As Stacy returns from the Spiritual Educator’s Retreat for the Unity Southwest Region, Malayna has been celebrating ways of being a godmother. Join them as they explore similar roles and archetypes in fiction, and in life, that can offer kids a wider support system. Whether you’re a “Sparent” or part of the “Auntie Brigade,” an uncle, grandparent, Big Brother, or Sister, you can positively influence a child’s life without even trying. As volunteers or involved family members, we can all make an even bigger difference in their lives and ours. Tune in for inspiration!
Malayna’s Pre-Show Notes (and lots of ’em!):
GOOGLE
Spiritual Educators
Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education – csee.org/ “Building character, transforming culture”
For over 100 years, we’ve helped educators assist students in developing congruence between their inner and outer lives. We know that the quest for meaning and purpose in life, and grappling with important questions, lead not just to greater satisfaction in life, but also to greater health.
CSEE is not affiliated with any religious organization and does not promote a specific religious belief through our programs.
Character Development [Moral Education, Ethical Education]; Community Service / Service Learning; Grief, Death, Crisis in Schools; Interfaith Understanding; Honor Systems [Codes / Councils]; Spiritual Development; Leadership Development; Teaching the World’s Religions
We keep a comprehensive calendar of events for all major religions in several formats
based in teachings of Yogananda, The original Living Wisdom School in Nevada City, California offers children a rigorous academic education in a safe, beautiful rural environment. Sister schools are in Oregon and Washington.
The purpose of spiritual education is to fulfill the divine potential of children, and to prepare them for life by giving them the tools they need to keep on learning throughout the many experiences that will come to them.
By teaching children kindness, concentration, will power, strength of character, truthfulness, and other higher qualities, life is made richer.
Education, rightly understood, is expansion of awareness.
Spiritual teachers fall into several subcategories: Shaykhs or Sufi teachers, Gurus (including Hindu Gurus, Sant Mat Gurus, and Sikh Gurus), Buddhist teachers, including TibetanLamas (which is really simply the Tibetan word for Guru), and Mahasiddhas, who may be claimed by both Buddhist and Hindu There are also many Western spiritual teachers, some claim a spiritual lineage from the East and some do not.
Inspired by Michele’s visit to the creatively playful Duck Tape Festival, we talked about how Summer’s animated features, Minions and Inside Out seem ominpresent in advertising and merchandising. Then we looked at advertising aimed at kids, and the rise of action figures.
Then we made it spiritual too!
Looking at advertising with a critical eye can tell us about our culture today and help us experience nostalgia of days past. But looking at ads with your third eye, or through a lens of spiritual awareness, can help you see what’s important to you and what isn’t, and maybe even understand what’s important to someone else. In this episode, Malayna Dawn and Michele Coles will discuss how to use Unity principles to make the most of what we can’t avoid! We’ll talk about how to be in the world, but not of the world, play with what’s fun, and ignore what isn’t useful.
Throughout the past few weeks, Stacy has been busy in her role as the Southwest Unity Region’s Teen Consultant, overseeing Uniteens Camp and then accompanying our older teens to the International Youth of Unity event at Unity Village. Malayna has been reminiscing about her own youth in Unity, and thinking of movies and TV shows where characters get to do it all again. If you could go back, would you do things differently? What might we learn from such forays into our imagination? Can it make life better today? We’ll explore these questions this week on Pop Conscious!
Busting the Lone Hero Myth – with guest co-host Michele Coles and companion piece on Beliefnet.com (coming soon…)
There is a certain individualistic ideal which seems to tell us that it is possible, maybe even preferable, to do it on your own—whatever it may be. But if we look closely at our favorite heroes, most of them have backup—sidekicks, family, love interests, butlers, and the like. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto! He wasn’t alone after all! Join Malayna and team member Michele Coles as they scan pop culture for supposed heroic loners and their sidekicks or support teams. Then we’ll bust the myth and refine the ideal of individual empowerment to include supportive connections, because we know that “oneness” doesn’t mean being alone, but joined in Unity!
When you’re a fan, you have a passionate reverence for the subject of your fandom that is not unlike a spiritual experience. We welcome back our favorite scholar-fan, Dr. Tanya Cochran, to share insights found in the TV series Firefly and it’s follow-up film, Serenity. We’ll look at the resonance we find in the archetypes of the crew members and how belief plays a huge role in this space cowboy adventure by Joss Whedon. And we can’t forget the fans. There’s not a power in the ‘verse that can stop us!
