Category: A Spiritual Look At All Forms Of Entertainment…

Staying positive and inspiring hope in others can often be an extremely difficult thing to do, especially when suffering from chronic pain, a long-term debilitating illness, or some type of a fatal disease. Personally, I do my absolute best these days to transcend my own painful limitations I’ve had to deal with over the past few years so that I can be that for others. But sometimes it takes some external inspiration to continue generating that and one way I do this is by watching a little gem of a movie I own now that’s titled “Letters To God.”

“Letters To God” is loosely based on the true story of Tyler Doherty, who was only 8 years old when diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer called Medulloblastoma. During the remaining two years of his life, Tyler went on to endure many high dose radiation treatments and chemotherapy, as well as several stem cell transplants. Yet through it all, he consistently retained a huge will to live, a smiling face, and a positive attitude that inspired many around him. One of the things that Tyler did in his remaining months to help keep himself going was to write several letters to God, of which would go on to become the inspiration for the movie itself.

This movie humbled me greatly when I first saw it several years ago. In fact, it was the first thing that ever made me look at my chronic pain issues from a completely different light. It was actually because of this movie that I began to realize I didn’t have to live in constant misery for as long as my physical pains might last. Since then, I’ve re-watched this film again and again anytime I find myself needing a gentle reminder of this. I’m so grateful for someone like Tyler Doherty who found plenty of ways to keep on smiling no matter how unfortunate his circumstances were in life. The hope and encouragement he gave to others is demonstrated so beautifully in the movie and I encourage anyone to go see it, particularly those who may be suffering from any of their own unfortunate conditions life has handed them.

So Tyler, I want to thank you for having been such a powerful vessel of love during your very brief life, even through all the pain and tribulations you had to go through. I’m dedicating to you my own letter to God because of it. May you be blessed Tyler wherever your are now, and may your story continue to bless many others just like it has for myself.

Dear God,

I want to thank you for people like Tyler Doherty, who you sent here to become such an inspiration to many others like myself. I know I haven’t always been able to maintain the most positive and upbeat attitude possible when it comes to the health issues I’ve been going through these past few years. But I want You to know that I will keep doing my best to remain as optimistic as I can, so that I may too be a source of hope for others going through their own trials in life just like Tyler once did. Thank You God for the humility I’ve been learning because of my current circumstances and thank You once again for Tyler Doherty, as I know his story is one that will continue to inspire me to persevere no matter what I end up having to go through during the remainder of my life…

Love always,

Andrew

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

 

 

 

The journey to finding one’s heart and passion can often prove to be quite challenging, especially when a parent’s own fears come in the way of it. Sometimes it becomes necessary in a person’s life to walk away from everything they know, including their family, just to discover whom they really are inside. The Hundred-Foot Journey is a delightful movie that ends up depicting this extremely well.

The Hundred-Foot Journey is all about a young man named Hassan (Manish Dayal) who has the gift of cooking. When his family is forced to flee their home in native India due to civil unrest, Hassan’s passion for the culinary becomes his only outlet to handling all his frustrations in life. After several failed attempts to settle down in various places, they eventually end up in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France, when their vehicle breaks down. While repairs are being made to it, Hassan’s father (Om Puri) sees promise in the remains of old run down restaurant for sale and it’s there he decides it’s time to finally settle down for good. As they prepare to open their new family restaurant there with Hassan at the cooking helm, they meet Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren) who’s the owner of the highly ranked French establishment just 100 feet across the street from them. It becomes quite obvious early on to Hassan’s family how unhappy Mallory is with the idea of an Indian restaurant being so close to her place of fine dining.

While Hassan’s father and Madam Mallory begin to battle each other out of fear for the survival of their own businesses, he finds his only peace and serenity can come by doing more of what he loves the most, which is cooking. With the aid of Marguerite (Charlote Le Bon), who actually works as a sous chef for Mallory, Hassan begins to combine his native Indian spices into various French cuisines and in the process wins the favor, and a job offer, from Mallory herself. Unfortunately, Hassan’s father doesn’t approve and instead wants his son to remain preparing the same Indian dishes his deceased wife once prepared so exquisitely. As Hassan is forced to look within at both his growing affections for Marguerite and his desire to grow his culinary talent, The Hundred-Foot Journey spins a wonderful story about the journey he takes to find what his true heart and passion is in life.

I’m so grateful for movies such as this, because I’m currently on my own journey of finding out what my true heart and passion is in life as well. Watching Hassan pursue his culinary dream regardless of what was going on around him, truly inspired me. While cooking is not and never has been my forte, writing, speaking, and teaching about all of what I’ve gone through in life is. Unfortunately, like Hassan, I’ve met my own resistance along the way to pursuing these things. My mother was the first as she was quite concerned about my openness in life. Both my sister and my partner have also at times shared this view. Sometimes friends have even questioned it as well, while some have even gone so far as trying to derail me from following it at all. But watching Hassan in The Hundred-Foot Journey seek his heart and passion no matter what the rest of the world felt he should do, clearly reminded me how important it is for me to keep sticking to the guidance my Higher Power and my soul continues to give me with my own.

So while my heart and passion may never be in the culinary arts like Hassan’s was, I do believe I’m on the right path now to developing my own after watching this movie in the theater the other day. The Hundred-Foot Journey was truly a great reminder of how important it is for me to follow my own inner guidance, even if it means I must stand apart from what everyone else thinks I should be doing.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

There’s quite a bit of speculation out there as to whether we only use 10% of our brainpower. The Mythbusters on television have claimed it’s not true, while other scientists still maintain it is. Regardless of the answer, the movie “Lucy” explores the idea of a person gaining more abilities the greater one’s brainpower is access and utilized. The question I continue to ask myself every time I see movies such as this, is what if I developed superhuman abilities myself?

I’ve always had a fascination of the possibility of this. There’s actually a show I watch on television called Stan Lee’s Superhumans, which seeks out those in this world who truly do have some type of extraordinary gift. While the discoveries in that show are nothing even close to what “Lucy” actually develops in the movie, each are ones I often wished I had. The sole reason why I consistently feel that way is my sincere desire within to help others more than I currently am.

I wrote an article some time back that I believe all of us already have “abilities” that can help each other on this planet. In my case, I’ve come to see how the words I write and the ones I speak at podiums are doing just that. But I still dream bigger as a kid might dream about the idea of having some type of superhuman abilities such as in the movie “Lucy”. In it, Scarlet Johannson, who plays Lucy, begins to manifest some pretty incredible powers the more she accesses the potential of her brain.

At first she begins to understand all languages, both written and verbal. But as utilization of her brain increases, her senses start becoming super-charged where’s she able to see and hear from great distances. By the time she’s gained the full access of her brain, she also has learned how to see the energy flowing in everything, she’s able to listen to random radio waves of all cell phones, she can control any object with her mind, and eventually, she can even stop time and rewind it to any point in the past.Sometimes I wonder if the only reason why our world hasn’t evolved yet to a point where superhuman abilities like these exist is completely due to how many people might abuse them for greed, power, and control if they had them. Many years ago when I wasn’t asking my Higher Power to guide my life, I probably would have done that very thing with any extraordinary gift manifested within me. Thankfully, that’s not the case these days, as I only desire to use whatever gifts I’m given for spreading more love and light everywhere I can.

I continue to dream though that one day I might still develop a superhuman ability like Lucy, such as her ability to communicate in any language. The idea that I could write or speak about my experience, strength, and hope in life to every single human being on this planet would be something indeed. Or to be able to rewind time to meet and study under famous spiritual teachers who passed on long ago such as Buddha, Christ, or Muhammad would be an absolutely incredible thing to do as well. But alas, I accept that I’m not meant to have any of these abilities at the present time. Hopefully one day I will though so that I may have an increased capacity to help this planet.

The bottom line is that I really do treasure watching movies such as “Lucy” and television shows like “Stan Lee’s Superhumans” because I truly love pondering the idea of developing superhuman abilities. Regardless of whether it ever happens or not, I’m going to continue developing the abilities I already have, and do my best to bring more love and light on this planet through them.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson