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mindfulness |ˈmīndfəlnəs| noun

1 the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something:

2 a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

~ Certainly easier said than done. But while the process can be long (and just that, a process) the sooner you plant the seeds, the sooner they will grow into habits and thoughts that will change your life.

Works In Progress

I want to keep this section brief this month to focus on other things.

Let's take a look at what's going on in the world of Don and Kera! Last we saw, the Brothers had been captured, Don was out cold and Kera and Christy had just broken out of their cell. If you dig it please click the "Like" button and share it with your friends! We're grateful for all of your support in getting this series out there and viewed.                           The final episode of the 2nd story arc!

For those in New York on Wednesday April 2nd, I will be part of a script reading for a film that is slated to shoot in India and Toronto in 2015. I would love to have you there, please send me an email if you would like to attend.

The Inability to Turn Off Our Minds

Part way through this month I was noticing a lot of conversations about not being able to sleep. I usually chock this up to the moon, but then I began remembering how I used to (and sometimes still do) have the excruciating inability to turn my mind off at night. I would lay in bed going over stories and scenarios. It was awful.

There are several moments strung together that I could say started the shift in awareness. An exercise in rehearsal when our director said, "whenever a thought comes into your mind just say: no thank you", the free meditation class on Bloor St, or a book my friend loaned me called Wherever You Go There You Are.

However, there was one moment in particular when those ideas finally began to sink in. I was biking home from work and thinking about an audition I had in the morning. I was counting backwards, figuring out what time I needed to wake up in order to get ready, leave and get there on time. I knew I would go over this same equation again later when setting my alarm. I suddenly realized that since I was on my bike, nothing was actually being accomplished. I was going to go over it later anyway, so what was the point of doing it now? The only thing I was accomplishing in that moment was keeping myself from experiencing it. The freedom of being on a bike, in gorgeous weather, with loads of trees in full bloom surrounding me. This may seem simple, but we all do it. We go over things which cannot possibly be solved in that moment (like when we're trying to sleep), and it takes us out of being "present". That was the moment my habit of being mindful began to take root

Being mindful enough of our thoughts to stop them from flooding our heads can take time to become habit. A habit by it's very nature cannot be formed overnight, but takes time and practice. That is why meditation is such a valuable tool, because it's the practice of stilling the mind. Even 5 minutes a day can allow the habit to form faster. There will suddenly come a moment when you realize it is easier to push negative or unwanted thoughts out of your mind. It will be like magic.

How to begin? Just in time for this newsletter, Oprah & Deepak Chopra are doing a FREE 3-week meditation challenge. I've already signed up. Join me?

Yoga Spotlight & Finding Your Personal Legend

What if all we had to do to be assured the universe would catch us was figure out our deepest passion, follow it and at the same time act with the good of others in mind? What would we allow ourselves to do? What would our lives look like?

I thought about this as I lay in Savasana at the end of a yoga class. It had been like one of the classes I talked about in January New Moon. The kind that resonated so deeply I started crying at the end when the teacher was reading us a quote. As we held Shoulder Stand and listened, there were tears quietly running down the sides of my face.

The tears were out of happiness, gratitude and the recognition that I had again experienced "proof" of the universe "catching" me.

continue reading...

Thank You For Getting This Far

The newsletter this month was text heavy, but know that I only wrote what I thought might be valuable and meaningful. I believe that we have to ability to change our outside world, and it begins with our inside thoughts. We have complete control over our thoughts, our thoughts create our experience and our experience is everything.

In case you didn't click to read the rest of the above story, I think it's worth it to repeat the last paragraph:

Finding our Personal Legend along with having devotion and love for each other = peace of mind that we will be OKAY = the ability to stop our fearful thoughts from racing = a good night's sleep. And here's the real kicker: if it really is nonsense and there is nothing to this whole karmic energy thing, then the worst thing that can happen is that we are nice to each other and doing what we love. I'll take those odds.