The Lean

"When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied."  Herophilus

This quote is the theme of my blog post because I have people in my life who have so much to offer others and the world, but their health is holding them back.  How can we do our best when we lack energy, strength, focus, and just don't feel well?  I am starting on a health plan to help me to optimize my energy and vitality so that I can be the best I can be, to work for Michael.   The name of the book is The Lean.   The idea is to Lean into making changes, such as drinking 8 glasses of water a day, eat an apple a day, eat breakfast, etc.  Small changes that add up to new habits.  I like it.  This way, I can choose each day to do a little or a lot, say yes or no to foods or activities, without any guilt.  I intend to do whatever will help me be more available to carry on Michael's work in whatever way I can.   If I do it for Michael, it's much more likely I will make the right choice, because I never want to be less than my best for him.   So far, I am only on day three.  Anyone want to join me??

http://www.amazon.com/The-Lean-Revolutionary-Healthy-Lasting/dp/1602861730

Living in Michael's Love

Siren and I attended this show last night.  We bought the tickets a few months ago.  There just are not any Michael events going on where we live, and we weren't sure what to expect.  Was this impersonator taking advantage of Michael's celebrity, or did he really love Michael and want to pay tribute to him?  I was a bit nervous about it, because I didn't want to be disappointed, and I didn't want to see anyone disrespecting Michael in any way.  How could anyone possibly live up to Michael's performances in concert.   After the first song, we looked at each other and breathed a huge sigh of relief.  The band, the dancers, and the impersonator were all awesome!  They were honoring him, and doing their part to share him with others.  Bishop (the impersonator) spoke about Michael as the amazing icon he was, and also talked about his real message of Love and healing. 

Siren and I had made a day of this event.  We started with visiting Michael's Love Tree as we always do on Sunday mornings.   Our message for the week, we felt was Hope, as we had both been recently feeling depressed and sad, thinking that there was no hope that Michael would ever be understood and appreciated for all he gave in his life.  It seemed that there was just too much to be done, and not much apparent progress in the right direction.  Michael had put those thoughts to rest with messages of Hope for each of us in different ways.  In fact, I had woken up in the morning with the realization that the people who would be coming to the show would likely be people who were at least open-minded about Michael, if not actually followers like us.  With this in mind, we picked up my 15 year old daughter who was joining us for the show and went for lunch, followed by a stop at the theatre.  I asked the manager if they would be interested in having copies of Ever After to give to the patrons of the show that evening.  Looking over the book, he liked the idea, so we brought in enough books for each table, or each group, to receive a copy.

When we were shown to our table a few hours later, we saw a copy of Ever After at each table.  During the hour and a half allotted for dinner, before the show started, we saw people all over the room reading the book, flipping through it, and heard discussions about Michael going on around us.  It was surreal!
I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to see this.  At one point, I was acknowledged for the donation of the books, and asked to stand up.  An incredibly bright spotlight came on me and I couldn't see a thing!  I stood like a deer in the headlights, and all I was thinking was "how did Michael see when he was on stage????"  I was reminded of a devotion of Diana's about this subject.  

The whole evening was wonderful, being with my beautiful Siren, who always is so much fun to be with, having my daughter joining us in a Michael adventure for the first time, sharing my books, seeing a tribute to Michael by people who truly understood him, seeing people enjoy Ever After and even ask me for autographs, it was all very sweet.  We also discovered that there are other people in our area who love Michael, as well as meeting the band members, the dancers and Bishop Soul, who all are so devoted to what they do, for Michael.  Siren had the opportunity to share her art cards and bookmarks with people who were amazed by her beautiful work.  All of this in one night was simply unbelievable.  Underneath it all, I could feel my love for Michael grow more than ever, which was already bigger than I ever could have imagined.  Talk about HOPE!  Michael's love is forever, nothing can stop it from growing and growing until it takes over everything and we remember that we really are all ONE, as he told us.  

Working for Michael

On Saturday I was doing errands, took a wrong turn, and ended up going to pay a bill at a different branch of my bank than usual.  I was wearing my Immortal Tour T shirt and the young man who was serving me, said "I really love your shirt."  I said thanks, very happily, then he said, "I remember back in the eighties when he used to be black."  I am always afraid of this kind of comment because I do not handle them very well.  In the past, I have felt the heat and anger rising from my feet up to my head, my face turn red, and did not say anything.  I have ended up being upset for days, at the other person for being cruel and ignorant, and at myself for not defending Michael.

This time was different.  Maybe because I am now so sure and confident in my devotion to Michael, I was totally calm.  Seeing that this young man was too young to remember the eighties, I knew he was  joking at Michael's expense because he didn't know any better.  I felt sorry that he had no idea of who Michael was, or what he had done for the world.  I said, "Actually, he was always black," not in a sarcastic or angry way, but just quietly and confidently.  The teller was immediately embarrassed by his thoughtless remark, and quickly said "Oh yes, and he was such an incredible artist".....and tried to make up for being so rude.   I completed my transaction, smiled, said thank you and left the bank.   As I walked to my car, I felt good that I had stood up for Michael in a way he would be proud of, and hoped that maybe another young person would start to think for himself, do some research, and find out the truth about Michael Jackson.

I don't know if I went to that bank for the purpose of meeting that teller, so that we each could learn something from the interaction we had, but I am happy that it turned out that way.  I look forward to the next opportunity I have to share the truth of Michael with someone who has not discovered him yet.

