“Something Unknown Is Doing We Don’t Know What” (DVD, 2009). Cast: Charles Tart, Dean Radin, Gary Schwartz, Roger Nelson, Rupert Sheldrake, Hal Puthoff, Larry Dossey, Edgar Mitchell, David Dosa, Arielle Ford, Rebecca Good, Nancy Myer, Catherine Yunt, Eric Pearl. Director: Renée Scheltema. www.SomethingUnknown.com

Overcoming our personal limitations is one of the primary aspirations of becoming an effective conscious creation practitioner. To achieve this, it helps immensely to learn how to stretch our manifestation capabilities, those that allow us to envision—and ultimately yield—better outcomes with our hoped-for materializations. This specifically involves abilities most of us have yet to tap, let alone master, such as our psychic capacities and related skills. And that’s why documentaries like “Something Unknown Is Doing We Don’t Know What,” now available on DVD, are so valuable.

The study of psychic phenomena is rife with anecdotal evidence, but sources of quantified scientific data about the subject have long been scarce and scattered. Many researchers have stayed away from it for fear of ridicule by peers, and those who have courageously ventured into such “risky” territory have often had their findings relegated to the realm of obscurity. That’s where this film comes in.

Director Renée Scheltema (pictured) has compiled a wide range of information on various areas of parapsychology research, including in-depth examinations of abilities like telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psycho-kinesis and psychic healing, what Prof. Charles Tart, one of the film’s many expert commentators, refers to as “the big five” topics of psychic investigation. Throughout the course of the film, Scheltema reports on a number of groundbreaking studies in these areas, backing up her findings with interviews by such experts as Gary Schwartz, Roger Nelson, Rupert Sheldrake, Hal Puthoff, Larry Dossey and Edgar Mitchell, among others.

In addition to reporting on these subjects, Scheltema takes viewers into the laboratory and into the field to show us the researchers at work. For instance, one sequence involving Institute of Noetic Sciences investigator Dean Radin illustrates his efforts to quantify whether we’re capable of evoking waking state physical reactions to events yet to occur, thereby giving us potentially tangible markers of precognitive abilities. Through studies like this, what was once thought of as paranormal suddenly seems considerably more ordinary.

Subsequent sequences examine such phenomena as matter manipulation through spoon bending experiments, remote viewing as a tool for identifying physical objects or probable events across the spans of distance and time, random number generation as a predictive indicator of stirrings in the collective unconscious, and the rejuvenating power of various Chinese medicine practices and the Reconnective Healing® technique of Dr. Eric Pearl. Collectively, these segments paint a very different picture of the nature of reality than most of us have traditionally been accustomed to—a new, paradigm-shifting view that’s backed up by evidence to substantiate it.

Another theme that runs throughout the film is an examination of the remarkably uncanny parallels between science and spirituality. Many of the commentators discuss how these two disciplines are essentially opposite sides of the same coin. After addressing how scientific methodologies can be used to validate various parapsychological phenomena, many of the experts go on to explain how the manifested effects of these phenomena have traditionally been invoked through ancient mystical, spiritual and religious practices. While these effects may have been described more poetically than scientifically in these age-old traditions, the results in both instances are often comparable, lending credence to the notion that these often-quarrelsome disciplines truly are not as far apart as we’ve generally been led to believe. This is especially true in the area of healing, where miracles are not only possible but inherently matter-of-fact—if allowed to be.

Those who engage in conscious creation will no doubt find this material mesmerizing. Besides providing examples of the existence of these phenomena, “Something Unknown” also enlightens us on how we might employ these abilities in our everyday lives. And, when considered in the context of consciously manifesting the reality we experience, we can see that we have a host of powerful tools at our disposal for materializing the existence we desire.

Despite a somewhat choppy opening sequence that could have been better organized and more effectively edited, the bulk of the film’s material is presented cogently and succinctly. Those looking for an authoritative and engaging overview of this subject matter will find a superb offering in this work.

Things unknown need not remain a mystery, especially when they can be put to use in creating a more fulfilling life. That’s the message of this film, and it’s one we can all avail ourselves of to manifest a better world. And, given the many challenges we face today, goodness knows we can use it.

Copyright © 2011, by Brent Marchant. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: "Something Unknown", Brent Marchant, Charles Tart, Chinese medicine, clairvoyance, conscious creation, Dean Radin, Edgar Mitchell, Eric Pearl, Film, Gary Schwartz, Hal Puthoff, healing, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Larry Dossey, manifestation, materialization, Movies, parapsychology, precognition, psychic healing, psychic research, psycho-kinesis, random number generation, reconnective healing, remote viewing, Renée Scheltema, Roger Nelson, Rupert Sheldrake, science, Spirituality, spoon bending, telepathy

George Clooney, as psychic warrior Lyn Cassady, meets the opposition face to face in the offbeat new comedy, “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Photo by Laura Macgruder, Westgate Film Services, LLC, courtesy of Overture Films.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” (2009). Cast: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root, Waleed Zuaiter. Director: Grant Heslov. Screenplay: Peter Straughan. Book: Jon Ronson. www.themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com.

