Awakening Through Movies

Yay!  I left the house!

I’m so glad I got outdoors on Sunday.  I’m always happy when I do, but getting out there isn’t always natural when I’m in hermit mode.

I borrowed my neighbour’s snowshoes and headed out in the bright sunshine – it was only a few degrees below freezing point. I started off on the deserted trails near my home and ended up in Bowring Park for a bit of people/dog watching.  My favourite part was lying down in the snow for a good 20 minutes, just listening, looking and feeling. Nature always feeds my soul!

I’ll admit, I haven’t been out of the house much this winter, but this first really big snowfall was just too attractive to miss. I also knew it wouldn’t last – after a night of high winds and rain, it was quite slushy feeding the ducks in the backyard on Monday, and now its gusty and -16 Celsius with the windchill, so everything is very crunchy.

Why Hermit Mode?

The weather isn’t the reason I’ve been pretty much a hermit this season.  I work from home – and love that.  I can delve into my creative projects with few distractions.  Also, I’m an early riser, so by the time I cook/eat dinner, I’m ready to call it a day.  The idea of going out in the evenings is quite the stretch, although I’m looking forward to going to see a play this Thursday.  Mostly, however, I feel quite content here in this beautiful environment surrounded by nature, with plenty of projects to keep me occupied, and a housemate who is also devoted to spiritual growth.

Long Time Movie Buff:

So what do I do in the evenings?  I watch movies.  That isn’t new. I’ve been a movie buff much of my life.  I remember being 6 or 7 and bicycling across the forest in Germany to go to the movie theatre on the base on my own.  I’ve always loved movies – I get to see, feel,  and vicariously experience so much of what this world and other worlds have to offer –  in a comfortable environment – often with popcorn or chips…  I’ve also learned a lot about humanity and history through the movies (I know, they’re only based on reality, but what’s reality…).  I sometimes go through thematic phases, like only watching movies about the lives of artists while studying art in Vienna last year (not the most uplifting theme…), or watching 6 different films on the life of St. Frances before my time as artist in residence at the Awakening Arts Center near Assisi.  Indeed, movies have served much more than mere entertainment, although I’m not immune to the desire to simply escape once in a while.  I did have a few Hollywood movie marathon weekends during my 3 years in South Korea when I simply needed a break from it all.  My latest theme is more of an approach to the movies.

Waking Up To the Movies:

A couple of months ago, my housemate introduced me to the work of John Mark Stroud of OneWhoWakes.org.  He reached awakening in part through watching movies. Now that’s my kind of spiritual practice!

While John Mark was walking his path, he was guided to over 100 films as teaching tools. The Holy Spirit/Jesus would tell him what movie to watch and while he watched the movie, Spirit would have him pause the

movie often. The Spirit would then explain how to look at the movie and understand it through the unified, singular, and true perception of the awakened Christ Mind. It was as if a whole new world was being

revealed. It really taught John Mark how to watch his own mind and truly see what was going on inside himself. Watching those movies was great fun and contributed greatly to John Mark’s awakening.

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I decided to give it a try, especially since my favourite movie, “August Rush” was on his list of offerings.  You can download the movies from his site and watch your mind as you watch the movie, enhanced by John Mark’s guided commentary throughout.

The messages of Spirit and Love are all around us, woven into every aspect of our daily experience. We usually do not see them because we are so identified with our individual egoic consciousness. Guided movie watching is a simple way to experience a teaching personified. Once we have witnessed the teaching illuminated on screen, we can turn our awareness inward and see its application in our own life. Guided movies open our mind to a reality beyond our existing concepts. Waking Up to the Movies with guidance from the Holy Spirit can be a fun and easy way to open our minds, practice forgiveness and learn metaphysics.

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I’ve almost caught up to the 45 he currently has available and look forward to when he’ll add more to the list.

So that’s what I’ve been doing …  my own brand of spiritual retreat – painting and movies.

By the way, John Mark welcomes Love Offerings – Donations on his website.  He also explains how his sharing of movies with commentary is not an infringement of copyright laws.

If you’re curious, try it out for yourself.  Click here.