 Ah, Doctor Strange, that movie that everyone thought was going to flop because there's no way a spiritual superhero could translate to the big screen, but then ended up making millions and being nominated for Academy Awards? Classic. It's strange. Baby, who am I to judge? We know, it's spirituality isn't exactly hidden, in fact it's pretty in your face, so instead we're going to look at things a little differently this time around. And I'm ready for that. Try me, Beyonce. At its heart, Doctor Strange is a movie about surrendering to the self, the true self. It's about a journey of transcendent inner standing that is mirrored in Stephen's journey from the West to the East. Yet, perhaps one of the most amazing things about this movie lies in its depiction of spirituality from a Western viewpoint or perception, and in what way that can teach us about ourselves and our relationship with such concepts. And from the outset, there's some kind of bias inherent in the name, Doctor Strange. It's not a story of science or anything close to what we tend to understand in the Western world. It's a bit... strange. Ok, ok, but seriously, this movie is important for a number of reasons, the least of which being that it's spirituality's grand debut in the forefront of the MCU. Up until this point, every superhero on the big screen has been the result of scientific research, some accident involving genetics, or radiation, or a great feat of engineering. There really haven't been many spiritual concepts that made it big like this. What's even more special about Doctor Strange, though, is that it flips the concept of a superhero on its head. There's nothing inherently special about Stephen. Sure, he has a genius IQ and is a good doctor, but otherwise he's just a normal guy. Not a jerk actually, but definitely no special abilities or genetics to speak of. That is, until he undergoes a training montage that even Sylvester Stallone would be envious of. The point being, Strange's powers don't come by accident, they come from study and practice, years of it. Here we find this idea that literally anyone could go to comartage and learn from the ancient one to understand their inner self, regardless of background or ability. Like the western egocentric view that only special individuals can have powers, here spirituality is akin to knowledge that anyone can gain and understand. A universal concept, one that isn't limited to special people, but is part of a universal truth and relationship to the soul of the individual. From the very opening scene, we're shown one of the most important aspects of western life, an emphasis on the physical senses, most notably touch, in the form of his handwashing. This sets the stage for a transition to occur, one from a focus on the outward physical world to the inward energetic one. On the surface, you might just think that the scene is foreshadowing his accident, but it actually goes a lot deeper. See, in today's world, our hands are, for many, the first point of contact with our physical surroundings. And while we can see or hear things happening to us, it's that sense of touch that really anchors us and allows us to interact with the material world. But Stephen's true power isn't in his hands, his physical body, but in his mind, and how he uses it. By losing the main way of interacting with his physical life, he is set on a path of discovery that ultimately leads to an understanding that the outward world is simply a reflection of our inner one, and that the physical senses are useless unless interpreted inwardly. Ironically, once he encounters a problem that he can't physically solve, his attempt to heal actually ends up healing his inner self, which eventually begins to correct his physical self. So I guess, first he cleans his hands, then he cleans his soul. After exhausting every possible scientific cure, he turns to a kind of faith that one man's miracle might set the stage for his own. And he travels to the Kamar Taj Monastery in Nepal. Forget everything you think you know. All right? Once there, he tries to bring his scientific understanding into the new world by talking of cellular regeneration and surgery, but is stopped in his tracks with pictures of the chakras and acupuncture diagrams. Both traditional methods of healing in their own right in the eastern world, ones that treat the body as a whole rather than something made up of individual parts. Almost instantly, that sense of wonder and belief that was present before shifts into ridicule and denial, thinking he's accidentally walked into some kind of guru gift shop. Kamar Taj, after all, is set a short walk away from one of Kathmandu's busiest commercial and tourist neighborhoods, full of people wanting to read your future. Sound familiar? His reaction is typical of a Western scientific perception of the East. There's no such thing as spirit. We are made of matter and nothing more. You're just another tiny, momentary speck within an indifferent universe. This is the first thought that they have when exposed to anything remotely spiritual that someone is trying to sell you something or that the beliefs are just that, beliefs. Believe me, going around talking about chakras, energy, and vibration definitely seems to get a lot of debunkery videos made about you. But isn't it interesting that concepts of spirituality in the West seem to be so firmly rooted in commercialism? And yet, material wealth seems so at odds with the core tenets of many Eastern spiritualities. In our society, spiritual knowledge is presented as something we can buy or have, and in doing so, it makes us overlook it and at times outright deny it, as hearsay. One of the best scenes in the movie is his whole psychedelic trip scene during astral projection, which in itself is one of the better representations of plant medicine experiences Hollywood has ever given us. And it also marks a key shift in the story, a point where his understanding is shattered and he's quite literally pushed into this new world of the spiritual by the ancient one. Under the surface, this speaks volumes to how we understand Eastern practices today. It emphasizes the fact that many times, people almost need some kind of push or leap in that direction to even consider the possibility that there's something worth pursuing there. In honor of the magnificence of the scene, I'd like to read a short quote from the ancient one, an invitation for all of us to connect with the fabric of reality on a deeper level. You think you know how this world works? You think that this material universe is all there is? What is real? What mysteries lies beyond the reaches of your senses? At the root of existence, mind and matter