The World is Not As It Seems, The World is As You Are

July 30, 2016 by Chris Duel 6 Comments

The world is not as it seems

The world is as you are

Like attracts like

Vibration attracts vibration

You are living in Heaven

Or you are living in Hell

As Albert Einstein said,

“There are only two ways to live your life

One is as though nothing is a miracle

The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The beauty of life is that this choice is yours

To quote Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas,

“The Kingdom of Heaven is spread upon the Earth

But men do not see it.”

Some women do

Some men do

They are those who choose

To pull back the veil

Open to the miracle

And realize

This is the sacred moment

Brothers of The Sky

July 11, 2016 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

The longest total solar eclipse of the 20th Century – July 11, 1991

Twenty-five years ago today, at high noon, I watched day turn to night in the ancient Aztec village of Ixtlán de las Garzas, Mexico.

For nearly eight minutes (the longest total solar eclipse of the 20th Century) I was bathed in the dark, fleeting shadow of the Moon.

The Sun disappeared. The stars sparkled in the eerie twilight sky at midday as the temperature fell several degrees.

It was an experience so cosmically profound that its mystical echo reverberates through my psyche all these years later.

Within minutes, the Sun emerged from behind the Moon and daytime returned across Mexico.

For human beings to be directly in the shadow of the Moon is a very rare event. You must either find a way into the path of a total solar eclipse or have been one of the 27 Apollo astronauts who circled around the dark side of the Moon in the late Sixties and early Seventies.

While viewing a lunar eclipse (the Moon moving into the Earth’s shadow) or a partial solar eclipse (the Sun not fully obscured by the shadow of the Moon) is relatively common, a total solar eclipse is one of the rarest celestial events to be witnessed from this planet.

This transcendent moment was especially meaningful because I shared it with one of my dearest friends, Henry Iglesias, a singer-songwriter and Renaissance man.

Henry and his family were originally from Mexico, so were watching this eclipse from his native soil.

Henry was my guide into his ancestral homeland and into the shadow of the Moon.

With Henry, hours before the Total Solar Eclipse – July 11, 1991

Those moments in the Moon’s shadow with Henry were among the most magical moments of my life.

In 2007, much too young, Henry left this Earthly existence. He was taken by a brain tumor nine months after his diagnois.

Every July 11th, I think of Henry and I think of those few moments in the shadow of the Moon.

In honor of the Henry and the Eclipse, I offer you two expressions of art. The first is a poem of mine and the second is Henry’s quintessential offering, the last song he wrote and produced before his passing.

First, my poem…

A remembrance of our time in the Moon’s shadow…

With Henry, In The Shadow Of The Moon”

Another time

Another century

Another life.

But the time

And the century

And the life

Were mine.

And his.

Planets were aligning

Celestial spheres inexorably drawn.

Eleventh of July, 1991.

When the heavens offer a gift

You must be present to receive.

He led me into Mexico

The land of his birth

The land would birth me

To transcendence

To bliss

To awe.

I knew he was my friend

I know he was my shaman

Guiding me to the light

And the shadow

Where few have truly been:

Astronauts orbiting the lunar dark side

And fortunate few on the planet

Or dreamers like us

Who seek the shadow.

We arrived on hallowed ground

On ancient Aztec soil

Eyes cast skyward

The shadow rushing toward us

We felt it coming

The animals, birds, insects, trees felt it coming.

All became still

Temperature dropped

Time fell away

And then, oh, so suddenly

It… all… merged…

Sun, Moon, Shadow, Earth

Moon, Earth, Shadow, Sun

Earth, Sun, Shadow, Moon

Sun, Moon, Shadow

Moon, Shadow

Shadow

Shadow

Shadow

Here.

Now.

Day turned to night.

I.

I. See.

I. See. Stars.

I. See. Stars. At. Noon.

Henry, look at the stars!

And the Sun eclipsed by the Moon

Oh!

My!

God!

Rapt.

Bathed in the splendor

Of the cosmic dance of spheres

In holy, holy, holy communion.

Eternal

My friend, my shaman

Thank you for guiding me there

Years fly by.

You find true love

You write and sing

About the Smile of God

And Brothers of The Sky

And then, oh, so suddenly

Your body eclipsed by a brain tumor

Henry, look at the stars!

They shine with you among them.

The shadow lingers

Your spirit lives.

Another time

Another century

Another life.

If I go back

To seek the shadow

Will you meet me there?

Years before Henry died, he told me of a vision for a song titled, “Brothers of The Sky.”

It was about your ultimate brother or guide or guardian angel who will fly you from this world to the next.

The idea resonates with me, having lost my older brother Greg at a young age and more recently, having lost Henry and other dear friends and loved ones.

In the final months of his life, although he was battling a brain tumor and all of the debilitating challenges that come with it, Henry managed to record and produce his farewell song as the final track on his last album.

I see it as the culmination of his life’s work as an artist, a father, a son, a husband and a human being.

Here it is…

“Brothers of The Sky”

Words and Music by Henry Iglesias

I am the voice inside of you

A whispering constant in your life

Everyone fears the letting go

Until they glimpse the other side

I am the voice from far away

I have the ears that hear your prayer

A guardian angel sent to say

Someone out there really cares

I’ll take your hand

When it’s time to walk into the night

Please understand

I am your brother in the sky

Traveling across the Universe

Children of the stars that burn so bright

Voyaging to foreverness

You and I are brothers of the sky

Everyone finds me their own way

In every land and everywhere

Some take a lifetime, some a day

Seeking a piece of Heaven’s share

I am the shining star above

I am the glimmer in the light

I am the power of your love

I am your brother in the sky

Just take my hand

When it’s time for you to say goodnight

And we will fly

A wondrous journey deep into the light

Traveling across eternity

Going to the place we all have been

Going to the place where souls are free

Beyond the timeless stars are friends

Traveling into the other side

The universe is all inside God’s eye

Children of the stars eternally

You and I are brothers of the sky

Do not fear your own mortality

Cause there’s more to life than meets the eye

In the end all of us will be free

Don’t be afraid to say goodbye

I’ll close your eyes

Softly close your eyes

And we will fly

Like brothers of the sky

The Universe

Is all inside God’s eye

Dedicated to the eternal spirit of Henry Robert Iglesias

My Brother of The Sky

What Will You Create With This Wondrous Opportunity?

June 17, 2016 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Every day, every moment, every second is new.

You are reborn constantly, if you will only become conscious of this.

Every single possibility is open to you, right here and right now.

Do not believe in limitations.

That is an illusion that can enslave you, if you let it.

Every exploding universe, star, planet and atom since the beginning of time has conspired to bring you to this very moment here and now.

Create something wonderful.

You have the power.

That’s why you’re here.

Exploring Outer and Inner Space

February 6, 2016 by Chris Duel 3 Comments

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell

Astronaut Edgar Mitchell died this week.

I wonder how many people who saw his name flash across their Facebook feed had either heard of him or remembered his name.

He explored both outer space and inner space.

On this date in 1971, he was walking on the Moon.* In the history of our planet, only 12 human beings have had that privilege. Seven of them still walk the Earth today.

We can only imagine where in the cosmos Mitchell’s spirit is traversing now.

Many have said that a poet should travel into Space to better describe the experience for the rest of us. Mitchell was not a poet, but he could certainly be considered a mystic.

As you can see/hear in the video below, he managed to articulate the experience in a remarkable way.

During his flight home from the Moon, Mitchell had a powerful internal experience, known in the ancient Sanskrit language as samādhi, where he viscerally felt the connectedness of all things

After retiring from NASA, he founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and spent the remainder of his life researching human consciousness.

(* Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard’s moonwalks took place on Feburary 5th and 6th, 1971)

My Little Time Machine

January 1, 2016 by Chris Duel 1 Comment

My Little Time Machine

A package I ordered from Amazon arrived at my doorstep yesterday afternoon, on the final day of the year.

It is a machine that scans and digitizes old photographic slides and negatives.

This little device, no larger than the size of a softball, may as well be a time machine because it drew me back into a world that only exists as distant memories in my mind.

A lifetime of old, dusty slides and negatives from the pre-digital era have followed me through life in shoe boxes and tattered envelopes. Luckily, I’ve had the good sense to hold onto them all of these years.

Many of these images had not been seen by human eyes in over five decades.

Until now.

As I placed them into the scanner, long lost family images suddenly flickered onto my computer screen with crisp, vibrant color and focus. I was transported back to my childhood, to a time before life became complicated and dear loved ones passed on much too soon.

In a flash, it’s the first Christmas I am aware of and I am sitting in front of a silvery Christmas tree as white morning light streams through the window.

I see the faces of my three sisters as children in the early Sixties, just as I remember them when I first arrived on this Earth.

I’m being held by my father on an Arizona highway as a toddler. He would pass on when I was four years old, but on this sunny day all is perfect in my little world.

My mother holds me close to her cheek. She is 37 and I’m not yet a year old.

I’m pushed in a stroller by my mother as my sister Beth holds my hand. It must be 1961 in this moment.

After an evening of time travel, I awakened into a new day and a new year.

It’s 2016.

How time flies.

When I was much younger, I remember adults telling me that the older you get, the faster time seems to fly by. The days, the weeks, the months, the years seem to whisk past faster than when you were younger.

When I first heard this, I figured it was just another odd thing that older people muse about. It didn’t make much sense to me.

Now I’m one of those older people. And it turns out they were right. The longer we live, the faster time seems to accelerate.

It’s nice to have a time machine.

To see those young faces. Some of them we haven’t seen in years.

To see that tiny being you used to be.

To recall the love, the innocence, the joy of life as you first felt it as a child.

That love, that innocence, that joy never goes away. It is the magic of this wondrous journey through life that is truly eternal. It is still there in the recesses of our memory.

It’s still a thought away.

It’s still a breath away.

Inexorably following us through time.

The First Christmas I Was Aware Of

My sisters Kathy, Beth and Rosemary – Early Sixties

With my father Frank – Arizona, 1961

Held by my mother – 1960

Going for a stroll with my mother Katherine and my sister Beth, 1961

Music of The Spheres

December 30, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Listen…

At night if you’re silent enough

…if you’re centered enough

…if you’re open enough

you can hear

the music of the spheres

Spheres, Muses, Angels

singing, whispering their secrets

The secrets you’ve known

for ten thousand years

but had forgotten

until just now

Life Is Not Ordinary

September 15, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

In Marfa, Looking For The Lights

Life is not ordinary

Yet we often believe it is

Life is not fair

Yet we often believe it is

Life is not long

Yet we often believe it is

Why are we prone to illusion?

Why are we wired for fear?

When love will set us free

In the Moon’s Shadow

July 11, 2015 by Chris Duel 2 Comments

Twenty-four years ago today, at high noon, I watched day turn to night on the soil of the ancient Aztec village of Ixtlán de las Garzas, Mexico.

For nearly seven minutes I was bathed in the dark, fleeting shadow of the Moon.

The Sun disappeared. The stars sparkled in eerie twilight at midday as the temperature fell several degrees.

It was an experience so cosmically profound that its mystical echo reverberates through my psyche all these years later.

Within minutes, the Sun emerged from behind the Moon and daytime returned as usual.

For human beings to be in the shadow of the Moon is a very rare event. You must either find a way into the path of a total solar eclipse or have been one of the few Apollo astronauts who circled around the dark side of the Moon in the late Sixties and early Seventies.

While viewing a lunar eclipse (the Moon moving into the Earth’s shadow) or a partial solar eclipse (the Sun not fully obscured by the shadow of the Moon) is relatively common, a total solar eclipse is one of the rarest celestial events to be witnessed from this planet.

This transcendent moment was especially meaningful because I shared it with one of my dearest friends, Henry Iglesias.

Henry and his family were originally from Mexico, so we were watching this eclipse from his native soil.

Henry was my guide into his ancestral homeland and into the shadow of the Moon.

Those moments in the Moon’s shadow with Henry were among the most magical moments of my life.

In 2007, much too young, Henry left this Earthly existence.

Every July 11th, I think of Henry and I think of those fleeting, wondrous moments in the shadow of the Moon.

This poem is my remembrance of our time in the Moon’s shadow…

“With Henry, In The Shadow of The Moon“

Another time

Another century

Another life.

But the time

And the century

And the life

Were mine.

And his.

Planets were aligning

Celestial spheres inexorably drawn.

Eleventh of July, 1991.

When the heavens offer a gift

You must be present to receive.

He led me into Mexico

The land of his birth

The land would birth me

To transcendence

To bliss

To awe.

I knew he was my friend

I know he was my shaman

Guiding me to the light

And the shadow

Where few have truly been:

Astronauts orbiting the lunar dark side

And fortunate few on the planet

Or dreamers like us

Who seek the shadow.

We arrived on hallowed ground

On ancient Aztec soil

Eyes cast skyward

The shadow rushing toward us

We felt it coming

The animals, birds, insects, trees felt it coming.

All became still

Temperature dropped

Time fell away

And then, oh, so suddenly

It… all… merged…

Sun, Moon, Shadow, Earth

Moon, Earth, Shadow, Sun

Earth, Sun, Shadow, Moon

Sun, Moon, Shadow

Moon, Shadow

Shadow

Here.

Now.

Day turned to night.

I. See.

I. See. Stars.

I. See. Stars. At. Noon.

Henry, look at the stars!

And the Sun eclipsed by the Moon

Oh!

My!

God!

Rapt.

Bathed in the splendor

Of the cosmic dance of spheres

In holy, holy, holy communion.

Eternal

My friend, my shaman

Thank you for guiding me there

Years fly by.

You find true love

You write and sing

About the Smile of God

And Brothers of The Sky

And then, oh, so suddenly

Your body eclipsed by a brain tumor

Henry, look at the stars!

They shine with you among them.

The shadow lingers

Your spirit lives.

Another time

Another century

Another life.

If I go back

To seek the shadow

Will you meet me there?

Above: Animation of the Eclipse path on July 11, 1991

Beyond The Rain

April 11, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Beyond The Rain

I wrote this short poem today on a gloomy, rainy afternoon in San Antonio, after I listened to the song “Rain” by The Beatles, and was struck by the lyrics

“When it rains and shines

it’s just a state of mind,”

and

“Rain, I don’t mind.

Shine.

The weather’s fine”

The lyrics reminded me that the rain is an illusion, the clouds are an illusion, the gloom is an illusion, and we alone determine whether we choose to see the magic of this very moment, and all of its miracles and possibilities.

To every darkness, there is an corresponding equal or greater light.

It is my experience that light is more powerful than darkness.

The choice is yours to turn your attention to the light.

Your New Year’s Resolutions Will Fail

January 1, 2015 by Chris Duel 2 Comments

“Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight.” – Japanese Proverb

Your New Year’s Resolutions will fail.

Count on it.

Either today or tomorrow or in a few days, you’re toast.

At least if you are like vast majority of people who make resolutions.

Change isn’t easy.

Old habits die hard.

For some reason we’re wired to believe that Day One of the New Year is the ideal time to make a change.

And when we revert to our old ways we stay there for a long time.

But remember this…

The calendar doesn’t determine the new moment, the new day.

You do.

This is your life, this is your dance, this is your movie.

And every moment is the new moment.

Every moment is your opportunity to become the best version of you.

Your quest is heroic.

The epic battle is you versus you.

Will your higher self or your lower self prevail?

A lifetime of trends can be vanquished with your will, your heart, your faith and your refusal to play small.

So when your New Year’s Resolutions fail…

Forgive yourself.

Trust yourself.

Remember the Japanese proverb: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Stand up.

Dust yourself off.

And begin again.

This is the sacred moment.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: