Want to work a little magic in your life? There's an excellent movie out that offers a lot of inspiration on this. Read more about it in my latest VividLife review, Magic comes to life in 'Hugo', available by clicking here.

Letting your genuine self shine through can pay major benefits. Read more about this in 'My Week with Marilyn' spotlights the rewards of 'being real', my latest VividLife review, available at www.VividLife.me.

Living in the moment can bring tremendous delight to one's life -- and answers to its big challenges, a major theme of the new Hawaii-based comedy-drama, "The Descendants." Read more about in my latest VividLife review, 'Descendants' seeks solutions to trouble in paradise, available at VividLife.me.

"Transcendent Man: The Life and Ideas of Ray Kurzweil" (2009). Director: Barry Ptolemy. www.transcendentman.com What lies ahead for mankind's future? That's a question wide open for speculation these days, with predictions ranging from glorious enlightenment to utter degradation. And then there are those whose prognostications are truly visionary, such as those of inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, subject of the engaging documentary "Transcendent Man: The Life and Ideas of Ray Kurzweil," now available on DVD.While Kurzweil may not be a household name, his impact on modern society has been significant nonetheless. He holds 24 patents, having invented devices as diverse as optical readers for the blind and various types of synthesizer equipment. He's also author of the best-selling book The [...]

Two new online posts are now up!Isn't it great when everything comes together perfectly at just the right moment? That's the power of synchronicity at work, the subject of my latest FengSHe post, When Timing Is Everything. Read more at www.FengShe.org.How would you cope with the end of the world if you knew it was coming? That's a key theme probed in the new science fiction fantasy, "Melancholia." See my review, Life and death collide in murky 'Melancholia', now available at VividLife.me.Photo by Christian Geisnaes, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Is political reform really possible? Not if the metaphysics supporting it are off. To find out what I mean, read my latest VividLife movie review, 'Ides of March' critically surveys the political landscape, by clicking here.

"George Harrison: Living in the Material World" (2011). Director: Martin Scorsese. www.georgeharrison.comGeorge Harrison lived in two worlds, one being the everyday reality of physical existence with which we're all familiar, a world in which he attained great notoriety as a musician, film producer and activist, and the other being the world of spirit, the ethereal realm wherein we seek to discover our place in the Universe and our relationship to the Divine, a world in which George engaged in a perpetual quest for meaning. It made for a very full life, one that he savored in all its aspects, as is apparent in director Martin Scorsese's new two-part HBO documentary, "George Harrison: Living in the Material World."Scorsese's take on Harrison's [...]

Think you're open to what comes your way? Are you sure? If you've got any doubts, check out my latest FengSHe post, Leaving Ourselves Open to Receptivity, available by clicking here.

No matter what your spiritual or philosophical leanings, at some point we all grapple with our trust in our beliefs, a notion explored by way of example in the new spiritual drama, "Higher Ground." See my review, Faith gets tested in 'Higher Ground,' available by clicking here.

What metaphysical lessons can we possibly learn from a story about an epidemic? Find out by reading my latest VividLife post, 'Contagion' explores fears, connections, probabilities, by clicking here.