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Central Park Five: Ken Burns recounts harrowing civil rights tale

January 25, 2013 By

Ken Burns’ The Central Park Five tells the true story of five black and Latino teens wrongfully convicted for a 1989 crime in Central Park. Sarah Burns and David McMahon also direct. This film is based on Sarah Burns’ book The Central Park Five.

When a white female jogger was raped and assaulted on April 19, 1989, public uproar followed. New York City police and politicians faced intense pressure to catch and convict someone quickly. Interviews and archival footage recount the historic case.

Film helps us remember, forgive, heal

Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise were hanging out in Central Park with other teens that night. They were accused of “wilding” (roaming in a large crowd and attacking others). The film never clarifies whether the five Harlem teens – ages 14 to 17 – took part in “wilding.”

Interrogated without food or water for 14 to 30 hours, each suspect was threatened and not allowed to see his family. Not one of them asked for a lawyer.

Police promised them freedom if they would confess to the rape and assault. One by one, the boys confessed. Examined today, the written confessions appear to have been worded by police.  Police and prosecutors declined to speak with the filmmakers.

Confessing under duress

I felt sick to my stomach hearing the angry, judgmental tone in journalist’s reports from those days. The teens recanted their stories as soon as they were appointed lawyers. It was too late to correct public perception.

The press and law enforcement officials did not question the facts of the case. Sensational headlines used racial code words like “wolf pack.” Even many Harlem residents believed the teens were guilty.

New York City was sharply divided along racial and socioeconomic lines at that time. “I want us to remember what happened that day and be horrified by ourselves,” says historian Craig Steven Wilder, head of MIT’s History section. “It really is a mirror on our society.”

Facts don’t add up

The investigation showed that the teens were not near the victim at the time of the assault.  DNA evidence did not match any of the suspects. Forensic evidence showed that one attacker, not five, dragged the Central Park jogger into the woods that night.

“I wish I had been more skeptical as a journalist,” said Jim Dwyer of the New York Times. “A lot of people didn’t do their jobs – reporters, police, prosecutors, defense lawyers. . . . Truth and reality and justice were not part of it.”

One lone juror believed that the teens were innocent. He appears in the film, admitting that he finally gave in and voted with the others.

Could it happen today?

The convictions were overturned when the real rapist, Matias Reyes, confessed to the crime. The Central Park Five were released in 2002 after prison terms ranging from six to 13 years. The jogger eventually recovered with no memory of the assault.

A $250 million federal civil rights lawsuit remains unresolved. New York City comptroller John Liu has urged the city to settle the case. New York City continues to state that police and prosecutors acted properly.

The Central Park Five reminds us that when we judge, we cannot truly see. It is a duty and a privilege to practice compassion, to treat others as we would be treated.

One question still haunts me: Could this happen today?

The Central Park Five: Take Action

To learn more and to take action for peace and justice, please visit:  American Ubuntu; James O’Dea; CivilRights.org; Restorative Practice in Schools.

If you like Central Park Five, you might enjoy:  Dakota 38; Road to Peace; Top 25 Films.

 

Central Park Five   2012  /  NR /  1 hour, 59 min

Cast Overview:  Angela Black, Calvin O. Butts III, Natalie Byfield, David Dinkins, Jim Dwyer, Ronald Gold, LynNell Hancock, Michael Joseph, Saul Kassin, Ed Koch, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana Sr., Raymond Santana, Michael Warren, Craig Steven Wilder, Korey Wise

Director:  Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon

Genre:  Documentary, History

Filed Under: Awaken, Change of heart, Character, Community, Compassion, Current Affairs, Documentary, Featured Self-Discovery, Forgiveness, Heal, True Stories, Youth Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Silver Linings Playbook: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper redefine “normal”

January 20, 2013 By

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper cope with mental and emotional illness in Silver Linings Playbook. David O. Russell’s off-kilter, romantic dramedy beautifully captures their struggle and growth.

Tiffany (Best Actress Lawrence) is a young widow battling anxiety and depression. Pat (Cooper) is a bipolar former teacher with a failed marriage. He moves in with his parents after his release from a mental hospital.

Excelsior!

Negativity is Pat’s nemesis. He yearns for happy endings. Excelsior, the Latin word for “ever upward,” becomes his mantra. Cooper’s engaging character swings from glee to angst to mania. Pat fills his notebook with strategies to cope and succeed.

Lawrence is outspoken as the vulnerable Tiffany. Her life seems to be a mess. Dancing in the converted garage/studio where she lives, she’s free to be herself.

Both Pat and Tiffany are determined to find happiness. You might say they have “poor social skills.” With refreshing honesty and open hearts, they are deeply moving.

Winning is relative

Tiffany enlists Pat as her dance partner in a competition which they have no chance of winning. Lawrence embodies Tiffany’s love of dance and self-expression with spunky grace. Physical exercise helps many to manage anxiety and depression. Pat learns discipline and focus during their rehearsals.

Cheering them on are Pat’s dad (Robert De Niro), an obsessive compulsive gambler seeking a football buddy, and his salt-of-the-earth mom (Jacki Weaver). Pat’s middle-of-the-night rants test the Solitanos’ patience.

Chris Tucker stands out as Danny, Pat’s offbeat friend from the hospital. Anupam Kher plays the understanding Dr. Patel.

Screenplay sizzles

Russell’s outstanding screenplay is based on Matthew Quick’s novel Silver Linings Playbook. I wanted to stand up and cheer when Tiffany tells her “perfect” sister Veronica (Julia Stiles): “You love it when I have problems. Then you can be the good one!” John Ortiz plays Pat’s friend Ronnie, Veronica’s husband.

De Niro brings it as Mr. Solitano breaks down, confessing that he just wants to spend more time with his troubled son. Father and son learn to become more caring, loving men.

We’re all in this together

Tiffany finds peace by loving and forgiving herself, even her “crazy, sad shit.” She must accept that Pat may or may not be ready to fall in love again.

If Pat can forgive and let go of ex-wife Nikki (Brea Bee), the object of his obsession, he’ll be able to receive much more in life. He learns to embrace joy and pain.

Silver Linings Playbook beautifully captures the personal challenges of mental and emotional illness. The characters learn that “we’re all in this together” as they complement each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

Healing means living from the heart where there are no stereotypes. Pat and Tiffany learn to accept themselves and live authentically.

Silver Linings Playbook / Take Action

You can learn more and take action to support healing, gratitude, love, mental/emotional health and awakening via these resources:  Bernie Siegel, M.D.; Deepak Chopra, M.D.; Dr. Wayne W. Dyer; Project Forgive; The Cure Is; OWNTV Super Soul Sunday; CoreLight.

If you like Silver Linings Playbook, you might enjoy:  Winter’s Bone; X-Men: First Class; Limitless; The Cure Is.

 

Silver Linings Playbook   2012  /  R /  2 hours

Cast Overview: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Brea Bee, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Julia Stiles

Director:  David O. Russell

Genre:  Romantic Dramedy

 

 

Filed Under: Awaken, Character, Community, Compassion, Current Affairs, Forgiveness, Heal, Top Films, Transformation Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Cure Is: mind over genetics empowers us to heal and be well

November 13, 2012 By

Beliefs and lifestyles – not genetics – govern our health, according to The Cure Is. Top doctors, authors and survivors of terminal disease are featured. David Scharps directs.

Epigenetics, a new understanding of gene expression, reveals that our thoughts and beliefs affect how our genes express. Epigenetics means “controlled above the genes.”

The Cure Is serves as a resource for anyone who wants to prevent or reverse disease. It melds science and spirituality in a clear, accessible way. The speakers are excellent. The website www.thecureismovie.com is currently down (3/10/13).

Belief and lifestyle cause disease

“When you love your life and body, miraculous things happen,” says Dr. Bernie Siegel, author and former Yale surgeon.

Probably less than 5 percent of disease is genetic, says Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., cell biologist and author. A gene is only a blueprint, he adds. Our beliefs and lifestyles drive disease. We have the power to change how we live and think.

If cancer were genetic, it would appear throughout human history, according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author and nutrition authority. Fuhrman’s bestseller Eat to Live details the health benefits of eating natural plant foods.

Miracles are natural

The Cure Is introduces people who survived terminal cancer. With just days or weeks to live, they were told to make final arrangements. Each one recovered completely.

Rather than studying disease, we should study healing miracles, says spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson. “Every thought creates form on some level, and all that our physical experience is, is a reflection of our thoughts,” she notes.

“Just as negativity can short-circuit wellness and recovery, positive thought and emotions can ignite, strengthen and extend the protections afforded by your immune system,” Siegel explains. Lipton cites the “placebo effect” as proof that our beliefs drive healing.

Forgiveness transforms disease

The survivors began to heal as soon as they completely forgave people in their lives. One man read You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. Forgiveness softens the heart, says Williamson. It allows us to get rid of old baggage, Siegel adds.

Practice forgiveness now to prevent illness. Hurt feelings present an opportunity for nourishment and growth, Siegel notes. Communicate those feelings, even if it is within a journal. Then release them.

Embrace coherence, appreciation and gratitude, andyour world begins to operate according to these principles, according to author and scientist Gregg Braden. Focus on living and do what you love.

“We were intended to be whole and healthy and complete and strong and vital in the world,” says Dr. Sue Morter, founder of the Morter Institute for Bioenergetics.

Advanced forgiveness outlined

Lipton notes that the conscious mind controls only 5 percent of our lives. The subconscious mind is programmed with beliefs before we reach age six.

Through learned experience we develop habits. The subconscious causes us to act automatically, Lipton says. We can’t even see how it runs our lives.

Those who want to explore forgiveness and healing the subconscious more deeply can find information in The Marriage of Spirit.

Move from head to heart

Create positive statements of belief out of the areas of life that are not working for you, Lipton urges. Trust your intuition and be guided by love. “If you’re not extending love, you’re projecting fear,” Williamson explains.

Williamson stresses the value of serious spiritual practice that includes some form of meditation. That is the zone beyond the mind where destructive beliefs are dismantled, she says.

Love yourself

“Our hearts literally create a signal within our bodies that communicates with our brain to either affirm our health and our healing, or become the obstacle between us and our healing,” Braden notes.

“Love is what’s happening constantly. The question is, am I allowing myself to participate in it,” asks Morter. Self love signals our brains that, “I am safe. I am OK.” Love comes from within and empowers us.

If you like The Cure Is, you might enjoy: The Gerson Miracle; The Beautiful Truth; 3 Magic Words; To Your Health; Hungry for Change.

 

The Cure Is  /   2012  /  NR  /  1 hour, 16 min

Cast Overview:  Bruce Lipton, Bernie Siegel, Joel Fuhrman, Marianne Williamson, Sue Morter, Paul Chek, Tony Horton

Director:  David Scharps

Genres:  Documentary, Health, Spirituality

Filed Under: Awaken, Character, Current Affairs, Documentary, Forgiveness, Heal, Healing - Traditional, Learn & Grow, Top Films, Transformation, True Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dakota 38: ride helps reconcile Native and non-Native Americans

October 8, 2012 By

 

Reconcile and forgive is the message in Dakota 38, a documentary healing for Native and non-Native Americans. Silas Hagerty directs. Dakota 38 is now streaming free at KarmaTube.

Each December since 2005, representatives of the Dakota people ride horses 330 miles from Crow Creek, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota. They commemorate the hanging of 38 ancestors in Mankato in 1862. It is the largest mass execution ever recorded in U.S. history.

Horse ceremony honors 38 + 2

The 16-day journey is a vision quest based on the 2005 dream of Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran. Riders carry an eagle staff to honor the 38, plus two Dakota warriors hanged at Fort Snelling two years later.

Miller asked Hagerty to make the film. Everyone on the production team donated his or her time. Proceeds from Dakota 38 support Native American healing initiatives.

Peace, harmony begin within

Dakota 38 documents the 2008 ride to Mankato. When Europeans settled in what is now the United States, they forced millions of indigenous people onto reservations. Mutual violence erupted.

A horse nuzzles the camera as the film opens. The gentle animals bless the film. Many participants yearn to bring healing back to their reservations where poverty, drugs, depression and suicide prevail.

“I love you very much,” Miller tells the riders. “We can’t blame the wasichus [white men] anymore. We’re doing it to ourselves. We’re selling drugs. We’re killing our own people. That’s what this ride is about, is healing.”

Supporters welcome riders

Blizzards and below zero temperatures don’t discourage them. The group grows from about 25 to nearly 100 by the journey’s end.

Natives and non-Natives offer food and shelter to the travelers. “Who you are is good,” co-director Sarah Weston tells one group. A member of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, she urges: “Be proud to be Native, no matter what tribe you’re from. We are an awesome people.”

John Brady, the mayor of Mankato, proclaims December 26 “Dakota Reconciliation Day.” When Jim Miller receives a key to the city, he jokes about opening a few prison doors.

The power of the six directions

The six directions bring in sacred energy, or Wowakan, says rider Mikey Peters, the great-great grandson of Medicine Bottle. The horse’s legs symbolize East, West, North and South. His head and ears point upwards to Wakatahe (the Great Spirit). His tail points downwards to Mother Earth.

