Let It Shine

February 20, 2017 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

You don’t fully appreciate what you have until it’s gone.

Our power was out for nearly 23 hours.

Yeah, I know… “First World Problems.”

We were wondering if this would go on for several days.

But the moment when the lights came back on tonight, there was a feeling of hallelujah, liberation and rapture.

Something as simple as the lights coming back in your home becomes a joyous celebration.

If only I could remember to feel such gratitude every time I am privileged to turn on a light.

Let it shine.

We are Ghosts, Sleepwalking in the Dreamscape

October 1, 2016 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

I was randomly flipping through a journal from last year and stumbled upon the passage above.

The word “ghosts” reminded me of the final track of Dan Fogelberg’s 1981 album, The Innocent Age.

The song is “Ghosts.” It’s mystical, haunting and evocative. On many levels, it’s my favorite Fogelberg tune and most people have probably never heard it.
It’s one of those songs that can take you into another dimension.

It’s fascinating that dimensions ranging from Heaven to Hell, from despair to bliss, are accessible in virtually every moment.

Here is Dan Fogelberg’s “Ghosts” via YouTube. I didn’t create the video, but it’s not a bad visualization of the song…

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

The Summer of Our Discontent

July 8, 2016 by Chris Duel 4 Comments

American Summer 2016

How do we make sense of the senseless?

Beheadings and car bombs on the other side of the world.

Civilian “soft targets,” from Paris to Brussels to Istanbul, suicide bombed by “martyrs” in the name of their God.

A slaughter in an Orlando nightclub.

Over 2,000 gun deaths in Chicago this year.

Cell phone video of highly questionable shootings of African Americans.

And now, the ambush and assassination of Dallas Police officers during an otherwise peaceful protest.

Ironically, this most recent national tragedy occurred very close to Dealey Plaza, the site of America’s most notorious assassination.

How do we make sense of the senseless?

We cannot.

But there are things we can do.

We can affect our own individual spheres of influence.

Our family, friends, neighbors and communities.

It starts small. It starts organically. It starts with you. And it grows.

We can choose reason over insanity.

We can choose light over darkness.

We can choose love over fear.

We can increase the peace.

In our communities, in our state, in our nation, in our world.

The good people in this world vastly outnumber the misguided, vicious ones.

I am convinced that in the end, love wins.

We just need to consciously, actively intend the light and the love a little more.

Farewell for a Furry Friend

April 4, 2016 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

We didn’t really adopt Blackcat. She adopted us.

She was a feral cat outside our window for many years.

She distrusted humans. They almost certainly hurt her. An x-ray showed she had been shot at some time in her life.

But we crossed paths. And we became a part of her life 15 years ago.

On a cold winter’s night many years ago, she needed a warm place to sleep and we had one.

Eventually she moved in with us and became part of our family.

Now she is slowly transitioning into the next world.

Saying goodbye to a beloved pet is saying goodbye to a member of your family.

It is gut wrenching.

She has brought us love, laughter and joy.

Now there are tears and sorrow.

I just went to gently pet her.

She purred, as if to say, “I understand. And I love you too.”

Tonight They Scrub The Pavement Clean of Blood

March 23, 2016 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

A beautiful day on Planet Earth

The Universe bestows its precious gifts

Life
Consciousness
Love

While less-than-human beings rain death upon innocents in the name of their god

Brussels today

Paris before

New York and other centers of civilization before that

Light will inevitably prevail

But tonight they will scrub the pavement clean of blood

3.22.2016

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)

Autumnal Equinox

September 21, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

(2am 9/22/2013)

summer has ended

i felt this coming

light and warmth waning

portending the fall
and the coming winter

while days draw shorter
and the chilly darkness grows

but for this moment

this one moment

this Now

all is equal

balanced

sublime

light and darkness

hope and fear

pleasure and pain

chaos and serenity

laughter and tears

koyaanisqatsi and bliss

the unseen world appears
translucently amid the twilight

i open my arms

gaze to the delirious sky

listening intently

to the music of the spheres

and I am equal

to the love

to the fear

to the euphoria

to the yin and the yang

of the great unknown

and I surrender

to the autumnal equinox

Shielding My Eyes

August 26, 2015 by Chris Duel 2 Comments

Another horrific act of violence in America today and it was apparently captured on video.

This happens all too often. And we are presented with an option to view the day’s most senseless act on our computer and television screens.

No, thanks.

I choose not to see it.

I have read the story. I grieve and pray for the victims and their families. I lament that we live in a society where such murder has become so very commonplace.

Out of respect for the victims and their families and as a conscious choice to determine which images I allow into my mind, my psyche and my soul – I will not watch it.

May we all find a path to love, light and peace as we continue our journey through this wondrous life.

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

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: