Often the word, “convergence,” brings to mind the meeting of two rivers, which comes close to true in Burden of Dreams where a small mountain stands in the mile between where the rivers come closest to each other. Reliant first on sheer human strength and willpower alone, boat parts are carried over this mountain in an attempt to build an opera house miles away from civilization deep in the Amazon jungle. Eventually the documentary captures the whole of the spirit of Fitzcarraldo, and the convergence between his crew's challenge of the impossible and natives who travel the same pathways, except to shallow streambeds to gather turtle eggs. The timing of the film is critical in a territory where distrust over outsiders coming in has boiled over years and a border war is brewing between Peru and Ecuador.
With a ship post only attached with rope when hauling a 320-ton steamship over a mountain upon the strength of 1,100 natives, it is not only deemed to fall hostage to the waters, but be fatal for those working on it. It represents the hard-earned trust filmmakers had to gain from the natives in the first place, with a past of transplanted Europeans hungry over the prospect of gold and oil. A booming rubber industry made the exploitation of resources a regular defeat and wavering degrees of distrust emanate throughout the film.
The dense jungle territory paints that all natures are not created alike..the nature of jungle, the nature of man, the nature of war, the nature of film. The minimal mechanics of the ship shown via film offers some hope of unity: but if the nature of the jungle is literally disappearing at 8,000 square miles cut down per day, can we consider the nature of a man’s adventure if the myths and languages underfoot are literally disappearing?
In a place where tributaries are historically only traversable after flooding, Herzog states that it is the odd circumstances in this desolate location that bring out qualities in people that wouldn’t come out otherwise. I consider Campbell’s timeless perspective over all the ages of antiquity, which can also be found cradled softly in the hands of Indians. When it is overthrown relatively overnight by the hands of a few, I again consider the intimate interweaving of science and emotion. For the sheer willpower that made this feat and documentary possible didn't come from physical endurance alone. The mind is just like a muscle - the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand
Photo cred: https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2016/cteq/burden-of-dreams/
The sterile badlands leading to Gallup, with its wind-washed mounds looming above echoing only a greater presence, immerse you in an unmatched silence. Between crimson red spears rising from an abandoned path of wooden houses struck by the real winds and ones of vandalism, you can almost hear the androids’ voices of Westworld: “Welcome to the Roman world. While you are there, please feel free to indulge your every whim. The medieval world exists for you, the guest. Nothing can go wrong.” This last part rings ironic in the world of film, for whatever you imagine can go wrong, likely will, at some point.
Otherwise, you wouldn’t spend 6 takes on the same shot, between perfecting the last strand of the actresses hair to coercing everyone on set wearing boots to not squeak across the floor after calling, “Quiet on the set!” In film, perception easily becomes reality, crucial to producing a short named The Portal about blending fantasy and adventure.
Route 66 already holds an elevated place in American consciousness, and the peppered memorabilia make an experience in Gallup Amtrak Train Station about much more about its schedule signaled by hissing steam. We mastered its window lighting with reflectors, shade cloth, and diffuser lenses inside the camera to make the characters glow.
With careful placements of these elements and the actors under the Director of Photography, this glow carried the once ordinary girl into worlds beyond the drab concrete in which we set our camera. The viewer travels with the protagonist beyond the magazine page’s pristine white sand beaches she leafs through, and aquatics where the obscure yet determined fisherman she encounters emerges from. One who studies light must also study the shadows.
This last part rings true in the practice of hypnotherapy as well. A client might think he or she is completely clear except for the nasty habit they're desperate to get rid of.. whether it be chain smoking, nail biting or binging games. When you get to the root-cause in the Alpha state (the same state achieving in meditation) however, you soon learn there is a part of them developed early in life that yearns love deep down but craves the superficial habits to fulfill this. Or, because of a belief programmed after an adverse event, their subconscious believes they are unlovable so why not engage in behaviors that affirm this? The subconscious is a super computer that holds every event, belief and emotion since birth, often playing out in unwanted behaviors today.
