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My First Time in The Shadow of The Moon

July 11, 2019 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Chris & The Total Eclipse 1991

During the Total Eclipse on July 11, 1991

There is a Total Eclipse of the Sun coming to America on April 8, 2024.

The path of totality will streak across the sky near my San Antonio home, in Kerrville, Texas, as it makes its way across the North American continent. 

If I am blessed to be alive, I will be in the glorious, elusive shadow. 

But it won’t be my first experience in the Shadow of the Moon.  It will be my third. First in 1991, and then again in 2017.

As with many things in life, there is nothing like your first…

Twenty-eight 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 of the darkness, 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 watching this eclipse from his native soil was especially meaningful to me.

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

1991 Mexico Eclipse

With Henry, hours before the 1991 Mexico Eclipse

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

Henry In The Shadow of The Moon

Henry In The Shadow of The Moon

 

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

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…

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, mine…

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 our ultimate brother or guide or guardian angel who will fly us 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, both as a video where I added the images and Henry’s lyrics below…

“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

The Universe

The Universe

Is all inside God’s eye

Dedicated to the eternal spirit of Henry Robert Iglesias

My Brother of The Sky

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Filed Under: Bliss, Cosmos, Eclipse, Feeling, Flying, Ghosts, grief, Heaven, Henry Iglesias, Life, Love, Miracles, Moon, Music, Poetry, Shadow, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Wisdom Tagged With: #ThisIsTheSacredMoment, Bliss, Chris Duel, Consciousness, Direct Experience, Duel, Eclipse, Follow Your Bliss, grief, Guidance, Heaven, Henry Iglesias, Heroes, July, Let Love Rule, Life, Love, Miracles, Moon, Poetry, Soul, Spirit

Winter Solstice 2018

December 21, 2018 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

 

Winter Solstice

Do you feel it?

The moment darkness reaches its apex

And the bitter cold evokes your grief

While warmth, light and summer sun

Seem distant

You realize

The longer you live

And the seasons change

This frigid darkness

Is merely a fleeting precursor

To the return of the light

Through orbiting spheres

And the dance of all creation

Repeating itself

Again and again and again

After countless cold, dark winters

On this Winter Solstice

You choose to embrace the darkness

Knowing that this moment

Gives birth

To the light you need

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Filed Under: Bliss, Christmas, grief, Heaven, Life, Love, Miracles, Moon, Opportunity, Shadow, Silence, Solstice, Soul, Spirit, Winter Tagged With: #ThisIsTheSacredMoment, Bliss, Chris Duel, Consciousness, Direct Experience, Equinox, New Year, Soul, Spirit

What You Came Here To Discover

November 30, 2018 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Life isn’t black and white.

Although we may wish it were.

But it’s not that simple.

Life is grey and blue and purple and red and every color of the rainbow.

Life is not what you grew up thinking it was.

Life is now.

And often contradictory and paradoxical.

Just when you think you’ve figured it out, it expands beyond your comprehension.

Yet, it’s so often wondrous and loving along the way.

Yes, we have sorrow and grief, but often these provide the contrast for us to appreciate how exquisite and sacred every moment is, every breath is.

You and I have been given a gift.

And it’s this very instant. It’s this very breath.

And the next one.

Wisdom traditions dating back to the dawn of consciousness have been trying to tell us this.

When you center yourself…

When you clear your mind…

When you get in touch with the magic of your holy breath… you can approach an understanding of the magic that surrounds you.

It is profound.

It is yours.

It is what you came here to discover.

 

 

 

#BeHereNow #ThisIsTheSacredMoment #Meditation #Breath #HolyBreath #Zen #Spirit #ACIM #DownloadingYourSoul #ChrisDuel

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Filed Under: Beginning, Bliss, Christmas, Cosmos, Dreams, Fear, Feeling, Flying, grief, Heaven, Life, Love, Miracles, Opportunity, Prayers, Shadow, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Winter, Wisdom Tagged With: #ThisIsTheSacredMoment, Bliss, Chris Duel, Consciousness, Direct Experience, Duel, Follow Your Bliss, grief, Guidance, Heaven, Let Love Rule, Life, Love, Meditation, Miracles, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Wisdom

Winter Solstice

December 21, 2017 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Do you feel it?
The moment darkness reaches its apex
And the bitter cold evokes your grief
While warmth, light and summer sun
Seem distant
You realize
The longer you live
And the seasons change
This frigid darkness
Is merely a fleeting precursor
To the return of the light
Through orbiting spheres
And the dance of all creation
Repeating itself
Again and again and again
After countless cold, dark winters
On this Winter Solstice
You choose to embrace the darkness
Knowing that this moment
Gives birth
To the light you need
Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice

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Filed Under: Christmas, grief, Life, Love, Opportunity, Poetry, Shadow, Silence, Solstice, Soul, Spirit, Winter, Wisdom Tagged With: #ThisIsTheSacredMoment, Chris Duel, Consciousness, Direct Experience, grief, Life, New Year, Poetry, Silence, Soul, Spirit

The Lunatic Inside Your Head

October 26, 2017 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your World

There is a lunatic living inside your head. This lunatic is feeding your mind with fear based thoughts that are distorting your clearest, highest and most accurate perception of the world.
In Zen they call this Monkey Mind. In A Course in Miracles and psychology they call this Ego. The author Steven Pressfield calls this Resistance.
Ego is not your friend.
But you need not be victimized by the fearful, negative, angry thoughts of this lunatic. You can get clear. You can center yourself. You can ease your mind and transcend the lunatic.
The calm you seek is inside of you and as close as your next breath. Meditation can take you there, Music can take you there, Nature can take you there, your Beloved can take you there.
Go there. And go back there as often as you possibly can.
The choice of Love over Fear is yours and it’s the most important choice you will make every day of your life.

 

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Filed Under: Bliss, Fear, Feeling, Life, Love, Miracles, Music, Shadow, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Thought, Wisdom Tagged With: #ThisIsTheSacredMoment, Bliss, Chris Duel, Consciousness, Direct Experience, Fear, Guidance, Let Love Rule, Life, Love, Meditation, Miracles, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Wisdom

Music of The Spheres

December 30, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Listen...

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

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Filed Under: Cosmos, Heaven, Miracles, Moon, Music, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Uncategorized, Winter, Wisdom Tagged With: Listen, Music, Music of The Spheres, Silence

Autumnal Equinox

September 21, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

AutumnalEquinoxPic

 

(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

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Filed Under: Autumn, Beginning, Bliss, Cosmos, Equinox, Fear, Feeling, Music, Shadow, Silence, Spirit Tagged With: Autumn, Autumnal Equinox, Chris Duel, Duel, Equinox, Fall, Fall Equinox

Shielding My Eyes

August 26, 2015 by Chris Duel 2 Comments

grief

 

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.

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Filed Under: America, Crisis, grief, Love, Prayers, Shadow, Silence, Soul, Spirit Tagged With: grief, light, Love, peace, psyche, Soul

In Contemplation of Tonight’s Full Moon

July 1, 2015 by Chris Duel 1 Comment

Full Moon

 

Sometimes the New Year or the Mid Year or the Full Moon whispers to you that your time is now. And like the year and the Moon, your days are full, but waning.

Perhaps now is the time to become more of the person you came here to be.

I wrote these words last night, as we moved into the midpoint of the year, in contemplation of the Full Moon and how it can symbolize not only the progression of our year, but of our lives.

Birth.

Growth.

Fullness.

Waning.

Death.

(Followed by Rebirth)

The fullness of the year, the fullness of the Moon and the fullness of your life is right now.

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Filed Under: Moon, Opportunity, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Uncategorized, Wisdom Tagged With: Full Moon, Moon, Whispers

Direct Experience is the Ultimate Wisdom

January 3, 2015 by Chris Duel Leave a Comment

Direct Experience

Direct Experience

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Filed Under: Feeling, Silence, Soul, Spirit, Thought, Wisdom Tagged With: Direct Experience, Wisdom

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