From Convent to Coaching and Counseling: Moirar Leveille Brings Us MindfulYess

Words have the power to hurt, heal, start revolutions, and end wars. Words can bring imagination to life, soothe a child, seal a vow, incite riotous laughter, and express beliefs we hold at our core. You probably have some favorite words that you use regularly. With a word, you can make someone’s heart lighter or eviscerate them.

Words can also set a fire in your soul. Not just a meek flicker, but a raging fire that ignites your determination to forge a brighter future and be a light for others.

Here’s a word you likely haven’t heard: MindfulYess.

It’s a word about transformation, and so much more. Yes, it’s a new word. Roll it around, say it aloud. New words are made up every day; in fact, an estimated 800 to 1,000 words are added to the English dictionary each year. Sometimes new words are needed to fully convey an idea, get to the heart of a matter, or start a movement. According to Moirar M. Leveille, who has created this phrase,  “MindfulYess is about how to balance your life, mindful of the five key areas: health, relationships, connection, wealth, and spirituality.”

This balance is what Ms. Leveille seeks to bring about for others. “My unique divine purpose on Earth is to inspire people and empower them, to get them to transform their life, but based on some simple systems and strategies they can use. And it doesn’t matter where you come from, if you set your mind to something, you can achieve it. You can think of it, visualize it, and you plan it very well. You can make it happen.”

This is how Moirar sums up her practice and what she encourages all her clients to engage in. Her TV show MINDFULYESS on JD3TV, helps to inspire and to change lives en masse; the upcoming book will delve more into this practice and the many benefits it may hold. Ms. Leveille is an international keynote speaker, a six-time bestselling author, and an influential voice on Amazon Prime’s Speak Up.

The Path of Nuns

To find out how Ms. Leveille came up with this word, and came to this work, we must go back to the beginning. It’s a story with real heart and grit— and it’s quite interesting, too. How does a woman who begins her adult life spending ten years in a convent, end up as a mental health professional (and so much more) inspiring and coaching others?

Moirar (pronounced Moy-ruh) was born in Haiti and grew up speaking Creole and French. She describes “really traditional parents, very humble, very respectable.” Languages came easily for her and growing up she also learned Spanish. At 18 she went to Costa Rica to continue her education at a convent and intended to become a nun. Her college education was spent with the nuns and at one point she was selected for a program to go to the United States and do an internship.

Snow on the Island

Sharing more about how she came to this decision, Ms. Leveille says, “I thought, ‘the first place that sent me an acceptance of my application, I’m going to say yes. It doesn’t matter where, even if it’s in Alaska, if it’s in London, wherever.’” The offer was from Nantucket, and a woman named Susan Fisher, who owned a coffee shop.

Moirar spent three very miserable months there. While she enjoyed the people, it was very cold. “I vowed I’d never go back because it was winter. It was horrible. I never visited the United States in the winter. I didn’t know there was even snow. When I came it was snowing, it was cold. It was horrible.”

After returning to Costa Rica, Ms. Leveille finished her finance and banking degree. She also taught French to children in the 6th – 9th-grade ranges. Eventually, she entered a contest of French teachers in Costa Rica to go teach Spanish in France, and she was selected.

France is Calling

Moirar shares, “I just got the job as an assistant manager that I applied for after a long search, a long process, but I got accepted once again, I said ‘this is it, it’s meant to be.’ I quit my job, I moved to France, I work almost two years there as a French teacher.” This program was still part of the Catholic Church, with the Salesians of Don Bosco, so Moirar was still focused on becoming a nun. She wanted to serve and help others. Moirar summarizes “I’m always compelled to do public work, working with individuals.” After teaching French in two different places in France, Moirar returned to the convent in Costa Rica, but just briefly.

Enticed to come back to Nantucket, by the same coffee shop owner she had been with previously, Moirar packed up and went to try a different, warmer experience on the island. This was in June, and it was much nicer. “I moved back to Nantucket to work with her. She provides housing and everything. And during that time, I work for four or five months. I was going to be leaving around December.”

