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Tag: Christopher Nolan

Rollo May, The Other Wes Moore, Dunkirk, Stephen Jon Thompson, and a Kitab al-KafiRollo Passage

Sunday Supplement #113 (July 9th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy, and mutual valuing.”

– Rollo May

Book of the Week:

The Other Wes Moore – Wes Moore

Wes Moore states in the book, “The other Wes Moore is a drug dealer, a robber, a murder. I am a Rhodes scholar, a White House Fellow, a former Army officer. Yet our situations could easily have been reversed.”

The journey of this book being written started when the Baltimore Sun ran a piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had received a Rhodes Scholarship.

In the same paper, the police were reported to be looking for two suspects who had allegedly killed a police officer in an armed robbery. One of the suspects’ names was Wes Moore.

Moore reached out later to the other Moore in prison and started a correspondence that developed into a relationship.

In this book, he chronicles their lives, how similar they were growing up, and the differences and a bit of luck that shaped their lives differently.

The Other Wes Moore is a New York Times bestseller well worth checking out. 

Movie of the Week:

Dunkirk

I think the war film genre is extremely difficult to capture uniquely after so many brilliant films in the past have covered much ground.

So, I was curious when director/writer Christopher Nolan decided to tackle the story of Dunkirk. I’m a huge fan of his work and wanted to see what he could do differently.

Nolan’s Dunkirk follows three storylines around the battle of Dunkirk: one from the perspective of those on the beach, one from a pilot going to provide cover, and the third follows a boat of civilians called to action to help rescue the stranded soldiers.

The storylines are straightforward, and the history of Dunkirk won’t leave any surprises, but the way Nolan brings the narratives together is brilliant.

Brainfood of the Week:

Creating A Community And Finding Purpose | Stephen Jon Thompson

In this TEDx Talk, Stephen Jon Thompson tells the audience about his beginnings as an abandoned child to his success as an executive recruiter in the software industry.

Thompson was in a juvenile detention center when he promised himself he would never be alone again and that he’d find his family.

His journey afterward took him to an orphanage, where he started to make friends with the people in the home, his classmates at school, and others in the community.

Thompson discusses how nurturing relationships through thousands of seemingly simple interactions created oneness.

Check out the video if you’re interested in hearing the whole story, and consider Thompson’s question of what you want your ideal community to look like.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“He who begins his day without endeavoring for the improvement of Muslims’ affairs is no Muslim.”

– Kitab al-Kafi Vol 2.

The Kitab al-Kafi is a hadith collection, which refers to reports of statements or actions of Muhammed.

I’ve stated in previous Sunday Supplements how I find it fascinating how many passages of the spiritual religions could have a word or two changed and fit right in another religious text.

If you replaced Muslim with Christian, I wouldn’t be surprised to find this passage in the Bible. I take that lesson from this passage and replace the word with humans.

We should all look for opportunities to help those around us. Whether that be a smile and a hello to someone walking by or lending a hand to one in need, I believe our actions can help make a better community.

Look for those opportunities to give back, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Wayne Dyer, Think and Grow Rich, Interstellar, Deepak Chopra, and Matthew 13:12

Sunday Supplement #85 (December 25th, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”

– Wayne Dyer

Book of the Week:

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

I heard of Think and Grow Rich long before I ever picked it up. The book comes up on every recommended list for those who have delved into the personal development genre.

Napoleon Hill went on a journey to discover the commonalities between the most successful people in various fields.

Hill credited Andrew Carnegie’s prompt to him as the genesis of his work to study the likes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and others to discover and reveal the roots of success.

There’s a reason the book has stuck around for decades, has many plaudits, and has sold over 15 million copies.

Think and Grow Rich is a brilliant read for those looking to better themselves. It’s not just an insight into physical wealth.

Movie of the Week:

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan is one of the leading filmmakers of modern times. His filmography includes The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk, Inception, and many other brilliant films.

For this Movie of the Week pick, I chose his Sci-Fi Drama Interstellar. Nolan wrote the film with his brother Jonathan, and it currently holds the 26 spot on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies list.

Interstellar follows ex-NASA pilot Joseph Cooper and his decision to join a mission of explorers traveling through a wormhole in space in search of a new planet for the survival of the human species.

Cooper chooses to leave his family behind in hopes of saving them. However, he doesn’t know what it will cost him, and his team discovers that the information that prompted their journey wasn’t fully realized.

Every Christopher Nolan film I’ve seen has provided a fantastic experience that has often stayed with me. Interstellar is my favorite of his filmography.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Abundance in Your Life is Proportional to Your Sense of Self | Deepak Chopra

In the video, Deepak Chopra discusses how we often get lost in egoic perceptions of ourselves but can tap into abundance by remembering our true sense of self.

Chopra is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit for research on well-being and humanitarianism. 

He has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, has been featured by Oprah Winfrey, and was described by Time magazine as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

I’ve featured a Deepak Chopra guided meditation on Sunday Supplement #77, and this video gives an extra glance at his work.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

– Matthew 13:12

This passage from the Bible is taken from Jesus’s parable of the sower. It discusses a sower’s seeds that were scattered among a variety of terrain. Only the seeds that fell upon rich soil took root and survived.

For me, the parable and the verse above discuss the necessity of having the right mindset and core beliefs. If we do, positive seeds will flourish, if not, they wither.

If we don’t control our thoughts, mindset, and core beliefs, we continue to see the world from whatever default setting we currently have or are held sway by external stimuli.

The good thing is that we get to choose our mindset and our core beliefs. And we all have the ability to tune into and amply those qualities we want to see more of.

Choose how you want to move forward in life, tune into the abundance you wish to perceive around you, and have a blessed week ahead!

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