created. So can you share with us, omon, a little bit about your journey and what has led you to the creation of the Do Center?
Omon Anenih:Sherisse, first of all, I want to say thank you for having me. I'm really really happy and excited to be here and thank you for the feedback about your experience at Dew. That is basically the reason why we exist. I'm happy that we're making a difference. Even if it's to one person, it's good enough for me. Well, the Dew Center is a community. It's a platform, it's a physical space, and we are trying to encourage people to be intentional about their lives, um, the way they live, the way they work, be intentional about their wellness and just have a place you can go to um and feel comfortable, but also people whenever you need it, because at some point we all need it. Um. I've come myself from a background. I've been an entrepreneur for a while almost 20 years now and I've lived in Lagos for about 17 years.
Omon Anenih:There about and Lagos is extremely stressful living and working and running a business in Lagos if you weren't, if you didn't have emotional or mental health challenges before then it's next level, definitely challenge you, definitely test you, um, and I struggled at many different points in my life, personally and professionally, and there was no due center, there was no community, there was the church, but that's not what I wanted, that's not what I needed. There was a gap that even the church was not filling and I reached out for help. I tried different things. I tried talk therapy, I tried acupuncture all sorts of self help things to help me cope better, and they did help, and so I wanted to put all these tools into one place, into one platform, and offer it to other people who need that support whenever they need it. So that's, in summary, what Dew you is and why it started whenever they needed. So that's, in summary, what do is and why it started.
Sherisse Alexander:I'm curious out of all of the modalities that you tried, you talked about acupuncture and, I'm assuming, yoga and those kinds of things. Do you have a favorite?
Omon Anenih:Oh no, I don't have a favorite. So I might have favorites, but particular things, right. So let's use lesser shoes as an analogy. I don't have a favorite pair of shoes, but perhaps I have a favorite pair of running shoes or a favorite pair of heels, or do you know what?
Omon Anenih:I mean like so um, if I absolutely had to pick a favorite, it would be maybe journaling, but it doesn't. If I absolutely had to pick a favorite, it would be maybe journaling, but it doesn't. There are things that there are moments when journaling is the tool I reach for, and there are moments when I absolutely need to talk to a therapist. I need to talk to a person to remind me that I'm not going crazy, and you know, you know what I mean. Like, so I don't have a favorite a yoga, when I don't want to talk and I don't want to think, um, and you know, there there are other benefits of of yoga, even aside from the emotional and mental health benefits, there's the physical things, but physical benefits that journaling or talking cannot give you. Yeah, so, other than journaling, I wouldn't pick a favorite.
Sherisse Alexander:I love that. I've had other guests and I think that there's maybe a theme or a consensus that you just kind of go with what you feel like you need in that moment and just you know, as long as you have the tools and the resources, you know you'll allow yourself to be guided to whatever it is that you need, instead of you know, just having one singular go-to. And I think that's one of the things that I love about. Do I think that overall, you I mean you talked about the challenges around Lagos and how busy it is and can often feel very chaotic, and I think you know, in a grander sense, and I'm probably talking globally I think that there's been a lot of shift in perspective around mental health.
Sherisse Alexander:Did you find challenges with? Because you talked about talk therapy and mental health and wellness and those kinds of things. Did you find resistance, you know, when you first brought to the wellness center and how did you navigate that Like, how did you get people to really wrap their heads around the fact that, like, really your mental health is, it's first and foremost, it's got to be, it's got to be number one? I'm a firm believer that your outer world is very much a reflection of your inner world, and if we can find some peace, calm and balance inside, then really everything else outside is just stuff that's happening. Did you find some resistance initially?
Omon Anenih:um, yes, yes is the short answer, and not just initially, even still, um, I'd like to just to point out really quickly that, um, mental health support is the primary reason why the do center exists. And, um, because when I needed a therapist, I know how I remember how difficult it was for me to find one, and even then their clinics felt very cold and clinical. And I'm yet to find a therapist that I can go to in a space that is convenient for me to access and where I feel comfortable, a space that is convenient for me to access and where I feel comfortable, right. So, bringing that access to therapy when you need it was the primary reason why the juice center existed.
