A friend recently asked me how I heard about a particular movie I shared in a past email. And I realized that her question was a wonderful segue into today’s blog post where I want to share not only how I find the movies I write about, but also how movies can be a fun and enjoyable way for us to heal.
Ever since I released the practice of Western and complementary medicine about 4 years ago, I went from being a physician to a metaphysician– one who facilitates healing of the mind and body by drawing upon resources that are beyond the physical. This basically is the power of the mind which contains our deep, inner spiritual resources. Often this power is buried under layers and layers of fear, guilt, sadness, doubt and anger. So, when a client comes to me experiencing emotional and/or physical pain, instead of dispensing pharmaceuticals or botanicals or even homeopathic medicines, I share remedies such as journaling, meditation, chanting, and creating a safe space to share and express whatever is on their hearts. And, I often ‘prescribe’ movies because I LOVE to watch and share movies.
How can a movie help us heal?
Do you remember that feeling you had when you were a young child, and perhaps a parent or other caretaker read or narrated a story to you? I remember experiencing a silent hush of anticipation and yet also feeling so grounded in the present moment. I also loved that sense of connecting with the one who was storytelling. I feel this exact same way before every movie- a sense of anticipation like a child about to open as Christmas present along with a deep relaxation and letting go of all the cares of the day.
Right from the beginning, I set an intention that this movie be used by the inner wisdom for healing, for allowing whatever needs to be exposed within my mind and heart, and help me see whatever issue I am facing in a different way. Certainly, movies transport us out of our everyday reality; but movies can also be used as powerful tools to allow for healing of the obstacles that stand in the way of us experiencing our One True Reality- that of infinite love, peace, and joy.
I watch my mind while I watch the movie.
I am open to see where I hold judgments, where I feel attracted or repelled. I might stop a movie at certain points, so I can allow for a moment to join with the inner wisdom or even do some journaling if it feels inspired. I might even re-watch the movie or parts of the movie if they felt especially emotional or touched me in some way. The idea is to expand and enlarge my perception and see how I can make a different choice- for love, peace and joy in the now – based on seeing a character struggle to make a similar choice on the screen.
How do I choose the movie? How can we find movies to address the many obstacles we face along the path of healing?
The soul-stirring Sufi poet Rumi says that what we seek, also seeks us. And I feel that once I put out an intention (or simply willingness!) to the universe to help me with healing through a particular issue, my experience is always that the movie finds me. I will see it being advertised or someone will mention the name, or I will walk into a bookstore or the library, and I feel like the movie was waiting for me. If you are new to my emails (or even if you are not!), you might want to explore the rich resources of movies on the Coaching for Inner Peace website that I have shared over the past few years.
Movie Watcher’s Guide to Enlightenment
Another amazing resource you may want to explore is Movie Watcher’s Guide to Enlightenment . This is a paid subscription website through Living Miracles Monastery where you can find tons of movies with reviews, free movies and movie clips, as well as very helpful audio/video recordings that help you prepare your mind for the movie as well as how to sit with the particular lessons from the movie even after the movie is done. So, the healing continues! What I really love is that on MWGE you can explore an index of themes and emotional upsets and find movies that address that particular upset. How cool is that! It’s like having your personal metaphysician who can prescribe movie ‘remedies’ to remedy your current emotional distress. 🙂
Happy movie watching!
So, the next time you feel the desire to simply curl up with a movie, please know that I join you in not only the fun, rest and relaxation but also all the healing that can flow. If you have a particular movie you want to share, or if you want to see a particular movie review posted on the CFIP website, don’t hesitate to email me here!