God

God
It's strange that God doesn't mind expressing Himself/Herself in all the religions of the world,
while people still cling to the notion that their way is the only right way.
Whatever you try to say about God, someone will take offence,
even if you say everyone's love of God is right for them.
For me the form God takes is not the most important thing.
What's most important is the essence.
My songs and dances are outlines for Him to come in and fill.
I hold out the form. She puts in the sweetness.
I've looked up at the night sky and beheld the stars so intimately close,
it was as if my grandmother had made them for me.
"How rich, how sumptuous," I thought.
In that moment I saw God in His creation.
I could as easily have seen Her in the beauty of a rainbow,
the grace of a deer bounding through a meadow, the truth of a father's kiss.
But for me the sweetest contact with God has no form.
I close my eyes, look within, and enter a deep soft silence.
The infinity of God's creation embraces me.
We are one.

Michael Jackson  Dancing the Dream

Seeds of Creativity

"The magic, the wonder, the mystery, and the innocence of a child's heart, 
are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world. I really believe that."
[Michael Jackson, 1993]



This quote from Michael is still on my mind.  It keeps coming up, as though there is something more I need to learn from it.  How could children heal the world?  They don't have the power, the money, the experience, the knowledge to make big changes.  I have always assumed that Michael was talking about children when he said this, and I'm sure he was, but there is more to it.  I think I know what it is.

  
The magic, the wonder, the mystery, and the innocence of seeing the world from the point of view of a child's heart, are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world.  We don't need to BE children, but we DO need to have a child's heart.  We need to be open to possibility, we need to know that we don't know everything, but be willing to learn.  We need to think with love and cooperation instead of selfishness and competition.  This is something that we all do, even if we are not children anymore. 


Michael showed us what can happen when we live with in an adult world, and keep a child's heart.  His creativity and originality and genius is not questioned even by people who hate him.  No one can deny it.  It wasn't easy for him because children are not valued and appreciated as having anything to contribute, but if we believe, as he believed, that we really can heal the world, it will be easier as time goes on, and we can make Michael's dream come true.  I am willing to devote my life to that, for him.

The Innocence of a Child's Heart

The magic, the wonder, the mystery, and the innocence of a child's heart, 
are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world. I really believe that!
[Michael Jackson, 1993]




Imagine being a child raised by Michael.  Nurtured, loved, and taught by him, how to behave, how to treat people, how to express who you really are.  Wouldn't we all want this for ourselves?  Well, this gift was given to three children, who now are having to use the lessons learned from their father to handle life.  Not the average lives of children today, but their life, which is anything but normal right now, in spite of all Michael's efforts to ensure that they had a normal childhood.  Everyone who knows them says they are great kids.  We have seen it ourselves in their limited public appearances over the last three years.  Maybe it takes a child to expose the truth that adults can not admit.  


I love Michael with all my heart and soul, and I love his children too, because he did.  I have a fourteen year old daughter, and I know how wise beyond their years teenagers really are.  Maybe we should respect them, and listen to them.  If we listen to Paris, she says she wants to talk to her grandmother and is not being allowed to.  To me, that is all I need to know, to know that something is very wrong, and it has nothing to do with love for Michael.  In fact, it can only be a lack of love that separates children from their guardian who loves them.  Let's stop pretending that this family is normal.  Being related does not mean that they have each other's best interest at heart.  Sometimes I wish that Michael had nothing, so that his family would have nothing to gain from him and his children anymore.  Maybe then they could live a normal life.


Katherine has always been a strong person, and her devotion to all of her children has been important to her.  I hope she is strong enough now to do what is best for her grandchildren.

Vitiligo - Call for Love Devotion July 18

Not being a follower of Michael Jackson while he was here, I had no idea that he had vitiligo or even that such a disease existed.  I assumed, and never knew any reason not to believe, that he must have changed his skin somehow.  I thought it was strange, but not any stranger than other things that celebrities do.   After he was gone, and having been struck by the Love that encircled the earth upon his leaving this plane, I found out everything I could about him and discovered the word Vitiligo for the first time.  What???  There is a disease that changes the color of people's skin??  How in the world was it that no one ever talked about that with reference to Michael?  I know I was out of the loop, but seriously, isn't that something that could have been mentioned to explain his change of color?

I saw the pictures of him that showed his vitiligo, and finally saw the Oprah interview when he mentioned it.  Even then, I didn't think about the impact this must have had on him.  It was not life threatening, and I thought he was beautiful at every stage of his life.  It wasn't until I learned more about vitiligo, and read stories of people actually taking their own lives rather than suffer with this disease,  that I realized the true damage and cost that it has on people.

I am a shy person, and being a teenager was very difficult because I knew I was short, chubby, wore glasses and was different than the expected perfection of a teenage girl in the seventies.  It was hard for me, and had a lasting impact on my life, even up to the present time.  Imagine being Michael.  A shy person, self conscious about his appearance already, discovering that his skin was becoming blotched with white and not being able to stop it.  Already being a private person who was in the public eye every moment of his life, dealing with vitiligo must have been like my teenage years times 1000.  The courage it must have taken for him to perform, to know what people were thinking and saying, and not try to explain, knowing that it would not make any difference.

The purpose and destiny that he knew was his, he accepted without question and without holding back.   Oh, the lessons we all can learn from this amazing, humble man, sent here to teach us how to be, how to love each other, and to heal the world.  I realize that my challenges are trivial compared to the ones that Michael faced with such courage and grace.   I once again must declare my undying love and devotion to him and to sharing his message of love and truth with anyone and everyone who I possibly can.   It's the least I can do for he who gave everything he had for us.