Click here to go to the next issue
Highlights Home Page | Receive the Nondual Highlights each day
#2492 -
This issue begins with poetry and diet
advice from Margo.
Then there are two articles falling under
"nondual activism": A review of the movie ScaredSacred,
and a review by Daniela Rommel of the book Summer
Snow, by William T. Hathaway.
Just a note: Esa Miettinen
has let us know that the nondual internet classic movie Shinji-San
has moved to
http://newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=169385
Margo
"All's fair in poetry"
The following two poems are from
Margo at Margonaut: http://www.margonaut.com/
the monady and the microclimate
I am an orb of hail
that has just hit the ocean
having cast ripples on an evanescent wave or two
softly floating on the salty surface
due to melt back into its source
unhurriedly
~ ~ ~
margo's metaphysical diet tips
(depravation is unnecessary)
give up the comparing yourself to others game
make food choices around wanting to be
healthy instead of because your butt is too wide, etc.
reject diet trends and newspaper advice on
what to eat
each of us has different nutritonal needs
there is no one "healthy diet" that will work for
everyone
figure out what natural foods make your unique body feel good
sit down, relax, chew slowly, and enjoy each
bite with your full attention when you eat
stop thinking of your favourite
"bad" foods as "junk food" and instead think
of them as "treats"
enjoy each bite
do not feel guilty after
(relax, Heaven says no dessert is actually "sinful")
and most importantly
stop thinking about what's wrong with your body
start loving it with an attitude of gratitude
and watch it respond
Does Mind Over Body Healing Work?"
http://www.mindpowernews.com/MindHealing.htm
Diseases are burdens on biology. Human intellect and human body
organs are integral parts of the human condition. To separate
them, as Socrates lamented, is to negate the completeness of the
human condition.
Our technology has rendered irrelevant the
debate on the psychosomatic and somatopsychic nature of diseases.
Advances in behavioural biology and experimental psychology have
put these two disciplines on a collision course; a complete
merger between the two is simply a matter of time.
ScaredSacred
i watched this movie tonight. it is now
available on dvd. i recommend it. his
blog as well as related links are quite
worth exploring.
as i have been involved with activism
around many of these issues for a long
time, it was not as new as for some
viewers, yet, it is a beautiful whole.
and certainly there are many images
and people i have never experienced in
person nor have most humans on this
planet.
i like a review that was written by a
viewer called jay on october 2005. he
wanted to pass on the message of the
film. i put it at the end. he has an
innocence and optimism gained from his
experience watching that is heartwarming.
--josie--
FYI, from the website
UNWRAP THE DARKNESS. REVEAL THE LIGHT.
http://www.scaredsacred.org/
In a world teetering on the edge of self-destruction,
award-winning filmmaker Velcrow Ripper sets out on a
unique pilgrimage. Visiting the 'Ground Zeros' of the
planet, he asks if it's possible to find hope in the
darkest moments of human history.
ScaredSacred deftly weaves together stunning footage
with haunting memories, inspirational stories, and an
evocative soundscape. An exquisite portrait of a search
for meaning in times of turmoil.
* * * * *
"Remarkably moving, strikingly beautiful and
surprisingly hopeful...
Ripper's startling images of destruction and
resiilience often arrive so unexpectedly that
you're kept on the edge of your seat. The film
looks at disputes without rhetoric, providing
testimonials that will break your heart. But
nothing that happens here will break the human
spirit. Anyone who sees this movie will be the
better for it."
David Spaner, The Province
* * * *
"Spectacular... an inspirational message of human
compassion."
Janis Cole, NOW Magazine
* * * *
"Provocative... transcendent... mesmerizing...
astonishing!"
Bruce Kirkland,
""Important... illuminating... revelatory!"
-Alex Stachan, CanWest
"An inspiring, beautiful film that left an indelible
impact on me."
-- Daryl Hannah, Actor/Activist
"ScaredSacred conveys a sense of spirit and longing,
harnessed with a compassionate sense of urgency."
-- Atom Egoyan
"One of the most cathartic and powerful films I have
ever seen. It literally changed my life and sense of
spirituality."
-- Rene Broussard, Director, New Orleans International
Human Rights Film Festiva
-Jay's review taken from blog entries at the site.
ScaredSacred:
All I ask is that you take 2 minutes to read
what I have to say. I
know I've asked a lot of my friends and my family lately with my
fundraiser, but I saw this documentary yesterday, and I really
think
you should see it as well. I know I already sent the trailer to
some
of you already, but the only way the message will be spread is if
people go to watch this film in theatre. The better this film
does in
terms of box office numbers, than the more cinemas and cities it
will
be playing at. It is definitely worth the $10. Please read what I
wrote:
On his five year expedition to the `Ground Zeros' around the
world,
Velcrow Ripper explores stories about the mid-1980s pesticide
plant
explosion in India; the minefields of Cambodia; the civil war in
Bosnia; the A-Bomb explosion in Hiroshima; Tibetan's trapped in
Pakistan; a women's rights protest in Afghanistan; the on-going
Israeli-Palestine conflict; and ultimately and arguably the most
shocking ground zero in New York City. Ripper's five year journey
explores whether or not humanity can transform the `scared' into
the
`sacred.'
During the post screening Q&A at the Carlton Cinemas, I asked
Velcrow
what was his inspiration for taking up a challenge like this? He
simply stated how he realized he could use the media as a tool to
send
a message. This film clearly does send a message, and cleverly
opens
our minds and our hearts as he uses the media as a tool for
creating
social change. This film puts a lot of things into perspective
and
makes us `westerners' realize how miniscule our problems really
are.
As I sat there and watched the film in disbelief, discomfort, and
sorrow I thought to myself: Once this film is over, how can I do
my
part to help shape this world of ours? As the credits started
playing
everyone promptly started clapping and I realized: He didn't
create
this documentary to make us `westerners' feel sorry for living
the
lives we do, he simply created it to show us that we are the ones
with
the opportunity to create social change. The impression Velcrow
leaves
the audience is one of complete gratitude for taking five years
of his
life to uncover what is really happening in the world around us.
As a
lot of people in
in the problems going on around the world, this film will make
even
the most narrow-minded individuals realize how fortunate we
really are.
One story in particular that really touched me was that of Aki Ra
who,
as a child soldier, was forced to lay landmines in the jungles of
that if he cried or questioned the military's authority, he would
die
as well. So he went about his business and in order to live his
life
he laid landmines. Today, Aki still walks the jungles he once did
as a
child, except his purpose now is to disarm the landmines he once
laid
as a kid. He walks around with a simple wooden stick and disarms
about
15 to 100 landmines any given day. He sees himself as being lucky
to
be alive and is doing everything in his power to rid his land of
these
deadly devices.
I now look back and say to myself: Will I think twice the next
time I
walk out my door and onto the street, as those in Bosnia were
afraid
of doing for four years? Will I watch my step wondering if I will
accidentally trigger a landmine, as the people in
everyday? Will I be afraid to pull out my MP3 player and listen
to the
music I love? Of course not, because in
living the life that a lot of people around the world could only
dream
of. Will I do my part to help create social change? I know I will
try
my best, and hopefully this is the message that everyone takes
with
them as they exit the theatres. I look forward to watching the
sequels
to this wonderfully crafted film, and I will start my bid to
create
social change by convincing my family and friends to go watch
this
documentary. I would like to thank Velcrow for putting this piece
together and opening my mind even further than it already is.
If you like what I had to say, you can check out the listing
times as
well as the trailer on the website www.scaredsacred.org.
If you don't
agree with the purpose of the film, or are not interested, at
least
forward this to everyone on your list as perhaps someone else
will be
interested. Its' playing in
spread the word as I know you will like this film.
Thank you
Jay
Book review
Summer Snow
Reviewed by Daniela Rommel
A Special Forces veteran and award-winning
author has published a new book opposing the war on
terrorism.
William T. Hathaway's SUMMER SNOW is a
spiritual novel set in
falls in love with a Sufi mystic and learns from her an
alternative to the military mentality.
The book's wisdom figure is an aged Sufi
woman, the warrior's lover's teacher, who has survived by
outsmarting male dominated political and religious hierarchies.
"This bin Laden, this Bush, all
these leading men, they have highjacked us all with their
violence," she states. "They have turned
the whole world into their suicide airplane. These men are too
primitive to have such power. Too
ignorant of the underlying reality. We must stop them. We must
take the boys' toys away from
them...these terrible weapons."
How she does that becomes the climax of the
novel. Its theme is that higher consciousness is more
effective than violence and that women may be more able than men
to lead us there.
"I think that to prevent war we need to
raise human consciousness," Hathaway says. "A look at
the
history of revolutions shows that switching economic and
political systems isn't enough. The same
aggressive personality types take over and start another army. We
have to change the basic unit,
the individual.
"I've found Eastern meditation to be
the most effective way to change people. Unlike psychotherapy
or prayer, it works on the physiological level, altering the
brain waves and metabolism. It refines
the nervous system and expands the awareness so that the unity of
all human beings becomes a living
reality, not just an idealistic concept.
"After a while of meditation people
stop wanting to consume things that increase aggression, such
as meat, alcohol, and violent entertainment. They become more
peaceful.
"I think it's very true that peace
begins within you. As Gandhi said, 'We have to become the change
we want to see in the world.'"
In writing SUMMER SNOW, Hathaway drew on his
experiences during a year and a half in
He now supports counter-recruitment work to
persuade young people not to join the military. He is
active in a group encouraging soldiers to refuse service in
want to desert, they have a sanctuary network that helps them
build new lives. "Refusing or
deserting the military takes great courage, and I'm full of
admiration for the people who do it. If
convicted, they're punished viciously because they're such a
threat to the government's power.
They're the real heroes," the combat-decorated Special
Forces veteran states.
Hathaway's first anti-war novel, A WORLD OF
HURT, won a Rinehart Foundation Award. Both it and
SUMMER SNOW explore the attraction that war has for men and how
they can be healed of the pathology
of patriarchal machismo.
"Many men are psychologically draw to
the military because of blocked libido and the need for
paternal approval," says the ex-Green Beret. "In my
writing I'm trying to uncover these inner roots
of war, the forces that so persistently drive us to slaughter.
Our culture has degraded masculinity
into a deadly toxin. It's poisoned us all. Men have to confront
this part of themselves before men
and women together can heal it. I was lucky to have found a
partner skilled at this.
"Understanding the effects that our
culturally imposed gender roles have on us is crucial to
understanding why we make war. One attraction of war is that it
is a substitute for eroticism; it
is the ultimate sexual perversion. It also reduces our ability to
love."
Hathaway also wrote the introduction to
AMERICA SPEAKS OUT: Collected Essays from Dissident Writers
and has published numerous articles. His writing won him a
Fulbright professorship at universities
in
The first chapter of SUMMER SNOW is on the
publisher's website,
http://www.avatarpublication.com/books/?id=13,
and a selection of his writing is available at
http://www.peacewriter.org.
###
Daniela Rommel has taught English, French,
and German at colleges in
__._,_.__