In 3 days I attended 16 panels/ events,  jam packed with information:

1-Round Table Power Meetings with top casting directors
2-Breaking into hosting
3-How to create, produce and star in your own webisodes
4-Demystifying the audition process workshop
5- Packaging Your Documentary For Success
6- A Storyteller’s Journey
7- Round Table meeting with Tribeca Institute
8- Inside the Mind of the Investor
9- Crossing Over: Diverse Voices, Universal Content
10-The Social Life of Convergence
11- Keynote lunch with, President of Universal Studios
12-Writing the movie CHAVEZ
13- Anatomy of a Hit YouTube Channel
14- Cocktail reception
15- Screening of the movie Filly Brown

And the HIGHLIGHT of the whole conference:

16- The OPENING KEYNOTE LUNCH WITH ROBERT RODRIGUEZ

Friday the 13- of course-, 2pm. Top floor of the Sheraton hotel, 20 tables for around 8 to 10 people; soup,  salmon salad and flan when suddenly, there he is = The Texan Bad-ass, who never bent over to Hollywood’s caprices, never moved to LA, will launch his own TV network El REY, and who, – let’s not forget please-, made his first movie with 7000$ he got by selling his body for medical experiments. Did I mentioned he won Sundance’s audience award with his first all self-made long feature?

What can I say. This man incarnates the Independent filmmaking spirit, he is relentless, eloquent, inspiring and funny. Since I can not sum up all the wisdom that came out of his mouth- I tried but it didn’t make any justice-, I’m just going to transcribe some of his most insightful quotes that I recorded with my Iphone; Ready to feed that indie inside of you? Swallow this:

“Most people are creative or technicians; but if you are creative and you learn to be technician, you’ll be unstoppable”.

“I didn’t know how to use a camera and did not had a crew, but I said to myself : I’m going to learn how to use a camera and I’ll do everything on my own so I don’t have a list of “I needs” before I start something. So I’ll learn by doing, it will be my own film school, I will do 3 straight to video movies, edit the best scenes and make a demo to get a job. But the first one “El mariachi” got found by Sony and changed the landscape of independent film making for ever”.

“Write a movie around what you have, or your friends have. Every time you find an obstacle you can point with your finger, 3 other fingers are pointing right back at you. The solution is in your creativity. When you are a kid everything is possible, so that’s why I think there is something wrong with me ’cause I still think I can do anything, even though I can’t. But that’s how I have made all these movies, because I was the writer, the director,  the editor, the cinematographer, the cameraman the sound mixer, the composer, I did the posters, the release, I even cooked and everything, but that’s because when you love what you do, it’s natural. Never lose that mentality of “do it yourself”.

“You’ve gotta expect more from yourself, always think bigger.”

“ Change your mentality. You can’t wake up every morning and say -I have to be independent-, you have to wake up every morning and say: -I want to be independent-. ”

“I have a company named very similar to NALIP, a-ha, it’s an actual company, it’s called NMIDMP= Never Mind I’ll do it myself productions”. (;D) You gotta do it yourself because sometimes you have a vision that no one else shares, so you have to prove them first… then they’ll share it”.

“A lot of it is just doing things first. When I was doing “El Mariachi” I wasn’t trying to make a Latin movie, I was just trying to make a movie that was entertaining, that had Latins in it, like when I saw John Woo’s movies I said:  wow, I wanna be the Chinese, or James Bond, wow I wanted to be the English man. That’s why I want to makes movies like Desperado where people, anybody, will be watching and they’ll go, wow, I wanna be the Mexican”.

“I remember when I was trying to cast Desperado, there were no Latin Actors in Hollywood back in 1994.  I though that was insane, I wrote a movie that was full of Latin characters, and again, I wasn’t trying to make a Latin movie, but you write about what you know, right?  So what do you do? You write under your same image; so I wrote something with Latins, straight up English, action, adventure, comedy, but it had that face, well there were no actors. What? Racism? No, it’s  just that this business is not innovative, people want to react to what you do first. No one had done it before, putting Latin actors playing Latin. I had to go and get a European guy, Antonio Banderas, and Salma? No one knew Salma, I had to go and shoot a whole other movie with her before I could present her to the executives and show the work that she could do in English, and she still had trouble getting the part, they said: can’t you just use Cameron Diaz? She just did  “The Mask” and her last name is Latin! So I thought: I have to make these actors stars, first movie: stars, so that I won’t have to deal with this trouble again. That’s why I shot them like motherfuckers, I shot the hell out of them, the cameras were low, they looked like gods, so afterwards the executives could say: Ok, we can do more of these, somebody already did it”.

“Failure is good. Remember: From the ashes of your failure there is always the key to success”.

And he ended by adding : “I hope you all fail. Badly”.

Amen.

The crowd then stood up cheered and applauded. When the waiter finished pouring coffee in my cup, Robert had already vanished.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who dreams about approaching him one day in his Ranch in Texas and ask him to please consider my content for his The King Network: El Rey

Porque seguirá siendo el Rey….

And speaking of failure, this is for you, my fellow failures:

I was recently making an assessment of my first Trimester of this 2012 and of course, as usual, I started to blame myself for not having accomplished half of what intended.

As I don’t have a job with a punch clock, nor kids to look after, I’m responsible for my time and productivity. Can’t blame on anybody else my missed marks. I consider myself a planner,- which doesn’t mean I get to do all the things on my lists, but sometimes-, when I’m beating myself down  for the lack of results, I just sit back and acknowledge the things that I did accomplish. Without my endless lists and boards, I would probably not know where my hours went trying to make things happen.

In this first trimester I gladly marked as “done”= officially quit smoking (yahe! 8 months now) correcting my surgery (I had 2 in less than 3 months, yikes), getting a Voice Over agent, fostering a dog, getting new headshots, bombarding the Casting directors with my castability sheet, finding a singing class, designing the logo of my company, attending 2 network events/month, watching good films, reading more, rewrite my short and hiring a script consultant for the long. I’m just talking about what I consider achievements. The rest is trying to get a paid job, or going to castings. My “done” list might not seem like a big deal, but those things take lots of time to accomplish. Time that I had to plan.

So am I planner? Hell yeah! I did a lots of planning for writing and selling my novel:

Tons and tons of ACT mapping and page marking for my screenplay:

Tons of task prioritizing now that I want to shoot a short:

I know I’m just talking about my awesome creative time which, even if I don’t get paid for, I consider my job. (It might pay off one day). It’s like for the auditions, I also spend lots of time driving around town hoping to book something that pays big $$$

But how about the rest of the time?

Yes, I’m super anal, so let me share this table I use to realize where my hours went and where I can cut minutes in order to take advantage of my precious open time.

Does the list of activities resonate with your priorities? If so, fill out the board, you might discover some imbalances that you can correct.

But don’t devote too much effort to correcting your imbalances. Rather, focus on the activities that truly make you happy.

That’s when the really memorable events happen.

Perhaps the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your personal gifts, following your bliss and making use of your precious time, sharing it with others.

Says the most isolated girl you will probably read, ha!

Shit, I really need to socialize more….

I should probably grab that phone and call a friend.

Yep, time to show some love.

]]> http://ceciliarobles.com/2012/04/09/precious-time/feed/ 0 http://ceciliarobles.com/2012/02/08/a-dog-isnt-you-whole-life-but-it-sure-makes-your-life-whole/ http://ceciliarobles.com/2012/02/08/a-dog-isnt-you-whole-life-but-it-sure-makes-your-life-whole/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:35:48 +0000 admin http://ceciliarobles.com/?p=1899

Before coming to the USA I had never heard about “credit histories”, and I had already lived in 4 other countries. Strangely enough, in Europe for example, using a credit card means that you don’t have “credit- bility” , you live beyond your economical capacities and basically you are not trustworthy. You build your credit history by precisely not owing money to anyone.

In short, each time you move to a new country you must be prepared to start all over again. Especially if the country is in another continent and they speak a different language. Between the countries of The “European Union”, it’s easier to transfer your driving license records, your bank records, your mortgages records, etc…But in the United States, you need a social security number, a US identification, and a credit history; otherwise, no matter how good is your VISA, how much money you make and how many employees you have, if you don’t have a credit card and use it, you don’t exist.

I first came here with a student VISA and I had no idea how important was to start building my credit history until I realized I could not rent an apartment, buy a car, or have a debit card. So here is what I did, hope it can help:

1. I lived with roommates who wouldn’t care if I had a credit history as long as I gave them a deposit and punctually my rent.
2. I passed my driving license exam and had my US identification.
3. I bought a car cash on auctions, a-ha, no way I could ask for a loan.
4. I asked for my DMV records in the countries I lived, translated them by an official and expensive translator, and went on a quest to find a car insurance. (I have been driving since age 15 and never had an accident in my entire life. Even so, many companies wouldn’t assure me and the only one that accepted offered me  and exorbitant price. So be aware).
5. Meanwhile, I got a job on campus at the University.
6. With that job offer I could ask for a social security number.
7. With that social security number I could open a bank account.
8. With that checking account in place, I could apply for my first secured credit card. (Secure means they give you a credit limit but they are not risking anything since they hold that amount from your own money. It’s a prepaid card).
9. One year after using the secured credit card and paying it on time, I asked them to unlock the money, and applied for normal credit card. I chose one with mileage points because I travel a lot.

1. Once I had that one year of credit history, I started to look for an apartment on my own. When I found something correct, I talked to the Landlord, explained him my situation, and even if I had a good credit history, it was too short, so he asked for a 3 months deposit instead of one.
2. After 4 years of earning money, paying taxes, renewing VISAS, and building a good credit history (meaning paying on time the total each month), I decided to drop my mileage credit card,­–because it charges an annual fee and the flying discounts were not that interesting–, and ask for a “cash rewards” one.  Everybody recommended me not to do it because closing a credit card  hurts one’s credit score.
3. So my bank granted me the new “cash rewards” credit card but with a very low limit. I called the credit department and asked to transfer the limit I had on the mileage one. My credit score was close to 800, but they refused.
4. In the spirit of building up my credit history, I asked the same bank for a car loan. Don’t ask me why but they also refused.
5. So for 7 months, I went on the quest of: finding a used car, trading in my car, and putting on some extra money down so the amount asked for a loan would be smaller, but it was useless. Several private entities refused me a loan, and the ones that accepted, offered me ridiculous APRs.
6. Luckily for me, a Toyota dealer not only granted me a loan, but they granted it with 0 APR!!! So I traded in my previous car (also a Toyota), gave cash on top, and happily signed a contract to acquire a brand new car that will be mine in 3 years. The secret was to go towards the end of the year, when they are desperate to get rid of the current year’s models, and also to know exactly how much your car is worth in trade in. And negotiate; never settle to their first offer. Or second, or third. Be firm and know they can always lower the price even more.

Conclusion: Get a secured credit card as soon as you can. Pay on time. Be patient. Ask for an unsecured one, and go from there. They say the more credit cards you have, the more you are likely to get a loan. Personally I don’t want to deal with the hassle of juggling with several, “so I used this one this month, I’ll use that other one next month, wait did I paid the other one” etc…

Now, the next big challenge is going to be to get a loan for buying a property. Ahhh… I’ll keep you posted on that one. I’m informing myself about foreclosures and International banks… stay tuned, and good luck! And remember if your bank is picky and instead of helping you it puts you through too many difficulties, dump it. Go with the competition, it’s their loss. There! ’cause where is my $$$ bitch?

Desde la muerte de mi madre, pasaron 6 años y 45 días antes de que se vendiera la casa que nos dejara. En realidad la casa se empezó a anunciar en septiembre del 2010 y se vendió en noviembre del 2011. Tomando en cuenta el estado de la economía actual, se puede decir que corrimos con suerte. El comprador no tenía que esperar a que le otorgaran un crédito. Pero como era “vendedor” y manejaba cash,  negoció con nosotros para que pagáramos el IDE de la tercera parte del monto total. Y por brutos y desesperados aceptamos. (IDE= 30% de todo depósito en cash superior a 15 mil pesos)

Así que “suerte” entre comillas, porque además el gañán que nos la compró, se pasó 10 días más de lo estipulado en el contrato y el día de la transacción nos llegó con la sorpresa de que no había completado el monto total. El contrato se firmó el 20 de Octubre, pero sólo decía que “la venta tenía que celebrarse al mes de la firma”, pero no especificaba la fecha precisa.

OJO: para los novatos como nosotros, acuérdense de especificar si son días naturales o hábiles y escriban en el contrato a partir de qué día se cobra la penalización.

OJO: también especifiquen muy bien el monto de la penalización.
Normalmente es el 10% del valor de la casa, pero en países tercermundistas como en México, los vendedores se conforman con un 5%.

OJO: en cuanto a la penalización: si viven en un país como México dónde los nuevos ricos se pasan por el arco del triunfo los contratos, pues eso, los contratos no sirven de nada. Hasta la corredora -, quien nunca aceptó que había fallado por esa esa omisión,- nos dijo que no nos convenía amenazar con cobrar la penalización, porque eso sólo procede cuando el comprador admite que no puede con el compromiso, cosa que el patán nunca iba a aceptar.

¿Entonces qué nos quedaba? Irnos a litigio, pagar abogados y parar la venta de la casa por el 5% del valor de la casa? Pues no. El tipejo no llamaba, no le entraban las llamadas, y su señora tenía un celular de provincia siempre desconectado. Así llegó el plazo del mes, y  como el 20 de Noviembre es día festivo en México, pues el tipo ni sus luces.

Luego de que yo le enviara un e-mail a la corredora enlistando todos los gastos que la prolongación de mi estancia me estaba costando, las molestias que significaba vivir sin muebles ni electrodomésticos, y amenazando con cobrar la penalización, por fin, el malandrín dio señales de vida.

OJO: La corredora no quería perder su venta, así es que seguramente no le leyó la lista,  ha de haber edulcorado la cosa, como buena “mediadora” velando primero y antes que nada, por sus intereses.

La notaría que escogió el comprador, le había dado como plazo límite para que pudiera aprovechar del descuento anual para escriturar (jornada notarial) para el día 28. Si se pasaba de tal fecha, pagaría el triple. El tipo se dijo “ah, entonces tengo hasta el 28″, sin tomar en cuenta ni el contrato, ni las molestias que nos ocasionaba. Como yo empecé a hacer presión, el tipo se dignó dar la tercera parte en cash el día viernes 25. Cuando llegó, de pants, fachoso y tarde, nunca se disculpó por el retraso de 10 días, al contrario, y ahí fue cuando tuve el 1er altercado con él machirrín iletrado. (Amén de que, de esa cantidad, tuvimos que pagar el 30% del famoso IDE). Bueno, pues aún así, esa tarde de buena fe, fui y firmé yo la escritura porque “se suponía que me tenía que regresar de urgencia a Los Ángeles”. Lo de la urgencia era cierto, tuve que posponer una cirugía que tenía programada, lo de que me iría ese fin de semana, no tanto. Con el antecedente de su falta de educación y palabra, yo no me iría de México hasta ver todo el $ en nuestra cuenta, además de que quería una copia de la escritura para poder justificar la entrada del $ a USA, y en la notaría me dijeron que esa copia me la tendrían el 28.

Llegó el lunes 28 de Noviembre. Día en que se suponía que sólo nos depositaría el resto y nos veríamos en tarde para firmar en la notaría. Oh, cielos, sólo de acordarme me da rabia. El prófugo del petate, no sólo nos retrasó la cita dos horas, sino que encima llegó tarde y con un cheque que no equivalía ni al 15 % de lo que nos debía. Incitó (obligó) a mi hermano a abrir una cuenta en un banco que ni al caso, para que pudiéramos  ver el dinero el mismo día. ¿No que depósito a nuestra cuenta? Y mi hermano que es todo conciliador, y lo que quería era acabar, ahí va y le concede el gusto. Se avienta las filas y trámites para abrir la dichosa cuenta, y ¿qué creen? Obviamente: el cheque rebotó. Sí. Hubo que esperar  a que “la tía” (?) viniera a hacerle otro chequesito al sobrino monedita de oro.

Mientras mi hermano lidiaba con la tía, el tipejo me hizo acompañarlo a un segundo banco y me puso a hacer la fila mientras él esperaba sentado. Ajá. Ya cuando vio que estaba en ventanilla, el tipo movió sus lonjas para sólo depositar otro 15% (y de cifra no cerrada). Y yo, “Pero falta!” y él “sí, ya sé, estoy tratando de juntar”… Que ¿qué?, ¿a escasas dos horas de la cita en la notaría? De esa calaña, la piraña.

Por si fuera poco, luego nos hizo esperar parados bajo el rayo del sol “a que su primo (?) fuera por cash” para depositarlo en un tercer banco… Ya para cuando por fin llegó el primo, mi hermano y yo moríamos de sed, de hambre y de coraje. Como buenos mafiosos sacaron sus fajos de billetes y se pusieron a contar. Toda una escenita depositar semejantes cantidades de cash en un banco. ¿Serían contrabandistas?, ¿verduleros de ;a central de abastos? Para entonces ya habían transcurrido 3 horas y  media, y ya era hora de la cita en la notaría. Y seguía faltando dinero. Bueno, pues, ¿qué creen que hizo Don Huicho Domínguez? Fue a dejar a su esposa y a mi hermano a la notaría, y me hizo acompañarlo a un cuarto banco de donde se suponía que me iba a depositar el resto. ¿Ya mencioné que me hizo pagar todos los parkings “porque no traía cash?”!!!!

Ya en el cuarto banco, al caco le dijeron que necesitaba un PIN para dicha operación. PIN que obviamente no traía. Así, y ya con 30 minutos de retraso en la notaría y todos esperando, me hizo acompañarlo a casa de su madre para ir a buscar el dichoso PIN. No me invitó a pasar, por supuesto, me dejó en el auto. Yo traté de llamarle a mi hermano para decirle que no firmara nada pero como nunca le pone crédito a su celular, no entraba la llamada. Cuando por fin regresamos al cuarto banco, le dijeron que se había pasado por “dos minutos” para hacerme el traspaso ese día. El traficante le llama a su esposa y le dice que firme. Yo me pongo furiosa porque no le puedo decir a mi hermano que no lo haga. Aprovechando que el tipo se sale para terminar la llamada, yo le explico la situación al banquero y le pregunto si nos puede hacer un cheque de caja. El muy inútil nos dice que desde el principio podía habérnoslo hecho. INEPTO. “Pero el supervisor que los autoriza está por irse y  el cheque tiene un costo”. (ME VALE, no me voy de aquí sin mi dinero…)

Le hago señas al educadísimo comprador y le digo que cuelgue, pague un cheque de caja y refunfuña pero no está como para ponerse los moños. Al cabo de quince minutos, volteo a ver al inepto del banquero que anda risa y risa en un rincón con otros ineptos. Se acuerda de mí, y me entrega el cheque. Pago el estacionamiento y corremos a la notaría. Ya es de noche. Por fin comienza la lectura de la escritura. El tipo había declarado que la casa valía la mitad para no pagar tantos impuestos. ¿¿¿ PERDÓN ??? Con lo poco de fuerza que me queda, peleo y rectifico el monto, porque de otra manera no puedo justificar la cantidad que voy a introducir a los USA. La corredora no intercede. Salvo mi pellejo aunque todos me pongan cara de fuchi, y ahí nos quedamos esperando otra media hora a que vuelvan a redactar el acta. Firman mi hermano y la señora.

En la notaría nos dicen que “siempre no nos van a dar la copia del acta porque el señor no ha pagado”. El rata hace su coraje, pero así como no tenía para pagar el estacionamiento, saca un fajo de billetes y se los da al notario. Acto seguido, le ordena a  su “vieja” que redacte un cheque. OJO: Nos hace pagar el IDE, cuenta que no tiene $ para hacernos una sola transferencia, pero trae fajos de billetes metidos hasta en el culo. A esas alturas no sé si quiero comer, dormir, llorar, o pegarle un tiro al tipo pero todavía hay que darle el tour de nuestra casita y entregarle las llaves. Los nuevos ricos se van en su auto de lujo, mi hermano, la corredora y yo: en microbús. Nos quedamos de ver en una hora para que todo mundo pueda echarse algo al estómago. Perdemos media hora en el trayecto y todavía hay que pagarle la comisión en cash a la corredora. Duele. Como somos gente decente, le ofrecemos acompañarla hasta su casa por aquello del peligro que reina en nuestra hermosa ciudad. Y perdemos otra media hora.

Mi hermano y yo vamos a comer al primer changarro que se nos atraviesa. Llevamos más de 12 horas sin comer. Durante la comida nos hacemos bolas con todos los montos y mejor pedimos para llevar. Llegamos caminando apuradísimos y ahí están los nuevos dueños esperándonos en su auto, con todo e hijos. Les damos el tour, les pedimos que nos dejen dormir ahí por que debido a las DIEZ HORAS Y MEDIA que nos hicieron perder en la transacción, verdad, pues no pudimos deshacernos de los colchones. Aceptan, se largan, y mi hermano y yo comemos nuestros platillos fríos sentados en un colchón.

Para el tipo es una casa más. Para nosotros, es la joya en la que vivimos los mejores años de nuestra vida. Los años de nuestra inocencia. Si las casas pudieran llorar, creo que brotarían riachuelos por las ventanas. ¿Para qué decirle al tipo que no se merece los 5 viajes que me aventé, los 5 meses de trabajos de renovación, y las 14 flotillas de hombres a los que tuvimos que encontrar, contratar y pagar?

¿De qué serviría comentarle que lo que le rebajó al precio original, más lo que nos hizo pagar de IDE, equivale a lo que le metimos? ¿Y qué hay de todas esas vueltas en la caótica ciudad al acecho de los mejores precios en materiales, pinturas, cocinas, pisos, lavabos, escusados, gabinetes, accesorios, cemento etc? ¿Cómo decirle que el sólo lidiar con decenas de extraños haciendo porquería y media, saqueando nuestros bolsillos y colmando nuestra paciencia bastaba como para que nos pagara más del $ anunciado? ¿Acaso sabe lo que significa vaciar una casa con más de 35 años de historia y reducirla a una bodega de 1m2 X 2 ? No tiene ni puta idea. Pero qué más le da. Tiene casa nueva.

A mi hermano y a mí sólo nos resta saber cerrar el ciclo y asegurarnos de que haremos el mejor uso de ese dinero, pues es nuestro patrimonio. Yo le voy a perder aún más en el cambio de pesos a dólares. Acá, la mitad de esa casona no me alcanza ni para el enganche de un departamento en el barrio más jodido de Los Ángeles. Pero nadie me obligó a estarían lejos…

Se cierra el 2011, y con él,  la puerta de mi casita en México para siempre. He vivido en 5 países y he cerrado 11 puertas trás de mí. Sin duda, ésta fue la que más dolió.

Amén.

(Somewhere Only We Know – lyrics)

Ah, Keane, so right on! Do you relate to these lyrics too? If so, you are probably familiar with that frustrating feeling of stagnation. The truth is when you chose a certain path and you reach a certain age and you haven’t accomplished a third of what you thought you would, it’s not easy to find the motivation to keep on.  For me, the road has been dotted with lots of tempting parking spaces, but somehow, each time my mind says “give up”, my heart whispers “try it one more time”.

Dunno about you but, when September comes and I start looking back and making an assessment of what I’ve accomplished during the year, I always start this race with the remaining four months of the year, and I start taking the classes I have been pushing, sending the cover letters to apply for those jobs I don’t like but need, and reaching out to people I think could help me realizing what I really want.

But, here I am again “stuck in reverse” as Coldplay would say. Worn out by this final sprint, deceived by the so-called producers, the so-called managers, and other megalomaniacs that I came across, and quite confused about my movie project because each time I ask for advice, I get completely different opinions. The good thing is that I learned. I love to learn, in fact I enrolled in 5 classes : 1-The Avalon cleans workshop, with  Rachel Avalon, 2-Voice Over for actors @ Kalmenson & Kalmenson, 3- Accent reduction with Bob Corff, 4- The power of pursuit with Dallas Travers, and 5- a tele-seminary called the “28 days challenge to meet your guides” with Marilyn Popa.

Ever since I welcomed 2011 in a sweat lodge in Sedona AZ, and had the amazing experience of being guided through 2 dream journeys, one by a Shaman Rahelio, and one by psychic Nirup,  I have been wanting to go back to that place where my vibrations where so high, I think I left my body. Call it conditioning, call it BS, call it loneliness or despair. I don’t care, I saw my defunct Mother, and mystical characters in unforgettable scenarios. And that my friends, is better than any hallucinogen mushroom. Plus I have really weird dreams, so strange that I started recording them as voice memos on my Iphone, and this seminary promised to give some insights to elucidate “The dreams”.

The advantage of a tele-seminary is that you don’t have to drive, and if you miss a class you still get an mp3 of the recorded session. During 4 consecutive Thursdays at 7pm, I would call in a number and get connected into a collective call to hear the teacher’s seminary and follow her guided meditations lying in my bed. Hard work, ha? The goal was to begin trusting our intuition through feeling, hearing, knowing and seeing thanks to “challenges” but mostly, to connect with different guides thanks to the “channeled meditations”. 4 weeks, 4 guided meditations, 5 “challenges”/ week. Let me share with you my 4 preferred challenges/games and my 2 preferred guided meditations so hopefully I’ll tempt you to do at least one. Wanna play? Ready? Set>>> Go!

CHALLENGES

• Animals

Take out a piece of paper and cut it into 10 pieces (exact shape and size). On each one write down an animal (be specific, don’t just write “bird”). Fold the pieces of paper. Close your eyes, breathe into your stomach, and ask your higher self a question. Shuffle the folded pieces and pull one out. Open it, and look up the symbolic meaning of that animal. Did it answer your question? If not, has it brought you a clue? Check out this website www.animalspirit.com

(PS: I accidentally drew 3 because they were stock together. I drew eagle, shark & jaguar.  Sky, sea & earth, weird, no? During that week I kept on seeing those animals for real, on TV, on billboards, and randomly on the internet. Do the exercise, and drop me a line to share your experience, OK? )

• People

Write down 5 to 10 different people you admire and the qualities you like about that person. Try and use people that have been or are in the public eye. Then take a piece of paper and cut into as many pieces as people, and write down their names. Fold the papers and ask your higher self a question about a step you may need to take, or a personality trait you may need to possess to resolve a particular matter. Write down the question. Shuffle the papers and pull one out.  See if there is something that this person possesses that you can take on to move you along.  All the energy of the people we admire is accessible to us and we do possess some of their characteristics otherwise we wouldn’t be drawn by them. Have fun, don’t make it too much work, just have fun. Who do you admire? Come one, do it!

(PS: My question was “What traits do I need to have in order for me to attract the right people for my project?”. I chose 4 men & 4 women:

Woody Allen (writer, actor, director, musician, twisted, prolific, touching, funny, controversial) Christian Bale (disciplined, devoted to craft, chameleon, lead, magnetic, captivating, gorgeous) Allan Ball (writer, director, successful, daring, innovative, esoteric, polemic) Robert Downey Jr (brilliant, funny, sexy, overcame addictions, director, actor, singer)

Alanis Morisette (prolific, poet, musician, singer, intelligent, moving, wise, cultured, tormented)  Salma Hayeck (ambitious, entrepreneur, confident, sexy, driven, strong accent yet Hollywood success story) Sofía Vergara (funny, sex bomb, strong accent yet Hollywood sensation, charismatic, determined) and Madonna (writer, singer, actress, director, unapologetic, provocative, powerful, pioneer, self-made, visionary, generational icon).

I drew this last one. Hmmm… Does that mean I should interview my crew and potential investors sucking a lollypop in a lucky star T-shirt? Kidding, she just directed her second feature W.E., I’m in AWE.)

• Lyrics

Have an Ipod near. Quiet your mind and think of a question. Let the question be a question about your soul evolving in a particular area.  Ask your higher self the question then go to your Ipod and without looking, shuffle until you feel complete and land on a song. See what song it is, look up the lyrics. Did it give you some clarity? If you don’t have an Ipod, turn the radio on without the volume and just go to a random station…turn up the volume…if it’s on a commercial pay attention to what they are advertising and then listen for the next song…look up the lyrics. It’s fun!

(PS: That day I was stuck on the 405 on my way to VO class.  I thought about the exercise, and asked if I should pursue this crazy non-sense enterprise of wanting to produce, direct, and act in my own movie. Then I pressed “shuffle” and my Ipod tuned into Long hard road from Sade. I took that as a yes, silly me! Then when I excited my car, I noticed several white feathers on the sidewalk, right on my path to the entrance of the building. I picked them up and did some research. I found out white feathers are supposed to be “angel’s business cards”, how about that?! On top of that, when I looked at the cover of Sade’s Soldier of Love album, I saw that she is in the top of what looks like the pyramid of the moon looking at the pyramid of the sun in  Teotihuacan watching an eagle! Eagle.

• Personality and soul card

Calculate your personality and soul Tarot card. No worries, don’t have to buy a deck.

Personality card: Add your month, day, and year of birth:

Example – 05/ 27/ 1974 = 2006

Then you add each digit of the resulting number:

2+6 = 8

Keep any number from 1 to 22 corresponding to the 22 Major Arcana cards. In this case, the card number is #8, and the #8 Arcana is: The Strength.

Soul card: If your  personality number has 2 digits, add them up to reduce them to 1 digit and you get your Soul Number.

In this lifetime we are supposed to be specifically working on our Soul purpose. If it’s the same number for both, that makes you more focused and directed. You can google “Major Arcana” and read more about their meanings.  Come on, start your calculations. So? What number are you?

(PS: For the purpose of the class we were asked to buy a White Rider Tarot deck, but I didn’t like it and I didn’t want to spend on a deck I’ll never use, so instead, I downloaded an application for Iphone called “Legacy of the Divine Tarot” by an amazing artist called Ciro Marchetti. It has a feature called “card of the day” that you press and you see a magical animated version of a card and its meaning. Just sharing… check it out:)

MEDITATIONS

1st Meditation:

Sit comfortable. Close your eyes. Ground the room imagining 4 columns of light on each corner, going all the way down to the center of the earth and all the way up high to the sky. Mentally open each one of your chakras visualizing the colors getting brighter for each zone. Ground your body imagining roots coming out of from the parts of your body that are in contact with the floor that go all the way down to the center of the earth, then visualize a cord that traverses your spine and attaches you to the earth and to the sky from your crown.

Breathe. Imagine you start floating, going out of your room, up to the sky, seeing the city from above, then continue to climb all the way up to the clouds and see a door. Open it and see a garden. Notice what’s in that garden (flowers, trees, water, animals, what time is it?) See a path that leads to a house, (how is the path, ascending, descending,  how is the house, big, small, modern , old etc.), Go inside,  see a solar room, and someone seated on a chair that is giving you the back. Get closer, count till 3 and turn around the chair. Who is it? Male or female? Notice how he/she is dressed. Ask him/her a question. Then ask him/her to give you a word. Thank him/her. Slowly leave the house, go back to the path, to the door,  to the clouds, to your room, and call your name 3 times.

This can be your higher self or a guide. Depending on your question. Who did you see? Journal and look up the symbolism of all the things you noticed!

(PS: My garden resembled Peter Jakson’s garden from his movie “The lovely bones”, my house resembled the house from the movie “The Lake House”, and my higher self was a mix between the paint Ophelia by John Everett Millais and the Highest Priestess from Ciro Marchetti . The word was “trust“. The girl looked pretty much like me when I was young, only she was wet with lots of little white flowers in her long black hair… Does that I mean I committed suicide? Hmm… The character in my novel is suicidal… Oh, my!)

2nd Meditation:

Same steps as above to get prepared, but this time in your way up in the clouds, notice people that has passed away crossing your path. Who are they? Are they public figures? Defunct family members? Now, in your garden you are welcomed by a guide. What does He/She look like? Follow your guide to an entrance in the ground. He/ She is going to show you 3 doors. (Notice what material? size? handle?) First open the one on the left, see what’s inside, notice all the details and close. Then open the one in the middle, notice all the details and close. Then open the one on the right, notice all the details and close.

Then ask your guide to give you:

An animal, a city, a talent, a color, a number, a tarot card, a crystal, a flower and a word. Thank them, say goodbye, and slowly leave the garden, then go back the clouds, to your room, call your name 3 times.

Journal immediately. Now, here comes the fun thing: the people you crossed are people whose qualities you have; the doors are doors into how you perceive your past, present and future; the animal is your totem animal for protection; the city is a place you will be visiting in the next 5 years; the talent is a talent you should look into developing in the next 3 years; the color is the color of the chakra you have to open up more; the number is what you should focus on now (look up symbolic meaning); the tarot card is who you embody now; the crystal  is something you need to pay attention to; the flower is the flower to envision when scared; and the word is a block you are experiencing… Ta-ra! Fun, isn’t it? Now look up the symbolism of all the things you noticed!

