5 Reasons the OA Changed my View of Life

Cracking the algorithm of human existence

The profundity of Brit Marling’s & Zal Batmanglij’s TV show The OA is outstanding. I began watching it with no expectations and ended up becoming my favorite series. 16 chapters were enough to change my view of the world and give me valuable lessons that now I would like to share, even if you haven’t seen The OA.

The OA is a Netflix original sci-fi, drama, mystery, and fantasy TV show. We follow the life of Prairie Johnson (season 1)/Nina Azarova (season 2), a blind woman who mysteriously disappears and seven years later returns home with her sight restored. Prairie gathers a group of 5 people to whom she taught the story of her disappearance and 5 movements that will change their lives.

The show only has two seasons over the initially planned five. Nevertheless, it doesn’t feel incomplete at all. I’m not spoiling too much, promise. And once the introductions are done, let’s get started!

AS 5 MOVEMENTS, 5 REASONS:

1. I learned the importance of integrating everything we learn

“Knowledge Is A Rumor Until It Lives In The Body.” Quoted in The OA Season 1

Studying symbolism is fine. As Jung would say, universal archetypes are representing the same for all of us. But you don't understand symbolism until it makes sense to you. That meaning is unique to you and non-transferable. For this reason, dream interpretation books have never been of much use to me.

I’ve never seen so much symbology in a series or movie as in The OA. It’s a good exercise for you to try to decipher many elements. For example, the wolf represents the leader and also the spiritual teacher, although it’s very lonely. Prairie, curiously, wears a wolf's sweatshirt in the series. And it’s purple, a color linked to spiritual transformation. The wolf and the color represent her well. But why is she wearing the sweatshirt? Because it reminded Prairie of her beloved Homer. He always wore a sweatshirt of his rugby team, whose mascot was a purple wolf. Does that reason make Prairie less interesting? On the contrary, it makes her more human, more real.

Another good example: the Five Movements. First time I saw them dancing I thought of kriyas — spontaneous movements usually done in meditation states. Some people say it’s a sign of your kundalini energy is activating. Well, I’ve experimented with kriyas by myself, and honestly… my kundalini hasn’t awaked, nor I want to. My energy just was shifted, being relocated. That’s pretty normal. In OA, the characters, while dancing were certainly moving energy, and they accomplish impossible things. But they didn’t enlighten. They just continued living their lives, with new things integrated into their mind and bodies.

The personal and human meaning of symbols doesn’t make our experience less mystical. True knowledge is integration, and not just storing data.

2. Now I don’t forget BOTH Science and Spirituality carry a great responsibility

“I asked you to believe in impossible things, and you never once looked at me like I was crazy.” Quoted in The OA Season 2

As a psychologist who likes «pseudoscience» stuff sometimes I wonder how difficult it’s to fit correctly: I’m very mystical for science and so objective for spiritual people.

I don’t think believing in impossible things makes you a fool but more open-minded. However, I’m clear about patients — and mental health — are sacred. In my country, it’s forbidden to use not scientifically proven therapies. And I agree, after many years of thinking about it. Let’s be clear on one thing: your beliefs should not affect your professionalism. If they do, you’re treating your patients not from respect, but ego.

Just as the extreme example of Hap, the open-minded psychiatrist obsessed with NDE’s (near-death experiences) who does not hesitate to go as far as possible even if this violates human rights. He represents the dark side of science.

But Prairie, surprisingly, seems to me that reflected the dark side of spirituality. She calls herself an “angel” and believes she has a special mission. She also tended to use people to achieve her purposes regardless of the consequences of abandoning loved ones. Her intentions may run contrary to Hap’s, but she never dealt with the consequences of leaving her family shattered due to her disappearance and also her friend Jesse’s suicide, both events indirectly related to her decisions. It’s clear how her ego is also showing up here and she has a lot to learn. Why do we never ask spiritual people for responsibility?

The true mind of the scientist is open to impossible things. But in our dimension, there are still rules to accomplish. We’re not crazy but responsible for our choices.

Many techniques that years ago would be rejected for science have already been proven. The most famous is mindfulness. I’m sure time puts everything in its place. But just as there are scientific studies with statistical tricks and methodological errors, there are also many very harmful spiritual techniques. Surprise. We must be critical of everything, always from respect.

3. I’m aware the people I’ll meet at the spiritual path could be worse than “normal people”

“The biggest mistake I made was believing that if I cast a beautiful net, I’d catch only beautiful things.” Quoted in The OA Season 1

You will stop being comfortable with the majority of people around you. You will go through successive Dark Nights of the soul. You will fail. You will rebuild yourself and you will fail again. The spiritual path is very hard, far from beautiful. But once inside you will no longer be able to look back in the same way. Your former self will have died. You’ll be neither better nor worse, different.

The beginnings are hard at first. Everyone will seem enlightened to you but most of the people are phonies and cults. In the end, your common sense will help you find the right people — in my opinion, it will be around 10% of all the ones you meet on this path.

Be aware of “spiritual teachers”. In The OA we have Hap and Khatun as an example. Hap, presented as a friendly scientist who offers a world full of possibilities, is the evilest character and main antagonist. He never gives choice and manipulates to his advantage. Everything he knows is not based on true wisdom but on his eagerness to collect knowledge. Katun (Prairie/Nina's spirit guide) is however very serious. She is sincere and direct. Katun lets Prairie choose and offers her nothing but the hard and cruel truth. But she protects and guides her.

After the years, I realized that sometimes it’s better to follow someone serious and tough, than someone with a perpetual smile on top. Being serious doesn’t mean not being loving. But be very careful with people who humiliate you with the excuse of making you stronger: traumas don’t make us stronger but more wounded.

I don’t know what spirituality will be like on other planes, but on this one, everything is dual: light and dark. Also, we can learn from our traumas but as a way of moving forward, not as a philosophy of life. A good teacher will always teach you from the heart and respect.

4. I don’t want to look further anymore

When you enter at first into the spiritual world you tend to look "up" when your feet are still on the ground. We need to find a master who guides us. Aliens will come to save us. We need techniques of other spiritual planes. The issue here is: what is all of this nonsense based on paternalism beliefs?

Prairie tended to look everywhere for teachers: first her father, then Hap. She was always in the search for the supernatural, whereas she needed to learn to be less selfish and connect with people. With her tribe. That beautiful teaching was given to her by a group of trees:

“The only way to recover is to form a tribe. No tree survives alone in the forest.” Quoted in The OA Season 2

And also, Old Night — an octopus she met in the second season — helped her integrate a hard part of her past. Because, who is more connected with this Earth than vegetals and animals?

Observe and admire nature’s cycles. Learn from it. Mother Nature is the oldest, the deepest source of connection we have, our anchor point, and our best teacher. For sure, Gaia wants us to care for our beloved ones, not for entities of other dimensions.

We aren’t alone and there’s no problem in asking for help. But it’s no longer the time for saviors and spiritual leaders. Also, what we need is to experience this plane, with things of this plane: connecting with Nature we can connect with ourselves.

5. I assumed I can’t beat the algorithm of life: it’s better to join it

The 5th movement in the OA is simply will. And will is what you need if you plan to break the algorithm in social media and real life. For example, as a writer, you have to decide what to tell. Do you stay true to your essence? Do you follow trends that don’t inspire you to gain more views? It’s not an easy decision because our artistic works are like a son. Then if we chose to stay true to our essence, views reach the lowest point. What’s happened?

“To Exist Is To Survive Unfair Choices.” Quoted in The OA Season 1

Yes, life it’s unfair. Imagine being the creators of a recently canceled show because it doesn’t fit the algorithm: The OA real story. They decided to find their voice and the audience wasn’t big enough. Perhaps, they were so attached to their project and its careful five-programmed parts and the cancellation of the show was a valuable life lesson. The story decided by itself how to be taught. And like the final season, it landed in our reality.

The movements inspired hundreds of people to do live performances focusing energy on one point or one idea. Have you heard about the “Save The OA movement”? There’s also amazing fanart, crazy theories on Reddit… the story isn’t dead at all. The OA, a show whose story connects dimensions, managed to connect people in real life. Isn’t that wonderful?

The same here. For instance, you can always make a clickbait title if you bring your promise to your readers. You can work on tags and SEO positioning. Let’s join the algorithm. You may not achieve your initial purpose, but who knows what the future holds for us? Let’s listen to our art: it has its voice.

The algorithm of life it’s constantly changing. We must continue bringing stories that inspire us, but there’s a language to learn.

A GLIMPSE OF HOPE FOR THE OA FANS

Back in 2019, I tended to believe we could not watch OA’s new season because we weren’t in the correct dimension. Now I only have gratitude to the showrunners. From time to time, rumors spread and OA’s fans begin to observe clues in Zal and Brit’s cryptic social media posts. I don’t know if someday we’ll have another season of the OA, maybe a book or a comic. I just feel lucky knowing that I exist in a world where there’re such beautiful pieces of art.

Stories like the OA help us connect both with our inner and deepest selves and between ourselves. In this universe, or another. And for the moment, that’s enough for me. This show changed my view of life, maybe could change also yours?

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