“The ads for “The Sterile Cuckoo” remind us that you can fall in love for the first time only once in your life. True enough, but that begs the question of whether Pookie and Jerry are really in love. I doubt it. Their relationship is based more on need: her need to be loved, and his need to make love.” Thus begins the critical movie review by Roger Ebert, the late Pulitzer-Prize winning movie critic who died in 2013. See the full review here: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-sterile-cuckoo-1969
I was a movie reviewer for both my high school and college newspapers. I still enjoy watching movies, especially classics, but stopped writing movie reviews long ago. I was more of a promoter than a critic and definitely not as talented a writer as Roger Ebert. Alas.
Liza Minnelli and the song, Come Saturday Morning, were nominated for Oscars, although neither won. Alas.
Today I’m sharing more highlights from Cynthia Bourgeault‘s book Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening with a focus on Divine Therapy.
What is Divine Therapy? How much and how frequently should you engage in it? How helpful and how risky is this form of meditation? Check out the quotes below:
“In the summer of 1983, Keating organized the first Centering Prayer Intensive …. hoping to achieve a more concentrated meditative experience on the model of a Zen sesshin, or deep immersion retreat ….
Keating produced a tape-video series then a series of books …. in an innovative synthesis, Keating interweaves the traditional wisdom of Thomas Acquinas, Teresa of Avila, and John of the Cross with the contemporary insights of Ken Wilbur, Michael Washburn, Jean Piaget, and even the Twelve Step Method of Alcoholics Anonymous. The result is a comprehensive psycho-spiritual paradigm that begins in woundedness and ends, if a person is willing to take it that far, in transforming union. He calls it the Divine Therapy.” Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, (c) 2004 Cynthia Bourgeault, The Psychology of Centering Prayer, pp. 91 – 93
Keating explains in his own book, Intimacy with God, (c) 1994, the real meaning of the term transforming union is “we can bring the false self to (church), but we cannot bring the false self forever to contemplative prayer because it is the nature of contemplative prayer to dissolve it.” p.98
Bourgeault goes on to explain that “a period of committed sitting is often the emergence of a patch of pain long buried and several days of emotional turmoil …. and quotes Keating once again with his explanation that (committed sitting) ‘will reduce anxiety for perhaps the first three months. But once the unconscious starts to unload, it will give you more anxiety than you ever had in your life.’ For individual practitioners he recommends a limited dosage – twenty to thirty minutes twice a day is the normal prescription – to prevent the premature emergence of material into the conscious … by repositioning meditation as a tool for the purification of the unconscious … the ‘Divine Therapy’ is gentle and it always holds paramount the need for integration of psyche and spirit.” p.98-99.
So, as always, “buyer beware” and be gentle with yourself with whatever form of contemplation, meditation or mindfulness you choose to practice. Remember, healing in any dimension (i.e., physical, psychological or spiritual) takes longer than we expect and sometimes we feel worse before we feel better.
Nurse Ratched Quotes From One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Movie
Thank you, Edge of Humanity! Your song recommendation and YouTube link brought back some great memories. I especially enjoyed the current, this century, photos in the music video that corresponded to last century lyrics. I highly second this creative recommendation.
“A bold, blunt instrument of hatred and violence at the onset of his film career, Peter Boyle recoiled from that repugnant, politically incorrect ‘working class’ image to eventually play gruff, gentler bears and even comedy monsters in a career that lasted four decades.” https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001967/bio
Known most for his roles in the comedy movie Young Frankenstein and the hit TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, Peter Boyle was a delight to watch and a source of laughter for many years.
“Boyle’s death (December 12, 2006) had a tremendous effect on his former co-stars from Everybody Loves Raymond, which had ceased production less than two years before his death. When asked to comment on Boyle’s death, his cast members heaped praise on Boyle. Ray Romano was personally affected by the loss, saying, ‘He gave me great advice, he always made me laugh, and the way he connected with everyone around him amazed me.’ Patricia Heaton stated, ‘Peter was an incredible man who made all of us who had the privilege of working with him aspire to be better actors.’ …
T. S. Eliot (b. 9/26/1888 d. 1/4/1965) photo from HuffPost
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Thomas Stearns (T. S.) Eliot moved to England at the age of 25 and became an English citizen at 39 thus renouncing his American citizenship.
“During an interview in 1959, Eliot said of his nationality and its role in his work: ‘I’d say that my poetry has obviously more in common with my distinguished contemporaries in America than with anything written in my generation in England. That I’m sure of. … It wouldn’t be what it is, and I imagine it wouldn’t be so good; putting it as modestly as I can, it wouldn’t be what it is if I’d been born in England, and it wouldn’t be what it is if I’d stayed in America. It’s a combination of things. But in its sources, in its emotional springs, it comes from America.'” (See Hall, Donald (Spring–Summer 1959). “The Art of Poetry No. 1” (PDF). The Paris Review. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2009.)
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948, (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948_Nobel_Prize_in_Literature), Eliot was known as one of the most famous and influential poets of the last century. Among many others, he is credited for his influence on Virginia Woolf, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Bob Dylan and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Note the musical Cats is based on Eliot’s book of poetry Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939) and the movie Tom and Viv recounts his life with his first wife. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot)
His most famous poems include The Waste Land, Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday and Four Quartets. However, my current favorite of his is Journey of the Magi which is a short 43-line poem. This poem recounts the original trip to the Bethlehem manger and it’s last 8 lines are:
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.
On August 17, 1979, Monty Python’s Life of Brian premiered in US theatres. This controversial film was initially banned in many countries but went on to be ranked as one of, if not #1 of the greatest comedies of all time. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python’s_Life_of_Brian
Considered both a religious farce and political satire, the film ends with Brian’s crucifixion and the group song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” One verse has been touted as the fundamental view of the film, which is:
For life is quite absurd And death’s the final word You must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sin – give the audience a grin Enjoy it, it’s your last chance anyhow.
Hmmm, are religion and humor compatible?
Here is today’s haiku: Greatest Comedy of All Time
Breathing in I smile
breathing out I smile as well
grateful for my life
I would love to hear your comments on this film, on this topic, on your reaction to this post. _/\_
The “Master of Suspense” was born on this day in 1899. Born in Leytonstone, Essex, England, he became a celebrated film director creating many films that received British and American film awards.
In 2012, the British Film Institute announced that Hitchcock’s 1941 psychological thriller, Vertigo was the greatest film ever made. Hitchcock’s personal favorite was his 1943 film, Shadow of a Doubt.
Hitchcock directed over 50 major films which received 46 Oscar nominations. Which of his films is your favorite? Rear Window is mine.
Today we remember the passing of Sir Alec Guinness, famous British actor most known for one of his final roles: Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars films. I certainly enjoyed him in that role, but my favorite of his performances was Colonel Nicholson in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. He won both an Oscar and the BAFTA Best Actor Awards for that role.
A small act of kindness can make a huge difference. Do you remember what Scout Finch did in the movie To Kill a Mockingbird? You can do that too! Here’s today’s haiku:
Life Matters 