THE MECHANIC: RESURGENCE, R ( 1 hr & 39 min )

 

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I went to see this on Thursday, August 25th, 2016, here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO, for the 7:00 p.m. Advanced Screening in auditorium 2, 4th row from the front, 5th column from the right.  The price of admission was $11.50. And I bought a $6.80 Lite Bites at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review:  Arthur Bishop ( Jason Statham ), an expert assassin, is forced out of retirement by a bad guy to kill other bad guys. Or his girlfriend, Gina ( Jessica Alba ), gets it.

The audience liked it. I liked it enough. Go see this if you like Action movies.

I liked the Skyscraper Swimming Pool scene, as did the other audience members.

Here are some things wrong in this movie: The bad gal had her forearm pinned under the table but she should still have been able to move her hand and shoot at Bishop. Those Brazilian bad guys wanted him dead ( if he refused the offer, which he did ) but didn't shoot at him while he was slowly gliding away in the air. I was disappointed to see that Michelle Yeoh was not cast as a fighter in this movie. Shark repellent lotion? I don't think so.

I found this on the Internet.

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He would have been better served by using Dead Shark Juice Repellent! The first time that he boarded the yacht to kill bad guys, he used too many bullets on each one but he didn't have extra magazines for his handgun.


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Did I just die in my sleep ...?

That was the question going through my mind just before dawn today.

I got out of bed around 3:00 a.m. to empty my bladder.

Soon after I went back to bed, I found myself in a semi-transparent state, standing in "my" hallway. I felt like I was in a haze. But I was very calm about it. I knew that I was experiencing something supernatural so I checked the time on my watch. There was just one thing wrong about my watch, though.

I found this on the Internet. This analog watch looks similar to the one strapped on "my" wrist in the hallway.

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It wasn't my watch at all! I looked at the time which was approximately 3:18 a.m. I usually check the time whenever something supernatural happens to me so that I can log it accurately in my journal.

And I noticed that the hallway's wall paint looked different from my condo's paint color, which is cream. This supernatural event's hallway paint looked like a dull gray or a "dirty" faded blue. I stood in the 40-watt incandescent-lighted hallway in a semi-brainfog state. I marvelled at how I was able to see through my arms.

Next thing I knew, I was back in my futon bed in my darkened living room ( I haven't slept in my bedroom in so many years because I could hear my upstairs, next door, and downstairs neighbors in the middle of the night doing God-knows-what ). I looked at the watch on my left wrist. It was the one that I own, not the one that "I" had on earlier.

I found this on the Internet. This digital Casio Chronograph is my everyday watch that I also take to bed with me.

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Finally, I can check the time, I said to myself. I tried to push the "Light" button ( lower right corner ) with my invisible right index finger ( my whole right arm was still invisible ). But I couldn't get the light to turn on. And my left arm was completely transparent so that it was almost impossible to see it in the pre-dawn darkness.

As I kept pushing on the "Light" button repeatedly, I heard a man's voice say a word to me in my left ear. I don't recall the word. It might have been, "Hello." But I was too busy trying to find out the exact time to pay the voice any attention. I hope that I didn't disrespect the disembodied voice. If I did, it would be the 4th time that I had unwittingly done it ( in the past, I had intentionally disrespected certain disembodied voices as a form of challenge ). People these days are obsessed with their smartphones. I, on the other hand, seems obsessed with keeping track of time!

As a precaution, I recited the King James Version of Psalm 23.

I found this on the Internet.

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But I was in such a trance state that I found my tongue not cooperating with me. I had a hard time enunciating each word as a result. With each almost-unintelligible word that I uttered, I had to breathe. And the whole process was so very slow and so very labored. Have you ever had your tongue all numbed-up by your periodontist, for a deep-cleaning, and you tried to maintain a conversation with your doctor throughout it all? Well, that was pretty much how I sounded like.

Then, I saw myself standing before the glass sliding door of my deck. 'Only thing was, it wasn't my deck at all. I live on the 2nd floor of my condominium complex which has wooden decks on the 2nd and 3rd floors. This deck's floor is cement, not wood; and it looked like a patio in someone else's backyard. On the opposite side of the glass sliding door were three--somewhat fat--black pugs. This event seemed like it was happening during an early morning hour.

I found this on the Internet.

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The black pugs were happy to see me and wanted to be let in. Am I in my niece's home, I asked myself. Although I would've had no possible way of knowing  it because I have never been to Oregon where my niece, Anna, lives with her family, her cats, and her brown pug. I looked behind me. It didn't look like my living room at all. I decided not to let the black pugs in because, well, I'm a cat person. And if these black pugs were supposed to be my shamanic guides, well then, they picked the wrong species to disguise themselves as!

I was once again back in my futon. And I tried once more to find out the exact time. Finally, I could see both of my arms. And my watch finally lit up the time which was 6:56 a.m.---Actually, the real time was 6:41 a.m. because I keep my watch 15 minutes ahead of time so that I won't be late for work ( which almost always fails me because I never account for traffic delays on my 10-mile [ 16.1 km ] work commute ).

Why was I invisible? Did I die? They say that most heart attack deaths happen between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., when your blood is at its thickest/most sluggish because of dehydration. I cannot die now, what with my condo in such a mess. I need to tidy up first, I said to myself. I needed to buy me some more time. Yet, I was very calm the whole time, though. I never panicked, not even for a second.

But ... if there ever was a time that I needed to go to work, it was today. Really. Seriously. Today. Because I reasoned that if they could see me at work and interact with me then I'm still alive. Never mind the fact that I would have to physically drive myself to work first. ( If I could write this blog then I'm still alive! But can you guys read this particular entry? is the nagging question. )

From shortly after I emptied my bladder to the last time that I checked the time on my watch in my altered state of shamanic consciousness was approximately 3 & 1/2 hours of lost sleep. And I had to wake up at 8:00 a.m. to go to work! I spent the next hour or so flat on my back trying to make sense of what just happened to me, since I could no longer fall back to sleep.

My conclusion ...?

I guess that this experience is my very first non-drug induced altered state of shamanic consciousness ( ndASSC ). As I mentioned in my last post, I've had 100s of Out Of Body Experiences ( OOBE ). And this one is of an entirely different nature. Years ( decades ) ago, I read an article which said that an OOBE is totally different from an Astral Projection. I will have to agree with that article's findings now. I always thought that both terms were interchangeable since one ends up out of his/her body in either case. But they aren't the same because in Astral Projection, it occurs in stages until you fly out of your body ( like Superman ). However, in this altered state of shamanic consciousness, I left my body instantly, without the "running" or "falling down" or "flying" initial stage that occurs with Astral Projection. The second stage of Astral Projection is when you will hear and feel a tremendous surge of energy coursing throughout your body which leads to the third and final stage, Lift-Off! But what I experienced this morning had none of these three characteristic stages. That ... is the difference.

But I think that OOBE is just a general term as there are also the Clinical Near-Death Experience ( cNDE ), the Traumatic Near-Death Experience ( tNDE ), and the Psychotropic Out Of Body Experience ( pOOBE ) to consider. The cNDE occurs during surgery.  The tNDE happens because of a severe illness or because of an accident or because of an attempt at one's life.  The pOOBE is drug-induced either because a post-surgical pain killer was taken ( I had this experience twice ) prior to it happening or a narcotic was used to deliberately alter one's mind's perception of reality for a "spiritual quest" ( which I don't recommend )  or simply for "recreation". Please don't use narcotics to experience a different reality because if things get ugly--and they might--you will need every bit of your mental faculties to help you out of the predicament!

