Put Lime on the Coconut.

As I sit down to write, I notice the softness of a gentle smile on my face, one of those many nice things that go by unnoticed most of the time. Except today something different happened: I am present to my inner peace - “So this is what inner peace feels like? It even makes me smile” –I thought, when the one thing I have been working on for so long happens to me over and over throughout the day, more and more often: Being Present.

This awareness carries me to a deeper joy giving thanks. I mean it`s the only thing I can do to keep this feeling going  just Be Grateful!

This feeling of “at ease” or “attunement” comes from my free will. That willingness to BE Peace.

Once I notice I could be willing to receive what I dream of, I am conscious that the possibility of felicidad (joy) is always available!

Therefore, I observe that my talents and instinct flow naturally and I can make sense of everything in my life. I become the best actress I can; a caring loving daughter a kinder human being. I can hear my calling to be the best I can be to serve as a spiritual guide to many.

This connection to my willingness is the “lime” on the Coconut you see…

As I put the lime on my own coconut every time I am present, my spiritual musculature strengthens. It takes my willingness and this is how I practice.

Being conscious of our own Willingness is what David Hoffmiester shared with us during a warm hearted interview on Coconut TV this week. David is a living example of what the joy of following “A Course in Miracles” means. I hope that his insight on Willingness sounds like a beautiful serenade of coco-bliss as it did to me, with a lot of lime on top...of course.

 Weekly affirmation: "I am willing to put lime on the coconut!"

Being Fearless

Hola! I'm back!

Dios mio, how I have missed writing in this blog. Good news is, I will be writing a blog every Monday.

I launched a You Tube channel In February Coconut TV The idea was inspired by this blog.

My videos go up every Monday. Begining tommorow, I will also write blogs based on the videos. It will be a positive message. A great way to start the week.

Its truly been a blessing filming Coconut TV. What has been most exciting is collaborating with other Spiritual teachers.

So lets get this coco fiesta started!

Last weeks weeks video was FUN and Fearless! Check out my very first experience paragliding!



Tommorow a new video will be up on Coconut TV. And I will begin my weekly blog here! Stay tuned. Happy to be back!

A Second Chance at this Blog!

As I sip my yummy Cuban Café (a shot of espresso with mucho sugar) I realize how glad I am to have a second chance at writing this blog. You see, my editor was quick to say “it´s great…do it over” after she read the first one and it´s great to know I was able to put into perspective what I really like to share with you.

The Inspiration of the Year was my work in the short film: “A Second Chance at Christmas” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4hfLz16KL4&sns=fb

When I get a second chance at doing anything in particular instead of feeling upset for doing things all over, I realize something higher than myself is whispering something in my ear, like “you can do better than this… or… are you sure you want to take this decision?” In a Nutty-procrastination mood I find myself in a NUT-shell when I have to make a decision. It´s hard. But I´ve come to understand that if I don´t take a decision of my own, someone else will eventually take it for me.

Inspiration has come my way in the form of a wonderful creative artist like director Gene Blalock who made magic when making an extraordinary movie with a limited budget. Producer James Tumminia and a team of hard working and talented people helped him manifest his art. It´s people like these that help magnify the coco voice in my head: a loud speaker saying “YOU can do it!”

This reminds me I can reach my goals: booking national commercials, and traveling doing what I love during this year! I had an amazing McExperience at the Mc Donald´s setwhile shooting the latest national commercial, the day flew by working harmoniously we shot our scene in less than an hour! The best part is that when I walked off the set a group of smiling faces greeted me: the client, the ad agency even the wardrobe girl was happy. It´s a blessing working with such happy people, my coco Corazón was filled with JOY. I had done a great job. That’s all I can ask for in return. Appreciation for my work… Happy people! = Happy me!

Now that I have created so much coco-bliss this year all I wanted for this New Year is, for my coco light to continue to shine! To continue to BELIEVE my coco thoughts and feeling worthy of them, remembering that my love and safety reside within. I work daily on being grateful for this truth for myself. I know when we shine we emanate onto others. If I BELIEVE in my coco light, I feel I can Inspire anyone to BELIEVE in their own light. Afterall, we are just ONE big COCO anyway.

What the Coco do I write about? Dear Santa: “Help!”

I must start by confessing that this blog post was almost messed up by the Nut in me. I just couldn’t get started. My blog editor was pressuring me because she knows me well enough to determine something was blocking my Coco-Inspiration. I accepted the challenge. I sat down to write and chose to focus on sharing with you my Coco-Christmas. Why? Because it is now during my favorite season of the year, after what I’ve lived that I know for certain that I have two options: I either give in to whatever the Nut wants or I surrender to the Coco and let things flow and blossom.  So I began to realize that if what I had desired for during this year hadn’t happened, it was because so many other wonderful things were taking place and in disguise were meant to be exactly the series of events I needed so that I could be mature and humble enough as to say “Thank You” to life. Just because only this way I could be where I am and be prepared to welcome all the marvelous things ahead of me.

