Out With the Old, In With the New

I have been on Facebook today cleaning out my account and responding to folks and I have seen many people post that 2009 wasn't a very good year for them, and they are all feeling like 2010 will be a great year. As I have written before in this blog, 2009 wasn't my greatest year. Even though I didn't meet all my goals, I met some of them, and some unexpected things occurred that I am so grateful for. I was at The Bodhi Tree this morning and along with purchasing more incense, I could open an incense store, I also picked up "Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. The book talks about Dr. Frankl's experiences in concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He talks about the fact that we cannot avoid suffering, but we can choose how to deal with it, find meaning in it and move forward with renewed purpose. He also believes that our primary drive is in the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

Dealing has been a major theme for me in my acting this year - coming to the table and taking what I am handed and running with it. That has been such a profound shift for me to just deal and focus on getting my needs met from my partner, whatever the conversation is, instead of worrying "does the casting director like me". I think we all have to take the fuck 'em/fuck it attitude and enjoy our process, our experience and take the pressure off whether something doesn't go right or worrying whether someone likes us or not. So here's to enjoying our process, living our lives the best we can, and taking the fuck 'em/fuck it position - this is our show, we have to live for ourselves, and we have to put ourselves first. Selfish? No way. Remember, we have to put our needs first so that we can take care of others next.

I want to wish you all a very happy new year, success and abundance in 2010 and I look forward to bringing you more notes on life as a spiritual creative, actress and human being just trying to "be" and enjoying just that.

Goin' To The Dogs

My friend Deb was walking her dog, Radar, recently, and he was attacked by two pekingese. My dog, Folsom, was attacked two years ago. There are countless accounts of dogs being attacked by other dogs - sometimes the incident is minor, sometimes not. I think we forget that having a dog is such a blessing - they love us unconditionally - no strings attached. A dog is a privilege and a responsibility. Love and nurture your dog, be grateful for your dog, care for your dog. Life is too short not to.

And so, I leave you with the following...

Unconditional Love

When a dog offers you his heart
Accept it with a smile
For his love will last a lifetime -
Which is such a little while.

When a dog offers you his heart
Take it gladly and with pride
For he will be a faithful friend
Ever by your side.

A dog loves you because you're you -
Not for how you speak or what job you do
You could be short, tall, thin or fat
Or ugly as sin, he doesn't care about that.

A dog knows if you're good or bad
He can see inside your soul
When he decides you're okay
To earn your love is his main goal.

When you're sad, he'll comfort you
And kiss away each tear
You may even wake up in the morning
With a cold nose in your ear.

When eventually the time comes
And the lights in his eyes dim
A new star will shine in Heaven
In remembrance of him.

You'll gaze up at the midnight sky
And you will hear him say -
"I'm so glad you were my human
We'll meet again some day!"

So, if this poem has caused a tear to fall
That's because you love the dog who's giving you his all
Go travel on together, happily paw in glove
He's the only one who'll ever give you unconditional love.

When a dog offers you his heart
Accept it with a smile
For his love will last a lifetime -
Which is such a little while.

By Hazel Harris-Lane

Getting To The Core Of The Matter

Happy Holidays to everyone! I wish you peace, joy and love during this holiday season. My husband doesn't believe me, but, prior to this year, I had never watched "It's A Wonderful Life" straight through. It was great to finally watch it straight through as well as watching my other favorites, "A Christmas Story" and "Miracle on 34th Street". When I say "Miracle on 34th Street", I am referring to the original, the one with Edmund Gwenn, who won the Oscar for his portrayal of Kris Kringle.

I have found at the end of the year, I do somewhat of a re-group - I review the year to re-visit my successes, my failures, my in-processes and I always manage to get back to my core - my core is my spirituality. I have done a lot of reading over the past few days - I have read "Conscious Creation" (by Dee Wallace) and "The Power of Awareness" (by Neville), and I am currently reading "Journey To Enlightenment" (by Ross Bishop). I recommend you purchase all three books from Amazon (save some money in the process).

I am having difficulty reading the last book because I am actually absorbing every word of this book - so I stop and really let it sink in which takes me more time but it is so worth it - and I swear the chapter called "The Misunderstanding" was written about me and is speaking directly to me. This book is all about choosing whether to live in what the author calls "God-Space", living a life of compassion, love and gratitude, or living a life in the shadow of fear, emotions and the ego. It talks about problems form because of limiting beliefs we all have that we cling to. Problems we encounter in life are signs from the Universe to change these beliefs or the problems will snowball into crises. Enlightenment asks us to deal with our limiting beliefs and fears, and in doing so, we move out of the shadow of fear and back into a life of compassion and love. This book is "The Secret" with a shot of reality. I say that because while I enjoyed "The Secret" very much, it oversimplified things. It stated to manifest your desires, you had to think positive, do your affirmations, visualize, and constantly think about your desires, and you would receive. However, if you are consciously thinking about these things but subconsciously you are saying that "I am not worthy to receive because I do not deserve them", your conscious and subconscious cancel each other out, and the result is that the Universe does not deliver because it is confused over what you want. So, the trick is to change your beliefs to those grounded in love, compassion and gratitude while focusing on your desires, and you will manifest your desires sooner.

However, this is easier said than done because we all resist change, we especially resist change in beliefs we have held with us for years. 2009 was not a good year for me because I resisted a lot - in my acting goals, in my health goals, in my financial goals - and while I saw some progress, I saw a lot of areas where I was "stuck". We all go through these moments. I have learned that staying in the moment is a big component to stay in light and love. My desires are to be a sought-after character actress who has more than enough paid acting work that will sustain me, to be healthy and maintain a fit weight through sound nutrition and daily exercise, and be full of love, compassion and gratitude. Profess your desires to the Universe. Let me know your progress.


Cheers.