And, I might add, my Astral Projections were mostly accompanied by a foreboding sense of dread, that I was about to be attacked by evil other-wordly spirits. And I was mostly right, more than I care to remember. But such experiences molded me into what I have spiritually become. My bad encounters had done more to strengthen my faith in God than my fewer good encounters had ever done for me. Whereas, this non-drug induced altered state of shamanic consciousness ( ndASSC ) seems, at this time, geared towards calm and peaceful encounters with other-wordly entities. Only time will tell, though ....

Well, I'm totally "game" for this new experience! I will just have to write down a list of things that I want to address for when I do establish communications with spirit guides.

All in all, from the first time that I did the Shaman Isochronic Sound Meditation twice a day to my very first non-drug induced altered state of shamanic consciousness ( ndASSC ), it took exactly six weeks. But it is still too early for me to recommend this type of CD sound meditation. I still have to put more effort into it for me to achieve the desired results.

( I wonder if I can talk a spirit guide into punishing those lowlifes who vandalized my cars and those jerks who insulted/disrespected/unfairly treated me. Or will such a guide just tell me to "forgive and forget" so as to put an end to the give-and-take cycle of bad karma endured over many lifetimes.  )



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THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES, PG-13 ( 2 hr & 10 min )

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where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
show: 7:00 p.m. Advanced Screening
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $7.59 "all-you-can-eat" Pizza and Salad Buffet Dinner at Mountain Mike's Pizza Restaurant = $17.59
auditorium: 2
seat: 4th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left )

synopsis/overview: Clary Fray ( Lilly Collins ), a New York City teenage girl, learns that she is descended from a long line of Shadow Hunters, a half-human/half-angel race that is locked in an eternal battle with demons and vampires; and which is in an alliance with the werewolf race. She is forced to join forces with the Shadow Hunters when her mother ( Lena Headey ) goes missing. And she learns who she really is when the secrets kept from her are finally revealed to her.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) The recurring symbol; 2.) "They killed the guy that let us in the club"; 3.) Offensive; 4.) "You can thank your daughter"; 5.) Mundane; 6.) Rottweiler; 7.) Witch; 8.) Mortal Cup; 9.) "Are you the Gate-Keeper"; 10.) Interrogation; 11.) "Maybe these memories aren't real"; 12.) The Institute; 13.) Dying breed; 14.) "They don't exist"; 15.) Memories; 16.) "Easy now. Those are my clothes"; 17.) "I meant him"; 18.) "Don't drink that"; 19.) Paintings; 20.) Altar; 21.) Hotel Death; 22.) Eyeglasses; 23.) Bach; 24.) Love triangle; 25.) Cup; 26.) Text message; 27.) "Those can't come in here. This is a peaceful house"; 28.) A demon in disguise; 29.) "The runes aren't working"; 30.) Daughter; 31.) Little girl; 32.) "Good throw, by the way"; 33.) Beacon; 34.) Brother; 35.) "It's all a matter of perception; 36.) "We found your mother"; 37.) "I'm a werewolf"; 38.) "It's not in the book"; 39.) "I'm not too crazy about the basement"; 40.) Snow; 41.) "I guess I'm just an old romantic"; 42.) "I need you"; and 43.) "The world's the same. You're the one who's different."

audience reaction: The audience liked it. But no one gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

recommendation: I didn't like it that much. It reminded me of the Twilight series' three-way love connection--but with a kinky twist: "Incestuous" sibling love. If you liked reading the novels that this movie is based on then you just might find this movie to your liking.

spoiler alert! The way that they depicted the demons in this movie was laughable. In my out-of-body-experiences, I encountered three demons--two, the first time. They don't look or act like the ones depicted in this movie. How come the next door neighbors didn't call the cops to investigate the house that was broken into? If the cops came, a "crime scene" yellow tape would have been put in place.

fyi: The Archangel Raziel is the Keeper of Holy Secrets. He shares these secrets with select humans only if God gives him permission to do so.

This movie mentioned something about frequencies. Here's what I know about the subject based on my meditative practices--allow me to use a simple analogy:

Let us say that you like to watch shows on your TV set. But you could only watch shows on one channel, the same channel that you've been watching shows on all of your life. Then, one day, somebody came along and said, "Hey, did you know that if you press this button on your remote, you'll get a different channel?" And, so, you press a button on your remote which alters the frequency signal that your TV set receives and---Presto! a different channel with a different show.

The above analogy is basically what happens to you when someone teaches you how to meditate and you meditate for a long enough time: Your body's frequency becomes altered to a point where you experience another world or reality, even if for just a brief moment.

In the late '70s and early '80s, an American psychic, Ms. Francine ( Francie ) Steiger, sold a guided meditation cassette tape that makes one travel to a different time and place. I purchased a copy and meditated to it faithfully for 30 days. After that, I had an out-of-body-experience ( OOBE ) wherein my Astral Self journeyed through the "White Light" that people who have near-death experiences go through. At the end of this "White Light" is a round "portal object" that is green in color ( not the color blue depicted in this movie ) and is about the size of a one-story house. This object is not solid or liquid; it is more like an intermediate stage between liquid and gas--and, No, you don't get soaking wet traveling through this portal like in the movie. On the other side of this portal is a quiet and peaceful land. It was predawn when I was about to enter into this realm where the silhouette of rolling hills stretched across the distance. I took one step forward and was immediately taken back--in reverse--to my physical self.

The guided meditation cassette tape recording starts out with Ms. Francine Steiger saying, "You are walking towards a soft, green area of countryside. A beautiful, tranquil place. You select a lush, grassy area on which to lie down. The sound of a nearby bubbling brook adds to the beauty of this place. Small, exquisitely-colored birds whistle and sing as they go from tree to tree, from bush to bush." This is all the verbatim ( ? ) passage that I can remember. But the guided meditation goes on to say that you find a recliner out in the open field and you go sit in it. And, once relaxed, you and the recliner float up into the sky until you leave the relative comfort and safety of the Earth's atmosphere and you perceive the "White Light" and travel through it to find yourself in another world that is populated by Guardian Beings. You then join these Guardian Beings in a temple that looks like the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal in India. I found this on the Internet. I picked this particular picture because it approximates what the building would have looked like early in the morning in that world.

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And you and the white-robed Guardian Beings form a circle inside the temple. There is a circular hole in the floor where one can see the planet Earth far down below. You and the Guardian Beings hold hands and pour-out Loving Energy to the Earth below.

Of course, I never got to this point nor did I see anybody around when I got to that place---They must have still been fast-asleep since it was predawn when I got there. Ha, ha, ha.

Anyway ...

My stereo radio ate-up the cassette tape after only a month's use. And I never bothered to buy a replacement guided meditation cassette tape by Ms. Steiger. And I was either too stupid ( way back when ) or too lazy--or both--to be bothered with going to the local library to ask a librarian to show me a picture of the Taj Mahal to help me visualize the place during my nightly meditations.

By the way ...

If any of you guys out there find a copy of this particular guided meditation cassette tape ( transferred onto a CD, hopefully ), do let me know. Please. Thank you ....

( Confession: The reason why I bought this guided meditation cassette tape many, many years ago in the first place was because, back then, the psychic Ms. Francine Steiger was A REAL HOTTIE!!! 'Now you know .... Hey! at least I got my priorities right. LOL )

word of advice: Don't do anything evil as a means to an end.

tidbits: I wanted to catch the 7:00 p.m. show for PLANES. But when I got to the box office, I noticed that there were a couple of Advanced Screenings for this movie. So, I decided to go see this movie, instead.

I didn't buy anything at the concessions counter because I had just eaten an "all-you-can-eat" Pizza and Salad Buffet Dinner at the Mountain Mike's Pizza Restaurant here in Vallejo at 972 Admiral Callaghan Lane in the Target Shopping Center. My buffet dinner was $7.59 ( I only had water with it, I didn't have any soda---I don't drink soda anymore, remember ...? ).

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