"It's all been word-of-mouth, mostly forwarded e-mails. That's
why all this has blown me away," said Rae, a 45-year-old mother of
two who has seen the movie six times. "It tells me that there is a
desire that needs to be filled, that people feel they have a
connection to what happens on this planet - in a good, beautiful
sense."
The film, a low-budget sleeper hit that has earned the nickname
"What the Bleep?," has been playing at the Loews Catalina Theater,
2320 N. Campbell Ave., since May 14.
The part-documentary, part-fantasy movie explores the nature of
reality and how it relates to both science and spirituality. One of
the most talked-about concepts is that the way we think actually
affects reality - and the film backs that up with science.
Some critics have panned the movie as a disjointed series of
buzz-concepts - critic Roger Ebert called it a "collision in the
editing room between talking heads, an impenetrable human parable
and a hallucinogenic animated cartoon."
Nonetheless, it clearly has developed a fan base and has been
held over not only in Tucson but in New York, Washington state and
Los Angeles. The film opens in Sahuarita and Yuma on Dec. 3.
Rae says the local "What the Bleep?" discussion group has a
attracted a crowd of people who are mostly older than 40 and who
consider themselves spiritual but not necessarily religious, though
anyone is welcome.
The group has met 12 times since June and definitely will
continue even after the movie leaves Tucson, she said. The meetings,
which began in Rae's living room, alternate between discussion-only
and guest speakers. With each gathering, the numbers have increased
and it's now outgrown three meeting spots.
"We start every meeting with a prayer - but it's open and
inclusive. There's a good intellectual level in the room," said Rae,
who this week secured a 500-seat meeting space at the Tucson Jewish
Community Center, 3800 E. River Road, for future gatherings. "The
big message in the movie is to be careful of what you believe
because it's always changing."
Rae grew up Catholic but no longer goes to church. She describes
herself as someone who has been spiritually "seeking" since her late
20s. It's a similar story for others in the group, such as Lynn
Taylor, a 53-year-old businessman who grew up in a mainline
Protestant home but no longer goes to church.
"Organized religion is not a big attraction for me," said Taylor,
who began attending the group with his wife after seeing the movie
in July. "I found the movie fascinating - the merger of science and
spirituality was what really got my attention."
Taylor has seen the group grow from a small gathering and thinks
a belief in human potential has fueled the interest.
"As human beings, we have enormous power that has been untapped,
and being able to develop that through awareness is part of the
attraction," Taylor said. "Just by thinking about it, we can make
changes."
When she describes the group, Rae talks about community,
connectedness and spirituality. She said one of her friends even
joked that she's the "minister" of the group. But but she's quick to
stress that it's not a church.
"There's no ego, no righteousness," she said. "You can't be
making someone else wrong."
One of the pivotal points in the movie for many viewers was an
interview with author and chiropractor Joseph Dispenza, who talks
about "creating his day" - he wakes up in the morning and
consciously creates his day the way he wants it to happen. And when
he does create his day, "little things happen that are so
unexplainable, I know that they are the process or the result of my
creation," he says in the film.
Rae helped arrange for Dispenza to speak at a Unity Church in
Phoenix in October. Over two nights, Dispenza's talks attracted
1,400 people, Rae said.
"I'm picky about the speakers," Rae said. "Quantum spirituality
is the niche we're carving here. The purpose is we're all connected.
We are energetically all made of the same thing - it's God - down to
the very smallest level of waves and particles."
Though she wasn't able to get to Phoenix to hear Dispenza speak,
62-year-old IBM worker and Tucson resident Sydney Arner said his
words from the film have permanently altered the way she lives her
life.
"I've become very diligent about consciously starting my day. It
puts you in a different frame of mind," said Arner, who began
attending the local group after seeing the film in June. "I try to
look at my day from a positive perspective. I prepare mentally for
my day and I really do think it helps."
Arner says she is not part of an organized religion but describes
herself as "looking in lots of different places."
"I'm always interested in different perspectives on the world and
on life and on people," she said.
The Group
— "What the Bleep?" group members say their "intention" is: To be
infusing the quantum field with created intention, playing in the
sacred mystery, and experiencing being one with the source.
— For more information about the local "What the Bleep?" group,
go to www.wisdom writings.com, or call Janet Rae at 861-0383.
The Movie
— Documentary, Drama and Animation, Not Rated
— Starring: Marlee Matlin, Barry Newman, Elaine Hendrix, Armin
Shimerman, Robert Bailey Jr. ⛪✆✃✙✖—✙✛ Playing at Loews Catalina
Theater, 2320 N. Campbell Ave.
If you go
— "What the Bleep?" group meeting
When: 6:45 p.m. Jan. 13
Where: Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road
Guest speaker: author and University of Arizona psychology
professor Gary E. Schwartz, author of a recently published book
titled, "The Afterlife Experiments"
Cost: $15 per person.
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