I mean, really, how could I be ungrateful when a movie I was costar in is releasing this week? That’s right! ; "A Second Chance at Christmas" will be released on Dec 16^th: http://www.seraphfilms.net/sfp/index.html

How could I not be jumping of joy when I just booked a Mc Donald’s National Commercial! Yes! Thank You! One of my goals this year was to book a national commercial and to see that my persistence has paid off makes me want to dance. Oh "I´m Lovin´ It" because the best part is that I will be playing a realtor. You see, when I went to the casting I transformed into a role model for realtors: my mother, a top selling agent in Miami. No wonder I was chosen, I mean, I gave my best performance using all the knowledge I had on how realtors acted and reacted only by remembering all those years when I admired my mom selling homes left and right. Your best years Mami! Gracias!

 For models and/or actors to book a commercial or a job is such a reward, because we spend most of the time driving north, south, up and down, traffic, heat, rain, waiting, rejected, wear your best clothes (avoid wrinkles of course); put some make up on; a bad hair day? Got a pimple? Oh no! We are not allowed any of those. Cramps, headaches? Nonsense, we have no “sick days off”, so go on rehearse, stand in front of the camera and smile to the world. Sell millions of this soda please.

I’d also like to share with you the wonderful interview on my experience on The Great Food Truck Race! You can see it here:  http://ow.ly/7fwsn 

I might had bumped into people who disappointed me but I can see  clearly now how I came across Angels this year. Not Angels with wings and halos. They came in many other ways. They were disguised as producers, casting directors, makeup artists, directors, actors, even friends and my own mother. Some served me food, poured me a glass of wine on that date from hell; others rang up my groceries. Others helped me over the phone and cleared out my bills and took payments online without me knowing it. There’s a story behind all of those people, behind all of us. It’s not about me only; I know the world does not revolve around ME! They are all looking for Love and joy, one way or another, just like I am. Angels mingled in my life with friends and other family members in such a harmony I could not begin to understand. I may not have won an Oscar, or received my first million dollars, or gotten neither married nor pregnant. YET. What I know now is that I’m slowly but consciously walking my path towards all those dreams and I accept these events if they are meant to be for my higher wellness. It’s all scripted, remember? Meanwhile I’m grateful and preparing for all new things to come because this year Santa is laughing “Co-Co-Co” instead of his usual “Ho-Ho-Ho”…

SCRIPTED

I was going over the script of my next acting gig, on a plane to Virginia and I couldn´t help but wonder:
"What if my life is already written out in a script?

"If so, the character within this script I play is a "Cuban CocoNut".

Allow me to explain: I picked my role before entering this CocoNUT shell. My mind projects nut and coco images on to a huge screen called world. Coco Bunga! So many nutty images I have created throughout my lifetime, yikes! Some sane coco images and some insane nutty. But, I'm working on editing this film. I mean I´d like to give it a happy ending you see; therefore I must remember to Kick the nut in the nuts.Very similar to acting, because when I book a role, there´s a script, portraying a role and I just have to play it out. The only thing I am in control of is my personal experience representing it because the script is already written. You see? It´s the same with life!
Being this so, I ask myself: Why take things so nutserious? I mean, why beat myself up at times for no good reason at all? Pretty nuttyloco huh? Get the picture?
I get side tracked by the stories within my script: dramas, upsets and nutty betrayals. That Nut in my head, indulges in playing the victim role, making me battle constantly against it. You can say it´s the bad guy on the script and the Coco is the Hero!
If I can finally focus on the fact that I am the author, director and producer of my own script (thinker in my mind) and that I am responsible for my projections, only then I will be able to free myself from suffering: I fire the victim role on the script.

I once read this and it was a cocoenlighnmtent moment, I mean I literally almost fell on my cocobootie! "Everything happens the way it is supposed to anyway. If something isn't suppose to happen, you will never be able to make it happen. If something is supposed to happen, then there's nothing in the world you can do to stop it."

Now the above statement makes a whole lot of sense.

You see I prove my point: My life is a script. I play out my role accordingly and enjoy my experience.So I tell myself to just embrace the COCO side and let things unveil.What a GREAT scene this would be:
Coco Look's at Nut straight at NUT and say's
"Oye, you! NUT! I am through playing your silly games. I direct YOU. You don't direct me. I´m in charge!"

As I write, I am having a blast enjoying this acting gig in Virginia. Meeting wonderful people (new extras on my script), wearing cute clothes, having makeup and hair done, sharing my talent with a team who happened to be on this chapter of my script.

The Nut? I leave it locked in the hotel room, learning new lines and punished until it learns to behave properly and not mess with my happycoco Script!

Is there any Space for A Coco Latina Actress in Hollywood?

During my childhood in Miami, like any kid my age, I was a HUGE fan of Punky Brewster. I hope you even know who I´m talking about. I told my mami I wanted to be Punky´s bestfriend on the show. I thought that she needed a latina friend. Mami sadly informed me that the TV Show was shot in Los Angeles. I proclaimed I wanted to live with Los Angelitos there then!

My Innocence back then promised me it´d be easy. It wasn´t. To become the great professional I am now I had to go against all Nutty clichés regarding making it big in L.A.

