“I felt as though I was meditating with my eyes open.”
“The original photography is stunning, the sounds and music resonating.”
“A Thoreau-like embrace of nature’s simplicity.”
“I appreciate the calmness it evoked.”
“Absolutely beautiful.”
“The world needs to see this.”
Film Overview
Tribute to a Conscious World (54 minutes) is a unique contemplative, meditative film. It is non-narrative and non-verbal (no spoken words). Using only images of nature and a special soundtrack this film naturally produces a meditative state for the viewer. Nature’s beauty is illustrated in a compelling and mesmerizing way that allows the viewer to enter a more conscious state of mind simply by watching the film.
This film was an official selection of the Natourale Film Festival in Germany and the Earth Day Film Fest in California. Experimental Forum also called out this film as an honorable mention. This film is experimental in several ways, including its non-narrative presentation of ideas and emotional concepts. It also uses non-traditional film production techniques. Additionally, no humans appear in this film. This is a highly unique, artistic film.
The genre of this film is somewhere between Slow Cinema, Arthouse, Experimental, and Nature Documentary. But really it’s all these genres produced as a single film. Inspiration for this film came from nature itself, and from the film Baraka (1992) directed by Ron Fricke.
Meditative Technique
On one level this film is meditative. The steady and slow motion of the videography is relaxing, even lulling. The relaxation settles into you as the movie progresses. The slower than normal pace of the movie allows you to notice and become aware of subtlety in the imagery. As this happens the mind becomes calmer and steadier, and yet also becomes more observant and attentive.
Throughout the film the viewer is presented with either interesting or beautiful imagery to watch. This is a contemplative film. You watch, you witness, you observe. Just as in mindful meditation. In other words, the film creates a way for you to meditate. But you do not have to know how to meditate. When you watch the film the meditation happens on its own, because the film is structured like a meditation. You don’t need to do anything special or employ a meditation technique. All you have to do is allow the film to play out while you pay attention. Try not to resist the pace of the film or any scenes that may differ from your expectations. Just let it be what it is. Take it in, and observe.
The film has some long scenes by intention, some of which may be longer than you are accustomed to seeing. Long scenes are part of relaxing the mind. If a busy or fast-paced mind shows up to watch the movie, the movie asks the mind to slow down and match the pace of the scenes. This is the movie doing the work of meditation for you. The combination of your sustained observation and the film’s meditative techniques combine to produce a meditative state and a higher state of consciousness.
Emotional Range
On another level the film takes the viewer through a range of emotions and feelings. So there are multiple layers running through the film: the meditative part and the range of emotions, which is pretty wide in scope but does not include negative emotions such as anger or sadness. (By “negative” emotions I specifically mean any emotions that work against the process of achieving a higher state of consciousness.)
The emotions that can be experienced in the film range from trepidation to bliss, and from isolation to oneness. The movie’s main emotional thrust is imparting feelings of awe, reverence, pleasant surprise, uplifting sentiment, and a sense of peace and communion.
To be clear, there is nothing harmful in the film. There are night scenes, and a few scenes linger in darkness, giving you that experience. There are also scenes that observe nature’s life cycles. But there is, by design, an absence of negativity in this movie. The film gives you a safe framework for raising your state of consciousness.
Deeper Concepts | Contemplative Viewing
The third level of the film offers several themes for contemplation. These are universal themes but they are presented visually, in the language of videography. A few key contemplative themes that can be found in the film are: patience, balance, the cycle of life, working with fear of the unknown, anticipation, expectation, subtlety, dark and light, beginning and ending, openness, expansiveness, separation, and oneness. Note though, that the film can be watched and enjoyed without considering these topics at all, because the film is intended to be a pure experience that can be watched at any level of concentration. But it does allow deeper reflection if the viewer wishes.
Full Effect
Taken together, the meditative techniques, the range of emotions, and the contemplative themes combine to result in a full experience for the viewer. What at first may seem like a slow movie with no actual story to keep you in suspense turns out to be a deeply rewarding personal experience. Visually you witness nature’s astounding beauty, intricate patterns, mesmerizing rhythms, and immense scale right in front of you. You also feel it inside, emotionally. And somewhere along the way you arrive at a meditative state from watching the movie. You may even find yourself contemplating something fundamental about life or existence. But regardless, the experience of this film is yours, and I hope you have it.
This film took intense effort to create from scratch and it is my belief that it is notable for its beauty and design. But its real success is if it can produce a higher state of consciousness in you. I hope you consider this an opportunity. I firmly believe you will experience a personal reward from this film.