The crucial lessons for the budding filmmaker from this experience with Stagecoach are these: take the extra two minutes to wet a cloth and dab the actors face with it before a sentimental scene, always say "got it," when being handed the very unique piece of glass-lens from someone else, and, if you have any doubt on what take it is before slapping the slate shut, ask the director!
When looking at the stage set to perfection, I often contemplate we want our real lives to appear this way too. But often we don't get a Take 5 on a life event. Luckily, Hypnotherapy has rapid results that deem one session as transformative as 5 in traditional therapy models.
Hydrangea’s wild buds perfumery fills the gaps created by the vagaries of life; it's no coincidence it was rooted firmly nearby at the foothills of humbling glacially-tilled mountain sanctity when I was first introduced to the “hara” by my acupuncturist, who breathed so intensely into this ball of fire that she passed out. The hara too has roots, and when it isn’t anchored by our intentions, it becomes distorted with the following manifestations in a person:
~Dark energy cloud around the chest (soul seat)
~Unexplained loss of energy
~Feeling of living without a purpose
Otherwise, this point of intentionality can become very red when charged with breath. This was my first experience of witnessing the intermingling of the physical and energetic. Visualizing this can become a daily practice, by placing your hand 1.5” below the navel where the hara is. A healthy hara means a healthy home, right relationship, connection to self..
It both extends to the earth and also above the head, and provides the kidneys with what they need to carry out metabolic processes. A hardy ally with hydrangea, for this plant is wise to keep in reach for one with kidney stones, interstitial cystitis, and any irritation with “stasis in the lower palace.” Its high level of flavanoids prevent cell damage and although the plant doesn’t have hands, it’s pushed me to trust my gut before I knew of the hara.
Today I see the sacral at work in warmer months simultaneous with wiping sweat from the brow…the peasant farmers bend at waist over seeds wishing to beautify the land, the corporate executive feeling butterflies in their stomach at novelties in developments. With an inner child always aiming for perfectionism, their adult self may have always felt "never enough," in response to not achieving this. This stagnant energy can occur on the physical as edema, dysmenorrhoea, arthritis, etc.
Moving fluids with antimicrobials, diuretics, and antispasmodics like juniper, dandelion & thyme wouldn't be place tot start when thinking what to combine with hydrangea and living intentionally.
~photo 2 taken from Barbara Brennan~
If the events around this equinox have affirmed anything, it’s to place equal emphasis on the heart and mind, easing tension between the tug-of-war that tethers its rope during difficult decisions..
which is not nearly as hard as trying to pat your head and rub circles on your stomach at the same time, like you tried when you were a kid
With a heart and mind entrained to the forest, landing in one isn’t a rarity. Reading the red tip of your tongue gives clue to why this dose of dappled light illuminates the heart mind connection:
Citta= “heart-mind”
There is no distinction between them in Buddhist text, nor reading the 👅
The redder the tip, the more intense the stress. You can’t consider the mind without the heart and thyroid as well
Here are considerations towards the three:
1. Heat rises! If there is heat in the heart, it might come from below. Spring= liver rising, liver= woods
Take a walk in the woods to process thoughts, let the liver process contaminants, give the heart ample space
2. Move the Qi
Jujube date, ginger, faster walking, breath work will prevent the stagnation that hastens heat to begin with
3.Gentle greens.
Celery, micro greens, etc. ease capillaries around the heart and cleanse the liver
4. Facial Mapping
breakouts around the mouth area signal giving the liver a break! Cut back on spice (Photo 3)
5. Help the Shen
The heart is a house for spirit and reacts to every emotion: anger, joy, despair, etc. Begin the day with water and meditation to not just change situations around you, but be balanced against them
A 20th century mystic Simone Weill once noted, “The danger is not that the soul should doubt whether there is any bread, but that, by a lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry.”
Curious about learning about the heart-mind connection further?
Visit https://www.heartmath.org
