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'Admissions' & Sharon Stone

“The best day of my life was when I realized I was insane,” says author, filmmaker John Viscount. We’re not sure if that realization took place over an early morning coffee, afternoon latte or a nightcap, but Viscount explains it this way: “I realized that I had an undisciplined mind,” he told Hollywood on the Potomac, “and that was making me crazy with worry, stress and the like. It was also giving me cluster migraine headaches and so at that point I started searching out spiritual teachings like Buddhism with which to learn better ways to look at the world. It happened in my late twenties. That is when it finally dawned on me that I couldn’t trust my mind to think the right things or to see the world in a way that would bring me peace. It was at that moment that I realized that it was up to me, and only me, to train my mind to be an asset, rather than a hinderance. Otherwise, it was going to continue to make my life extremely difficult.”

John Viscount grew up in the Bethesda, MD – next to WMAL tower field to be exact – and is a graduate of Walk Whitman High School. For most of his life, Viscount has always wanted to start a conversation that heals – so he did: That conversation was captured in his book: Mind What Matters: A Pep Talk for Humanity, “an inspiring collection of stories and writings that eloquently illustrate how to remain in the peaceful sanctuary of our higher mind no matter what the world serves up.”

After 9/11, Viscount moved on to a higher playing field in the quest for everlasting peace. That quest took the form of the film “Admissions” – a 20-minute film dedicated to the creation of peace departments in governments worldwide starring James Cromwell “who plays an enlightened clerk who works in the admissions room for the afterlife. He is called on to guide an Israeli couple and a Palestinian who go through admissions together because they have suffered similar tragic endings. As the details of their deaths and how their fates are intertwined become clear, the clerk attempts to teach them the wisdom required to find everlasting peace.” Viscount also wrote the theme song.

“Admissions” was screened at the home of philanthropist Shahin Mafi – Trustee of The Azar Foundation for Children of the World – in Potomac, Maryland with guest of honor actress Sharon Stone ….we’ll get to her next, so hang on. In the meantime, here is the trailer…..it’s daunting: