discussions with the experts it is clear to them that one
problem they face is the lack of a system for integrating
knowledge about the disease. So they take it upon
themselves to organize an international symposium of
experts and parents of afflicted boys. The father combs
the medical literature looking for clues. The mother
stays at the son’s side. Neither loses hope or faith, but
the emotional strain takes its toll on their relationship.
Eventually, they begin to connect various unrelated and
overlooked theories, and despite resistance from a
disbelieving medical world, they finally connect the
right two ideas, discovering in the nick of time that the
cure for ALD lies in olive oil.When I saw Tom again, he told me how surprised he was at
what happened to him when he watched this movie while
employing the technique of conscious awareness. First he felt
even worse when he sensed the parents’ pain. He noticed a
sinking feeling in his stomach. As I had advised him, he stayed
aware of his physical sensations and even remembered to
“breathe into” them (see exercise below). After a while these
difficult feelings dissipated, and he noticed how he became
more and more excited. He even got in touch with a deep inner
knowing, like a hunch or an intuition that he should not give up
yet but keep looking for ways to heal his hips. This made him
feel less depressed and gave him new energy to make more
calls to find a specialist who would be able to treat his ailment.
It took a while, but eventually he found the right treatment.
Tom feels much better now.
Sue, a client, told me that she gets into fights with her
boyfriend every night when she comes home from work. She
didn’t think that this had anything to do with her and kept com-
plaining about him.
I had previously introduced her to the method of watching
movies with conscious awareness, and one day she told me that“We all know we are often
at our worst when we are
tired and our awareness is
weak. At such times we
are particularly likely to
react with fear or anger
and to regress to childish
patterns of behavior.
Unhealthy motives and
emotions erupt most
during moments of
mindlessness.”
Roger Walsh50 E-Motion Picture Magic