www.TraciToguchi.com: Blogs

Here are more quotes that accumulated on my Twitter profile, many from a classic - one of my favs - Do It! by Peter McWilliams.

OPPORTUNITY
"All problems contain seeds of opportunity..." - Deepak Chopra

MOTIVATION
"Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes." - Kenneth Hildebrand

SUCCESS
"The real secret of success is enthusiasm." - Walter Chrysler

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." - Thomas Edison

HILARIOUS
"I'm at an age where I think more about food than sex. Last week I put a mirror over my dining room table." - Rodney Dangerfield

BELIEVING
"I can believe anything, provided it is incredible." - Oscar Wilde


And drum roll for my one of my favorites (although I love them all!) of the bunch...

"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others,
and the delight in the recognition."
- Alexander Smith

It sums up what I keep saying how the relationship we have with others reflects the relationship we have with ourselves. Once we fall in love with ourselves, we can relax and enjoy the ride. Anything after this is icing on the stevia-sweetened cake!

I'm Twittering away at www.Twitter.com/TraciToguchi
For more blog images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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I've been including some favorite quotes on my twitter updates that I wanted to log here so I can include the source, many from David Allen's book:

STUFF ON YOUR MIND
"There is usually an inverse proportion between how much something is on your mind and how much it's getting done." - David Allen from his book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

BEING OPEN-MINDED
"Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." - Michael McGriffy, M.D.

CREATIVITY VS. INTELLECT
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein

SUCCESS
"You cannot become successful. You can only be successful by putting quality in even the most simple action..." - Ekhart Tolle from his book A New Earth: Awakening Your Life's Purpose

WORKING ON A PROJECT
"Think about the big things while you're doing small things so all the small things go in the right direction." - Alvin Toffler

"There is no separation between you and (the all-pervasive spirit) field of energy." - Deepak Chopra from his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Happy 3rd week in June! We are rolling through 2008!...

I'm Twittering away at www.Twitter.com/TraciToguchi
For more blogs with images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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Found another fruitful source for improv exercises. Viola Spolin's Improvisation for the Theater (Third Edition) is chock-full with lots of variety.

Here are some examples and favorites I like to do:
- Gibberish (helping actors get emotions out without having to "think" about words)
- Weather (helping actors be on their toes and transferring that feeling to the audience)
- Hidden Conflict (adding spice in the scene)
- Timing (helping actors get rhythmic flow of scene)
- Picking Up Cues (helping actors know how and when to do so)
- TV Screen (have people be "in the screen" and some channel surfers)
- Mirror (good one for "listening" with the eyes)
- Tug-of-War (fun!)

I'm Twittering away at www.Twitter.com/TraciToguchi
For more blogs with images, visit www.tracitoguchiactingthoughts.blogspot.com

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A question many people ask when they are in relationships is, "Isn't this too much for me (or anyone) to take?" The dilemma is usually that we can love someone with all their strengths and weaknesses, and because they are also with us, we conclude that they are also loving and accepting our strengths and weaknesses too. Note that this is isn't necessarily the case, as people who don't love themselves tend to become dependent on someone to "hold them up" with love because they themselves are not providing love for themselves (and much less other people).

Looking back in retrospect, I can see that I have made conscious decisions to stay in relationships that were not healthy for me because I was trying to show and receive unconditional love.

So how much is too much? How do we know when to move on?

* When you are not loving yourself because you are giving your love to the other person first, or if not necessarily "first," then you are giving "most" of your love to other person.
* When the love that you are giving is not reciprocated.

It is tempting to stay because the person seems to making an effort to change, but they cannot that quickly and will not change with you there to supply them with love they are missing. Both people need to come into the relationship with love for themselves so this love can be doubled and expanded as a couple.

While it may be noble of you to stick around for as many years (yes, it will be years, if it happens really at all) it takes for someone to change, what's important to remember is that everyday of YOUR life is being sacrificed. The other person most likely doesn't care about how your life is being affected. You need to care and show yourself you care.

You cannot be loving yourself if you giving your love to someone else who doesn't love him or herself. Here's a better scenario:

1. Start by loving yourself. Fall in love with yourself. Be happy in your own skin (you can't control who and what's outside of you, so exercise your power within).
2. Give and share love unconditionally and with joy.
3. Pay attention to what your heart is telling you to keep you on track with loving yourself first.
4. If you loose focus, get back on your path by focusing on making yourself happy in your own skin. Love yourself first with joy and gratitude.

Have a blessed week ahead!

www.TraciToguchi.Blogspot.com

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As we have come to the middle of 2008 (my goodness!), my feelings seem to be pushing energies to make things happen so I can feel that I've accomplished what I need to this year.

With 2008 bringing about a shift in my consciousness from being results/outcome oriented to being present in the moment and enjoying the journey, I am being conscious of allowing a natural flow to manifest instead of a manufactured and forced energy.

What's amazing about making an effort to be present is that I have become more intuned with my intuition and my feelings which have been guiding me joyously on my path. These life "tools" have been helping me gain clarity in my relationships with others. It is at times "scary" to not know what will happen ultimately, but did I really know before?

This week's continued effort:

Find comfort and delight in uncertainty.

This presence tends to lead in the path to miracles (aka success).

Also visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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Something Sanford Meisner would always encourage actors to do was to keep asking why:

With your lines - Why are you saying these words? Why are you saying them to another?
With your environment - Why am I here?
With your circumstances - Why are things this way?
With your character - Why am I the way I am?
Etc.

Asking why has allowed me to peel off "layers" in order to discover the simplicity and complexities of characters and in scenes.

"Now in the silence, listen as Love speaks of Love." - John Randolph Price

I love to read John Randolph Price's The Love Book. Truly loving takes a constant conscious effort. When I am centered on this effort, it's amazing how much healing, gratitude and peace flow naturally, bringing miracles to my life.


LOVE-POWER
He encourages the use of "Love-Power," and for us to be the Presence of Love. He asks:

- Can the Presence of Love experience hurt feelings?
- Can Individualized Love feel rejected?
- Does a Master of Love attack out of anger?
- Would a Being of Love feel bitterness or resentment?
- Would God's perfect expression of Love condemn or criticize?


INDWELLING PRESENCE
Instead of just talking about our inner reality, which helps to "concretize" our problems and challenges, we can become conscious of the indwelling presence.

You will find that things will "just happen."

You will be in your natural flow.

For images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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When I find myself wanting something too much...
Getting too engrossed with manifesting a result...

I surrender.

Surrender to God... the Universe...
Detach myself from the outcome...
Let myself be okay with whatever happens...

I instantly feel free...
I feel that I'm not alone in "this"...
That everything is happening perfectly for everyone concerned...

This brings me joy...
Gratitude...

Peace.

My song about it: "I Surrender"
http://www.tracitoguchi.com/music-11.html

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Something that makes me happy is having two desks and working areas. One is more for business, although I do tons of creative work there too. The other is strictly for creative and contemplative expression.

I wanted to share with you what I keep on my "creative desk." It's a quote from a Yogi Tea bag that reads:

"Empty yourself and let the universe fill you."

Every time I read it, it delights and brings me to smile. The imagery and thought of letting go of our "stuff" to surrender and let the universe fill us is heavenly.

Have a wondrous week!

For images, visit http://www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com/

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A great way to stay on your toes and have fun is with improvisation.

While in college my acting teacher gave us what I call a "blank scene" ("What did you do last night?") and I made up scenarios with different roles, emotions and subtext for people to pick from.

For recent inspiration, I picked up the book Improvisation Starters by Philip Bernardi. The subheading reads: A Collection of 900 Improvisation Situations for the Theater. With the list of ideas, more imagination and creativity are required and makes the exercises more enjoyable.

Some of my favorites:

- Different characters
- Character contrasts
- Starting physical positions
- First lines
- Using props

For images, visit http://tracitoguchiactingthoughts.blogspot.com/

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Had a callback last week, and as usual, reflected on my performance.

Like most auditions and callbacks, the actor is asked to try to read the lines another way as directed by the director, writer, casting director, etc.

For the repeated time, I usually try to present an innate, thus noticeable difference.

If the script is written where there are obvious different interpretations, that's easy and great. However, there are some scripts that are written pretty straightforward. Any more deviation from it would seem like overacting or overreacting. So what to do?

I found that presenting an extreme innate interpretation is ideal, as it's always easier to tone down and come to middle ground (compared to your first reading of the lines).

In a callback especially, there usually isn't too much time for the production team to work with all actors, so bringing what I call an "extreme" interpretation can be helpful in showing more of your natural, yet vast flavors in a small window/opportunity of time.

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Saw the beautiful and enriching movie The Bucket List. It's one of my favorites recently since Enchanted!

Directed by Rob Reiner, it stars brilliant actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I think it brought everyone to tears in the theater.

Two questions asked in the film that we can ask ourselves:
1) Do you have joy in your life?
2) Do others have joy in their lives because of you?

Here's a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OltHNarHA9A

Find the joy in your life.

For images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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Just blogged in my relationship blog about my acting teacher Scott Rogers giving me insight about being prepared instead of planning. Also a very Meisner-rooted theory.

If one is preparing a scene, being prepared to know what's happening in the scene, the background of the character, as Meisner says - asking why, etc. is a good place to start.

If one were to plan a scene, certain desired and targeted outcomes would be planned. This is "dangerous," as it doesn't allow for "life" to happen. It doesn't allow for listening to occur, which makes acting reacting, and certainly would limit the natural spontaneity that happens in our everyday life.

