A little over a year ago, roughly coinciding with the 15th anniversary of my near-death experience, my good friend Larry “Doc” Pruyne completed a short film about me. It tells the story of my flower mandala images, my work as a psychotherapist, my personal journey of near-death survival, and the connections between them. As NDE anniversary number 16 approaches on February 21, 2009, I wanted to post his film here.
Larry knows my story better than anyone. He is the person who drove me home from the hospital that nearly killed me, and our friendship has been mellowing and deepening ever since. My life and his have intertwined in many ways during the past 16 years, and this film represents, in part, the product of that interweaving. It was a reluctant collaboration: Larry came into it with his own ideas of about how to tell the story, and of course so did I. The film mingles our two points of view not only about my story but also about art, healing, transformation, and storytelling itself. It is a snapshot both of the period during which it was shot and of our friendship. As we evolve, perhaps it will, too.

healing image is also the prototype for a series of films Larry is working on that that deal with art, artists, and the artistic process.



Contact:
Lawrence “Doc” Pruyne is a filmmaker and writer in the Boston area, with over 800 articles and stories published. His film healing image has been widely displayed for college audiences and at festivals, including a Best Short at the Somewhat North of Boston Film Festival. He can be reached at docpruyne1@verizon.net.
Discussion:
Art, Healing, and Transformation group
Flower Mandalas Project group
Cultivating Creativity group
Request the 15 Flower Mandalas screensaver: Fifteen Flower Mandalas
Images © 2005-2009, David J. Bookbinder
‘healing image’ film © 2008, Lawrence Pruyne