Category: A Spiritual Look At All Forms Of Entertainment…

Ok, I confess. I truly love just about every Disney movie I’ve ever seen. There is a simple reason for this and it has to do with something I like to refer to as The Disney Effect. No matter what Disney movie I’ve ever watched, there always seems to be a positive message and a level of hope and joy by the end of each of them. That principle held true even on my last outing to their latest film, which was titled The Million Dollar Arm, and I was extremely grateful for that.

I believe that we all need positive messages and a level of hope and joy right now in life. Our world is filled with so much pain and anguish and you can see that quite clearly every day in the news. With that being said, I’m not one to go to the theater anymore and see something that ends on a sad note because life is already filled with so much of that everywhere else. The reason why I go to the movies is to have an escape from what’s going on in the news, to feel good, and to also be uplifted. Thankfully, I can always seem to count on that with a Disney movie and The Million Dollar Arm was no exception to this.

The movie is a true story about a declining sports agent who reinvents his recruitment process by staging a pitching contest in a country (India) that is mostly known for its cricket players. There he seeks out the best pitchers who compete for the ability to try out for a Major League Baseball team. The story surrounds Jon Hamm as that sports agent, J.B. Bernstein, and the two protégés he finds in that contest, Madhur Mittal as Diniesh Patel and Suraj Sharma as Rinku Singh. While I’m not one to spoil the full plot of a movie for others, I think it’s fair to say that this film does have the typical Disney happy ending. And maybe it’s those happy endings that create The Disney Effect for me. Regardless, I’m just glad that Disney sticks to its formula. In a world that’s filled with so much negativity, seeing a Disney film like The Million Dollar Arm brings a breath of fresh air and sense of rejuvenation for me.

I enjoy leaving a theater feeling more upbeat then when I went in, especially on days when I’m really struggling to smile. I guess I can only wish that every movie that’s released were like The Million Dollar Arm. Maybe then our world might be more focused on creating love and light, then on promoting selfish interests and darkness.

I very much want to help create a world that’s filled with positive messages and high levels of hope and joy. The Disney Effect definitely helps with this and for now, I know I am going to continue seeing movies such as The Million Dollar Arm. At least then, I know I’ll be watching something that promotes this quest I’m on with my Higher Power and that’s to simply fill this world with a lot more of the love and light it truly deserves.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Is there an afterlife? 

Is there truly something beyond this plane of existence? 

What will really happen when I die?

Each of these questions is so incredibly difficult to answer and truthfully everyone in this world probably has a different answer to each of them. Countless books have been written about this very subject. Religious scholars throughout the world have spent their entire lives researching it. Professors in various colleges and universities have dedicated entire classes on it There are even movies, like “Heaven Is For Real”, that have dealt with it as well. And thankfully, I got to see it the other day because it inspired me enough to write about this topic.

Heaven Is For Real is based upon the real life account of four-year old Colton Burpo’s visit to Heaven when he almost died from complications due to a burst appendix. After watching this film, I left the theater asking myself question after question. In fact, I generally have had more questions than answers anytime I have ever read or watched anything on this subject. What’s interesting though is Colton’s description of Heaven is quite similar to just about everything I’ve ever studied on this topic. It always seems to be described as such a peaceful place that’s filled with happy souls, singing angels, radiant colors, and many beautiful things of nature.

Does that sounds like a place I would love to be in right now? Absolutely. But the truth is that I also think that it’s here on this plane of existence as well. Unfortunately, most of us don’t ever see it though because of our lack of unconditional love in our lives. Instead, we wrap ourselves up into what our ego thinks we need and find ourselves experiencing everything that’s opposite of unconditional love. That includes hate, anger, rage, jealously, envy, fear and lust and each of them block our vision from seeing what’s always right in front of us.

Many years ago I went on a 10-day silent meditation-based retreat to withdraw from the world and get a better perspective on this. What I saw and felt during the second half of that retreat and for the six months that followed is almost hard to put into words here. Although my eyes were still looking at the same things it always saw, it was as if some type of veil had dropped away from them. Suddenly I was seeing better than I ever did before and so it went with my hearing, taste, and touch as well. I began living with a level of peace, love, and joy that I believe would match Colton Burpo’s description of Heaven quite well. Sadly, I allowed my own ego to slowly take over and eventually it caused that veil to go back up.

