My local library shows movies on selected Wednesday evenings. My wife and I select the program; I facilitate an audience discussion after the conclusion of each movie. Tonight's feature, the 1980 film Resurrection, centered on the experience of a woman who briefly dies. Her passage to the afterlife is shown as a walk through a tunnel, during which she encounters people who had some type of significant connection to her. The woman returns to life, and becomes subsequently imbued with healing abilities. During the after-movie discussion, one audience member revealed that he, too, had walked through the "tunnel." There was no question in his mind about his experience. What's curious is that this person has a Ph.D. in physics and worked at a high-profile science research institution for many years. His belief in rationality and scientific method is beyond doubt. Yet his consideration of his walk to the "other" side comfortably embraced the seemingly disparate strands of empirical rigor and mystical discovery. Others in the audience agreed with his approach, but without the benefit of a personal encounter with death.
The Ph.D.'s revelation surprised me; I don't know if I would have been as forthcoming in a similar situation.
I had another unexpected event that evening. I asked the audience if a movie like Resurrection could have been produced in any other country. I didn't think so. However, an Indian woman observed that a similar film could have been made in her country. She pointed out there are similar healers in India, with a group of followers and a fair number of skeptics in their midst. Now I know.
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