We’re all on a spiritual adventure called “life”, but sometimes we need a book, TV show or movie to show us what our inner landscape can look like. This week, our Pop Conscious gals look at the travels we take through books like Eat Pray Love, The Celestine Prophecy, and Way of the Peaceful Warrior translated to film…and how these books and films inspired Malayna’s spiritual adventure novel, Echoes Across Time. We’ll also explore the deeper lessons of adventure-genre movie franchises like Indiana Jones and The Mummy, and whatever else feels like an adventure at any given time. It all boils down to our own Hero’s Journey!
Indiana Jones:
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)– not Noah’s, but Biblical nonetheless – supernatural + adventure
“Subtler and more interesting, however, is the ark’s biblically based propensity to protect itself when needed. In a fascinating mixture of judgment and mercy, the film’s finale features God saving Indy and instead of Indy saving the ark. When the Nazis sacrilegiously lift the lid, the wrath of God pours out. The entire party of evildoers is horrifically melted and incinerated, then spectacularly (and rather tidily) disposed of in a celestial pillar of fire.
While such gimmickry never appears in the Old Testament, there are many stories of God protecting the ark from falling into the wrongs hands. In 1 and 2 Samuel, a disrespectful handler is killed, a false god is decapitated, three Philistine towns are inflicted with a deadly plague and, most pertinently to Raiders, 70 Israelites are put to death for peeking under the hood. I’d say “put to death” is a pretty apt description for what happens to the Nazis at the end of Raiders.”
Temple of Doom (1984) – Filmed in Sri Lanka! India’s spiritual heritage, British-Indian reference…Thugee cult and Kali
Last Crusade (1989) – Holy Grail, Arthurian Legend, Joseph Campbell & Hero’s Journey,
Crystal Skull – (2008) – South American –
From National Geographic: “There are perhaps a dozen of these rare crystal skulls in private and public collections. Some are crystal clear, others of smoky or colored quartz. Some are actual human size and of very fine detail, while others are smaller and less refined. All are believed to originate from Mexico and Central America.
Many believe these skulls were carved thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago by an ancient Mesoamerican civilization. Others think they may be relics from the legendary island of Atlantis or proof that extraterrestrials visited the Aztec sometime before the Spanish conquest.
An adaptation of James Redfield’s novel about the search for a sacred manuscript in the Peruvian rain forest.
Macchu Pichu
Through a mysterious set of coincidences, he finds himself on an adventure to Peru in search of ancient scrolls, known as the Celestine Prophecy. The prophecy and its nine key insights, predict a new awakening that redefines human life and provides a glimpse into a completely spiritual culture on earth. Resistant at first, skeptical and unsure, John finds that each step he takes, each person he encounters leads him to a new awakening. It is only in this letting go that he finds his destiny and comes to understand the meaning that had escaped him when his adventure began.
Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives
Way of the Peaceful Warrior is based on the story of Dan Millman, a world champion athlete, who journeys into realms of romance and magic, light and darkness, body, mind, and spirit. Guided by a powerful old warrior named Socrates, tempted by an elusive, playful woman named Joy, Dan is led toward a final confrontation that will deliver or destroy him. Join Dan as he learns to live as a peaceful warrior.
Film – Nick Nolte – Peaceful Warrior (2006)
The 4-Minute Peaceful Warrior Workout Premium on-line course by Dan Millman from Daily Om.com
KEYWORDS: “Prophecy” = spiritual adventure – belief in something that was written about before, fate, a journey, steps to be taken, Divine order revealed (mind-idea-expression)
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Lego Movie (2014)
Left Behind (I) (2014) (The Rapture?)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)
Smallville (2001–2011)
The Matrix (1999)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Lego movie – An ordinary Lego construction worker, thought to be the prophesied ‘Special’, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the Lego universe into eternal stasis.
Left Behind – the rapture refers to the belief that either before, or simultaneously with, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to earth, believers will be raised from the earth to meet him in the air. Rapture = Latin “carrying Off”, Koine Greek “caught up”… First Thessalonians and how it relates to interpretations of various other biblical passages, such as those from Second Thessalonians and the Book of Revelation.
BOOKS: keyword
And Toto, Too:: The Wizard of Oz as a Spiritual Adventure
Do you believe in Dog? And Toto, Too: The Wizard of Oz as a Spiritual Adventure And Toto, Too elevates the familiar and much-loved film, The Wizard of Oz to a higher plane. Nathan G. Castle weaves his own story into the timeless classic with warmth and a delightful sense of humor. At first glance the book’s approach is slightly unconventional and perhaps a touch irreverent, given that the author is a Catholic priest who bravely shares his belief that God loves everybody wildly, extravagantly, beyond belief — and beyond belief systems. In praise of And Toto, Too Scotty McLennan, Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University says, “Father Nathan Castle touches us deeply, right where we are, with a completely unlikely claim — that the tiny, unimpressive dog, Toto from The Wizard of Oz is God on earth — or at least the canine face of God on earth!”
Rev Kristin Powell on Soulstream here on Unity Online Radio did a series about The Wizard of Us: Transformational Lessons from Oz by Jean Houston. Part of why we love Rev. Kristin…
The 13th Disciple: A Spiritual Adventure Hardcover – by Deepak Chopra
When a solid gold reliquary missing from a church in Belgium suddenly resurfaces in America, a young newspaperman begins to investigate the story. At first, it seems like just another case of a treasure stolen during World War II that has resurfaced. But it soon becomes apparent that much more is at stake.
Hidden within the medieval reliquary is a gold box that holds a sacred relic—a single finger bone—from an anonymous saint. Why would the remains of someone unknown to the Church be considered holy? The search for answers leads to a shocking discovery—a dangerous secret known only to a small band of people. If one touches the reliquary, a sacred vision is received—a vision involving a young girl who had a chance encounter with Jesus just before he was crucified.
My choices = Anne Rice books, Anne McCaffrey – being in tune with nature – dragons or crystals. Piers Anthony – Magic in the earth and each of us, express it differently.
Magical Realism – Writers don’t invent new worlds but reveal the magical in this world, as was done by Gabriel García Márquez who wrote the seminal work of the style, One Hundred Years of Solitude.[12] In the binary world of magical realism, the supernatural realm blends with the natural, familiar world.[13]
Vicarious – If something is vicarious, it delivers a feeling or experience from someone else. If your child becomes a big star, you might have a vicarious experience of celebrity.
Vicarious comes from the Latin work vicarius, which means substitute. If you have vicarious enjoyment, you have a second hand thrill. You might get vicarious thrills of adventure by reading your friend’s letters from overseas.
Gotta use some imagination – one of your 12 powers
Second-hand
Tina Turner – What’s love got to do, got to do with it? What’s love but a second hand emotion?
Cousin Violet, Dowager Countess – “I’m too tired for an evening of second–hand emotion.”
Echoes Across Time
Mara is a woman on a mission to follow the unraveling trail of meaning behind her symbolic dreams while trying to save her best friend from self-destruction. Part spiritual adventure, part feminist fairy tale, this modern-day myth takes you through a mystical series of events from America to India, and on to Sri Lanka spanning four generations. Along the way it offers metaphorical explanations for simple mysteries of our lives that make up our identities. From seemingly inexplicable friendships to exotic mixed ancestry, Mara finds the purpose behind it all. Ultimately the tale offers insight into how each of our souls has at least one connection that echoes across time.
Jonas Seaman – Destination Wedding Photographer – a cross-cultural/spiritual adventure. It’s kind of like Carlos Castaneda meets Dora the Explorer. I could especially relate to the character of Mara, because she’s constantly having to surrender herself to the mystery unraveling around her, and to what seems to be the guidance of a higher design. It made me take a look at my own life, as if every seeming random event might have a reason or a meaning, even long layovers in airports. Also, I really like how Malayna Dawn introduces in the story many different cultural and spiritual viewpoints. Throughout the book, the character of Mara seems to keep a keen focus on the similarities of differing cultures and religions, rather than be critical of their differences. That’s so refreshing, and needed in this day and age. Overall a great read. I’d recommend this book to anybody who likes a good, fast paced mystery and archaeological adventure story…
With Contagious Optimism Live and two Uniteen events, Malayna and Stacy have been on a bit of a spiritual high, with hearts wide open to Oneness. But with all our walls down, vulnerability is inevitable. So this week, join Pop Conscious in exploring how being vulnerability is an essential part to any heartfelt story, we’ll find courage from the Hero’s Journey to support us as we walk our own paths consciously.
Malayna’s Notes — from before the show. You’ll have to listen to hear where it went in reality!
Contagious Optimism – videos on YouTube Smile TV Group
Harold Payne – Trust and Vulnerability song he created for us –
Share from Contagious Optimism Program – esp: Sekou, Tim Harris, Kathy Buckley,
Grey’s Anatomy – I love voice over narrations! (Sex & the City, Twilight movies) – most recent –
On an operating table, a person is at his most vulnerable. Naked, exposed. Skin is not a very tough armor. It’s soft, easily broken.…
Surgeons are bred to be invulnerable. It’s very hard to lay ourselves spare because we know how deep some injuries can go. But vulnerability isn’t the opposite of strength. It’s a necessary part. We have to force ourselves to open up, to expose ourselves, to offer up everything we have and just pray that it’s good enough. Otherwise we’ll never succeed.
– Meredith Grey (Season11, Ep.3-Got To Be Real)
A few episodes ago…
There can be beauty in getting lost. Sometimes we have to get lost to find each other and sometimes we find each other, only to get lost all over again. We can’t always control it, the thing that’s going to set you adrift. And as you stand there on your front porch staring at the life you are about to leave behind, you have to accept it’s gone, it’s lost. Just like you. All you can do now is stand very still, breathe in the moment and try to be open to wherever the wind’s going to take you next.
– Meredith Grey (Season11, Ep. 1-I Must Have Lost It on the Wind)
Harry Potter – had to be willing to die…
Hero’s Journey – little deaths
Brene Brown – research professor on a range of topics, including vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. She is the author of two #1 New York Times Bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection (2010) and Daring Greatly (2012). She and her work have been featured on PBS, NPR, TED, and CNN.[2][3]
Her TED talk went viral: Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability – 2.5 million views
She’s in the top 20 of TED Talks –
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? – 7 million
Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are – 4.8 million
Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke of insight – 2.9 million
Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius – 1.9 million
Colin Stokes: The hidden meanings in kids’ movies – 1.9 million
Watching “The Wizard of Oz” and “Star Wars” with his son and daughter made communications expert Colin Stokes wonder about the stories we celebrate. Thanks to a growing awareness of gender representation, the world is now safe for girls in armor – but is the hero journey we’ve gotten used to inherently limiting? This funny and thought-provoking talk from TEDxBeaconStreet will make you look twice at your favorite films.
In 2011, Spider-Man co-creator and former Marvel president, Stan Lee launched his first Indian superhero, Chakra the Invincible, and now three years later, he’s actively developing a film version to bring the character to life in the world’s largest film industry, Bollywood. The project is being co-developed by Lee‘s POW! Entertainment and the Indian character entertainment company Graphic India withmeetings currently taking place between the production companies and several leading Bollywood directors, producers, and writers.
The original comics series centers on Raju Rai, a tech genius living in Mumbai, who in an attempt to unlock the secrets of human potential, develops a technically-enhanced suit that activates the mystical Chakras of the body and unleashes newfound abilities and powers. The film version would focus on a grown-up version of the character going up against his arch-enemy, Boss Yama.
This also wouldn’t be Bollywood’s first attempt at the superhero genre as in recent years they’ve seen the likes of 2011’s Ra.One, which starred and was produced by international megastar Shahrukh Khan, and the long-running Krrish trilogy (2003-2013), which stars Hrithik Roshan. Both proved to be huge international successes at the box office.
We at Pop Conscious believe in the power of pop culture and the media to influence people positively, so we‘re going to find ways to illustrate the connection between entertainment and enlightenment using the Twelve Powers: Faith, Strength, Wisdom, Love, Power, Imagination, Understanding, Will, Order, Zeal, Elimination, and Life. Can we do it? Tune in and find out!
Pre-Show Notes:
Each one has a human positive, and a human negative, as well as a spiritual expression.Wizard of Oz – Faith, Wisdom/Understanding, Heart, Will & Strength & Power,As Hero’s Journey –
Faith –
Music: George Michael “Faith”
Movie: Steve Martin – Leap of Faith
Count of Monte Cristo – “God believes in you” , Strength, (Revenge)
“If you build it, they will come” Field of Dreams
Strength – Perseverance
Music: “Strong Strong man to ever let you go,” – Rick Astley
Movie: Hulk, Avengers, Superheroes, Mutants – within us, but unknown – superherodb.com
TV: Wrestling, Bionics, Mutants
Wisdom
Music: Schoolhouse rock, It’s in Every One of Us – David Pomeranz, Don’t Eat Yellow Snow – Pop Music Wisdom
Movie: harry Potter’s Dumbledore, Gandalf in the LOTR
TV: Oprah, Daily Show, Perception & Eli Stone – visions,
Mentors: Jiminy Cricket, Fairy Godmother, Merlin, Obi Wan
Love – Harmonizing Force
Music: Higher Love – Steve Winwood, Divine Love Chant – Unity North Choir,
Movie: Butcher’s Wife – “Love is the leap that won’t be denied.” Demi Moore, Jeff Daniels, (…& Malayna Dawn!)
Broadway: Wicked (For Good), Frozen
Power / Mastery of Self
Music: M-Pact, acapella
Movie: The Color Purple,
TV: Downton Abbey, Grey’s Anatomy, talent shows
Imagination
Music: With Imagination, I’ll Get There – Harry Connick Jr. (When Harry Met Sally – 25th Anniversary!) John Lennon – Imagine
We at Pop Conscious are Anglophiles. As much as we are proud to be Americans, we also admire England, its people, and its culture. Join us as we share our love of the British invasions into our pop culture awareness in music, comedy, film, television, and wherever we can find it. Pip, Pip, Cheerio!
Moral of the story: We can declare our independence, and still celebrate our shared history.
We also learned that it’s hard to talk. Listen and find out!
SHOW NOTES (from Malayna):
~ My dad was in the British Royal Navy, and lived in England for a short time before coming to the US
~ I went to London for the first time when I was 7 years old
Early pop culture influences:
• Mary Poppins – Julie Andrews – (Practically perfect in every way), Bedknobs & Broomsticks, Alice in Wonderland
• Shakespeare in 5th grade – Midsummer Night’s Dream – I was stage manager. The same year, My Fair Lady was the musical, I played Mrs. Higgins, Henry Higgin’s mum. On the school bus, there was a kid who used to lead us in Beatles sing-alongs on the way home.
• Monty Python & Fawlty Towers – 1985
• My bro loved The Who, my dad took him to see them live in 1982.
RESEARCH
• The British Invasion the 1960s influx of British music groups like The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, and The Who
(paraphrased from Wikipedia)
• “Second British Invasion” The 80’s New Wave –In 1981, MTV ushered in new wave’s most successful era in the United States. British artists had learned how to use the music video early on — (especially Duran Duran’s musical travelogues of exotic locales like Sri Lanka & The Maldives). New wave artists from the UK included Culture Club, Duran Duran and ABC, and The Thomson Twins. (paraphrased from Wikipedia)
...Queen, George Michael, Elton John,
• Do They Know It’s Christmas by Bob Geldof 1984, Live Aid 1985
• Far Pavilions – 1984 – Amy Irving & Ben Cross (Story of forbidden love in 1800’s Indi Read the rest of this entry →
Life is full of graduations, transitions, endings, and new beginnings, which are all phases and stages in life’s journey. In this episode, Stacy ponders graduations and season finales, while Malayna gushes about Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey. Together they discuss how these resonant themes from world myths and folktales have found their way into Pop Culture. Then we’ll apply them to our own life stories, where we are the heroes of the tales!
Steve Carell as a modern-day Noah in Evan Almighty
Stacy and Malayna look at the creative ways in which the entertainment industry depicts Biblical characters and the stars of the Big Book: God and Jesus. From the flood with Russell Crowe as Noah or Steve Carell in Evan Almighty, Jim Caviezel as Jesus, or his animated South Park counterpart, to George Burns and Morgan Freeman as God, they’ll compare and contrast and look for the metaphysical Truth behind it all.
SHOW NOTES:
About the movie NOAH:
The cast includes representatives from the best of mythological and symbolic films!
Russell Crowe … Noah(Gladiator)
Jennifer Connelly … Naameh (Labyrinth)
Ray Winstone … Tubal-cain (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Beowulf, Hugo)
Anthony Hopkins … Methuselah (Thor, Beowulf)
Emma Watson … Ila (Hermione in Harry Potter)
Logan Lerman … Ham (Percy Jackson)
Douglas Booth … Shem (Romeo & Juliet — with the girl from True Grit)
Biblical:
·Charlton Heston – 10 Commandments as Moses, Ben-Hur as a Gladiator, The Greatest Story Ever Told as John the Baptist – a lot of Caesar related films too.
Stacy and Malayna discuss how LOVE is the force that makes the world go ’round, and is the proverbial pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. Stacy shares the five redeeming lessons she learned from watching the TV show The Bachelor, and Malayna shares the messages she gleaned from an international wedding and media that entertained her on her long journey home. Let these Pop Conscious pals be your leprechauns and guide you to find your own magic!
Show Notes: Had an exciting technical difficulty where we were off the air for a few minutes, but we still packed a lot in!
Stacy Finds Redemption in The Bachelor in 5 Life Lessons:
Do what is right for you despite social pressure…
Listen to your instincts…
Everyone wants love and companionship…
Family and Faith are important for the length and stability of a relationship…
There are lots of beautiful places in the world to visit.
Malayna shares music from the international wedding she conducted:
Pop Conscious 