meet. Thoughts, shape, reality. And what happens next? As soon as Steven gets the push, as soon as his crown chakra is blasted open, revealing that he doesn't even know what he doesn't know, he falls to his knees in complete awe and wonder and begs to be taught. It's interesting. The way that Doctor Strange becomes a superhero is very similar to Tony Stark, but traveling in the opposite direction. Where, as we explored in our Iron Man video, Tony moves from the root and up into the heart, Doctor Strange goes the other way. From the root, he moves straight to the crown, to an awareness of a higher reality, and then balances out his whole system from there. Speaking to this, there is a certain tone to the scene, and to a lesser extent, the whole movie, that to truly understand something, you must experience it for yourself. You can watch or read about others doing all of these exciting meditations and energy work, but unless you take a leap of faith and practice it yourself, thereby embodying that new paradigm within, you'll only get so far. There is also, of course, the split paradigm in how this scene was viewed by the audience. For many, it may have been a subtle wake-up call. For others, well, there's no such thing as Chakras, and it's just a movie. Who are you in this vast multiverse, Mr. Strange? The fundamental difference is that we see the divine as something to be spoken about and explained in the West, whereas the Eastern philosophies teach us that there is something to be experienced from within. In a nutshell, while we may see God, practitioners can feel God. Looking to the sling ring, we see a similar idea. When Stephen first tries to use it, he is in the courtyard trying to copy everyone else. He has the same stance, the same motion, the same breathing, yet he keeps failing. Ultimately, he approaches the task from a Western or a scientific standpoint that everything has to make sense because we live in a replicable world where everything can be repeated to gain the same results, right? But what this section teaches us is that, while that approach may work in a world where the illusion of separation is at the forefront, sometimes in order to succeed, we must flow with the river rather than beating it into submission, and that ultimately, we gain control by surrendering control. The ancient one summarizes the difference of perspective in a simple sentence. Your intellect has taken you far in life, but it will take you no further. Silence your ego, and your power will rise. Here on the Western side of the world, there seems to be this idea that everyone in the East knows everything there is to know about spirituality. But what Dr. Strange teaches us in actuality is that experiences sometimes don't make sense to us. They defy everything we think we know and cause our mindset to drastically shift, but that's okay because sometimes you don't need to understand something to feel into its change. The latter half of the film is devoted to Stephen embodying his new self from a position of compassion and a new understanding of his place in the universe or multiverse, whatever. Interestingly, after his battle with Caecilius in the sanctum, he takes a bad stab and portals into the hospital where Dr. Palmer is working and ultimately needs to be revived with the defibrillator. Doesn't this kind of seem like death of the old self? In this moment, after defeating his demons, symbolized by Dormammu's minions, he reawakens as an embodiment of his higher self, the sorcerer Supreme, and not only treats others with a greater respect, but immediately following his return to the New York sanctum is crowned Master Strange. In fact, his journey of rebirth itself, going from his old Western mindset to a new Eastern one mirrors Egyptian cosmology of how the sun god Ra would die in the West every day, only to be reborn brighter in the East the next. Even in his boss fight with Dormammu, which isn't really a conventional boss fight since there is no actual fighting, this theme of rebirth is still there. Stephen doesn't approach the demon with the intention to fight it, but rather from a position of surrender and compassion for everyone back on Earth, which might have also saved on the CGI budget. Well, maybe not. The dark dimension is pretty intense. Like Jesus, he sacrifices himself over and over to help others. Looking at this deeper though, the time loop is undoubtedly speaking to the reincarnation process, as we too are arguably stuck in a cycle or a loop that brings us back over and over again until we've learned the lessons that our soul wishes us to. One could even argue that Stephen attains a level of enlightenment in this journey and understands that both time and death are merely stepping stones on our soul's journey. Lastly, the concept of appearance speaks volumes to how we perceive the spiritual in a Western lens. Epitomized in the scene where Stephen first meets the Ancient One, he mistakes her for Master Hamir. That thank you, Ancient One, for seeing me. You're very welcome. As he looks much more like what you'd expect with the name The Ancient One. Granted, the original version of The Ancient One looked like an old Asian man in the comics and was changed for the film adaption to avoid unsettling politics with China. Yet, even with this new adaption, we get to have our superstitions to be challenged. Instead of an elderly, sage-looking figure, The Ancient One as a young, joyful character flips this on its head, even the Wi-Fi. What's this, my mantra? The Wi-Fi password. We're not savages. While only mentioned in passing, goes to show that spirituality isn't some relic of a forgotten age, but it has its place in the modern world. And much like the sanctums that defend the earth from mystical threats, it is hiding in plain sight. You only need to look to find it. In a nutshell, Dr. Strange highlights how we perceive spirituality as a commercial product, practiced by people wanting to make quick money, acting in opposition to science, and in this paradigm, it's something that belongs in primitive gift shops as a trinket or superstition. But the real magic, however, is just under the surface. We see a notion that perhaps if you were to take a leap into the unknown, trust yourself and give it a chance, approaching from a position of surrender and curiosity, rather than rigorous information and testing, you would see how little we really know, how wrong our preconceived notions are, and perhaps even how deep and profound true spirituality really is. And on that note, if you're someone who is ready to go down the spiritual rabbit hole, come and check out the seven-day transformation and explore the mysteries within and find your place in the cosmos.