The Soloist is a movie about a Los Angeles journalist, Steve Lopez, (Robert Downey Jr.) who befriends a schizophrenic, homeless Julliard-trained musician, Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx).

This movie raises questions about mental illness, social injustices and homelessness. However, the message that most resonated with me was about friendship and acceptance. Nathaniel is a lonely, homeless schizophrenic man who still deeply values his personal dignity and sense of Self. Steve is conflicted throughout the movie about whether or not he should try to treat or ‘fix’ Nathaniel’s schizophrenic condition; or if he should accept Nathaniel for who he is and just try to be his friend. This is a constant battle and tension that leaves the viewer wondering how or if this conflict will be resolved.

There are no easy answers. On one hand, Steve is trying to offer treatment and opportunities that could change Nathaniel’s circumstances and condition for the better. However, the more he pushes Nathaniel to try to improve his life, the more their friendship suffers and the more Nathaniel regresses. Steve struggles with how to balance his desire to be a good friend while still wanting to help Nathaniel change his life.

The resolution of the movie, without spoiling the plot, helped me realize that true friendship means to love and accept others for who they are and also for who they are not. This perspective can open our hearts to allow ourself the freedom to be who we are and who we are not. This process is a way of honoring our most Sacred Self with unconditional appreciation, trust and love.

You can purchase The Soloist on Amazon by Clicking Here

I recently hosted a Teleconference with Viki King on how to market inspirational and conscious books, movies and Web sites. Viki is a consultant and the best-selling author of How to Write a Movie in 21 Days – The Inner Movie Method. On our Teleconference, Viki discussed:

- How to Build It So They Will Come
- Beyond Social Networking
- The Magic of Cosmic Marketing

She also answered specific questions ranging from:

1. How to make it in the entertainment industry if you know NO ONE
2. How to get your project made and distributed if you have NO money
3. Viral marketing strategies

You can listen to the MP3 of the audio recording of this call by clicking the play button below, or use the MP3 Download link to download to your computer:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Viki King MP3 Download

P.S…I’ve ‘uncopyrighted’ this MP3…So, you can make copies of it and pass it on to friends who might benefit from this information too! =)

Beyond Belief will now air on OWN, which is owned by Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications.

It is an hour-long television series that will debut Tuesday, January 24 at 10 PM, and will be hosted by author Wes Moore. Moore will be joined by ABC News correspondents Elizabeth Vargas, Bob Woodruff, Jay Schadler, Bill Weir and JuJu Chang.

Beyond Belief: The Miracle Mysteries was on ABC’s Primetime Nightline over the summer. “Nightline’s executive producer Jeanmarie Condon described the show by explaining:

“Sometimes the most interesting trips are the ones that take you places you never thought you’d go. These are mysteries in the most profound sense…Stories that defy proof and perception are the ultimate adventure – and perfect for summer – to kick off our 13 specials.”

One episode featured people from around the world who believe the Virgin Mary has appeared and communicated with them.  Another episode featured psychic phenomenon and on the July 20 episode, Bob Woodruff tried to unlock the mysteries of what he remembered in the terrible minutes after his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device and he saw his body floating below in a kind of whiteness. He spoke with others who report the same type of out-of-body experience and with theologians, preachers, neurologists, psychologists and anthropologists for “The Other Side.”

Tom Shadyac is the director who helmed blockbuster films like Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Nutty Professor. At one time, he seemed to have it all: big houses, fancy cars and private planes. But when a cycling accident left him incapacitated, he set out on a journey to answer two very important questions: What’s wrong with our world, and what can we do about it?

I Am is a documentary Tom made to find out what’s right with the world and how even the smallest changes can make a difference.

Now, Tom wants to hear from you. Have a question for Tom about making the world a better place? Tom is answering your questions on Oprah’s web site if you click here. No question is too big or too small.

I Can Do It Ignite! is an information packed weekend conference to occupy your mind with 20 minute bursts of incredible wisdom.

Featuring cutting edge authors, speakers and documentary filmmakers in the mindful spirituality, health, holistic, and sustainability lifestyles movement. These trendsetting speakers will Ignite your passion with topics ranging from relationships, sexuality, finance, and personal transformation to mindfulness, youth empowerment, health and so much more!

You can Register today to reserve & occupy your seat and access that untapped energy & inspiration that exists in all of us! Is it time for you to be innovative with yourself & re-evaluate what you thought you knew?

