A Personal Tribute to Ananda Lewis: My Connection to a Beautiful Soul

Some connections transcend typical fandom, becoming deeply personal tributes that span decades. In this heartfelt episode, I share my unique bond with Ananda Lewis dating back to the early 2000s, when I asked everyone in my life to call me "Ananda" – a request honored with a birthday celebration where colleagues created a special poster with "Happy Birthday Ananda" alongside my photo.

This isn't about jumping on a memorial bandwagon after someone's passing. My admiration for Ananda began during her Teen Summit days and continued throughout her career. What always stood out was her deliberate choice to maintain authenticity and privacy even during her years in the spotlight. In an entertainment landscape that often rewards controversy, Ananda chose substance and meaningful work before stepping away from public life – a decision I've always deeply respected.

The news of her passing brought to mind poignant conversations I had with my own sister before her death, imagining the weight of Ananda's final moments with her beloved son and family. As we remember her as "a great beacon of hope" and "champion of peace," I invite listeners to direct their prayers toward those she left behind. While Ananda moves on to paradise, her family remains to navigate life without her physical presence. Join me in honoring the quiet grace of an extraordinary woman whose impact went far beyond her public persona – a soul who inspired me to temporarily take her name and permanently embrace her values.

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Chapters

• 1:48 Welcome to Regina Soaring's Podcast
• 2:36 Personal Connection to Ananda Lewis
• 4:12 Reflecting on Ananda's Private Life
• 5:04 Thoughts on Saying Goodbye
• 6:59 Prayer for Ananda's Family

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:55

Hey, there I'm Regina Soaring. Welcome back to another yes, another episode of Regina Soaring Audio Series Presents. Thank you so much to all who support this podcast. Thank you to those who listen and those who share, thank you. I'll make this a brief podcast, but I don't want the time to just go away before I talk about the beautiful, wonderful soul, ananda Lewis.

Speaker 1: 1:43

The reason I'm so drawn to this story is because roughly back in 2002, 2003, 2004, the years we were at the school, I remember I told everybody back then I said call me Ananda. I just said call me Ananda. And people started doing that. I actually got a poster, birthday poster where it says happy birthday Ananda. But it has my picture up there, um, with the curly hair, and it has, um, all the Barbie dolls around and stuff like that and it was happy birthday Ananda. So at the job, when they brought the cake in there and all of that, everybody said and my sister made sure that they said it they said happy birthday Ananda.

Speaker 1: 2:21

So I've always been a fan of hers. I mean, this is not just somebody jumping on the bandwagon after somebody passes away. I've been a fan of hers for a very, very long time. I remember those teen summit days. I remember the days when she was on BET. I remember all of that. So I followed her throughout her life and her career. So I, like I said it's not one of those people that's jumping on the bandwagon just because someone passes away. I got proof of the poster that they created for me for my birthday. It had my picture on it and they had happy birthday Ananda. And I thought that was so sweet because I thought they were going to say happy birthday Gina, happy birthday Jen, gender, whatever. But they said happy birthday Ananda. And I was like, oh my God. So I think that's an honor, a total honor.

Speaker 1: 3:19

I was so saddened by the passing of Ananda. All I've ever known about her. She wasn't one of those people that was out in the press and doing bad things and had a whole lot of stuff going on. She kept a pretty private life and she kept a pretty private life even when she was in the spotlight. She kept a pretty private life and I admired that greatly. And so this podcast is just, it's not very long, but it's just to remember her and to say, hey, rest in paradise.

Speaker 1: 3:56

You know, I know it must have been hard, you know, knowing she has a son and you know she had to leave, you know, and I imagine that was pretty hard. You know, I can only imagine it. I don't know what she felt but I can only imagine it in my heart, in my soul. And that must have been a hard thing. You know, because I know my sister, laura, when she was sick and was given that death sentence that they couldn't do anything else, I talked to her like maybe a couple of days before she got really, really, really weak and she told me a lot of things. She started saying I'm sorry. She started saying stuff like Gina, I love you, I hate leaving you. She said those things to me and at the time I didn't know my sister was going to pass away. I knew she was gravely sick and they had given her up to die, but I didn't know that she was going to pass away. I guess because I just didn't want to believe that she was going to die.

Speaker 1: 4:56

So kind of trying to imagine Ananda with her son and with her family. And you know, having to leave that behind must be very, must have been very hard for her. But in her life she was a great beacon of hope, she was a great champion of peace. She was a very positive person and, as I said, she wasn't one of these people that love to live in the spotlight. She stayed away from the spotlight, she shied away from it. She actually left all that behind and I do greatly admire her for that.

Speaker 1: 5:33

And I'm gonna pull that poster up. And I still got the poster where everyone wished me happy birthday. Happy birthday, ananda. What an honor, oh my God. What an honor Then and now. So may her soul rest in paradise, praying for her family, her son, her husband, the ones who appear left behind, praying for them, praying for their strength, because it's the ones who are behind that needs your prayers. Ananda is going on now to paradise, so now we need to concentrate on prayers for the family and prayers for her son. She loved so much and you know just her family and people who knew her very well. So this podcast is very short, but I just wanted to remember the wonderful, amazing and beautiful soul, amanda lewis.