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Beyond the Bleep: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to What the Bleep Do We Know!?
"What the Bleep Do We Know ?" is the biggest New Age movie phenomenon . . . EVER Spreading by word of mouth and an obsessive grass-roots following in the vein of "The Passion of the Christ," in which discussion groups spontaneously form and people who never go to the movies go over and over again, "What the Bleep Do We Know ?" is a wake-up call to the millions of people searching for a voice somewhere in this fragmented culture who have been awaiting a catalyst.
This outrageous film plunges you into a world where quantum uncertainty is demonstrated--where neurological processes and perceptual shifts are engaged and lived by its protagonist--where everything is alive, and reality is changed by every thought. "What the Bleep Do We Know ?" gives voice to the modern-day radical souls of science, bringing their genius to millions.
"What the Bleep Do We Know ?" says that science and spirituality are not different modes of thought, but are in fact describing the same thing. And it brings the power back to the individual man and woman as it demonstrates creation as the god-like capacity of every individual.
In "Beyond the Bleep," Alexandra Bruce illuminates the personalities and teachings of the physicists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, physicians, spiritual teachers, mystics, and scholars in the film, as well as the filmmakers, helping the reader sort through their wilder and woollier theories with simple explanations of the cutting-edge science on which they are based. The phenomenon of the movie is only just beginning, spreading outwards from the yoga studios and health food stores of the Pacific Northwest across America and the world. There is a huge demand for more information on the topics presented in the film; "Beyond the Bleep" is the place to start.
Alexandra Bruce's articles on urban legends and metaphysical and quantum physics themes have been published in "Paranoia" magazine, "Steamshovel Press," "Borderland Sciences," and "Disinfo.com." She recently translated the book "Celestial Secrets, The Hidden History of the Mystery of Fatima" with a foreword by Jim Marrs. She lives in Rio de Janeiro.
This outrageous film plunges you into a world where quantum uncertainty is demonstrated--where neurological processes and perceptual shifts are engaged and lived by its protagonist--where everything is alive, and reality is changed by every thought. "What the Bleep Do We Know ?" gives voice to the modern-day radical souls of science, bringing their genius to millions.
"What the Bleep Do We Know ?" says that science and spirituality are not different modes of thought, but are in fact describing the same thing. And it brings the power back to the individual man and woman as it demonstrates creation as the god-like capacity of every individual.
In "Beyond the Bleep," Alexandra Bruce illuminates the personalities and teachings of the physicists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, physicians, spiritual teachers, mystics, and scholars in the film, as well as the filmmakers, helping the reader sort through their wilder and woollier theories with simple explanations of the cutting-edge science on which they are based. The phenomenon of the movie is only just beginning, spreading outwards from the yoga studios and health food stores of the Pacific Northwest across America and the world. There is a huge demand for more information on the topics presented in the film; "Beyond the Bleep" is the place to start.
Alexandra Bruce's articles on urban legends and metaphysical and quantum physics themes have been published in "Paranoia" magazine, "Steamshovel Press," "Borderland Sciences," and "Disinfo.com." She recently translated the book "Celestial Secrets, The Hidden History of the Mystery of Fatima" with a foreword by Jim Marrs. She lives in Rio de Janeiro.
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 10, 2005
5 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Bruce
15 books2 followersBrazilian-American Author and filmmaker.
She is the author of six non-fiction books about popular culture, science and spirituality.
She is the author of six non-fiction books about popular culture, science and spirituality.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 6, 2009
Who here has not read the book or seen the movie "The Secret?" (Raise your hands.) This book attempts to bring some perspective to "The Secret," so as to better understand what seems to be its message of materialism gone wild.
The philosophy behind "The Secret" is nothing new. The New Thought movement was popular in America from the 1850s to the 1950s. It was an offshoot of the Age of Enlightenment, which swept through Europe in the 1700s, and led to advances in law and science. New Thought asserts a monistic theory of the universe; One is All, and All is One. It is still as heretical to established religion as it was 300 years ago. The book that started it all and is a New Thought classic is called "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles (a complete copy is included in this book). The ideas in "The Secret" are generally those of the Unity Church, which today has about 2 million members.
There are short profiles of many of the teachers featured in "The Secret." Some of them are more oriented toward science and technology, others are more corporate-oriented, and one embraces the occult.
A big controversy involved the appearance in the film of Esther Hicks, channeler for a group consciousness named Abraham. She was to appear in the film, but ended up on the cutting room floor, due to a dispute with Rhonda Byrne, the brains behind "The Secret." A person might wonder what the reaction would be if a major inspiration for "The Secret" came from a disembodied consciousness.