Omon Anenih:However, I was very conscious also of the fact that, culturally, talking to people about your problems is a no-no, um, and just even having conversations around mental health is taboo, um, and it still has a, like a real issue of, you know, stigma attached to that. So I knew if I started a facility that was purely talk therapy, it would be empty, right. So the reason why I created Do the Weight is where you've got talk therapy on the, you know, if you're making an appointment, you've got it listed right next to hot stone massage or Pilates class. It's because I wanted to bring mental health to you know, the everyday Lagosian, on a platform and present it in a way that it's it takes away a little bit of the stigma around it. So when you say you're going to the deuce center, people don't immediately read I'm crazy.
Omon Anenih:It could be anything. I'm going to the deuce center could be I'm going for pilates class or a dance class, so I'm just going to grab a coffee or get a massage. So I, you know, I wanted people to be able to get over that initial hurdle of just going to a place where you can get help. Um, there was resistance initially. There still is. Um, we do have quite a few clients for talk therapy, but there are also a lot of people who still don't believe in it at all. There are a lot of people who still think it's foreign and alien and un-African and it doesn't work and all of those things and all of those things.
Omon Anenih:And so that is why, in pretty much everything we do at Dew even when it's one of our social evenings that we hold for the community we are very intentional about making sure that every conversation you have with us at the Dew Center has some element of mental health being sprinkled into it so that you're subs, you know slowly getting defencitized and subconsciously beginning to like seriously, like honestly, because so even after that, right, or say we're having a sip and paint session or you're doing a pottery class or whatever, the therapist, without freaking you out, is going to connect the dots for you, the things you didn't realize or think about before, about how molding clay and having your hands create something is actually quite cathartic, is actually quite calming.
Omon Anenih:They draw your attention to how you're feeling in that moment, right, what, what emotions are going through. So even when you don't book a session to talk to a therapist, you're getting therapy in whatever thing you're doing at the Jew Center. I love that. And so we're not shy. We're not shy about having mental health conversations and we're trying to encourage people not to be shy about it as well.
Sherisse Alexander:I love that and I love that you're really encouraging people to embrace that.
Sherisse Alexander:You know I try to be as authentic and vulnerable in my interactions with people as well, and you know, I think I think I'm fairly open that I've probably worked with a coach for the better part of my adult life and I don't think that there's any shame in that. You know, I'm not from Africa, but I'm from the lineage in some degree, so I totally understand the thought process around the resistance of talking about your challenges and keeping that all very much inside of yourself. So, again, I'm going to continue to big you up and throw it at you and say thank you so much for creating such a beautiful space, and everybody that I come into contact with I'm like you have to go to this place. It is absolutely breathtaking and I will continue to put it out there for people. In regards to what you're doing, so, um, so you've talked a lot about the challenges and how you maybe work through that in terms of, uh, making it maybe more acceptable and and comfortable for people to be open, um, with the, let's say, physical components of of do so.
Sherisse Alexander:You've got yoga. You've got pilates.
Omon Anenih:Uh, today was today, the first day of that dance class today was the very first day of the afro dance class at the and it was my first dance class ever my first dance class. It was so much fun, I was sweating, yeah it was fantastic loving it at the same time.
Sherisse Alexander:It was, I loved it. So you've got so the dance class, I think, was well received, and then you've got Pilates and you've got yoga. Are those all the classes Like? I mean from a physical standpoint?
Omon Anenih:We've got body bar as well. We've got, yes, classical body bar as well. It's bar, but with a little bit of like a ballet and classical dance influence.
Sherisse Alexander:I love it.
Omon Anenih:Also lots of fun.
