Happy Spring

I love Google for many reasons. One of my favorites is to see the different logos that Google marks for certain events. I just loved this one this morning to announce Spring. Spring represents renewal and transformation for me.

As creatives, a key requirement for us to get to the next level is going through the fire (Ever hear the phrase, trial by fire?)- fire usually represents itself in the form of challenges, failures, mistakes, etc. - the good news is that we are so refreshed and stronger when we come out the other side.

I used to have fears about doing things for my acting career. My fear in acting has been - I have to audition perfectly or the casting director, producer, director, etc. won't like me and if they don't like me, they won't hire me. Then, I read a very important quote one day: "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong". We all have fears as creatives, but we need to let go of our fears and concentrate on our art.

As creatives, we are on a journey, we will have good days and not so good days. We can't worry about past mistakes or be anxious about the future - we have to just BE. Surrendering and releasing our fears will transform and renew us. It is a cycle: we are on our path, we stumble, we get back up, we are stronger, we move on. It's a beautiful path we are on. And each one of is beautiful.

What is your favorite thing about Spring? What was your trial by fire this week and how did you transform yourself?

RIP Natasha Richardson

Natasha Richardson, Tony-winning actress, died yesterday (March 18, 2009). She was involved in a skiing accident. Details of her death are unknown. The details really don't matter. The important thing is that she was only 45 years old. So young. So talented. (If you get a chance to see her portrayal of Patty Hearst, it is a must see. Her filmography is listed here). So beautiful. As much as we like to think we do, we do not have ultimate control over our lives so we have to make each day count and follow Tim McGraw's advice "live life - like you were dying".

Friday The 13th - Part Deux

I can't believe it has been a whole month since writing. The end of February and March thus far have been good. In addition to successes in my acting career, we finally realized a big goal of ours - we sold our home in Beavercreek, OH. We put our home on the market last May and we thought 9 months on the market was long, even for Ohio standards. But recently, a friend of mine who lives in Cleveland, said that 9 months is relatively short, considering our economy.

I have a lot of gratitude these days not only for selling the house, but for my life in general. It is truly amazing how surrendering and just letting go can attract so many wonderful things into your life.

Do you twitter? I hope you do. Twitter is a wonderful tool. Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables folks to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. It's a great publicity tool. It's a great way to stay in touch. It has so many wonderful benefits. It's an experience in and of itself. And, it's free. If you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, you will find a "follow me" link. I would love to connect with you on Twitter. You can see what I'm up to when I am not communicating via my blog. Happy tweeting.

I love amazon.com. I order from them regularly - at least 3-4 times a year. And recently, I bought Dr. Wayne Dyer's audio tape of his book, "You'll See It When You Believe It". I wouldn't consider myself a fan, but he does have good things to say - I have two of his audio tapes and one of his card decks. He says the mind is a powerful tool (another great book on the subject is "As A Man Thinketh"). What we think about, we manifest. So true. Think about it. It makes sense.

Spring is approaching. Actually, our first taste was this past weekend with changing our clocks for Daylight Savings Time. I now always remember we lose an hour in the Spring ("spring forward" - lose an hour) and gain an hour in the Fall ("fall back" - gain an hour). Spring is for renewal. Spring is exciting for me not only because of the men's and women's NCAA and NIT College Basketball Tournaments, NHL Playoffs, NFL Draft, Easter, St. Patrick's Day, but also because it's a time to renew ourselves in Nature and in our own lives. Sometimes that means we have to walk through the fire to be renewed. I used to be afraid of losses or failures - but now I welcome them because I know that when I come out of the experience, I will feel cleansed and renewed, and have this amazing strength because I will know that I have grown.


I wish you all well on your journey to renew yourselves.

Friday The 13th

I was thinking today about what Friday the 13th means to me.

Some might be chomping at the bit to catch the latest installment of Friday the 13th at the local cinema. Or if you are in California, are you waiting with bated breath to see whether the California State government will or won't increase taxes (personally, I think when a government is out of money, wants to issue IOU's for income tax refunds and then wants to increase taxes to fix the deficit, there's a problem somewhere. I thought the government is for the people not the other way around?)? Or are you waiting to see what happens with the recession? Or are you gearing up for a long weekend?

I choose to look at today with an open mind - looking at all the wonderful opportunities this new day brings. But, remaining present, not looking back to yesterday or forward to tomorrow.

Opportunities are right in front of us. But, for whatever reason, we go about the day with blinders on. In essence, we are resistant.

This started me thinking about Sonia Ricotti's wonderful book, The Law of Attraction Plain and Simple. You can order the book here. The web site is filled with other great resources as well, including a free newsletter that you can sign up for.

I guess you could call this book an extension of The Secret. Ms. Ricotti continues to discuss the law of attraction which is defined as "we attract into our life what we direct our conscious attention to." As an example, I focused on wanting to be on the last season of Boston Legal and I was.

I remember having a breakthrough of my own at the end of the year right around the time I read this book and the chapter entitled "Letting Go" really hit home for me. It was about letting go and just being, but it also talked about Resistance.

According to the book,"whenever you are feeling uncomfortable, unhappy, or any other negative emotion, you are resisting something in your life" and "resisting emits negative energy and attracts more of the same negative situations in your life". It also means you are trying to control something. And if you are controlling something you can't let go. Resistance also results in not noticing the wonderful opportunities you are faced with each and every day. Acceptance and letting go allows you to surrender to the beauty all around you and presents that openness you need to be your genuine, creative self.

We are human so we will have negative emotions. Emotions are experiences. We are not our emotions. Let them pass through. Try this technique the next time a negative emotion hits you - backtrack to determine the root cause of your discomfort. What are you trying to resist? Breathe deeply and let go. See, what happens. I think you will find you will be in a state of bliss and you will see all the wonderful opportunities ahead of you.

Here's to your bliss!

Be Present

I have had the opportunity to read several books on living in the now and the how's and why's of being present. I think Eckhart Tolle's comment in Stillness Speaks stands out: "True intelligence operates silently. Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found".

Being present has to do with right now, not regrets from the past or anxiety for the future. It's amazing thinking back to all the things that I - for whatever reason - spent wasted energy fretting about. All the time I spent worrying about the past or the future resulted in losing precious present moments. Ironically, all the things I worried about were irrelevant and inconsequential. The only thing that matters is living or being - focusing on what's happening in the Now.

So what does the phrase "be present" really mean? To me, it means getting out of my head and focusing on just being a human being, not doing anything. It's that feeling of bliss you find when you are meditating, practicing yoga or just focusing on something (athletes call it "being in the zone".) without thinking.

So, what techniques can help help you be present?

Here are my top 10 ways to stay present:

1. Think less. Feel more. This is called "getting out of your head".
2. Focus on something or someone.
3.Practice Conscious Breathing. Take deep breaths regularly throughout the day. Breathe in for a count of 10. Breathe out for a count of 10.
4. Meditate.
5. Practice yoga.
6. Exercise regularly.
7. Get out into nature - walk with your dog, take a hike, go to a botanical garden, etc.
8. Help someone.
9. Be open-minded about solutions and ideas. See things from a different perspective.
10.Write in a journal.

How do you stay present?

It's a Glorious Day in Six-Burgh!

It's a glorious day in Pittsburgh or should I say Six-burgh?! The Pittsburgh Steelers have won their 6th World Championship and Santonio Holmes is MVP!! Did you watch the Super Bowl Commercials? I thought the commercials were a little subdued this year, but that Troy Polamalu commercial was very creative! Which commercial was your favorite this year? What's your favorite all-time Super Bowl commercial? I'd love to hear.






Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow - six more weeks of winter. Oops. If I was PP, I'm not too sure if I'd like being hoisted up in the air like that. Punxsutawney is north of Pittsburgh. Check out the website. It's a total party up there. A whole festival with lots of events.

Creatives of the Week

James Earl Jones received his long overdue Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild this past Sunday, January 25. James Earl Jones is one of my favorite actors. As Shelley Fabares says, "he's an actor's actor" which is so true - he's very versatile - many know his voice as Darth Vader - not everyone knows his complete body of work or that he is a strong advocate for literacy. Below is my top list of actors and actresses in no particular order:

1. James Earl Jones
2. Jessica Lange
3. Ralph Fiennes
4. Joanne Woodward
5. Paul Newman (RIP)
6. Laura Linney
7. Phillip Seymour Hoffman
8. Bette Davis
9. Maggie Smith
10. Alan Rickman
11. Dustin Hoffman
12. Meryl Streep


Creatives aren't afraid to test and tweak. It's not about perfection, it's about being open to new ideas, new perspectives, change. That's what my hairdresser, Jez and the gang at Fusion do. Every time I come in to get my hair done, Jez is always tweaking. That's a true creative. Check Fusion out!

And, I would be remiss in not mentioning the true creative of the NFL, Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau, who, according to current ESPN analyst and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Ron Jaworski, is "...arguably the best ever to coach defense...He has done it on such a consistent basis over a long period of time." He was also a great player for the Detroit Lions. So here's to you, Mr. LeBeau, future HOFer and defensive coordinator of the 6-time Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.