This book is well worth reading for skeptics and true believers. It doesn’t attempt to prove or disprove The Law of Attraction, but it will give the reader a lot to think about.
The philosophy behind "The Secret" is nothing new. The New Thought movement was popular in America from the 1850s to the 1950s. It was an offshoot of the Age of Enlightenment, which swept through Europe in the 1700s, and led to advances in law and science. New Thought asserts a monistic theory of the universe; One is All, and All is One. It is still as heretical to established religion as it was 300 years ago. The book that started it all and is a New Thought classic is called "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles (a complete copy is included in this book). The ideas in "The Secret" are generally those of the Unity Church, which today has about 2 million members.
There are short profiles of many of the teachers featured in "The Secret." Some of them are more oriented toward science and technology, others are more corporate-oriented, and one embraces the occult.
A big controversy involved the appearance in the film of Esther Hicks, channeler for a group consciousness named Abraham. She was to appear in the film, but ended up on the cutting room floor, due to a dispute with Rhonda Byrne, the brains behind "The Secret." A person might wonder what the reaction would be if a major inspiration for "The Secret" came from a disembodied consciousness.
This book is well worth reading for skeptics and true believers. It doesn’t attempt to prove or disprove The Law of Attraction, but it will give the reader a lot to think about.
February 27, 2020
I enjoyed the movie. The movie is now considered old and quaint. Doesn't matter.
This book was supposed to help me have a deeper understanding of the physics. The first 28 pages are drivel and mostly a response to criticisms of the movie. Not what I want to read about!
I definitely didn't go past page 28.
This book was supposed to help me have a deeper understanding of the physics. The first 28 pages are drivel and mostly a response to criticisms of the movie. Not what I want to read about!
I definitely didn't go past page 28.
June 24, 2024
A VERY HELPFUL SUPPLEMENT TO THE POPULAR FILM
Author Alexandra Bruce wrote in the Foreword to this 2005 book, “This little book aims to be a helpful ‘Cliff Notes’ on some of the competing cutting edge quantum physics and neuroscience ideas featured in the film ‘What the Bleep Do We Know!?’ The most recent published works of the scientists interviewed in the film are summarized for those who want to know more about these fascinating subjects but who may not have the time or money to read them all… There has been controversy around some scientific claims made in the movie and especially around the entity known as Ramtha. This book aims to advise the reader about these controversies in the most even-handed and unbiased manner possible… The book also hopes to shed some light on the social forces at work behind the film’s production and on the stark divergence of responses it has received.”
She observes, “Most scientists today are materialists, a legacy of the role of science in beating back Medieval superstitions and ignorance… However, there is a growing rift between orthodox materialists… and alternative thinkers, who are unsatisfied by such explanations and look towards an understanding of spirituality through modern science. [This book] is about this alternative movement and most of the scientists interviewed in the film fall into the alternative category.” (Pg. 36)
She recounts, “The participation of David Albert… in ‘What the Bleep…’ is most noteworthy for his very public regret over having participated in the film, at all. Imagine if one were a respectable professor at an Ivy League university, who had been interviewed by a crew of … indie filmmakers---and to have afterwards seen oneself spliced together with Ramtha… one might well have hit the ceiling!... Prior to their involvement with ‘What the Bleep…’ [most of the other interviewees] had all spoken and sold books at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment… But Albert was hopping mad that his views contradicting the filmmakers’ belief in the New Age credo, ‘You Create Your Own Reality’ [YCYOR] were cut from his interview…” (Pg. 45-46)
She says that ‘in Jeffrey Satinover, M.D., we have a psychiatrist who gives some of the most easy-to-understand mini-lectures about quantum physics in the film… Among the many other things that this busy man does, Satinover is an advisor to the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality… His book… equates homosexuality with addiction; as destructive behavior which he believes can be ‘cures.’ This is … off the subject of Satinover’s work in ‘What the Bleep…’ … but it would be remiss for it to go unmentioned.” (Pg. 58-59)
Turning Amit Goswami, she explains, “Monistic idealism proposed an elegant resolution to the messy and wasteful implications of the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, in that it considers quantum waves or coherent superpositions to be real---but existing in a TRANSCENDENT, NONMATERIAL domain, as formless archetypes of matter… Goswami proposes that the universe exists as formless potential in myriad possible branches in the transcendent domain, becoming manifest only when observed by conscious beings.” (Pg. 108-109)
She acknowledges, “As the central tenet of the New Age movement, YCYOR has come to be associated with a panoply of scams, of varying degrees of nefariousness, from ‘protective’ medallions to cheeseball Ponzi operations. Although the practice of self-responsibility is indisputably constructive, misinterpretations of YCYOR can lead to folly---or worse, judgment worthy of the most rabid fundamentalism. That said, it is so extraordinary that a popular film has managed to elicit mass interest in existential issues and in the science that can help us to understand them. I, for one, can forgive the filmmakers’ subscription a worn-out, New Age half-truth.” (Pg. 116)
Of John Hagelin, she comments, “One might think that, rather than his work on some arcane physics theories, his having been a three-time US presidential candidate could be the think for which he would be best known (…for the Natural Law Party, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and … for the Reform Party founded by Ross Perot)… he gets standing ovations from adoring crowds of Transcendental Meditation followers.” (Pg. 151-152)
She points out, “The most common criticism of ‘What the Bleep…’ is that it is ‘an infomercial for a controversial New Age sect.’ Producer-director Will Arntz has constantly found himself having to dispel the rumor that JZ Knight, his astronomically wealthy guru, financed the file. Over and over again, he has explained that he was obliged to reach into his own pocket for the $5 million to produce the movie when he was unable to sell his script to any distributors… Arntz and his collaborators, who are all students at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE), must feel that they have obtained much of value from their studies with Ramtha. They must have known that there would be Hell to pay for splicing the entity amid highbrow university professors… The very idea of Ramtha is a tough sell for most people. Even those who are OK with the concept of channeling might not come away with a positive impression of Ramtha after viewing the film, for no other reason than his spurious British accent.” (Pg. 181-182) Later, she adds, “There is no question that… the film has exposed a larger audience to Ramtha than ever before---though the same could certainly be said of the physicists and most of the actors in the film, as well.” (Pg. 199)
She concludes, “The more I think about the ideas discussed and the choices that they made to express them, the more I admire ‘What the Bleep…’ and its filmmakers. That [they] have motivated people to read these books and to ponder these ideas is more than commendable… That a theatrical audience was for once not treated like a bunch of bloodthirsty ignoramuses or maudlin saps is conclusively a positive development and I sincerely hope their idea of a ‘spiritual cinema’ takes off. It will be interesting to see what these filmmakers do next.? (Pg. 202-203)
This book will be of great interest to anyone wanting to go further into the ideas discussed in the ‘Bleep’ film.
Author Alexandra Bruce wrote in the Foreword to this 2005 book, “This little book aims to be a helpful ‘Cliff Notes’ on some of the competing cutting edge quantum physics and neuroscience ideas featured in the film ‘What the Bleep Do We Know!?’ The most recent published works of the scientists interviewed in the film are summarized for those who want to know more about these fascinating subjects but who may not have the time or money to read them all… There has been controversy around some scientific claims made in the movie and especially around the entity known as Ramtha. This book aims to advise the reader about these controversies in the most even-handed and unbiased manner possible… The book also hopes to shed some light on the social forces at work behind the film’s production and on the stark divergence of responses it has received.”
She observes, “Most scientists today are materialists, a legacy of the role of science in beating back Medieval superstitions and ignorance… However, there is a growing rift between orthodox materialists… and alternative thinkers, who are unsatisfied by such explanations and look towards an understanding of spirituality through modern science. [This book] is about this alternative movement and most of the scientists interviewed in the film fall into the alternative category.” (Pg. 36)
She recounts, “The participation of David Albert… in ‘What the Bleep…’ is most noteworthy for his very public regret over having participated in the film, at all. Imagine if one were a respectable professor at an Ivy League university, who had been interviewed by a crew of … indie filmmakers---and to have afterwards seen oneself spliced together with Ramtha… one might well have hit the ceiling!... Prior to their involvement with ‘What the Bleep…’ [most of the other interviewees] had all spoken and sold books at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment… But Albert was hopping mad that his views contradicting the filmmakers’ belief in the New Age credo, ‘You Create Your Own Reality’ [YCYOR] were cut from his interview…” (Pg. 45-46)
She says that ‘in Jeffrey Satinover, M.D., we have a psychiatrist who gives some of the most easy-to-understand mini-lectures about quantum physics in the film… Among the many other things that this busy man does, Satinover is an advisor to the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality… His book… equates homosexuality with addiction; as destructive behavior which he believes can be ‘cures.’ This is … off the subject of Satinover’s work in ‘What the Bleep…’ … but it would be remiss for it to go unmentioned.” (Pg. 58-59)
Turning Amit Goswami, she explains, “Monistic idealism proposed an elegant resolution to the messy and wasteful implications of the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, in that it considers quantum waves or coherent superpositions to be real---but existing in a TRANSCENDENT, NONMATERIAL domain, as formless archetypes of matter… Goswami proposes that the universe exists as formless potential in myriad possible branches in the transcendent domain, becoming manifest only when observed by conscious beings.” (Pg. 108-109)
She acknowledges, “As the central tenet of the New Age movement, YCYOR has come to be associated with a panoply of scams, of varying degrees of nefariousness, from ‘protective’ medallions to cheeseball Ponzi operations. Although the practice of self-responsibility is indisputably constructive, misinterpretations of YCYOR can lead to folly---or worse, judgment worthy of the most rabid fundamentalism. That said, it is so extraordinary that a popular film has managed to elicit mass interest in existential issues and in the science that can help us to understand them. I, for one, can forgive the filmmakers’ subscription a worn-out, New Age half-truth.” (Pg. 116)
Of John Hagelin, she comments, “One might think that, rather than his work on some arcane physics theories, his having been a three-time US presidential candidate could be the think for which he would be best known (…for the Natural Law Party, founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and … for the Reform Party founded by Ross Perot)… he gets standing ovations from adoring crowds of Transcendental Meditation followers.” (Pg. 151-152)
She points out, “The most common criticism of ‘What the Bleep…’ is that it is ‘an infomercial for a controversial New Age sect.’ Producer-director Will Arntz has constantly found himself having to dispel the rumor that JZ Knight, his astronomically wealthy guru, financed the file. Over and over again, he has explained that he was obliged to reach into his own pocket for the $5 million to produce the movie when he was unable to sell his script to any distributors… Arntz and his collaborators, who are all students at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE), must feel that they have obtained much of value from their studies with Ramtha. They must have known that there would be Hell to pay for splicing the entity amid highbrow university professors… The very idea of Ramtha is a tough sell for most people. Even those who are OK with the concept of channeling might not come away with a positive impression of Ramtha after viewing the film, for no other reason than his spurious British accent.” (Pg. 181-182) Later, she adds, “There is no question that… the film has exposed a larger audience to Ramtha than ever before---though the same could certainly be said of the physicists and most of the actors in the film, as well.” (Pg. 199)
She concludes, “The more I think about the ideas discussed and the choices that they made to express them, the more I admire ‘What the Bleep…’ and its filmmakers. That [they] have motivated people to read these books and to ponder these ideas is more than commendable… That a theatrical audience was for once not treated like a bunch of bloodthirsty ignoramuses or maudlin saps is conclusively a positive development and I sincerely hope their idea of a ‘spiritual cinema’ takes off. It will be interesting to see what these filmmakers do next.? (Pg. 202-203)
This book will be of great interest to anyone wanting to go further into the ideas discussed in the ‘Bleep’ film.
July 18, 2014
Wow, I didn't think it was possible, but reading the "unauthorized guide" was even harder than reading the original book! It's understandable because of the dense information included in both books - we are talking about quantum mechanics here - but I thought the "guide" would have been written with a little more compassion for the layperson. Sadly, this is not the case and Alexandra Bruce actually makes it more difficult to understand the concepts presented in "What the Bleep do We Know!?"
Note - even though I read "What the Bleep" first, it appears that Bruce's "unauthorized guide" is actually based on the "What the Bleep" movie...the "What the Bleep" book was published AFTER Bruce's guide.
I feel like Bruce didn't accomplish her goal of explaining the main points made by various people interviewed in the movie/book. She spends the majority of the book rehashing content from the movie/book then providing her reasons why it's wrong. Oh and let's not forget her "physicist friend who wishes to remain anonymous" who only appears to make a snarky remark or two.
I really had to push myself to get through this book; I kept waiting for an epiphany where Bruce's commentary makes it all click for me (I admit I didn't understand a good chunk of "What the Bleep") and I was left wanting. I think I would have more luck in grasping the concepts if I re-read the original book or watched the movie. Reading Bruce's guide was not helpful at all.
Note - even though I read "What the Bleep" first, it appears that Bruce's "unauthorized guide" is actually based on the "What the Bleep" movie...the "What the Bleep" book was published AFTER Bruce's guide.
I feel like Bruce didn't accomplish her goal of explaining the main points made by various people interviewed in the movie/book. She spends the majority of the book rehashing content from the movie/book then providing her reasons why it's wrong. Oh and let's not forget her "physicist friend who wishes to remain anonymous" who only appears to make a snarky remark or two.
I really had to push myself to get through this book; I kept waiting for an epiphany where Bruce's commentary makes it all click for me (I admit I didn't understand a good chunk of "What the Bleep") and I was left wanting. I think I would have more luck in grasping the concepts if I re-read the original book or watched the movie. Reading Bruce's guide was not helpful at all.
Read
August 11, 2011Not what I expected. Its more a who's who of those involved in the film and how their participation impacted them.
February 26, 2013
Comments forthcoming. Watch for them.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews