The Secret Millionaire is an unscripted series where each week one of the wealthiest Americans worth millions of dollars, will go undercover into one of the most impoverished and dangerous towns in America.  They spend 10 days living there on a meager budget meeting with financially destitute individuals.  Their job is to meet as many people as possible who have shown a dedication to helping others or incredible stories of trying to overcome tremendous odds.  On the final day, the Secret Millionaire meets with the chosen recipients and reveals his or her true identity and intention - to give them a sum of at least $100,000 of their own money to change their lives forever.

     Three compelling themes this series examine include living outside your comfort zones as the millionaires are taken away from their lavish lifestyles and thrust into impoverished areas, helping others, and how money has the potential to change people’s lives for the better.  Other philanthropic reality shows such as Oprah’s Big Give and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition have been successful.  This show looks like it could be a hit too because of its unique fish out of water element to see how millionaires will respond to living in and giving back to disadvantaged communities.

     The Secret Millionaire airs on Fox this Wed. at 8/7c.  You can watch a sneak peek for the show below.

      Epiphany Talk Show is an online radio station hosted by spiritual intuitive Deidre Howard that covers a wide range of spiritual topics with some of today’s top doctors, authors and visionaries.  Some of the topics they discuss include anthropology, hidden truths, aging, angels, God, law of attraction, Spiritual Guides, healing, 11:11, the Bible, 2012, energy, peace and much more.

      This past week, host Diedre Howard interviewed Dr. Bruce Lipton about how our beliefs impact our physical bodies.  Dr. Bruce Lipton has a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, was a professor at Stanford and is the author of the Biology of Belief.  After teaching medical students at Stanford how our cells work, Dr. Lipton began to question the traditional notion that our genes control our traits and behavior.  He cited a study on the placebo effect that shows our beliefs and expectations can determine our physical traits, behavior and ability to heal.

      For example, Dr. Bruce Moseley conducted a ‘fake’ surgery on patients who wanted to get arthoscopic knee surgery.  The doctor made an incision in the placebo patients’ knee three times with a scapel to make it feel like a real surgery and leave a scar.  However, he did not conduct the actual arthoscopic knee surgery.  He just told the patients he performed an arthoscopic knee surgery.  The result was that six months later, the placebo patients had much less pain, no complaints about the operation and some were able top play basketball again.  This study shows that the patients’ expectations and beliefs that they were going be healed caused the healing, not the surgery itself.

      You can listen to Deidre Howard’s interviews with other experts on Epiphany Talk Show.  Below is another interview with Dr. Bruce Lipton on The Biology of Belief.

      Last night Christina Applegate and Dr. Michael Beckwith appeared on Larry King to talk about how Christina survived a breast cancer diagnosis and more remarkably how she viewed it as an opportunity.  The timing of her diagnosis could not have been worse considering it was a couple weeks after her ex-boyfriend died from a drug overdose and her two cats had recently died too. 

      However, she said that with the help of Dr. Michael Beckwith, she began to look at her breast cancer as an opportunity.  She began to remove stressful habits from her life and eat foods with healing qualities.  Additionally, she began to see that life in her body was not permanent.   A short three minute clip of the interview is below.

      Leap! the movie explores the ageold question about whether or not the world is an illusion.  Albert Einstein said, “Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”  Jesus said, “The Kingdom of Heaven in within you.” and ”I am in the world, but not of the world.”  If Jesus was in the world, but not “of the world”, then where was He of? and what is the relationship between the place where the Kingdom of Heaven within you is and the world? 

      The film interviews visionaries, scientists and authors such as Dan Millman, Robert Scheinfeld, Joe Vitale, Gary Renard, James Twyman and Cynthis James about whether the world is an illusion or if our perception of the world is an illusion.  The film invites us to ask the question, if the world is an illusion, what then?

       The trailer for Leap! The movie is below: 

Angels and Demons, the prequel to The DaVinci Code, released its trailer.  The movie stars Tom Hanks and opens 2009.  The film follows Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist.  He discovers that the Illuminati, an underground organization who has a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church, may play a role.  Langdon travels with a beautiful scientist, Vittoria Vetta, to find the answers.  The trailer teaser is below.

     In the interview below, Gregg Braden speaks about how we can best prepare for 2012.  He points out that throughout history their have been numerous prophecies for the end of days that never materialized.  He acknowledges that 2012 may be a turning point, but it is not necessarily for the worse.  Braden believes the changes that the Earth is going through do have an impact on our bodies and minds.  But, more importantly, through intention, we can consciously prepare for any shift that may be occurring on Earth and ultimately transcend any potential prophecies for darkness. 

      The Compass looks to be the next docu-drama in the same genre as The Secret.  According to the trailer below it will feature 23 teachers with 4 inspirational stories and will be released in February 2009.  The Compass seems to refer to our inner guidance, life purpose or the voice of our soul. 

      This film may fill in the gaps that some people felt were missing in The Secret.  For instance, it might provide an answer to the question: How can we use the Law of Attraction to fulfill our destiny or serve a higher purpose?  The Compass or our connection to our Spirit may give us some insight into how to go about doing this.  The trailer is below.

      Ghost Whisperer is a drama-fantasy-thriller television show about a woman who can see and communicate with the dead.  Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Melinda, a woman who trys to help recently deceased spirits relay a message to a loved one or complete some task that will determine whether the spirit will go to Heaven or Hell. 

      This show is not for the spiritually timid and raises significant questions about the destiny of our soul.  For example, it asks us whether we may have unfinished business to complete after we die in order to get into a Heaven.  It does not shy away from dealing with darkness or hell, but does offer the possibility of experiencing peace in the afterlife even if we were not able to achieve it on earth.  It also suggests that the love and bond between two people never dies as many of the plots deal with a recently deceased person attempting to help their loved ones gain some degree of closure or peace of mind.

      The show premiered on CBS Sept. 23 2005 and is now in its fourth season.  It was developed and co-produced by spiritual medium James Van Praagh.  It airs Friday nights on CBS at 8/7c.  The opening is below.

      Deepak Chopra recently appeared on the Fox New program, Hannity and Colmes, to talk about how to create peace in the world.  The conversation was respectful, but became contentious as Deepak debated Hannity about how to respond to violence and evil.  Hannity said that there is evil in this world that must be confronted.  Deepak seemed to respond by saying that evil is the result of the shadow in our collective consciousness and that we need to create conditions where people are not compelled to act out in violence.  He referenced Jesus’ statement about turning the other cheek as a response to violence and cited how Gandhi brought down the British Empire in India through non-violence. 

      Hannity was unconvinced and questioned Deepak about how to respond when you or your family is being physically attacked by someone.  Deepak answered by giving an example about how one time he was in an alley and four men with guns were about to attack him, but he was able to talk them out of it.  They continued to debate issues about evil, violence and peace in our world and how Jesus would respond.

      One fascinating aspect of this interview from a cultural perspective is that Hannity and Colmes is a mainstream news show on a major cable network that focuses on current events and significant issues of our time.  The fact that they would acknowledge that Jesus’ teachings as understood by Deepak Chopra is newsworthy suggests that mainstream media is taking the possibility of creating peace in our world more seriously.  The six minute interview is below.   

     Dr. Wayne Dyer’s feature film, Ambition to Meaning, premieres Jan. 5, 2009 at the New York Director’s Guild Theater in New York City.  The movie explores the spiritual journey from ambition to meaning through the intertwined stories of an overachieving businessman, a mother of 2 seeking her own expression in the world and a director trying to make a name for himself.  The stories examine the shift from the ego constructs we are taught early in life by parents and society which promote an emphasis on achievement and accumulation in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back.

      Wayne Dyer wanted to make this film to show the importance of living a life focused on living our life purpose.  He declined to be in The Secret because he felt it did not emphasize enough the importance of living a spiritual life based on meaning and serving.  Additionally, Wayne Dyer’s film is different from The Secret because there will be actual actors in Ambition to Meaning and it will get a theatrical release.  The cast includes Portia de Rossi, Michael DeLuise, Ed Kerr, Shannon Sturges and Wayne Dyer.  It is directed by Emmy Award winner Michael Goorjian.  It is a bit unclear whether Wayne Dyer plays himself or has a role as a fictional character.

      The DVD is available Jan. 13, 2009.  Hay House is allowing people to host exclusive screenings for a limited time.  For more information about Ambition to Meaning you can visit its website at AmbitiontoMeaning.com and watch the trailer below: