Although I missed most of the Yoga Health Festival, I did make the film premiere for “What about me?” – a new film on DVD by One Giant Leap. It’s not often you see a movie and soundtrack produced by two guys who traveled to 50 locations. The movie creates a sensory experience that as my friend DJ Dragonfly describes perfectly, is “part travelogue, part spiritual journey.” It explores our spiritual struggles and what it means to be alive today by touching on topics like God, suffering, desire, gratitude, and the growing influence of the media in today’s culture.

The movie kinda feels like going through a great yoga class: you leave feeling like you exhaled a little and let off some steam, and walk out detached from your usual mental chatter. Guru superstars like Ram Dass, Bhagavan Das, and kirtan rockstar Krishna Das all make cameo appearances telling us to take a chill pill and not “take our suffering so seriously.” Eckhart Tolle plays a significant part embracing his inner Gollum in a few comical scenes where he mocks the ego and begs “for more and more”; I didn’t know he could be so animated!  Meanwhile, Bob Geldof talks about the hope for no afterlife, Tim Robbins criticizes parents that medicate their children, and Noam Chomsky reminds us of how programmed we are to believe we can’t make a difference within the confines of our society, when “we don’t have to go to Ethiopia to do something to help.” (It sounds ridiculous, but it does feel that way sometimes, doesn’t it?)

However, what’s truly amazing about the film is not so much the footage, but the songs. Contemporary western voices like Michael Stipe, Carlos Santana, Michael Franti, and KD Lang are layered over famous musicians from abroad like Baba Maal and Asha Bhosle, with beatboxers and voice effects to boot. The result is a gem of a soundtrack that reflects both our universal pain and connectedness. Listening to it gave me the chills, and I can’t wait to own the CD and share it with you.