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Spiritual Cinema: Join the Circle

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On the last Saturday in April, I was one of hundreds who gathered at Unity Chicago to see a pre-screening of the soon to be released film Indigo, a modern day morality tale about the lessons that are being taught to the world by the Indigo (psychic and gifted) children among us. The occasion also featured an introduction to the film by veteran producer/director Stephen Simon (also produced Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come) and his announcement that Indigo and his new venture, The Spiritual Cinema Circle, marked the beginning of spiritual cinema as a recognized film genre.

The evening served as the impetus of an Internet odyssey. I typed in “spiritual cinema” into Google and immediately became aware of the growing community of sites that are attracting the adherents of this new—and long overdue—genre. Here is an overview of a few of the sites that I visited on my journey.

Spiritual Cinema Alliance (www.spiritualcinemaalliance.org): Spiritual Cinema Alliance is dedicated to the development and promotion of spiritually exalting movies and media programs. Using a quote from director Frank Capra, the site advises young filmmakers: “Don’t follow trends. Start them!” The Alliance was established by Joan Holman, president of Joan Holman Productions and creator and producer of the award-winning PBS television program The Legacy of Achievement. Her goal is to raise support and funds for spiritual films and to work toward making them a recognized and integral part of the entertainment industry. The “Make a Donation” button is a key feature of the Alliance site. The technique reminds me of the current trend in some political circles to raise money on the Internet via small, but heartfelt donations. The importance of the task is emphasized with quotes from Holman and others. For example, this quote from an article on Neale Donald Walsch’s “Conversations with God” website (www.cwg.org) is featured:

“Art is the first and last hope of humanity. Performing artists observe life more deeply and they transform life to others through their art. People are not aware that what they believe is causing how they behave. Beliefs create behaviors. Good art causes us to change our opinions about who we are.”

Moving Messages Media (www.movingmessagesmedia.com): A link about a “Mystical Movies” course on the Alliance site led me to the Moving Messages Media site. This is the site for The Institute for Spiritual Entertainment, Inc. (ISE), a non-profit organization co-founded in 2003 by Stephen Simon. In the “About Us” section of the site, a clear distinction is made between spiritual and religious entertainment. The copy reads, “Spiritual entertainment is herein distinguished from religious entertainment. While mainstream media often implies that ‘religious’ and ‘spiritual’ are synonymous, the ISE believes that ‘religion’ reflects the teachings of particular organized religions that, in general, present specific rules, regulations, and rituals that must be followed in order to experience a connection with the Divine, usually represented as a Supreme (male) Being outside of humanity. Whereas, ‘Spirituality’ generally entails a more personal, inner-directed, and individual experience of the Divine, which is represented as an integral aspect of our own humanity.”

ISE seeks to define and attain recognition of ‘spiritual entertainment’ as a new genre in entertainment and to develop theatrical motion pictures, television programs, documentaries, books, educational, training and special interest programming for traditional and emerging media. Sections on the ISE/Moving Messages Media site include “Courses,” “Store,” “Movie Alerts,” “Spiritual Cinema Circle,” and “Spiritual Cinema Communities.” The “Spiritual Cinema Communities” section is particularly interesting because it answers questions regarding the definition of a local Spiritual Cinema Community and about how you can get involved in this ever-growing movement. The local Spiritual Cinema Communities movement began shortly after the publication of Stephen Simon’s book The Force Is With You: Mystical Movie Messages that Inspire Our Lives. Community participants get together to view spiritual films either at theaters or via CDs, rentals, or subscriptions (see The Spiritual Cinema Circle site information below), or to actually create the entertainment that falls into this genre. The ISE currently has active Communities in: Fayetteville (AR), Encinitas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco (CA), Nampa (ID), Chicago (IL), Miami (FL), Annapolis (MD), Boston (MA), Santa Fe (NM), New York City (NY), Cincinnati (OH), Ashland, Gresham, and Portland (OR), Dallas (TX), Washington DC, and Vancouver B.C. The Washington DC group even has it’s own website (www.reelspiritdc.com). To join a community—or form one of your own—visit the “Spiritual Cinema Communities” section of the ISE site.

The Spiritual Cinema Circle (www.spiritualcinemacircle.com): The Spiritual Cinema Circle is a key element in forming Spiritual Cinema Communities around the world. The slogan for this organization is “The Heart and Soul of Cinema ... Brought Home to You.” Once again, Stephen Simon is one of the moving forces behind this endeavor. The Circle is a lot like a book of the month club, except that the products are DVDs instead of books. Here’s how it works: Charter members who subscribe now for $21/month receive monthly mailings of three to five features and shorts on DVD that represent the best of spiritual cinema and art. They are movies that you are unlikely to see anywhere else, and the DVDs are yours to keep and to share with friends and family. The Circle’s first month’s selections include Jillian’s Vantage, a romantic mystery about two very different people who meet under unusual circumstances, The Limited, about a journey aboard a mysterious train, Match Scratch Fever, a whimsical animated tale about achieving your purpose in life, and Finding Joy, a full-length feature from Australia that is an offbeat love story celebrating love and friendship between some very memorable characters.

Indigo (www.indigothemovie.com): Some spiritual movies have sites of their own. Indigo is one of them. Indigo is a story about taking responsibility for the choices we make and the thin line that separates success from failure and love from regret. Although the story is fictitious, the emotions and actions of the film resonate with the spiritual dynamics of real life. The site is interesting because it features a lot of background about this film that was shot in two weeks on a $500,000 budget with a cast of actors who had never appeared in a feature film before. Those facts alone are amazing. The film, a partnership creation of Stephen Simon, James Twyman’s Beloved Community (www.emissaryoflight.com) and Neale Donald Walsch (who plays the grandfather in the movie) was financed not by big money, but by regular folks who sent in small donations averaging $20 or so. If you’re a member of the Emissary of Light email list, perhaps you were one of them. The site includes information on the cast, the crew, news items, and updates on screenings, awards, etc.

So, readers, I invite you to take a road trip on the World Wide Web to explore the phenomenon of spiritual cinema for yourself. Each of the sites has email lists that you can join. But don’t stop there. Offline, participate in one of the ISE Spiritual Cinema Communities—or start one yourself by subscribing to The Spiritual Cinema Circle. Those of us who are dedicated to positively changing the energy vibration of the planet have just been given another important tool.

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Mary Montgomery-Clifford is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises ("Freelancing with Finesse!"), specializes in public relations, events, promotions, writing project and web authoring, development and publicity. Ms. Montgomery-Clifford has a Master's Degree in religious studies from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) in June 2002 and is working on a Ph.D. with a focus on the new scholarship of Unlimited Love and the Other Regarding Virtues in the Fall of 2002. She is also in the process of completing the Morris Pratt Institute Course on Modern Spiritualism. Contact her via e-mail at Monty764@aol.com, by phone at 773-235-8821 or at her web site at www.montymedia.com.

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