Bleep

Dear Artist,

On Friday we went to see What the Bleep Do We Know? It’s part documentary, part entertainment, part lecture. After being recommended by so many fellow artists, I knew it would be like no other film.

It’s about Quantum Physics. It asks and attempts to answer some of the big questions: Who are we, what are we made of, where are we going? The natures of intentionality, possibility, addiction, creativity, and self-love are examined and graphically demonstrated. Various scientists and other gurus speak candidly from the comfort of their labs or living rooms. You have to pay attention because there’s lots to catch. We learn, for example, that an atom is made up mostly of empty space and is very similar in nature to a thought. This flick was right down my alley.

What does the film have to say to artists? Lots. Early on, for example, we’re introduced to an ordinary looking guy who turns out to be Dr. Joe Dispenza, graduate of Rutgers, Doctor of Chiropractic, writer and lecturer on neurology and brain function. He tells us how our destiny can be designed. “When I create my day the way I want it to happen,” he tells us, “out of nowhere little things occur that are inexplicable.” According to Joe, these little things are also the result of our own creation. One must build a neural net in the brain in order to also accept these as possibilities. This is what gives power, incentive, and our true evolvement as humans. Reality, in Joe’s world, equals life, and we must make a pact with them both. “I say, I’m taking this time to create my day, and I’m infecting the Quantum Field.” Then Joe brings in the concept of Observer. “As the Observer’s watching me the whole time that I’m doing this — then there’s a spiritual aspect.” Joe says you can design yourself as you wish — let’s say as a genius. “Then you’ll have thoughts that are so amazing — it’ll cause a chill in your whole body.”

As the reels roll we are dramatically shown that the god-like function — the Observer is actually ourselves. We begin to get a glimpse of a remarkable universe both neural and physical, where there is no total disclosure. But there is an illusion that we make for ourselves — in which we can choose and be effectively creative. As it turns out, our world is an even more fantastic and beautiful place than we might have previously thought.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: “The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced.” (Aart Van Der Leeuw)

Esoterica: Not all of the “experts” in this film agree with each other — but that’s okay. We artists don’t agree either — that’s the beauty, that’s the miracle. But it’s clear that we have a universe that’s full of possibilities — a sort of connective “Creator’s Universe.” Like Alice in Wonderland we have a choice how far we may want to go down the rabbit hole. And as Lewis Carroll wondrously noted, it gets “curiouser and curiouser.”

 

Isn’t it grand!
by Cathie Harrison
 

I saw What the Bleep Do We Know? right after reading a reference to it in the previous clickback. I’ve been recommending it like a mad zealot to everyone who will listen. It was wonderful to be reminded that we choose how we respond to life’s challenges and joys. I was reminded of the saying “An angry person lives in an angry world,” and the sometimes frightful statement that, “As it is perceived, so it is.” It sometimes helps me to accept where the other guy is coming from. In my painting I have really been able recently to choose to live as a painter. That means I paint, I read about painting, I go see other artists’ paintings and I don’t sit around adding to the list of endless reasons why painting is hard and selling paintings is even harder. To quote an old wise friend, “Life is hard, but isn’t it grand!”

 

Ideas sing within, come out in artwork
by Cindy Frostad
 

Oh, this letter was a good one! Sure got the neurons firing… and happily so. ‘Space’ seems to be such a confusing term. The closer we look at something, like what we are made up of, the more space there seems to be. If there are countless solar systems, what is on the outside of those? These kinds of ideas already sing resonantly within myself and are coming out in my artwork in such works as Visiting the String Theory, Cellular Effervescence, Brainstorm and Fractured Thought. If I disengage in a floating sense, I can actually paint without being bothered by a literal translation onto the canvas.

 

Messages from water
by Sophie Marnez, Lyon, France
 

I’m so happy to see this type of information, because it can in fact change people. I’ve been on the official website of the film (it is not arrived in France yet) to see that they talk about water crystals. That is a very easy and spectacular way to make people understand that thoughts create reality… and in the case of water, that intention can change matter. When you have seen that once, and when you know that people are made of 75% water… it is crushing! It starts making you think about what you can think and say to make the world better, starting with the thoughts you address to yourself! I invite you to read the first book by Masaru Emoto (website) Messages from Water.

 

Seeded moments
by Linda Cook Flynn
 

Every moment is filled with infinity. Once we slow our physical actions downward we are able to observe the observer. Our mental filters block most of the synchronicity within the magnetic fields of energy. Once each of us is able to remove the layers of masks we have put in place over our lifetime, there is the original essence. As we shed the personas we wear as cloaks such as being an artist, teacher, firefighter, nurse, doctor, accountant, student or mentor, the possibilities to co-create our days become filled with new opportunities. I connected with this letter because of major surgery; a friend spoke to a friend who was an artist. When the artist approached me I laughed. I am not an artist. I had been in bed for several months and the artist thought she could help me. Thanks to her I now have an artistic release I could have never imagined. Each moment is seeded with your own creations. I gave myself permission to become the original essence. I’ve begun to peel back the personas that get in the way of beautiful experiences and relationships. I’m now down to two questions a day. Am I seeding the moment with fear or love? My mission is to “Calmly in the precious present be a light for love and compassion in the window on your world.”

 

Power versus Force
by Carol Norton
 

How fascinating that a movie like What the Bleep Do We Know? would be made and then noticed by enough people to be reviewed by your letter. Due to the nature of what it takes to create, artists of all kinds are necessarily interested in these subjects. Equally wondrous and dealing further with the nature of consciousness and the universe are the writings of David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. The first in his trilogy is called Power vs. Force: An Anatomy of Consciousness. The second is The Eye of the I: From Which Nothing is Hidden and the third is I / Reality and Subjectivity.

In Wayne Dyer’s recent book, The Power of Intention, Dr. Dyer credits Hawkins’ Power vs. Force as the most significant book that he has read. That was enough of a recommendation for me. For those who are deeply interested in their creativity, spirituality and understanding consciousness, these books are… and I search for a word significant enough to describe these writings… enlightening. Dr. Hawkins, who now resides in Sedona, Arizona, has an integral method for calibrating truth — a simple, physiological method to calibrate what is and what has been. Unbounded gratitude goes to Dr. Hawkins for making these ideas public.

 

Ancient mystery school teachings
by Michelle Burguan
 

I study the teachings of the ancient mystery schools and this very letter embodies the ‘quick version’ essence of those very teachings… the teachings that have been lambasted by standard religious fronts, and hidden from the masses for so many ages. One might say that the very power of these ancient beliefs should be taught in schools or at the very least the home so that everyone may feel the inspiration of this ‘magical’ reality. The world might become an even more amazing place!

 

A wagonload of books
by Melanie Peter, Gainesville, FL, USA
 

This subject is dear to my heart. I’m thrilled that it’s being explored in the film What the Bleep Do We Know? Here is a list of related books that might be of interest. I might read a wagonload of books and watch films about thoughts having power equal (at least) to water or sunlight. But for me it’s hard to live as if it’s true. Your letter gives me encouragement.

First, one that fits no category: An Unlikely Prophet, Revelations on a Path Without Form by Alvin Schwartz. Schwartz wrote the Superman and Batman newspaper comic strips 50 years ago. Now after journeys into the worlds of Tibetan monks, expressionist painters, Hawaiian kahunas and quantum physicists, he’s examining the spiritual connection he has with his characters.

David Bohm’s books, particularly Wholeness and the Implicate Order and On Creativity

The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot (popularized and sensationalized quantum physics)

No Boundary by Ken Wilber, plus other books by Ken Wilbur

Rupert Sheldrake’s Seven Science Experiments That Could Change The World

 

Science and spirituality combine
by Karen Pettengill, Portland, ME, USA
 

Deepak Chopra’s recent book The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire seems to bring science and spirituality together to explain the same revelations that were revealed in the movie. In his book Deepak explains that every person you’ve ever met or known, every ancestor and ancestor’s ancestor has an effect on who and what you are. Eventually you would have to describe the whole universe to define each person. He explains that to be all you can and want to be you must tap into this soul or background which is both personal to you but universal at the same time. To quote him: “The soul is the observer who interprets and makes choices in a confluence of relationships. These relationships provide the background, setting, characters, and events that shape the stories of our lives.” What is really fascinating is that a spiritualist and a scientist have each come to the same conclusions.

 

Unseen phenomena
by Linda Hankin
 

As director of the School of Ideas, I like the content of this message “Bleep.” I teach the unseen phenomena of the fourth dimension. Our school seeks above all things to tap the uncharted depths of the unconscious right brain. I encourage pupils to research their obsessions–such as the environment, philosophy, science, the universe, spirituality and mystical associations with the natural world, including plants, animals, and the earth. I encourage pupils to read such authors as Robert Henri, Walt Whitman, David Abram, Rilke, Leonard Cohen, Leonard Shlain, Ann Davis, Swimme and Berry and others. I also specialize in Plein Air Painting Trips to Europe and within North America.

 

The 11th Element
by Mary Madsen, Las Vegas, NV, USA
 

There’s a self-help program that has parallel ideas to this film. It is called The 11th Element, and is meant to be the element beyond the standard 10 elements that make up success. It deals with asking for help from the CEO that resides within, and being very specific in what you request and how you request it. The program talks about the consciousness that runs through all of us (what Emerson called the over-soul, and which philosophers have acknowledged under one name or another — God, Dharma, or Common Sense) and how this consciousness has an effect on our life. It sounds touchy-feely, but it is all backed up by the newest research into the fields of consciousness, neuro-psychology and physics. Basically, it’s a program of directing requests for help to what I’ve always called my better self–the one who knows its purpose, has no baggage, and is so very smart. At the very least, the program is oodles of fun.

