About leelavera
Leela Cooking Mole
Leela Vera Morales has lived as a nomad for the last 15 years, moving between countries and cultures as though it were her God-given duty. Leaving home within days of high school graduation, she set out to explore new landscapes, unique perspectives, and unravel the mysteries of the mind, heart, and spirit. Leela has worked as an English teacher, maritime educator, writer, server, caravan cleaner, baker, olive picker, deckhand, caretaker, vintage motorcycle restoration apprentice, and bird research assistant…amongst other things. She has lived in Hawaii, Australia, Vietnam, Alaska, NYC (on a 19th century ship), on a handmade boat sailing to Panama, Brasil, San Francisco, France, Switzerland, India, Nepal, and Mexico – her movements always motivated by the pursuit of truth. Through it all, Leela has kept an open heart, using her experiences, charm, and outrageous stories to connect with a vast array of characters – from Swiss billionaires and French farmers, to salty sailors and wandering yogis. The keystone of her diverse experiences has always been her mission to get at the root of life – to challenge herself and others to take risks and live their fullest potential.
Throughout her wanderings, Leela has kept diaries of the places, people, and insights she’s encountered. Her passion for writing stretches back to her teenage years, where her journal entries were as rich in fervor as they are now (albeit lacking in content quality, being filled primarily with teenage angst). In pursuit of her passion for writing, food, and farming, in 2008 Leela began writing the blog for one of San Francisco’s premier restaurants, Nopa, covering issues in sustainable agriculture and its relevance to humankind’s cultural and spiritual psyche. She has continued to write about food sustainability, writing regularly for the magazine Food + Chef. Her work has also been published inVairochana – an international Buddhist journal dedicated to supporting the personal development of the individual within a diverse community.
Leela is currently working on her book Adventures of a Spiritual Sexologist: a Nomad’s Memoir of Travel, Lust, and the Spiritual Quest. Her memoir is an existential study that reveals the divine in the taboo, as told through the tales of her 5 years of travel through Hawaii, Australia, Vietnam, NYC, and San Francisco. She is living in Mexico with her husband, a native Mexican healer and artisan, where they are building their two businesses: mezcal distribution and the clothing and accessories line, Alchemize, which blends native art with modern design.
When not consumed by writing, paying the bills (heaven forbid!), or planning her next adventure, Leela can be found conducting writing workshops with Nepalese orphans, meditating with monks, skinny-dipping with social entrepreneurs, or discussing metaphysics with rabbis and rock stars.
