The mind-body-spirit market is now a commanding force in the world economy, including everything from yoga / tai chi / meditation products, natural foods, holistic healing, nutritional supplements, earth-friendly household products, sustainable energy systems, “green” home manufacturing, and conscious feature films and documentaries.
With massive worldwide sales in every holistic sector, from $117 billion in Personal Health products, $100 billion in Green Building, $42 billion in Eco-Tourism, and $20 billion in Alternative Transportation including hybrid/electric vehicles, cohesion among conscious business leaders now appears to be the critical next step, according to the conscious business networking organization Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS). A detachment from the current business-as-usual competitive paradigm would make way for an all-for-one and one-for-all attitude that brings powerful change-makers together for a common purpose.
Leading-edge conscious companies exemplify standards which they hope the whole world will see the wisdom in, and ultimately adopt: fair trade practices, organic farming methods, the absence of GMO’s and other known toxic additives, ethical working conditions, and setting reasonable prices which earn a healthy profit without a greedy mindset. In short, conscious businesses are those which contribute to happy workers, satisfied consumers, and a healthy sustainable planet. Sustainability has increasingly become an influential or driving factor in consumer buying decisions as buyers perceive an ailing world.
Within every industry that we have mentioned, there is a conscious film educating the public on the need for immediate paradigm-changing action steps, for example:
Happy: Director Roko Belic’s timely and brilliant documentary identifies the dysfunctional behavioral patterns which have led to epidemic worldwide depression rates while introducing the healthy lifestyle practices of the happiest people on earth.
THRIVE: What on Earth Will it Take? Foster Gamble’s grass roots film has now reached 20 million views and inspired an uprising in consumer responsibility, awareness of political/financial power abuses, and daily political action steps to take.
Zeitgeist: Filmmaker Peter Joseph’s three Zeitgeist films (2007, 2008, 2011) have now been seen by 50 million people with the latter 2 earning nods from The New York Times for “directing its rhetoric and high production values toward posing a replacement for the evils of the banking system and a perilous economy of scarcity and debt.”
We have all heard that knowledge is power, and that the pen is mightier than the sword. Media may be our greatest tool. Print publications, however, have taken a noticeable downturn – in its place, the mighty “pen” is now film, YouTube videos, and television. These days a film can easily gain worldwide exposure once a video goes “viral” on YouTube or a similar outlet. It is the film festivals however, which often legitimize and grow the fan-base for such provocative films, that they may have the worldly impact they so desire. It is conscious organizations like LOHAS which are bringing together dozens of sustainable companies with 40% of its attendees the CEOs themselves, gathering for brainstorming and potential partnership every year.
ILLUMINATE is currently considering the next batch of paradigm-busting, consciousness-expanding films, and we are very, very excited to share the powerful messages coming through the world’s most inspired filmmakers – our modern-day visionaries and philosophers. For our upcoming film festival beginning May 29th, 2014, we will proudly bring together not only leading-edge films, but top-notch holistic practitioners and conscious companies for lectures, workshops, and other experiential, transformational programs. With such knowledge at our fingertips through these informative films, and a tech-savvy, globally-connected group of conscious movers and shakers in the world today, it’s time for all who can dream to “be the change” – let’s take action for a better world, and not just talk about it.
Written by Miguel Montoya