Category: A Spiritual Look At All Forms Of Entertainment…

I watch a lot of television shows and I mean A LOT. Over the course of a year, there are probably 30 or so that I’ll tune into. Some I’ve been following for a long time, while others I’ve picked up more recently. But I became aware of something lately that precipitated a change in this area of my life and that was to stop following shows that no longer feel like they mesh with my growing spiritual values.

Most of the TV programming I follow nowadays is either science fiction or fantasy based, with two notable exceptions of a recovery from addiction sitcom named “Mom” and a Sherlock Holmes show named “Elementary”. Except for those two, there are a number of others I’ve been watching for awhile now that I no longer have any interest in, mainly because they aren’t generating any good spiritual feelings within me after viewing them.

The last thing I want to do is watch something on TV that promotes unhealthy behaviors like gossip, greed, envy, jealousy, backstabbing, violence, lust, ego, fear and more. I find that when I’m watching programs that glorify these things, I tend to slide back into those behaviors or become more negative in my overall attitude in life.

This is specifically why I stopped watching “The Originals” on the CW recently. The show centered on a vampire named Klaus who was constantly afraid of people taking away his power. Week in and week out his only concern was to protect his perceived power through conniving and killing. I grew quite weary of the unnecessary bloodshed and ego from him and others in the series and finally decided I had enough.

Since removing this show, I’ve felt so much better and gone on to do the same with a few others too. I definitely plan to continue this behavior from now on. After all, following a television show week after week, year after year, hoping it’s going to get better is a lot like staying in a relationship with someone who’s toxic and not working on themselves, all the while living with the hope they’ll eventually get better, but never do.

As for the TV series I’ve chosen to stick with, well, the truth is each of them are about people that are trying to do good in this world, who regularly play a hero that always attempts to save the day and protect the innocent. Shows like The Flash, Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Forever, and Daredevil are the first ones that come to mind, and while each may carry some violence, their overall theme is about saving the world from the darkness that exists within it and bringing about more light.

The bottom line though is that I don’t want to watch programs on TV anymore that leave me feeling more irritable and frustrated, or anything else that’s not healthy for me. I’d rather spend my time tuning into the ones that help me to feel better about myself, that truly uplift me, and lead me further down the spiritual path I’m doing my best to remain on in life…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Imagine for a moment if there existed infinite Earth’s, where each was slightly different from each other. This was the basic storyline of a 2015 movie titled “Parallels” that I watched on Netflix the other day, which vaguely reminded me of a television show I once watched back in the 90’s named “Sliders”, as it had a similar premise. By the time the movie ended, my brain was left pondering one thought. If there really were other versions of each of us in alternate realities, what would they be like?

Parallels is definitely a mind-bending 90-minute film that ironically was originally created as a pilot for a new television show. As of the time of me writing this though, it appears the standalone movie on Netflix is all that exists, which seems to be a major disappointment for just about every user’s review of it that I saw on the Internet. Regardless, its concept is definitely geek material for a science-fiction fan like myself.

The movie begins with estranged brother and sister Ronan and Beatrix Carver (Mark Hapka and Jessica Rothe) receiving cryptic messages on their cell phones from their father. Upon returning home, they run into each other and have no idea why their father even summoned them home. After all attempts to locate him come back empty-handed, they head out to the garage where they find a backpack in the trunk of his car. Within it the only thing out of the norm that’s found is a strange metallic orb. Meanwhile one of their neighbors and long ago friend, Harold (Eric Jungmann), has joined them and it’s overly apparent he hasn’t connected with either of them in years. The three of them eventually decide to go to the address left to Ronan and Beatrix on those mysterious voicemails where they find nothing but an old rundown and abandoned building. Ronan, being the most rebellious of the three, quickly enters its dirty main glass door entrance and proceeds to call out for his father to no avail. The others follow him in where they soon see bizarre graffiti-based messages scribbled on just about every cement wall. A loud alarm then begins to sound, along with a flashing bright white light, causing Beatrix to panic. She immediately leaves the building, followed by Harold and Ronan, only to discover they’re now standing in the city they left, except this one is desolated and demolished, apparently having been wiped out by a nuclear bomb. Thus begins the real adventure of this mind-bending sci-fi pilot movie.

After Parallels ended, I yearned for more only to sadly learn it hadn’t been picked up to series yet. Nonetheless, it left me pondering this idea of the existence of infinite parallel Earth’s, where each was slightly different from the next. So what if my Higher Power really did create not just one Earth, but countless Earth’s with numerous versions of all of us. What would I be like in each of them? While the movie at one point demonstrates some of that concept, I thought about all the various incarnations my own personality has gone through so far in this lifetime.

I’ve been the heterosexual closeted guy, the alcoholic, the sex and love addict, the corporate greed-based jerk, the preaching deacon, the annoying sports jock, the silent monk, the controlling Bed and Breakfast owner, the gambler, the hoity-toity world traveler, and plenty of other negative personalities as well. I can’t imagine being any one of them now, especially not for an entire lifetime, yet that is precisely the idea Parallels hypothesizes. Frankly, I’m truly grateful I’m not any one of those personalities these days but in all honesty, I’m also unsure of exactly who God has me becoming nowadays either.

Nevertheless, I’m quite content with this unknowingness of my future, because I’ll probably change personalities a dozen more times before I die. So thankfully, I was able to appreciate the great mind-bending sci-fi storyline of Parallels, because I realized I don’t ever have to be any of my old spiritually unfulfilling alternate realities ever again…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Television is filled with such a wide variety of fictionalized programming these days all scattered across hundreds of channels. But even with so many choices, there seems to be less and less I find myself tuning into. That’s only because most normally focus on things I can read about in the news everyday or they constantly glorify one or more of the “seven deadly sins” of greed, gluttony, lust, pride, anger, envy, or laziness. Thankfully, there are some shows though that come along every now and then that truly uplift my spirit and provide me a breath of fresh air, like Hallmark Channel’s “The Good Witch”.

Ironically, this new 2015 series did not originally begin as a weekly scripted one. It actually started in a 2-hour movie format dating all the way back to 2008. But somehow I totally overlooked each of them, even with all the television programming I watched during all those years. Maybe that’s because The Good Witch’s spiritual principles were on to the opposite side of the spectrum from where I was living during most of that time. Regardless, I set my DVR to record this new show after I caught a quick preview of it one day about a month ago, as well as each of the seven prior movies leading up to it.

Since then, I’ve watched those movies, as well as every episode of the new series, where each been about a unique woman named Cassandra Nightingale (Catherine Bell), who always seems to live by a spiritual code that’s far different than everyone else’s. The show takes places in the fictitious town of Middleton, NY, with Cassandra (nicknamed Cassy) being both the owner of The Gray House (a historical building and sometimes bed and breakfast), as well as the Bell, Book, and Candle (an odd variety shop where its guests always seem to find just what they need in life).

What I have enjoyed most about The Good Witch so far is how Cassy consistently has looked for the positive in everyone and everything, no matter how difficult the situation appeared to be. Even better has been the fact that not once has she claimed herself to be a witch. Instead, she’s just lived as a very mysterious person who frequently seems to knows things before they happen, as well as knowing exactly what a person needs to keep them on the spiritual path that’s for their greatest good.

I know many may be put off by the use of the word “witch” in the title of this show, but truly, it really is wholesome programming that focuses on good spiritual principles. And while the cast may have changed slightly from the seven annual movies to the series, the core premise remains the same, that of a feel-good nature. So if you’re looking for something on television to watch week to week that will uplift you, rather than depress you or make you angry, try watching The Good Witch, as I’m quite sure you’ll find happiness in it just as I do…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson