When the moon was a harsh mistress you walked the road with me in the night without a flashlight and experienced the paths as just ever-so-slightly and almost imperceptibly glowing in the dark. You also heard the snow fall, saw the moon glimmer and felt the unconditional love of companion animals. You walked as a mystic. Ready for another mystical journey?
Some places on earth do have an un-earthly glow about them. An ethereal light emanates from somewhere and it’s a misty presence barely visual but palpable. And on a moonlit night when the lunar mistress is at half her glory, look to the forest just above the stand of trees in the distance and stare there trying not to blink and you will see a glow emerge from the darkness just above the tree line.
Stand over the water on a sunlit day and stare out into thin air and focus your eyes about 12 to 14 inches in front of you. Or place the sun at your back on a sunny day and stare at the blue sky until you see them—the little globules of energy that zing-zing around in the air. No, your eyes are not playing tricks and no, those are not floaters. They are little bits of energy, the energy that animates all life. You just never noticed them before just like you may never have noticed how trees, in fact all living beings, have their own special glow or aura that can be seen with the naked eye.
It’s all the play of Earth and love and light. All. Stop your monkey mind that worries about the grocery list, whether you are wearing the perfect blouse or is your girlfriend after your man. Breathe and be. Breathe and be more. Feel the depths of your despair in the loss of the beloved, feel your separation and let that anguish carve deeply and raw until the space where meaninglessness once lived is completely empty and ready to be the container for the compassion and love that can fill the container once it is scoured clean by deep cleansing grief. Sorrow cracks open the heart like nothing else can.
Drop the stuff that keeps you tied to the 3-D world of: eat or be eaten; consume or be consumed; be there or be square; pump that iron today; is your mother at it again; the race is on; will you stand out in the crowd; he who dies with the most toys wins; do these jeans make me look fat; is there enough for me; I can’t believe she said that; he’s just not that into her; is this the best cell phone plan; where should we go on vacation…
Throw the resentments overboard and discover an empty hand now to row the other oar so you’re no longer going in circles. Forgive mom for being an embarrassment and dad for being old fashioned and your sister for what she said that wounded you fifteen years ago. And when you walk to that corridor leading to love, leave your ego at the door. In fact, just check it permanently now.
Instead of looking for love, be love and watch it arrive in truckloads. Employ compassion and become the favorite friend. Change the world by elevating the human condition and you brighten the future where someday you will have to live. Live with an open heart and watch the miracles arrive.
Why? Why work at it? Because each time you do something you know is soulful, you juice your life; each time you do something that siphons the love energy from the world, you live in a darker world and you bring us all along. Then we all get to live in a darker place. If it doesn’t feel good in here, don’t do it. So, what is soulful? You already know. When you are faced with a choice ask yourself ‘Is it more soulful to do THIS or THAT?’ And let the feeling come to inform you. You know it.
When you live with juiciness and soul, you get lighter. And more of that bio-energy can live inside you. The atoms can zip around instead of moving like sludge and those little sparkles in the air? There is more room for them because the density of the monkey mind has dissipated and more light can get in. You just have to breathe.
Have you seen those people who appear light? The ones whom you really like to hang out with because just being in their presence is delightful (de-light-full?) Do you know people who seem to have a light about them, an inner glow? Pregnant women have it—there’s a glow about her, a countenance that you can’t quite get hold of but it’s there. She radiates. It’s because she is filled with new bio-life.
There are those people who seem to glow with spirituality, a light that makes them look as if they are shining out from behind their skin. They radiate love and compassion and you can feel it. Sometimes it’s gentle and sometimes it comes in waves and washes over you. With the real adepts, it gives you whiplash.
Those people glow because their inner light shines; they are filled with spiritually infused bio-energy that is there and available to all of us. They have used devotion or spiritual practice, meditation or prayer or a kind of cleansing ritual that empties the vessel and fills it with love and light.
You have seen the paintings of the old masters where they added visible halos around the head of some of the painting’s subjects. You have seen Jesus and Mary depicted this way in historical paintings. You have seen the auras of people sometimes outlined in icons and pieces of art.
That is not just an historic thing. It is happening now. People have auras and halos and energy bodies and they radiate love. They meditate and practice and pray and perform rituals to refine the energy they are holding and radiating. If your insides are constantly praying are you going to radiate hatred in the world? If you are constantly in the vibration of gratitude are you going to be sour and malicious?
I always found it interesting and curious how Michael got lighter and lighter as the years went on. His skin color changed as less and less pigment was available, destroyed by the Vitiligo or the de-pigmentation treatments to even out skin tone. As Michael’s skin tone got lighter, he seemed to radiate more and more. Eventually, Michael was essentially an Albino. Oprah said that when she looked at his hands, she could see the veins and he looked like alabaster.
I find interesting too, the iconic theme figures Michael was famous for creating at his concerts and how they seemed to evolve too: from the Lancelot figure in the Jackson Five early concerts where the theme was Arthurian with the Excalibur sword; the space traveler of the History tour, and for his finale, he chose “Lightman.” Does the metaphor escape you? Does the genius?
Kenny Ortega said Michael understood about bio-luminescence. He wanted to add fireflies to his updated Earthsong film for the concert; fireflies are bio-luminescent beings. There are those creatures that either appear to glow or do actually glow in the dark. He also said Michael was glowing, called him a bio-luminescent being. The people who really knew Michael personally said those kinds of things about him—that he was ‘an angel walkin’ the Earth.’
Michael, the consummate filmmaker, knew about camera angles and lighting and how to use light in some unusual ways: in his video of “Billie Jean” there are many references to light and to bio-luminescence. The sidewalk lights up as he steps, the beggar sleeping on the sidewalk transforms to a luminescent being when given a coin; the trash can lights when he places his shoe on it and as he leans against the lamppost, the pole lights up and he even disappears into the light. And that is not the last reference to disappearing into the light. In his videos, the stairs light up, the sheets light up and the bed glows as he lifts the sheets to get in.
For those who have ears to here… for those who have eyes to see… There are lots of references to light in Michael’s work. So maybe you want to take another look? A closer look? Maybe you want to breathe and meditate before taking that ‘conscious’ second look? Why? Michael’s understanding of metaphysics, metaphor, illusion and illumination provides translation for his body of work into parable with many levels of interpretation and understanding. Even the light itself is a metaphor.
12 Comments
Yeah. and as example too YOU.
Thank you Barbara for being a spiritual mentor. Your posts are like sign posts showing way HOME.
And I found a short answer to a question that often pops in my mind often -“Who is Michael Jackson?”
Answer: The “Finest expression” of “Human nature”.
I love the idea of monkey minds.
Your references to light, Barbara, brings up thoughts of what made Michael so light filled. Even in his younger years before Vitiligo had it’s way, that light came through in his eyes and smile and his joy that was so obvious. Makes me think about the magnetic draw he had on his audiences; that light just shining and bringing everyone in; umm–light, love, God…
I am at my workstation reading everything here – it’s quiet time – and I am absolutely blown apart. When I read here and in “Close Encounters of the Michael Kind” for the first time, that Kenny Ortega said Michael was bioluminescent the night before he died, it was wrenching for me in the best way it possibly could be. Several years ago someone I loved very much was killed by AIDS. Nothing was more shocking than seeing his corpse in the morgue because while he was dying in front of my eyes for the many weeks prior, he looked indescribably beautiful to me – unearthly, ethereally beautiful. His skin WAS like glowing alabaster and he looked like a light being from a magic kingdom, and so ELEGANT.
