Unveiling Spiritual Courage: "A Hidden Life" Review by Jacklyn A. Lo

 

A Hidden Life (2019)

Metaphysical Movie Review by Jacklyn A. Lo – A Hidden Life (2019).

Director and writer:  Terrence Malick. 

"A Hidden Life" is a thought-provoking historical film about Finding Spiritual Strength during WWII.

Individual vs. Society

This film explores the journey of a man who refuses to conform to societal norms and instead embraces his own spiritual beliefs, even in the face of hardship.

Living in a small Austrian village, Franz finds himself isolated because of his convictions. He refuses to participate in Hitler's war, firmly believing that both the war and Hitler himself are wrong.

However, his dissenting views are met with disdain and judgment from those around him, who see his refusal as arrogant and even prideful.

Higher Consciousness

This lack of understanding stems from their limited vision and inability to understand a higher consciousness than their own.

Franz seeks guidance from the local priest, but even the "servant of God" is unwilling to go against the grain, choosing instead to prioritize external circumstances over the moral principles of an individual.

Spiritual Challenge

Furthermore, Franz's spiritual challenge extends beyond his resistance to the war.

It comes at a great personal cost, including the suffering of his beloved family, separation from his wife and children, enduring physical pain, humiliation, and even facing death at a time when he desires to live.

Despite the hardships, Franz's wife and life partner, Fany, stands by his side, offering him unwavering support throughout their journey together.

Profound Spiritual Trial

In essence, this film delves into the profound spiritual trial faced by Franz and the sacrifices he makes for his beliefs.

It is worth noting Franz's village doesn't understand his higher consciousness. Most people there struggle to even grasp what consciousness is. As a result, they can't fathom Franz's difficult spiritual choice toward enlightenment.

The theme of individual vs. society and following spiritual challenges for the protagonist reminds the movie "Hacksaw Ridge (2016)", directed by Mel Gibson. Find my review of this film via the link.

Metaphysical Perspective

From a metaphysical perspective, Franz's journey can be seen as a metaphor for the soul's journey towards enlightenment.

In a world where many people are quick to conform to societal norms, A Hidden Life (2019) is a refreshing reminder that it is possible to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means facing hardship.

Franz's story is a testament to the power of the human spirit and the importance of following your own path, regardless of what others may think.

Like Franz, we are all faced with challenges that test our faith and our resolve. But if we are willing to face these challenges with Courage and Determination, we can emerge stronger and more enlightened on the other side.

The film also raises important questions about the nature of consciousness and the relationship between the individual and the Divine. Franz's choice to follow his conscience, even in the face of overwhelming opposition, suggests that there is a Higher Power that guides us and supports us on our journey.

Ultimate Message

Ultimately, "A Hidden Life" is a film that will stay with you long after you have seen it. It is a reminder that we are all connected to something greater than ourselves and that we have the power to make a difference in the world.

Notes:

• Picture in the article:  ©IMDb 

 

More Spiritual Movie Reviews – Jacklyn A. Lo

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Do angels or jinns ever appear in dreams?

The next question in Quora about angels and jinn caught my attention: 

Do angels or jinns ever appear in dreams? If so, what do they look like?

Once in my life had an I experience with a representative from what I call the " Angelic " world and once with a Demon. 

ⒸFanpop

Both cases happen over 10 years ago, but I remember them very well as if they would happen yesterday.

The first case happened when I got an undeserved emotional shock and I biked from the place in a gloomy mood. In a short distance

I saw a young fair-haired man in jogging mode with a super friendly bright smile.  

I knew that district very well and nobody was ever jogging there, especially in a happy mood, but he did. It seems like a little thing, but that was a warm and full of compassion glance, which is so rare among human-to-human.

Later, I read in a book of channelers that the most inexpensive ( from an energy point of view) way to communicate with people is by sending a message whether in a dream or via a hologram that looks like a human. My guess is that this was the case.

If the touch with the angelic realm was stress-realizing and encouraging,  the "meeting" with Demon was horror.

During a certain period of my life, I was doing some energy exercises to boost my next goal achieved. 

As long as I did the exercises alone, everything went smoothly; however, the procedure was to join (remotely) a group of people , which I did eventually. Again, the exercise itself went well and I decided to get a nap.

It takes courage to describe what happened next.

I must admit that prior to this experience, I didn't think too much or take too seriously the spiritual entities of Darkness. They were too abstract for me. However, this experience changed my attitude towards them.

Most likely, this Demon entered my astral body during sleep. I did not see his appearance nor sensed his breath, but felt the strength of his hands and felt his intentions.

His hands gripped my throat so tightly that it was impossible to inhale the air. I tried to scream, but I couldn't. This went on for some time; then he unclenched his hands and I woke up.