(PS: For the “I see dead people” I saw Marylin Monroe, Lucille Ball and Amy Winehouse. Does that mean I am a sexy, funny, tortured…singer??? Who did you see?

My guide was a mix between Cleopatra and Pocahontas and she gave me: Koala, Seattle, singing, orange, 8, the hermit, Agathe, Magnolia, and the word was “Love”. . . Hey! I just realized, there’s another “singing” sign!

I guess for this kind of meditations it’s better if you have someone guiding you, but you can also record your voice. Another alternative is looking on Youtube, you’ll see, there are hundreds of guided meditations.

I hope you liked at least one of “the games” and do it. Have a blast, and if you have time, drop me a line!

PS: Gotta go now, my Guides are telling me I’ve spent too much time writing this instead of working on my project, ♩ ♬ “They wanna make me go back to work, and I say, no, no, no ♭♩ ♬  … eehhhh….

]]> http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/10/27/esoteric-games/feed/ 0 http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/10/11/paseo-prohibido-inictado-por-la-luna-del-11-oct-11/ http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/10/11/paseo-prohibido-inictado-por-la-luna-del-11-oct-11/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:19:53 +0000 admin http://ceciliarobles.com/?p=1620

Well, you might wanna try to STOP EATING ANIMALS. Yep, at least try it for a little while. That has helped me more than anything else. I have been without meat, cheese, milk and eggs  for about a month and a half now, and, a) I go to toilet 2-3 times a day, b) lost 2 kgs of fat, c) My cellulite has decreased significantly, and d) I haven’t felt those painful symptoms of my hiatal hernia.

You’ll say no way, if I don’t eat meat, I don’t feel satiated. I’m a carnivore. To what I’ll respectfully answer: congrats, but that’s BS*. Just try it. Take it from THE most fervent flesh-lover you will ever meet Hi!

First of all, physiologically, humans are actually herbivores. WHAT? Yes, I was raised otherwise too. Hold on, did you know that the length of our intestines is between 7-13 times the length of our torso, which is a distinctive sign of the herbivores? DING!  Now look at your teeth, a-ha, they are pretty much flat, aren’t they? Try to pierce a live chicken with your beautiful canines. DING! Our jaws move sideways when we masticate, not up and down like carnivores, although I know a guy who…hmm, shit I’m digressing… Anyways, carnivores have a very short intestinal track so they can get rid fast of all the rotten corpses they’ve ingested, yeah, the decomposing flesh, bones, eyes, mouths, anus, and genitalia of those preys they chased and captured. Mmm… still feel like a carnivore? Yeah, you get to chase your prosciutto and salami when hunting through the aisles at Ralph’s, I know what you mean, but, quick reminder: a predator has a gait, large paws and claws, which enable him to hunt and kill. DING! Examine your hands, fingers and fingernails. Are they properly designed for catching, trapping, killing and ripping apart cattle, hogs, birds and fish? Or do they look more appropriate for picking fruit from trees and harvesting vegetables? The foods your hands were meant to gather are: high in water content, high in fiber to sweep the wastes out of your intestines, and collectively contain every vitamin and mineral necessary to sustain your precious human life. Now look at your belly. DING!

As Gary Yourofsky points in his life changing speech (see below): “we eat animals, not for health, nor survival, sustenance or self defense, we eat them for 4 reasons: habit, tradition, convenience and taste”. Do you know that every year in the USA, ready? = More than 10 BILLIONS of land animals and more than 18 BILLIONS of marine animals are massacred? (I can’t even wrap those corpses around my head). Sadly, in a life time, an American consumes an average of, ready? = 3000 land animals… and then suffer and die from atrocious diseases. (Homework: watch Forks over Knives)

Studies have shown that societies that consume the most animal protein, have the most diseases: osteoporosis, heart attacks, cholesterol, asthma, CANCER, you name it. Long story short: milk, cheese, meat and eggs are responsible for our major diseases. Not to mention the pollution that these “conveniences” causes: storage, transport, garbage etc…  As always, economical interests are behind this, as for the gas vs electric cars, but that’s a whole other post… Just think in global terms. Think planet. Who do we think we are?

The most indignant, and personally THE MOST convincing argument to stop sponsoring this Holocaust, is to remember in what conditions those innocent animals die. Just remember before you put their dismembered parts in your mouth. Again, as Gary Yourofsky says in his eye-opener speech (see below): “If we understand that animals can use their eyes to see, ears to hear, noses to smell, mouths to eat, legs to walk, feathers to fly, fins to swim, genitalia to procreate, bowels to defecate, I’m always perplex that most people don’t believe that they can also use their brains to think, to feel, be rational, be aware, be self aware”.  Why am I in this cage where I can’t even turn around? Why do I get raped to produce milk? Why are they ripping off my horns, burning my beak? Why are they castrating me? How can I defend myself from this MF** human?

I won’t even try to find words to describe what I felt looking at the images Gary Yourofsky used to illustrate his point, because there aren’t strong enough. All I ask you to do is to try to watch at least 2 minutes without closing your eyes. If you are like me, you’ll probably fall on your knees, cry inconsolably, and then will have to go for run and ask for mercy. If your arteries are too hardened you might want to have your pills handy. I’m just saying dear fellow carnivore, before opening your mouth, open your mind. If you are in a hurry, scan and start watching at minute 15:49.

CONCLUSION: What started out as a cleans, turned into progressive mindset change. And my body is thanking me. My consciousness too. I won’t lie, I do miss the flavor, consistency and variety of my old habits and I’m having trouble getting used to the products and mostly to the prices, but damn, our planet is so worth it. (Homework: watch The 11th hour)

2 important tips:

1-When shopping for fruits and veggies, try to buy the ones which stickers starts by a 9. That means it’s organic. Avoid 4, for they have pesticides and other shit. Especially if you have kids

2-If you want to quit coffee try teeccino. Amazing replacement. Doesn’t make you pee out your bones, doesn’t trigger your insulin and tastes good. To me, the most similar to coffee is the flavor: “Mocha”.

If you want more tips about how to make a happy transition, please visit Gary Yourofsky‘s website here.

Quick overview of my cleans in case you just want to try it for a month:

1st Phase: vegetarian meals  for 10 days:

A glass of Water with a tea spoon of sea salt before breakfast

1 enzyme with each meal

vegan calcium/magnesium supplements at night

3 Epson salts baths/ week

Nightly walking meditations

2^nd Phase: vegan meals for 10 days:

3 fiber capsules before breakfast

1 enzyme with each meal

Digestive compounds (Milk thistle dandelion/ Black walnut wormwood)

1 pro-biotic capsule with lunch

3 Epson salts baths/ week

Nightly walking meditations

3^rd Passe: vegan +living+ blended for 10 days

3 fiber capsules before breakfast

1 enzyme with each meal

Digestive compounds (Milk thistle dandelion/ Black walnut wormwood)

1 acute immunity capsule at night

3 Epson salts baths/ week

Nightly walking meditations

Optional

If you want to clean a little bit your intestines beforehand try a COLONIC.

I know, I know, it literally SUCKS, but some people experience good results. Feel lighter, see outrageous things coming out of their bodies, feel psychologically and physically ready for new starts, let go of traumas, bla , bla , bla , and that’s why I wanted to do it, but I gotta be honest with you: not worthy for me.

I went with all the good disposition, saw a dozen videos on youtube, was expecting to see lots of old stocked shit coming out of my body, was hoping to be flushed at least 13 times etc.. Well, let me tell you: NADA!!! Freaking clear water came out. Not even a little piece of shit, NADA!!! I had a tube inserted way up in my little ass and the Lady,- who by the way never wanted to flush-, just kept on opening the water until my eyes were bursting out, gently saying: “You should try it again once the cleans is over, you’ll see the difference”, but no, no no, muchas gracias, con permiso, fuck you very much, but I don’t think so… not in your hands anyways… COST of the anal rape $80. Name of the clinic: RUN!!!

(very funny guy going through the procedure)

Bon appétit!

MORE ABOUT THE GIRL WHO FOLLOWED MY CLEANS:

http://rachelavalon.com/

Rachel Avalon is a gifted holistic practitioner, public speaker and motivational figure. Her depth, knowledge and passion for green living has placed her in a unique position to educate and influence others to make healthy choices that reflect an eco friendly and balanced lifestyle. She is a true professional in her field and a joy to work with. On top of that she is GORGEOUS, GENEROUS, and a  GREAT coach

]]> http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/09/17/what-started-as-a-cleans/feed/ 0 http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/08/28/surrender/ http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/08/28/surrender/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:37:23 +0000 admin http://ceciliarobles.com/?p=1528 Continue reading →]]> I’m always asking myself why am I here, what is my purpose, what was I supposed to do, what is the lesson I’m supposed to learn.

I often compare myself  with people my age and I inevitably feel a little bit lost. Yesterday I went out for the first time with a girl I just met, and I had a great time. She came to pick me up here, at my little studio in Santa Monica, and she saw my visionboard and the whiteboard where I have the breakdown of the steps to follow in order to accomplish my goals.

During our walk towards the restaurant, we started sharing our secrets, and we realized that we had a lot in common. During diner, we confessed to each other our concern for the difficulty to find that special someone  with whom to share our lives. She is divorced, with a stable job, and a 16 years old son. At the end of our soiree, she told me that we should go out again, and I told  her that it would be my pleasure, that I needed to step out of my cocoon and start meeting new people. I told her that I sometimes feel that I don’t have anything , nor a stable immigration status, nor a stable relationship, nor a stable career, nor a property, nor children, like her, like everybody, and she answered me: “Yes you have, you have your dreams”…

My dreams don’t give me the stability that I so long for, but they do give me a reason to keep on. And even if sometimes I feel nobody  gives a shit about what I have to say, that everything is a farce,  I find comfort telling myself that a lot of artists must feel the same way. Nobody asked them to sing, to paint, to write, to dance, to shoot, and nevertheless, they are the bible of humanity. They are the testimony of the cultures throughout time, the testimony of human evolution. Expression is important. Art connects us, moves us, elevates our souls, and helps understand better ourselves through a mirroring and identification process. Don’t you love to hear a song that you are passionate about? To watch a movie that makes you go from laughter to tears? To watch a painting a get lost in your reverie?

And as Martha Graham points:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique… And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open… No artist is pleased. No satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others”’

So True. I’m not content, I’m not satisfied, I’m restless, and yet so alive. I screamed that to the ocean Today . Yes, I did, and it was my privilege to surrender.

What’s your journey like?

]]> http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/08/28/surrender/feed/ 0 http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/08/25/how-to-get-neaked-together-for-the-first-time/ http://ceciliarobles.com/2011/08/25/how-to-get-neaked-together-for-the-first-time/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:24:39 +0000 admin http://ceciliarobles.com/?p=1515