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Tag: Spirited Away

Karen Salmansohn, Walking to Listen, Lilo & Stitch, Elizabeth Dunn, and a Bible Passage

Sunday Supplement #109 (June 11th, 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:

“Choose to focus your time, energy, and conservation around people who inspire you, support you, and help you grow into your happiest, strongest, wisest self.”

– Karen Salmansohn

Book of the Week:

Walking to Listen – Andrew Forsthoefel

Forsthoefel’s book recounts his decision to walk across America with the intention of listening to the stories of the people he encounters along the way.

After graduating college, Forsthoefel wasn’t quite sure what to do next and decided to take a year off to walk across the United States and hopefully have a meaningful experience.

Forsthoefel acknowledged he was able to embark on this journey in part because of his privilege as a young white man, but the people he met had many diverse perspectives.

The people who help Forsthoefel along the way, either by giving him a place to rest or sharing some wisdom from a life with much more experience, make the book an interesting read.

I didn’t think the book was amazing. However, I recommend it with a grain of salt because of the people Forsthoefel encountered and the concept and execution of his journey.

Movie of the Week:

Lilo & Stitch

Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is about a young girl who adopts a ‘dog’ from a local shelter, unaware that it’s a supposedly alien science experiment that’s taken refuge on Earth.

The young girl, Lilo, attempts to connect with the alien, Stitch, and protect him from his creators and the Galactic Federation, who chases him.

Stitch learns about the Hawaiian concept of ‘ohana – extended family’ from Lilo and must reconsider his violent nature to keep his newfound family together.

Lilo & Stitch was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, but it was unlucky to be up against Spirited Away (which I covered in Sunday Supplement #25).

That being said, the film packs a wonderful combination of drama, comedy, and action and is a movie that stands out over the years as one to remember.

Brainfood of the Week:

Helping Others Makes Us Happy – But How We Do It Matters | TED Talks – Elizabeth Dunn

Elizabeth Dunn is a social psychologist and Professor of Social Psychology at the University of British Columbia.

In her studies on generosity and joy, Dunn found a catch to helping others and the effect on the giver— how we help matters.

Early in her career, Dunn published a paper about how spending money on others promotes happiness. However, she found that the conclusion didn’t seem to apply to her.

The TED Talk focuses on Dunn’s subsequent research and findings of how connection and seeing a difference matters in our experience of helping others.

Dunn’s video is a thought-provoking watch, and while its context is focused on a larger charity level, I think it has interesting parallels to engaging with others daily. 

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Generous persons will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

– Proverbs 11:25

This Bible passage is shown to be true through scientific experiments like the one in the Brainfood of the Week above.

While I think much of the Bible’s wisdom comes in metaphors, it’s interesting to see the cases when science backs it up.

That being said, I tend to find many layers to different spiritual sayings and find it worthwhile to see if you can view them from different perspectives.

For me, this verse is a reminder that helping others will also lift you up. But it also reminds me that it is good to let others help you as well.

Keep those who want to support you around as friends and family but remember to reach out to others and give them a chance. And have a blessed week ahead!

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Chris Gardner, Spirited Away, The Crucible, Archetype of the Magician, and Proverbs 25:18

Sunday Supplement #25 (October 31st, 2021)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a movie worth watching, a book worth reading, 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:

“Strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others.”

– Chris Gardner

Movie of the Week:

Spirited Away

I highlighted Studio Ghibli in Sunday Supplement #2 and Sunday Supplement #16. Spirited Away is another brilliant movie from their catalog and is one of my favorite films.

The story follows 10-year-old Chihiro as she stumbles upon a world of gods, witches, and spirits. Her parents are turned into pigs for their greed, and Chihiro must find a way to fit into the magical world and figure out a way to save her parents. She receives help from Haku, a servant of the witch Yubaba, but must overcome many obstacles on her own while staying true to her feelings and beliefs.

One of the important takeaways from the movie is Chihiro’s belief in Haku when others do not trust him. The message of valuing friendship and standing up for what you believe in is subtle but powerful in the film.

Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars and is currently #28 on IMDB’s Top Rated Movies list. The film is a masterclass of storytelling, and the visuals are stunning. The themes in the movie (capitalism, spirituality, standing up for others) are brilliantly explored in a video by the YouTube channel The Take.

The story and tone of the film provide an exciting version of the Halloween movie. There are plenty of classic Halloween movies, but Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is one you should add to your list. There is so much to take away from the film, and I can’t recommend it more highly.

Book of the Week:

The Crucible – Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s classic play tells a fictionalized story about the witch-hunts and trials in 1700s Salem, Massachusetts. The story revolves around a disgraced maid, Abigail Williams, and her attempts to exact revenge by accusing citizens of Salem of practicing witchcraft. Her old employer, Elizabeth Proctor, is one of the women charged. And the accusation of Elizabeth comes after she was fired for a suspected illicit relationship with Elizabeth’s husband, John Proctor.

The Crucible touches on many themes about humanity and hysteria and is a valuable lesson of the power of fear and dishonesty. Miller wrote the play in 1953 and used the story to reflect the current times and effects of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s modern-day witch-hunt with Communism. The ruthlessness and eagerness of the community to turn on their neighbors is a reminder of the dark side of human nature and a warning against that path.

Halloween is often a chance to partake in festivities and should be celebrated, but inclusion and community should be at the center. The Crucible can be a way to connect with the history of witches in America while picking up some timeless lessons along the way.

Brainfood of the Week:

Like Stories of Old — Venturing into Sacred Space | Archetype of the Magician

Tom van der Linden is a video essayist whose YouTube channel (Like Stories of Old) explores different wisdoms, philosophies, social constructs, and spirituality. Linden’s videos tend to implement stories from authors and films to convey the thoughts behind the topics he discusses.

In this video, Linden goes over the final category in Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette’s book King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. The book is a venture into the four basic building blocks of our psychology. The video examines the archetype of the Magician and explores related concepts such as initiation, ritual process, and sacred space.

Lined quotes Carol S. Pearson for a description of the role: “The archetype of the magician teaches us about creation, about our capacity to bring into being what never was there before, about claiming our roles as co-creators of the universe.”

The video uses examples from movies and various books when discussing the archetype of the Magician. It focuses on the two sides of the archetype, Master of Technology and Knower. One has to do with the material world, and the other represents the personal psyche and internal/spiritual knowledge. The video then concludes with how the archetype of the Magician functions today. The qualities of the Magician revolve around the deconstruction of the ego, thoughtfulness, reflection, awareness, and insight. The purpose is to create and help others.

I recently came across Linden’s channel and am eagerly exploring its videos. The visuals and auditory background of his work are superb. The content is well worth checking out.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Telling lies about someone is as harmful as hitting him with an ax, or wounding him with a sword, or shooting him with a sharp arrow.”

– Proverbs 25:18

Amid Halloween celebrations, I see the masks and costumes we all put on for a bit of adventure. The above passage reminds me that people often still have masks on in everyday life. The previous entries on this post show the mistake of judging someone or bearing a false witness. I like to think that there is a reason for everyone’s actions, and a lot of times, crueler behavior masks an internal or previous wound. The backstory doesn’t excuse the action, but I try to pause and choose my response before making a hasty judgment. 

One of the things I’ve learned and enjoyed is how a one-on-one conversation can completely change my perspective on someone I don’t know. It’s interesting to see people take off their masks and connect with someone I haven’t met before. Sometimes the best of these experiences have been with people I’ve judged before without knowing them or their story. I’m glad for these lessons, and I’m constantly working on being more aware of my thoughts and actions, especially when talking with and about other people.

Have a happy Halloween, and have a blessed week ahead!

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