May 29, 2012

May 29, 2012

Chapter 1, section 2 of Exposition of the Divine Principle is so unlike any other section!  It is loaded with abstract underlying dynamics to existence, life and well-being.  It is by far the largest PowerPoint section in the DP Outreach PowerPoint series to be released soon.

This poses a challenge for both the artist and the educator.  Can this material be recognized as relevant to every day life?  And if Universal Prime Energy is so important, then why is it only mentioned here in this section?

A lot of my attention this past month has been redesigning videos from this section.  This is part of a larger endeavor - to create a transcript of each section to include in the DP Outreach Powerpoint discs.

Newly Revised Videos 9 & 10

One of my personal delights for redesigning the DP information in section 2 was expanding the presence of Universal Prime Energy in videos 8, 9 & 10.  Previously, UPE was featured in video 6 only.

Now that all of Part 1 is finished, I can go back and include new images created later or include ideas that will only be formally introduced later.  For example, the two forces within God are shown in videos 9 & 10.  These two forces are the Power of Love and the Force of the Principle.  They are artistically visualized as the orange and blue 'swooshes.'

Video 10 almost creates a Four Position Foundation but I resisted creating one since the next video formally introduces it.

The music used in video 9 is called "the Waterwheel" by John Adorney.
The music used in video 10 is called "In Bloom" by John Adorney

In the PowerPoint creation of video 9 (above), this particular slide had over 3000 pieces compiled into more than 2200 groups!

What's that Blue 'Swoosh' for?

The blue 'swoosh' is explained well in Video 40.  Having said that, it appears in many videos before number 40.  It looks like some kind of wind or aurora.  There is a blue swoosh and an orange one.  The Blue swoosh represents the Power of the Principle.  The orange swoosh represents the Force of Love.  

The blue 'swoosh' (Power of the Principle) is often used in the backgrounds of the images.  Artistically speaking, the color blue is passive and supportive and does not compete with the primary images.  The more intense orange Love 'swoosh' is used less often for artistic reasons because its color is too strong and competes for the eye's attention.

May 19, 2012

Hello Lovers of DP,

My name is Michael Callahan and the creator of the short DP videos online (Facebook, Vimeo & YouTube).


I have been busy everyday getting the DP Outreach PowerPoints available for purchase.  I felt it was important to give you updates about this endeavor through this blog.  The PowerPoint version of the online videos are not completed yet.  In their final form, each disc will cover one chapter of Exposition of the Divine Principle and will include the following:

• One PowerPoint file for each section (Chapter 1 will have 6 PowerPoint files covering 6 sections)
• Each disc will have follow-up quiz-type reviews and discussion questions that relate the abstract concepts to everyday life.
• Each disc will have English transcripts of the sentences and words used in the PowerPoint presentation.
  
  
  

Transcipt Files

Included on the discs will be several Microsoft Word files.  These are the English transcripts for the PowerPoints as a word document.  This editable files can be useful for translation purposes. 

For example, someone in France may want to use these English DP Outreach PowerPoints but their guests can only understand French.  What to do?  Since the PowerPoint files are not editable the transcripts are useful as speaker translation notes.  In the transcripts, space is provided to type another language translation into the file. The speaker can then read out the French equivalent of the English words projected on the slide.

Another reason I am making these transcript files will be for the future production of the DP online videos into Korean.  The Korean headquarters church will work with me to do this. I will use the Korean translation in the transcripts to create Korean versions of the videos.  This endeavor is still in the planning stages.

In creating these transcripts, I am  provided once again with an opportunity to re-evaluate the slides overall message and make any improvements.  New inspirations come and push me to upgrade the existing words and images.  Video 8 is an example of this.

Newly Revised Videos #8

Video number 8 is being reintroduced with a some visuals and music.  In this video, the conscience is introduced for the first time.  Unique to human beings, it is innate and ever active and influenced by Universal Prime Energy.  Without it, God could not communicate with us.  This revision makes the link between GTA and conscience much more smoother. 

More DP sentences were included such as the Human Fall, an issue avoided in earlier versions perhaps because of an intention to focus on the original plan.  But this time, being true to the DP approach, the Human Fall is always tucked in and included everywhere in the DP.

In this video, there is also an upbeat view of Christianity that introduces Jesus and salvation through GTA.  DP states, "When we unite with Jesus... we can recover our original God-given nature" (page 23).  I think this is a good way to outreach Jesus' value.  But to make our point valid, we Unificationists have to believe in it by making the statement true in our own lives.

Which Place is Best to View the DP Videos?

The most-updated versions are always at www.vimeo.com/unification

Vimeo will always let me replace an older version with a new version.  The downside about Vimeo is that Google no longer lists these videos in a Google video search.

Facebook has some videos too but they are older versions.  It is still good to view and share them however since the content is timeless and easy for facebook friends to navigate to.

CompletedTestamentTV uploads both the new and older versions so Pierre Tardy's channel has many videos!  The older ones were created in low resolution so the images and words are more fuzzy.

I hope to have the videos uploaded to my new website when it is created where DP lovers can also purchase the PowerPoints and find other DP Outreach materials.  Prices aren't yet decided.

The God Picture

Some Unificationists may not appreciate Michelangelo's interpretation of God as an old wise man.  On the other hand, Father Moon is God's visible self to many of us and he too is an old wise man.

Of course, God is also the source of  femininity -and does not have a physical body of His own.  Nonetheless, it seems emotionally satisfying to many to use an image of some kind that reminds us that God has emotions.  God is a willful being.   God is a desirous being.  If I used a circle with the three letters G-O-D inside the circle, we may forget how much God wants some things to happen.  Finally, I chose this image because of its iconic status; everyone knows this represents what we call God.  Any comments?

The image of God on the left-side of the above picture is created by Michael Callahan.  It is based on a composite of two paintings by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel which are pictured on the right-side.