The search for enlightenment is part of the human experience. It’s the reason for religion, the basis for a billion self-help guides, and the excuse for so much of our inner turmoil. We want to believe there is some purpose to life, that within a realm of a million minor difficulties and rewards, there’s a big-picture plot as to why we exist. Of course, many would argue that faith is the opiate of the masses, that organized belief has done more damage than good, and that within a time frame encompassing thousands of years, priests and prophets have provided very little to further our understanding.
Now, two new DVDs from Alive Mind Media (a copy whose ad copy stresses their commitment to releasing “specialty documentary programming in the areas of enlightened consciousness, secular spirituality and culture”) hope to dispel some myths while making the mysteries of spirituality a whole lot less enigmatic. So…Help Me God centers on Simon Cole and his cross-country quest to discover the power and glory of a Higher Authority. His genial, 52-minute depicted road trip takes him across America, exposing theological acceptance and fundamentalist rage.
Meditate and Destroy focuses on former bad boy turned author and Buddhist teacher Noah Levine. As much a teaching tool as a mini-biography, we learn of the drug-addled and crime-filled life that transformed this self-proclaimed punk into a force for good in the realm of spiritual guidance. While Levine’s story has a more dramatic punch, it is frequently compromised by director Sarah Fisher’s desire to hard sell the man’s ‘ministry’ and teachings. On the other hand, Cole creates a Religulous-like experience with questions of dogmatic inconsistency that provide fodder for humor and the occasional insight.
Indeed, So…Help Me God accomplishes the basic tenets of its set-up. Cole comes across as good-natured and genuine, never openly confronting his hosts like HBO pundit Bill Maher did during his documentary. Certainly, he lets the subjects spewing hate hang themselves with obvious clarity (a family of rabid homosexual-hating zealots exposes themselves). Still, he also wants to understand and experience the substance of religious devotion. After speaking with all religious types – Muslim, Jew, Hindi, Buddhist, etc. – he decides to confront his quandary head-on. Setting up a tent in the desert, he explores the reasons and the need for faith. His last act of revelation aligns with the rest of So…Help Me God‘s direct designs.
Cole also greatly serves those who truly need God without all the organized and ritualized trappings. The doubters deliver arguments as compelling as the converted, while hot-button topics like reproductive choice, sexual orientation, and Biblical interpretation also receive fair and balanced treatment. The only downside here is the length – at 52 minutes, Cole only scratches the surface. He puts across a fairly flawless preamble to what could be a much longer and more sophisticated overview (Satanists, Wiccans, and Atheists are left out of the mix, for example). Still, by shining a light on the need for answers within a world striving to complicate and confuse, So…Help Me God becomes a telling explanation.
Oddly enough, Mediate and Destroy does the same thing, only in a far less compelling manner, but Levine is a persuasive presence. Taking after his noted father (both have a marvelous gift for gab and the prescient application of same) we see him speaking to various groups and gatherings while focusing on the journey through Hell he put himself through as a youth. In between are talking head interviews that expand on what Levine teaches while supporting his updated dynamic. The biographical elements are scattered; our subject’s tales of youthful indiscretion and crack-fueled violence supposedly showcase how far he’s come. While they offer such sustenance, they often become unnecessary reminders.
Levin’es entire persona, from the punk rock patina to his amazing body art, suggests the entire battle without getting into every detail. Even better, when Levine starts counseling a group of individuals, his examples and heart-felt anecdotes deliver the message loud and clear. During these scenes, when others explain their pain and suffering, Meditate and Destroy finds its purpose. We can see how Levine’s words move and inspire these people, and the battle scars they carry beneath the surface make them just as compelling as their teacher is. Sometimes, the backstory blinds us to the teachings inherent in Buddhism, but as a way of getting the too hip and the too-insular into spirituality, Mediate and Destroy is a fascinating film.
Indeed, what both So…Help Me God and Meditate and Destroy do best is remove the smug, self-important aura from faith. They argue that people don’t have to be part of some centuries-old community to get in touch with their inner light. Cole specifically shows that forging your path, investigating and dissection the various approach to religion might be the best way to discover what’s important to you. On the other hand, Levine has found something that works for his always tenuous sobriety. Since he comes across as both serious and enthusiastic about sharing, we easily fall into his words and thoughts. While So…Help Me God is the much more pleasurable experience, Meditate and Destroy goes deeper into the question of belief and its halting, healing power.
Still, one can see a viewer sitting through each of these films and finding fault with many issues. Indeed, for someone living in the pragmatic and the practical, the notion of turning over any control, even a small amount of metaphysical or psychological, would seem specious. When Cole discovers the truth about his quest, we wonder if that’s the reality behind the various versions of faith. Still, as Noah Levine points out over and over again in his teaching, life is not about unqualified happiness. It’s about suffering and learning how to confront and defeat the struggle on a daily basis.
For most, organized religion is a plausible panacea. As So…Help Me God and Meditate and Destroy disclose, there may be better ways to achieve peace outside of such strict convictions.