The Portal

Our world is suffering from a growing number of crises: climate change, conflict, displacement, a lack of social cohesion, economic injustice, and other stressors which prevent individuals from adequately taking care of their own mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing. The impact of mental health issues on families and communities is increasing. The Portal movie, book, and educational series, plus The Stillness Project, seek to provide solid tools to help people navigate the path from feeling overwhelmed and stressed to reaching their potential.

To build a world in which everyone knows how to enjoy meditation, and...

+ Understands what meditation is and how to practice it, appreciating the links between meditation and psychological / neurological development
+ Meditates daily (even for a short time), building their capacity to be aware of their own mind, and cope with feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, depressed or worried
+ Uses meditation to develop empathy and compassion for self and others

In the ‘70s, partly thanks to one compelling TV story, 25 million Americans took up jogging; an international health “fad” which is now permanently integrated into our culture. The Portal can make meditation the new jogging. It’s popularly believed that meditation is difficult, or that it requires some sort of religious or spiritual affiliation. This isn’t the case, and by exploring several inspirational personal stories, The Portal demonstrates that meditation is easy, accessible, effective, and worthwhile. It is a personal practice which (unlike jogging) also has powerful implications for altering individual perspectives that can impact the culture of a family, community, workplace or country.

The Portal’s global community can:
+ Create a global movement by watching, sharing, & hosting screenings of the movie
+ Encourage more people to try meditating and practice it regularly, making it popular & commonplace
+ Encourage leaders to implement meditation for better mental health

Firstly, the film has been designed to create a unique, experimental experience that provokes an emotional and psychological shift in the audience. With six case studies of real people using meditation for a variety of different mental, social and physical conditions we have provided evidence of meditation's benefits.

To support viewers, we invite them to access our community, resources and a worldwide movement. We are also liaising with groups like teachers/educators, reform institutions, mental health professionals and leaders in order to raise awareness and engage them in conversations and events where they can interact with other like-minded people to discuss previously taboo subjects around mental and community health.

We will partner with organisations across the public, private and nonprofit sectors to co-promote the goal of creating healthier, happier and calmer individuals + communities. We can support our diverse screening partners with resources so they are able to implement meditation and mindfulness in their contexts.

Our School Screening Kit includes The Portal’s Australian Teachers Of Media (ATOM) teaching guide, and access to The Stillness Project’s 14-day online Chill-out meditation program devised by Tom Cronin especially for teenagers.

The moving personal testimonies in this film are particularly useful for inspiring secular meditation practice in a variety of communities, workplaces and environments:
Mental Health Organisations
Hospitals
Defence Force
Banks
Corporate Workplaces
Social enterprises and social justice organisations
Schools and universities
Community & sporting associations
Religious congregations
Prisons and Corrective Services
Areas of socioeconomic disadvantage

+ Start conversations about meditation and mental wellness with others, in the home, workplace, community and elsewhere
+ Access our Portal resources (e.g. website, book, online masterclasses and app) to engage with meditation
+ Seek help and support for negative mental health conditions
+ Learn how to meditate and embrace an ongoing meditation practice

+ Number of screenings in communities, schools, businesses, organisations and government
+ Downloads of screening and resource kits
+ Number of educational DVDs & teaching kits requested
+ Testimonials and case studies from traditional blue-chip companies engaging with meditation as a result of corporate screenings and Q&As
+ Post-screening meditation sessions
+ Number and nature of enquiries about engaging more deeply (e.g. meditation teacher training)