Enjoying My Juicer

It has been five days and I have been walking along the beach of the Isle of Vegan, slowly making my way inland. Isn't it funny how when you make a decision life opens your eyes to subject you are focusing on. This week the Oprah show had an hour dedicated to being more conscious of what you are eating. They covered The Kindness Diet, a Vegan cookbook by Alicia Silverstone. They also encouraged folks to checkout the film Food Inc., a documentary that looks at how our food is actually prepared as opposed to the image of the farm that is apparently not the reality but an image projected by the food industry to sell their products.

For myself, I have started my research into vegan and vegetarian options without completely giving up chicken or fish. I have officially dropped red meat from my diet. I want to be smart and not treat this like a fad.  I have dusted off my juicer and started doing a lot of juicing and feeling great at the moment. I also went to Trader Joe's  where I stocked up on some vegan meat replacements that I have tried and enjoyed. Here's the thing, I bought a lot of salmon and tilapia a few weeks ago and ziplocked into my freezer. The plan is to slowly work though the remaining fish and have fun finding delicious replacements I can enjoy regularly. I think my consistent juicing will be my secret weapon as I am feeling the energy already from the juicing i have done so far  and that is making the transition easier. While I am making the shift, I might as well officially drop sodas from my list of permissable beverages. The fact is there really is no nutritional value to it and the convenience factor is just not worth it.

I just realized that there is something to simply being more conscious about what I am eating.   When I take a moment to think do I really want to eat that, then the choice is easier. Eating junk food with no nutritional value seems absurd just because it is convenient.

For now, I will enjoy my Carrot-Beet-Kale-Apple-Celery juice concoction.

Journey To The Isle of Vegan

I think I talked about it before, but I decided it is time to make a serious change to my diet and my life. I have toyed with the idea of becoming a vegan. I am not sure how this journey will unfold but I am beginning today.

Now, I don't want to be impulsive, setting myself up for failure and giving up so I want to approach this with a more light-hearted joyful spirit! I love eggs, fish, chicken and seafood so this will be a challenge. So I am going to go slowly eating as vegan as possible and go as long as possible. If I have a slip of fish or fowl, I won't stop but just give myself a break and get back on the vegan horse and keep riding.

My first task I suppose is to stock up on fruits, vegetables and figure out how to make delicious tofu dishes. Tofu has always been my stumbling block. After a while I just can't stand it. Hmm... there has to be a way around this. I think I will rely heavily on juicing which I love when I actually do it. 

My biggest challenge will be the social pressure. Generally speaking most of my friends are not tremendously supportive with my positive changes as it tends more to trigger reactions as I am attempting to change behavior I previously did with them without question. However as with smoking, my choices must be made and enforced by me and not my friends. Truth be told, I enjoyed a wonderful  smokefree time at home with my family for the holidays but when I came back it was too easy to fall back into smoking with friends who smoke rather than give up spending time with my smoking friends or struggle with hanging out with my chain-smoking friends and not smoke. That however, must change.

Hopefully the change in diet will assist me in getting back to being smoke-free as well. I need these two things to work hand in hand. Actually I have a lot of life changes to implement in 2010. My approach is to go slow and build upon each success so they compliment one another rather than work against my overall goals.

If I look honestly at my life I have to say this has to be the year I put myself first. Often, I put my friends' needs before my own. This has only led to me falling short on my own life goals out of some fear, I guess, that I will discover that the friendships I had really were not sustainable once I started charting my own life course in a new direction. Well, it is time to face those fears head on. I want certain things for myself and that means making sacrifices and removing obstacles. However, again my life is about me and my own choices. If I don't have the strength to stand up for what I want there is no one else who is going to do it for me. Whatever "friends" if any, I lose on this journey will be people who weren't truly "friends" in the first place.  

So, as I walk upon the shores of the Isle of Vegan, I must find the Temple of Healthy Eating, start my training and learn as much as I can to sustain and strengthen me for what lies ahead in 2010.  I know there is magic on this Isle and I am determined master all the Isle has to teach me.  

HOPE FOR HAITI

The tragedy in Haiti has had a profound effect on me. Maybe because my family is Carribean, or maybe the tragedy is just so huge it transcends nationality and touches my heart as a spiritual being living in this human body. I have donated three times already. The amounts have been what I am able to give but I know that it will do something.

Life is an amazing gift. Even in tragedy you can find beauty in the power of the human spirit to survive and to support one another.

I am watching Hope For Haiti Now and I am moved by the compassion that has mobilized people around the world to help in any way they can. I pray that the people of Haiti are able to rise from this challenging time and thrive like they never have before.

I hope everyone will do any small thing they can to help.

Working On My Vibrations...

Over the past few days I have found myself drawn to the topic of meditation and the power of mantras. Don't ask me why this has come up but I have decided to follow the intuitive push in this direction and see where it takes me. I have always been interested in meditation but never found myself capable of sitting still long enough to do it properly. Seeing myself as more of a physical person, I enjoy the meditative benefits of such things as my running, walking, yoga etc. So this is new territory and I am feeling like this new adventure may be just what I need.

Of course, I found a plethora of interesting clips on youtube.

I know that it is all about energy. We are all vibratory beings. I am fascinated to learn more about what that actually means and how tapping into it can improve the experience of my day-to-day life. I understand intellectually about the chakra system but have no idea how to concretely affect them in any way. One of my goals (not resolutions) for the year is to explore as many avenues as possible to awaken and expand my creativity, imagination and visualization skills. Hopefully, developing a real and consistent meditation practice will aid in this exploration.

So far, my experiences with meditation have produced a greater sense of calm. My stress level about life has been up and down throughout 2009 and any tools to minimize it in 2010 is much appreciated. A greater sense of calm is a start and demonstratively tangible initial benefits so I have no complaints.

Who knows what exciting avenues of growth will arise from this new adventure?  I look forward to what shall unfold.

My Spirit's journey continues...

Walking the Walk Gives You Plenty to See

Well, my epic journey continues with much amusement along the way. Yesterday, I had an audition at Paramount Studios. I did my routine of working with a friend on the audition and getting myself into a focused, tranquil state of mind. My goal with each audition since my return to the acting profession has been to just get use to the process, create my preparatory rotine and let go of the nerves of actually being back in the business. To date it has not been as much about landing the job as getting confident in myself again.

So far, so good. 

My audition was at 4pm and I was doing my best to view the audition as just one of the things I do in the development of my career and not as some do or die situation that will define my life. As my first audition of 2010 manifested  8 days into the new year I saw this as a good sign of how this year will unfold.  Everything was going great until 2:30 when I went to my car and the battery was DEAD. I grabbed my briefcase and immediately started the 25 minute walk to the subway station. My mind flipped into stealth mode, calculating the time I had against the distance I had to travel by subway then on foot from Hollywood and Vine to Melrose Ave.

Normally, I would start feeling a growing sense of panic in my belly rising up to overwhelm me. However, this time, it didn't happen. I decided to see this as an adventure. How could I get there quickly without sweating too much and looking like a crazy man? How can I use this situation to my advantage? I suddenly remembered that all morning I kept thinking what if I took public transportation and avoided the whole drama of finding parking near the studio? I even imagined the trip on foot in my mind earlier in the day. So, when the dead battery revealed itself, I already had a game plan in place and there was no need to panic. I decided that I was going to place my dominate thought on having fun, from this unexpected adventure right through the audition.  I arrived on the Paramount lot with 9 minutes to spare and to my surprise the casting director was running behind so I had plenty of time to cool down and relax into the moment.

The actual audition went really well. I was so focused on getting there on time I had no time to think about being nervous. I walked in did my thing and made the casting director laugh so at the very least I made a good impression for the future. I headed out of the audition feeling like a million bucks! Getting the job is truly secondary after this experience. I felt for the first time as if my process was becoming second nature. For me this is critical because when I am feeling like this then I am able to take the work to a deeper richer place because I am getting out of my own way.

I even had time to really see my surroundings and enjoy walking on the Paramount lot, soaking in the environment. I accomplished my mission and had fun every step of the way.

2010 is going to be a transformative year for me. I can feel it!  I know down deep in my bones that something was helping and guiding me today. I plan on doing a lot more listening to that guidance. I felt as if I was walking the walk of my spiritual beliefs and that was the most amazing part of this day.  As I continue my work on self and connecting with Source, I know amazing experiences are going to continue to unfold into my life. My challenge is to keep my thoughts focused on WHAT I WANT TO EXPERIENCE.  I am excited to see what is coming next!

A New Year, A New Chapter, A New Adventure In My Epic Tale!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It is 2010 and I have just returned from two weeks with my family in snowy Philadelphia. Two days before my flight, Philadelphia received 23 inches of snow to welcome me home! While I moved to Los Angeles in part to get away from the cold and yes the snow, it was wonderful to spend time with my mother, siblings and their spouses and children.

The freezing cold provided for plenty of opportunities to sit back with family and really talk about our lives and all of those small things that you don't realize you miss until you experience again. It was amazing to be sitting at the dinner table with everyone gathered around laughing, eating, telling jokes and stories and playing  games.

I found it interesting that when I was home I had no urge or desire to smoke. I had opportunities to go and pick up a pack and suck down that nicotine but I just wasn't feeling the need. What does that tell me? It tells me that if I focus on my happiness and that which brings me joy, then I don't need to turn to cigarettes. I can choose and not give into the notion that I am addicted and have no choice. You always have a choice.

Having left my family and hometown, I have come to realize that our lives actually are our own EPIC TALE that tells the story of who we really are. We are both the bard and the epic hero. The question is, what is the story we want told? It is up to each of us to choose it and live it in epic fashion!

I am looking forward to what lies ahead for this new year, this new chapter. Already, as I started this entry, I received a call that I got an audition for tomorrow afternoon. My focus on this new year is to work hard and trust that the Universe will provide me with countless opportunities to work as an actor. I am ready to work more and grow more and live the life I have chosen.   I am chosing to live more in line with my beliefs and to embrace the prosperity, abundance, success and joy that is available to experience. Joy, Riches, Success are available to me to the extent and amount that I am willing to allow myself to receive.

I am tired of the old script I was living. My epic tale had this hero stranded on "The Isle of Illusion" that lulled him into a belief that his fears were his reality and not the illusion they actually were.  The beauty of the new year is the collective push we all receive to embrace the "new." Luckily it may be the "push" my hero needed to snap him awake and back onto his journey once more.

My new philosophy for 2010 is to keep my dominate thought that nothing is more important than that I feel good and remain in vibrational harmony with what feels good. So, as I look for reasons to feel good, I will  find more reasons to feel good and so I will feel good more often than not.

I am happy with where my life is right now and I am excited to see what is coming into my life.  This year, in this new chapter of my epic tale.  the focus is squarely on my spiritual journey to come into vibrational alignment with what I desire. All that has come before this moment has been "prologue".

Now, my hero's adventure begins anew.