But it was not to be. “I had a car accident exactly December 31. And then I had to stay in the United States because treatment in Costa Rica for a car accident and such was not going to be easy. I had passed out. There was a lot of damage. I have neck damage. I have back pain. I was very sick. I had to stay in treatment for that. That was where things transformed.”

Words in Many Languages

Moirar had already decided to discontinue her path to becoming a nun. She had hoped to work for the UN, which requires being fluent in ten languages. At this time, Moirar already had proficiency in Creole, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Now after her accident in Nantucket, Moirar found more than treatment, she found love. “During treatment, I met my husband, got married, and then my daughter was born… then Costa Rica was like another dimension. I couldn’t go back.” Finding it difficult to learn Russian and Mandarin online, Moirar had to reevaluate her career choices again.

Moirar worked part-time and the coffee shop and worked at a bank. Altogether Moirar was in this corporate banking job for 14 years. What began as a community bank turned into something very different, she says, due to all the mergers and takeovers. People began leaving from the top down, and what had been like a second family was soon gone. Ms. Leveille was in a position where she kept getting more work to do, in fewer hours, and without a raise. In all that time, she was consistently passed over for promotions, training people for the positions that she didn’t get.

The Wrong Place

Too many people can relate to this, unfortunately. Some can also relate to being treated with contempt in the workplace. Moirar was not liked by her supervisor and relates feeling clear discrimination due to her accent and skin color. In one particularly tense moment, everything became clear. When Moirar asked a question, she was met with a look of utter disgust and this response: “Figure it out, Moirar, it’s not rocket science.”

Ms. Leveille describes how she went home feeling crushed, but after shedding some tears of frustration, she found her resolve. She told herself “This is not rocket science to know you don’t belong here anymore. This is not rocket science to know your life belongs to you.” With that, her fire was lit.

Ignited to Change

“The words rocket science are everywhere in my soul, because when things are so hard for me and I’m complaining it’s hard, I’m like, ‘Moirar, this is not rocket science. Figure it out.’ So, I changed my whole perspective on life from the words rocket science. And I became so determined to get my degree, inspire others, and became a speaker, international speaker, motivational speaker.”

Working by day, going to school at night, sleeping very little, and caring for her family, Moirar earned her degree and became a Licensed Mental Health Counselor.

Moirar feels called to do what she does, whether it is coming from the angle of a motivational speaker to fix what isn’t working, or the caretaker to empower someone that health is possible. Moirar has conquered both types of hurdles, having transformed her career path and healed her body from an autoimmune disease. After suffering for 7 years, Moirar got her mindset together, took charge of her health, and healed her body. She came to specialize in Functional Medicine.

Where Sickness Begins

She speaks with passion about the power of the mind, proclaiming “Health is not something only physical. It’s all the aspects of health that are important. It’s an experience… Everything is interconnected. And when you understand health, you don’t get sick just because your body is sick. You get sick starting in the mind. So, the result of physical health, it’s actually the manifestation of pain, emotion, and stuckness. Different issues over the years, trauma, etc., have accumulated, causing your body to have issues.”

Besides her TV show, speaking, being an iridologist, a certified coach, a bestselling author, and certified in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), Moirar is leveling up again. Moirar is completing her Doctorate in Integrative Medicine, and she continues to increase her knowledge to approach wellness from various angles. Leveille has received many honors to date, and was recently presented with The Champion of Health & Wellness Award by The Los Angeles Tribune and YBNB, recognizing her excellence as a medical professional working in the trenches on a daily basis, with the most challenging cases, striving to make even the smallest difference.

The Right Fuel 

“I can also say, ‘what are you eating? What are you feeding yourself in terms of thought? But also, what are you feeding the body to feed the mind? Because whatever you eat will connect to feed your brain. If you don’t have the right nutrients in your body, you can’t think right, you have mental fog.’”

All of this led her to MindfulYess. Her power phrase, and the name of her new book and course coming out in 2024.

According to Ms. Leveille, it’s about the fire of the mind and the fuel we put in our bodies, working together. Here is how she sums it up “Want something? Set your mind on fire, take care of your body, and go get it. And you will get it. If you get the mind work and then you set your body on the right track to self-care, there’s nothing in this world you want that you’re not going to get, because there’s a fire inside of each one of us.”