When Zoe Golightly requested that I stand in for Jsu at the Q&A following the Spiritual Warriors screening in West Orange, New Jersey, I did not hesitate to say “Yes”. My response was surprising to me since I wasn’t technically involved in the movie’s creation/production — unless I was. That being said, it seemed totally on track for me to hold the Light and field any questions — whatever they may be. After all, while I may not know the production details of the movie, I’ve heard Jsu answer them and I could do the same to the best of my ability with the Traveler’s support. And I am grounded in the Teachings in a very solid way. So I felt OK about my participation.

Jim and I left 2 hours early — Jim’s insistence — to get to the NJ venue from Manhattan during Friday evening rush hour — which we thought would take us 45 minutes tops. It’s about 20 miles. However…. the cars crawled at a snails pace. We were an hour into our trip and we still had 10 miles to go. As we got within 15 minutes of the turn off we saw there was a 3 car pile up. A three lane highway had earlier converged into a 2 lane highway and due to the pile up had turned into a one lane highway. So there was the grace… we were not in the pile up. And we were safe. We arrived at the venue 10 minutes before the movie was to be shown. And our Spiritual Warriors movie adventure took off.

Jim and I walked into the Center for Conscious Living and were greeted by many smiling, welcoming faces. They were so grateful we had come and brought the film. Lisa, our contact person explained to us about their film program. They have shown What the Bleep, The Secret, and many others. She also talked to us a bit about their spiritual practice, which is Religious Science, and introduced us to the minister of their congregation, Reverend Michelle Wadleigh, whom they respectfully call Reverend Michelle.

Linda Searle’s twin sister Brenda is a member of this community. As I saw Brenda walking toward me, I said “there’s Linda’s sister.” I almost said “there’s Linda.” To say they are identical twins is almost an understatement as the likeness is so strong. If I didn’t know better I would have thought Linda herself had flown out for the event.

The movie nights at the Center for Conscious Living are quite a celebration. Free buttered popcorn is provided for all and there is a lot of schmoozing time before and after. So Jim and I got our popcorn and a front row seat and relaxed to watch the movie. We felt very at home.

Every time I see the Spiritual Warriors movie — particularly with a group — it is a powerful and moving experience for me. While I know it draws in large part on Jsu’s personal experience as an initiate and best friend of John-Roger, the Traveler, it is very easy for me to identify my own personal experience as J-R’s initiate and best friend in the film as well.

When I watch the Spiritual Warriors movie, while I am seeing with my eyes and listening with my ears, I am experiencing the movie inside of myself on many different levels and in many extraordinary ways. The more I see the film the more the experience takes place inside of me. It continues to be an awakening. I am moved to a deeper and deeper inner experience each time I view it. For me as an initiate of John-Roger, there is a universal quality to the story that speaks to the path of the Traveler’s initiate.

And….. as a self-described movie buff and amateur film critic, another reason I love watching this movie is because it is really, really good.

There were approximately 60 — 70 people in the audience. Reverend Michelle and I did the Q&A together after the film. She wanted to be able to answer questions that might be raised relative to Religious Science. We had a lively discussion. As I heard it, she likened my reference to the loyal forces of the opposition to what in Religious Science they refer to as the ego getting in the way of our path. We had a particularly interesting back and forth about the choice Finn has at the end to stay in the Spirit or to go back and complete the spiritual work.

We had a little more schmoozing time afterwards. One of the film’s great fans is a woman named Melvetta. She lives in North Carolina and flew up specifically for the screening. She told me she had also gone to Los Angeles to see one of the movie theater screenings there.

This film has touched the lives of so many. Thank you Jsu. Thank you John-Roger.