Thank you Tom Shadyak for not only ACE VENTURA (one of the funniest movies of all time!) but more importantly for the powerful documentary I AM. I honor your shift, your awareness, and your courage to make a film like this and to own your “mental illness”. Isn’t it true that we all have a form of mental illness?! We are all a little bit crazy when we really take a look at our thoughts and the stories we tell ourselves. I acknowledge this revolutionary film for showing us how we are part of the problem but that we are also the solution. We can become the change we wish to see in the world.
I AM has had a bit of a “cult following” in my spiritual community for months now. Every time I heard someone rave about it, I would get jealous because I wanted to be one of the first to see the latest conscious film. Well isn’t that a form of mental illness: the nonsensical and unproductive quality of jealousy that we all feel from time to time? My old competitive nature was at play (a big theme discussed in the film). Yet, how I came to see the film is a story of synchronicity and connection. And with all things, the timing of my screening it was divine and perfect.
Tom’s journey in this film and the thought-leaders he interviews are all inspiring. In fact this film exemplifies the tag line of Synergy TV as it is entertaining, enlightening, and inspiring; a trifecta of movie-making magic in my opinion. The buzz about this film and the build-up was accurate. I was impressed and in fact I was a bit more emotional than I thought I would be. I really resonated with so many of the themes: competition vs. collaboration, separateness vs. oneness, hierarchy vs. democracy, and wealth vs. happiness. So often I feel like I am not one with others, especially at work, because I don’t want to look at my shadow and because I want to be the best. Yet, my true “best” Self is collaborative, compassionate, and heart-centered.
The film examines the important questions of “what’s wrong with our world?” and “what can we do about it?” and ends with “what’s right about our world?” Tom’s exploration of these questions circles the globe and demonstrates beautifully our inter-connectedness. It’s clear that we have been telling ourselves a story for a very long time that we are separate and that competition is good. We have believed for so long that material gain will create happiness. Yet, when we look closely at all of these “stories” we see them for what they truly are: misunderstandings. The only choice this leaves us with is a lot of deep self-forgiveness and compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters who are still living the “old way”.
The new way realizes that money doesn’t bring happiness. Yet, how could I ever believe this? I thought this notion was ridiculous for a while. I was always striving for more and this pursuit felt like the one thing I was supposed to do. However, last year I doubled my salary and my happiness level actually went down. I became living proof that the two weren’t at all connected or synonymous. I have had a bit more comfort but with this increase a lot more responsibility and also a climb to the top of a ladder filled with power struggles and fear consciousness. I also became lonelier and exhausted from focusing on accomplishment. When I saw Tom’s Pasadena
When Tom examines the animal species in this film I couldn’t help but think of “Jonathon Livingston Seagull” which I recently read and loved. In this book the seagull who always knew he could fly comes back to teach others that they too can evolve and fly to new heights. We see this sense of cooperation all the time when we look at animals. In fact, they are teaching us every day to be more compassionate and to work together. In many ways Tom Shadyak is the Jonathon Livingston Seagull for the human race and in making this movie helps us to see we can choose to evolve or die. We are being asked as a planet to become more compassionate, more loving, and more conscious. The good news is this isn’t hard as this is who we are at our core. The bad news is this does mean we have to give up our obsession with stuff and separateness.
My favorite part of the film is when one of the thought-leaders speaks about the mirror neuron and how we see pain in others or joy and then we experience it ourselves. I noticed this clearly while watching many images in the film and I either felt a contraction or an expansion in my body and often some emotion. The discussion of the science at Heartmath (one of my favorite organizations on the planet right now) also demonstrates these concepts. For all the scientists out there, maybe you don’t need to believe the new age wisdom that we create our reality but you can admit that this compassionate response is part of the real I AM. And as Lynne McTaggart brilliantly describes – “reality isn’t an “it”, it’s a relationship”.
Thank you again Tom for this fascinating, eye-opening, thoughtful, heartfelt, and entertaining journey into who we are and why we are here. May your next film be as funny as ACE VENTURA and as conscious and uplifting as I AM. You are still on my wish list to meet but I know that serendipity will have its way with us soon and that I AM is destined to be on Synergy TV.
Entertain – Enlighten – Inspire,
Kate Neligan, Founder of Mindful Media Entertainment LLC. and Synergy TV
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