Breakthrough is a home made documentary film by Storm Talifero, a raw vegan filmmaker and his family. Storm is 57 but he certainly doesn’t look it. He runs, climbs mountains and makes films. He’s been eating raw for over 30 years. It’s slow and deliberate with beautiful natural music and imagery - if you are in a hurry this film is not for you!
The film gives us a snapshot of how Storm, Jinjee and their 4 children live their lives. It shows how the children learn through play, and not by going to school. They are growing food in the garden and making animations and having lots of fun. It is very inspirational, just seeing the amount of energy the children have is amazing. Storm and Jinjee agree that it is necessary to stay active for health and they go mountain climbing, playing tag, etc.
The film also shows two of their family members who come and stay to learn about raw.
Storm has been eating a raw vegan diet of fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables in their unheated state for over 30 years, and has become known among raw vegans for his body builder's physique. At 57 he is still youthful. Jinjee first started eating a raw vegan diet when she met Storm 12 years ago. Her before and after pictures show her transformation. The whole family is 100% raw vegan with no supplements or dehydrated foods.
This documentary was assembled from footage that Storm and Jinjee collected over the years. They have four raw vegan children. In the film they share the challenges that they've faced, both personally and with friends and families, and the differences that cooked vegan and raw vegan have made in their lives. They share nutrition information and information about the growth and development of their children, with taped visits to the doctor, and comparisons to CDC height and weight charts. There is a good section on raw vegans and exercise requirements.
There is impressive footage of Jinjee during a raw vegan pregnancy, exercising, and walking 5 miles a day, even as she came to term. There is footage of her taken ten days after her child was born, with Jinjee healthy, radiant, active and thin... There is an interview with Jinjee discussing her four pregnancies, both cooked vegan and raw vegan, and how the raw vegan deliveries went much smoother and faster.
For anybody raising raw vegan children, or considering doing so, I heartily recommend this film. There are enough beautiful women and hunky men in the movie to keep even the most non-raw spouse interested in the film. (Yep, weightlifters and Swedish blondes.)
I understand that the movie will be coming out at theaters soon. You can get a copy now at www.thegardendiet.com. I purchased their "complete package" for $50, and found it well worth the money.
-- Jim Carey Director, www.chiDiet.com Former Director, Creative Health Institute
Download "Breakthrough ( A Raw Food Documentary)" (Torrent)
After the first 3 crop circles of 2011 appearing in Indonesia earlier this year, the season continues with this one reported shortly after midnight on Easter Sunday, April 24th 2011 near Bosschenhoofd (the "Woodenhead" area), Holland in grass. It's a 24m-long 18-circle formation, the largest circles measuring 3m in diameter, the smallest 0.7m in diameter.
Here's Nancy Talbott's report ...
As has occurred often in the past, the first crop circles of the year in The Netherlands have occurred around Easter. This year Robbert v/d Broeke began having strong intuitions that a formation would soon appear and on Thursday, April 21st, he went out on his motor-bike looking in fields where circles have appeared in the past. He reports that he was thinking about Jesus and the Biblical stories about His resurrection and feeling "very strong" sensations of a loving presence. But he found no circle that night.
On Good Friday he was again sensing a very clear presence, this time of the Catholic friar Saint Francis of Assisi, known by many as the Patron Saint of Animals (and also of the environment). That night Robbert and his mother (who is also highly intuitive) both felt an urgent need to go to the fields together, and Mrs. v/d Broeke decided to bring Robbert's camera with them as they drove to Robbert's "special" field. They found no new crop circle, but Robbert decided to take some photos anyway. At first the photos were all completely normal, but then images of a monk and many images of different small animals began to appear. Robbert is certain that the "energy" he felt while taking these photos was that of St. Francis.
Then on Saturday night, April 23rd, the strong "nervous" energy Robbert has learned to recognize indicates the imminent appearance of a new crop circle began building, becoming so intense that by 11:30pm or so he was forced to call a neighbor, Mrs. Ellen Gomis, to ask if she would drive him to a field near Bosschenhoofd. Arriving shortly after 12:00 midnight with Ellen, Robbert immediately saw a "white energy" (like a white/yellow "aura") over one of the fields and knew that was where the formation would be. As Robbert walked into it he said he immediately felt the "presence" of Saint Francis and got a strong, clear message that "people are not greater than the animals," that we are wrong to think animals do not have feelings similar to our own.
