paper. It was assigned two weeks ago and was due yesterday.
She wonders whether she is capable of writing it. Elaine has
very high expectations of herself and does not know how to
start writing. Nothing she thinks of seems good enough. Sitting
in front of her computer and wracking her brain just seems to
make things worse. She gets increasingly fearful of making
mistakes, begins criticizing herself, and feels depressed.
From experience Elaine knows that watching one of her
favorite lighthearted comedy movies will interrupt her in her
habitual self-criticism and lift her mood. She decides to rent A
Fish Called Wanda (1988).
Many scenes in this film make her laugh. As she watches,
her emotions change. Mistakes the characters make are por-
trayed in a humorous, uplifting, and forgiving manner. Elaine
starts feeling lighter, more optimistic.
After the movie she notices that, somehow, the negative
beliefs about herself have dissipated. For the time being she
feels more accepting of herself. She makes some tea and sits
down at her computer. Ideas about the paper begin to pop into
her mind. She feels just a little more confident and creative. As
she starts writing, Elaine’s trust in her capability to write a
good paper grows.Aliceis in a very dark spot in her life. Yesterday she had
another big fight with her husband. It became clear to her that
her marriage might end soon. She had tried for a long time to
make it work. Because of her overwhelming sadness at this
prospect she made a big mistake at work and was reprimanded.
Now Alice remembers hearing about the power of positive
thinking. She tries to cheer herself up by thinking uplifting
thoughts, but try as she might, she comes up blank.
Finally she recalls that in the past, whenever she has been
really sad, crying always made her feel better. But today, tears
somehow seem blocked; she can find no emotional release.
Alice knows that renting a sad movie sometimes opens the
floodgates. She rents Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)because“Every time you don’t
follow your inner guid-
ance, you feel a loss of
energy, loss of power,
a sense of spiritual
deadness.”
Shakti Gawain20 E-Motion Picture Magic