Native Americans believe this creates a sacred center where the rider sits. Some experience what the ancestors felt as they ride. Bald eagles fly low over the procession, and lead the way to Mankato.

Final victory

The narrative is intercut with original, silent footage of the hanging. The Dakota are marched up the steps of a wooden scaffold. Hands are tied. Faces are covered with sackcloth.

As their women wailed, the warriors sang of victory. About to face death, Tazoo (Red Otter), announced: “I expect to travel directly to the house of the Creator, and to be happy when I get there.” The names of the 38 plus 2 appear in the end credits.

Gift economy film graced

Hagerty told works & conversations that some riders did not welcome a non-Native filmmaker. Each night the group assembled, sometimes holding “talking circles.” “We’re all equal,” Miller reminds them. “Remember there is only one race – the human race.”

As soon as Hagerty decided to offer Dakota 38 free to viewers, he received unexpected creative and financial support to complete this six-year project.

To buy a DVD, host a screening or become a backer of the film, visit SmoothFeather Productions.

If you like Dakota 38, you might enjoy:  2012 The Mayan Word.

 

Dakota 38   2012  /  NR  /  1 hour, 18 min

Cast Overview:  Jim Miller, Peter Lengkeek, Mikey Peters, Tolly Estes, Alberta Iron Cloud Miller, Isaac Miller, BillyRay DuMarce

Director:  Silas Hagerty

Genre:  Documentary

Filed Under: Awaken, Character, Documentary, Forgiveness, Healing - Traditional, Native & Life Wisdom, Top Films, Transformation, True Stories, Wisdom Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Road to Peace: Dalai Lama quits politics, calls us to practice compassion

September 26, 2012 By

The Dalai Lama has quit politics. Still he urges us to practice compassion in order to solve world problems in Road to Peace: Ancient Wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Old friends and newcomers flock to see Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, during a 2008 visit to the United Kingdom. Behind-the-scenes coverage reveal the personal side of Tibet’s spiritual leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Road to Peace is now streaming free at Fanetwork.tv.  Leon Stuparich directs.

A century of dialogue

“Destruction of your enemy is destruction of yourself,” he warns. He envisions a new era of productive dialogue among people everywhere, informed by love and compassion.

Speaking to Christians and Buddhists at a colloquium, the Dalai Lama reminded the group that love and compassion are common values in every religion. “We have a direct connection with God.”

One participant, Friar Eugene McCaffrey, a Carmelite priest and author, learned that faith must begin “within the human heart and the human spirit.”

Peace begins within

Expressing frustration and compassion for the Chinese government, the Dalai Lama resigned as political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration in 2011.

China first invaded Tibet in 1949. Reports of human rights abuses, “patriotic re-education” and atrocities have followed. Since 1959 when he took refuge in Dharamsala, India, he has never returned to his homeland.

Most Tibetans do not seek independence from China, but a genuine autonomy within it that protects their religion and culture.

Beyond religion

Many grin with tears in their eyes as they meet him. They call him charming, natural, friendly and humorous. He is a living example of love in action. With unconditional love, he reminds us who we are in a troubled world.

The Dalai Lama will visit Australia next year. Some 5% of the profits from Road to Peace are being donated to Tibet House Trust.

“If we combine our knowledge, skills and expertise with our will power and determination, then no matter what problems we face, we can solve those problems forever,” he assures us. Compassion, honesty and justice are called for.

“So endless,” he observes. “Learning, learning, learning.”

If you like Road to Peace: Ancient Wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, you might enjoy: Dalai Lama Renaissance; Samsara.

 

Road to Peace: Ancient Wisdom of the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet  /   2012  /  NR  /   1 hour, 4 min

Cast Overview:  Tenzin Gyatso, Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Phillipa Clark, Riki Hyde-Chambers, Dr. Jonathan Mirsky, Arjahn Sumedho, Joanna Lumley

Directors: Leon Stuparich

Genres:  Documentary

 

 

 

Filed Under: Activism, Awaken, Compassion, Forgiveness, Learn & Grow, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Beasts of the Southern Wild: girl’s spirit soars despite flood

July 20, 2012 By

Beasts of the Southern Wild soars as a girl finds wonder in post-apocalyptic Louisiana. This devastating tale of resilience marks Benh Zeitlin’s remarkable feature debut.

A cast of local non-actors fills Beasts with authentic grit. Winner of the Camera d’Or at Cannes and the Special Jury Prize at Sundance, Beasts is now playing in theaters.

Girl meets world

Hushpuppy (astounding Quvenzhané Wallis) is a six-year-old living in southern Louisiana. As a Hurricane Katrina-like storm approaches, she and her daddy Wink (Dwight Henry, violent and valiant) hunker down in their shanty. Defiant residents of “the Bathtub” hold fast in the tidal basin.

Wink is succumbing to disease and heavy drinking. But Hushpuppy, who narrates movingly in broken English, holds her head high. She knows her small but important place in the Universe. She loves herself and is proud of her heritage.

Hushpuppy evokes memories of her absent mother. The glow of a distant lighthouse signifies her momma’s love. The girl is also an animal whisperer whose empathy with all creatures dispels loneliness.

Modern-day ark

References to melting polar ice caps and ancient beasts lend historic and modern context. After the flood, Wink teaches his daughter to catch catfish with her bare hands. Love and loyalty hold their community together. The heroes live on crawfish, shrimp, crabs and sometimes alcohol. They mock authority from the edge of civilization.

Wink’s tough love has forged Hushpuppy’s fierce individualism. That’s deepened by her sense of wonder. Wallis’ dignity and tenacity remind me of Ree Dolly in Winter’s Bone.

 

Allegory of survival

Ben Richardson’s cinematography conjures dreamlike realism. Motherless children float in makeshift boats over stark, dying waterscapes. A bustling, sweaty brothel becomes a temporary haven. Hushpuppy faces giant, wild boars in a surreal moment right out of Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Finally, Beasts raises the region and its inhabitants to mythic status.

If you like Beasts of the Southern Wild, you might enjoy:  Winter’s Bone.

 

Beasts of the Southern Wild  /   2012  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 33 min

Cast Overview:  Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Gina Montana

Director:   Benh Zeitlin

Genres:  Drama, Fantasy

 

Filed Under: Awaken, Character, Forgiveness, Heal, Transformation, Youth Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding: Jane Fonda spoofs heartfelt hippie

July 9, 2012 By

 

In Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding, Jane Fonda spoofs her radical, 1960s self as a hippie mom who reconciles with her uptight, lawyer daughter Diane (Catherine Keener).

Elizabeth Olsen (Zoe) and Nat Wolff (Jake) play the teenage grandchildren who Grace (Fonda) has never met. The feel-good dramedy with delightful acting is now playing on demand at IFC Channel.

Flower Power

When Diane’s husband (Kyle MacLachlan) demands a divorce, she packs up her kids and heads for Woodstock, New York to be comforted by her mom. Grace hasn’t seen her daughter in 20 years. The two were estranged after Grace sold grass at Diane’s wedding.

Fonda, 74, plays an artist and part-time pot dealer in idyllic Woodstock. The Oscar winner’s warm, groovy mom performance is a must-see for fans.

Known for her 1960s anti-war activism and radical views, Fonda told HitFix, “You know, every decade has its own form of change. In those days it was drugs and the pill and a war and now it’s technology and globalization.”

Romance etcetera

Diane begins dating too-good-to-be-true hottie Jude (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Keener (Please Give) is understated in her underwritten part.

Olsen plays a politically correct vegetarian who falls for a meat eater. Wolff adds a thoughtful element as a filmmaker who chronicles their Summer of Love. Both are engaging despite a predictable plot.

In one of the film’s best scenes, Grace and her friends howl and emote during a full moon ceremony.

Encore!

Pleace, Love, & Misunderstanding left me yearning to see Fonda star in a film more worthy of her talents. She will appear in Aaron Sorkin’s HBO series Newsroom.

If you like Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding, you might enjoy:  Please Give.

 

Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding  /   2011  /  R  /  1 hour, 36 min

Cast Overview:  Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chace Crawford, Kyle MacLachlan, Katharine McPhee, Elizabeth Olsen, Nat Wolff, Rosanna Arquette

Director: Bruce Beresford

Genres:  Comedy, Drama, Dramedy

Filed Under: Awaken, Change of heart, Character, Forgiveness, Heal, Healing - Traditional Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Course in Miracles unveils miracles of forgiveness

May 15, 2012 By

A Course in Miracles: The Movie unveils a unique way to forgive and be happy. Some of the world’s most respected teachers and authors appear.

The film is an excellent summary of A Course in Miracles for new and experienced students and teachers. It is scholarly and simplified. The DVD is now available from Avaiya.

What is the Course?

The Course is a “universal, self-study spiritual thought system that teaches that the way to Love and Inner Peace is through Forgiveness,” according to the Foundation for Inner Peace.

Columbia University professors Helen Schucman and William Thetford compiled the words of a Voice giving a “rapid, inner dictation” to Schucman in the late 1970s. Dr. Ken Wapnick, who appears in this film, helped editorially organize the Course.

The terms “Jesus” and “Holy Spirit” are symbolic of God’s love, experts say, and do not refer to the historical Jesus of Nazareth or to the Holy Spirit of Christianity.

Each student/teacher develops a unique relationship with the Course. Teacher Earl Purdy appreciates Jesus’ Seinfeld-like, ironic humor. Wapnick believes that Jesus is a Freudian.

It’s only a dream

“This whole game that we call life is just an illusion, just a projection of what’s going on within,” says the late Tomas Vieira, co-author of Take Me to Truth. “All the answers that we’re seeking are within.”

“Most of us spend this ‘life’ in this dream trying to fix the dream, when the only game in town is to wake up out of it,” Vieira adds.

Eventually we see that “all is well, all was always well. There is nothing to fix. And also there is nothing to be guilty of! All that we need to do is just gently wake up,” says Vieira.

Simply put, “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God,” says the Course.

Changing our minds

The Course “doesn’t focus on love,” Wapnick explains. “It doesn’t focus on truth, it doesn’t focus on forgiveness in the usual sense of the word.”

“It really focuses on the resistance we have to accepting the love,” says Wapnick. “What the Course does is unveil for us our secret wish to be unfairly treated.”

“It’s about unlearning everything that we think is real,” says Nouk Sanchez, co-author of Take Me to Truth. “We find out that what is really real is love.”

From “me” to “we”

“What it’s really about is changing your perception, looking at the world differently and undoing the ego,” according to Gary Renard, teacher and author of The Disappearance of the Universe. The ego is “the ‘me’ that we think we are,” Vieira notes.

“According to the Course, [forgiveness] is a fast way to get home” and transcend suffering, Renard says. “Most of us are just experiencing a great deal of pain until we’ve had enough,” Vieira adds.

In the world, not of it

“Absolutely everything is happening within our mind, which means that your mind is not in your body. Your body is in your mind,” according to Rev. Tony Senf of the Unity Center of the Heights, Cleveland, Ohio. “Your body isn’t even in the world.”

“There really is no world out there,” says filmmaker and seminar leader Chad Cameron. “Much in the same way when you dream at night, there’s nobody in dreamland infringing on you.”

The world is “a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world,” according to Sai Baba. Jesus advised us to “be in the world but not of it.”

Heaven on Earth

The separation from God or Source never really happened, says the Course. We chose to be born “so that we could prove that the ego is right and God is wrong,” Wapnick notes.

“The Course teaches us that reality is perfect oneness, and that’s the definition of heaven. It’s an awareness of perfect oneness,” says Wapnick.

Author and teacher Tom Carpenter describes forgiveness as “undoing the judgments we have made in the past. . . . The payoff ultimately is that it will teach you the truth of who you are,” Carpenter adds.

“It looks like there are probably 6 billion people out there and 6 billion minds out there that need to be saved. There’s really just one,” says Renard.

A new way to forgive

Every time someone pushes our buttons, it’s an opportunity to forgive, says Sanchez. Basically, we are forgiving what never really happened. By blaming others, we project our own guilt onto them. Blaming only makes us feel better momentarily.

“If you forgive as you go along, then eventually you’re going to undo the ego, be more in the condition of Spirit, and because of that what will happen is that the unconscious guilt that is in your mind will be healed by the Holy Spirit,” Renard says.

“When I choose to forgive and let go of guilt, which means I let go of my belief in separation . . . . then all of my relationships become holy,” says Wapnick.

“Let forgiveness be the substitute for fear. This is the only rule for happy dreams,” says the Course.

 

Get happy and forgive

Renard urges us to forgive continually. “Do it now, get in the habit of doing it, and it can make all the difference in the world, both in terms of your immediate experience, and also in the long-term direction of the mind.”

“You don’t have to struggle to be what you already are,” says Renard. “All that you have to do is undo the false you, undo the ego, and eventually the experience of the real you will be there for you.” If you really want to change the world, change yourself, teachers advise.

Puppetji the puppet guru says: “Just enjoy your life. Here. Now. This is it. . . . It is all one big mystery.”

If you like A Course in Miracles, you might enjoy:  Three Magic Words; Dalai Lama: Renaissance.

 

A Course in Miracles: The Movie    2010  /  NR /  1 hour, 1 min

Cast Overview: Ken Wapnick, Nouk Sanchez, Tomas Vieira, Lyn Corona, Chad Cameron, Linda Carpenter, Earl Purdy, Gary Renard, Linda McNabb, iKE ALLEN, Susan Dugan, Tom Carpenter, Tony Senf, Puppetji

Director:  iKE ALLEN

Genre:  Documentary, Spirituality

Filed Under: Awaken, Character, Community, Compassion, Documentary, Forgiveness, Heal, Learn & Grow, Spirituality Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Sacred Earth: how to reconnect with Nature and one another

April 22, 2012 By

This Sacred Earth: The 2012 Phenomenon shows you simple ways to reconnect with Nature and others as humanity’s Golden Age unfolds. Shamans and scholars participate. Billie Dean and Andrew Einspruch direct this uplifting documentary.

The film is now streaming on various platforms as 2012: This Sacred Earth. The DVD is available at the film’s website.

Befriending Nature

“Nature is really, fundamentally, a relationship,” says Andras Corban Arthen, founder of the EarthSpirit Community.

It’s crucial to heal our relationship with Nature, Arthen says. Humankind’s problems originate in “the deliberate separation of human beings from direct participation in the natural world,” he believes.

“Mother Nature is yearning for us and we are yearning for her,” says Karen Ward, author and Irish-Celtic shaman. “We just have to get out and be. It’s that simple.”

Walking outdoors every day, sending love to the sun every morning and evening, and thanking the plants and animals that make up our meals are simple ways to begin. Irish-Celtic shaman John Cantwell notes that Nature can help us heal depression, stress and overweight.

Down to earth

Connecting with tree, animal and plant spirits has been “incredibly practical and useful,” says scholar and Celtic shaman Dr. Geo Athena Trevarthen. She feels she’s become a better mother, wife and friend.

Living simply doesn’t mean moving into a cave. It means living with less. Buying more “stuff” doesn’t bring happiness or fulfillment, insists author and past life regressionist Dolores Cannon. Watch less television, advises druid author Philip Carr-Gomm.

Grow a garden and share with others, suggests Lucy Cavendish, Australian author and white witch. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to fall back in love with this planet, our home, to fall back in love with each other,” she adds.

The New Human arrives

“Homo Luminous is the new human that’s appearing today. We’re taking a quantum evolutionary leap,” shaman and author Dr. Alberto Villoldo believes.

He sees our natural human lifespan as 150-200 years. The new species will grow, heal and die differently. We will create “psychosomatic health” rather than psychosomatic illness, he says. Extraordinary relationships, spirituality and psychic abilities will become commonplace.

Villoldo recommends that we live peace and joy as a daily practice. “You act from courage not from fear. You act from love not from reactivity or rage. You act from truth, and not from a set of lies that we’ve internalized and confused with reality,” he explains.

“For me it’s like being rewired,” says Ward. The way we think, feel, live and love are continuously evolving.

 Preview of the Golden Age

The world after December 21, 2012 will still contain horror and beauty, says Haleaka Solari Pule Dooley, a Hawaiian Kahuna. We each decide what to tune into. It’s a time when “our true priorities will be brought forth,” she says.

“Inner change is happening today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow,” says Villoldo. The New World will be as different from this world as this world is from Neanderthal times, he notes.

The Golden Age will be filled with “spontaneous mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart communication, anticipating events before they occur, living synchronistically so you’re living in the symphony of creation,” he notes. Negativity and trauma will be replaced with beauty and wonder, says Cannon.

Co-creating a new world

The 2012 turning point gives us “a deadline to make important changes, and to change how we’re relating to the Earth,” says Lucy Cavendish, Australian author and white witch.

“With awareness, I think this truly is the Golden Age,” says Trevarthen. “What we focus on expands,” according to Billie Dean, shaman, author and co-director of the film. “So if we want a different kind of world, then we have to think about the sort of world we really want.”

Spiritual practice

Ward envisions accessing our ancestors’ wisdom, knowledge and ancient ways. “Bring it into a modern context, evolving as a spiritual community.”

Praise and bless what’s true and beautiful in the world now, advises Trevarthen. Shamanic ceremonies are shown in beautiful, natural surroundings.

Embrace and create change

We can turn our world around with a light heart, creativity, imagination, pride and audacity, Cantwell notes. Optimism and hope comprise this world view.

Grassroots people create change by following their hearts. World people are already standing up to injustice by saying: “We won’t allow this.”

Life as spiritual art form

“Doing your work is about forgiveness,” Dean notes. It’s about loving yourself, loving others and the Earth. It means walking the Earth with impeccability and “making life a spiritual art form.”

Aliens won’t be swooping in to save us, says photojournalist and investigative reporter Paola Harris. Meaningful change must come from within.

We must live with intention and reverence. Those who don’t change will simply become extinct, Villoldo cautions.

 

Be peace

Overall This Sacred Earth is very mature, heartfelt and insightful. It simplifies spirituality with humor. It opens with a remarkably clear summary of the 2012 galactic alignment and related issues. Excellent music includes the song Spiral Dance by David Pendragon and Tribe World Ensemble.

“Be peace. Be love. Be beauty. And walk in beauty,” says Dean. (4.5 out of 5 stars)

If you like This Sacred Earth: The 2012 Phenomenon, you might enjoy:  Earth Whisperers; 2012: The Odyssey; Anima Mundi.

 

This Sacred Earth  /   2009  /  NR  /  53 min

Cast Overview:  Dr. William Bloom, Dolores Cannon, John Cantwell, Philip Carr-Gomm, Lucy Cavendish, Andras Corben Arthen, Billie Dean, Haleaka Solari Pule Dooley, Paola Harris, Anne Hassett, Minmia, Janet Ossebaard, Dr. Geo Athena Trevarthen, Dr. Alberto Villoldo, Karen Ward, Robert Wakeley Wheeler, Angelika Whitecliff

Directors: Billie Dean and Andrew Einspruch

Genres:  Documentary, Nature, Spirituality

Filed Under: Awaken, Community, Compassion, Documentary, Forgiveness, Heal, Healing - Traditional, Learn & Grow, Native & Life Wisdom, Spirituality, Wisdom Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kid with a Bike: Thomas Doret stars, reclaiming a bike and a future

April 17, 2012 By

In The Kid with a Bike, Cyril (Thomas Doret) grows up as he hunts for his father. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne direct this human interest tale with many luminous moments.

The Kid with a Bike won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2011. It’s now playing at these theaters.

Creating his own luck

Cyril lives in a state-run boys’ home. Cunning and angry, he flees at every opportunity. He’s determined to find his father (Jeremie Renier), who left no forwarding address. Ready to forgive, Cyril questions anyone who may have last seen him.

Doret’s performance reveals a sensitive, stirring insistence on loyalty and truth. Boiling with conflicting emotions, he’s a kid on the verge of falling into crime.

Love and redemption

Cecile de France plays Samantha, a single hairdresser who does a good deed. After Cyril crashes into her in a doctor’s waiting room, she hears his story. It seems the father sold Cyril’s bike and disappeared.

Samantha buys the bike and returns it to Cyril. De France is radiant in her ordinariness, and excels during several plot twists.

Cyril swoops, circles and balances on one wheel. Although he must answer to adults, he’s determined and free. He follows his truth and breaks rules if they prevent him from doing what he thinks is right.

Showing great survival instincts, Cyril asks Samantha if she would offer him a foster home on weekends.

Standout moments

You’ll cringe as Cyril walks the wild side, especially when a local drug dealer Wes (Egon Di Mateo) takes an interest in the lonely 11-year-old.

When Cyril agrees to carry out a robbery for Wes, the deed becomes initiatory, a poignant rite of passage. Cyril embraces danger in a way that vividly recalls youthful risks.

Ordinary and extraordinary

The Dardenne brothers (L’Enfant) portray ordinary characters facing terrific challenges. They achieve deep meaning in every scene, treating you to many delights and a powerful ending.

It’s thrilling to watch Alain Marcoen’s cinematography. As Cyril bikes over the rapids of a darkening street, Marcoen’s camera flows alongside him for long seconds.

It’s an eternity of a childhood moment, letting you savor those endless days. (5 out of 5 stars)

If you like The Kid with a Bike, you might enjoy:  In a Better World.

 

The Kid with a Bike  /   2011  /  PG-13  /  1 hour, 27 min

Cast Overview:  Cécile de France, Thomas Doret, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Egon Di Mateo

Directors:  Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Genre:  Drama

Language: French with English subtitles

Filed Under: Character, Compassion, Forgiveness, Heal, Healing - Traditional, Learn & Grow, Youth Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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