Tuesday 10 January 2012

My Beautiful Mind Movie

Hello

I woke up feeling a bit flat this morning. I had a lovely evening last night, we watched a movie called "Ten Canoes" a beautiful aborigine story; and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. I slept quite well last night although I had very strange dreams, and this morning I feel haunted by the one (and only one) violent image in the whole movie. I know, I need to concentrate on some better feeling thoughts, more than that some beautiful thoughts.

I have suffered a lot in my life from nightmares, I remember having them as a child, and they almost always featured some horror or other that I had seen in 'Doctor Who'. If I were to go back now and watch one of the early Doctor Who episodes I'm sure its realness would be laughable, but I remember as a child being very frightened of the monsters. My mother was very strict about what we were allowed to watch on television, and for that I am grateful. We were allowed to watch an hour of kids TV before six and then friday or saturday, I can't remember which, we could watch 'Top of the Pops', 'Tomorrow's World' and a few random things like 'It's a Knock Out' and 'The Muppet Show'.

I once read, and I think it was connected to Steiner philosophy, that we remember everything we ever encounter, be it visual, audio or sensual, if not consciously then unconsciously.  To me that means its all there, everything I have ever watched, knocking about in my brain and please correct me if I'm wrong, but how does the brain discern between what is "real" and what is "staged" when both things enter through the senses? Film and TV does not generally have a "FAKE" filter pasted over the main feature, allowing the brain to continually recognise its pretend nature! Perhaps if it did it would not be quite so appealing.

The thing I have noticed about a lot of dramatic television and movies is the ubiquitous use of tension and PERIL. The starring characters are frequently subjected to varying amounts of peril, in the name of ENTERTAINMENT! Remember 'The Littlest Hobo', 'Lassie', 'Gentle Ben', 'Flipper' and 'Baywatch' to name a few are all entirely centered around rescuing helpless beings from danger, and as for 'Casualty' an entire program devoted to graphically dramatic portrayal of human accidents and suffering.
What on earth is going on???

It is well known that athletes use visualisation to practice their sports, through visualisation the body experiences at least a few or as much as all of the attendant feelings, and much of the body chemistry of participating in the actual experience, muscles have memory and can learn and improve performance without even actually leaving the armchair!

How often have you heard someone saying they are going to relax in front of the television? I know I have said it. I'm laughing now. Don't get me wrong, I love a good movie, I'm just questioning what actually constitutes a good movie. Surely something truly worth watching should be life enhancing, and in view of the massive incidence of depression in the world, it should be uplifting, joyous, heart warming and awe inspiring.

I used to laugh at movie certification, who are these people trying to tell me what is suitable for me, surely I should be allowed to decide for myself? When? After I have watched it? These days I am grateful for the warnings written on movies they do help me decide whether something is going to enhance my human experience or not.

These days I don't watch TV, I eradicated it from our house to try to enhance my family's creativity about six years ago (I think we had had it for about four years prior to that), my creativity was greatly enhanced and my determination not to go back was laid down in cement when I called TV licensing to let them know I no longer had the TV and they not only tried to suggest I was lying but said "What are you going to do in the evening then?" in a rather sarcastic tone!!!!!

I am a sensitive soul, as I believe all humans are, and I want to fill my days with beauty and love, I want to see the glory of the world, and if I'm stuck at home then there is this wonderful tool called the internet, which I am going to use to see all the MARVELOUS things that humans do. I'm going to CHOOSE to look for those YouTube films which wonderfully creative people make to help others to feel good, and to share the joy they find in life, those films that make me smile and laugh and help to fill my mind with GOOD FEELING THOUGHTS. Yes they are out there, those good feeling films for which I will say a  hearty THANK YOU!!!!


Today I am thankful for, Playing for Change (above) and the following links to my kind of TV:
I am thankful for Simon's Cat
I am thankful for Breast Feeding Flash Mob
I am thankful for Old Man Dance Off
I am thankful for Lady Re-Cycles
I am thankful for Still Got It
I am thankful for Laughing Babies
I am thankful for Free Hugs
I am thankful for Human Kindness
I am thankful for A Profound Question

Love Klara.

2 comments:

  1. I have really enjoyed reading your blog this past week and feel moved to comment for the first time:

    "how does the brain discern between what is "real" and what is "staged" when both things enter through the senses"
    In my opinion, it depends on where your point of consciousness is and what emotions are evoked. If you perceive yourself as one of the characters in the movie, you can feel the heat and smell the dust they are experiencing, feel as if you *are* them, not just watching them, your brain will discern it as real to you. Most people have their own fears, excitement, etc for themselves evoked by a movie, their brains don't interpret it as their own real experience or file it away as their own memory.

    That's why visualization and affirmations don't work for many people, they don't immerse themselves in the experience with all of their senses AND their emotions so that their brains really believe it. John Assaraf is great to read about how the brain and reality creation works from a physical level if you're interested in the subject.

    Maybe you have, as part of your internalized 'story', something that says that seeing negative images in TV or movies is detrimental to you, and that fear of encountering them has as much to do with a nightmare as that one image? Maybe the reaction to that scene points to a shadow aspect that is ready to come out into the light and be transformed? I believe that the movie only catalyses our own emotions and programmes, it doesn't create them.

    I read a great article yesterday that you might enjoy:
    http://thedailylove.com/meet-your-shadow/
    Even though I have worked with this for years, it still had some lovely insights for me.

    All interesting food for thought! Got me thinking anyway :-)

    Thank you for your blog. I love the ideas you have been sharing :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Natalie,
      Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
      Yes I am one of those people who really gets right into the movie, its part of what I enjoy so much.
      Really I think that humans are not supposed to see graphic violence real or not. but I am willing to examine the idea that my view point could change. I had not thought that It could be any other way, or that it could be a shadow of me...
      I did enjoy the article, thankyou.

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