LAUREN BOWLES

My husband and I oddly have worked together a couple of times. We did a 'Veronica Mars' episode together. We didn't work together, but we were both in 'Ghost World.' We had a theater company in L.A., for a bunch of years. So, we've worked together a fair amount, and it's always just great fun.

I feel so fortunate to get paid to be an actor. I pinch myself. I get it from writing, I get it from baking, gardening... I sort of open myself to the creative flow, which is hard to do, by the way.

Even in the most grieving of losses, or whatever sort of pain you're sitting in, we can bear it.

In my mind that's the best thing I can do for my girl, is to love my body and the way I look. That's what I sort of decided when she was young. And so it's sort of about faking it until you can make it.

What most women live in, is fear of the next contraction, or they're reliving the pain of the one they just had. And nature really builds in these breaks, if you can be in the present and not feel the pain and not sort of anticipate the pain to come.

At our core, we just want to know that we matter.

Really anything can happen at any time and we are very addicted to comfort. Life is just not always comfortable.

When I meditate in the morning, it really changes my day and my relationship with my day.

It can be so terrifying to open yourself up to true love. That love can be with your mate, with your child, with yourself, because we are ultimately such vulnerable little creatures in this world.

Part of my journey is sort of learning the ways that I'm unconsciously blocked and trying to open them up. I'm a complete "work in progress" in that area.

My husband and I oddly have worked together a couple of times. We did a 'Veronica Mars' episode together. We didn't work together, but we were both in 'Ghost World.' We had a theater company in L.A., for a bunch of years. So, we've worked together a fair amount, and it's always just great fun.

I love to bake! I have a huge sweet tooth, and I love to make things like zucchini muffins, you know, anything decadent like that. And I stand by the claim that chocolate can be good for you! I love having a good piece of dark chocolate, one that's 70 percent or more cacao.

Awareness is the key to everything. I think it's important to be aware of how you feel. How do you feel after you exercise? How do you feel after you eat something? I try to be mindful of the food I'm putting in my body, the products I use, and what I put in or on my body.

I don't really ever think in terms of what type of person I'd love to play. I usually just read stuff and can tell. It's always fun to get to do things that stretch you and that you don't get to do a lot, but you never know until you see it.

I'm not completely vegan - my diet's probably about 80 percent plant based, but I do eat some meat. I try to know where everything comes from, though. And all bets are off if my husband and I go to a really great restaurant.

I've basically guest-starred on every show that you can imagine. I am pretty used to being the new kid in school.

I am pretty anal about not crazy Googling myself, and searching. I am sure there are all kinds of horrible things being said that I am not aware of.

Real life is crazier than fiction.

When your playing drama, and you're in the moment, and you can nail the emotion that is called for, it just feels like a smooth thing. It's so great. There is nothing like getting a laugh, though.

What most women live in, is fear of the next contraction, or they're reliving the pain of the one they just had. And nature really builds in these breaks, if you can be in the present and not feel the pain and not sort of anticipate the pain to come.

At our core, we just want to know that we matter.

Really anything can happen at any time and we are very addicted to comfort. Life is just not always comfortable.

It's always fun to get to do things that stretch you and that you don't get to do a lot, but you never know until you see it.

I would say what makes me vulnerable is when I allow my mind to spiral. You know? When I start not being in the present moment and I start skipping ahead and picturing my daughter driving on the freeway on a late saturday night.

I don't really ever think in terms of what type of person I'd love to play. I usually just read stuff and can tell.

I think the biggest shift has been in realizing how much more we are creating our life than we realize. That was sort of the epiphany to me.

Part of my journey is sort of learning the ways that I'm unconsciously blocked and trying to open them up. I'm a complete "work in progress" in that area.

When I meditate in the morning, it really changes my day and my relationship with my day.

There's just something about getting up, putting it out there, and getting this exchange of energy. Whether your audience is a camera lens, or live theater, or whatever it is, just putting that out there and getting it back is just an honor.

It can be so terrifying to open yourself up to true love. That love can be with your mate, with your child, with yourself, because we are ultimately such vulnerable little creatures in this world.

I feel so fortunate to get paid to be an actor. I pinch myself. I get it from writing, I get it from baking, gardening... I sort of open myself to the creative flow, which is hard to do, by the way.

Even in the most grieving of losses, or whatever sort of pain you're sitting in, we can bear it.

In my mind that's the best thing I can do for my girl, is to love my body and the way I look. That's what I sort of decided when she was young. And so it's sort of about faking it until you can make it.

Ultimately everyone, no matter who you are, we all at our core want to just know that we matter.