POINT TO PONDER
Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.
- Louis L'Amour
STORY LINE by Rajiv Shah
I want to talk about a scene from X-Men First Class that I feel has a profound message. Yes, it is a comic book superhero movie and I recognize that, but try to keep an open mind.
The scene is between a young doctor Xavier and a young Magneto as they stand on a veranda in front of an open field and a satellite dish in the distance. Xavier is dealing with Magneto's painful past - his mother was killed by Nazi's when he was a boy and was forced to watch her murder. This traumatic event fuels him, often consuming him with anger, guilt, and regret. Xavier cautions Magneto that rage alone will consume him but through serenity and peace he will find true power.
To demonstrate, Xavier asks Magneto to focus on a satellite dish in the distance. He asks Magneto to focus his energy on it, to move it with his mind, his emotions. Magneto tenses, rage gripping him, but he cannot force the satellite to move.
Next, Xavier tells him to try moving it again. This time recalling a loving memory of Magneto's mother and with him when he was a boy. It is a memory of happiness. love, and it overwhelms the rage and pain that he feels. In the distance, the satellite moves dramatically.
Xavier looks at Magneto and says, "that is the point between rage and serenity."
REFLECTION
I have been a fan for a long time of a kinesioly book by Dr. David Hawkins titled, Power vs. Force. Dr. Hawkins is responsible for the study of human consciousness and how it affects the spirit and body. Specifically, how what we experience emotionally in the body affects the mind and our physical being.
The scene outlined from X-Men mirrors Dr' Hawkins revolutionary work - a simple test to demonstrate the power of kinesiology and human consciousness. This test was done under strict conditions by Mr. Hawkins but can be done with anyone. It's a simple test. You turn off any surrounding distrations - cell phones, radios, etc. - and you have the subject stand with their feet shoulder width apart, their arms straight out to the sides, in line with the shoulder and palms down.
Next, you explain to the subject that you will push their arms down (while facing the subject, not behind them) with your hands and they should resist your force. Ask them to close their eyes and think of a memory that was the saddest point in their life, something that caused them pain. You then push down on their arms while they are thinking of this memory and while the subject resists. Notice the results.
Then you take a moment, have the subject clear that memory from their mind and to resume the starting position. You ask them to now think of the most loving memory they have, something that caused them great joy and happiness. Again, while they are in this state, you push down on their arms and again, they resist. What did you discover in the same person under the different conditions?
What was found by Dr. Hawkins in an overwhelming number of subjects is that people are strongest when they are thinking of the loving memories. The body responds more powerfully and energetically to the force applied on them. The study suggests that our power comes from the specific emotions permeating our body at that time. Dr. Hawkins uses a scale to give a numerical value to each emotion from 20 to 600 (a score of 0-20 represents death), shame and fear on the lower end (20-30) with peace and enlightenment ranking on the highest end (600-1000).
How can this knowledge be used? We can use it to assess the feelings we are having and where on the scale those emotions reside. Just that simple awareness often allows one to change the things in their life that are causing a negative emotion and allow us to seek higher states of joy, happiness and fulfillement.