The challenge? When the script says you need to breakdown crying at a certain point, and your scene partner didn't lead you to react accordingly. The probable solution? Listen, be present, and connect the dots (ellipses)... Trust. The call will be there.

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In the last week, I've been dealing with matters that could be deemed as stressful to some. If this were a couple of years ago or even last year, I would have been stressing out to make the desired outcome happen some how, some way. But now, I believe everything happens for a reason, and don’t believe in fighting against something. I believe you can fight for something if there is indication that what is being fought for is “on your side.” I discovered that this can be realized if there’s a momentum and/or some kind of support when starting that “fight.”

What I love about my life is my decision to focus on preparing instead of planning. Plans change frequently. There are so many factors – foreseen or not – that come into play that could be deemed by some as “plans ruined.” Being prepared allows for intention and desires, and also allows airiness, detachment and a natural flow for the highest good to occur, regardless of what we want and know in our limited understanding/awareness of the bigger picture.

Want to give thanks to my acting teacher Scott Rogers for teaching me about preparing instead of planning in acting. I love how acting techniques parallel life!

For images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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What I found extremely helpful in learning the craft of acting is to see what goes on behind the scenes of a production. This helps an actor appreciate other aspects and contributions of others, while also helping an actor see him or herself as part of the big picture to help tell the story.

One of my favorite behind the scenes footage is from the LOST 2 DVD "Anatomy of an Episode." It takes viewers from conception to production to post production. I was blessed to be able to be a part of this amazing production in late March with my first speaking role in the show (Season 4, Episode 10). It was the best television production I've had the chance to work on. I was blown away by the kindness, professionalism, and synchronicity of everyone part of that production. I enjoyed observing and being a part of the creative process of being able to tell the story.

I showed the LOST behind the scenes segment to the young actors group I teach, and they also were extremely fascinated by everything that goes into just one episode, and learned to see the role of an actor as part of the big picture.

How fortunate Hawaii has been to have such an amazing production and team here!

For images, visit www.tracitoguchiactingthoughts.blogspot.com

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In Scott Rogers class, he uses a lot of Sandford Meisner techniques. What I love about what Scott applies to his classes with Meisner techniques are the exercises on listening.

Here are some points from Meisner's teachings:

- Come to the scene with a feeling (the moment before). This will change when in the new situation.

- "The Pinch and the Ouch" - Imitating others movements takes focus off of yourself so the point of concentration is transferred outside yourself. *

- Verbal repetition exercise while doing a task - This exercise includes listening and repeating with reaction. Thus, instead of acting being the act of talking, acting is reacting. Don't do anything until something happens to compel you to do something (even if this means there is silence). Otherwise, something untruthful will be created.


What I love about studying listening is that this requires complete presence. On a spiritual level, this is a Buddhist teaching - currently encouraged by the likes of Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle. I've enjoyed discovering how my acting studies and practices blend with my spiritual studies and practices.


* Meisner felt one of the problems actors have is that they are self-aware. He created exercises to get actors "out of their heads."

Resources:
Meisner, Sanford & Longwell, Dennis Sanford Meisner on Acting
Sanford Meisner Master Class
Scott Rogers' Academy Film & Television www.americanfilmactor.com

For images, visit www.tracitoguchiactingthoughts.blogspot.com

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Read this quote from one of my favorite books Forgiveness: The Greatest Healer of All by Gerald Jampolsky, M.D. and had an epiphany I wanted to share with you:

"Forgiveness is the shortest route to God."

I have come to believe that the word "God" means among many things, potential. Specifically our potential because we are part of this being, consciousness, energy source...

So we could say, "Forgiveness is the shortest route to our potential," "Forgiveness is the shortest route to consciousness" or "Forgiveness is the shortest route to energy source."

My epiphany was when we forgive, we are immediately in the place of what people refer to as "presence" and "being" where there is a joyous and peaceful flow... where infinite possibilities are aromatically brewing... where miracles derived from hopes and dreams happen.

This is the experiment I'm doing as I type: When my attention is focused on my thoughts (in my head area), I notice my throat starts to get tight.

When I place the feeling of forgiveness in my heart area, I feel softer. It's interesting that Maria Shriver talked about this softer self when she was a guest on Oprah's show a couple of days ago. She said she likes herself better this way, as does her kids. I completely understand what she meant. I like my softer self too.

The balance for me is being my softer self while needing to get things done expediently. (I noticed the tensing of my throat again!)

Okay, so my body is telling me to relax and put forth my best efforts as my softer self. This allows me to be present (not let my thoughts get five blocks ahead of my body - this will be a delightful conscious effort) and happier.

So what happens when everything is happening at once and needs to be taken care of yesterday or now? Take a deep breath, and do your best while savoring and enjoying each moment.

See you on the path to enlightenment!

Just look up. It's straight ahead.

For images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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"If you believe in yourself, as I believe in you." - The Wiz


Believe in yourself. This saying may sound cliche by now, but we cannot accomplish anything if we don't. There may be people that believe in you more than you do yourself, and may have helped you along the way. But ultimately, your attitude about what you can achieve (your potential) is determined by the thoughts you think and the emotions you feel about those thoughts.

Jack Canfield's book The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is one of many inspiring books that devotes a chapter to this teaching.

Here are some highlights:

- "You weren't an accident. You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman." - Max Lucado, Best-selling author

- "Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can." - Richard Bach, Best-selling author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull

- Mr. Canfield tells a story about 20 year-old Ruben Gonzalez, whose dream and passion was to make the U.S. Olympic team. After the first day of training in the sport of luge at the Olympic training center in Lake Placid, New York, he called his friend complaining about his injuries, saying he was going back to soccer.

His friend interrupted him and told him to get in front of a mirror. His friend told him to repeat "No matter how bad it is, and how bad it gets, I'm going to make it!"

Ruben felt like an idiot staring at himself in the mirror, so he said it reflecting this thought.

His friend reminded him how the Olympics was all he ever spoke about. Ruben started getting serious, saying the line again. His friend told him to say it again, again, again and again.

By the fifth time, Ruben thought it felt good and stood a little straighter. By the tenth time, he jumped up in the air and shouted, "I don't care what happens. I'm going to make it."

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From Traci:

YOU can make it.

YOU can do whatever you set your mind to and work toward.

YOU can do it by believing in yourself:

• From the beginning when all you have is just a dream.
  
• During the good and bad times, when you're working diligently, even if no one else believes in what you are doing or cares why you're even doing it.
  
• At the end when you've proven your belief to yourself. You will powerfully inspire others to do the same.

I believe in you.

Go do it!

For images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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This past semester in school, I took a creativity class, which I loved.

In my final project, I discussed how creativity can be used to solve everyday problems, do everyday tasks, see the world differently, and find creative ways to live.

Deepak Chopra's book "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" is something I've been reading again. However, this time, I had been studying and applying one spiritual law each day (this idea was shared with me from a wise man - thanks!). When I was reading what Mr. Chopra wrote about the Law of Least Effort, I had one of those Oprah "Ah, ha!" moments.

Mr. Chopra says, "...Law of Least Effort: responsibility. What does responsibility mean? Responsibility means not blaming anyone or anything for your situation, including yourself. Having accepted this circumstance, this event, this problem, responsibility then means the ability to have a creative response to the situation as it is now. All problems contain seeds of opportunity, and this awareness allows you to take the moment and transform it to a better situation of thing."

So when we come to periods that seem like an impasse, times when things just aren't seem to be working out, we can have a more peaceful relationship with ourselves and others by not struggling... not going against the current... but by finding creative ways in which we can flow. Find a way to get in the flow of the wave... Find a way to above, below, on the side of the struggle or road block. Why expend energy fighting through something if the timing and other elements aren't right yet?

Like Dr. Jerry Jampolsky says, "we can make peace of mind our only goal."

By doing this we can have fun and live joyously.

Here's a toast to you and being on a peaceful path full of creativity, fun and joy!

For images, visit www.tracitoguchi.blogspot.com

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Like thousands of people, I've been reading Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth: Awakening Your Life's Purpose." I had started reading it from the beginning to keep up with Oprah and Mr. Tolle's Monday classes, but decided to let the "Universe" decide what I would read.

I've been inspired by many of the things I've read, and have been applying these ideas to my daily life. Most recently, it's been the words, "Be present."

This is the story that led me to this:

There are two Zen monks Tanzan and Ekido. One of them picked up a young woman wearing a silk kimono and carried her to the other side of a muddy road. Five hours later, the other monk couldn't restrain himself and finally asked why he did that. He said they as monks weren't supposed to do that.

The monk replied, "It's been five hours. Are you still carrying her?"

Mr. Tolle goes on to say that the memories of the past are not a problem as they are how we learn from mistakes. They become a problem when they become a part of our identity. It's the emotional and mental baggage that is held on to because it strengthens identities. [Yes, by building on the ego.]

I know I have done this. And since it's easier to see others objectively, I know many people who have also unintentionally created identities for themselves by continuing to hold on to past memories. Many hold on to memories that created pain for themselves, so their identity is that of a victim. They are not "living," especially in the now, because they keep their hearts distant.

By simply "being"... "being present in the now"...

These are instant ways to release the past, thus past identities.

This takes courage and constant effort, and it tends to be easy to sway back to what's seemingly comfortable because it's familiar.

However, by living in the now, we can only live our most powerful identity:

Our Essence

Looking forward to seeing your true essence shine so we can have stronger and deeper connections with each other!

Happy end of March! May April be amazing for you.

For images, visit www.TraciToguchi.Blogspot.com

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