Although there was great emotional pain, there was also a real exhilaration from being with him. It wasn’t until he had left the body that I realized how ravaged and demolished his body was – worse than any Auschwitz victim I’d ever seen – and I was torn to pieces that I hadn’t seen this at all while he was alive. That I hadn’t realized how brutally he was suffering and the totality of his body’s massacre. My theory was that he died quite a while before he left the body and his soul was just pushing the body around until we became willing to let him go. Like he wouldn’t put us through the pain until we were more ready to deal with it! I always thought everyone would think that this had never happened and that I was nuts or just imagining it because I couldn’t deal with the pain of him dying – but when I read Kenny’s words about Michael’s bioluminescence the night before he died I knew I was not nuts and that I had watched my friend’s soul glow all around the outside of his body. My God, minute by minute of this earth-shattering time of mourning Michael has become increasingly transformative. I am so grateful for this site, and am giving big ups to RESA for directing me here. I am so grateful for all the sparkle people here sharing their experiences so we can all know that this is real. THIS IS IT. JUSTICE FOR MICHAEL. LETS GET MICHAELING
Thank you Rev Barbara for another what I can only call illuminating article. I so understand about the ethereal glow that some places have as recently I was walking in some woods. There were so many bluebells flowering that it looked as though someone had carpeted the woods. It was a beautiful sunny day and the sun was streaming through the trees. Not only could I see the glow around the trees but I could feel it as well. Everythig had this amazing green glow. It was a really spiritual experience. I was at peace and knew I could have stood there for ever.
I thought of Michael and tried to send him what I was experiencing. Even now over a week later if I shut my eyes and think about this I can still feel the luminescence that was around me that day. After reading your article I did take that second look. Wow, how wonderful was that as I viewed Michael from a completely different perspective and yes the luminescence is there for all to see. It was there in the concert footage, it is there in so many of his photos and when I watched” This Is It” I can understand what Kenny Ortega was saying. In some scenes Michael positively glowed.The song “This Is It” states “I’m the light of the world, I feel Grand” This song was written a long time ago so something tells me that he knew what his role was even if we didn’t. There was so much more to Michael Joseph Jackson than being the worlds finest entertainer. It makes me sad that it is only now that we can see that he was “an angel walking this earth.” I so hope that he can see that we are trying to carry his message forward. Thank you Rev Barbara for taking us on this journey of enlightenment.
THE AWAKENING: Once there was a magnificent tree. A Giving Tree. The beautiful tree appeared dormant, sleeping, in the season of darkness and winter that surrounded it. Then suddenly millions of buds began to grow and open to the Light, NOURISHED by the branches and life-force of The Giving Tree. “Welcome!” said the tree to each and every bud. “It is your time to shimmer. It is your time to SIZZLE!! Breathe—grow—do it! I am strong and my roots are not shallow. And You Are Not Alone. You’re Just Another Part Of ME!”
You said: “being in their presence is delightful (de-light-full?) people who seem to have a light about them.” People used to say that Pope Juan Pablo II was one of those people. My father who is an atheist, seeing him from the crowd felt something very special, a feeling of peace, tranquility. These are people who are on a higher spiritual level. Michael is a good example of this kind of people.
Wow, what a great article, beautiful. Bioluminiscence is magical; look at fireflies. Michael WAS magic, he did L.O.V.E. it. He was un-earthly, an Angel among us. Michael in one word: Magical. Thanx Rev. B.
I have been reading a wonderful book “It is all about LOVE” written by the fans of Michael. And in their beautiful stories the fans often stated that Michael was glowing, that you could feel the energy when he entered a room, that without seeing him, you knew he came in. And they saw him glow. It does not surprise me, and this beautiful article underlines it even more. He was such a good and special man, and sometimes I wonder: was he only human? He must have known, but what could he do? I wish and hope the whole world will discover this great man. Thank you Rev. Barbara for another “journey of enlightment” like Heidi stated.
Wow, what a great article, beautiful. Bioluminiscence is magical; look at fireflies. Michael WAS magic, he did L.O.V.E. it. He was un-earthly, an Angel among us. Michael in one word: Magical. Thanx Rev. B.
Rev. Barbara – Thanks for your deep insight in the Michael Jackson that we never really knew. Looking at pictures of Michael’s eyes is so mesmerizing. There was a tenderness and a hypnotic like message that would capture you internally but you could not understand the true message that he was saying to the world. When he performed, at times you could see that he was talking to someone or something but that no one else performing with him was included in. It was a separate world from the viewing audience around him. Even offstage he captured you in his presence and that’s what was so exciting because you could never really understand why you were so captivated by this man. I am going to continue reading your thoughts about Michael’s essence and maybe I will be able to better understand my compulsion to have wanted to be in Michael’s presence, just to be there with him. [Research “Shaktipat” ~Rev B]
Wow, this is beautiful! Michael IS light. Whenever it’s pure dark outside, you can always feel him.