Enlightenment at the Movies
For all of us learning to generate magical lives, do movies reveal a clue?
If the primary reason we are here in the first place is to remember who we are—to ourselves, to each other, to the whole shebang, then maybe it is our destiny to understand and achieve success. To learn to consciously create it. So I am always alert for tips.
Here then, some clues to enlightenment that I found in the dark.
From action heroes, I get what it means to live every moment as if it is my last. To be engaged, involved, and committed to a cause. To participate with honor. And the importance of get-up-and-go.
Love stories unfold in enchanted pockets of gracious giving and receiving. They foster my compassion for the loss and hurts of others—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Very different from opportunism and entitlement. They tease open my heart and mind.
Space operas and sci-fi help me see past the world of form. Beneath the veneer of every alien civilization and dimension awaits shared universal tests. How do I make a difference? What maps do I make to ease the way for myself and others? To be more. Live more. Stretch more. Forgive more. And what am I prepared to move beyond (or leave behind) to access the Force within. To go boldly into the unknown.
From drama, I connect with the feelings of others. How do I deal with my own relationships—with spouse, children, friends, boss, colleagues? With myself? Higher Self? God/Goddess/All That Is? When I can recognize myself in another person, it increases my “response-ability.”
Comedies always force me to wonder why I take myself so seriously. Funny movies remind me to laugh. To find humor in the frantic dance I do for love without remembering that I am loved all along. To shrug off mistakes and lighten up.
Horror movies and war films have lots to reveal about what is dark in me, as well as what is light. Often pointing to judgments or emotions that are not fully expressed, or I am denying altogether. Movies that arouse strong feelings of antipathy in me are always a sure sign of resistances, fears, and blockages to my growth that persist below the waterline of my awareness. What I resist persists.
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This article was originally published on Barnet’s blog.
Barnet Bain is an award-winning film producer and director (Milton’s Secret, What Dreams May Come, The Celestine Prophecy), author, and creativity teacher.
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