‘Heal’ documentary inspires hundreds
The local screening of the documentary “Heal” was a one-day-only event that sold out so quickly two more screenings were added - and also quickly sold out.
“It was deeply gratifying to see more than 500 people so open to learning about the healing power within us all,” said Dr. Uday Jani, an integrative medicine specialist who participated in question-and-answer sessions that followed each screening.
“Heal” consults scientists and spiritual teachers while following three people on healing journeys, each demonstrating that healing can be extremely complex and deeply personal, but it can also happen spontaneously in a moment. Inspiring and emotional, the film showed actions that begin the healing process. It will be available on DVD in 2018.
Chiropractor and co-founder of Minds Over Matter Initiative Krista Griffin collaborated with DJ Hill from Lefty’s Alley and Eats to host the screenings.
Joining Griffin and Jani to answer questions was Kim Bemis, a transcendental meditation master who lives in an ashram deep in the Himalayas. Bemis meditates daily and said it helps create a perfect balance to allow one’s body to heal itself.
Replying to a question about grief, Jani offered the well-known observation that pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.
Stress of any kind creates an acidic environment in the body, which leads to inflammation causing illness, Jani said. “Socialization during grief helps us work through the pain instead of pushing it away, which keeps it inside to potentially create disease,” he said.
The movie offered examples of belief shifting biology, showing that emotions send signals to the brain telling the immune system what to do. “What will it be? Chaos or steady calm?” the movie asks. For Bemis, meditation is key. Every person in the world has the infinite capacity to love. “We must find our own best purpose to create a network of health for a peaceful world,” he said.
Mark Thompson, owner of One Spirit Massage, offered a personal story of healing. He said one day he was driving with one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake, and realized that’s how he was leading his life. His doctor pushed him to make a change, and while it took many tries, he eventually made a mental shift and healed from cancer. “I realized I had been living in fear every day, and now I live in the moment,” he said.
Proceeds from the event benefit Minds Over Matter Initiative. Griffin said, “Our mission is to offer a few tools for students to learn skills to become more mindful in everyday activities. Good health doesn’t have to be expensive.”
There are many options for healing, and western medicine is often the right option, but using mindfulness, daily gratitude, and spiritual therapies can set the stage for healing to take place. “Don’t go home and throw out all your pills,” Jani warned.
The documentary sparked a call from attendees to continue the mission. Because of this interest, Griffin and Jani are planning a follow-up event to go deeper into the concepts and offer practical strategies to implement some of the ideas in the film.
