If you haven’t heard of Mark Hildreth’s music yet, you will! Check out his music! His CD is ready for purchase too! I can’t stop playing it and the lyrics are full of honestly and love.
It is a beautiful autumn day and from where I sit in Joseph’s apartment, I can see the glorious mountains and orange tree tops. Aahh….I love this season of transition. I feel more and more that September is the true beginning of the New Year. Maybe because it’s the start of the school year and that has stayed with me. I truly appreciate the ability of the trees to let go of their summer glory and transform. I don’t always approach change as gracefully and I am thankful to learn from nature, these wiser ways of riding life. As their leaves turn colour and prepare to fall, the tree isn’t thinking, “I’m dying, I’ve failed in being a tree.” It just is. It doesn’t resist or judge itself for losing it’s most celebrated form. In fact, what I find so special is that it is in this state of letting go and vulnerability, that the core of the tree becomes even more distinct and attractive. And when the leaves fall, that tree expands even further into the world around it, filling it with life and colour.
Imagine what one could accomplish each day without the fear of failing. What would you try if you knew that your success were assured?
I strive to explore that way of being with more awareness of what holds me back and what motivates me forward. I strive to eliminate fear from my motivations when choosing thoughts, intentions and actions.
I wrote a short story recently based on what little I know about the Binukot in the Philippines and I’m excited that it has been selected to be paired with the skills and talents of a filmmaker, Mark Borowski, in Victoria. I’m actually getting paid to contribute to this project called “Scene and Heard”! I discovered in the process of writing this short story that I actually really enjoy creative writing and I feel energized by the process when it is something that I have personally selected. Often in school I experienced writing only as a requirement and somehow that took away from my feelings of enjoyment. Is that a similar dynamic when we stop enjoying something when it becomes a requirement? Like when I wash dishes, I usually enjoy it. I like making things clean and refreshed. BUT, if I know there is an expectation or requirement that I do the dishes at a certain time or a certain way, the idea of doing dishes changes and the experience of washing the dishes is not as enjoyable, if at all.
I woke up before the sun started to come into the room today, before 7:00am. It’s Sunday and I went to sleep after 12am last night. I wasn’t tired and my body had enough rest and it wasn’t a sound or my bladder that woke me up. I was just ready and happy to wake up. This in not a rare happening. But what’s interesting is that I can’t do that during the work week when I know I must wake up for 7am so that I can go to the job that earns me my current living salary. What a joy it is to wake up simply motivated to be alive. My hope is that I can start each day with that enthusiasm and love for life, regardless of the required tasks within a day; for each day is a new gift with infinite possibilities to be surprise and delight.
Have a magnificent Autumn Day!
Last night, after packing and loading the car, Christina and I watched Running with Scissors. What an extraordinary story, and even more so that it was lived by the man who wrote the book upon which the screenplay was written. The performances are stunning by a stellar cast that includes Annette Benning, Diane Keaton, Gwyneth Paltrow and the gorgeous Joseph Fiennes. The young actor who played Augusten was also very impressive.
It was disturbing and hilarious. My favourite absurd part is when Dr. Burroughs comes out of the washroom shouting, “It’s a miracle, It’s a miracle.” and he takes his entire family to see the configuration of his poo in the toilet which he takes as a sign from God that their luck is about to change. A fascinating and humourous look at human psychology and how we survive it. This story is the ultimate statement of ‘who needs fiction when real life is already so strange and funny?’
1. Money comes easily and frequently
2. It’s not that I can’t afford it, I’m simply choosing to keep my money (which comes easily and frequently), for something else.
Today I had an uplifting conversation with my friend Yumi, a fellow actor and philosopher. In it we affirmed the message in “The Secret” that if we consistently view the world and approach decisions from a place of feeling that we don’t have enough, we are simply going to create more of that way of being. But if we place our mind in a state of abundance and choice, then everything becomes possible in our minds. And as one who is well versed in role-play, once your imagination goes towards abundance and possibilities, your feelings and then actions soon follow with greater ease. Because of your energy and attitude of abundance, the actual reality of abundance in whatever you ask for begins to manifest in your life.
It was a much appreciated twist of attitude that I was able to make in the conversation today. And it really does work. I looked in my fridge and I first thought, ‘I don’t have any food in the fridge. I should probably go out and buy some groceries for dinner.’ Then I got distracted because my next thoughts went to money and how much more I’d like of it. Because I’m not sure where money will be coming from, I’ve been scrimping on buying things, even food. Then I just thought, ‘no I have enough money, I’m just being lazy about getting out of the house to buy groceries and the excuse that I don’t have money is just to create a story.’ This was before my conversation with Yumi. I was going to leave and then she called. And while I was on the phone with her and she was saying, “Janice, the money is going to come to you. You will have no problem getting what you need,” my flatmate rings up and says, “What are you doing for dinner?” I reply, “Nothing, I haven’t thought about it.” “Turkey tacos?” she says. “Okay!” “Okay, I’ll pick up the stuff from the store.” Little things like that let me know that even when I’m stubborn and I don’t like to ask for help, the Universe is always conspiring to deliver. To believe and be open to receive the abundance of its possibilities is my work. The how’s belong to the mystery of life…the secret.
