Yesterday my husband shared a YouTube video he received about a humpback whale being rescued from tangled nets. It’s an amazing video. Watch it all the way to the end to see some wonderful shots of the whale’s happy dance after it regains its freedom.
Here is the YouTube of the rescue.
This YouTube video reminded me of a movie I saw recently called BIG MIRACLE. The movie was inspired by true events of a 1988 whale rescue that touched people’s hearts around the world. It involved the US and Russia working closely together during the cold war, which was quite unusual.
In the movie, TV news reporter (John Krasinski) discovers a family of gray whales ice-locked off the shore of Barrow, Alaska. He broadcasts a news story about the whale’s plight and it catches world attention, including his ex-girlfriend (Drew Barrymore), an animal lover and Greenpeace activist. She immediately works to find a way to free the whales.
Meanwhile the Inupiat tribe living in Barrow wants to harvest the whales for meat as they have done for centuries. Reporters flood into Barrow from all over the world and the local people then realize that bad publicity will result if they kill the whales. The native people turn out to serve an important role with the rescue because they know how to survive in the harsh climate. They also help keep the whales alive until rescuers arrive.
I especially enjoyed the “wise elder” of the Inupiat people who had an amazing spiritual connection with the whales and teaches the old ways to his grandson.
Another aspect I liked about the movie is how all the different people with unique viewpoints, agendas and backgrounds come together to save these wonderful animals. As it happened historically, the US and Russia were forced to work together on this highly publicized project. Everyone grows, changes and winds up deeply touched by this experience.
I highly recommend this feel-good movie.
Have you had a heart-opening experience with animals? I’d love to hear your stories.
Recently I went to hear the Minnetonka Chamber Choir. The choir director stopped one of the songs in the middle to tell the audience the name of the piece and what it meant so we would enjoy it more. The piece was” Lullabuy” by Billy Joel who wrote it after his daughter Alex asked him, “Where do I go after I die?” One of the lines that stuck with me was: “Then in your heart there will always be a part of me.”
Here is the entire song:
“Lullabye Goodnight, My Angle”
Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you’ve been asking me
I think you know what I’ve been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
Then you should always know
Wherever you may go, no matter where you are
I never will be far away
Goodnight my angel, now it’s time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I’m rocking you to sleep
The water’s dark and deep, inside this ancient heart
You’ll always be a part of me
Goodnight my angel, now it’s time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry, and if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me
Someday we’ll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on
They never die
That’s how you and I will be
Here is a youtube with Billy Joel singing the song.
The song reminded me of a movie I saw recently called “Temple Grandin.” It’s the true story of Temple Grandin, a woman who was born autistic. Several years ago I heard Temple Grandin speak at an autism society event and I was interested in seeing the movie and learning her story.
When Temple was four and still unable to speak, her mother took her to the doctor who told her Temple was autistic and should institutionalized. Instead the mother used picture flash card and found a way to teach her child to speak and relate to the world. Temple went on to high school, college and even got a doctorate in Animal Husbandry.
At one point in the movie Temple asked a question similar to the one Billy Joel’s daughter asked. “Where did he go?” Temple asked when a horse died. What she was really asking is: Where did the soul of the horse go? Her science teacher didn’t know, but he told her to think of the horse as it was when it was alive. Temple thought in pictures and so she visualized the horse several times when she’d seen him vibrant and healthy.
Later in the movie the teacher died and at his funeral service Temple asked her mother. “Where did he go?” Like the horse she could see the spirit of the man was gone and only the body remained.
Each of us has to answer that question for themself. I believe we go on to another world to continue our spiritual education to eventually become a co-worker with God.
Temple had a hard time going to high school and was reluctant to go to college. Her science teacher told her to think of college as going through a doorway that is going to open a whole new world for you. Temple visualized a series of doorways she’d walked through and found the courage to go to college. I thought it a beautiful image for all of us when facing a challenge in life. Visualize or think of it as a doorway we have to walk through to get to a new place or state of consciousness.
