The last few days I’ve been watching a remarkable documentary series that has interesting considerations when one looks at it from a SHIFT-IT and Law of Attraction perspective. The series is called “Up”… 7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up and 48 Up. Have you seen it?
In it, British documentary filmmaker, Michael Apted, chronicles the lives of 14 British kids from diverse backgrounds from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future.
Starting in 1964 when the children were 7, it returns every seven years to talk to them and examine the progression of their lives (the most recent film brings them to the age of 48 … and Apted’s intention is to keep it going, perhaps even beyond his own life time thru others if necessary … and if the participants are willing to continue).
Motivated by the Jesuit maxim ‘Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man” … this series is an astonishing look at the structure of life in the 20th century thru the time-lapse effect of these 14 individuals. Watching all of them back-to-back (instead of having to wait the 7 years for each one to come out like other fans of the series have had to) is like a reality show on speed. It’s amazing and fascinating – and I am deeply touched by the participants’ huge gift of allowing us to eavesdrop on their unfolding lives. What an opportunity to see LIFE, at the really big picture level, evolve through these people and their families (and society overall).
So, what does this series show us in terms of SHIFT-IT and Law of Attraction work? Here are a few of my thoughts:
Deliberate Creation and Early Influences
The beginning film of the series (which incidentally didn’t start off with the intention of being a series) purposely chose children from diverse backgrounds (some from what North Americans call ‘private’ schools, some from ‘public’ schools and some as wards of the state … from city, suburbs and rural … and from wealthy, middle class and poor situations).
Each child had a world-view comprised of what they had been exposed to from their early environments – what their norm was. Certain parameters on boundaries and possibilities were established early via their educational opportunities, geographical and cultural exposures etc. Like attracts like.
As a coach who works with adults from varying backgrounds, I see the effects of these same kinds of stratifications in my clients. What they are trying to SHIFT (and create) in their life regularly comes up against the beliefs, attitudes and opportunities that were considered ‘normal’ in their backgrounds. In many cases they want to create things that are different of enhanced from what they grew up with and are encountering internal resistance of varying degrees as a result. As we shift the resistance, the manifestations flow.
An Individual Tone or Essence
Watching these young children progress from children, to adolescents, to young and then more seasoned adults … I was struck by the ‘essence’ that seemed with them right from the start. That each person had a certain, unmistakable ‘tone’ about them. In LOA speak, this would be their vibrational essence. And certain meta-physical sources mention a personal frequency or harmonic that is unique to each person. As we see and sense that tone in others … it makes us sense and wonder about our own tone – what is that special tone that we have each possessed from childhood on?
New Generations Benefit from the Rockets of Desires Launched by Previous Generations:
The Abraham Teachings on Law of Attraction talk about something showcased in this series. How new generations benefit from the ‘rockets of desire’ that were launched by the generations before them (who due to the times they lived in, could not personally benefit from what they yearned for, but their children or children’s child eventually could). In the series we hear tales of mother’s and father’s lives and how conditions have changed, morphed and shifted for the next generation – in improved ways. It might have taken years or generations, but issues like class barriers, availability of divorce, increased options for women and minorities, stigmas of illegitimacy, mixed race unions, etc have dramatically shifted over the generations resulting in a more accepting and freer society.
Typical Life Stages and Crossroads
When we are on our own SHIFT-IT journey we can often think we are alone and separate in what we are experiencing, when we are experiencing it. However, these films show us the typical life stages that all human beings go through. The natural decision points that one comes up against as we age and progress through our lives. Crossroads about education, careers, partners, children, mid-life course corrections, aging, etc. As much as we are individuals having our own unique experience, we are also part of larger rhythms and patterns that human beings naturally go through, influenced by the mass beliefs of the time frame and culture that makes up our context.
We Are All Being Courageous on Our Journeys
The UP Series is a wonderful co-creation … between the film maker, the generous participants, the society that it was formed in, and us as viewers drawing our own conclusions and relating the film to our own life and experiences. It’s not perfect (the filmmaker exhibits some real biases and assumptions at times) and how much can a film shared by 14 individuals really do every life justice.
However, for me, this series helps me see and ponder the strength and courageousness of the individual life. These so-called ordinary people show us the ‘mystery of life’ from its panoramic perspective. How life is unfolding through all of us. Each of us makes a contribution to the whole, just by being and by going through our unique expression of life. At that high level, there is no right and wrong. Only experience. And an unfolding of one moment to the next, one year to the next, one decade, one century … generations after generation.
Made me appreciate the larger flow that is going on all around us.
