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by Mark Maxwell Abushady, NYC Film Sacred Journey of the Heart Sacred Journey of the Heart is a well-meaning, if somewhat unfocused, film regarding the heart – its power (electromagnetic), our disconnection with it, and the implications of both. Narrated by Ronna Prince, intuitive counselor and founder of the Modern Mastery Institute, the film is in the style of many self-help films – interviews with so-called experts in various fields commenting on the subject at hand. While some odd statements are made by certain speakers (“It is accepted that science began about 300 years ago . . .), others bring up some remarkable observations. An acknowledgment of the falling apart of our paradigms and models in Politics, Economics, Religion, Environment, and Medicine is discussed by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Both Deborah Rozman, PhD, and Sarah McLean, Author and Meditation Teacher, comment upon the medication of a society and how it ultimately does not work – “People are living on prescription drugs so that they can sleep, digest food, walk through the world without being allergic, go to the bathroom at the right time, get rid of their depression, elevate their mood . . .” Some fascinating research is shared regarding heart electromagnetic wave measurements and human connections, brain-heart hierarchy, healing of both self and earth, and radical forgiveness. This is a film that will certainly spark further thought and conversation about the state of the world and our current state of being. In this way, Sacred Journey of the Heart succeeds.
I knew The Pipe would be a disturbing film. This story is being played out in some way, shape or form throughout the world, including my family’s own valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As energy companies, specifically those concerned with fossil fuels, ever more aggressively and with ever more controversial and risky methods plumb the depths of our oceans and lands promising riches and downplaying risks, small communities and individuals are run over roughshod; their voices drowned out by public relation blitzes, television ad campaigns, and paid spokesman (aka “politicians”). So it is in the case of The Pipe, where the small fishing town of Rossport on the West coast of Ireland, County Mayo, is the victim of strong-arm and intimidation tactics, governmental double standards and sell-outs, fractured community, and environmental degradation. The protected area of Broadhaven Bay, where residents were not permitted “. . . to take even a bucket of sand from” was “announced” to be where landfall of a pipeline coming from offshore would be located. Residents were never consulted. Five men from Rossport were imprisoned for 94 days for defying a court injunction allowing Shell Oil workers to enter their land to lay a high pressure, raw gas pipeline close to their homes. While protestors were able to temporarily bring the project to a standstill, the Irish government soon sent over 200 policemen to protect Shell’s interests and allow the work to resume. The town had formerly had only one policeman. Forced removal of local people from the gates of the refinery ensued. The rights of landowners, farmers, and fishermen are inconveniently opposed to the desires of one of the largest and most powerful oil companies. Though residents had tried to work through the legal system, it quickly became clear that the state had put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline above their own. Some pigs, as that story goes, are more equal than others. The individual tales and the fracturing of the community is heartbreaking to watch. Especially moving is the story of fisherman and local hero Pat O’Donnell, seen in several scenes defiantly steering his fishing boat around the titanic Solitaire (the vessel which lays the pipeline), insisting he’s protecting his livelihood and “enforcing” a temporary court order which Shell finds easier to break, then pay any fines it has accrued . . . a practice suggested as common with massive corporations having seemingly bottomless pockets to buy land, resources, and people. The film has some beautiful scenes of the area as well. Of note is the score, composed by Stephen Rennicks, which is admirably sensitive and well wedded to the story. A must see.
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The Pipe