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January/February 2006 Conscious Media
In Review

New Film Releases

"Illusion" Starring Kirk Douglas and Co-starring, written & directed by Michael Goorjian

This beautifully crafted film is about who we really are, what matters in life, and the redemptive power of love. It is not only highly entertaining, but also addresses some of the deepest issues we can face like: How did the choices I made years ago create my life today? Can I do anything today to alter the choices I made years ago … and change life now?

Screen legend Kirk Douglas was 88 years old when the film was shot, and he delivers one of the deepest, most emotionally charged performances of his 63-year show business career. The story is about Donald Baines (Douglas), a dying movie director, who reflects back on his life of achievement -- great fame and fortune … but no love. The rejection of his illegitimate son, Christopher (Goorjian), brings him the most pain.

Late one night, Donald is awakened by the ghostly image of Stan (Ron Marasco), a favorite editor who has been dead more than 35 years. Suddenly Donald finds his deathbed transported to an old movie house. Stan informs Donald that he has come to help, and that he will show him three film reels drawn from the Akashic Records - three visions - each vision representing a different period of Christopher’s life.

Douglas was sent a ten-minute trailer of the "flashback scenes, as well as the script. Douglas recalls, "I didn’t intend to do the part of Illusion because I had just finished a picture with my son Michael and my grandson Cameron, but when I read the script of Illusion I knew I had to do it. It was a very intriguing script, and the role was very appealing to me; it was a challenge.

"The character is an old director, a very famous director who has spent his life in the world of make-believe. And he has a problem facing reality. That’s the theme of the picture. And I was intrigued because I think that many people in my profession have the same problem. We’re always playing another character. And sometimes it’s difficult for us to find ourselves. So that was one of the aspects of the character that appealed to me very much."

Goorjian’s desire in making films is to feed his audience something good. "When you’re in a theater, watching a movie," he says, "you’re in a hypnotic state, letting go of thought, of the future, the past. It’s one of the few times we’re really present. And in this receptive state, we’re being fed -- images and ideas. We need to ask ourselves: is this good food? Are we being fed something tasty and nourishing? Or do we feel empty after the movie, or even worse, crummy?"

We all know the experience Goorjian is pointing to. Illusion, on the other hand, is a thoroughly satisfying meal, both intellectually and emotionally. And fortunately, just one of many more to come from this talented filmmaker.

Illusion will open in theaters nationally in early 2006. For more information, visit www.illusionthemovie.com.

What The BLEEP - Down the Rabbit Hole

Get ready to line up for this hot new version that morphed out of the enormously successful "What the BLEEP Do We Know!?,"  the tour de force worldwide film phenomenon directed and produced by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente. The new film, being released in February, 2006, is an extension as well as an evolution of the original, and goes much further into the subject that millions of viewers found not only fascinating, but life-altering.

What the BLEEP - Down the Rabbit Hole contains never before seen footage, including deleted scenes, an hour and 45 minutes of brand new interviews, and three new sets of animated footage, including Dr. Quantum Visits Flatland. It presents stunning new experimental results that further support the mind-bending concepts contained in the first film. It dives deep into Alice’s rabbit hole, exploring and explaining the weird science of the quantum realms that affect our everyday reality … whether we know it or not!

Fast paced and intelligent, this movie is the riposte to criticism that quantum mechanics, consciousness studies and movie audiences do not mix. The original film:

• Grossed over 12 million in the U.S. box office
• Was released in 15 countries with more openings every month
• Sold over one million DVDs, and surfed Amazon.com’s Top DVD best-seller list for 8 months straight
• Surpassed Mel Gibson’s blockbuster Passion of the Christ in multiple copy DVD purchases worldwide

Starring Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, Barry Newman, and sixteen of the world’s most noted physicists, neuro-chemists, physicians, and metaphysicians, What the BLEEP - Down the Rabbit Hole with its state-of-the-art animation, reflects the filmmakers’ personal evolution and answers audience’s unprecedented demand for an even deeper film experience. "People are telling us how grateful they are for a film that not only entertains, but informs as well," says filmmaker Chasse. "This version was created out of an enormous audience appetite for more. We listened. And we hope we delivered." For more information see www.whatthebleep.com.

 

Tours

A Cruise for Spiritual Movie Lovers: The "Woodstock" of Spiritual Cinema

As the chill of winter sets in and thoughts of a vacation in the sun invade your daydreams, check out the cruise being offered by The Spiritual Cinema Circle.

In April, The Spiritual Cinema Circle offers its second annual floating film festival, a weeklong Spiritual Cinema Festival-at-Sea. Departing from San Diego on April 22-29, 2006 for the Mexican Riviera, movie lovers can get away from it all aboard Holland America’s luxury cruise liner, the M/S Oosterdam.

"The cruise is so much more than a vacation. It’s a time for us to connect, to explore and to celebrate the magic of Spiritual Cinema," says Executive Festival Director Stephen Simon, veteran producer of films like What Dreams May Come and Somewhere in Time.

Bestselling author Neale Donald Walsch will join the festivities this year to premiere exclusive footage from the mystical new film based on his life, Conversations with God, directed and produced by Stephen Simon, starring Henry Czerny in the role of Neale.

Spend a week with like-minded people from around the world to watch films about life, love, art and transcendence, and share a week of screenings, snorkeling and spiritual community building. It’s sure to be a magical experience for all who attend.

For information or to register, visit: www.spiritualcinemafestival.com

 

Books

What the BLEEP Do We Know?!™
by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente, 
Health Communications Inc., 2005, $26.95 (hardcover.)

The creators of What the BLEEP have surpassed themselves in creating out of all that rich material a gorgeous, full-color, lavishly illustrated, outside-the-box book of the decade! If you liked the film, you’ll have to have this book, published by HCI, the company famous for the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. This is not a book of definitive answers. This is a book of mind stretching questions. It is a book that shows you not the path, but the endless possibilities. Do you think you have to go to the same job every day, do the same errands, think the same thoughts, feel the same way? Well, think again.

What the BLEEP Do We Know?!™ - Discovering the endless possibilities for altering your everyday reality is a book of amazing science. With the help of more than a dozen research and theoretical scientists from the film, it takes you through the looking glass of quantum physics into a universe that is more bizarre and alive than ever imagined. Then it takes you beyond, into the outer-inner edges of our scientific knowledge of consciousness, perception, body chemistry and brain structure. What is a thought made of? What is reality made of? And most importantly, how does a thought change the nature of reality? A higher power exists, but is it truly out there? Where is the dividing line between out there and in here?

Life Without Lisa : A Widowed Father’s Compelling Journey Through the Rough Seas of Grief
by Richard Ballo, Quality of Life Publishing Co (2005), $12.95

As expected as the proverbial "death and taxes" are, nothing can adequately prepare anyone for the loss of a beloved one – especially if that loved one dies at an early age. Author Rich Ballo simply was not ready on any level when his treasured 38-year-old wife Lisa died from cancer.

Rich kept a journal of his five year recovery from all-consuming grief, Lisa’s visitations from the other side and his personal journey. His journal later served as the basis for the book. He candidly shares the pain and suffering that ensued and that only his love for his young sons kept him from surrendering to the pain and collapsing in a hopeless heap.

Life Without Lisa gives the reader a rare and intimate view of how a man faces loss that defies words and comes out the other side whole, happy and enjoying life again.

Few men, if any, have publicly revealed their innermost thoughts, feelings and fears in the compelling way Rich Ballo has. Most men present a stoic face to the outside world and reject expression of their personal grief and experience. But Rich Ballo simultaneously shows his courageous and vulnerable side in his book that offers hope and understanding to all who suffer a cataclysmic loss. And since death touches all, chances are exceedingly high that all who read Life Without Lisa will benefit from the reassurances the book offers.

--Jill H. Lawrence

EcoKids : Raising Children Who Care for the Earth
by Dan Chiras, New Society Publishers, 2005, $17.95

This is a unique book is aimed at helping parents raise environmentally responsible children. To forge a sustainable future, we need citizens who care for the Earth. Because public schools and the popular media cannot be counted on to produce an Earth-friendly citizenry, the task falls to parents. Yet even aware parents often lack the understanding and resources to take on such a task. EcoKids is a hopeful and inspiring guide for parents that addresses this gap by presenting a coherent plan that will help parents foster love for nature, teach children the importance of environmental protection, and promote environmental values and inspire action - actions that will last a lifetime.

 

Audio & Video

Short Cut To Nirvana: Wisdom and Joy

Every 12 years for over two millennia, millions of pilgrims have gathered to bathe at the meeting point of two of India’s most sacred rivers, the Ganges and the Yamuna, and one mythical river, the Saraswati. This massive event, the Maha Kumbh Mela, is the subject of Short Cut to Nirvana, an award winning documentary by Maurizio Benazzo and Nick Day. With 70 million pilgrims attending, the atmosphere is festive, the crowds are friendly and joyful. Take a grand tour of the Kumbh Mela, with its colorful chanting rituals, misty dawn bathing in the Ganges, street sellers hawking eyebalm, and kitchens doling out rice and curry from buckets. The Dalai Lama also makes an appearance, declaring that the time for religious conversion is past and that the world’s major traditions now have a responsibility to seek harmony and protect the environment.

Short Cut To Nirvana is now available on DVD with 75 minutes of bonus materials. Mela Films, www.melafilms.com.

Yatri, by Prem Joshua

This is exquisite music for the growth of the soul. Yatri, Prem Joshua's latest release from White Swan Records was recorded in 2004 during his travels in Europe and America, but the music's heart is India and the silent beauty of realised meditation. Even as the musicians dig deep to explore funk and jazz music through the album's world fusion format, Yatri is always a journey within. Twenty years of Prem Joshua's travel in India, his time studying with the great teacher Osho and his mastery as a triple instrumentalist of flute, sitar and soprano saxophone are all elements of Yatri's great substance. It is a CD that is immediately inviting and infinitely replayable.  Perhaps the best World Fusion/New Age release of 2005. White Swan Records, WS 0057