One of the great freedoms we have in the UK is the freedom to find out about other peoples religious beliefs. Whether you're an Anglican or a Zoroastrian there's a whole world of fascinating beliefs out there.
It's human nature to be fascinated by the unknown, from the first caveman to the present day anyone who cares to take the time to look skyward can't fail to be awed into wondering how this immense universe came to be. So whether your interest takes you to the stars via astronomy, astro-physics or sc-fi novels or to our internal world of the mind, body or spirit we are fortunate to exist at a time when so much knowledge and information is available to us.
No longer are we limited by the availability of local groups or classes in our local area, we can follow astronauts as they orbit the earth on Twitter (@NASA) or try to understand the current state of contemporary science through books written for the ordinary man such as the book by Lee Smolin The Trouble with Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science and What Comes Next
But it's not always possible to get a flavour of things from a book on the subject especially when the topic is difficult to conceptualize - take reincarnation for example.
Reincarnation - finding the unmistaken reincarnation of a world renowned Tibetan master
It's a subject which interests me but not one I could read about - so I was really keen to see Unmistaken Child [DVD]
when I read
about it on the internet. It's all about a devoted disciple's
search for the reincarnation of his master. Tenzin Zopa had
served Lama Konchog, a world renowned Tibetan master since he
was 7 years old until the monk passed away in 2001. The film
follows Tenzin Zopa as he is given the unwanted responsibilty
to search for the reincarnation of his master and it is a
wonderful insight into another world. After many months he
finds a child whom he thinks may be the reincarnation of his
deceased master. Various tests follow over the next few years
and eventually the child is confirmed by the Dalai Lama to be
the true unmistaken reincarnation of Lama Konchog. When the
young monk asks the parents of the child how they will feel if
the child goes to live in the monastery you can see the
realisation that they may never see him again or at least that
things will never be the same again. The father's response
after long moments was uplifting. He was a humble,
hard-working farmer who loved his sons, his only treasure was
his family but he responded that he could let him go to the
monastery as his son was to work for the good of all sentient
beings. Beautiful and uplifting.Mythology and Legends of American Indian Peoples
Another video which I've enjoyed lately is Dreamkeeper [DVD] [2003]
and I recommend
it to you wholeheartedly. It is a unique film which portrays
in film the aural traditional storytelling of an elder as he
passes on his stories to the younger generation. It visually
illustrates some of the Native American traditional stories
and myths set in the context of a grandfather telling stories
to his troubled grandson as they make their way across country
to visit a pow-wow. The film weaves traditional myths into a
coming-of-age film showing many of the different tribal
groups and traditions making use of traditional storytelling
and fantastic technical camera techniques. Each of the myths
illuminates one of the troubles in the grandson's life and the
ancient myths show the way for the current generation.
It boasts a huge cast of native american actors, extras and
native advisors from all the main traditions and is a
feast for the eyes due to many of the innovative camera
techniques used in the filming. Check out the trailer below.The next clip explains a little about the making of Dreamkeeper, talking to the director, writer and many of the actors.