MAY 2006  

by Maya del Mar

The Celestine Prophecy Movie, produced by James Redfield and Sally Merrill Redfield, had its World Premiere at the Lumiere Theater in San Francisco on April 19, 2006.

After viewing this film, I walked out into the night streets of San Francisco. I was overflowing with love, and so was everyone I ran into. I felt one with the world, and great joy in that feeling, for the world was a loving and beneficent world.

In his book, The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield informed us about the spiritual dimension into which we are moving. His medium was a simple, but adventurous, story wrapped around a young American’s search for the nine insights in the Peruvian mountains.

Many of you have read this book. Published in 1994, it topped bestseller lists for three years, and is still a hot seller. The book’s action is fast-moving and set in lush beautiful country. The good guys and the bad guys are clear-cut. It is an exciting visual journey, and a natural for film.

Another way in which The Celestine Prophecy is particularly suited for film is that the very subject matter of the book, the unseen energy field in which we live, can be well portrayed with special effects. James has an excellent understanding of energy and of how it moves, and this teaching is a great value of both the book and the film.

In the story, John, our novice traveler (aren’t we all?), is brought by a series of coincidences into the search for the ancient prophecies. Gradually he learns much, and deepens his understanding of life. It all begins with the “coincidences,” and then his opening to intuition to lead him into each new step.

“But I don’t know where I’m going!” he cries to his mentor at one critical juncture, as he dashes into the jungle. “Nor do any of us,” replies his friend.

Besides paying attention to synchronicities, says James, we need to open our perception and become aware of the mystical dimensions of life. Everything emits energy, and life is, indeed, an energy dance amongst us. Through meditation and concentration, we can learn to see that energy—in which we participate, seen or unseen. And we can learn to hold our own energy, and not allow others to steal it. Meditation on the beauty and sacredness of nature is particularly effective.

Conflict, according to James, is unconscious competition for energy. We can learn to build our own energy through feelings of love, so that we do not need to compete with others. In regard to conflict, for my tastes, there was too much seemingly gratuitous violence in the film.

John undergoes exciting experiences which are vehicles for teaching him. In the film we see him learning these lessons through risky adventures, romantic attraction, and difficult challenges.

One of the most special scenes in the film, for me, was the depiction of the ninth insight. I’ll leave it to you to discover it.

I read the book in 1994, resonated to its principles, and have been working with them ever since. However, even before I read it, James called me from his home in Alabama and asked me to write an astrology section for his new newsletter, which he was publishing in conjunction with the book as another vehicle for promoting a new spirituality.

This was the Celestine Journal. James stopped publishing the Celestine Journal after a few years, and then the editor, Ann Buzenberg, and I took it over and renamed it Daykeeper. Ann went on to greener pastures, and I continued publishing Daykeeper, but on the Web. Thus was born www.daykeeperjournal.com. I haven’t missed a day of forecast, and we have loyal readers that have been with us from the beginning.

The Celestine Journal is back, but now on the Web, as part of James’ site, www.celestinevision.com. I still appear in it, in a condensed version.

So attending the film, and saying hello to James, was for me returning to touch base with an important milestone of my professional life, as well as renewing my sense of participation in the energies which surround and support us. This is a renewal which I always find in James’ work.

"The Celestine Prophesy the Movie" is an uplifting experience, which leaves the viewer expanded and filled with light, as well as giving him/her practical guidelines for using energy more effectively, particularly in relationships.

Go see it and enrich your daily life, not only for an hour but long into the future. There are trailers, and more information, on the Web at www.thecelestineprophecymovie.com.