A more detailed report, with additional photos of the crop circle, as well as Robbert's photos of the monk and animals, will be posted on Robbert's BLT "Home" page (http://www.bltresearch.com/robbert.php) as soon as possible.
Somewhere Out There is a documentary featuring interviews with 3 prominent names in the field of Free Energy or Zero Point Energy.
First they're of to visit John Hutchinson who is conducting experiments with electricity and radio waves and in doing so can levitate, bent, disintegrate and merge all kinds of materials and create some unknown alloys as well.
Full Documentary
The second person interviewed is Ralph Ring who tells about the work and research in creating a combined vehicle and house. A saucer shaped spacecraft since that would be making use of the right propulsion system and he goes on telling of the work they've done in the past on a real working prototype which he co-piloted. He goes on to say that these spacecrafts can travel multi-dimensionally ... in and out of our space-time reality ! He says that these craft are conscious too and are operated with thoughts ... (the mind ... not the brain, he says)
You can also watch the documentary in 3 parts ...
Finally they step in to the world of a young man who has created some sort of a mine-museum in which he has all sorts of working Tesla devices.
One thing they all got in common and that is that at some point in time their work and everything connected to it got confiscated by the government.
These three interviews have never been aired to date. They were originally going to be aired on the Discovery Chanel, but the Discovery channel wanted to edit out much of the interviews to the point where the message that the need for raising consciousness was lost.
These videos are reproduced here to get this information out to the world to help those who are working to develop new technologies that will help us to clean up the planet and live in a more harmonious way with Nature.
Quite Recently US scientists discovered two giant whirlpools in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Guyana and Suriname. It became a sensational discovery because this part of the ocean has been studied thoroughly and no one expected anything like that to appear in this area. No one knows where the whirlpools came from and what surprises they may bring to people. According to Brazilian scientist Guilherme Castellane, the two funnels are approximately 400 kilometers in diameter. The funnels reportedly exert a strong influence on climate changes that have been registered during the recent years. "Funnels rotate clockwise. They are moving in the ocean like giant frisbees, two discs thrown into the air. Rotation occurs at a rate of one meter per second, the speed is sufficiently large compared to the speed of oceanic currents, on the border hoppers is a wave-step height of 40 cm," Castellane said.
These frisbee whirlpools in the Atlantic remind one of the recent whirlpool off Japans's Earthquake/Tsunami affected coast line ...
We live in a world which is hugely conditioned to believe what we believe, without even attempting to find out for ourselves the hows and the whys of our reality. So we easily buy into others ideas, some projected ideas ... We come into this world and acquire all sorts of ideas and notions based on this "consensus reality" we hold dear as our dogma, not realizing the role of the individual and collective in manifesting the reality we experience. One of these ideas is that humans are omnivores, hence eating meat is natural for us.
After having seen this brilliant documentary called "Supercharge Me!" (which is all about the Raw Food Diet and it's health benefits) and reading a couple of articles on the subject, I am left with no doubt in my mind that avoiding eating meat is definitely a healthier choice ! There are numerous compelling facts presented in these articles which cite all the reasons why we weren't designed to eat meat ...
The prominent Swedish scientist Karl von Linne states, "Man's structure, external and internal, compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables constitute his natural food." The chart below compares the anatomy of man with that of carnivorous and herbivorous animals.
When you look at the comparison between herbivores and humans, we compare much more closely to herbivores than meat eating animals. Humans are clearly not designed to digest and ingest meat.
Meat-eaters: have claws
Herbivores: no claws
Humans: no claws
Meat-eaters: have no skin pores and perspire through the tongue
Herbivores: perspire through skin pores
Humans: perspire through skin pores
Meat-eaters: have sharp front teeth for tearing, with no flat molar teeth for grinding
Herbivores: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding
Humans: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding
Meat-eaters: have intestinal tract that is only 3 times their body length so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through quickly
Herbivores: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.
Humans: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length.