Today, I am doing my best to draw as close as I can to my Higher Power and not let my ego be in charge. In doing so, I hope that veil will drop again so that I can see the Heaven that I know exists here. But what will happen to me on the day that I die, I really can’t say.

Will I just go into a grave and that’s it?

Or will I go into some vortex of light?

Or will I walk through a doorway that transports me to another realm?

Or will some deceased loved ones suddenly show up to greet me and take me away somewhere?

I have no idea, but I sure am glad that there are people like Colton Burpo who have their own account of it all. I can only hope that Heaven really is what he says it is and I can only hope that I get a glimpse of it someday like he did. It helped Colton have a level of peace and love here on Earth no matter what was going on around him. Isn’t that something we should all be striving for? I often wonder why God doesn’t allow everyone to have an experience like Colton’s because it seems as if that would help make this planet a much more loving place to live in. That’s just another question I don’t have the answer to, but hopefully one day I will.

Until then I plan to continue doing what I’m doing to draw closer to my Higher Power and will hope I’m on that right path to salvation. Sadly, some have said that my sexuality will prevent me from ever seeing Heaven. All I can say to that is this. While God may not given me a glimpse of the afterlife yet like Colton Burpo, God has already shown me the Heaven that exists right here, on Earth. And I believe that says it all.

So is Heaven for real? I think that’s really only for you to decide. I’ve already made my decision though, just as Colton Burpo has. What it looks like and how I get there is still all part of the great mystery of God for me. So until more gets revealed to me, I’m going to continue doing what I can to seeing Heaven manifest itself right here on Earth by becoming what I believe Heaven really is: pure love.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Sometimes there are little gems of a movie that go relatively unnoticed by the public. Often that’s due to the lack of financial capital needed to get it the recognition it deserves. Many of those usually have trailers that are seen only in theaters by those already attending another small independent film. One of those previews happened to grab my attention not too long ago and I decided on a whim to go see the actual movie the other day with my partner. It was titled Bad Words and starred Jason Bateman, who incidentally was also doing double-duty as the director as well.

At first glance, especially if you’ve seen the preview, it would seem as if this movie was just going to be another type of raunchy fare. I have to admit that when I first saw the trailer that was my first impression so I quickly disregarded it as something I would never choose to go see. But given the amount of positive reviews and buzz this small film has generated, I decided to give it a whirl on a day that I seriously needed something to generate some laughter within me.

Without giving too much away, Bad Words is essentially about a 40 year old man, Guy Trilby (Bateman), who finds a loophole in the National Spelling Bee system that allows him to compete alongside pre-pubescent children. Why he does this, and how come he spends the majority of the movie being as rude, obnoxious, and ornery as he was, is all part of what made this movie as good as it was. While the trailer doesn’t totally give this film the justice it deserves, it was probably for the better that it didn’t. For once I was able to watch a movie without really knowing what to expect before going into it. What I can say is that it not only achieved many-fold the laughter I was seeking, it also gave me those spiritual goose bumps when it all came together in the end.

There is only one more thing I wish to reveal about the film without spoiling too much for someone else. While Guy Trilby may seem like a total jerk to both the viewer and all the parents in the movie itself, what transpires by the end of it explains why he’s being that way at all. The spiritual message I was able to take away from it as the credits rolled was another one of those age old adages in that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. And for me, it was double-fold, once with Trilby, and another with the movie itself.

Bad Words is truly a wonderful movie and one of those that I believe will become a cult classic as time goes on. While it may not have generated the income at the cinemas that something such as a Marvel movie might do, it was enriching, rewarding, hilarious, and worth every dollar I spent on it.

So if you are looking for a good film that has some spiritual depth hidden below a surface that appears to be only raunchy, then I encourage you to go see this movie. You will not be disappointed. I know I wasn’t.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson