by Debbie Tuma
Sag Harbor resident Kevin L. McCrudden held a viewing of his globally unifying and award-winning documentary, “The Light of Man” at the Southampton Cultural Center on Monday, October 16th. The event was well attended and came just after the Hamptons International Film Festival for which the short documentary was not a selection.
Locals may recognize McCrudden’s name as he worked for legendary Montauk Assemblyman John L. Behan and he also ran for Suffolk County Legislator for the South fork in 1997.
After losing the election, McCrudden has gone on to become a well-known speaker and also known as “Mr. Motivation and America’s Chief Motivation Officer,” because he is the only motivational and leadership speaker in American history to ever have a day of recognition passed by The United States Congress and New York State. After the tragic events of 9-11-01 he had Congress and New York State acknowledge January 2nd of every year as National Motivation & Inspiration Day® and January as Motivation & Inspiration Month®. He has also written 8 books and audiobooks mostly relating to leadership, personal and professional development.
“I can’t tell you how amazing and humbling this entire experience has been,” said McCrudden. “The journey behind the creation of “The Light of Man” has been a long one. It didn’t just happen overnight. It has taken over 13 years and started as a thought….an inkling. Maybe even as a daydream. I have spent over 20+ years in the personal, professional and self-help industry. Personal development has been a consistent theme throughout most of my adult life. How can I help people become their very best? My first book, “Who Are You? Become the Very Best You That You Can Be” took me over a decade to complete. Once again starting with an idea, and that idea lead me to create one of the most significant additions to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in 60 years!
So, the simple thought after receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday one year, was, I didn’t like the idea of “from ash we come and ash we return.” There had to be more to it than that…and well, it led me to the concept of “from light we come and light we return,” and the creation of “The Light of Man,” which may become one of the most profound revelations in history.” McCrudden concluded.
This 67-minute documentary has won Film Festivals in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Delhi India and Cannes, France. The New York Film Awards called it:, “Powerful. “The Light of Man” is a love letter to the world, which promotes original thinking about the power of connection between human beings.”
Atom Terpening, Transformational Program Development Lead, Conscious Content Program Coordinator and Facilitator for HumanityStream, which recently purchased distribution rights for its streaming platform stated; “Kevin L. McCrudden has taken a personal vision and inspiration and manifested a remarkable film about the radiance of the human spirit. His beautifully produced short film is transformational as well as elegant. His work is rich in spiritual, philosophical and scientific truths. Watching this film is a moving and resonant experience filled with ‘aha’ moments. It is like engaging in one of the most insightful conversations of your life!”
“I cannot tell you how thrilled and honored I am to have “The Light of Man” on HumanityStream.com, which was founded and created by one of the world’s leaders in spirituality, oneness, mindfulness and universal consciousness, Neale Donald Walsch. HumanityStream is home to some of the biggest names in the world in the spiritual, consciousness and oneness space, on top of the extraordinary leaders that I have in the documentary:
Dr. John Hagelin: a world-renowned physicist who is also President of Maharishi International University and the head of TM – Transcendental Meditation in North America, and is President of Scientists for Peace
Dr. Raymond Moody: who is known as the preeminent leader of the NDE – Near Death Experience movement and has interviewed thousands of people that have had NDEs, as well as being a MD – Medical Doctor, Psychologist and Philosopher: and
Reverend Dr. B. L. Hofer: who is a Theologian, Reverend, Psychologist and Neuroscientist.
In addition, I was given permission to use footage from His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi!
Since the beginning of this project, I have had the pleasure and honor of meeting some of the brightest people on the planet, which have helped me develop the story behind “The Light of Man” and the actual origins of “God” or whatever name people use around the world to describe the “Higher Power.” McCrudden concluded.
McCrudden says that he has signed distribution deals with HumanityStream here in America and Polyband Mind & Spirit in Germany. He is still awaiting a deal with a major studio or global distribution deal with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Paramount or other major distribution partner, and will likely announce the release of the documentary on his YouTube Channel soon.
