by Kate McCallum

It wasn’t always the case that Hollywood, the media capital of the world, could be expected to embrace a day-long symposium on the power of arts and media to transform. When I broke into the industry in 1985, power was held by the major studios and four broadcast and cable outlets with a fifth emerging on the horizon. Most of the time, transformation only mattered in terms of ratings and dollars and cents.

But the industry has begun to show signs of shifting beyond its obsession with tinsel and stardom. Signs of that shift have become apparent – the upcoming launch of Oprah’s new network, for example, and the number of communities and groups that have been forming in Los Angeles and in cyberspace.

One of them is c3: Center for Conscious Creativity, which I co-founded several years ago and which gives me a vantage point from which to report on the many new initiatives that are changing the landscape of media and its life-affirming potential.

A brief history: While working at Universal Studios and pursuing a Masters in Consciousness Studies, I met and then teamed up with Philip Horvath, another student and Universal employee, and together we started c3. The mission was to create a space/community dedicated to research and education addressing consciousness, creativity, media and the arts. We set out to bring consciousness experts, futurists, and educators together with artists and media makers to inspire deeper meaning in the arts and media. That was the vision.

For five years the vision evolved as we hosted and produced numerous screenings, concerts, workshops and classes – and created an organizational culture of openness and understanding. In 2009 we launched a social networking platform and became an official partner of the LA Opera by participating in the first citywide arts festival – RING FEST LA 2010.

In November of 2009 c3 brought advisory board member and futurist Jerome Glenn from Washington, DC, to speak about the future of arts and media from a global perspective. Jerome is co-founder and president of The Millennium Project, a global think tank that accumulates research through collective intelligence that addresses 15 global challenges and solutions. Its findings are published annually in the State of the Future report. At the event he spoke about his desire to create a Global Arts and Media Node, a topic we had been discussing for some time. This Node would assist the Millennium Project by aggregating future trends in the arts and media, disseminating the information found in the State of the Future report, and brainstorm emerging global art forms, much like the work of the 16th Century Florentine Camerata Society that led to the invention of the art form called…opera! In January 2010 Jerome and the Millennium Project officially invited c3 to chair the Global Arts and Media Node, and this past June the c3: VisionLAB produced the first “State of the Arts” symposium. It was a tremendous success!

Over the past several years, a number of organizations have been sprung up in LA and elsewhere that are dedicated to inspiring consciousness and social activism through media and entertainment. Among them are:

* Architects of a New Dawn

* Creative Visions Foundations

* Elevate Films

* GATE: Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment

* The Hollywood Hill

* META: Media Entertainment Technology and Art

* PGA: Producers Guild of America’s Green Initiative

* United Nations Creative Community Outreach Initiative

* Images & Voices of Hope

There is a very encouraging trend in the land of tinsel and stardom. Let us hope that it portends a new era in media and entertainment at a local, national, and global level. Our collective mission is to utilize these incredibly powerful tools and collectives as “weapons of mass instruction.” Media and art have the potential to assist in the transformation and the evolution of both the individual and society, and we as creators are eager to join the ranks of the many others dedicated to that mission.

A recent NY Times article devoted itself to exploring what makes us happy. It began with a profile of a woman who had a $40,000 a year investment industry job, a 2br apartment, two cars and enough wedding china to feed two dozen people. But she was not happy, felt stuck on the “work-spend” treadmill and decided to step off. Inspired by a web site and books on living simply, she and her husband sold and gave away their cars and other things until they had just 100 items they really wanted.

Today, they live in a 400 square foot apartment in Portland. She is a web designer and freelance writer working from home and he is completing his doctorate in physiology. She owns four plates, three pair of shoes and two pots. Her $24,000 a year income covers their expenses and they bike everywhere. They paid off $30k and are debt free. They now have money to travel and contribute to their nephews and nieces educational funds. She works fewer hours and has more time to volunteer and be outdoors.

She says that “The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false.”. “I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness.”

While she and her husband made their move before the recession began, many  others are reconsidering what really brings them happiness in light of having less income or losing their jobs.

“We’re moving from a conspicuous consumption — which is ‘buy without regard’ — to a calculated consumption,” says Marshal Cohen, an analyst at the NPD Group, a retailing research and consulting firm.

People are saving more and spending less. Before the recession, saving rates were 1-2 percent. In June, they hit 6.4%.

These and other strategies people are adopting seem to be making them happier and that’s not surprising since living simply with low overhead makes life a lot easier than trying to keep up with the Jonses which was the norm for many years. Spending less means having more that in turn can mean more happiness.

Another aspect of this shift is the move from things to experiences. Rather than buying a new car, we seem to derive more pleasure from a vacation, going to a concert, riding our bikes, playing tennis or golf or hiking a local trail. There appears to be a far deeper connection to an experience than a another thing

In the past spending was a consumer sport and comparing what we had with others was a way of keeping score. But now we are reexamining our priorities and looking at what truly matters in life and for many, it turns out its relationships, doing soul satisfying work, using our talent to serve the world starting in our local communities and generally engaging the deeper more spiritual parts of us rather than the surface material world’s offerings that advertising tells us we need so badly.

We are coming to realize that we were sold a lifestyle that never really satisfied us and we feel betrayed. But the truth is we are responsible for our choices and so we are in the midst of re-framing our choices, seeing the world and our place in it anew and making better more soul informed choices.

It’s quite fitting that Eat, Pray and Love opens this week. The plot centers around a happily married woman who while trying to get pregnant realizes her life needs to go in a different direction, and after a painful divorce, takes off on a round-the-world journey.The film seems perfectly timed to help us explore our cultural angst and questioning of assumed values. After starring in this film, Julia Roberts began questioning her own values and she and her family now practice Hinduism.

According to a study from The National Institute on Aging, spending $20,000 on leisure activities was nearly equal to the happiness boost one get’s from a marriage and also increased interactions with others thus reducing loneliness. This appears to be a trend that many retailing professionals feel will be a permanent lifestyle change rather than a fad. Many of us have discovered that great memories have a lot more value than more stuff.

It comes down to re-prioritizing what we want from life and it is a sea change. No longer will we be enticed to buy things by fancy packaging and seductive ads. If it doesn’t satisfy our souls, we will simply look elsewhere.

There will always be the sad materially addicted wealthy few who will live with their ego driven status symbols while their souls wither. But increasing numbers of us are awakening from our material world slumber to discover the extraordinary value and satisfying energies of expanding relationships, creative expressions and the myriad experiences that bring us deeper levels of happiness. One advantage of experiences is that they can live again through our memories.

In a June report, the Boston Consulting Group said that recession anxiety had prompted a “back-to-basics movement,” with things like home and family increasing in importance over the last two years, while things like luxury and status have declined.

The phrase, :it’s the little things that matter” is a perfect way of expressing that buying big ticket items may not have lasting significance in our lives, That many smaller purchases that satisfy our deeper needs may be more meaningful and bring us more joy because we can get used to the home or car after a while. Psychologists call “hedonic adaption.”

One strategy to fight that is anticipation which psychologists have shown in creases happiness so purchasing a vacation ticket in advance beings us more happiness than buying it at the last minute because we can savor the idea.

What this means for business is that the will no longer be able to sell things but will have to promote the experience we will receive. Those businesses that adapt will remain viable and those who continue to try and persuade us to buy more stuff may find themselves holding going out of business sales.

Evidence of this shift can be seen in the success of Apple’s Genius Bars and classes, auto dealers 30 day test drives, clothing store’s personal shoppers, mall’s day care offerings, retailers use of Facebook and Twitter pages to offer customers discounts and invitations to special events but even these strategies may fail as more and more of us spend less and create more.

Happy – A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Productions on Vimeo.

A filmmaker, Roko Belic, making Happy, a documentary on happiness, moved from San Francisco to Malibu to be closer to the ocean so he could surf three or four times a week. He moved to a trailer park and says it’s the first real community he has ever lived in. He is happier and believes the things we were trained to believe make us happy like a new car every few years and buying the latest fashions don’t.

HAPPY – How It All Began from Wadi Rum Productions on Vimeo.

If you like the idea of this film, you can help Roko complete it by joining me in making a contribution to this non-profit project by sending a donation to it’s fiscal sponsor CREATIVE VISIONS FOUNDATION, 3216 Nebraska Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404 and writing “HAPPY documentary.” on your check in the memo section.

For more info on Roko and his film, click here to visit HAPPY.

A past blog featured the beautiful mandala artwork of artist Paul Heussenstamm whose current exhibit is hanging at Agape.

This past weekend I visited Redding, California and met another wonderful mandala artist, Robert Luckin. Robert has created over 10,000 mandala images and selected works are featured on his website slide show set to orchestral music. His work is reminiscent of fine art stained glass windows and each is a beautiful journey into visual symmetry and harmony.

Thomas Ives is a Waiheke Island, NZ based photographer whose portfolio contains impressionistic images that border the material and spiritual realms. Check out his images at thomasives.com. Soon to come, a new series of striking black and white images of the sea revealing patterns invisible to the naked eye in real time.

Reserve one hour and thirty minutes to watch this stunning film, turn off all distractions and click here to begin your journey HOME