The feedback is in and it looks like most people enjoyed the movie and felt it was worth watching. It was a little bit creepy, and confusing. So we talked over the comments and I’m looking forward to seeing the changes. I think they’ll make it a stronger film with a clearer message. The results of the screening evaluations are up on http://www.aswangmovie.blogspot.com/
It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be to have to watch myself on a large screen. And it was really exciting to have my brothers and friends there, too. I’m looking forward to moving to Vancouver for this reason.
A movie by Wong Kar Wai. Just watched it tonight. Sexy. Sensual. Gorgeous two lead actors, appearances and performances, and beautiful music with powerful use of simple images. And the story of how feelings develop unexpectedly where we don’t want them comes in like a soft hum that doesn’t seem to have a beginning, but just simply appears. A free rental at your local BC library.
It’s a movie that I’m in! Kinda nervous, kinda feeling silly about it, kinda excited too. It’s not in it’s finished polished stage yet, so that’s what we need a test screening audience to help us with…to help us get there. I managed to get the help of a friend who is doing an MBA at UVic (Thank-you EVAN!) and we are able to offer it as an opportunity for the international business MBA students to talk with us about our business relations proceedings between Canada and the Philippines; in exchange for a free venue for our test screening. It’s a modern lecture auditorium with capacity for 200 people. I think with our friends and family of cast and crew, it will be fairly full.
We’ll be submitting it to all the big film festivals: Toronto International, Sundance, and of course the Manila Film Festival, among others. I’ll post when we hear that the film gets accepted and will be played in various cities.
Here are the details of the test screening for now:
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Harry Hickman Building, Room 105 University of Victoria, Victoria B.C
7:00pm Introductions, 7:30 - 9:00pm Screening, followed by optional talk back and evaluations
It’s likely that cast and crew will hang out for a bit to mingle and chat with adoring fans.
Last night I think I might have discovered a new threshold for my evolution and today I made the commitment to step forward and upward. If you’ve ever seen the movie “What the Bleep Do We Know?” or “The Secret” and felt moved and inspired by theses peices, I think you would appreciate knowing about what I am about to embark on. If you haven’t seen the films, then I’d say…see them. On the weekend I also saw “The Inconvenient Truth” and that’s also another must-see.
So back to ‘the Bleep’ - I met the director of the film who spoke about a human development course whose curriculum principles are founded upon years of extensive scientific research on human behaviour. I haven’t taken it yet so I’m not really the right person to be taking introductory information from on it, HOWEVER! I can speak of how it has captured my attention and curiousity much in the same way as the three movies I mention above. The anticipation of taking the course that promises a logical, systematic, wholistic and clarifying process of evolving human potential is so great that it’s on my mind constantly. I’ve decided that where I work is not as important as who it is I work with and it’s my desire to surround myself with and collaborate with individuals who are ready and willing to make the changes in themselves that will inspire and move others, inevitably moving the world through the next phase of human evolution.
I will set-up a private introductory presentation via conference call for people who also become curious about NXIVM. Let me know if you become curious about any of this, even in the slightest way, and I’ll be in touch about the conference call. Let me be clear though, that I’m not endorsing a product. I’m simply pointing out a flag that has caught my attention and I’m excited to see it because I think it could be a very exciting landmark and thrilling journey in getting there. Kind of like saying, “Hey, I heard that Peru is a gorgeous, joyful, peaceful place to visit. Wanna see some pictures?”
What a terrific piece of work. I hope Peter O’Toole does win Best Actor for his performance in it.
We barely heard about this gem until the nominations came out and despite that, on a Thursday night (mind you it’s Victoria the city that always sleeps) I was the only one who had shown up to see it and it was already 10 minutes before showtime. The attendant told me that if another person does show up, maybe they’ll show it but if it’s just me, they could give me a voucher for two free tickets to another movie. But I wanted to see Venus!
Oh no! That didn’t please me at all so I visualized someone rushing, on their way to catch this under-publicized flick. I put into practice the mindful practice taught in the book “Ask and It is Given”; really, it’s changing the way I live. Get it! Read it! I think my wishful thinking manifested this random soul to walk in just as they were going to send me home with a voucher. As I was imagining, I figured, what the heck, might as well be male. So, it only took about 5 minutes for the Universe to respond but I wasn’t specific enough though. He wasn’t so attractive and very poorly dressed with torn layers of cotton sweat pants or something resembling that. But hey, what do I know? Could’ve been Jesus reincarnated.
Nevertheless, it was a great movie. I also caught a glimpse of a promising story to come to Vic Theatre called “God Grew Tired of Us” . So even though I went alone and the guy of my dreams didn’t walk through the door, I’m so glad that I went. Victoria, seriously… WAKE-UP! And support the Arts!
