All the Academy Awards nominees for Best Actor have given outstanding performances… on the surface. They spoke their lines believably, developed an interesting character, got the voice, the walk, the look. Perhaps most extraordinary, these superb actors received direction with enough objectivity to improve a character's portrayal, rather than destroying it.

No wonder the Oscar nominees are so greatly admired. Yet only a tiny minority of them have gone all the way, changing their CHAKRAS. This takes the greatest talent, and a rare kind of courage.

What it is like to shift that deep, playing a part? Nothing within you feels the same. Imagine a length of beige cloth that you are dying green. Most people would be satisfied with a cloth that looks green. But you will not be satisfied with some simple dunk in the vat. You find a way to do the ultimate transformation. Consequently, the cloth changes so completely that if you held the most powerful microscope in the world up that cloth, the most minute fibers would glow bright green.

Well, okay, here is something easier to imagine: What happens when an aura reader like me turns movie critic? I can read the deepest possible shifts within an actor. And that is just what I do in this article, with an in-depth critique of Peter O'Toole's performance in Venus.

Links to the photos used for this article are:

Since I can read auras from regular photographs (and could teach you to do the same, incidentally), it is easy to compare the aura of an actor just being himself to his still shot from the movie, where he plays his character. Did I see this movie? No. I just know it is about his tentative courtship with his best friends' great niece. And O'Toole's performance as Laurence of Arabia was seared into my adolescent brain. But putting all that aside and reading from photos, I asked this question: Who could transform all the way? Here is what I found about Peter in this movie:

Root chakra -- How his personality projects when he enters a room

As himself: Empathic to the core, and powerful at broadcasting his emotion of the moment, in the photo I am reading Peter is tender and sweet. One constant when just being himself: The guy could not be any more gay and still be walking around in a male body.

In the movie: This is an entirely different way of being tender and sweet. Peter's character is in love, with a combination of grandfatherly love and young man romanticism, all of it very heterosexual. Need I say that this represents a rather significant change of aura?

Sex chakra -- What would he be like as a lover?

As himself: He is hugely sexy, passionate and generous. And did I mention gay?

In the movie: Sexually, Peter is enveloping the other character with such intensity, it is as though they had just been honeymooning for a week. When two people make love, whatever their marital status or sexual orientation, their auras join together closely for three days. This extraordinary actor has done something very difficult here, and clearly a complete change of aura.

Solar plexus chakra -- Handling power, what is his pattern at the time of this photo?

As himself: To get his way in a conflict, this man specializes in emotional power. Using power is no priority, however. And he is conflict averse.

In the movie: Power is a strong projection from this character's aura. He carries a history of being tough and effective. Here, this is combined with a protective, again, grandfatherly (and distinctly hetero) kind of affection. A complete change of aura.

Heart chakra -- How does he handle emotions?

As himself: This is Peter O'Toole's art form, exploring the full range of human emotion. Discovering and deeply feeling an emotion is, for him, the equivalent of eating Godiva chocolates.

In the movie: Oh, he is soooo consumed by tenderness! And love is making him feel about 35 years younger. a complete change of aura.

Communication chakra -- Truthfulness? Talent? What shows here?

As himself: Think lightning bolts held in a basket. The man can send out any emotion at will, send electricity into the room, and transform his audience. For decades he has been at peace with this extraordinary ability. No, this is not ego attached for him at this point, no more than having ears or toenails.

In the movie: This is a very private man, usually someone who hides his own feelings, but in the relationship to his love interest in this film, Peter's character is opening up his soul as never before. Clearly, for use, this can be a big hankie movie. And for O'Toole, it counts as a complete change of aura.

Spirituality chakra -- How does he connect to God?

As himself: What a glorious, long-standing connection. And Peter connects more to the energy of Goddess than most people you will ever meet, in person or on screen, including folks walking around in female bodies.

In the movie: He has a modest, Christian-oriented, connection to God. The connection is tinged with a bit of guilt. Another a complete change of aura.

Soul expression chakra -- Deep down, how does this person feel as a human being?

As himself: This chakra is one of the great triumphs of Peter O'Toole's aura. He has struggled to accept himself, to be himself unapologetically. One reason this is so significant relates to his exceptionally high degree of empathic ability. Peter may not have had a teacher about how to balance empathy with full self-awareness (the stuff that I teach students), but he has found his own way, so he has learned to be very stable inwardly, mastering his ability to travel in and out of being other people with his consciousness, but choosing to mostly be himself.

In the movie: The character's soul expression is blooming like a winter crocus. This portrayal brings hope to all of us who still are not in touch with living that powerfully. Not a change of aura exactly, this is a different version of something that O'Toole has achieved in his personal evolution this lifetime. It is as if he just arranged and painted a gorgeous still life of fruit, based on what he learned—not just as a painter—but after decades of savoring every bite of those grapes, apples and strawberries.