Nothing in this Universe happens by “accident.” Everything that occurs is in service to the evolution of humans into spiritual beings who are inspired to express their brilliance in the world. To contribute brilliance to the collective consciousness instead of shadow. It’s hard to trust that idea, that everything is in service to the evolution of matter into spirit– now that spirit has made its involution into matter; to the degree we trust ourselves and the divine connection to our own inner light (the metaphor of “Inner Michael”) the more we embrace our divinity and the better we behave in the world. The better we behave in the world, the more love floods the world we live in. Mean-spiritedness has no place in a world flooded by love and compassion. Gossip has no place. Intentional harm has no place. Marginalizing or making people “other” has no place. War has no place. (You get the idea.)
What kind of world would it be if we all decided to express only our inner brilliance? (metaphorically the “Inner Michael”) What if we just decided the love was the answer and we decided to love more? What if that love was fierce? What if we treated others the way we, ourselves, would wish to be treated? And what if we demanded that compassion from our world? What then?
Michael Jackson’s lyrics provide a blueprint for that other world.
It sometimes takes a spiritual emergency to awaken us. It takes a deep grief or sorrow or panic, shock or trauma, righteous anger or a “blessed unrest” to awaken us and crack open a heart that we may have thought was loving but is far from it. Or far from truly compassionate. And compassion does not mean giving your stamp of approval to things which harm humans or our humanity.
When Michael Jackson died people were weeping in the streets. Most of those people were women. There was an outpouring of grief that hadn’t seen that kind of magnitude since the death of Lady Diana.
Why? And why women? Some more spiritually shallow souls actually think that women are enamored with Michael Jackson because he is their “idol,” or “sex symbol” or because he was the most famous man on Earth. A rock star. Or even because he was beloved.
That was only the package. 
The grief goes much deeper than that and has more meaning. I know because I answered hundreds of letters from people all over the globe. I became, for a time, the “go to” person for answers because I seemed to have a deeper understanding about Michael Jackson through the lens of spiritual emergency, metaphysics, and as a change agent, so I became the unofficial minister to the fans.
The death of Michael Jackson was, for many, a trigger that caused a spiraling down into a dark night of the soul. Many more were entangled in a spiritual emergency. People began seeking answers, asking the deep existential questions, some examined their own faiths. It is as if the death of Michael Jackson sparked a collective and planetary vision quest.
He fulfilled his role as change agent in his life and in his death. And it continues. He came to awaken humans to compassion. Cracking open a heart releases a new kind of compassion. Or at least it should. It is important to examine the bitterness that came with his passing. It is about the injustice of his life, his death and his legacy that contains the bitterness. And well it should. But that bitterness should cause solidarity and resolve to change things, not petty fights and nasty scuffles.
The letters with questions concerning the death of Michael Jackson came from all over the globe. And most of them came from women. And while many found Michael Jackson attractive with sex appeal (the package) there was something much deeper and wider going on. Many wrote to say his loss turned their world upside down.
Many said they could not understand the depth of their grieving. They were puzzled by its affect and its effect.
Some wrote to say they had suddenly become obsessed in finding out the truth of who he was and many of those had little knowledge, contact or simply overlooked Jackson until he died. Over and over people described feeling compelled to action. Something was unleashed.
Most could not fathom their own level of grief. Nor could they plumb it. And those around them worried for their newfound preoccupation. Many who were new to knowing him or the newly minted fans were dumbfounded by the staggering depth of their reactions.
Some could not understand their attraction. They had never seen him as “all that” previously. Some had lost track of him over the years and they felt grief at missing the intermittent time span from their disengagement to his death.
Lots never paid attention until he died. And that often added another layer of grief based on regret.
And there was enough regret to go around. People regretted what they didn’t do as much as what they did. It was chaotic and confusing and nobody could understand their own feelings and certainly the people around them didn’t.
Some questioned their own sanity.
Almost all questioned their faiths– their faith in religions, their faith in justice, their faith in hope and hope for the world, their faith in people, God, Life, Humanity. The big capital letter questions arose over and over.
Since the same spiritual and metaphysical questions kept arising and the same anxiety was sending people over the edge, I began writing not just the blog, but Michael Messages to assist and guide with some of the deeper spiritual questions and questing.
Why do you suppose the majority of the people who wrote me were women? Thousands of women all over this planet were experiencing a spiritual emergency.
Have you ever wondered why? 
Their grieving had more to do with the contradiction the world made of Michael Jackson and the Michael Jackson they all knew or had recently discovered.
It was a global cognitive dissonance. And in the collective conscious, there was a massive thrust toward human individuation through an archetypal identification with Michael Jackson.
The collective anger was directed at the unfairness, the injustice and the sheer insanity of what this world did to a man whom many have come to know better than they do their own families. Their grief stunned them. Their anger and disgust burned hot and they began to not just question themselves, their own lives, but the world and how it treated Michael Jackson. And a great deal of their anger was directed at the press.
It was warranted.
CHANGE comes from cognitive dissonance and from the disgust and unrest when a paradigm is filled up and no longer works.
And that is exactly where we are.
And it is also the reason for everything.
Disgust with what is has to very viscerally and visually begin somewhere.
THIS IS IT.
Consider that this anger and angst and protest and revolt against what had, was and is happening to Michael Jackson, his legacy and his gifts a BLESSED UNREST. People (WOMEN) are calling for change. Have you ever thought about this? Ever asked yourself why? Why WOMEN?
We will address that but before we do, sit with that question for a time. Let it SIMMER.
While you’re doing that I’ll remind you:
The pr
ess crucified Michael Jackson. The hysteria and frenzy that followed him was unfair, unjust and all for money. He knew it; he sang about it. The man had every reason on earth (literally) to turn his back on humanity. But did he? And yet, he was on his way back to remind us once again of our mission, our obligation and he was literal: “This Is It.” He never gave up on humanity.
Yes, it’s all very infuriating. It is designed to awaken.
A great deal of the fury was directed at a few and at media in the throes of “wilding.”
The term “wilding” arose in 1989 during the Central Park Jogger case and is defined this way:
The activity by a gang of youths of going on a protracted and violent rampage in a public place, attacking people at random. Marauding in search of an event to employ extreme violence.
The press that covered Michael Jackson for most of his life were marauding and wilding. They were violent.
You are supposed to be offended. You are supposed to be angry, disgusted, incensed. And you are supposed to act on it.
The media has dominated, encouraged and nurtured a culture that has replaced its humanitarianism or humanity with materialism.
That culture has misplaced its soul.
Ponder that. Meanwhile:
Here’s some news from Britain about press regulation
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/europe/uk-press-regulation/
One Comment
“The media has dominated, encouraged and nurtured a culture that has replaced its humanitarianism or humanity with materialism.” So very true, and media are so all over the place, and revered like a golden calf by so many people, its more than sad, it disaster. And they dictate what is cool, or when you are a “failure”. What a pity that people do not have guts to follow their own hearts, reflect on what life really means to them. Where has spirituality gone ???
Thank you Rev. for another great post. I read it before but now I saw it again and thought you deserved a “BIg Thank You” like Michael would say. Merry Christmas and a very healthy new year to you and all of my friends here….