Author/philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” Those are encouraging words for anyone striking out in daring new directions, no matter what field of endeavor. They’re particularly relevant to those embroiled in previously untried tasks, like reshaping the mission of the U.S. military, an undertaking chronicled in the offbeat new comedy, “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”

“Goats” tells the story (or at least one version of it, as discussed below) of the U.S. military’s experimentation with psychic skills (or “remote viewing” as it’s more commonly called) as a new means of waging war and, ironically enough, peace. It’s told through the eyes of reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), who, after a series of personal upsets, ships out to cover the Iraq war. Through an interesting string of synchronicities, Bob meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a former psychic warrior called out of retirement for a special overseas assignment. Cassady quickly recognizes the significance of the synchronicities and invites Wilton to tag along on his adventure.

Jeff Bridges, as remote viewing guru Bill Django (center), instructs recruits in the ways of psychic warfare in “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Photo by Laura Macgruder, Westgate Film Services, LLC, courtesy of Overture Films.

While en route to his mission inside Iraq, Cassady recounts the backstory of the psychic warrior program, an initiative spearheaded years earlier by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), a Vietnam vet who had a mystical experience while wounded in battle. Once recovered, and with his superiors’ blessings, Django received approval to explore the retooling of American soldiers as instruments of peace. After years of studying various Eastern and New Age philosophies, Django developed a program to recruit candidates for his own private band of Jedi warriors, soldiers who earnestly emulated their “Star Wars” namesakes. Cassady, as one of those recruits, quickly embraced Django’s vision and became the program’s shining star. And for a while, all was well—that is until a sinister new recruit, Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), appeared on the scene. Hooper’s involvement with the program would send it down a disturbing new path, one that would eventually necessitate Cassady’s special mission.

Much has been written about the military’s remote viewing program—a lot of it contradictory—so it’s difficult to know whether the public is being fed carefully managed accurate disclosure, intentional disinformation or some combination thereof regarding this program. In light of that, then, what are viewers to make of this version of the story? Well, I certainly wouldn’t take it as gospel, despite claims to the contrary. However, the film nevertheless raises some valuable ideas about the law of attraction, and, on that score, the picture has its merits.

Ewan McGregor, as reporter Bob Wilton (right), joins George Clooney, as psychic warrior Lyn Cassady (left), on a special mission inside Iraq in the comedy “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Photo by Laura Macgruder, Westgate Film Services, LLC, courtesy of Overture Films.

For instance, the law of attraction maintains that all avenues of existence are open to us and that all we need do to experience them is to choose to explore them. This thus gives license to examine not only the ordinary elements of daily life but also the extraordinary aspects of human potential, and what better examples of the latter are there than those that encourage us to stretch our personal capabilities, such as our psychic skills. (I’m sure Thoreau would approve on this point.)
However, employing such abilities in reality creation can be tricky, because it raises potentially sticky questions about ethics and responsibility (not to mention the fact that it’s like putting our materialization skills on steroids). There’s tremendous power in play here—power that can be used for either beneficial or malevolent purposes, something Cassady personally discovers when asked to use his abilities to kill a goat in a psychic stare-down. Such scenarios force us to ask ourselves, “Where do we draw the line when it comes to using our manifestation skills?” Is it OK to kill a goat but not a human? Are both fair game, depending on the circumstances? Or is it always wrong, no matter what the conditions? Such is the responsibility that comes with this kind of power.

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” is by no means epic filmmaking, but it is a mildly entertaining, moderately thought-provoking way to spend a couple hours at the movies. It strikes a good balance between farce and adventure, with just the right pinch of absurdity thrown in for good measure. Admittedly, the script could stand some judicious trimming of extraneous detail, but the picture is otherwise capably handled in most respects.

Faithfully following one’s own beliefs is at the heart of law of attraction practice, a process that can be difficult when it means breaking ranks with established thought and action. But doing so often brings about some of man’s greatest strides forward; think of the possibilities, for example, if it were applied successfully in matters of war and peace. That might get the goats of those in power who believe they have something to lose, but the rewards could be immeasurable.

Now that’s a new world order worth embracing!

Featured Contributor

Brent Marchant

A lifelong movie fan and longtime student of metaphysics, free-lance writer/editor Brent Marchant is the author of Get the Picture: Conscious Creation Goes to the Movies (Moment Point Press, www.momentpoint.com). His additional writing credits include contributions to beliefnet.com and to Divine Revolution and Reality Change magazines. Brent also maintains an ongoing blog about metaphysical cinema at www.getthepicturebrentmarchant.blogspot.com. He holds a B.A. in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and resides in Chicago. You can email him at brentmarchant@momentpoint.com.

Technorati Tags: "The Men Who Stare at Goats", Brent Marchant, conscious creation, Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jeff Bridges, Jon Ronson, Kevin Spacey, law of attraction, Movies, psychic warriors, remote viewing