As you see, I always knew that Acting would be what I would do for the rest of my life and these 18 past years of ups and downs in this wonderful career have taken me from a successful spot in Miami to “the New Hispana Actress in L.A.”. I have grown professionally and personally. Today I continue to pursue my desire: doing what I love, even though the “Nutty-Voices” have been wanting me to do the opposite... I mean I built a solid career in Miami, Booking hundreds of commercials, acting classes with Top Acting Coaches hundreds of photo shoots, I hypnotize the camera! This photogenic SAG member since 1994 has done her Piña Colada with the best Piña juice featuring magazines and films; hosting 3 national TV shows and becoming the 1st Latin woman boxing announcer (chosen among 500 girls! literally) taking me all over the country hosting for WWE Cocobunga! .

Playing ME on a food truck has been the cherry on top after living in LA for 5 years now. I have an agent and manager. I have been working steady acting and hosting! The best thing is that I have been able to break into the Anglo market which, believe it or not I found hard do in Miami. This "cross over" allows me to share my Latin roots with the gringos! Heck, with EVERYone who wants to be entertained by this proud CUBAN Coconut! 
 
The hard part has been overcoming the many Nut voices telling me all the reasons why I should not come to L.A. “it´s expensive” “it´s hard” “you´re already a Top Model in Miami you know everyone in the business here” “you'll never make it” “everyone´s there, it´s too much competition” “you´ll start from zero”.
But let me share a little insight:
The only competition there is, is ME against my own head with this scratched record of all these nuts speaking at the same time. That´s it. The mind is so POWERFUL my coco amigos! It can help you or drown you. Being in NUT mode will eventually crack you. 

A wonderful gift we have is the free will to think what we want. We do have control over our experience. Therefore, I have learned to notice what I´m thinking and carefully stop myself if I´m thinking something nutty, then I change the thought I´m having and lovingly carry on. NUT will certainly have its way with me, but I won´t let it!

I knew in my heart that I was going to do well in L.A., I would work making a living expressing to the world my talent. I deleted from my head the “Not Making it” option. On my script success was a done deal! I decided to move to lala land and chose not to listen to "those" voices.
What can I say? I literally kicked my Nut in the Nuts.

Eliminated..

Eliminated.

Yes.

We were eliminated on The Great Food Truck Race Show in Denver.

It was hard. Very hard!

I was very attached to the good feeling of closeness to the crew, cast and the whole shabang (sobbing). 

By the time I got to Denver I must say I was mentally and physically exhausted. I was getting barely any rest and coming down with a cold. I remember the night before our last day of selling I thought: "Can I continue doing this? ”To which I answered:” Of course I CAN!” so I took a pair of

Tylenol cold and delightfully passed out.

The next morning we were off to the restaurant depot to do grocery shopping but I had a weird feeling. I was not as upbeat and INTO it as before.

I felt Denver might just be Cafe Con Leche´s last stop. And believe me I did NOT want to believe that.

We got to the Great Divide Brewery and famous quarterback John Elway shared the news: “only one person can work the truck”. This challenge was hard to digest. My hopes of making it to the Grand Finale in Miami, my home town, “my dream” seemed to dwindle. Sitting on the sidelines watching the action was frustrating. At times I would sneak off. Just to have one of the producers literally pick me up and put back in our "section". I felt  confined in a CocoNut and I was feeling a bit nutty! 

I cheered up though when I heard that the Seabirds´ sales had been low and hoped it meant we´d still be in the race!
But Elimination day was inevitable. 

(By the way: It is REALLY awful to stand there waiting for the results.)

We were officially out of the race. I was very, very sad. Muy triste. I mean “you´re on the road and get attached to the experience!” I told my cast mates. It was horrible.
“I want to be doing this show forever!!”.That´s how exciting and fun it was.

As I have learned through experience, some great things do have an end.

 
The week when our elimination episode was aired, I was going through some intense struggles in my life: I was faced with the elimination process of an old pattern of my own. All of the sudden I was filled with fear, insecurity and doubt. 

I knew that it was a pivotal moment that would define my future.

It was an old reaction that wasn´t useful anymore. A similar situation from the past disguised in different circumstances. 
This CocoNUT, Thank goodness, is ready to be more COCO than nut. Even though it was muy difícil, I was able to do what had to be done. ELIMINATE it.  I suffered before and behind Cameras. Then I forgave, accepted, surrendered and LET GO.

ALL the Eliminación paid off.

I AM at PAZ.

Miracles DO happen.

Even when we feel it´s impossible :) the COCOS have a sweet way of proving one wrong. I had Won Top Prize without knowing it: a week later I got a GIG that would pull me closer to where I want to be and do:

1. I had to be Eliminated on the Show so I would be in L.A. on time to take the chance of a Lifetime in my Acting Career.
2. I had to Eliminate my Old Pattern to be closer to my Soul mate and fall in Love. (Truly in COCOAMOR).

This is a Private Practice of my own I Cherish now.

I mean how nutty to think I would work “forever” in a show like this... With all the COCO on the beach?!