I picked up a few movies at the library the other day, including one which had garnered a bit of buzz when it played at a local independent theatre. What the BLEEP Do We Know!? is described on the movie’s website as “an outrageous hybrid film about cutting edge physics, biology, consciousness and mysticism”. J and I watched it on the weekend, and the best thing I can say about it is that it sparked discussion. The basic premise of the film is that you can apply the theories of quantum physics to your everyday life, thereby (and this is straight from the subtitle of the companion book) “discovering the endless possibilities for altering your everyday reality”.

The film features a good supply of purported experts, all of whom look earnestly into the camera while citing the latest research in various esoteric (usually microscopic or sub-atomic) fields. They then make the often enormous leap (thereby straining my credulity) to apply this research to the viewer’s daily (macroscopic) life. A favorite sequence cited the work of a Dr. Masaru Emoto, who is supposedly “at the forefront of the study of water”, having proved (and I used that word advisedly)

that thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. By producing different focused intentions through written and spoken words and music and literally presenting it to the same water samples, the water appears to “change its expression”.

And since we’re made up mostly of water: Hey! We can literally change ourselves! QED!

But my favorite of the movie’s learned talking heads was the one who turned out to be channelling someone/thing named Ramtha (apparently Ramtha is “an immortal God, consciousness and energy [who] lived once as a human being 35,000 years ago in the long-gone continent of Lemuria”). For reasons which are never satisfactorily explained, this immortal God has chosen a rather intense looking woman by the name of JZ Knight “to channel himself and teach his philosophy in person”. From which I have concluded that, in order to channel someone/thing, you need to have had at least three facelifts, and wear an outfit that looks like it came from a Star Trek prop sale. It turns out Ramtha has his/her own website, and runs a School of Enlightenment down in Yelm, Washington, where you can train for 8 days until “the incredible becomes credible”.

The school is a place of special beauty and deep serenity at the foothills of Mount Rainier. Great cedar and fir trees grace the grounds and a sense of timelessness prevails. Yet even in this peaceful natural setting, it quickly becomes clear to the students that the school does not conform to the preconceived images students might have of other schools of spiritual learning. […] Most classes are conducted in what is called the Great Hall or the Arena [which] can accommodate as many as 2000 students seated in assigned spaces on the Astroturf floor. Ramtha often has the class outside in one of the large, grassy fields. The instruction can continue for several hours regardless of the weather conditions.

Assigned seating on Astroturf, and outdoor classes in all weather: with my bad back, and considering the one month of West Coast rain that we’re still soaking in, I don’t think I’ll be registering at Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment any time soon.