Sherisse Alexander:I think I'm going to come try the other ones. I mean, I've been to the yoga classes and today was the dance class and that was fantastic. Are there any other classes that you're thinking of maybe bringing on board?
Omon Anenih:I mean, the dance class was amazing. Yes, that was so much fun. Well, to be honest, we're, you know, I'm always listening to what the community wants. I'm always listening to what people are interested in. So sometimes we might get a suggestion from one of our existing, you know instructors or teachers to say, well, how about we try this and see if people like it? Or, you know, the dance class, for instance, came up because, um, someone had actually specifically asked um if it was something. So we had a sometimes we do like group bookings and team bonding and so on for people to come as as a group um and have a wellness day together, and we had a specific request for a zumba class. They didn't want to do yoga, they didn't want to do pilates, they wanted zumba um, so we thought, okay, fine, why not? We tried it out. And then actually the instructor says, well, I do afro dance as well. So we, you know, we also did a poll and asked you know, what do people want? What are people interested in? You know, we also did a poll and asked you know, what do people want, what are people interested in? Um, and we tried it out. People loved it and now it's going to be part of our calendar. Um, and the reason why we do.
Omon Anenih:We, we started offering these classes so, first of all, started with yoga, obviously because of the physical and mental health benefits of practice, right. But I also found that there's a certain there are different, there are different types of people. Right, I'm not a gym person. I have had gym memberships in the past and I've really struggled to to to go to the gym. Right, I'm just not a gym person. And even when I did go to the gym right, um, I'm just not a gym person. And even when I did go to the gym, I try and time it around when it's definitely not busy. You don't have like loads of people. I see serious looking people around.
Sherisse Alexander:Like you know, gym people are so serious, like you just want to go and exercise and enjoy yourself?
Omon Anenih:yeah, it's just it. Just well, this is for me now. I just always feel so intimidated and it just feels so intense at the gym. So you're either there not really knowing what to do and not, you know, trying to figure out this equipment, or you're with a trainer who, literally, is trying to kill you. I just, I just never felt comfortable at gyms, but at the same time, I want to be healthy and fit and I want to move my body. So these smaller classes where you have an instructor guiding you and making sure you're not hurting yourself or whatever, and showing you the poses, but at the same time, you're allowed to do things at your own pace, depending on your own level. So there's a good balance between being pushed and being guided and also just being, you know, left alone when that's what you need in the moment. And again, the classes are usually small. We never have more than 10 people in a class again, so you don't feel like there are just some hefty strangers in the corner staring at you.
Sherisse Alexander:I think that's actually one of the things that I love about the classes is that there's shades to gym people.
Sherisse Alexander:Yeah, exactly, and you know, as you were saying, the class sizes are perfect because there's no more than, I think, 10 people in any class. So it's nice and intimate and I think it allows, especially if it's like a yoga practice, to have a little bit more of a, we'll say, personalized approach, because there's not so so many people in the room and the instructor can actually help the individual participants if they're struggling with a pose or whatever. Given that you started with yoga, did you find now, I imagine with the, you know, with some of the aspects around the do center, there was already resistance, but when you came in with the yoga classes, you feel like it was, you know, accepted because people would be curious, and how did you navigate that? Because the other part of yoga is there is a bit of a spiritual component or can have a spiritual component to it. Did you face any challenges within that and how did you navigate that?
Omon Anenih:Yes, so with yoga there are especially the older generation, but there's definitely this view, um suspicious view, on yoga and what it represents. Um, and yes, there are people who won't um try it. They'll do other classes but they won't do yoga. Um, but we also have and that's where the education comes into it at the GEO Center. So GEO is Design, education, wellness. That's where the education comes in. So, whatever we're doing, we like to give people who don't know or are not familiar as much information as is necessary to make them feel comfortable, because a lot of times we fear what we don't know or what we don't understand, and so we're able to have those conversations with people who aren't familiar or just cautious about yoga, and we also will only do or encourage people to only do what you feel comfortable doing. So we also have the option of private classes where it's a one-on-one.
