Inner Michael

Only another artist can appreciate what the artist goes through as they are haunted and thrust forward, and sometimes catapulted into the world of their passion. The arts are an enigma: a paradigm, a genre, a realm of imagination and creation that haunts, steals your attention, commands your obedience and eventually captures and holds in captivity—your soul.

An artist can no more hang onto their own soul than they can say no to the inspiration that stalks; nor the call to illustrate that passion. Actors act because they crave the chance to artfully sculpt the deep and multidimensional portrait of the character for an audience; singers sing because they acknowledge the beauty of the voice as an instrument of creation; artists paint because the canvas knows the creation is there behind its blank face; dancers dance for the moment of abandonment to the sheer magic in movement; writers write because they can’t not do it for they have a love affair with words. Art beckons and demands and is a relentless master to the slave who obediently and blithely obliges: puts pen to paper, brush to palette, song to the ethers and feet to the stage.

The act of “putting it out there” meaning to release your work into the world is to offer your soul not just for entertainment or enlightenment, but for consumption. It is a sacrificial act. It takes great courage to offer up oneself. And never is it appreciated to the degree of its effort or the expanse to which it is worthy.

Here is what Michael Jackson said about art:

“I am committed to my art. I believe that all art has as its ultimate goal the union between the material and the spiritual, the human and the divine. I believe that to be the reason for the very existence of art.”

and…

“I wonder what delight nature must feel when we open our hearts and express our God-given talents. The sound of approval rolls across the universe and the whole world abounds in magic. Wonder fills our hearts, for we have glimpsed, for an instant, the playfulness of life.

“What one wishes is to be touched by truth and to be able to interpret that truth so that one may use what one is feeling and experiencing, be it despair or joy, in a way that will add meaning to one’s life and will hopefully touch others as well.”

About Dance:

”Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the creator. Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on. On many an occasion when I’m dancing, I’ve felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I’ve felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists.

”I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation. The creator and creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing and dancing… and dancing… until there is only…the dance.”

About his music:

“I wrote Will You Be There? at my house, Neverland, in California… I didn’t think about it hard. That’s why it’s hard to take credit for the songs that I write, because I just always feel that it’s done from above. I feel fortunate for being that instrument through which music flows. I’m just the source through which it comes. I can’t take credit for it because it’s God’s work. He’s just using me as the messenger.

“Everything comes with a package; it’s just like catching a leaf falling from a tree. It’s the most spiritual, beautiful thing that could ever happen, and, um, just sometimes, I get on my knees and pray to god out of thankfulness that it came to me.”

And about the stage:

“I’m totally at home on the stage. That’s where I live. That’s where I was born. That’s where I’m safe.

“When I’m not onstage, I’m not the same. I’m different. I think I’m some kinda stage addict. When I can’t get onto a stage for a long time, I have fits and get real crazy. I start crying, and I act weird and all freaked out. No kidding.”

And he also said…

“It was hard to have your life turn into public property, even if you appreciated that people were interested in you because of your music.”

About the Creative Process:

“No one can quite say what the creative process is. Because I have nothing to do with it of course. It’s created in space. It’s God’s work, not mine.”

So imagine you are a 5 year old little kid and you can feel the artistry within—something huge and magical and urgent lives inside you. You know it’s there yet nobody seems to see it or acknowledge it. You beg and beg to be given a chance because you know you can do it. You can feel it. You can feel God trying to get out.

So one day somebody actually listens and you step out onto the stage of life holding out your soul—this gift that is the essence of you and you know to be another higher essence. And they recognize the shining soul! They see the God-given talent! What a relief; the pressure inside is released. You know without any doubt or hesitation what you are here to do. You are surrounded by family and love even though it is harsh sometimes. And you become the darling of the entertainment world—such a cute little kid. And so talented.

As the talent is recognized, the world opens up to you. A poor black kid from a Midwestern dirty industrial city, you are now stepping into your element- music and song and dance. And as a young man, your whole life is before you. You delight in that knowledge. You delight in the music. In the end, there is only the music. And you love the stage and the magic and making music. It shows in how your body moves, your spirit soars. It reveals itself in your voice. You smile a lot. This rise to the top is heady and you are shy. It’s hard to know what the fuss is all about because it’s all about the music… the message in the music; the music is the message.

What a delight to be recognized, appreciated, even beloved. And you love them all right back just as much and just as hard. The loving comes easy. It’s all so wonderful, so magical, so exciting. Through the years the talent and the magic become stronger and the love is exponential as it moves both ways—from you and to you. This art, this living your mission is magical.

As your career soars and you feel the appreciation, people begin to open up more and more and show their appreciation as they recognize you have tapped your “Inner Michael”—that divinity that lives within everyone. You become a light, an example of that to the world. And they love and appreciate you for it because as you shine, you also give them permission to shine in their own light.

As time goes on, it becomes clearer and clearer that your popularity and fame make you uniquely qualified to demonstrate to the world what the Inner Self is and is for. So you begin to work hard to spread the message. You recruit everyone to step into their own brilliance, the same one that shines through you and is waiting to shine through them. And they love you more for it. They respond to your message and want to emulate your compassion for the downtrodden, underprivileged, the sick and needy. You become a beacon of what humanity can achieve if they just touch their Inner Self.

People are kind and generous and they openly display their love for you recognizing that there are those among them who can reach and tap into their god self- the divine inner messenger. You are happy to oblige them whenever they clamor for your talent, your presence, your gift. And the love grows…

It has been a wonderful first career, a journey of love and wonderment. It is the realization of the divine: to be able to be oneself in the world and be plugged in to the inner creator, the magical presence that marries humanity and divinity. And your journey has inspired others to do exactly that—reach inward for their personal divinity too.

Wherever you go, people are singing your praises, happy to see you, generous to you in spirit. ‘This world,’ you think,’ is such a special place’ where anyone can find their Inner Creator—a divine spark that illuminates and illustrates what a singular human can do and what collectively, humanity can accomplish. It is what you always dreamed of, what you sang about, what kept you going tirelessly.

You know and feel “it’s all for love.” It’s “all for the children, to save the children all over the world. People have watched you minister to children all over the world for more than twenty years and twice when someone tried to make that into something dark and suspicious, it didn’t take long for public demand to get to the bottom of the outrage as law enforcement, determined to protect your civil rights, saw the extortion attempts for what they were. You are grateful to live in a country and a civil society that is fair and where those who serve the public are open minded yet discharge their lawful duties with diligence.

Your years of calling upon society to “Heal the world and to make it a better place” Has gained you recognition as one of humanity’s most visible cheerleaders and a global humanitarian. A true example for all the world of what is possible in the human experience both individually and globally. These are wonderful years. It’s wonderful to be alive. It feels so good to be able to give your life in service to the world and to know it has made a difference. It is good to love so much and to be loved back.

It has been an exceptional life. And one day you awaken to the knowledge that it is time for your final performance and farewell to the stage so you release a statement:

“The Time Has Come. It is now I see and feel that calling once again to be part of a music that will not just connect but, make all feel one, one in joy, one in pain, one in love, one in service and in consciousness.”

Everyone knows that this is your final performance, the last curtain, and they are a little sad but also delighted to celebrate your life with you. They are patient because they recognize what you have already given. They are happy to oblige you and appreciate whatever last gift you have to offer. They know that your whole life has been a gift so they really appreciate and understand how magnanimous is this last generous gesture. And you are clear that there is a final message you are being asked to deliver: Spaceship Earth needs us to be responsible stewards. Humanity needs to have a little more love put back into the world. So once again, you step up.

When your London concerts are almost over, you realize this too, was a remarkable gift that went both directions. The love that flowed in and out made you stronger, made them stronger in their conviction that love truly is the answer to everything. That when we think and act as one family, one human race, one mind and spirit, as ONE, the world’s problems can be solved. The children in this global family can inherit a better world. The whole world now embraces you for the lifetime of service and sacrifice. The critics are kind, knowing you have given it your all. Your final performance comes and you take the opportunity to thank everyone, and thanks to the technology—the whole world for this most remarkable love affair with humanity and for the most remarkable life anyone could imagine. And so you make your announcement:

“The arts are an insistent mistress. The years of performing have been wonderful and I have felt so honored to feel your love and support. And now in the middle years of my life, your beautiful appreciation and farewell gesture of love makes me want to give even more. Though I no longer will perform on the stage, there is another stage in my heart that I want to share with you. There is a new medium through which divinity can find expression. The new mythology is being created in an exciting and wide open genre. The new world of tomorrow is being created in a new way on an old stage—the silver screen. And I want to continue to be instrumental in building that new human narrative, the union of human and divine on the screen. So I am announcing right here and now, today…. that after a short rest, I will begin my new venture—producing and directing movies. I want to continue the further healing of humanity and the world in the same spirit as my past body of work but in a new format, a new way… through theater and film. I look forward to meeting you all in the new genre as we continue the artistry of making our humanity together. God Bless you, I love you all very much. I love you more and see you soon.”

The artist and the artistry should have been recognized, the genius appreciated. The soul that was offered should have been consumed with the same reverence as communion, for that is the work of the soul—a communion with others and the world.
Not just for Michael, but for every artist who comes bearing the gift of their soul… That is how the story should happen.