Today, we’d like to introduce you to Ashaunté Smith.
Hi Ashaunté, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I was born and raised in Miami, FL finished all of my schooling here, and graduated from FIU Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Going through my final years of college, I had a traumatic experience that led me on my soul-searching journey to enlightenment.
In 2017, I was forced to go into deep solitude to really see myself and figure out what it was I wanted out of life and why I did the things that I did. I never paid much attention to myself and constantly compared myself to others while living life based on the “norms” of society.
It was then that I realized I wanted to understand myself more, and I took a dive into spirituality, which led me to meditation and healing practices. Since 2018, I have been on a mission to rewrite my life story, release myself from childhood traumas, teach myself better mindset practices, and collaborate with other women in my community on the same wavelength.
In 2023, I launched my first meditation circle to share my experiences and practices with other women in my community eager to learn and better themselves on their mindfulness journey. My work involves a lot of meditation, yoga, breath work, accountability coaching, and motivational speaking.
Our motto at Experience A-List is “We make it happen, we don’t make excuses”. I believe that if you want change, you must cultivate the change within, take accountability, and learn to work with the energies instead of against them, regardless of the polarities you may be experiencing them on.
Ashaunté a.k.a “A-List”, a mindset and mediation mentor, the soul-searching journey has allowed her to cultivate high vibrational communities that assist women seeking help spiritually through chakra alignment, affirmation, and accountability.
After rising above a multitude of dark places, she became eager to expand her light internally as well as help others tap into their greater self through holistic wellness and personal development practices such as mindfulness and meditation. A-List is a list of alchemizing women of the highest order of divinity, excellence, and admirable eminence. We make it happen. We don’t make excuses!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Before my awakening, I felt that life was smooth and I had things made but it wasn’t until my last years of college I got a hard reality check. I was not living in my purpose, and I was hiding from myself and masking it with external things. I did not have a lot of confidence and I shrunk myself to constantly fit in.
Through the journey of working on myself, I had to start speaking up for myself and admit that I was hurting and truly unhappy. I had to let go of many relationships that I built a false narrative behind and was constantly being passive about. Furthermore, I was transitioning into motherhood which further led me down the path of enlightenment. I had to face the reality of my family traumas and break out of the limiting beliefs that I accepted.
I had to fast, and be willing to let go of what was familiar and comfortable and go towards a life that I was dreaming of having in all aspects. I can say now, six years later, I am in a better space, mentally and physically, and have a courageous sense of dealing with conflict and a better approach to cultivating healthier relationships. I released myself from negative self-talk, dimming my light for others and counterproductive activities.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Growing up, I was always into arts and crafts. My father and grandfather were the greatest artists I know and still admire greatly to this day, which inspired me to paint and draw. I took up a lot of art classes throughout my academic studies from elementary to college and ultimately started my own craft business called “The Artiste A,” where I created and sold custom home decor items and paintings.
Aside from the Meditation and Mindset community, I also have a home bakery called Carrie Belles Baking. I have been baking since I was six years old, and this was inspired by my late great-grandmother, Mrs. Carrie Belles Freeman. This was my father’s grandmother, and I grew up very close to her. Every time I would go to her house, we were baking and creating something delicious in the kitchen.
I started to sell my desserts in high school and that was the same time that my great-grandmother passed away, it was a coping mechanism and it helped me pursue my love and passion for baking even more and turn it into a family business that I operate with my 4-year-old daughter. I am proud that I am able to use my creative skills and healing abilities to help others and make them feel joyful. It’s a pretty unique mixture, but that is what makes my life what it is today.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
During COVID-19, I learned how to really be in solitude, focus on myself, and not allow fear to get the best of me regardless of what is going on in the external world. Knowing that I have myself and my belief in God has definitely pulled me through dark times and allowed me to release myself from toxic relationships and the self-doubt that I carried for so long.
I learned to make the best of what I had with all that I had because resources were limited, and things were tight for me in the financial and professional world. It taught me how to use my creative skills and inspired me to become an entrepreneur.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @experientialist
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@experiencealist
- Other: https://linktr.ee/experiencealist
Image Credits
Jevon Mack (@mack.styles)
