breathe a little deeper, as if my busy life had stopped for a
while, and I could just enjoy these moments of peacefulness.
The tenderness in the relationship between Mario and Neruda,
as well as the authenticity that Mario displayed, touched me
deeply. After the closing credits this feeling stayed with me,
and I recognized that the movie had brought deeply held values
to my attention again, values that had been buried in my every-
day life. I decided to bring these qualities back by spending
more time in nature and trying to bring more tenderness and
authenticity into my relationships.
Tom was a friend of mine. He was depressed because of
chronic pain in his hips. He had gone from doctor to doctor,
had seen chiropractors and acupuncturists. Nothing seemed to
help. He felt so bad he didn’t want to think about his situation
any more. I noticed he had gained weight since I had last seen
him. He told me he felt deflated and ready to give up.
Suddenly the movie Lorenzo’s Oil came to my mind. I
encouraged Tom to watch it and explained to him the process
of watching with conscious awareness.
Movie Preview: Lorenzo’s Oil (1992)
Based on a true story, two parents struggle to find a
cure for their son’s apparently incurable, degenerative
and terminal disease. The Odones have a five-year-old son,
Lorenzo, who is diagnosed with adrenokukodystrophy
(ALD). The doctors say it is a rare disease that strikes
only boys. Victims die after losing all sensory functions.
All known treatments are experimental and none is
rated as successful. No boy with ALD has ever survived.
Though the parents enlist the boy in the most promising
of the experimental treatment programs immediately
following his diagnosis, the disease progresses rapidly
and things look hopeless.
But despite the pessimistic prognosis from all the
experts the parents refuse to give up. From their various“All you need to do to
receive guidance is to ask
for it and then listen.”
Sanayan
RomanWatching Movies With Conscious Awareness 49