I have a cat. I love my cat. Like any good cat owner/mom/friend I want to take good care of my little kitty and provide her with all the best cat stuff there is to be had. And I don’t even mind putting up with the stinky littler box. It’s a small price to pay for all the love and cuddles I get from my baby! So, yesterday when I went to the market to buy her more litter for her box, I had to pause and contemplate just what the deal is with all the shelves full of litter box filler choices. Evidently there is quite a science to kitty litter. I can get regular, organic, environmentally friendly, dust-free, scoopable, clumpable, even one for multiple cats. And when it comes to odor control I have the choice of “Immediate odor control” or “Long lasting odor control.” Excuse me, but I want BOTH! All this technology, all this shelf space taken up in the grocery store and I have to choose whether to put up with the smell now or later? Hmmm… I’ll have to think about that one. I don’t think my kitty cat minds one way or the other. ]]>

ASC is the American Society of Cinematographers:

Feature Film: Emmanuel Lubezki for Gravity

Spotlight Award: Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski for Ida

Half-Hour Episodic Series: Blake McClure for Comedy Central’s Drunk History (“Detroit”)

Career Achievement in Television Award: Richard Rawlings Jr. (Charlie’s Angels, L.A. Law, Gilmore Girls, Desperate Housewives)

ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction: Beverly Wood for her work with the ASC.

TV Movie/Miniseries: Jeremy Benning for National Geographic Channel’s Killing Lincoln

International Achievement Award: Eduardo Serra (Girl With The Pearl Earring, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, Blood Diamond, Unbreakable)

Board of Governors Award: John Wells (August: Osage County, ER, The West Wing, Southland)

One-Hour Episodic Television Series: Jonathan Freeman for HBO’s Game of Thrones (“Valar Dohaeris”)

Lifetime Achievement Award: Dean Cundey (Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future trilogy, Apollo 13)

One of the most interesting relationships we encounter in this lifetime is the relationship between siblings.  As we are living longer than ever before, chances are that this relationship is the one that lasts the longest in our lives.  Studies show that sister are more likely to keep in contact than brothers, and brother-sister combos fall somewhere in the middle.  What keeps us bonded with our siblings into adulthood? A number of factors are involved.  One theory says that it’s the way the parent guides the kids to be kind and helpful towards one another when they are young.  Another theory is that siblings feel comfortable in attached relationships.  They are familiar with one another, and feel badly when separated.  How closely the siblings live to one another also comes into play.  Those who live closer have more contact. 

Sibling relationships change over time.  Typically there is more closeness and more involvement when we are younger, and that gradually decreases in early adulthood. But then we find that closeness again as we get settled and start to get older.  Sibling rivalry decreases and feelings of closeness increase with age.  One study found that older people with living siblings, especially sisters, have a higher morale, and are more emotionally secure. Siblings rely on each other more and more for support as they age.

I remember having a wonderful conversation with Deepak Chopra’s mother when we were both at the Chopra Center in 1998.  I have two boys myself, so we have this in common, and we spoke heart to heart as mothers.  I asked her what her secret was, how she raised two amazing, successful, big-hearted sons.  She said to me, “It was all God.”  I admired her humbleness, and knew she really had everything to do with it.  Children follow the example of their parents, and this kind, beautiful woman certainly was a demonstration of love and family and created a loving, supportive home for her two boys so that they could go out into the world and share the lessons they learned from her.

Deepak Chopra has written a new book with his brother Sanjiv titled: Brotherhood: Dharma, Destiny, and the American Dream. The inspiring story of two brothers who immigrated to America from India and took very different paths to becoming world-renowned healers and teachers. 

At a time when America is fiercely divided on the issue of immigration, Brotherhood tells the story of two brothers who pursued the American dream to its fullest expression. In the early 1970s, Deepak and Sanjiv Chopra joined a flood of immigrants looking to make a new life in America, a land of opportunity. Having grown up in postwar India amidst the sudden freedom of the 1947 liberation, their childhood was a blend of the exotic, the mythical, and the modern. Their father was one of the first Indians to become a Western-trained cardiologist, while their extended family maintained deep roots in ancient spiritual traditions.

Brotherhood follows the Chopra brothers as one becomes a world-renowned spiritual teacher and the other rises to the top of Western medicine to become a professor at Harvard Medical School. Their story will fascinate and inspire anyone who still believes in America’s capacity to foster achievement and reward hard work.

New Day, New Decade

2011 is well under way.  Not only is this a new year, it’s a new decade!  We had our grand finale, wrapping up 2010 with the solstice and coinciding full moon and lunar eclipse, bringing change and a shift in energy.  And now, January 4 welcomes a new moon, signaling new beginnings.

Many of us choose to set New Year’s resolutions, goals that we work towards to better ourselves in one way or another.  This is a good exercise, as it helps us to consider what we want for ourselves, and how we can take action to make things happen.

Of course, we can set goals at any time.  Many people choose their birthdays to do this because it’s a time of reflection.  You might also choose any new moon, or the beginning of any season.  These are all natural times to invoke change.

We know the importance of setting goals, and we know how good it feels when we reach those goals.  But at the same time, we need to remember that each step is an important part of the process.  We need to recognize this, and understand that we are moving forward.  This will keep us invested in the long run.  Breaking down “big” goals into more easily achievable steps is a good way to mark our progress.  We are learning and growing every day.

We can learn a lot about ourselves by looking at our goals and our desires.  There’s a reason why we want what we want.  And we wouldn’t want it if it weren’t attainable.  We learn and grow on the way to our goals.

Desire is our greatest motivator because it spurs us into action! Through action comes experience, achievement, accomplishment, and many great things.  We are busy fulfilling our desires everyday, and sometimes so easily that we aren’t even aware of what we are doing.  So, when setting your resolution, or goal, look at your desires first.  These are the steps you can take to get things going:

1. Recognize that you have this desire.  Label it.  Define it.  Know it.

2. Evaluate the desire – do you REALLY want it?  What is it exactly that you really want?  Explain it to yourself.  Make sure that it makes sense to you, and that you understand why you want this, and what it means to you to achieve this goal.

3. Create an intention to fulfill the desire, to reach your goal.  Make that commitment.  Set this as a priority in your life.

4. Release the desire to the universe – state your intention clearly.  It’s a good idea to write it down, and then burn the piece of paper, or file it away somewhere with the date on it.

5. Give up any attachment to what happens.  Just let it go, knowing anything can happen, the outcome is usually better than we ever could have anticipated. In spirit, there is no time or space. Be flexible, be open, and observe how things unfold. 

6. Let the universe handle the details – don’t try to control or manipulate how things occur. Rather than making demands, leave room to allow nature to take its course in whatever way, shape, or form that might be.  There’s always some reason behind everything that happens, so have a little faith that work is being done even if you don’t see it.  Know that creation and growth takes place every moment.

7. Feel grateful, and express gratitude!  Your emotions electrify the process.

8. Be aware of things that happen that may help you to achieve your goal.  There are no accidents, and no coincidences in life.  When opportunities arise, be ready to embrace them.

9. Celebrate every success and let it build your confidence and warm your heart.  Continue to express gratitude all along the way.

Happy new day, happy new year, happy new decade!