Have you seen the film “Stigmata” with Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne?  I love this film…….I’ve seen it six times….and the reason I love it is two-fold.  First, it deals with “my kind” of subject matter.  And secondly, because it is inspiring, in that it ignites my curiosity each time I see it.  What I mean by that is that it has sent me in pursuit of information that I would not otherwise have come in contact with.  In the movie there is a scene where two priests are discussing the existence of a missing gospel that has been kept from the masses. It is a document that was discovered in the 1st century in the caves near where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  It is said to be in Jesus’ own words (which is Aramaic) and was spoken to his apostles at the Last Supper.  They were, supposedly, his instructions on how to continue his church after his passing.  In the scene the priests are sitting in a very large and beautiful church and one priest asks “Look around, what do you see?”  They both conclude that it is a building.  He continues, “The true church of Jesus Christ is so much more, no priests, no churches….” and then he proceeds to quote the first few words of the missing gospel, which is where my mind exploded the first time I saw this film.  These are the first few words of the missing gospel…………..”The kingdom of  God is inside you and all around you, not in the buildings of wood and stone.  Split a piece of wood and you will find me.  Lift a stone and I am there.”  Ever since I heard those words I have been a different person.  Whether or not this gospel ever existed, and is complete movie fabrication, is irrelevant to me.  For this reason.  When something touches your soul your entire being is elevated to an extreme state of alertness.  Anyone who has kissed someone and felt the warm elation of love in the pit of their stomach knows exactly what I am talking about.  It can’t be explained…it just is.  And you feel the better for having experienced it, no matter how brief or fleeting the moment.  You never forget it .  It is a heightened state of awareness that is achieved completely naturally.  No hallucinogens, no meditation, no sensory deprivation, just an instantaneous explosion of pure energy and joy.  Now I know that for some of you this sounds ridiculous but I swear to you that this explosion of pure energy and joy has been happening to me throughout my entire life.  I have so much more to say on this subject but right now I need to finish my thoughts about this film.  When I said that ever since I heard those words in the film I have been a different person, is true, because what it did for me was validate for me that I was not a crazy person.  It allowed me restart my pursuit of information that was so profound in me as a youth.  I realized that everything that I had always thought about the church was true.  Its a big building where people go to give money and prayers so that they don’t have to go to hell.  Like going to the grocery store.  I wanted to be a priest as a child but grew very skeptical as I got older because when I went to church I would speak to people who were so full of shit that is was like being punched in the face.  Husbands and wives would be quietly fighting and cursing at their kids during the sermon.  I saw a man steal money out of the collection plate.  Stuff like that.  It was demoralizing.  So, I set out to find the truth for myself………..All of this came bubbling up again because of this film.  There is so much more to relate (and I will) but for now i’ll leave you with this…….”STIGMATA” is the appearance of open sores on the hands ,wrists, head, feet, and side, sometimes accompanied by lashes across the back and shoulders of a person, which may or may not bleed continually for long periods of time and never get infected.  These locations are the locations of the wounds received by Jesus Christ just before, and on the day of, his being crucified.   Perhaps this film will inspire you, maybe not.  But one thing is for sure…it’s a must see movie in my book!!!……………cheers! 

I started this blog because I have come to a place in my life where I need to see that which cannot be seen by the human eye, by any means necessary. Sensory deprivation chambers, primal scream, pure energy and, of course, film. I know. Why is film in this group of words? Right? Well, allow me to explain myself. I have spent a large part of my life in pursuit of answers to those bothersome questions like…..Who am I? What happens to me when I die? Why do all religions seem to spring from the same well?…stuff like that. And this pursuit has taken me around the world and to every state in America. From having a mushroom ceremony with Indians in the mountains of Oaxaca to speaking with a 96 year old woman for hours at the top of the pyramid at Teotihuacan. I have asked similar questions to Holy men, celebrities, scientists, artists, philosophers, and everyday people from around the globe. And I have found a common thread that runs through all of these conversations about the aforementioned bothersome questions. Calm reflection and intense focus that lead to the light and an incredible sense of joyous wonder. The kind of answers you get when you speak to people who have had near death experiences. Now, if you think about walking into a movie theatre and really focusing on what is happening up on the screen, you find that time has passed without you realizing it. I can’t help feeling that I have benefited somehow each and every time I see another film. It’s like going out and gathering up other people’s experiences and storing them away for winter. You have just gained an epic experience in a matter of 2 hours. Doesn’t this make you wonder about how incredibly capable human beings are at learning at alarming rates? Well, for me, as a lover of film as well all things metaphysical, it seems that this movie experience is very similar to focused meditation. And if my travels have taught me anything it’s that anything that is conceivable is possible. I know this sounds like a stretch but I will promise you this…….after hearing some of the experiences I have had you will come to understand where I am coming from. Even if no one ever reads this, it is something I must do. I can’t remember how many times people have said “you should write this stuff down”. So here goes….I am Dartanion2 and I have floated out of my body. It’s time to talk about the places I’ve been………the things I’ve seen……and the beauty that is us…….cheers!