 
Register by

Speakers include Louise L. Hay, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Anita Moorjani, Cheryl Richardson, Doreen Virtue, Kris Carr, Tom Shadyac, Denise Linn, Tim Ryan, Gabrielle Bernstein, Nick Ortner, Barbara Carrellas, Agapi Stassinopoulos, Dave Carroll, Latham Thomas, Meggan Watterson, Jessica Ortner, Louann Brizendine, M.D. Danielle LaPorte, Michael Eisen, Lissa Rankin, M.D., Sarah DeAnna, Kate Northrup, Nancy Levin, Michael J. Chase, Michelle Phillips, and Alisa Vitti

August Rush is about an eleven year old orphan and music prodigy who is trying to find his parents by “listening to the music”. It stars Robin Williams and Keri Russell. One of the fundamental questions that this movie asks is where does the music come from. The musical prodigy does not believe that he creates the music, but that it just comes to him. All he is doing is listening for it and rewriting it.

This raises some very spiritual questions. For example, Where does the capacity to appreciate music come from? Where does beauty originate? Additionally, many great musicians, similar to the prodigy in the movie, say that they are not the ones who create their lyrics and musical compositions because the music just “comes to them”. Where is the music coming from? Who or what is creating the music?

The “music” may also be symbolic for any source of inspiration in our life such as the capacity to experience love, follow a dream, or create beauty. This movie reminds us that the “music” is always playing. All we need to do is listen.

You can purchase August Rush on Amazon by Clicking Here.

American Idol’s premiere episode last night featured a musician who overcame a suicide attempt. Watch the video below to hear her tell her story and sing ‘I will survive’ for her audition on American Idol…

Video’s like these make me wonder how it’s not possible that animals have their own unique personality, spirit or soul…

According to psychotherapist Robert Augustus Masters, PhD, spiritual bypassing – the use of spiritual practices or beliefs to avoid dealing with painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs — is so pervasive that it goes largely unnoticed.

Robert’s new book, Spiritual Bypassing, casts a critical eye on our deeply entrenched misuse of spirituality, furthering the body of psychological insight into how we use (and abuse) our spiritual practice in often unconscious ways. For example, he takes an in-depth look at the unresolved or ignored psychological issues often masked as spirituality, including self-judgment, “confrontation-phobic” compassion, excessive niceness, the demonizing of anger, and emotional dissociation.

Throughout the book, Masters provides a framework for how to deal with and integrate “negative” emotions such as anger, fear, hate and judgement into a more authentic way of living. While most self-help books these days seem to simply tell you to “just be more positive” “avoid negativity” or “have more compassion”, Masters suggests a method where we can simultaneously choose to be compassionate while also still choosing to acknowledge our heartfelt anger — without expressing it with excessive aggression or repressing it through denial or other practices that might numb our real feelings. His method goes beyond simply being present to our anger, but actually using our heart to integrate it into our thoughts, feelings and way of looking at ourself and other people.

Spiritual Bypassing is a must read for anyone who is looking for a more integrated spirituality, authentic relationship with themselves and others, and practical methods for dealing with unresolved wounds. It is available on Amazon if you Click Here.

This is a Guest Post written by Stephen Simon and reprinted with permission.

I am proud to be a voting member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that nominates and then votes each year for the Oscars^®. However, I do have a conceptual issue with the notion of “Best” film, actor, etc. Art is way too subjective to be making objective distinctions, so I feel much more comfortable using the phrase “favorite film.”

When considering my favorite films for the year, I ask myself: Do I feel better about being human after having seen the movie? This personal qualifier is certainly not a part of the Academy voting rules, but it is an essential one for me.

Here are my 2011 favorites:

1.The Tree of Life Terrence Malick’s mind-blowingly original The Tree of Lifeis so majestically and subjectively emotional that seeing it feels more like a deeply personal and spiritual experience than the viewing of a film. One gets the sense that each of us in the theater embarks on our own internal journey during the film.The plot of the film? Life, death, spirituality, nature, evolution, God, parenthood, childhood and everything in between. Truly, the film has no historical antecedent in its imagery or storytelling and thus simply defies traditional description.Brad Pitt’s performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button firmly established him as a brilliant actor. Now, in The Tree of Life, Mr. Pitt has elevated his craft to a new league of brilliance as he gives one of the most nuanced, evocative and haunting portrayals of a father in recent memory. Because of its dazzling originality, deep spirituality and sheer artistry, I would not be at all surprised to see The Tree of Life take on Citizen Kane-like status in the decades to come.

2.The Descendants Writer/director Alexander Payne, who made one of my all-time favorite movies Sideways, hits another character-based home run here with The Descendants. George Clooney (who is absolutely pitch-perfect) plays a man whose wife is in a coma after having been critically injured. Utterly bewildered as he is called upon to care for his two daughters in a way he never imagined, he finds out that his wife had been cheating on him. How he and his daughters deal with those wildly conflicting emotions is the heart and soul of the film.Set in Hawaii, the film is a beautiful and ultimately a triumphant family drama that is filled with love, compassion and hope, illustrating how “life is what happens while we’re making other plans.”

3. Hugo Director Martin Scorsese’s Hugo is a magnificent and loving tribute to The Old Hollywood and movies themselves. The story of the film surrounds an orphan boy in Paris who searches for a key that will unlock the mystery of a humanoid device that was left behind by his father. As the boy (played wonderfully by young Asa Butterfield) searches for the right parts to bring the device to life, he encounters a bitter old man (Ben Kingsley) who at first becomes a nemesis and then transforms into a friend.

4. The Artist The Artist is a brilliant, innovative salute to The Old Hollywood. One of the bravest movies of the year, The Artist dares to be a black-and-white silent film. An actor (played with incredible flair and depth by Jean Dujardin) named George Valentin is a huge silent film star with a glamorous, movie star life when he befriends Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), a young woman working as an extra on one of his films. He helps launch her career just at the time talking movies are replacing silent films. The Artist is a delightful love story between a man and a woman, between the audience and the magic of movies themselves, and, oh yes, between a man and his dog. Can’t beat that!

5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closeis a heartfelt film about childhood loss, adventure and triumph. The movie focuses on the son of a man (played by Tom Hanks) who is killed in the twin towers on 9/11, a challenging subject matter for filmmakers. The film mostly takes place a year later as the ten-year-old boy searches for a key (literally and figuratively) that connects him to his father.Under the incredibly sensitive and human direction of Stephen Daldry (The Hours and Billy Elliot), child actor Thomas Horn is brilliant, compelling and relatable as we join him on his search for healing and understanding.

6. We Bought a Zoo We Bought a Zoo is to 2011 what The Blind Side was to 2009: a feel-good-about-being-human film. Writer/director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire and Elizabethtown) makes movies with compassion and empathy for real human beings who take on life challenges that ultimately open their hearts.The always-wonderful Matt Damon plays Benjamin Mee, a widowed father of two young kids who buys a new home that includes a dilapidated animal park. Through the experience of putting the zoo back in working shape (aided by an understated and naturalistic Scarlett Johansson), Benjamin and his children transform their lives. As an audience, we leave uplifted and happy in the knowledge that we humans can be pretty wonderful creatures, too.

7. Win Win Win Win is a moving reminder of the crushing financial stresses and moral dilemmas those pressures present today. Paul Giamatti, one of my favorite actors, stars in the film and brings to it his trademark wit, intelligence and decency. His portrait of a man who compromises his own integrity is so real and compelling that it takes on the aura of a common moral and societal predicament in this age of economic upheaval. How far would we go, how much would we blur or even erase the line between our own integrity and our commitment to support our family? What happens when those lines intersect is the essence of Win Win.

8. Midnight in Paris Woody Allen’s whimsical Midnight in Paris is an inspiring film about a man who yearns to live a simpler life in a different time and, through time travel, manages to experience just that. Owen Wilson’s character in the film has become so disenchanted with his life that he literally can no longer live in his old persona. What a wonderful message to all of us. Be real. Be ourselves. Trust. Love. Listen to our hearts.

9. Everything Must Go Everything Must Gois a dramatic and deeply moving character study of a man (played by the brilliant Will Ferrell) who has literally thrown his entire life away because of his addiction to alcohol. Will Ferrell infuses his portrayal with a deep sense of humility, humanity and heartbreaking honesty. It is unfortunate that great comic actors are often completely ignored come Oscar time when they venture into drama, even when they give phenomenal performances.Incredibly life-affirming, Everything Must Go is an absorbing film that has much to say about how resilient we can be.

10. Dolphin Tale Dolphin Taleis an enchanting, inspirational film that is based on the true story of Winter, a dolphin that was washed ashore in Florida after becoming tangled in a fishing cage. Through the loving care of the Florida Marine Aquarium and two young children, Winter (who plays herself) learns to swim without her tail and later receives a prosthetic tail.Beautifully directed by veteran actor Charles Martin Smith, Dolphin Tale is much more than just heart warming and uplifting. Winter’s aquarium has become a haven for children from around the world who also have prosthetic devices. Winter gives us some great lessons here in life and love…

So, that’s my list for 2011. What’s on your list? Join the discussion on Facebook.

Here’s to a great 2012…both at the movies and in life!
Warm regards,