i n t e g r a l c o u n s e l i n g i n s t i t u t e
August 2007 Book Review and Quotes Archive
The Last Mimzy
Infinifilm / New Line Home Entertainment
based on the story “Mimzy Were the Borogroves” by Lewis Padget
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
-Lewis Carrol, Jabberwocky,
Through the Looking-Glass and
What Alice Found There,
1872
Here’s a movie that manages to weave together an engaging story of sweet, big-eyed innocence, space time geometry,
Patriot Act over-reaching, pollution, adventures in consciousness, trans-species communication, product placement for
“Intel”, splendid special effects, a cameo by mediagenic physicist and string theory spokesperson Brian Greene (The
Elegant Universe), and wraps it all up in Seattle, Washington. What’s not to love?
A lot of our discussion around the Integral Counseling Institute coffee pot lately has involved the role of consciousness,
attention, and the nature of time and space. The threads of our conversation weave together notions of cyclic multiverses,
collapsing waves of super-imposed probabilities, David Bohm’s ideas of the implicate and explicate orders, and the
emergent qualities of evolutionary development, such as increasingly sophisticated mental representations of reality.
That last notion has put some of us at risk of being considered philosophical idealists but Ill save that thread for another
review.
Mimzy captures some big ideas in a delightful unfolding story that held the attention of my kinetic 6 year old, Pascal, and
his Ravenclaw, Hogwarts graduate sister, Lucille. It drew me in as I finished making waffles and getting the strawberries
on the table. Okay, by the end, I was dewy eyed that the kids (in the movie) against all odds, saved humanity for another
round sometime in the future. The featurettes on the DVD include mini lectures by Brian Greene and a host of other
scientists on topics like nanotechnology, DNA, time travel, and how the film’s story used state of the art research as its
jump point. It’s not your average kid’s fare.
In the meantime, I was treated to some lovely graphical renderings of a space-time bridge, time travel, cosmic mandalas,
and the coolest spider web that has ever been wove. And I just happen to have a poster in my office of the same mandala
that is left in the vapor trails of the time bridge.
Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Pascal now tells me that the universe is speaking to him. Sometimes its important to just listen and let the dishes fall
probabilistically where they may. ~ Review by Tom Tower
August Quotes of the Month
“The key to a fulfilled life, without fear of death, is to appreciate that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience,
rather than physical beings having a spiritual experience.” ~ Proverbial Wisdom, One Spirit Book of Days 2001
"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." ~ Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
"Of course it is happening in your head, Harry, but why on earth should that
mean its not real?" ~ Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our
abilities." ~ Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets