Over two days in London last month, something quite extraordinary took place. A mixture of media professionals, academics, journalists, NGO workers and community organizers all met to discuss how to be part of a major shift or transformation of the media. The most interesting thing for me personally was the inclusion of meditation, breathing and the ability to expand time, simply by looking at things in new ways and being trained to retrain our minds. This event was called Transformational Media and it was created by Jeremy Wickremer in order to "focus on inner qualities, inspiring stories, or on practical solutions. It is transformational in the sense that its goal is to transform conflict into peace, to unite rather than divide, and transform environmental destruction into living in harmony with the natural world."
I kept wondering about those who own and control and create much of the media and how much if any time they spend on meditation, creating consciousness and how what they do affects all of us. We began by exploring the levels of consciousness, from our own personal needs and our awareness of them through to how we are all connected through the universe. Lorraine Flower lead the group as she is an expert working on leadership -- exploring personal and organizational leadership to maximize potential and drive positive change. We focused closely on themes such as communications,values, personal, societal, and global change, co-creation, mindfulness, and authenticity. I knew she had worked with large companies and CEOs and I could only imagine that the overall well-being of a company is reflected by the character, that is the ethics and morals of its leader. She asked us to ask ourselves how consciousness in the media could affect changes in the world itself. I could not help but imagine Rupert Murdoch, doing some yoga and meditation and then making some decisions about the moral and ethical approach to his newspapers, television network and film enterprise.(Check out Lorraine's website www.azzur.co.uk for more about Organizations Engaging with Their Spirit.)
Then on to what was my favorite session lead by Tom Evans, an entrepreneur and digital wizard who had us doing things which opened up consciousness. We began with breathing techniques, and then eye exercises which had us break the traditional left and right brain divide to link all parts of our mind and consciousness. It was about opening up to creativity and unblocking through meditation, and getting in touch with deep inspiration. We did wild mind maps looking at fears and insecurities and where blockages occur, We also channeled light bulb moments and in which kinds of circumstances they can be brought forth, such as being near or in water. This kind of conscious shift of the unconscious allowed for signs and synchronicities to take on deeper meanings of how everything is linked. He discussed the five ways to generate light bulb moments on demand: Meditation, Association, Generation, Intention and Collaboration.
I truly believe in what he said that for every minute of meditation you do, you add a minute to your life. And no computer out there can truly free associate as a human mind can. Instead of asking "What can I do ?" instead think collaboratively and ask, "What can we do ?" Ideas come from the collective consciousness. And Tom Evans' "Cascade of Creativity" is something to always keep in mind as one moves from inspiration, to the dream, through to evaluation and finally to action. When we meditate, and share freely, we can then celebrate and reap the harvest. (Take a look at www.tomevans.com.)
Then we came to one of my favorite speakers, as I have worked in the same industry, with Dara Marks, who is an international script consultant for films. She began by sharing that the message of transformation, the collective voices of the soul were speaking but that the Transformation of Media that all of us present those days were feeling had yet to be named. She assured us that this was catching on around the globe and that her own work in Hollywood paralleled this transformation. She demonstrated this through her discussion of the transformational arc of the character in storytelling which has been used since antiquity so that the human mind could comprehend itself. It touches on the deeper archetypes we all have within us and it is life giving.
The arc includes the inevitable problem, the tragedy and disappointment, and yet a problem is only a problem because we have don't know how to solve it. The solution comes as we grow in relation to the problem. At times the problems are of such magnitude that we are forced to grow and change and come to a deeper understanding. This is the moment of enlightenment. The true transformation is a matter of effort and comes through time and commitment to the new consciousness. This is the concept behind AA in which the recovering alcoholic recommits to sobriety every day. God, the higher being must come first.
This also involves a kind of Initiation. Transformational Media can be part of this through showing us the essential quality behind upheavals.Things which create deep wounds allow for entry into the soul. Where there is upheaval, there is also a transformational quality present. Many stories are in fact the same story. And each story is part of the fabric of who we are. The archetype is everything. The result of movement which cannot be halted, is change and from change comes progress. The result of a new order is new life.
If however we refuse to grow an change, the obstacle either defeats us or we are forced to plow through and change. This archetype is that of the shaman's journey: the death and rebirth and the wounded healer.
Anything which is not growing and developing is headed towards decay and disease.
The fatal flaws of a character necessitate growth and uncover a survival system which has outlived its usefulness. We must shed our skin. A lot of doors close and many more open.You must look at yourself and others in different ways. There are seasons of life when new aspects of us blossom and we grow towards an Apex where we cannot remain and thus the cycle continues and winter comes and we must go underground and go deep. Change is essential. A great story tells us how a person succeeds or fails to grow and change within the context of the conflict that is unfolding, in the case of a film or creative work this is told from the point of view chosen by the author.
An important point she made was that if you give away your essence there is a corruption of the self and one can make the mistake of taking on the values of others. We are always growing from a unconscious to a conscious state, or else there is tragedy.
I think most of us prefer to choose moving from unconsciousness to an awakening. There may be resistance which grows stronger but it keeps from transforming. We are often pushed to a breaking point until the system itself breaks down. The enlightenment which follows is an epiphany but you're still not done yet! You still have to deal with the wreckage of your past. This is also something people in AA deal with as the real moment of sobriety is not when you quit drinking but rather the death experience as you confront the old and have dealt with the shadow energy.
At the end of the day, the transformational moment is a conscious choice over time and leads to climax and resolution. If we communicate this process fully in our stories which are given out via the media, it can help to heal our world. Own your own point of view of the world as there is no right point of view, only that which you can show the world. Art is a process of discovery.
(End of Part I Transformation in Media).