CONSCIOUS CINEMA
consists of a collection of core values to which we
tend to cling zealously (if not stubbornly) and that
subsequently color whatever arises out of them.
Put another way, perspective can be thought of as
the metaphysical equivalent of a computer operating system, with our individual manifesting beliefs serving as the applications or programs that
run atop that core platform. So, even if our beliefs
are intended to materialize different aspects of our
lives, they nevertheless often arise from shared
roots.
Just like our manifesting beliefs, we’re each capable of drawing from and adopting a wide variety
of core perspectives, an ability that allows us to
view a particular situation from an array of vantage points, each highly personalized. Perspective
is thus what makes it possible for two or more individuals to perceive the “same” circumstances in
different ways. For instance, is a room with a particular illumination level lit too brightly, too dimly or
just right? Ask different people, and you’re likely to
get a range of responses, even though logic would
dictate that the answers seemingly “should” be the
same. No one’s response is intrinsically “right” or
“wrong,” either, since our individual perspectives
account for the differences in our perceptions of
these materializations (and the beliefs that manifest them), with each being equally valid in its own
right.
Variances in perspective apply not only to different
individuals; sometimes we’re capable of viewing
particular situations in multiple, or even myriad,
ways ourselves. The ability to see circumstances
from different vantage points better enables us to
assess how we respond to prevailing conditions,
providing us with perspective options that might
otherwise go unconsidered. And the specific beliefs we form in response to the particular outlook
we adopt determine how our reality subsequently
unfolds.
Perspective also enables us to perceive the jointly held traits present in seemingly unrelated situations in our lives. Something that occurs in our
careers, for example, may have qualities that are
similarly reflected in other areas of our existence,
such as romance, creativity or spiritual matters.
Endeavors that superficially might be seen as sep-
32 | NEW CONSCIOUSNESS REVIEW
arate and distinct thus may not be as removed
from one another as we might initially assume.
Perspective truly has many ways of making its
presence felt in our lives. However, if we genuinely
hope to fathom the nature of the beliefs that create our reality, it helps immensely to understand
the character of the perspective that drives them.
Such an awareness, for example, is important to
make sense of our perceptions, which, in turn, often play a pivotal responsive role in the formation
of subsequent manifesting beliefs. It’s also crucial
when we feel the need to implement changes in
our circumstances; indeed, it’s difficult to know
where we want to go if we first don’t have a handle
on precisely where we are.
Numerous films examine perspective in relation
to the foregoing principles. When it comes to assessing how life’s various events serve to color our
overall outlook, for instance, consider the example offered up in the Coen Brothers’ offbeat comedy, “A Serious Man” (2009). The picture, set in
the mid-1960s in suburban Minnesota, follows the