Films

Recorded Talk by 14th Dalai Lama “Compassionate Ethics in Difficult Times” (2009)
Viewing facilitated by Lois LeBlanc
Free for Members and Non-Members, No Pre-Registration Required
Zoom link to watch: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86535162676

During his 2009 visit to Albany, NY, 73-year-old Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, addressed the inaugural meeting of the World Ethical Foundations Consortium (WEFC). While there is some controversy surrounding the event as well as the hosting organization, the Dalai Lama’s words ring even more relevant today than they did in 2009. Tenzin Gyatso received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his efforts to resolve Tibetan conflicts with China. He is the head of state and spiritual leader of Buddhism in Tibet, in addition to being a world-renowned symbol of peace and spirituality. As this is a shorter address, we will have plenty of time to discuss the practice of compassion in our current global climate.

Interview with Peter Kingsley “Spirit of the Depths” (2019) | Directed by Thomas Gray
Viewing facilitated by Marilyn Hardy and Cybele Brandow
Free for Members and Non-Members, No Pre-Registration Required
Zoom link to watch: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88097854081

This film by Thomas Gray was the first interview with Peter Kingsley made available after the publication of Peter’s latest book, Catafalque. Spirit of the Depths offers a series of in-depth, and searingly honest, insights into the impersonal as well as personal processes involved in the writing of Catafalque. Engaging with themes that range from psychology to spirituality, from the immediacy of the present moment to the realities of the most distant past, this is an indispensable document for anyone wanting to understand the essence of Peter Kingsley’s work — and the life’s work of C. G. Jung.

“Spirit of the Depths creates a hole into the soul, forcing us to stare into its emptiness and darkness, dissolving the assumptions and prejudices heaped up on it for centuries. And it does so in the most wonderful way, moving from the level of the deepest depths to the human level and then back again, striking different chords with the skill of an experienced musician. The film is a medicine that burns and cuts, but cures effectively.”
– Prof. Laura Gemelli Marciano, University of Zürich, author of Parmenide and Die Vorsokratiker

A Small Good Thing (2015) | Directed by Pamela Tanner Boll
Viewing facilitated by Audrey McMorrow
Free for Members and Non-Members, No Pre-Registration Required
Zoom link to watch: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82475796392

For the longest time, we’ve been living as though the more we have—the more money, the more goods, the more territory—the happier we’ll be. Surprisingly, over the last fifty years as our standard of living has improved, our happiness has not. A Small Good Thing examines how our ideal of the American Dream has come to the end of its promise. The film tells the stories of people moving away from a philosophy of ‘more is better’ toward a more holistic conception of happiness—one based on a close connection to their bodies and health, to the natural world, and to the greater good.

The film follows innovative farmer Sean Stanton, social work student Tim Durrin and yoga teacher Mark Gerow, whose earlier careers in the armed forces have now shifted to service of a different kind; Jen and Pete Salinetti, a college-educated couple with two small children who have chosen to be farmers as a way to connect with their community; and Shirley Edgerton, community activist and founder of both the Youth Alive Step Team and the Women of Color Giving Circle. What these people share is a deep desire to have more meaning in their lives, a closer bond with their families and communities, and a connection to themselves and the natural world.