Legendary Actress & Activist Ruby Dee Passed Away at 91

THANK YOU RUBY DEE AND OSSIE DAVIS FOR THE TRAIL YOU BLAZED TO MAKE MY LIFE BETTER...

 My heart has broken at hearing the news Ruby Dee passed away on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 of natural causes at the age of 91.  It is nice to hear that if someone passes it is of natural causes and at the age of 91 we know she had a rich full life.

Yet her passing feels like a loss in the family. Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis were like the grandparents I never knew. Their activism led the way for me being able to have the life I now enjoy and to be able to pursue this acting career I love so much.

I will miss her as I would have loved to have met her or worked with her. I will have to be content with enjoying the body of work she has left behind and be grateful for all she has done for me even though we never met.

Again, THANK YOU, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis...where ever you are I know you are together. Be blessed, as you have been such a blessing to so many of us!
 




Watch these clips and you will get a glimpse of why Ruby Dee is the definition of a "Legend" and so damn inspirational!!!.

Theme Song for The Month

Music continues to be a strong motivational force in my life.  I will be honest. The career of an actor is laced with so many ups and downs, you really have to be creative with using whatever means possible to keep yourself on track and your head focused on the success you want to achieve.

Since I have a "Soundtrack of My Life" that I love, I thought I would branch out and create a theme song of the month that either captures a feeling I'm experiencing or more importantly inspires me to reach for my dreams and not give up when circumstances are challenging your belief in yourself! I am gonna come up with some songs to turn to to lift me up. So much of the music I have been drawn to have been "oh the pain of this or that so I really need to change it up! I need a mental spiritual pick me up, dance around the room and remember why I am taking this crazy life path song! 

Right now I have some thoughts for June but not a firm choice yet:.

#1

  


#2



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#5



I may need to test things out and see how I feel.

I am totally open to suggestions. Hopefully I can find the song on Youtube. Even if I don't choose it for this month, I will always have another month just around the corner!!

Wish me luck!!!  :)

Journey Toward Financial Wellness for this Actor...Part 2

Okay. As I was browsing I came across Part Two and Three of the Actor's Fund podcasts on financial wellness for an actor/performing artist.


For more information on the Actor's Fund go to:   http://www.actorsfund.org/

Here is clip 2:

Finanical Wellness Part 2: Organizing Income
The sixth installment in The Actors Fund Podcast Series discusses how to organize your income as part of an overall cash flow plan. (If you have not already, please view Financial Wellness Part 1: Organizing Expenses prior to watching Part 2). This eight minute video covers some of the challenges to balancing  variable income and expenses for people who work in performing arts and entertainemnt, and also touches briefly on important tax issues. A performing artist's financial life is complex, so it's easy to get confused when trying to organize your money. This podcast will help you distinguish between regular and irregular income and determine what this means for building yourself a financial cushion, saving for periodic expenses and investing for your future. The overall goal of the Financial Wellness series? Establishing a stable method of managing your finances!

Journey Toward Financial Wellness for this Actor...Part 1

As I was going through my email, I opened one of the many email blasts I get from my union The Actor's Fund has their own website geared to helping Actor's deal with much of the day to day business of surviving. They apparently started a podcast and a few have some clips regarding Financial Wellness so, I am gonna post those clips here as a reference guide .for myself and anyone else interested. 

For more information on the Actor's Fund go to:   http://www.actorsfund.org/

Here's the first clip:

Finanical Wellness Part 1: Organizing Expenses
The fifth installment in The Actors Fund Podcast Series begins a conversation about financial wellness, specifically money management. This eleven-minute video will guide you through some steps you can take in organizing your expenses to better understand and manage your cash flow. We understand that traditional budgets are not always flexible enough for those in the entertainment and performing arts industry, so coming up with a good template for a basic month is a tremendously helpful tool to have in order to plan for a financial cushion, or contingency fund, for when dry spells occur. We provide you with a budget outflow worksheet you can download on our website here http://www.actorsfund.org/FinancialWellness to get you on your way to developing a positive, healthy relationship with money. After all, taking care of your money is just a regular part of taking care of yourself.

Creating the Vision of My Life and Acting On It...

Mary Manin Morrissey

Last night I wrapped up a 10 week workshop on prosperity led by Rev. James Mellon that met every Wednesday night at the Global Truth Center in the NoHo Arts District. The workshop was entitled Prosperity Plus. We met and watched a series of video classes led by Mary Manin Morrissey who guided us on a journey of understanding our relationship to money, prosperity from a spiritual standpoint, the power of tithing and much much more. We had assignments to do on our own then the 54 member class met with Rev James to discuss, put into practice, and experiment with the power of tithing; creating a "Vision Statement" and figuring out the actions you need to take to bring your vision of your life into reality; and allowing prosperity and abundance into our lives beyond just wanting more money.

It was a challenging and inspiring 10 week experiment that for many of us participating shifted things and stirred up issues regarding money and the roadblocks we put up in our lives, mentally to shut down the flow.

Rev. James Mellon

It was definitely an eye opening experience for me. I have created a vision plan focused on money, health, romance, career and home ownership. With the tools I have learned so far I will continue on my own to make the vision statement I created the reality of my life- however long it may take. The biggest take away I got from this workshop is that you can live your life day to day complaining about not having the things in your life that you want, or you can take the time to create a vision of what you want then take the steps to make it come true.  Hey if you're gonna be living anyway, you might as well create the life you want. Succeeding is almost the icing on the cake because I found the joy really is in the journey. I met some amazing people and I pushed myself out of my comfort zone so I could make the most out of this 10 week experience. It was worth it and I AM worth the effort to do whatever I can to live my best life!!

For the first time in a long time I feel jazzed to get up in the morning and proactively take some form of action to build the life I have by the design I have set for myself and not simply by default.



It has also inspired me to get my financial house in order and move myself out of the starving artist mode. I may start posting a few articles or videos I find on financial wellness, prosperity-what have you, in an effort to share with anyone who stumbles upon my pages here and might be on the same path.

If anyone gets a chance to check out a workshop by Mary Manin Morrissey, I would definitely recommend it. She has a presence and a definite skill at telling a story while she is educating you on how to take action to create your dreams. If you are in anyway interested in "Science of Mind" be sure to check out check out Rev. James Mellon. He is a powerfully passionate man who knows his stuff.

I am an actor, yet I don't know if I ever really took the time to come up with a vision and a plan for my life. They never covered that in my acting convervatory. If they did, I just did not get it. Having done so now, I feel not only empowered, I feel like I know this acting career of mine cannot do anything but be successful because I have moved to a deeper level of personal/spiritual commitment.

I cannot wait to see what unfolds from here on out! 
       

Keeping Things Moving!

Yikes! Thank God I have a few months to go before the LA Marathon! I've been training consistently but a few too many jello shots on Memorial Day Weekend led to an impromptu sprint down a certain street in Glendale that resulted in a pulled hamstring. Ouch! That was Saturday but I am finally recovering.

I will admit I wouldn't change a thing because sometimes ya just gotta cut loose and make a fool of yourself in the safety of friends!

 

Living By Design or Default....

It has been more than a minute since my last post. March and April have felt like a struggle. Mostly financial stress but I am determined to trust that as always things work themselves out.

I went home to Philadelphia toward the end of March to celebrate my mum's 87th birthday which was great but coming back to LA reminded me how disconnected I have been feeling lately. I felt a need to get proactive.

Whenever financial stresses arise, I notice I am feeling a bit adrift with my spiritual self.  I decided to get back to living my beliefs. That required getting my ass outta bed and attending services at the Global Truth Center, where I became a member last October. The center focuses on the teachings of Ernest Holmes and Science of Mind thinking.  For me, it is very empowering and challenging to actually live my beliefs. I have recently signed up to participate in a 10 week "Prosperity Plus" workshop. The workshop has forced me to address my feelings on tithing and learning to allow myself to imagine what kind of life I would love to be living and actually do the work to make it a reality.

One of the concepts that has stuck with me is the idea of living by default or design. The speaker said, if you look at a year in your life, you have a choice. You can allow life to happen to you accepting the events as they come or you can decide how you would like your life to be and go about the work of making it happen. The year is going to go by whether you want to or not. So, why not spend that life GOING FOR IT and enjoying each day?

Another activity has been creating a vision statement for my life that address 4 areas: Financial, Relationships, Health, and Creative Expression. At the moment I am focused on my health and enjoying challenging myself to create the body I want rather than settling for the body my lazy choices have made..  

Okay...last year I backed out of running the LA Marathon. But thanks to my pal Heather agreeing to run with me next year, I am committed to running the 2015 LA Marathon and most importantly, dropping 45 yes, 45 lbs in the process. I am marking this as my first official day of training so it is posted with a date and I can't go back without hanging my head in shame for being a quitter!!

It is sad to say I am currently sporting a not so healthy 220 lbs which is the most I have ever weighed in my life. (Most of the excess is belly fat- which has to go!!) It may not be much for some but it is more a reminder of my letting myself go and living by "default" and not "design". Like I said, you can either let life happen to you or you can design the path you want your life to take and GO FOR IT!

2014 for me has been about WAKING UP, choosing to be HAPPY and LIVING my life to the FULLEST, regardless of the opinion of others. I have been nicotine free since January 5th and now I am ready to get this body exactly where I want it! I'm not looking for overnight results but a year of slow and steady hard work.

Wish me luck!

Attached is a video of the Marathon course. A little motivation to keep me going until Sunday, March 15, 2015!