[TV Show] Avatar the Last Airbender, Brian Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino, 10/10

[TheAvatarState]

Now, I know what you must be thinking, "Why is a children's TV show (that aired on Nickelodeon no less) being recommended on this self-help forum? How could this possibly be appropriate? This guy must be crazy!" I know I have a tough sell, but please hear me out. Believe it or not, this wonderful show may be one of the most important tools for introducing children to nonduality teachings, Eastern culture and religions, respecting all life, spiritual transcendence, and the hero's journey. Not only can this be a wonderful teaching tool and bonding experience for families, but it's really a show for ALL ages. I saw it for the first time in my early 20's and it transformed my life. I've heard of people in their 50's and 60's and even older being moved to tears. I fully believe that the world would be a better place if more people watched this show. It's really the only show that I feel wholly appropriate to share with Actualized.org. 

So what is Avatar the Last Airbender? It's a 3-season, fully self-contained epic fantasy TV show that aired from 2005-2008. I don't want to spoil the plot, so I'll just say some interesting tidbits... The creators borrowed inspiration from ancient Chinese, Imperial Japanese, Indian, and even Native American culture. They also hired a real-life martial artist, Sifu Kisu, to choreograph and act out the fights, making for the most stunningly accurate and fluid animated fights you'll ever see. What's more, each of the 4 nations in this fantasy world (each able to "bend" one of the 4 elements) have their own fighting style that reflects the nature of their respective element. It's really quite remarkable. Balance is a key theme of the show.

While the animation and fights are gorgeously produced, what makes this show so endearing are the characters and how they bond and grow. What do you think of when you think of the qualities of children's cartoon characters? Probably unbelievable characters, dumbed-down dialogue, lazy writing, inconsistencies, and various other silly actions. Does Avatar have silliness? Oh yeah, plenty of it! But the quirky and often witty and down-to-earth humor can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The rest of it? Hell no. Except for the first few episodes (where the creative team were trying to find their footing), the dialogue, writing, and general themes are EXCELLENT and mature. Pretty quickly, Avatar transcends everything you thought a kid's show could be.

So all in all, I can't recommend Avatar the Last Airbender enough, especially to families that would like to have discussions about the topics of actualized.org. But no matter where you are at in your journey, if you haven't seen Avatar, please do. It is SO RARE to find a show in our popular culture that transcends all the boundaries. To teach the importance of friendship and how it can transcend lifetimes. To give an in-depth look at the horrors of war (that's family friendly!). To teach one to respect all life and consider multiple perspectives. To teach one of the inherent duality of our universe (Daoism and the Taijitu symbol are explained), and also of the true underlying nonduality of everything ("The greatest illusion of all is the illusion of separation."). Childbirth. Loss of loved ones. Meditation. The path of Liberation. It's all here, and presented in a way that a child could understand (idk, probably age 6-10), but also in a way that can touch even the oldest and most evolved soul.

Here I'll link to a 10-minute video of the episode where the main character Aang meets a Guru in order to open his Chakras. Please note that this is a YouTube video edited to not break any copyright laws and meant for educational purposes only. This will you give you a taste of what to expect! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StrbppmsZJw

Here is a link to the just-released complete series in Blu-Ray. It's only $35 for the 24-hour long show and tons of bonus content. https://www.amazon.com/Avatar-Last-Airbender-Complete-Blu-ray/dp/B07BC5STNG/ref=tmm_blu_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

I would love nothing more than for Leo to notice this post, watch the show, and shoot a video on it. Why? Because this whole community needs to know about Avatar! Our society is at a difficult point (a crossroads of destiny, if you will), of trying to evolve from stage Blue/Orange to Green. What can help make that shift? How do we teach our children about these deep and often misunderstood topics? I feel that this is quite a challenge for many of us... And I'm here to tell you that this medium of a TV show could be the perfect tool for doing just that! In every sense of the word, this remarkable work of animation is timeless. 

 

 

[Mirror of Confusion]

Thank you for this great post.

[Durka_Durka]

@TheAvatarState Thank you so much for this. I used to love this show but I never actually caught a lot of the shows episodes. And I certainly have never seen any Avatar while being involved with Actualized.org (apart from that chakras video you posted), I will definitely keep this in mind. I'd love to be able to watch this and relate it back to what I've learnt. 

If you have any more recommendations like this, I'd be happy to hear them

[RendHeaven]

MILD SPOILER WARNING

 

I remember when I first watched this show when I was young, there's this part where the guru guy tells Aang to "imagine someone he loves" and then to "let go" of her. Aang, a 12 year old boy imagines Katara, a 14 year old girl and for completely understandable reasons refuses to simply "let go." He says "I can't do it" and I remember agreeing with him while watching. I was also near his age, maybe a little older, and I remember thinking "why the heck would you let go of someone you love? that makes no sense." The animation also fantastically illustrated how "letting go" was not merely an abstract thing, but that he would literally have to cut ties with her to achieve "the avatar state" which I now see is an obvious allusion to enlightenment. You could see him imagining Katara while she was slowly fading away and when Aang says "I can't do it." you can see why this attachment is so meaningful to him. 

But at the same time, of course, this attachment and meaning is the biggest barrier he has to overcome in attaining enlightenment/the avatar state. Of course! Because to transcend the self while also gaining infinite power and wisdom, or in other words all his past lives and their combined power/knowledge (lol coincidence?), he must let go of all attachments including his egoic love. Rewatching the show now with all the self actualization theory in mind, I'm mind blown at how well these parallels are drawn. I doubt any of the creators were enlightened but damn did they do their research.

Edited July 8, 2018 by RendHeaven

[TheAvatarState]

@Durka_Durka So I first watched the show a couple years ago, and that was when I first started consciousness work and watching actualized.org. Man, I have to tell you that my appreciation for The Last Airbender has skyrocketed since then. I really don't think that most people fully understand what's at play here, it's quite remarkable. There are no other shows like Avatar. It fits almost perfectly with everything I've learned from actualized.org in a beautiful way.

[Tonypop100]

@TheAvatarStateI am so happy you posted this guess its time to watch avatar for the 4 time.

[TheAvatarState]

@Tonypop100 Right on! Enjoy the rewatch, while keeping actualized.org stuff in mind

[AdamDiC]

@TheAvatarState Hehehe, nice post man. Now i'm excited to watch this. It's hard to not watch TV, so at least now I have something cool to watch. 

Thanks!

[TheAvatarState]

@AdamDiC I don't think you'll be disappointed. Again, the first few episodes are more childish, but it's necessary worldbuilding and reflects the characters' initial mindset. Enjoy!  

[TheAvatarState]

This series is extremely important, especially for actualizers with young children. I just want it to be seen by more people.

[LukeUid]

YES! One of the reasons I got into self actualization was because of this show. I still put on an episode once in a while and I am not lying when I say the chances of me tearing up or getting a sudden AHA! moment are very high!
Definitely recommend this series as both a fun and insightful experience
The Legend of Korra (the companion series) is okay. In my opinion it doesn't hold up to the The Legend of Aang but that is considering how much trouble the producers had with getting it to air properly. A couple of insightful moments in Korra as well. 

Super happy someone on this forum mentioned this series! 

Edited January 2, 2019 by LukeUid

[Mihael Keehl]

Love this show! Just watched it a few months ago. There are even more very good animes with "hidden" spiritual teachings.

The best that I have seen is hunter x hunter and parasyte. On the surface they both are presented as shonin/fighting anime with very good animation but when you are familiar with spirituality, you can see very obvious spiritual teachings displayed throughout the shows.