Cities of Light Media Film Review

By Lane Badger

Collateral Beauty

Director: David Frankel

Screenplay: Allan Loeb

Production companies: New Line Cinema,

Producers: Allan Loeb, Kevin Scott Frakes, Michael Sugar, Anthony Bregman, Bard Dorros

94 min.

“When a successful New York advertising executive suffers a great tragedy he retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it’s not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.”  -Excerpt from film promo, Harkins Theaters, AZ

Thank goodness!

This film doesn’t deliver a froth-induced high, violence- ridden terror or an equilibrium-busting storyline.  The box office films of 2016 films were trauma and black laced, full of sociopaths and skewed individuals with few redeeming exceptions, Collateral Beauty being one.  Though panned by film critics in their usual disdain for everything but dark and sinuous twisting works Collateral Beauty marks a tentative but courageous ‘leap of faith’ for the silver screen and one well worth seeing at the box office this holiday season. 

Finally, one film comes along that is able to dip into the collective bandwidth with some progressive thought and plotline. Still playing to the mass market and stuffed with those handy, clichéd artifices, so odiously labeled as “new age,” Collateral Beauty has a refreshing way of cutting through the biases and delivering a credible and entertaining film about a man who must face the ‘premature’ loss of his daughter.

Without the knowledge or even a hint of the mention of karma and reincarnation to bolster him, something many of us hold as a higher wisdom, consoling us and buffering the visceral pain of intense loss, our hero is helpless in face of the ensuing torment of grief. Many would mask the pain with drugs and drink at this point, but our tragic hero lets it really sink him good-to rock bottom, stripping him of identity, and his personal and professional life…and sanity; yet the crash creates an existential chasm for transcendence-acceptance… and then, rebirth; but, not without the timely intercession of the ‘three graces’ as I call them, labeled in the movie: Love, Time and Death. Of course, such depictions are carefully crafted to fit a storyline palatable to the general public—still, it was nice to see the overarching message that grace does not desert the humbled soul but comes at that pivotal moment when all appears lost and hope rides on the slimmest sliver of the possible. Looking over the edge of the Abyss and rising again, turning our eyes heavenward is the supreme moment in the life of every soul.

Happily, our man in Collateral Beauty does not disappoint and the powerful archetype of the hero is preserved. Screenwriter, Allen Loeb, sets him on the right path again, and though we are not sure where he is heading (like so many of us), our hero is going to be fine as he leaves his shadow behind and moves on with his life.

 Lest this looks too much like that pandemic of ‘inner work’ the socio-spiritual collective is always going on about, Hollywood has added a lot of panache and nuanced silver linings— a really likable cast of characters, Will Smith, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirran, Edward Norton, Michael Peña, and lots of likable subplots that we can all identify with. Happy endings all around for everyone- the gift of collateral beauty.

I was left with that inexplicable feeling that Collateral Beauty is the next step in our shared perception of reality. What a nice Christmas Gift!

Gratitude for The Illuminate Film Festival for delivering a pre-screening to Sedona! Enjoy more films like this and become a member. It also makes a perfect gift

for friends and family. 

Click here:Illuminatefilmfestival.com/index2.php?Get-Involved-Membership-122

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Artwork by Nicholas Roerich

                        Infinity

Excerpted from Heart by Helena Roerich

   Verse, 144.

    When you become conscious of Infinity, then you must also become accustomed to its properties. Inexhaustibility is the very first property, which will make every courageous heart happy.

  ‘Tse Bi dahi’

The Rock with Wings

Photo and Article by Martin Gray

Known today most commonly by the name Shiprock, the 1700-foot eroded volcanic plume is sacred to the Navahos as ‘Tse Bi dahi’, or the Rock with Wings. This name comes from an ancient folk myth that tells how the rock was once a great bird that transported the ancestral people of the Navahos to their lands in what is now northwestern New Mexico.

The Navaho ancestors had crossed a narrow sea far to the northwest (the Berring Strait?) and were fleeing from a warlike tribe. Tribal shamans prayed to the great spirit for help. Suddenly the ground rose from beneath their feet to become an enormous bird. For an entire day and night the bird flew south, finally settling at sundown where Shiprock now stands.

“The legend of the rock seems more likely to be a metaphor hinting of the

site’s magical power to lift the human soul above the problems of daily

existence into an awareness of the great spirit.”

Geologists tell us the rock was formed 12-million years ago during the Pliocene. The legend of the rock seems more likely to be a metaphor hinting of the site’s magical power to lift the human soul above the problems of daily existence into an awareness of the great spirit. From ancient times to the more recent past, Tse Bi dahi was indeed a pilgrimage place of major importance, the destination of young men engaged in the rigors of solitary vision quests. The rock was climbed in 1939. Since 1970, Shiprock has been off limits to climbers, accorded once again the respect due a Navaho sacred place.

 About Our Author/Photographer

Anthropologist Martin Gray has spent thirty years studying and photographing hundreds of sacred sites in more than one hundred and twenty-five countries. On this web site Martin discusses the mythology and history of sacred sites and presents a fascinating explanation of the miraculous phenomena that occur at them.Martin’s photographs have been featured by National Geographic and UNESCO, and in newspapers, magazines, books, documentaries and galleries around the world. Go to Martin’s extraordinary website: www.sacredsites.com to learn more about his life’s work and extraordinary, videos, prints of his sacred sites from around the world, books, which are available in print and IBook form, and so very much more… Discover the world of sacred sites!

Located in the Cascade Range of northern California, Mt. Shasta is a double peaked extinct volcano rising to 14,162 feet (4317 meters). The largest volcanic peak in the continental United States, Mt. Shasta has five glaciers and numerous steam vents that feed three separate rivers. Long venerated as a sacred place by numerous Indian tribes, including the Wintu, Karuk, Okwanuchu and Modoc, the mountain takes its name from the local Sastise (Shastan) Indians. These tribes have used specific sites on Shasta for the training of medicine men and women, for spiritual vision quests, and for healing and guidance.

On the mountain’s lower, forested slopes, plants and other natural materials are still gathered for food, medicinal and ceremonial use. Shasta’s wildlife includes eagles, black bears and wolves but the bighorn sheep, grizzlies and antelopes commonly sighted in the 19th century have disappeared. Europeans first saw the mountain in 1827 and the first recorded ascent was in 1854. Trails to the summit now allow the climb to be made up and down in one day.

Numerous mysterious legends and psychic messages speak of the significance of Mt. Shasta as a place of powerful earth energies. Some of the oldest legends tell of a tribe of dwarf-like people who are believed to live within the center of the mountain and be descendants of the pre-Atlantean culture of Lemuria. Hunters and campers exploring the high altitude forests of Mt. Shasta occasionally report seeing these small beings running through the woods. Contemporary psychics speak of the mountain as the center of a powerful energy vortex that radiates a vitalizing and healing energy throughout the northwestern US. More than any other mountain in North America, Mt. Shasta is a focal point for contemporary spirituality, attracting individual seekers as well as a variety of religious groups.

Mt. Shasta is also said to be linked energetically with Mt. Katahdin, a sacred mountain in the state of Maine. Logging interests and resort developers are constantly threatening the great forests and wonderful peacefulness of Mt. Shasta. Prayers and the focused attention of contemporary pilgrims will assist in the protection of this magnificent sacred place.

Contact by Mara Friedman

 

 

 

 

 

      “Deep within each of us is a person who     dances to the Drum around the ritual fire —a person who knows the healing lore from times when plants spoke. A person who yearns for the Peace & Blessings of walking again in the Balance of Earth-Our Mother.”
~ Tamarack Song

 

       Journey to the Ancestral Self

*A curandero (Spanish: [kuɾanˈdeɾo], f. curandera) is a traditional Native American and/or Hispanic/Latino healer. The curandero dedicates their life to the administration of remedies for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual illnesses based on their evaluation. There are many different types of curanderos. “Yerberos” are primarily herbalists. “Hueseros and Sobaderos” are bone/muscle therapists who emphasize physical ailments. “Parteras” are midwives. “Oracionistas” work primarily through the power of prayer. (Wikipedia)

 

Ancient Remembering
The plants told us so…

I remember a time when I was running through the jungle, barefoot and free, in love with all that was around me. Roaming with a magnificent black panther at my side, deep into the ‘heart’ of the Mother. The earth spoke, my heart glistened and the world was right. One day, the panther circled me and looked into my eyes. I looked back and saw within those luminous windows of spirit, the great mother, the Black Madonna. In awe I thought to myself, “This could not possibly be the Black Madonna…” She answered my thoughts quickly and with great certainty, “I have may faces.”

 

In times past, all was provided and we had great gratitude for the abundance and generosity of the Great Spirit. The trees provided shelter, food, and shade, while the plants provided food, medicine and perfume. We knew what plants were needed to heal ourselves; and what would keep us naturally healthy. The plants told us so…

Essential oils with all their unique qualities are a gift from the Great Spirit. Our sense of smell triggers a time and place long forgotten in our memories. It brings us beyond logic, and into our emotions, allowing us to see from an expanded perspective. Essences have a calming and healing effect on our minds, bodies and our souls. Ancient peoples used essential oils to consecrate themselves to the Divine. They knew the power of the oils for healing, ceremonies and celebrations. Essences were used in their daily lives for protection, dispelling negative energies, and clearing spaces. Our ancestors knew that they could seek to find out more information from these essences.

BLACK CUMIN (The Black Seed)

LATIN NAME: NIGELLA SATIVA

Take a look at this beautiful and mysterious flower.  The seeds when pressed make precious essences that come from the little pods at the top of the flower. Can you imagine how many seeds it takes to create this oil?

The seeds are black as the night and it takes many pounds to make this essence.

Black Cumin is known as the “blessed seed” and has been honored and respected in the Middle East for over three thousand years. Seeds always speak to new birth and the possibilities of new growth, new ideas and new manifestations.

The Prophet Mohammed declared that, “Black Cumin heals every disease except death.” The seeds could quite possibly contain everything that a human needs to stay healthy and disease free.   Tests conducted on Black Cumin found many vitamins, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as one hundred unknown compounds that we think work with the human body in a healing capacity.

       Nigella sativa, black cumin, has been known to help people suffering from immune and autoimmune diseases such a Lupus or Fibromyalgia. Black Cumin creates a harmonious field for your physical senses to evolve in.  Dr Peter Schleicher and Dr Mohamed Saleh wrote a wonderful book about it called Black Cumin: The Magical Egyptian Herb for Allergies, Asthma, Skin Conditions, and Immune Disorders (Inner Traditions, 2000.). (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cumin-Allergies-Conditions-Disorders/dp/0892818433).

This book is a great resource for anyone interested in knowing more about this magical plant.