AWAKE & AWARE is a conscious cinema program that presents opportunities to see and understand the relations between things, people, and processes, things that we usually might not see completely because of our perception of our circumstances.
(This Awake & Aware segment is dedicated to Julie Katon and everyone that has been touched by mental illness.)
THE SCHEDULE:
• 11:30am – Doors Open & Brunch is Served by Green Gables Cafe
• 12:15pm – Film Starts
• 1:45pm – Post-Film Discussion (Speakers TBA)
THE MENU:
Salmon Mousse
On multigrain bread, topped with fermented cabbage
Turmeric Turkey Falafel
Inspired by The Castaway Kitchen!
Quinoa Salad
With baby spinach and walnuts, tossed with light miso dressing
Sweet Potato Pie
With dark chocolate chips
THE FILM:
What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?
During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw these cultures identify “psychotic” symptoms as an indicator of shamanic potential. He was intrigued by how differently psychosis is defined and treated in the West.
Through interviews with renowned mental health professionals including Gabor Mate, MD, Robert Whitaker, and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Phil explores the growing severity of the mental health crisis in America dominated by biomedical psychiatry. He discovers a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning.
CRAZYWISE follows two young Americans diagnosed with “mental illness.” Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life.
CRAZYWISE doesn’t aim to over-romanticize indigenous wisdom, or completely condemn Western treatment. Not every indigenous person who has a crisis becomes a shaman. And many individuals benefit from Western medications. However, indigenous peoples’ acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from.
CRAZYWISE adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease with no cure.