My Year of Living Mindfully
Here’s a reflection on three important lessons I’ve learned through organizing public documentary events in Texas.
1) Films can be a catalyst for change. After screening Race to Nowhere several times throughout the metroplex in 2010, I started hearing that a few local schools were establishing ‘no homework’ days, a concept discussed in the documentary. Possibly this was a coincidence, but I’d like to think that audience members at the Documentary Events® took the film’s message back to their own schools which sparked a positive change.
2) Films help us realize our common humanity – how we are connected to each other more than we realize. The documentary Bill W. intrigued me and I felt that it would be a huge help to anyone who had been impacted by the disease of alcoholism. My own father was a brilliant chemical engineer and an alcoholic throughout my childhood and early adult life. He mastered sobriety the last six years of his life.
I screened Bill W. in August 2012 to a packed auditorium of 333 people. Every seat was filled. That’s when I realized that films can educate us on sensitive topics that are often difficult to discuss with our own voice.
Another example along the same vein of ‘connecting people who all share something in common,’ was the documentary, ‘Sweet Sixteen: Type 1 Diabetes.’
This was a documentary I screened in 2014 that put the spotlight on a specific slice of the population: teens dealing with Type 1 Diabetes.
Here’s an excerpt from an email I received from a parent who attended this documentary screening:
‘Diane, …… every parent in that theater knew that the alarm clock (in the beginning of film) was going to say 3:00am. It’s the universal time we check during the night. Not every night, maybe 2-4 nights on average per week – just enough to mess with your sleep schedule. We are 3 years in, and it was nice to see that our approach and our normal isn’t any different than what we saw last night. It was heartbreaking and comforting at the same time. We were sorry other families have to go through this, but we don’t feel so isolated either. ‘
3) Films help us visualize hope.
‘The Connection’, a film released in 2014 by Australian filmmaker, Shannon Harvey highlights through various interviews with researchers that the human act of ‘stressing out’ is actually widespread. On one hand, it is the way humans were built and why as a species we’ve survived. On the other hand, our stress level has increased to epidemic levels on a global scale. This evidence-based film also lays out how to train your brain to relax and shares research about how your immune system and brain benefits from meditation. We walk away from this film armed with mindfulness tools we can use on a daily basis. Each of the 11 distinct screenings I organized of The Connection were unique as audience members felt comfortable asking questions based on their own experiences with the subject of mindfulness. One of the essentials in any of our Documentary Events® is to create an open Q&A atmosphere, where audiences know that all questions will be respected and answered.
We are happy to connect you to the ‘online premiere’ of My Year of Living Mindfully, the second and newest documentary by Shannon Harvey. View the 3 min. trailer here. You are welcome to view this 96 min. film multiple times and share with friends. The film is free to view from Wed. May 27th thru June 3rd. View the 96 min. film here .
A short Q&A follows this film, featuring myself as moderator and questions being answered by Licensed Professional Counselor, Denette Mann and Filmmaker, Shannon Harvey.