 

Elusive concepts
by Tom Bruce, Ranchos de Taos, NM, USA
 

There’s no problem becoming inspired by the artifacts coming out of science. However: a caution. Quantum theory is totally incomprehensible in terms of our thinking and what we understand. Even Scientists do not understand the Quantum World and what it means. If they say they do… well? Quantum effects occur at a scale so small that using “It” attempting to resolve or clarify any of the issues mentioned below is a misinterpretation of the Quantum Reality. It simply cannot be applied to our common reality. It cannot be used to answer any “Big Question.” It is even more elusive than Relativity. These comments are not my own. If interested, these comments can be found in Feynman’s popular lectures and elsewhere.

 

Speculative and unproven
by Karin Carter Seattle, WA, USA
 

My boyfriend has a four-year degree in physics, a year of grad school, and continues to read physics papers. I say all this because he always says he’s “not a real physicist,” but clearly he knows a lot about the topic. We saw the film together, and while the math behind quantum physics is accurate, the film really lets viewers down in presenting these theories as fact. The scientists in the film take the quantifiable part of physics and theorize about it, but present their theories as if they are truisms. That is not the case! The views they were explaining are their own pet theories, which may or may not be proven true in the future. We were particularly disturbed by the inclusion of C.Z. Guest, the channeler of Ramtha. She’s not in the same league as some of the scientists in the film, and her views were presented very seriously. It’s too bad that the simple act of specifying that these were speculative, unproven opinions was omitted.

(RG note) C.Z. Guest was an American socialite and fashion icon who wrote a gardening column in the New York Post. She died in 2003. Karen might be thinking of J.Z. Knight who indeed claims to channel Ramtha. She’s in the movie. Karin Carter is the author of Microsoft in the Mirror.

 

Age of the documentary film
by Name withheld by request
 

It’s almost as if Hollywood has run its full course and is now producing films that inform, challenge and entertain at the same time. As well as What the Bleep Do We Know? there are Fahrenheit 9/11, The Control Room and others that are getting reasonable box office numbers by attracting people with creative minds. The tragedy is that more of the people who really need to see and intelligently weigh the often contentious points of view in these sorts of films, don’t. Maybe they’re still in the “shoot ’em up,” car chase stage of development.

 

Tools come with message
by Mary Jean Mailloux, Oakville, On, Canada
 

There is so much irony in this moment. Just last week someone casually handed me a printout of a “Kryon” seminar. We had talked a little about metaphysics, but it was completely unexpected. So just when you need to hear that you can be the master of your destiny, the tools and support are placed in your path. Then I met with a highly respected gallery owner last week. I engineered the meeting and shakily brought my pieces. I was ecstatic that 1) he took the time to look, 2) he gave me some very valuable feedback, 3) he confirmed my own convictions about art versus craft. I couldn’t be happier, even though he didn’t take any that day. He said he would like to see more of my figure work. Wow! I’m smiling, can you tell?

 

The artist’s dream
by Sonja Donnelly, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
 

On reading the last clickback responses, I think that perhaps we as artists (some of us) often times look at life through rose-coloured glasses. This is a good thing. This is not to say that we are blind to what is going on around us in the world, but if we can add just a bit of beauty, amongst the chaos, why not. Here’s a poem I recently wrote:

Artist’s Dream
Art is the essence of life,
in which we reveal its powers and its strengths.
Art is a mirror
that reflects life’s beauty as we wish the world would see it.
Life is its substance,
Life is the power in the line,
the depth of the color and the passion of the artist.
Is life art, or art life?
Or just a mirror of the artist’s dream?

 

 

 

Featured Artist: Richard Iams – Tucson, AZ, USA

We Wander Quiet Haunts oil painting by Richard Iams, Tucson, AZ, USA

 

You may be interested to know that artists from every state in the USA, every province in Canada, and at least 115 countries worldwide have visited these pages since January 1, 2004. That includes:

Kiri Ringrose who wrote, “I am fascinated by Quantum Physics, especially by Torsion Waves and Spiral Waves!”

And also Jerry Waese who wrote, “The world of science gives us no respite. The more we know the more the responsibility for accepting creation is our own. We just can’t go on automatic, those neural nets have to be constantly reworked to stay open to the unexpected.”

And also Marylou (Lou) Ingo who wrote, “This morning’s pages sent pleasant chills down my spine as I am just rereading Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention. It deals with this very idea.”

And also Michelle Gallagher who wrote, “I live in Portland, Oregon where parts of this movie were filmed. We had the special opportunity to see it in the exact same theatre where the movie took place. This added a surreal feeling to the experience. I think it’s time to see it again.”

And also Ted Berkeley of Portland, OR, USA, who wrote, “Einstein had qualms about quantum physics and couldn’t stand Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, hence his famous dictum ‘God doesn’t play dice with the universe,’ to which Stephen Hawking remarked years later ‘God not only plays dice with the universe, but he cheats.'”

And also Kay Cox of Texas who wrote, “I felt the movie was a ‘left-brain experience’ in a ‘right-brain presentation’… I loved it and will see it again and again.”

And also Gretchen Little who wrote, “Yeeeeeeeeeesss!! I’m having the very same thoughts this week! I am the co-creator. I am my own authority.”