Method Acting

When I was younger, I was extremely critical of actors coining them "professional posers" but as I have gotten older I have come to find that there is genius to be found in what they do, that it is in fact an art and there is a beautiful lesson to be learned.

Some actors, such as Daniel Day Lewis, are presented with many different roles and scripts each year. Once they are presented with an appealing role however, these actors literally become that character, brushing away their "identity" and moving forward with fierce determination and confidence to master their new found role to perfection.

In "The Boxer" Lewis trained for 18 months with former world champ, Barry Mcguigan, who later said that he believed Lewis could have easily become a professional boxer. In "My Left Foot" he played a paralytic and refused to leave his wheelchair between scenes, his refusal and commitment resulted in two broken ribs because of continuously being hunched over. In "The Last Of The Mohican's" Lewis lived in the wild for half a year, carrying a rifle at all times and living off the land and "In The Name Of The Father", playing a prisoner, chose to live in solitude in an abandoned prison, and adopted an Irish accent both on and off set. He also apparently asked crew members to treat him poorly by verbally abusing and throwing cold water on him without warning. Not surprising, Lewis has won many awards due to his intense and unorthodox work ethic.

So what is the lesson then to be learned? It is simple, in order to create new possibilities in our lives and experience a new world, we must become it. Quantum physics tells us  that there are waves of possibilities in our lives but only when we focus on them do they begin to take shape. Therefore the more focus and energy we give to an idea, the quicker it becomes actualized and a reality.

The formula is very simple, we use our imagination, that is free and without limit, to contemplate the eternity of possibilities (thoughts) and when we have found a possibility that appeals to us, we choose to act on it, we choose to focus intensely on it and thus begins the beautiful miracle and process of creation. It does not, however, stop there. Faith and diligence are both necessary in order for the process of thought to become a reality, it is vital to bear in mind that there will be more possibilities and choices to be made, but not to worry, the formula only needs to be repeated, choosing what appeals to us within and then focusing our attention on it intensely, taking one step at a time.

Often times when undertaking the unfamiliar we feel out of place, unmotivated and even fearful. This is a product of the mediocrity and dependency we have been unconsciously conditioned to accept. It is important to recognize that this way of thinking is unhealthy and also why it is so important that we fully invest our energy into the mind/soul/heart/imaginations passion with full faith and determination, learning to replace this foolish way of thinking and making the beautiful discovery that we are creators of our lives! Once we find a "character" or "role" that we would like to integrate into our lives, we must become that. We must remember that our imagination, regardless of past experiences, is our clay and our faith and determination, the potter.

Imagine...choose...believe...create ; )

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." - Lao Tzu

"You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change." - Les Brown

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." Thomas Jefferson

"You and I are essentially infinite choice-makers. In every moment of our existence, we are in that field of all possibilities where we have access to an infinity of choices." - Deepak Chopra

"A life lived of choice is a life of conscious creation. A life lived of chance is a life of unconscious creation." - Neale Donald Walsch

"you can attract only that which you mentally become and feel yourself to be in reality." - Ernest Holmes

"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities." - Bruce Lee

"Little men with little minds and little imaginations go through life in little ruts, smugly resisting all changes which would jar their little worlds." - Zig Ziglar

"First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination." - Napoleon Hill

"Imagination rules the world" - Napoleon Bonaparte

"Everything you can imagine is real." - Pablo Picasso

"The energy of the mind is the essence of life." - Aristotle

"The man who has no imagination has no wings." - Muhammad Ali

"This world is but a canvas to our imaginations." - Henry David Thoreau

"imagination is more important than knowledge, knowledge is limited only to what we know and understand at this present moment, imagination embraces the entire world, and all that there ever will be to know and understand." - Albert Einstein

"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea." - Buddha

"When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes." - Thomas Edison

"Since new developments are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and encourage that type of mind in every way possible." - George Washington Carver

"What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it." - Alexander Graham Bell