Poetry offers a unique view of the world, a vibrant blend of beauty and truth, form and content. In its attempt to capture the wonder and exhilaration of life, of consciousness itself, it dares to awaken the human species – human consciousness – to its own unique and divine ability to reach for godlike fulfillment.
The poet wants to convince the human species that it can climb out of its habits of fear, separation, limitation and inadequacy to strive for higher states of being; to liberate the child inside the "adult" and instill the wonder of creation before it's too late.
Motivated by love and proficient in time-tested tools and techniques of the art of poetry, the poet attempts the magic of bringing words to life on a page. The poet wants to cradle you in your fear of terrorist attacks, of hatred, senseless bigotry, mindless violence and devastation; to sing a soothing lullaby for you to transcend your habitual knee-jerk response to fear, and change, and lack of control; to encourage you to take control and turn that terror into powerful love songs.
In reflecting the intelligence of the universe, art can be said to be universal; that is, replicating an orderliness in which all parts are vitally important and interrelated. In a painting, the colors and shapes should express the subject matter of the work. In a poem, the sound of the words spoken together should evoke a response that resonates with the sense of those words.
At their best, poets can function as heralds of light, channeling inspiration into words that fly to the heart of truths raising consciousness and evoking a life-affirming sensibility which the reader may or may not be aware of or able to define.
With Lumination, I wanted to spin the world of poetry on a new axis, both harkening back to a world of song and celebration and pointing a new direction of individual power and creative imagination; taking a message of sages and seers and spinning a unique design for the 21st century.
Any path to peace and joyfulness is a ride on waves of change. Sometimes we’re up, sometimes we’re down. But sometimes, if we’re lucky, something – just the right word or image, just the right sound or rhythm – might suddenly trigger a new perception, a new thought or emotion, a suggestion that existence alone is enough, is the blessing and the miracle.
I wanted to pose the proposition that a soft and beautiful presence surrounds us with unconditional love and cradles us in its sweet embrace, uniting all in an inextricable oneness. It’s there for us at every moment whether we are aware of it or not. And if for even one split second our channels of perception clear and we get a glimpse of this white light, we are left sobbing with tears of gratitude and awe, an unexpected benediction from the source of all. Our doubts disappear in the light, and our fears wash away with the tears.