"What the Bleep Do We Know?"
By Angela Spaxman
Our September Professional Development Meeting was a change of pace. We filled the DD Centre with 40 open-minded people to watch the fascinating documentary-drama What the Bleep Do We Know? ( www.whatthebleep.com ). Despite this being one of our biggest PD meetings ever, we started right on time and our dedicated President, VP-Training, VP-Membership and others contributed to making all the arrangements run smoothly. It was nice to welcome many non-members, about half of those present. It shows that the kind of thinking in this movie is of interest to a wider part of the community in Hong Kong.
After the movie 27 people enjoyed the delicious and inventive Chinese vegetarian food at Veggie XP.www.veggiexp.com We talked about the food, and also shared our thoughts about the movie. A few people seemed taken aback by the provocative views expressed in the film. Several people said they wanted to see the movie again because there was so much in it and it was difficult to take it all in. Many people agreed with much of what the movie proposed. Others felt it was important to be sceptical as some of the claims made seemed pretty outrageous.
Many of the key points in the movie are very relevant to our roles as coaches. First of all, it is so empowering to believe that the world we experience is actually created by our own internal perceptions. It is quite mind-blowing to think that there is scientific evidence to back up this claim. Indeed the world is not flat! The idea that we create our own world fits perfectly into the coach's goal to help the client create the results/life they want. By assuming we can do anything, we give ourselves the ultimate choice. The work that many of our HKCC members do with manifesting destinies is related to these ideas. The film does not suggest it is easy to create the world exactly as we want, only that it is possible both theoretically and practically.
Another main point that relates to coaching is the idea that we are all addicted to emotions. The film goes into some depth to explain chemically and neurologically how this works. We've all seen this in our clients (and ourselves) when they (we) react emotionally in counter-productive ways. I'm talking about the leader who dominates automatically even when he wishes to collaborate, the unemployed person who reacts as a victim rather than showing confidence, the single person who is addicted to loneliness. I'm talking about all the subtle ways we stop ourselves from getting what we want by reacting to emotions we have grown addicted to. Coaches help their clients be aware of this phenomenon, see their own behaviour and find ways to change it.
Several movie-goers told me they'd like their friends to see this film too. The film can stimulate people's thinking about what is possible, especially in key areas related to coaching that are quite difficult to explain convincingly. And for those who are inspired by the messages in the film, it is enjoyable to see it again, to think about what it means to us and to share our thinking with our friends.
The movie can be bought at HMV and is available to rent at Movieland in Lan Kwai Fong.
