Most of us never question what we let in through a screen. Maybe we should.
If you know me, you know I love a good movie. Growing up, I was lucky enough to spend my childhood in two pizza shops; my parents had one, my grandparents had the other. And just a few doors down to both were video stores. By the time I was ten, I had watched hundreds if not thousands of movies. They taught me about friendship, family, fun and life. But they also taught me about sadness, loss, stress, and the worst one: fear.
Every movie and TV show is created not only to entertain, but to deliver a message.
You know when it's landed by the way you feel walking away; happy, in love, sad, scared, inspired? Then the movie did exactly what it set out to do. It reached you.
It takes an entire team of people, each operating in their own Qi flow of creative genius, to make a truly great film. What I've noticed is that when every person in that team is working from a place of genuine flow, using their natural talents with full commitment, the result is a movie that stays with you. It moves you. It changes something in you. When one or more of those people isn't in that flow state, you feel it. The cracks show. You stop believing and you get bored.
But here's the thing, being in creative flow doesn't automatically mean you're spreading something positive. There is an opposite to everything.
The same energy that creates something beautiful can be used to create something that leaves a mark for very different reasons.
I grew up loving the ocean. I spent my weekends with my Dad fishing off the beach, body boarding, sand boarding on the dunes and boating. I loved everything about it. I knew the dangers, I'd even seen sharks from our boat without so much as flinching. Then I watched the movie Jaws.
Most people can understand how a film about a shark stalking and attacking people might make you think twice about going in the water. It definitely did that to me, and if I'm honest, it still does to this day (though I'm working on it). I always knew sharks were out there. But suddenly I believed they were everywhere, waiting specifically for me the moment I stepped in. I even had myself second guessing in our home pool (which is ridiculous). Add to that the fact that Australian news outlets go absolutely wild for shark attack stories, and my relationship with the ocean was never quite the same. For years I missed out on something I loved because a group of talented people (fully in their creative Qi flow), chose to make a film about a killer shark, and I chose to watch it.
So I ask you, have you ever watched a movie, a TV show or the news, and felt your relationship to something shift?
Your outlook on relationships, safety, the world? Did it change for the better or worse? Did it stop you living fully? Or did it push you to aspire to more? If so, you've experienced firsthand how powerful screen content can be. And how lasting.
What we watch affects our inner state more than most of us realise. Movies, TV shows and the news are among the biggest influences on our emotional wellbeing and our beliefs. That impact can last a lifetime, quietly shaping what we think is possible, what we fear, what we expect from people and from the world.
And it's not just movies and TV anymore.
Social media feeds, apps and the news on your phone are designed (by very talented, very Qi focused people) to hold your attention for as long as possible.
The difference is there's no credits rolling at the end. No natural stopping point. Just an endless stream of content, each piece chosen by an algorithm that has studied exactly what keeps you watching. The same question applies: how do you feel after twenty minutes of scrolling? Energised and inspired, or heavy, restless and vaguely dissatisfied? That answer tells you everything.
That’s why it matters what we choose to let in and for how long.
Before you press play on that next movie, show or news bulletin, or open that app out of habit, ask yourself: how do you think you'll feel afterwards? Is that rom-com going to make you question your relationships or is it going to leave you feeling warm and hopeful? Is that horror film going to give you nightmares or just a quick thrill you'll forget by morning? Is the news going to leave you feeling informed, empowered or anxious, heavy and wanting to lock the door? Is that scroll through your feed going to inspire you, or leave you comparing yourself to a highlight reel that was never real to begin with?
These aren't small questions. Screen time is everywhere now, TVs, laptops, phones, tablets, and the technology is only getting better at capturing our attention. We need to become more aware of what we are inadvertently teaching ourselves, and what we're modelling for the next generation.
So before you watch anything, ask: how will this benefit me? How might it affect my outlook?
If it's purely for entertainment and you know it won't leave a negative mark, then go for it, enjoy every minute. But if you suspect it might pull you into a spiral, or leave you with a fear you didn't have before, maybe give it a miss.