Meat-eaters: have strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest meat
Herbivores: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater
Humans: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater
Meat-eaters: salivary glands in mouth not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits.
Herbivores: well-developed salivary glands which are necessary to pre-digest grains and fruits
Humans: well-developed salivary glands, which are necessary to pre-digest, grains and fruits
Meat-eaters: have acid saliva with no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Herbivores: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Humans: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains
Based on a chart by A.D. Andrews, Fit Food for Men, (Chicago: American Hygiene Society, 1970)
Earth Hour is back creating global awareness and is scheduled to happen on Saturday 26th March 2011, at 8.30pm as people all over the world will turn their lights off for an hour. In less than 4 years, Earth Hour has become the largest campaign in history for the planet. It has grown from one city, one country to over 128 countries and territories in 2010. Earth Hour -- By The People, For The Planet.
If we can achieve this, imagine what else can be done when we all come together as ONE !
Over many centuries, the foremost masters of Yogic techniques have been able to sustain their health with little aid from food. Some Yogis can physically nourish their bodies with nothing more than prayer and meditation.
"The Fire Yogi" is a documentary film exploring the journey of a Yogi from Tanjore, India who has the extraordinary ability to use a unique breathing technique to get into union with Fire. This non-religious documentary portrays a rare and unusual Fire Ritual performed by a Yogi from India and the subsequent chemical analysis of his clothing & physical tests that examine this supernatural phenomenon. The Yogi has performed this Fire Ritual for a total of 1000 days over the last 45 years.
A never-before-seen by the public view into Yogi Rambhauswami’s life, daily religious practices and rituals. The traditional “Fire Ritual” is performed in its abbreviated form, normally taking 24 hours in its entirety.
The Yogi, weighing a mere 94 pounds (43 kilos), has been able to survive on only two bananas and a mere glass of milk with a few drops of water twice a day for the last 28 years.
The ritual is performed for Universal Harmony , Global Welfare and Individual Prosperity. Many aspects of the Yogi are on the edge of unbelievability, while at the same time highlighting the power and endurance of human mind, body and spirit.
In the mid-1990's Terence McKenna and Mystic Fire's Sheldon Rocklin teamed up to make this rich and exciting film. Little did they know that this would be their last film. Originally titled Coincidencia Oppositorum: The Unity of Opposites and filmed in Prague with Terence portraying his usual erudite rendition of the Irish Bard, this filmed classic takes us on a journey into the alchemical renaissance of King Frederick V and his wife Queen Elizabeth of Bohemia.
Playing the role of John Dee, court magician for Queen Elizabeth of England, Terence McKenna shows us how the promise of a return to the tradition of alchemy was almost instituted in Europe. He also shows us that this early attempt at the creation of an alchemical kingdom actually lead to the European Renaissance and the institution of Cartesian science and the beginnings of rationalism within the western mindset. This incredible film is not only beautifully filmed but is Terence McKenna’s finest performance and a worthy eulogy to his genius.
"Ring Of Fire : An Indonesian Odyssey" is an educational documentary highlighting the mysterious surroundings of the Spice and Aru Islands, which are found within the archipelago that makes up the beautiful country of Indonesia.
Watch as producers Lorne and Lawrence Blair take viewers beneath the blue waters on a dive in search of pearls and deep into the green jungles with the native Bugis tribes. Running 58 minutes, this cultural adventure is a "Mystic Fire Video" and one installment of the Ring of Fire collection !
In the mid-1970s, documentary filmmakers Lorne and Lawrence Blair ventured into Indonesia. They hoped that their decade-long spiritual journey would somehow result in a feature-length film that would accurately, and eloquently convey their experiences. The Blairs ended up with five films, which were released to television and theaters under the blanket title "Ring of Fire - An Indonesian Odyssey". Each film, or "volume," depicts a single fascinating aspect of Indonesian life and customs. The five volumes include "Spice Island Saga," "Dance of the Warriors," "East of Krakatoa", "Dream Wanderers of Borneo" & "Beyond the Ring of Fire".
The Ring of Fire - Spice Island Saga
Dance of the Warriors
The brothers sail to the islands of Komodo where they encounter the Komodo Dragon, Sumba where they witness human sacrifice, New Guinese where they meet the Asmat, and finally Bali where they build a home in a village.
British brothers Lawrence and Lorne Blair set out in the 1960s on a marvelous, thought-provoking, ten-year adventure through the 3,000-mile length of the remote Indonesian archipelago. Inspired by a dog-eared copy of Alfred Russell Wallace's The Malay Archipelago -and his nineteenth century voyage of scientific exploration and discovery--their unforgettable odyssey set sail out of the Celebes (Sulawesi) for the Spice Islands on a perilous schooner crossing with the seafaring Bugis. Tossed to and fro from home port Makassar to isolated Aru Island-stalked all the way by rotting ship beams and the specter of pirates-they were rewarded with one of the rarest sights on earth-the fluffy white plumage of the elusive Bird of Paradise.
Metaphysical, anthropological, and intellectual in tone-with a healthy dose of dry wit and humor-the Blairs take you along as they confront komodo dragons, chew betel nut in Sumba, witness a traditional Pasola battle, and herald the annual arrival on shore of the sacred nyale sea worms. Full of naive courage and boundless curiosity, they sought out Asmat headhunters/cannibals in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Undaunted, these dream wanderers went eye to eye with the fiery blast furnace of simmering Krakatoa. They commandeered a longboat upriver and trekked through the leech-ridden jungles of Borneo with native guides on an arduous land search for the secretive, traditional Punan hunter-gatherers. Ring of Fire chronicles their cultural encounters on Java as they visited the sultan's court (and sacred "kris" knife) and an acupuncturist who harnessed yin/yang energy to heal the sick with self-generated electric charges. Open-minded and non-judgmental about the diverse religions and customs they encountered, the Blairs became deeply enchanted by trance, and by the shadow screen nether world of the wayang kulit. Their travels took them back to Sulawesi for the funeral of the last king of Tanah Torajah-into a unique architectural-animist pocket where boat-shaped roofs rise out of the cool forest floor representing ancestral sky ships on their descent from heaven to earth.
The thrill-seeking, nomadic Blairs unexpectedly found themselves permanently landlocked and suspended-mind, soul, and body-in the island Shangrila that they discovered in Bali. An artist friend in Pengosekan-a vibrantly creative community of farmers and painters-invited them to build a new house on his land. In true, cooperative Balinese style, the brothers had only to pay for the necessary raw materials (bamboo, coconut wood, and elephant grass) and the religious celebration at the completion of the structure. The people of Pengosekan freely contributed their skilled labor and artistic expertise; this shared investment in and commitment to each other's dwellings works to further bind the village together. Sleeping and learning in their open-air platform obervatory perched high above the sculpted jade rice terraces, the Blair brothers came to call Bali their very own, lifelong island of the gods. They would return time and again-in between sometimes dangerous, always enlightening meetings with natural peoples along the equatorial frontier-to their permanent home base in Bali. It is here that they fell in love with one culture and one island out of the hundreds that they visited. Lawrence and Lorne fully explored their adopted pied à terre-from startling footage of the eruption of Mt. Agung in 1963, to the cremation of famous 116-year-old Balinese artist Lempoad, to the opulent funeral procession of the last rajah of Gianyar. (When Lorne died on his beloved Bali in 1996, he was cremated and his remains returned to the sea in accordance with Bali-Hindu religious rites.) Their amazing adventures (available in book or video format) are the stuff of storybook legends-from the hidden rainforest peoples of Borneo, to islands where magicians still hold sway, to the sun-speckled spiritual haven of heart-shaped Bali.
East of Krakatoa
The 10-year voyage of two filmmakers, brothers Lorne and Lawrence Blair, through the world's largest and least known archipelago - the exotic, mysterious islands of Indonesia. These island form a chain of active volcanoes that arc down and around into the Pacific to form the "Ring of Fire." To pass beyond it is to cross the threshold into another dimension, a magical land where ancient myths still flourish. East of Krakatoa - In the shadow of Java's constantly erupting volcanoes, the Blairs descend from the crater of the newly erupted "Child of Krakatoa" and encounter a world of medieval courts, mystical shadow puppet plays, forgers of magical swords, healers with supernatural powers and whole communities ruled by the powerful "Spirit of the South Seas." Back in Bali, they meet such sages as the master artist Nyoman Lempad, who was to die a conscious death on the day of his choosing at the age of 116. And among the Toraja people of the Celebes highlands, they share in the massive funeral rites of the last king of the tribe which believes its ancestors came from the stars in skyships.
Encounters at the End of the World is a 2007 documentary film by Werner Herzog which studies people and places in Antarctica. The film was released in North America on June 11, 2008, and distributed by THINKFilm.
About the Film
There is a hidden society at the end of the world. One thousand men and women live together under unbelievably close quarters in Antarctica, risking their lives and sanity in search of cutting-edge science.
Now, for the first time, an outsider has been admitted. In his first documentary since GRIZZLY MAN, Werner Herzog, accompanied only by his camerman, traveled to Antarctica, with rare access to the raw beauty and raw humanity of the ultimate Down Under.
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, Herzog’s latest meditation on nature, explores this land of Fire, Ice and corrosive Solitude.
"The Cove" is a rather shocking, eye opening documentary on dolphins and their annual hunting in Taiji, Wakayama Japan.
Academy Award® Winner for Best Documentary of 2009, THE COVE follows an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers as they embark on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, shining a light on a dark and deadly secret.
Utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action.
The Ladakh Confluence is a festival of music, art, green living and culture showcasing an effective way towards growth without compromising our values for nature and sustainability ....
The Ladakh Confluence 2010 will take place in the scenic expanse of the trans-Himalayas this July. Mark your calendars, prep your backpack and gear up for four days of music, art, nature and culture in the highest mountains.
The second edition of the Confluence comes back bigger, stronger and greener between July 15-18. Musicians, artists and travelers from around the world will unite in the breathtaking mountain kingdom for an incredible cultural experience. We’re looking forward to having you there. Over the next few weeks we’ll share with you details of all the acts we have in store, details of how you to get here and of course, ways in which you can get involved.
Stay tuned ! Join us on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.
We greet each other: "How's life?" Do we really expect an answer? In a way, perhaps, there is no answer.
For rarely do we lead our lives consciously. A mechanical and programmed, life is a rut. So much so that there is no life in living. That is the ultimate irony. T S Eliot wondered: "Where is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? And where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" When was the last time you did something spontaneously? Make an effort to recall what was the last occasion when you stopped by to look at a tree. Not to observe it as a botanist and divide it into its trunk, branches, flowers and fruits. Or subdivide the flowers further into sepals, petals, stamens and pistils. But to live and experience the sublime wholeness of the ethereal being of the tree. To marvel for a moment as to how the tree is able to stay rooted to a spot for years on end. Derive its sustenance with contentment and a peace that passes understanding. Lead a life of profound fulfillment, without frittering away its energy in the restless pursuit of pleasure. In spite of being endowed with only the ability to perceive the sense of touch.
Feel the coarse trunk of the tree, firm, erect and rooted. See the nerves of the roots fanning out with their tentacles into the soil, embedding themselves firmly underground. The roots are like an umbilical cord, strongly binding and bonding the tree to the womb of mother earth.
Like the tree itself, you then begin to resonate with the hum of the earth. Pulsate with the stately rhythm of the celestial symphony. Deep down feel a sense of profound belonging and oneness with the cosmos. With the drama of existence. With the cosmic web of reality. With all that there is.
Look at the resplendent full moon on a languorous summer night. Now and then the moon pulls aside the curtains of clouds, looks all around to make sure that all's well with the world, and then quickly disappears behind the curtains once again.
When you are fully absorbed in the sky and the clouds, when you are in communion with the tree, then you cease to be a cog that is out of whack with the wheel of the universe. You cease to exist as a being separate from the universe, there is a distinct sense of identity. When the illusion of separateness and distinctness peels off like false skin, then you are in a state of selfless self-awareness.
William James testifies to this numinous state of being. "I have on a number of occasions felt the enjoyment of a period of intimate communion with the divine. These meetings came unasked and unexpected, and seemed to consist merely in the temporary obliteration of the conventionalities which usually surround and cover my life. What was felt on these occasions was a temporary loss of my own identity."
Our body-mind-brain complex is a system whose very existence depends on its continuous interface and interaction with a larger universal system that it seamlessly integrates with and is an inextricable part of. It is only our sense of identity that blinds us to this unity. When the sense of self gets removed, we remember that we belong to the cosmic ensemble. Or rather, we are the cosmic ensemble. When your self-consciousness, the sense of 'i' disappears, then your soul radiates the effulgence of the divine with an intense luminosity.
Disneynature's next epic adventure 'Oceans' after last years awesomely panoramic 'Earth' was released on April 22nd, coinciding with the global event creating awareness of the Gaian Spirit, Earth Day.
Beneath the surface of the sea, on the other side of the mirror, life's primitive harmony reaches down to unsullied depths. The film sets out to meet the creatures of the sea: those that are known and the many that still have to be discovered.
It is a venture into the fullness of the sea to show how prodigiously it teems with life, and into the deepest ocean beds to meet living fossils that belong to world prehistory. Follows the whiplash turns of a shark, the speedy swimming of a swordfish and the gliding manta ray. Explores the dens of giant cod, spiny monkfish, orange roughy and the giant squid in their natural habitats.
Pierce Brosnan is the narrator and Demi Lovato sings the "Make a Wave" duet for Oceans with her boyfriend, Joe Jonas.
The Global Brain is a fantastic short documentary by Peter Russell on the awakening of human consciousness to it's inherent unity with the absolute.
The documentary begins with Peter Russell speaking about the spiritual experience of astronauts going into space who view Earth from a celestial point of view where all illusionary boundaries that keep us separated and divided dissolve ... The Astronauts experienced Earth as a living being and realized how all life in all it's multiplicity and variety is essentially a part of Gaian Consciousness, the Global Brain ...
In the book, 'The Global Brain' Peter Russell shows that humanity has reached a crossroads in its evolutionary path. The Internet is linking humanity into one, worldwide community - a "global brain". This, combined with a rapidly growing spiritual awakening, is creating a collective consciousness that is humanity's only hope of saving itself from itself. However, Russell warns if we continue on our current path of greed and destruction, humanity will become a planetary cancer.
Selling more than 100,000 copies and translated into ten languages, his seminal work, The Global Brain, won acclaim from forward thinkers worldwide. It was regarded by many as years ahead of its time, and its original predictions about the impact of computer networks and changing social values are now being realized.
Peter Russell, who holds advanced degrees in theoretical physics, experimental psychology and computer science, makes no apologies for presenting what may seem like a Utopian theory. He advises, "The image a society has of itself can play a crucial role in the shaping of its future. A positive vision is like the light at the end of the tunnel, which, even though dimly glimpsed, encourages us to step in that direction".
Into the Wild is a 2007 American film based on the real life adventures of Christopher McCandless. It was directed by Sean Penn, who also wrote the screenplay, and stars Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Brian Dierker, Vince Vaughn, Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Stewart, and Hal Holbrook.
Into the Wild recounts the true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a student-athlete at Emory University, as told by his sympathetic sister, Carine McCandless (Jena Malone). In rejection of a materialist, conventional life, and of his parents Walt McCandless (William Hurt) and Billie McCandless (Marcia Gay Harden), who McCandless perceives as having betrayed him, McCandless destroys all of his credit cards and identification documents, donates $24,000 (nearly his entire savings) to Oxfam, and sets out on a cross-country drive in his well-used but reliable Datsun toward his ultimate goal: Alaska and, alone, to test himself and experience the wilds of nature. He does not tell his family what he is doing or where he is going and does not communicate with them thereafter, leaving them to become increasingly anxious and eventually desperate.
Along the way his automobile is caught in a flash flood and he abandons it to hitchhike after burning what remains of his dwindling cash supply at the side of Lake Mead, Arizona. He then creates a new name: Alexander Supertramp. Along his travels, he encounters a hippie couple Jan Burres (Catherine Keener) and Rainey (Brian H. Dierker). As McCandless continues his travels, he decides to work on a farm owned by Wayne Westerberg (Vince Vaughn). However he is forced to leave after Westerberg is arrested for satellite piracy. McCandless then goes up at the Colorado River and when he is told that he may not go down by kayak without a license, he acquires a Perception Sundance 12 open-water kayak and, followed by the river police, paddles downriver eventually all the way into Mexico. There his kayak is lost in a sandstorm and he crosses back into the United States. Unable to easily hitchhike, he starts traveling via freight train to Los Angeles. Not long after arriving, however, he starts feeling "corrupted" by modern civilization and decides to leave. Later, McCandless is forced to switch his travelling method back to hitchhiking due to rough security.
McCandless then arrives at a hippie commune, Slab City and encounters Jan and Rainey again. At the commune, he meets Tracy Tatro (Kristen Stewart), who becomes attracted to McCandless. McCandless decides to continue his goal for Alaska, much to everyone's sadness. McCandless then encounters a retired but lonely leather worker, Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook) in Salton City, California. After spending several months with Franz, McCandless decides to leave for Alaska and Franz gives him gear to use. Franz offers to adopt McCandless as his grandchild, but McCandless tells him that they should discuss this after McCandless returns from Alaska and Franz becomes extremely saddened by his departure.
Nearly two years after leaving his family, McCandless crosses a stream in a remote area of Alaska and sets up camp in an abandoned Fairbanks Transit bus, the "Magic Bus", used as a shelter for moose hunters. Initially McCandless is exhilarated by the isolation, the beauty of nature around and the thrill of living off the land as the spring thaw arrives. He hunts and gathers, and reads books, and keeps a diary of his thoughts. However life becomes harder; his supplies start to run out and although he kills a moose the meat is spoiled by flies and maggots. He realizes that nature is also harsh and uncaring. Ultimately on his journey of self-discovery, he concludes that true happiness can also be found in sharing, and in the joy of realization seeks to return from the wild to his friends and family.
However, to his despair McCandless finds that the stream that he crossed has become a violent torrent and he cannot return; he is trapped by nature. He is forced to return to the Magic Bus but now as a prisoner; having previously insisted on being self-sufficient he is no longer in control of his fate and can only hope for help from the outside. As his supplies run out, he is forced to gather and eat roots and plants. He has a book to help him to distinguish edible from inedible, but he confuses similar plants and is poisoned. He slowly and painfully starves. In his final hours, he continues to document his process of self-realization and accepts his fate, as he imagines his friends and family for a final time.
The epilogue occurs two weeks after his death when his body is found by moose hunters. The movie ends with a picture of him, found undeveloped in his camera from before he died. It tells that his sister carried his ashes from Alaska to the eastern seaboard by plane with the ashes in her backpack.
It premiered during the second edition of the Rome Film Feast. The film premiered outside of Fairbanks, Alaska on September 3, 2007, and the film was given a limited release on September 21, before a wide release on October 19.
"...but you are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things."
Satish Kumar has been a pilgrim ever since, at the age of eight, he joined the brotherhood of wandering Jain monks in his native India. Later he walked the length and breadth of India with Gandhi’s successor Vinoba Bhave, persuading landowners to donate a portion of their lands to the poor, and in the 1960s he made an 8,000-mile pilgrimage for peace, which included walking from India over the Himalayas to Paris via Moscow.
In 2008, Satish Kumar presented a 50-minute programme on the BBC as part of the Natural World series. A highly acclaimed documentary that mixed eastern philosophy with the western landscape of Dartmoor; the programme was watched by over 3.6 million people.
In this unique BBC 2 Natural World documentary Resurgence Editor Satish Kumar reflects on our connection to our natural environment. Using the traditional English landscape of Dartmoor as his natural muse he offers a very Indian perspective through the changing seasons. Through the film, he introduces the Dartmoor scenes and sights that most inspire him – gnarled oak woods, whirling starlings, rushing rivers, stags in rut, wild tracts of heather, cuckoos hungry for food, the metamorphosis of moths – and contemplates what they reveal, and the lessons they hold for humanity.
‘I see the bees buzzing, collecting a little nectar here and a little nectar there. Never too much. Never a flower has complained that a bee has taken too much nectar away. Nature in balance. But this balance is tipping. Human beings go to nature and take, take, take, until all natural resources are depleted. Honey bees never do that. If I can learn that lesson of frugality and simplicity, I will be learning the art of living.’
~ Satish Kumar
In his new book Earth Pilgrim Satish draws on this personal experience and also his understanding of the spiritual traditions of both East and West.
In Earth Pilgrim Satish draws on this personal experience and also his understanding of the spiritual traditions of both East and West. The book takes the form of conversations between Satish and others about the inner and outer aspects of pilgrimage: “To be a pilgrim is to be on a path of adventure, to move out of our comfort zones, to let go of our prejudices and preconditioning, to make strides towards the unknown.” If we want to tread the pilgrim’s path, we need to go beyond ideas of good and evil, and to be dedicated to our quest - to our natural calling. We need to shed not just our unnecessary material possessions but also our burdens of fear, anxiety, doubt and worry; in this way we can find spiritual renewal and enter on the great adventure into the unknown. Paradoxically, being on a pilgrimage doesn’t necessarily mean travelling from one place to another - it means a state of mind, a state of consciousness, a state of fearlessness.
Satish believes that at this stage of human history we now need a new kind of pilgrim, unattached to any form of dogma - ‘Earth Pilgrims’ who are concerned with this world, not the next, and who are seeking a deep commitment to life in the here and now, upon this Earth, in this world. We need to realise that we are all connected, and through that connectivity we become pilgrims.
500 Nations is an eight part documentary on the Native Americans of North and Central America. It documents from pre-Columbian to the end of the 19th century. Much of the information comes from text, eyewitnesses, pictorials, and computer graphics. The series was hosted by Kevin Costner, and directed by Jack Leustig. It included the voice talents of narrator Tom Jackson, Wes Studi, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Eric Schweig, Michael Horse, Gordon Tootoosis, Graham Greene, and Tantoo Cardinal. "500 Nations tries to crystallize the sweeping events that reshaped North America- one of the largest and most pivotal stories in human history - a story we feel is widely unknown. Often painful, sometimes shocking, but in the end it is simply about understanding."
Zen : The Best of Alan Watts is a documentary film directed by Elda Hartley presenting the Zen Philosophy as known to Alan Watts. Alan Watts (1915-1973) who held both a master's degree in theology and a doctorate of divinity, is best known as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and Indian & Chinese philosophy in general.
He authored more than 20 excellent books on the philosophy and psychology of religion, and lectured extensively, leaving behind a vast audio archive. With characteristic lucidity and humor Watts unravels the most obscure ontological and epistemological knots with the greatest of ease.
" Man is nature becoming conscious of itself ... Alan Watts "
While many in the 60's played the stock market and paid their mortgages, Alan Watts lived aboard a colorful houseboat, writing, speaking, and inspiring a generation to re-assess their values.
For more than forty years, Alan Watts earned a reputation as a foremost interpreter of Eastern philosophies for the West. Beginning at age sixteen, when he wrote essay for the journal of the Buddhist Lodge in London, he developed an audience of millions who were enriched through his books, tape recordings, radio, television, and public lectures.
In all, Watts wrote more than twenty-five books and recorded hundreds of lectures and seminars, all building toward a personal philosophy that he shared in complete candor and joy with his readers and listeners throughout the world. His overall works have presented a model of individuality and self-expression that can be matched by few philosophers.
His life and work reflects an astonishing adventure: he was an editor, Anglican priest, graduate dean, broadcaster, author, lecturer, and entertainer. He had fascinations for archery, calligraphy, cooking, chanting, and dancing, and still was completely comfortable hiking alone in the wilderness. He held a Master's Degree in Theology from Sudbury-Western Theological Seminary and an Honorary DD from the University of Vermont in recognition of his work in the field of comparative religions.
He held fellowships from Harvard University and the Bollingen Foundation, and was Episcopal Chaplain at Northwestern University during the Second World War. He became professor and dean of the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco, made the television series "Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life" for National Educational Television, and served as a visiting consultant for psychiatric institutions and hospitals, and for the United States Air Force. In the mid-sixties he traveled widely with his students in Japan, and visited Burma, Ceylon, and India.
