The Metaphysical Meaning of the Movie Sister Act

 

If you are not familiar with the movie Sister Act you should check it out. If you are familiar with the movie, perhaps after my metaphysical analysis you will see the film in a different light. 

On the face of it, Sister Act is a well produced, comedic movie. In fact, it's now a classic to be enjoyed for years to come. The film first aired in May 1992. That's over three decades ago and in my view, it's still as refreshing as ever. 

The plot centers around a secular singer named Deloris Van Cartier. In the movie, Ms. Cartier witnesses her mob boss boyfriend commit a murder. Seeing that the boyfriend didn't want to leave Deloris as a witness, he sets out to have her deleted so to speak.  

Under the witness protection program the singer hides in a nunnery (this is where the action begins) until it's time for her to testify.  

In order to keep the singer occupied, the Mother Superior at the convent offers Deloris an undercover job as a choir director at the nunnery. Seeing that Deloris already had singing skills, the offer fit in perfectly with her talents. However, things don't go so smoothly. 

So, what is the metaphysical meaning of the movie Sister Act?

The Metaphysical Meaning: 

First, let's examine the dynamic and complex personality of the main character named Deloris. Her character represents the conscious mind, also referred to as the ego, which is heavily influenced by the external, physical world. 

The conscious mind is in constant communication with the subconscious mind which obeys without question. It is responsible for creating the external experiences in every person's life. 

In most spiritual teachings, the subconscious is described as the inner repository of past experiences, karmic patterns, and emotional memories, acting as a "fertile soil" that shapes reality based on your beliefs.

The subconscious mind primarily reacts to your habitual thoughts and feelings whether they are beneficial to you or not. This is why it's such a powerful and remarkable tool. It works 24/7 like a factory churning out your deepest beliefs and manifesting them into the physical world. 

For example, if with deep feeling and complete faith you consistently believe that every time you drive to the grocery store you never find a parking spot, your subconscious, who knows no difference between fact and fantasy, will try to make certain that every time you drive to the grocery store you don't find a parking space!

To the subconscious mind your thoughts and feelings are saying "I don't want a parking space whenever I go to the grocery store" because that is what you deeply believe. 

Bear in mind that your passing day-to-day thoughts don't register with your subconscious. It's the profoundly felt and believed thoughts that triggers invisible energies that create your external world experiences. 

You're probably not even aware of most of these hidden thoughts because they've been stored within the subconscious waiting for the right time to manifest. 

The subconscious simply follows orders. It wants to please you much like a loyal pet wants to please its owner. As a result, it will manifest your deeply held beliefs with astounding accuracy. As sighted in the parking spot scenario.   

Imagine the endless possibilities that could open up to you if you were to release yourself from the grip of persistent negative thought patterns. By replacing these negative thoughts with positive ones, you could influence your conscious mind and ultimately change your outer world through your subconscious.

Those thoughts will plant rich fertile seeds of positivity within your subconscious mind, leading to a dramatic improvement in your life. 

Deloris is clueless of the power within (her subconscious) and looks externally for the answers to all her problems. This in turn causes her to act in tactless ways, thereby resulting in some pretty hairy situations. 

Her integrity is compromised thereby reinforcing a belief in a lack of abundance and joy by psychologically inviting unruly characters. These unruly characters (represented by her mob boyfriend and his goons) represents her conscious negative thoughts manifesting into real life experiences via her subconscious mind. 

For further reading about the power of your subconscious mind, the article titled The Subconscious Mind: Complete Guide to Manifestation, Science & Spirituality might be of interest to you.

Deloris, represents an apathetic mind that is forced to awaken after ignoring the consequences of her own unprincipled behavior. Although her conscious mind is starting to evolve, she still lacks understanding of the workings of universal principles often referred to as karma. 

These invisible principles are active whether one is aware of them or not. They work for good or ill of an individual depending on the conscious mind's feelings and thought patterns programmed into the subconscious mind. 

Universal principles are comparable to spiritual laws, which are God's laws and do not vacillate. I Change Not. Man's laws are always changing. One year this or that is legal, another year it's not. God's laws are immutable which is to our advantage. 

As you deepen your relationship with the Creator and grow in your understanding of His nature, you will witness the workings and dependability of God's laws and how they aspire to always work in your favor.

When we live without wisdom, we often find ourselves in challenging situations that are meant to teach us important lessons. These situations will continue to confront us until we make the conscious decision to use our free will to convert and strive towards the good.

As the saying goes "good judgement comes from experience; and experience, well, comes from bad judgement." Consistently bad experiences are indicative of a life lived without wisdom. 

The Creator can turn any curse into a blessing. This is exactly what happened to Deloris after she was forced into the convent. The convent metaphysically represents her blessings in disguise. And even though the circumstances seemed trivial, she was completely unaware that this was actually a period of significant growth for her. 

Deloris despised the convent and initially resisted its (subconscious) teachings as many of us respond when we can't see opportunity in difficult circumstances. However, because it was time for her to karmically pay her dues, she had no choice but to endure the situation. 

Remember, for every action there is a reaction nothing is left incomplete. Consequences may not happen immediately but eventually, all of our deeply felt and believed thoughts and actions will come back to bless or curse us. 

This seemingly bad situation was actually Deloris's road to freedom and prosperity. However, before she could fully experience the blessings awaiting her, she had no choice but to confront and transform the negative thought patterns emanating from her subconscious mind.   

Seeing that the convent is actually a blessings in disguise for her, Deloris is given a wonderful opportunity to transform her subconscious mind. Her soul can then begin to express its true infinite nature. 

In a way, the Soul and the subconscious are one-and-the-same. Our true Soul expression is one of goodness and prosperity. Nonetheless, a person doesn't have to be good in order to have material wealth. 

One has to empathize with good in order to know true happiness and how to use wealth for the good of themselves and others. This can only be realized through the true expression of the soul which is made in God's image.

The battle begins. It's a fight between good and evil. The conscious mind (Deloris) loathes the environment of the convent which is her road to freedom and prosperity. Still, Deloris can't see how her current situation could benefit her in any way.

This is a common struggle that occurs within the subconscious mind. When the subconscious becomes accustomed to certain signals from the conscious mind, it can be incredibly difficult to break free from those ingrained patterns of influence unless you are persistent.

Deloris continues to fight and resist the pressure to make the necessary changes in her subconscious mind. It too much effort and takes too time. 

Her resistance to adapting to new ways of being is counterproductive. She is still hypnotized by appearances and can't see the invisible universal laws working for her good in the background.  

Deloris's work at the convent included cleaning floors, starting the day at very early hours, and eating bland food. These duties represent the cleansing of her subconscious mind.

Though she was consistently resistant, Deloris's negative beliefs began to transform seeing that it was the only way she could survive in her present environment. 

Keep in mind, that change starts within. You can physically move to another environment but unless you make the necessary inner changes, the same conditions will greet you wherever you go. 

Due to the distress and seeing no way out, Deloris begins to deeply contemplate her situation. In spiritual terms she began to meditate about her predicament. 

Eventually, her habitual thoughts began to shift towards the good leading to her enlightened, which is represented by the success of the convent's choir.  

After remaining in a positive state of consciousness, Deloris commences to experience a new reality. Not only that, her newfound energy vibrated throughout the community and others became inspired by her. 

Allegorically this means that her negative thoughts were being replaced by positive ones. Deloris began to attract and witness the many blessings manifesting in her life. 

The increased congregation of people arriving at the hermitage represents the higher vibration of Deloris's newly positive thoughts coming back to bless her. Thoughts are things and manifest in our outer experiences equal to their level of vibration. 

Not only that, the convent was in need of money and began to receive donations beyond what they'd ever imagined. The donations represents the continuous new thoughts that permeated Deloris's subconscious mind.   

However, it wasn't over yet. There was still more work to be done in order for Deloris to maintain her new state of consciousness. As a consequence, the negative thoughts came back with a vengeance in the form of the mobster and his goons.

These mobsters, representing negative thoughts and energy, tried to destroy the good that Deloris had manifested. It's often like this when you're trying to demonstrate a more enlightened life. 

Just when you've changed for the better, those old thought patterns come back to challenge you and wield their power. This is when you are at the crossroads. 

Your freewill is put to the test. Whom shall you serve? The good or resort back to the old patterns of thought that created so much chaos in your life.

Deloris tried to escape from the onslaught of negativity, but those negative thoughts unrelentingly chased her. In the end they did catch up with her but with one last push, she was saved by the Grace of God. This means that she chose through her freewill to ignore her former negative beliefs and was able to triumph over them.  

Deloris finally understood that cooperating with negative energy only leads to negative results. She was saved and rewarded with prosperity beyond her wildest dreams. Our efforts towards the good are never in vain.

Final Thoughts

Despite everything, Deloris's experiences would not be necessary if we consciously followed and listened to our true spiritual nature within. Unfortunately, many of us only turn to our true home in spirit through suffering. The road to redemption is filled with tribulations until we master ourselves. 

In fact, Sister Act II offers a metaphysical paradigm of the challenges that will continue to confront Deloris until she's learned to remain on the path of the good despite her challenges.  

This endurance then leads to the superconscious mind. The superconscious mind sees far beyond the realm of the subconscious and focuses only on reality. 

It realizes that the world is essentially mind-stuff i.e. energy and that in reality we're all one. With that being said, a comprehensive explanation of the superconscious is best suited for another blog post.   

In any event, suffering has a multitude of godsends if you comprehend the lesson behind the suffering. The Creator is trying to help and enlighten you but He won't force Himself on you. He wants you to come to Him voluntarily with your love and then the divine romance can begin.  

Use your freewill to express the positive light of beauty from within.