When Temple’s mother enrolled her in high school, she emphasized to her teacher that Temple was different but not less. I thought of the analogy of soul equals soul. We are all equal no matter when our physical, emotional, or mental limitations are. We are all here on earth to serve life and learn more about love.
As an autistic person Temple didn’t like to be touched or hugged, yet she was unafraid of animals and liked to touch horses and cows. She could empathize and relate to them in a way she couldn’t to humans. They understand the world with pictures like she did.
Temple’s uniqueness enabled her to see things that others couldn’t. She closely observed cows and what made them afraid while she was on her aunt and uncle’s ranch. She used her understanding of animal behavior to design a more merciful way to build a slaughter house for cows. She said that nature is cruel, but we don’t have to be. She insisted that there was no reason to scare cows or prod them along when they will walk peacefully through the slaughter house. She understood that cows were raised for food and thought that was all the more reason to treat them with kindness. Today half the slaughter houses in the United States use her building design proving that Temple’s mother was right. She is different but not less.
Temple eventually started helping other people who were autistic and their families by sharing what it was like to be autistic. The first time she was asked to speak at an autistic meeting, she was afraid, but then she visualized walking through a doorway and went on stage.
When I reflect on Temple’s life, I think of the enormous challenges she faced and overcame. How she turned her differences to an advantage and how she had the courage to make the world a better place. She isn’t really so different from the rest of us or from Billy Joel’s daughter. We all wonder where a person goes when they die.
Where do you think we go when we die? Have you ever felt like you were walking through a doorway as you started a new experience? What challenges have you had to over come? I’d love to hear your experiences or thoughts.
I really enjoyed this movie of Temple Grandin’s life and highly recommend it.
Recently we rented Soul Surfer. I was especially interested in this movie because when I was on a beach in Oahu, Bethany Hamilton walked by with her surfboard. She may have been in Oahu for the making of the film. Bethany Hamilton is the person whose life the movie is based on. She isn’t in the movie, but she and her family were there daily for the filming. Bethany was easy to recognize because she has one arm. At the age of thirteen she was on her surfboard waiting for a good wave when a shark attacked her. The story isn’t a horror movie about a shark attack, but about a young girl who loved to surf and how she had the courage and determination to keep surfing even after losing one arm.
The title Soul Surfer is a term coined in the 1960’s to refer to someone who surfs purely for pleasure. This was Bethany Hamilton. She would surf all day long. Her family said she wouldn’t even come in to eat and they’d have to bring her food. The title has a double meaning as it also refers to Bethany’s faith in God that helped her recover. She realized she could serve God even more with her injury because she could reach more people world wide and tell them about God’s love.
AnnaSophia Robbs plays Bethany Hamilton in the movie. She spent a month with Bethany to get to know her and learn how to surf. When you rent the movie be sure to watch the special feature made about Bethany’s life after you see the movie.
Here is a photo on AnnaSophia Robbs and Bethany Hamiton. Bethany is on the left.
I loved the movie because it was about a real person who is courageous and spiritual. At the time I saw it I was still wearing a cast for my broken wrist and I could identify with her struggle to do things with one hand. I also counted my blessings that my cast would come off and I’d regain full use of my arm. Life is always giving us challenges that can help us grow into a more loving person if we accept them and learned from them.
The following is a video clip of the movie.
Here is Bethany’s story taken from her site.
Bethany’s Story
It came, literally, out of the blue. I had no warning at all; not even the slightest hint of danger on the horizon. The waves were small and inconsistent, and I was just kind of rolling along with them, relaxing on my board with my left arm dangling in the cool water. I remember thinking, “I hope the surf picks up soon…”
That’s all it took: a split second. I felt a lot of pressure and a couple of lightning fast tugs. Then I watched in shock as the water around me turned bright red. Somehow, I stayed calm. My left arm was gone almost to the armpit, along with a huge crescent-shaped chunk of my red, white and blue surfboard… I remember most clearly what the Kauai paramedic said to me in the ambulance: He spoke softly and held my hand as we were pulling out of the beach parking lot. He whispered in my ear, “God will never leave you or forsake you.” He was right. I believe in God. Nobody made me believe; I don’t think you can or should try to force someone to believe something. And even though my parents taught me stuff about God and read Bible stories to me from as early as I can remember… it was my choice to become a believer in Him. The way I see it, putting our faith in God is something that each person has to come to on his or her own. It’s your own personal relationship with Him; a bond that’s as unique as a fingerprint.
The following is a video Bethany made.
Bethany also wrote a book titled Soul Surfer about her experience.
Last Sunday night I went to a pre-screening of the film Another Earth with my Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writer’s group. It was a unique opportunity because the lead actress and co-writer, Brit Marling, and the director and co-writer, Mike Cahill, held a questions and answers session immediately following the screening.
The movie itself is riveting. It is amazing that this small group of independent film makers put together such an excellent film. Two young people, Brit and Mike, had a dream to make a movie outside the system where there aren’t any rules. They had little money but their goal was to make a movie that would have a human story with a sci-fi twist. In an interview, co-writer, Brit Marling said, “We always wanted to do a sci-fi story in which, if you stripped away the high concept, it would still hold weight.” They certainly achieved their goal. The powerful story would hold its own without the sci-fi aspect yet this aspect is woven in throughout.
Another Earth premiered at The Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. No one was paying much attention to the film because it was written by two relatively unknowns: Mike Cahill was a documentarian and Brit Marling an investment-banking analyst. At the festival it won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and was then acquired by Fox Searchlight. Fox said: “This is a film that questions the existence of a parallel universe, the possibility of another you.”
During the film, Rhoda looked at the “other earth” that had moved close to our earth and wondered if there is another Rhonda on that planet and if that Rhonda had made the same terrible mistake she had. Was the other Rhonda a better person? Implied is the question that we all ask ourselves: What would my life be like if I had made different choices or if something hadn’t happened that derailed my plans?”
Here’s how the story is described on the iTune Movie Trailer:
“Rhoda Williams, (Brit Marling) a bright young woman recently accepted into MIT’s astrophysics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. John Burroughs, (William Mapother) a brilliant composer, has just reached the pinnacle of his profession, and is about to have a second child with his loving wife. On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes, and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined. Estranged from the world and the selves they once knew, the two outsiders begin an unlikely love affair, which reawakens them to life. But when one of them is presented with the opportunity to travel to the other Earth and embrace an alternative reality, which new life will they choose?”
During the questions and answers session after the film an attendee asked Mike and Brit how they came up with the story. Brit said that she saw a documentary that Mike had done and loved it so much that she wanted to do something with him. Eventually they decided to do a film together. They met and talked about ideas and as a story evolved began to hash it out. Because they worked outside of the film industry they had more freedom to follow their vision. They had a small budget so filmed in Brit’s mother’s house, a school, and in an old farmhouse.
They were asked about the physics in the movie. Such as: If another planet got that close to earth wouldn’t it cause all sorts of problems? and How could there be parallel earth? Mike explained that the original film included a lot more of the physics behind it, which included string theory. The original film was two hours and forty minutes long. They decided to leave out the scientific explanations and cut the movie to about an hour and three quarters. They felt that the focus of the movie should be on the story. But they added when the film came out in DVD people could see all the scenes that were cut.
Brit and Mike also talked about their excitement of being in the film festival and getting a standing ovation after the film was viewed. Afterwards they were thrilled to get an offer for the film from Fox Searchlight a prestigious film company who did such films as Black Swam. They’ve loved working with Fox Searchlight.
Hilary from the speculative fiction group said she hated cleaning but loved the metaphor in the movie of cleaning. For Rhonda cleaning John’s house was a way of cleaning her soul. She was trying to do something to make his life a little better, then realized she was helping herself. Brit said that the film group of twelve would meet in an old farmhouse, which was used as part of the set, and eat their meals. Then she would have to clean up and be filmed as she cleaned. Brit doesn’t like cleaning and thought, “Hey I’m getting a bad deal here.”
Paul, a friend of ours, asked if Mike and Brit’s dreams and understanding of a parallel universe had changed since making the movie. Brit said Mike really believed it and the film crew wondered if they should tell him it was only a movie. Mike said is was a good question and that there is new research that supports the possibility of a parallel world being true.
When I walked away from the theater I couldn’t help thinking how amazing it was that these two young people with no experience making a fiction movie and little money could have a dream and make it into a reality. It served as a reminder to never give up on your dreams. Amazing things can happen if you follow your heart.
I’ve included a trailer of the film and an interview with the Brit Marling. Even if you don’t like science fiction this is an impactful, character driven film. The trailer is described as “stark and chilling, the acting understated”—a perfect counter balance for all the action-packed movies of the summer.
I welcome any thoughts or comments you have about the movie or blog.
Soon after my blog entitled “Have You Had a Spiritual Experience?” posted, I saw the movie Hereafter, which explores elements of the supernatural, including near-death experiences. The story opens with Marie (Cécile De France), a French political journalist who is vacationing in Thailand just as it’s hit by a tsunami. She is dragged underwater and has an amazing vision during a near-death experience (NDE). This changes her world and she is unable to go back to the life she lived before. Marie takes time off from her job to write a book. However, instead of writing the political book her publisher wants, she writes about her personal near-death experience and cites scientific studies to corroborate it. Her experience leads her to look at life differently. Ultimately, she finds that the people around her are uncomfortable talking about it.
The movie also focuses on two other characters whose lives are touched by death. The first is Marcus (George and Frankie McLaren), a London schoolboy who sets out to find a medium who can help him communicate with a loved one who died.
The second character is George (Matt Damon), a medium who gave up a business communicating with the dead to lead a normal life. In the end the three characters come together and profoundly affect each other’s lives.
In a review of the 2010 film directed by Clint Eastwood, John J. Puccio asks two friends with paranormal backgrounds for their comments. The first is Loyd Auerbach, a leading authority on paranormal phenomena and the second is Willie Swenson who has a degree in Interdisciplinary Consciousness Studies.
Loyd Auerbach worked with people who had NDEs and those seeking a connection with the other side (the hereafter). He felt the character of George rang true in that many psychics want to live normal lives and find their talents difficult to handle. Marie’s behavior after having a near-death experience also rang true for him.
“About 15% of all people who have a NDE are impacted to where they, like Marie, have fundamental philosophical change with regards to Life and Death, and even who they are.” Marcus is young to be searching for a medium to help him talk with the dead; however, some who have lost a loved one do react in this way.
Willie Swenson felt that those who had a NDE or an understanding of this subject matter are more likely to enjoy the movie. He thinks this movie may seem like fantasy if you grew up believing that consciousness after death is not possible. But if you are aware of quantum physics you may be open to the larger reality beyond this material world.
He adds, “The day may come when humanity easily accepts consciousness after death. As has always been the case in scientific evolution, new ideas supplant old ideas . . . but old ideas do not go easily.”
Puccio concludes, “The story is an honest attempt to explore the single greatest mystery of life—namely, death—and to do it with intelligence, open-mindedness, understanding and compassion.” (Blu-ray review FIRST PUBLISHED MARCH 11, 2011 BY JOHN J. PUCCIO)
It’s possible that Hereafter wasn’t hugely successful in the theaters because it is about death and the spiritual nature of our world. Yet for those who are interested in these topics, this motion picture is a gem. I greatly enjoyed it and am glad that I discovered it.
Hereafter is now out on DVD in case you want to rent this fascinating film that explores how three different people were touched by death and longed to know more.
Have you had a near-death experience? How did it change your perceptions about life? What spiritual insights did you harvest from your experience and what would you like others to know about NDE? Please share!
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