Scott and I had the pleasure of being able to attend the Sedona World Wisdom Days events on Saturday, January 18th in Sedona, Arizona. MAJOR thanks go out to Jerry Gilden who so kindly supplied us with free passes after seeing our Little Light Project website. Scott and I arrived in time to grab some lunch in picturesque Sedona and attend three sessions being held on Saturday: Elevating Consciousness Through Film: A Panel Discussion, Near Death Experiences, and An Evening with Jean Houston. I wanted to share major takeaways we gleaned from each session and some thoughts in general on the state of the "consciousness" movement. Let's jump right in.... Elevating Consciousness Through Film: A Panel Discussion A spirited conversation with some of the premiere filmmakers in the conscious film media arts. Panel included Betsy Chasse (What the Bleep Do We Know), Sebastian Siegel (Awakening World), Austin Vickers (The People V. The State of Illusion) Pat Soloman (Finding Joe), Paul Perry (Afterlife), Ben Fama Jr. (A Virus Called Fear), Richard Cohn (owner, Beyond Words Publishing and distributor/publisher of "The Secret") The major takeaways from this panel, for us, had a lot to do with the filmmakers talking about trying to reach more of a mass market with their films. This is something we draw parallels to in our work because many parents immediately think "woo woo, hippie, gypsy/psychic" when you talk about intuitive receptivity and alternative treatment methods for children who are diagnosed with neurological disorders such as anxiety disorder. Now, back to the films. By calling them "conscious" films (a term that implies all other films aren't "conscious") it in some ways does a disservice to them and their plight to reach people who don't typically watch films with such labels. But the argument, and rightly so, is that we humans need labels to help us put things in a framework. And many movie theaters and book stores need categories as well. But if you don't fit into one squarely, they don't know where to put you and you stand the chance of not getting exposure at all because they can't peg you. Another important takeaway is that, in the culture of free free free, many of the filmmakers talk about the "conscious" community still wanting to get lots of stuff for free. But in order to make these movies that do help expand our collective consciousness, they need money to make them. Each filmmaker urged us to buy the films or go see them in theaters that way more can be made. We can relate because we founded LLP in order to provide free services to families in need; however, to effectively run the organization and offer in-person services, we need folks to donate to help us do just that. If you haven't seen, some of the films listed above, check them out online! Next up was.... Near Death Experiences with Dr. Rajiv Parti In his speech, Dr. Parti describes his near death experience during an emergency surgery for severe infection. IN his NDE, he visited both a heaven and what he perceived as a hell. His encounter with the "Light Being" totally transformed his life. Bringing back a message of hope and healing, he often says, "You don't have to endure a NDE to have benefits of one." His talk includes his message of "forgive quickly, love passionately, and heal easily." As an intuitive, I have to say, I was feeling what I call confirmation chills, the entire time Dr. Parti was speaking. We were both so moved by his authenticity and his transparency regarding his life prior to his NDE. He admitted to living a life solely about himself and "keeping up the with Jones'." He even openly talked about abuse he suffered as a child (verbal and physical) by his father and that he verbally abused his children, recognizing it as a cycle. The main takeaway we gleaned from his talk was how someone who was rooted in medicine (anesthesiologist) was transformed by his NDE which was so vivid that he literally came back from it a different person. He let go of selfish ego ways, downsized in every way from what he called "a Hummer life to a hybrid life" getting rid of lavish cars, homes, and collections of things that once unsuccessfully served to fill the hole he felt in his soul. He recalled in his NDE visiting with his father in spirit in a very dark place and feeling all of the pain he had caused others during his life review rather than experiencing it from his point of view. He also recalled being shown past lives, one in particular, where he was an opium farmer and became dependent on opium which then was brought into this lifetime for him and contributed to his addition to pain killers. His perspective change healed him and brought him back from the brink of death as he was told he would be coming back as a different person because he had more work to do. But the focus would be on giving, not receiving. He says he is much happier and clearly much healthier having experienced a second chance at life and that perspective change was truly all that occurred. He has a book coming out soon so we will keep you posted. He's the real deal and I have no doubt, will help many people find their center and purpose in the coming years. Believe it or not, I was just introduced to Jean and her visionary work through Super Soul Sunday on OWN a week and a half ago. Then, as synchronicity would have it, we ended up getting free passes to World Widsom and she was a keynote speaker! AMAZING how the Universe works. Never thought I'd go from seeing her on TV to meeting her in less than two weeks. :) And last but certainly not least...
An Evening with Jean Houston Jean Houston, PhD, is a renowned teacher, philosopher, and scholar and was one of the creators of the human potential movement. With a remarkable list of colleagues and mentors that include Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, Helen Keller, and Buckminster Fuller, Houston shares her profound wisdom through engaging, firsthand accounts. This will be hard to condense what we felt were takeaways from her keynote because there were so many! Scott will be sharing his take on Jean's presentation and how it resonated with him so I'll be brief with a few that truly hit home for me. Jean first and foremost talked about NOW being the time of major conscious change. We are truly at the point right now and our ancestors and loved ones in spirit are cheering us on. In order to move forward collectively, we must be courageous and listen to our "entelechy," i.e. our intuition/higher self, to find the answers to what we are here to do. We are shifting to a balanced partnership of male and female energy and truly learning (through modern day scientific research on meditation/brain development) that we are on the verge of "an evolutionary jump time where we are reworking landscapes of the mind which result in deeper consciousness." The thoughts we feed ourselves (our internal voice) create a magnet energetically. If you are feeding yourself with negative self talk, energetically, this what you will attract. If you are feeding yourself thoughts of self love, conversely, this is the energy you will attract. Ultimately, we have to truly recognize that we have the power to create the life we want and we've had it all along, as Jean points out in her book, "The Wizard of Us." We chose to come into the world at this time because it is like no other time in history. I wholeheartedly believe this as well. Compassion and courage are at the core for all of us. Courage to do what your heart knows is part of your mission/purpose in life and compassion for yourself and others during your journey. Another point that truly hit home for me was when she talked about creating communities of learning and sharing comprised of many different viewpoints that do not require money and that do not honor the "GURU." The guru -- this is something we still see quite a bit in the "New Age" movement. When you are discovering your innate gifts and power, you naturally feel drawn to teachers who will help you do just that. But the danger lies in giving all your power over to said teachers/gurus and not honoring what feels intuitively right for YOU. It is critical to hear different points of view but only take in what truly resonates with you and leave the rest. Only YOU can know what's best for you. We are implementing this type of structure and openness within LLP as everyone involved believes there's not one way to do x, y and z. As Jean says, we are all as different as snowflakes. We, at LLP, will offer lots of options and viewpoints from many different backgrounds, religions, spiritual experiences, and medical fields that way we're always learning and expanding and you have the opportunity to take what feels right to you. All three sessions were enlightening and touching for both of us and we took away so much amazing insight that will help us as we develop our programs at LLP. We are very grateful for the experience and opportunity to learn and grow and hope you enjoyed reading about our day in Sedona! --- Kiersten, Founder of The Little Light Project
1 Comment
1/19/2014 06:12:03 am
Thank you for your insightful and profound experience as you shared your divine time spent with Jean Houston and Dr. Parti. As a student of both of their work, I truly am blessed to be amongst your esteemed group of creatives and enlightened people within The Little Light Project. Collectively, I know we will share the light with others! Blessings, Nancy
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