{"id":646,"date":"2011-05-19T10:00:24","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/?p=646"},"modified":"2011-05-19T22:54:48","modified_gmt":"2011-05-20T02:54:48","slug":"pure-imagination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html","title":{"rendered":"Pure Imagination"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I love ritual. It grounds me and helps me to feel more connected to the Divine. One unusual ritual in which I engage each Tuesday night is going to\u00a0my ‘gym ashram’\u00a0to ‘sweat my prayers in the key of\u00a0 Glee’. For those who don’t watch tv or who have been meditating in a cave for the past year, Glee is a weekly show that takes place in a fictional\u00a0Ohio High School. Populated by a quirky cast of characters that represents the various cliques and archetypes; from the football\u00a0quarterback to the mohawked troublemaker, from the Barbra Streisand wanna-be\u00a0raised by two Gay men,\u00a0to the head of the cheerleading squad who used to be in the abstinence club until she got pregnant by the mohawked troublemaker but had been in relationship with the jock who eventually fell in love with the Barbra wanna-be and then broke up with her to get back with the first girl who prior to their reunion, was with the new kid in school who becomes the new football captain … from the bad girl secretly\u00a0 in love with the sweet, but ditsy blond, to\u00a0one who wants to dance, but is unable because he has been in\u00a0a wheel chair since a childhood accident and who was in relationship with the Asian-American goth girl who broke up with him and\u00a0is now dating another Asian American who can’t sing, but can dance\u00a0up a\u00a0storm,\u00a0ends up with the sweet but ditsy blond, to the token openly Gay kid who sings like Madonna, Ethel Merman and Julie Andrews who is best friends with the token African American young woman who is a gutsy diva and\u00a0is now in\u00a0relationship\u00a0with a male student from another school to which he had transferred to get away from a bullying football player who is in the closet himself and then the mohawked troublemaker who has mellowed is now in relationship with\u00a0tougher than he is\u00a0female wrestler\u00a0(you need a score card to keep up with all of the dynamics:) they all have one thing in common…they have talent in the vocal realm.\u00a0 For various reasons, each has decided to join the Glee club called The New Directions. Lest you think that it is all glamour and glory, know that they are considered mistfits by most of the other students, as evidenced by the number of times they have gotten Slushies in various shades and hues\u00a0tossed on them in the hallways.\u00a0 Add to it, the coach of the cheerleading squad called The Cheerios who detests the head of the Glee club and does everything she can to sabotage their success , an OCD beleagured guidance counselor who has\u00a0 mutual but unfulfilled love and lust for\u00a0the head of the Glee club and you have a worldwide hit on your hands.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Growing up loving music and musical theater performance, it is like watching an hour long musical that keeps me on the elliptical for that length of time.<\/p>\n

The character development has gotten richer week by week and topics such as bigtory, homophobia, prayer, death, sex, teen alcohol abuse and pregnancy, forgiveness,\u00a0parental job loss and homelessness are touched on poignantly.\u00a0 This week was\u00a0 no exception.\u00a0 Sue, the Grinch-like character who we come to find out got the way she did, because her Nazi-hunting mother left her and her sister Jean who had Down Syndrome in the care of others to travel world wide. Sue developed a bitterness about\u00a0life as a result of that\u00a0and the way people treated her sister.\u00a0 In the most recent episode,\u00a0 Jean dies from pneumonia and\u00a0two of the\u00a0Glee club kids (both who have lost parents and whose surviving parents end up marrying each other, making them step-brothers) help her clean out\u00a0 the nursing home room that had been hers for more than 30 years. They also plan Jean’s funeral. When they discover that Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory <\/strong><\/em>was Jean’s favorite movie that, according to Sue, “She would watch at least three times a week.”, they plan a service around that theme. When Sue walks into the funeral chapel, she is astounded by how many people showed up in tribute to her adored sister. At the front of the chapel were props that looked like they came straight from the movie.\u00a0\u00a0 No oompa loompas in sight though.\u00a0 The New Directions choir then sings the song Pure Imagination <\/em>as a video of Sue and Jean plays.\u00a0A sense of redemption, softening and forgiveness occurs. A Course in Miracles says”\u00a0 “The holiest place on Earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love.” Clearly, the melting of Sue’s frozen heart is the beginning of that love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What was\u00a0especially cool for me, was that this is the song that is my cell phone ring tone. When I think about the genius and the literal pure imagination that goes into creating such a quality show, I am astounded. It has something for everyone and the ways in which it celebrates diversity and isn’t shy about confronting the controversial topics is to be admired.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So sit back and have a listen and allow your own pure imagination to flow forth~<\/p>\n

Pure Imagination<\/p>\n

Lyrics<\/em> & Music by: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley Written for the Film: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)<\/p>\n

Willy Wonka:
\n[Spoken]
\nHold your breath
\nMake a wish
\nCount to three<\/p>\n

[Sung]
\nCome with me
\nAnd you’ll be
\nIn a world of
\nPure imagination
\nTake a look
\nAnd you’ll see
\nInto your imagination<\/p>\n

We’ll begin
\nWith a spin
\nTraveling in
\nThe world of my creation
\nWhat we’ll see
\nWill defy
\nExplanation<\/p>\n

If you want to view paradise
\nSimply look around and view it
\nAnything you want to, do it
\nWanta change the world?
\nThere’s nothing
\nTo it<\/p>\n

There is no
\nLife I know
\nTo compare with
\nPure imagination
\nLiving there
\nYou’ll be free
\nIf you truly wish to be<\/p>\n

If you want to view paradise
\nSimply look around and view it
\nAnything you want to, do it
\nWanta change the world?
\nThere’s nothing
\nTo it<\/p>\n

There is no
\nLife I know
\nTo compare with
\nPure imagination
\nLiving there
\nYou’ll be free
\nIf you truly
\nWish to be<\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Aq09ITXV3xo<\/a> <\/cite><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I love ritual. It grounds me and helps me to feel more connected to the Divine. One unusual ritual in which I engage each Tuesday night is going to\u00a0my ‘gym ashram’\u00a0to ‘sweat my prayers in the key of\u00a0 Glee’. For those who don’t watch tv or who have been meditating in a cave for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,33,41,28,26,49,4,16,38],"tags":[4861,274,271,4841,273,275,276,272],"class_list":["post-646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-creativity","category-death","category-drama","category-forgiveness","category-friendship","category-inspiration","category-my-personal-bliss","category-transformation","tag-death","tag-down-syndrome","tag-glee","tag-music","tag-musicals","tag-ocd","tag-television","tag-willy-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory"],"yoast_head":"\nPure Imagination - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pure Imagination - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I love ritual. It grounds me and helps me to feel more connected to the Divine. One unusual ritual in which I engage each Tuesday night is going to\u00a0my ‘gym ashram’\u00a0to ‘sweat my prayers in the key of\u00a0 Glee’. For those who don’t watch tv or who have been meditating in a cave for…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-19T14:00:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-05-20T02:54:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/05\/musicalnotes.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EdieWeinstein1\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pure Imagination - The Bliss Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pure Imagination - The Bliss Blog","og_description":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I love ritual. It grounds me and helps me to feel more connected to the Divine. One unusual ritual in which I engage each Tuesday night is going to\u00a0my ‘gym ashram’\u00a0to ‘sweat my prayers in the key of\u00a0 Glee’. For those who don’t watch tv or who have been meditating in a cave for…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html","og_site_name":"The Bliss Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","article_published_time":"2011-05-19T14:00:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-05-20T02:54:48+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/05\/musicalnotes.jpg"}],"author":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EdieWeinstein1","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html","name":"Pure Imagination - The Bliss Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/05\/musicalnotes.jpg","datePublished":"2011-05-19T14:00:24+00:00","dateModified":"2011-05-20T02:54:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/05\/musicalnotes.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/blissblog\/files\/2011\/05\/musicalnotes.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2011\/05\/pure-imagination.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pure Imagination"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/","name":"The Bliss Blog","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Edie Weinstein","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386","name":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","caption":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW"},"description":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, inspiring transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, editor, radio host, BLISS coach, event producer, Cosmic Concierge, the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary and co-author of Embraced By the Divine: The Emerging Woman\u2019s Gateway to Power, Passion and Purpose. She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. Edie is the founder of Hug Mobsters Armed With Love, which offers FREE HUGS events on a planned and spontaneous basis. www.opti-mystical.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.opti-mystical.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","https:\/\/x.com\/EdieWeinstein1"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/author\/eweinstein"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":667,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions\/667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}