Omon Anenih:We had a lady who wanted to come and experience a half day at due, but there was a yoga element and she wasn't comfortable about with that. So I said to her you know what? We will leave that, set, that time slot in anyway. Um, we had a conversation with the instructor that was taking that class with her and the aim was really just tailor it to what she needs and what she's comfortable with in the moment right, so you know, it was breath work, so breathing exercises, stretches and we put together a sequence for this particular lady that didn't involve any yoga poses that she would find offensive, I guess.
Omon Anenih:Maybe. No sun salutation. You don't want her thinking, well, why am I worshipping the sun? No, you're not worshiping the sun, but do you know what I mean? Like so it's, it's literally just breathing and stretching. Yeah, right, um. And when you break it down and explain to her that this sequence is breathing and stretching, it's yoga, um, but no chanting or anything like that, because really you're not going to get the benefits of a practice if you're not comfortable, if you don't feel safe, if you feel like it's conflicts with your personal values and all of that For sure. So, yeah, so I wouldn't force anyone who has any you know too strong religious views around it, but I will definitely explain, give them the tools and the information and allow them to choose what they're comfortable doing I love that, that, um, I mean, I guess really you're approaching it from a meet people, where they are uh type of of approach and, and you know, bringing some awareness to it.
Sherisse Alexander:And I think, as I mentioned to you, and I personally had never looked at it like that I had a girlfriend many years ago and her mom was a yoga instructor, but she was also a devout Christian and she did tell me and she said to me, my challenge with yoga is the chanting and saying Aum and so on and so forth, and how conflicted that she felt with that. And I didn't realize actually, because I didn't have the same experience with yoga, not being strongly steeped in one specific religion. So it only occurred to me once I started coming to Nigeria and then found the Dew Center that that might be something that would be interesting to try and navigate in this environment.
Omon Anenih:Now, since I've been coming to, it's yoga, but it's not just yoga, yoga and I think, in in any experience, it's important to be sensitive to the cultures and beliefs of the people that are that are involved. Right so, as an interior designer myself, if I were designing for a person, it would be important for me to get to know the person and where they are, where they're coming from, what their values and beliefs are, and even in designing their space, I would want to be sensitive to their culture and their religions. Right so, if I'm designing for someone with a Muslim, I know clearly there's certain arts that you cannot put on the wall. We don't even need to make it a thing.
Omon Anenih:Yeah, right, so I view yoga just as any other experience. Yeah, the products, any other service that I, and, the same way, if you went to see I don't know a doctor or physiotherapist, it would be important to understand you, your body in this case, your mind perhaps and tailor the experience to suit where you are now, in the context of what you're trying to achieve, what you're trying to get out of it, where you're trying to go. My goal with you is not to try and change people's fundamental belief systems, but to give them tools to you're all of. That is certainly correct, and certainly true, you know there's.
Sherisse Alexander:there's certainly an element of, you know, being mindful of individual experiences in any interaction. Right, I know that, for, from where I come from, in my own personal journey with yoga, it was probably I know, certainly for myself it was nothing to do with faith or spirituality or anything like that. It was literally a hey, this looks like something interesting, let me try it. And I loved the physical challenge that was present, depending on what type of class that you're taking, and that's how my own personal journey started. So I wasn't aware of truly the other parts of yoga in terms of we'll talk about spirituality and faith and that sort of thing, until I started yoga teacher training.
Omon Anenih:That's when I really understood the other parts of it, but you're right, absolutely the black side.
Sherisse Alexander:Yeah, I mean sure, yes, that's, and you know, even here, like you know, coming to Nigeria, and I think I'm very open in my workplace about my yoga practice and I've certainly said to people, like, if you want me to lead you in what, I'm happy to do that kind of thing. Um, and I see the resist. I actually it's a curiosity, but resistance it's like, yes, I'm interested, but no, I'm not. Um, I don't, I don't know what that foreign business is all about. So you know, for me, I just try to do my own thing and I, I leave the door open. If you want to go through a practice with me, I'm more than happy to show you how to do that, and if not, it's totally cool. Uh, to each his own type of scenario.
Sherisse Alexander:So, um, now for the do center. You started with yoga and then added all of these other classes and I think I asked you, like, what else is next? Or maybe I didn't ask that, but what else is next? What's the big, hairy, audacious goal that you have, like the vision in your head of what the Do Center can be one day, and, of course, without letting all of your trade secrets out of the bag.
Omon Anenih:The Do Center. I'm actually really excited about how far we've come in the last three years and where we plan to go. I'm also excited about the parts of the places we will go that I haven't even envisioned. I'm excited about those surprise blessings that are going to come. You know, surprise blessings that are going to come, but in terms of where I see you in the next few years, we definitely will be expanding our reach on all the different platforms that people are able to reach us right. So I'm trying to expand the due center beyond it being the experiences you have when you come physically to do so. There will be a lot of more classes, um, and you know webinars, seminars and so on that people can access online um. There'll be a lot, you know, of tools that we will provide um on digital platforms. Um, and then I'm hoping also that we will, in the next couple of years, have additional physical space, because we're now beginning to struggle with accommodating the needs of our growing community.
Omon Anenih:And the bit that I'm really really looking forward to is having a little boutique hotel, because for me, sometimes wellness is about just going away somewhere, like if I'm able to just go away, check myself into somewhere really nice and calming and relaxing for a couple of days and not worry about what's for breakfast or you know what I'm doing this evening and just have that all looked taken care of for me. Sometimes that's really all you. You need just those those short breaks, um, and I want the Dew Centre to be able to offer that to our community, because we come in, you know, and people sometimes spend half a day, spend the whole day, and you can see them literally groaning when they have to leave and get back into Lagos traffic or whatever and go home. So if we could, if we could cut that bit out and give people that that extended um experience, and we'd be able to design the rooms with all the lessons we've learned about how physical space can make you feel better, how spaces can be healing, um, we'd, you know, curate the most amazing playlist for you and you and put together the most nutritious, delicious meals.
Omon Anenih:I'm looking forward to being able to offer a long weekend away, a nice wellness retreat to individuals, to couples to groups.
Sherisse Alexander:You took the words out of my head. I'm like you know, you should really plan a retreat.
Omon Anenih:Yeah, yeah. So I think our first retreat will be at an existing location. Since we don't have extended facilities just yet, we'll do one in, perhaps in collaboration with another location, and then we look to building ours. I'm excited about that.
Sherisse Alexander:I'm over the moon excited about that. Let me put it here. I don't know what the future holds, but please, please, please, keep me in the loop, because all of that sounds amazing.
Sherisse Alexander:I spent last week I think last Saturday was, I think spent not officially but unofficially spent half a day at Dew and I tell you it's like the best day that I've had in such a long time. And you know, for any of you Lagotians out there who might be listening to this, if you have not been, please make your way to the Dew Center. It is like right in the middle of Leckie and it's got a beautiful garden and it's just so peaceful. And the one thing I tell people from North America often is you don't recognize how challenging it is with just external noise like gens and traffic and traffic and all that other kind of stuff, until you go somewhere super quiet and you're like, oh, I didn't realize how loud the environment really out there is. So if you need a little getaway, go to the Dew Center Now. If it's not too personal for you and you're comfortable going there, can you share a little bit about what your own journey has been like with faith and spirituality has been?
Omon Anenih:like with faith and spirituality. I was born and until about 12, 13, raised Catholic and till this day I still feel very Catholic, whatever that means. I can unpack that one with my therapist, but I still feel very.
Omon Anenih:Catholic, even when I don't want to be in certain beliefs, certain biases. Yeah, that one's strong. So, even though I so, I still go to church every Sunday. Well, as many Sundays as I'm able to. I no longer go to a Catholic church, but even then I find myself just out of reflex doing making the sign of the cross.
Omon Anenih:I find myself feeling catholic during lent um, and on the one hand, it's the. It's clearly the foundation of many of my beliefs, many of them limiting. There's some level of conflict internally Sometimes when it comes to doing what serves me today, doing what I want, doing what I choose today, as opposed to that little catholic girl in my head telling me well, but you know you're not allowed to do that, you know you shouldn't do that, you know that's evil. Do that, you know you're going to hell. Right? So it was a beautiful thing and it is sometimes a beautiful thing actually not sometimes. It is still many times a beautiful thing that I was born and raised catholic there.
Omon Anenih:The upsides to it, right, there's the um. You know, yes, the positives, the. The upsides to it, right, there's the. You know, yes, the positives, the upsides. Your world is your bonds, there's the integrity, there's the love, your neighbor, all those things. But there's also the judgment. There's also the belief in punishment, even when the person you're punishing is yourself, right? So there's the you know doing penance. I've done something naughty, I'm doing penance in my head, I'm not able to forgive myself because I've not gone to confession, and all the things. Yeah, um, yeah, I'm not catholic, but sometimes I think Catholic. Does that answer your question? Yeah, I mean I.
Sherisse Alexander:I I mean, I guess really, if I were to say it back to you in my own words, it's, um, it's been a journey for you and it started as one and it's evolved over the years into your own intimate relationship with your faith. And I remember when my youngest child had actually asked me. So my mom was Anglican, my dad is Catholic and I would say that I did not have a strong relationship with church or organized religion. So for me it was very easy to walk away from it because there wasn't a strong relationship. But when I started exploring it, because I felt like something was missing, my youngest, and so I started going to church because that seems like the obvious place to go. My youngest, and so I started going to church because that seems like the obvious place to go. And my youngest son had said to me um.
Omon Anenih:So what are?
Sherisse Alexander:you like a Christian now or something? And I said to him I paused because I it's just. You know the way sometimes kids will say something, and it was just a very honest question and I looked at him and I just said well, you know, I think that your relationship with the God of your understanding is a very intimate one, and I can't label it quite yet because I'm not sure what it is, and I think that ultimately, for anyone who might feel a little uncertain of what that relationship is like, it's a work in progress and I think that we have to be open to it evolving. I'm doing something right now that resonates with who I am in this moment, but I allow myself the grace to understand that I'm going to continue to grow and evolve and I think I'm always going to have that strong belief in God and the Creator, but how I practice and honor that could evolve over the next few years. So I think that's very authentic and thank you for sharing that, Because I think that there's lots of people.
Omon Anenih:Can I answer the question again and just say exactly what you just said, because I think that just perfectly, absolutely captures the way I feel. Now, right, so I'm? I'm not Catholic, because to be Catholic means a lot of things that I don't um, accept. Um, or I don't choose, but I 100% believe. Or I don't choose, but I 100% believe in God. Um, I'm not sure whose version of him or her is the right one, but to me I'm, I 100% believe in a force, a being that is, a being that is way more than myself or anyone else or the entire universe, and there is a trust and a faith in that God even when I do not understand exactly who or what's here.
Sherisse Alexander:I think that's the beauty of the relationship, though, and, um, I love being challenged by it on occasion. Uh, we're in april now. There was like three months ago, I was getting my hair done and my girlfriend, who is a devout christian, I mean I was. I was feeling shame, I won't lie, because she was talking about the right way to pray and all this other kind of stuff, and you know, reading Bible verses to me, and I'm just kind of like, and I've never read the Bible, so for me, I was feeling very much, oh, never even read it. I've tried. Multiple times, multiple times I've tried, and, um, you know, she was just, she was. She has this devotion and this love that.
Sherisse Alexander:And when she was talking about the right way to pray and stuff like that and I've I've just looked at prayer as like I'm literally having a conversation with God, but during this conversation, I remember feeling judged and she wasn't judging me. I know she wasn't judging me, and I remember even actually stopping in the middle of the conversation and saying I'm feeling very judged right now and I don't actually think that you're judging me, and so I said aloud I think that I'm judging myself. And so I took that away, pondered on it and I realized that I was judging myself because I was like, well, am I doing this right? Am I doing this right? Like you know, I've got this real love affair with faith right now and I said, but am I actually doing it the right way?
Sherisse Alexander:And then I think there was a book that had come along that was describing what that relationship actually feels like when you know that you're on the right path to what that might feel like for you. And really it was just describing like you go to your faith with everything, like throughout your daily experience, and you can see the signs or the answers, or whatever the case may be, to whatever you're being challenged with. And I think the reason why I had this experience of feeling like I was being judged or being challenged in that moment was almost to like reinforce that it doesn't actually matter how you create that relationship, as long as you're not hurting anybody within that process, because it is a very, or can be a very intimate relationship, but it is very, very personal and it doesn't matter ultimately how you get there. So give yourself grace.
Omon Anenih:Amen to that.
Sherisse Alexander:Yes. So if you had one piece of advice that you would like to share with anybody who might be listening and interested in coming and exploring all that do has to offer, what would you like to share?
Omon Anenih:One piece of advice I would say do you would be my one piece of advice. Allow yourself to be yourself, yourself to be yourself. I would say remember that absolutely no one has it all figured out.
Sherisse Alexander:If they pretend they do, they're not to be trusted anyway. Yeah, and it's okay to not be okay. True, that it's really. What binds us. Right Is recognizing that everyone is carrying something at any moment in time, even if they're not showing it Absolutely. And just in wrapping up, I know that there are often events that do puts on. Are there any special events that are upcoming in the next little while, next, you know, a couple of months, that we should keep our eyes peeled for?
Omon Anenih:um, well, every month we have our social at the at the Jew Center. It's called do after dark, it's every last Thursday of the month and it's from 7pm, so that's a staple on our calendar. I love it, particularly because there's a different theme each month. So, even though we have some of our regulars coming back each time, you're never going to have the same experience twice, because it's it's a completely different theme every time. Other than that, we will actually be planning a retreat dates to be confirmed so look out for that information. It will be our first getaway with the juice center and I think it's going to be wonderful.
Sherisse Alexander:I am like grinning from ear to ear right now I'm so excited about that.
Omon Anenih:Yay, I hope you'll be able to make this. I'll let you know once we have our day.
Sherisse Alexander:Yes, I would love to go to a retreat put on by the Dew Center, so I will definitely keep my eyes peeled in the group. So thank you so much, amon, for being here today and sharing more about Do Center and the importance of the work that you're doing for the community. It is truly, truly beautiful, and I'm so myself. Personally, I'm so grateful. It's like around the corner for me, so I love it for what you're doing. So please keep it up. And for those of you who are listening, if you have not been there, please they're on. What are all your socials? Please share them so people can find you.
Omon Anenih:We're on Instagram, facebook, tiktok, the new, old one, x. We're on all of them and we are at the Dew Center. It's C-E-N-T-R-E, because I'm yeah, I think it's the British Center C-E-N-T-R-E, not T-E-R. Awesome, well, thank you At the Dew.
Sherisse Alexander:Center. Thank you again so much.
Omon Anenih:Thanks, charisse, I'm really happy. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to you today, and thank you for this amazing platform that you've created to share stories. I'm looking forward to listening to other episodes excellent.
Sherisse Alexander:Thank you again. Thank you so much for joining myself and omon today, where we talked a lot about the deuce Center and her purpose and her why for creating the Deuce Center in Lagos, nigeria. If you enjoyed the content that we shared today, please feel free to subscribe to this podcast on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and if you have some feedback that you'd like to share, feel free to do so. You can email me at sharice at yourcollectiveca. It's S-H-E-R-I-S-S-E at yourcollectiveca. Until next time, take care.