Movie fans and spiritual seekers, unite! In Cinema Nirvana, meditation teacher and award-winning film critic Dean Sluyter illuminates the hidden enlightenment teachings of Casablanca, Jaws, The Graduate, The Godfather, Memento, and ten other classic films, revealing spiritual wisdom in everything from 007's secret weapons to the colors of the Seven Dwarfs' eyes.

So grab your popcorn, sit back, and prepare to have your mind opened. Cinema Nirvana is a funny but wise, practical but wildly entertaining guide to finding enlightenment one movie at a time.

Cinema Nirvana: Enlightenment Lessons from the Movies, Dean Sluyter, Three Rivers Press, 2005, 304 pages, $14.00

Award-winning author Dean Sluyter (pronounced "slighter") has taught meditation and awakening since 1970, from elite prep schools to maximum security prisons. His books Fear Less and Natural Meditation were back-to-back Amazon bestsellers in stress management. A grateful student of Eastern and Western sages, Dean has completed numerous pilgrimages and retreats in India, Tibet, Nepal, and the West. He is known for conveying authentic teachings in a form that is practical, accessible, and fun. Videos of his teachings and meditation sessions are available at youtube.com/user/DeanPritamSluyter/videos

Dean leads workshops, talks, and retreats throughout the U.S. and beyond. He has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, InStyle, New York Magazine, O The Oprah Magazine, Coast to Coast AM, and The Dr. Oz Show. Publishers Weekly calls his work "extremely well written and joyously entertaining."

Married to documentary filmmaker Yaffa Lerea, Dean is on the faculty of the West Coast Writers Conferences. When not writing or teaching, he narrates audiobooks, plays his ukulele, sings with the Threshold Choir, and happily rides his Vespa through the streets of Santa Monica.

For articles, teaching schedule, free meditation audio, and more, please visit DeanSluyter.com.

CONTENTS: Cinema Nirvana
Introduction Snap Out of It	1
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) Dare to Be Dopey	7
The Big Sleep (1946) Dancing in the Dark	30
Independence Day (1996) This Is It	51
The Graduate (1967) Whaddya Got?	67
Easy Rider (1969) We Blew It	81
Jaws (1975) All You Can Eat	95
The Truman Show (1998) The Real World	117
Momento (2000) Now, Where Was I?	138
The Godfather (1972) I Believe in America	158
Goldfinger (1964) Divine Heaviness	180
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) The Lies of the Enlightened	201
Fistful of Dollars (1964) Spaghetti Samurai	224
Jailhouse Rock (1957) Nix, Nix	246
A Night at the Opera (1935) Nothing Happens	261
Casablanca (1942) You Must Remember This	281
Index	305