“The Meta Secret” is a new motivational documentary that consists of a series of interviews and dramatizations related to “The Law of Attraction” and six other Ancient Hermetic Laws combined with an intriguing storyline about one man’s quest to uncover the secret behind all secrets in spite of massive physical challenges along the way.
The film is largely influenced by Hermes Trismegistus’ ancient text called the Corpus Hermeticum and another revelatory text thought to have been written much later in the late 1800s entitled “The Kybalion.” It takes off where other “Secret” type movies left viewers and delves even more deeply into the Laws of Attraction, featuring comprehensive, step-by-step, “how-to” techniques of manifestation.
Some of the original Secret teachers return to focus more in-depth into the Laws of Attraction and the mysterious workings of the Universe, including Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Dr. Joe Vitale, Bob Proctor and Dr. Masaru Emoto.
ABC News will air an hour long TV special in May, or sooner, on positive thinking. It will include people against it and people in favor of it such as Dr. Joe Vitale, Rev. Michael Beckwith and Bob Proctor.
Last week, ABC News journalist Dan Harris visited Joe Vitale’s home to interview him on The Secret, the Law of Attraction, James Ray and the entire self-help movement. Joe said that Dan Harris “is an exceptional man with an amazing ability to ask questions,” but that he also asked tough questions. For example, Dan asked Joe, “You actually charge $5,000 for your Rolls-Royce Mastermind?” and “You sleep at night selling self-help books?”
They also had an interesting conversation where Dan encouraged Joe to try to appear on the David Letterman show. Joe posted that conversation on his blog which you can read if you click here.
Below is video footage of ABC News visiting Joe Vitale’s house.
The Book of Eli is a movie about a man, Eli, (Denzel Washington) who hears an inner voice telling him to carry a Sacred book “West” in a post-apocalyptic, desolate and violent world. Eli does not question this calling even though he is being offered nothing in return, except for protection. Eli’s willingness to carry out his mission is put to the test throughout his journey numerous times as people try to kill him and a companion (Mila Kunis) he is traveling with in an attempt to take the book from him.
The Book of Eli is one of the few movies where violence plays a necessary part because Eli’s reaction to the violence he faces reveals his courage, conviction and faith. Eli is never the aggressor, but at times he must use physical force to defend himself and protect his companion from thugs who are trying to kill them. His inner calling has guided him to navigate and overcome a world filled with violence. Now, he must find the strength to meet this challenge head on.
I was skeptical going into this movie because I thought it was just going to be some science-fiction, action-film about an apocalyptic world. However, I am glad I saw The Book of Eli. One message in the movie that really resonated with me is the willingness to trust and fight for your inner callings simply for the sake of serving some higher purpose. Eli is driven by his inner voice to carry a Sacred book to the West. He does not know exactly why he is being guided to do this, but he does it because deep down he knows it’s the right thing to do.
Additionally, Eli continues to trust even though he has not reached his destination after a long and arduous journey. In one scene, a companion he is with asks him how long he has been traveling. Eli tells her that it has been 30 years and she replies, “Do you think you might be lost?” But, Eli continues to trust that he is not lost and that he will be protected if he carries out his calling to bring the book to the West. This scene inspires us to continue to trust that we will be protected if we follow our callings — even though it may appear that we are lost.
Past Life is a new TV show about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening today is the result of who you were before. It was inspired by M.J. Rose’s book, “The Reincarnationist” and will premiere on Fox tomorrow, Tuesday (Feb. 9), at 9/8c after American Idol.
I had a chance to interview M.J. Rose about the Past Life TV series and the challenges of turning her book, “The Reincarnationist,” into a TV show. You can read highlights of our interview below or listen to our complete conversation by clicking on the play button.
Matt Welsh: So tell us a little bit about Past Life. What’s the TV show about?
M.J. Rose: Well, the novel, The Reincarnationist, has at its heart an institute called the Phoenix Foundation where a group of reincarnationists work mostly with children helping them work with their present day crises that are based on past life problems…Warner Brothers found the book and read it. They were very interested in the idea of the foundation that studied past lives and saw that as a potential jumping off point for a TV show. So, they optioned the book and they wrote a script….They took that foundation and changed it a little so it would work for TV and added some different characters for it and that’s what the show is about. So every week…the people at the foundation work on a different case with a different person who has present day issues that really have past life roots.
Matt Welsh: What were some of the challenges of turning your book into a TV show?
M.J. Rose: The executive producer and I worked for a little while on a list of all different past life stories. In all the research I did, what were some of the great stories I heard. You know, somebody who felt like they were being suffocated in their present life and did a past life regression and found out they had been buried in a tomb in Ancient Egypt. Just like a really long list of that to show the people at Warner Brothers just how rich a field it was. Basically you could find any problem in the present and come up with a past life reason for it existing. But (Warner Brothers) was interested in focusing on crimes and crisis problems. So, we did that list and (Warner Brothers) was excited by the potential.
Then (Warner Brothers) found this brilliant writer, David Hudgins, who had been a writer for Friday Night Lights and for Everwood. They gave David the book and they said we are interested in developing this. Would this be something you would be interested in?… And, David told me the story. It was very synchronistic or karmic because he really didn’t know much about reincarnation at the time, but his wife had just seen the show on Oprah and had just become really fascinated by it. So, when he showed her the book, she was like all “…I’m really into reincarnation and that’s so interesting.” So, he read the book and saw the potential and he became the writer and the executive producer. So, he and Lou Pitt went to work on creating the show.
In general, the challenge is that you can’t turn a book into a TV show. You can turn a book into a movie more likely, but a TV show has its own requirements. It’s going to be week after week…What was exciting was that David really took the issues at the heart of the book and was really inspired by it, but turned it into something that is very much his own and his own vision.
And, I love it. It’s really a great show. The pilot episode is something that television usually isn’t. It’s fast paced and a tear jerker and very emotional. There aren’t a lot of shows on TV that are very emotional that are dramas and that have action in them. So, I think that even if viewers are not interested in reincarnation, they are going to be really excited by the format and the quality of the writing and the acting and the story.
Matt Welsh: When does the show premiere and where can we go for more information on the show?
M.J. Rose: It will premiere on Fox, Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 9/8c after America Idol. After the premiere, subsequent airings of Past Life will be broadcast on Thursdays beginning February 11, 2010 during the 9/8c timeslot. For more information you can visit www.MJRose.com or my blog on reincarnation at www.reincarnationist.org
Nik Halik spent the first 10 years of his life medically confined to his bedroom with nothing but the Encyclopedia to read. Since then, he has gone on to live an amazing life full of adventure, extreme travel and fabulous wealth – from having lunch on the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, climbing the world’s highest mountains, rocketing around the earth as a Civilian Astronaut and financially retiring in his late 20’s.
I had a chance to chat with Nik. In our conversation, Nik shared with me some interesting details about the places he’s been to and told me about an exciting new travel adventure on his agenda. He also gave me some words of wisdom when he said,
“Matt…In life there are two most important days. The first most important is the day you were born. The second most important day is the day you discover why you were born.”
Nik is trying to help other people discover why they were born and live life to the fullest by creating www.TheThrillionaires.com, the first online community focused only on helping you achieve your dreams.
If you want to hear more about Nik’s adventures, then you can listen to our 11 minute conversation by clicking the play button below.
Two years ago the Oscar ceremony had its lowest TV ratings and was its least watched telecast ever. Many blame the low ratings on a year dominated by dark and depressing films focused on greed, corruption and violence. Los Angeles Times writer Patrick Goldstein wrote that No Country for Old Men, that year’s Best Picture winner, is a “bone-chilling tale of violence, stupidity and revenge, with a relentless, amoral killer at its center, coolly dispatching anyone in his way with a cattle gun.” That year’s host, Jon Stewart, joked about the trend during the opening of the show when he asked, “Does this town need a hug?”
This year, however, the Oscars have dramatically changed their format to include 10 instead of 5 films for the Best Picture category and nominated some genuinely uplifting movies for various awards with hopes of increasing its ratings. For example, three of the nominees for Best Picture are Blind Side, Up and Avatar. Blind Side is the true story about a wealthy family who take in a homeless teenager to help him get an education and become a successful, professional football player. Up is an animated film about an elderly man who goes on a grand adventure while looking back at the meaningful moments of his life. And, Avatar has really struck a chord with themes about connection, the environment and what’s possible for humanity.
Precious and Up in the Air, two other movies nominated for Best Picture, are not exactly uplifting, but they do wrestle with how to overcome serious life-obstacles such as being laid off in Up in the Air, and child abuse in Precious. The only movie nominated for Best Picture with gratuitous violence is Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, which was shut out at the Golden Globes, receiving no awards even though it had multiple nominations.
Other uplifting and thought-provoking films that received nominations for this year’s Oscars include Invictus (Morgan Freeman for Actor in a Leading Role playing Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon for Actor in a Supporting Role), Crazy Heart (Jeff Bridges for Actor in a Leading Role and Maggie Gyllenhaal for Actress in a Supporting Role) and Julie & Julia (Meryl Streep for Actress in a Leading Role).
It’s hard to tell if the success of these films will motivate Hollywood to make more inspirational movies or if this year is just an anomaly. But, I do think that most people are getting tired of seeing movies like No Country for Old Men that basically say, “Look at how awful life is.” receive Academy Awards. Instead, I think people want movies that deal with dark subject matter and challenges in life, but do so in a way that offers hope and meaning.
Surrogates was released on DVD last week and I made the mistake of watching it. The description from Yahoo movies of Surrogates says,
“People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates — perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It’s an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don’t exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (Bruce Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon.”
I thought this might be an interesting, philosophical Science Fiction movie because it reminded a little bit of Matrix or even Avatar in that people’s consciousness have been transported to a different reality that makes them question fear, pain, consequences and the possibility of living in a utopia…Okay, I know that sounds weird and should have deterred me from watching it. But, I thought I would give it a chance since Bruce Willis is in it. He’s been in a good mix of action and science fiction movies including Sixth Sense.
However, Surrogates was just too weird for me and the action scenes seemed forced, unnecessary and boring.
I found an interesting documentary, A Parallel Reality, that I was able to post in its entirety below. The description of the movie from the web site says,
“At some point, we all ask ourselves who we are, where we come from and where we’re going. But many of us stop wondering about the meaning of life because solving the day-to-day dilemmas of everyday existence is challenge enough in it self. This is the story of 5 people who kept wondering over the course of their lives because they needed to find the answers. Five adventurers. Five explorers who have opened the door to a reality that goes beyond the boundary we assume exist.
What we would like is that after watching this documentary, you felt the need to search, to look within yourselves. We’d like you to say: yes, there is something more! Reality goes beyond the limits of what I can see with my eyes or touch with my hands! I can go beyond! And going beyond means connecting with our true strength. With the divine spark in all of us. Enjoy your journey!
This documentary came into being thanks to Dolors Martorell, Daniel Hernández and Pablo Uson. We are enormously grateful, for your great generosity in allowing this documentary and the extras with it, to be viewed and downloaded free of charge.”
(If you want to watch Parallel Reality on Spiritual Media Blog then push the play button and wait a couple minutes for it to load and it will start playing.)
New York Times bestselling author, don Miguel Ruiz has collaborated with his son, don Jose Ruiz to writeThe Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery. This book expands upon The Four Agreements and empowers us to recover faith and authenticity with a powerful new agreement: Be skeptical, but learn to listen.
The Fifth Agreement uses doubt as a tool to discern the truth. Doubt takes us behind the words we hear to the underlying real message or intent. By being skeptical, we don’t believe every message we hear, and when we don’t put our faith in lies, we quickly move beyond emotional drama and the feeling of victimization.
The Fifth Agreement works on an internal level and takes a high degree of integrity to put into practice. The Ruizes are asking us to take an honest look at our beliefs and what we tell ourselves about what’s possible in life. Some of what we tell ourselves and what other people have told us about life are lies or made up stories. It is not always easy to distinguish truth from falsehoods, but the result is personal freedom. According to the Ruizes,
“You’ll know that you are totally free when you no longer have to be that you that you pretend to be. This freedom is profound. It’s the freedom to be the real you, and it’s the greatest gift that you can give yourself.”
The Fifth Agreement is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, or at bookstores everywhere. For more information please visit miguelruiz.com
Wayne Dyer is having a unique cinema event on January 28 with an encore on February 4. You can watch a recording of his latest lecture at your local cinema and learn how to start living your true life’s purpose. Dr. Dyer will reveal how the ancient wisdom of the Tao Te Ching helped him shift from ambition to a new kind of meaningful consciousness in this empowering exploration of the dynamics of our thought process. You’ll also receive an exclusive recording (2 hours) as a special gift for attending.