It should be noted that I have never suffered from nightmares.

That silent message was so powerful and convincing that I quit the exercises. The demon didn't come back.

So, in conclusion.

I assume that the spiritual beings from the Subtle World will have the form that is the least expensive in terms of energy consumption, but powerful enough to achieve their goal.

Find more answers to this question on Quora.

Do children choose their parents?

 This is another noteworthy question on Quora: 

"Children claim that they chose their parents when they talk about reincarnation. If we get to choose our parents, why do some of us choose bad parents?"

© Illustration

I assume that if the choice of parents is given, then this choice is very limited. In other words, a soul may have such conditions that it chooses a lesser evil from a group of greater ones. 

We must also remember that, under the influence of the Universal Law of Karma, we have a very limited choice of a future life. For example, a student who goes to school cannot change the curriculum or teachers at school, but he might have some  limited choice of subjects to study. 

We also have to be aware, that young human souls coming from the animal world do not have any choice for the future conditions of their lives as their consciousness is very low.

Of course, the higher the consciousness, the more difficult challenges a soul can overcome, and one can choose bad parents to teach them a lesson.  However, I think this is a very rare case.

Irina Nola, past life regression therapist, explains the karmic aspect of relationships very well when answering this question.

There are a lot of reasons why a soul can chose ‘difficult” or ‘nightmarish” parents:

• Karmic debt, karmic relationship. We see a lot of situations in past life regression when a soul who was your murderer in past life become a parent in this life. Contrary to the ‘karmic punishment” idea, karma works in mysterious ways, and somebody who killed you in a past life can be your parent in the next life - “Taking life-giving life” as balancing karma” They have to take care of you as a kid and later, typically these are really bad relationships, often abusive, and the only connection with this parent is that they killed you in a past life and paying you back by spending time and money on you, and 9 months of pregnancy and breastfeeding for a woman. 
• There is no deep Soulmate connection here, they create your body and feed you till you can finally get the heck out of their house. They can also abuse you pretty badly as a child since these are usually very low-level souls, without a high sense of morality or empathy. In a sense - you agreed to this to help THEM to balance their karma…
• Another ‘karmic debt” possibility (less violent) is one one soul sacrifised their life or well-being for another person - say, you shielded them with your body in some battle, or took care of them for years as a youngest daughter, who never married after taking care of her parent, basically one of you did something for another way beyond ‘fair trade” - so a karmic debt was created.

Find more answers on Quora

Is the spirit world just as corrupted as the earthly realm?

Is the spirit world (afterlife) just as corrupted as the earthly realm? Why would some spiritual beings want to control other spirits and trap them in a cycle of endless unconscious incarnations? How do we break free?

This is another chain of thought-provoking questions on Quora.

The short answer to these questions is "No, the Subtle World is not corrupted." 

© Reincarnated Soul

But let's take a closer look at all these questions.

Is the spirit world (afterlife) just as corrupted as the earthly realm?

The most probably the author of the questions by spirit world means a Subtle World where a soul comes after life ending.

As far as I know, the most difficult platform for the soul is physical, i.e. the material world, where the soul comes to gain the missing energies and determine its Spiritual Direction*. 

You may ask why such challenges are created and why we do not have heaven on Earth. Well, these conditions are made for souls with relatively low consciousness. As consciousness grows and the soul achieves certain results that allow it to join the hierarchy of God or Satan, it passes into a higher reality in accordance with its achievements.

And the Higher World has its own principles, different from ours.

Why would some spiritual beings want to control other spirits and trap them in a cycle of endless unconscious incarnations? 

To add even more thrill, science fiction writers, myself included, use strong words and phrases such as trap to describe reincarnation.

However, we must recognize that the concept of reincarnation is an excellent tool for human development.

If you have worked as a project manager or at least participated in some projects, then most likely you have noticed that the shorter the project, the more effective it is and the easier it is to meet deadlines.

The same idea with the project of our life - dividing a long stretch of the path into several lives gives better results.

In addition, more lives provide variety that cannot be achieved in one. For example, the same soul experiences in different genders, countries, conditions of existence, and even on different planets.

For example, in my novel Redemption, the soul of my main character, a high-tech executive living on Earth 2045, previously lived in the Nameless Country, France, Italy, and Russia, incarnating mostly as a woman, but also as a man. 

How do we break free?

In fact, we are not trapped by spiritual beings or the concept of reincarnation, but by our own imperfection.

As soon as we collect all the necessary energies into the matrix of our souls and make the final Spiritual Choice of our Spiritual Direction - towards Light or Darkness, the need to return to the physical world, i.e. reincarnation, will disappear.

Grigory Rasputin - Light or Dark? Part III (B)

Aron Simonovich wrote in his book RASPUTIN: The Memoirs of his Secretary that Rasputin had a very good chance of getting rich, but he never had a monetary goal.

G. Rasputin and the Tsar's Family

Money

Having received some money from representatives of high society, ministers and businessmen, Grigory immediately spent it on the poor who came to him for help*.

modest lifestyle

In Petersburg time, Grigory led a very modest lifestyle, and only the room of his daughters was furnished with more or less good furniture. There was no luxury or anything like that in his apartment. He ate the same as in his homeland in Siberia - potatoes, sauerkraut, homemade crackers. He always observed the fast and never broke it.

Nicholas II family 

Note that he never demanded a salary from the Nicholas II family, being the spiritual healer of the tsar himself and, most importantly, the heir to the throne from dangerous hemophilia. The only expense covered by the royal family was the monthly rent for the apartment. 

Grigory with the tsarina, her children and nanny. 1908

More about the relationship between Gregory and the royal family in the screenplay The Tsar's Choice.

incorruptibility

Many hated Grigory because they could not make a puppet out of him and offered big money for him to leave Petersburg. 

For example, one of the ministers, who was thwarted by Rasputin, offered him 200,000 rubles ($2 million today) to leave the capital for his village of Pokrovskoye, but Grigory refused.

Was Grigory Not Tempted?

A logical question arises - if even Jesus was subject to the temptations of Satan, were there serious trials for the soul of Grigory?

Certainly! 

Grigory was no exception because everyone who came to the dense physical world is tested.

Olga Lokhtina

He was tested through a high society lady, the pretty blonde Olga Lokhtina, the general's wife. 

Olga Lokhtina

Publicly and privately, she persecuted Grigory, demanding reciprocity in love. 

Once Rasputin committed adultery with her and, repenting of his sin subsequently rejected all her attempts to establish any further relationship with her.

pride 

Following Rasputin with declarations of love, she was obviously very tempted to challenge such inner qualities of Gregory as pride, i.e. high opinion of yourself. 

However, Grigory passed the temptation "cleanly".

Conclusion

Following the qualities and values of Rasputin, as well as viewing his reaction to Satan's temptations, we must recognize that Grigory is pure Light, without a single sign of Darkness!

The Holy Bible advises us to separate the wheat from the chaff, and this is one of the most important tasks we must do. This article, written in accordance with this advice, gives a direct answer that Grigory Rasputin was a spiritual being moving towards the Light.

G. Rasputin with Tsarevich Alexei. Icon of N.Guryanov

missionary

All his qualities, values, and lack of predilections indicate that he was a man of high energy and high spirit, most likely, who voluntarily took on a difficult mission and sacrificed himself for the sake of a better future for Russia.

After the brutal murder in 1916, Grigory's body was buried in Alexander Park, from where later on was taken out and burned on the orders of A.F. Kerensky.

The symbolic burial place of Grigory Rasputin.

Unfortunately, most Russians still have an internal problem of separating the wheat from the chaff. Many blindly believe in the propaganda and do not use their own thinking.

godless Lenin

Until now, statues of the godless Vladimir Ulyanov/Lenin, the leader of Bolsheviks who brutally murdered the royal family, are kept in the center of every Russian city and even carefully keep his corpse in heart of Moscow.  

But this man pitted brother against brother, unleashing a civil war in 1917, which killed between 7 and 12 million people, mostly civilians.

Lenin Mausoleum

In contrast, Grigory carried pure Love and Peace to all: " I am your brother sent by God…" 

prophet and pacifist

Rasputin was a Russian prophet and pacifist who tried to convey to the Tsar the danger of entering the First World War.  Unfortunately, Nicholas II wasn't able to make the Spiritual Choice towards Light.

predictions

All Grigory's predictions about the death of the royal family and the terrifying future of Russia came true. It became time for the Dark Ones...

In Russia, there is not even a memorial plaque to Grigory Rasputin, and the only museum opened in his native village of Pokrovsky is funded from private sources.

House-Museum of Grigory Rasputin

__________________________

Find an alternative choice of the tsar and future of the Russian empire in the screenplay "The Tsar's Choice".

Grigory Rasputin - Light or Dark? Part II of III

Elder Macarius, Bishop Feofan, Grigory Rasputin

In this part, we shall cover the rest of the values/qualities of the Dark Ones and will compare them with those that Grigory Rasputin had.

5.  Atheism (godlessness)

Grigory not only had Faith but also knew that God exists. His prayers were distinguished by sincerity and lack of copying.

He spoke to God without servility, in his own words, as with a close friend: 

“In You, Lord, I trust and I will never be ashamed of it! I praise You, Lord, and I say in my soul: be my Creator and Intercessor!”

A person with a truly deep faith in God cannot be Dark.

6. Lack of interest in spirituality

Grigory had a deep passion for spirituality and took every opportunity to share his feelings and spiritual revelations with others. He had fans who regularly gathered to listen to him and record his stories. 

In 1907 he wrote his notes The Life of an Experienced Wanderer: “Spring means a great celebration for a spiritual person. As a decorated bright May happens, so the soul of the one who watches the Lord blooms and May arises.”

And in 1915  My Thoughts and Reflections: “They can deprive of everything - even a 

dwelling, but never a soul. The loss of earthly things is a great feat; you need to ask God to give you patience. For the loss of the earthly and the reward is great.”

Passion for the spiritual cannot belong to the Dark, therefore Grigory was Light.

Photo: Grigory with admirers

7. Inability to heal

Grigory was a healer. He recognized this ability as a teenager, treating horses in his native village, alter he started to treat people. In some cases, he used healing Siberian herbs, but mostly he healed with his prayers, i.e. God willing. 

Repeatedly Grigory helped the sick, even those who are considered incurable. Once, in a Ural monastery, he healed a demon-possessed - a woman who had suffered from seizures.

Among the others, his patients were Tsar Nicholas II and the heir to the Russian throne, Tsarevich Alexei.

A healer can’t be Dark, therefore by this criteria, Grigory belongs to Light.

8. No skills to see future

From adolescence, Grigory had the ability to make predictions.

For example, he “saw” when and how a person would die, and told his fellow villagers about it.

His daughter Matryona describes a case when, thanks to Grigory's foresight, a horse thief was found.

Grigory's predictions came true regarding the royal family, the fate of St. Petersburg, the then capital of Russia, the fate of his homeland, and much more.

He predicted: “Darkness will fall on Petersburg. When its name changes, the empire will end". In August 1914 St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. March 15, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated; this marked the end of the Russian Empire.

And another one: “If my murder is committed by nobles - relatives of the tsar, then the future of Russia and the royal family will be terrible. The nobles will flee the country, and the tsar's relatives will not be left alive; in two years the brothers will rise up against the brothers and kill each other.” 

The royal family, together with the emperor, were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks, and at the end of 1917 Russia entered the Civil War.

As Darks do not have the ability to see the future, but Grigory does, he is representative of Lights.

9. Chauvinism

Grigory promoted mutually beneficial cooperation between people of different nationalities and countries.

In private conversations with the tsar, he calls him for friendship with the United States and economic cooperation with Germany.

In his own country, he points out the advantages of international marriages and helps Russian Jews through his personal secretary Aron Simonovich*.

Grigory does not fit into the goals of the Dark Ones - incitement of chauvinism, but represents the opposite - therefore he is a Light One.

*Aron Simonovich, Rasputin and the Jews. Memoirs of the personal personality of Grigory Rasputin ( in Russian).

10. Slavery and dependency

Grigory was freedom-loving and this is evident from his travels - within the country and abroad to Palestine and Jerusalem. The presence of a wise wife gave him the opportunity to make long pilgrimages. The pleasure of freedom is felt in his notes "The Life" and " My thoughts".

Grigory never depended on anyone. Living in his village, he was an independent farmer, fisherman, and cart driver. 

When he moved to St. Petersburg, many wanted to make a puppet out of him, but, guided by his mission, he remained incorruptible, causing irritation among the nobles and open and hidden enmity.

Freedom and independence are values of Light, therefore, Grigory is a representative of Lights.

Photo: Grigory with villagers

11. Vision of the devil and demons 

During his life, Grigory had a vision of the Mother of God who appeared to him when he plowed the field. The vision lasted several seconds and left an indelible impression on Grigory. Later, the vision motivated him to come to St. Petersburg.*

A vision of the Queen of Heaven can’t appear to a person moving towards Darkness, therefore Grigory was a Spiritual entity moving towards Light.

*Matryona Rasputina. "Rasputin Why?" (in Russian)

Conclusion 

The conclusion from these analyzes is unequivocal - none of the qualities and values of the Dark Ones fit Grigory's profile.

Consequently, according to these criteria, Grigory does not belong to the Dark, but to the Light.

However, we will not rush to draw a final conclusion, because Grigory Rasputin was accused of debauchery, drunkenness, greed, etc., and in the third part we will conduct additional analyzes.

The Tudors' Sweating Sickness vs. COVID-19

Are you aware that Henry VIII Tudor truly believed that sickness is a visitation from God and a punishment for sins? Read more: The Tudors' Sweating Sickness vs. COVID-19.