Image 17 Bowie Hope/The Star

The "Vampire Lestat" shows himself as an archetype through Bowie, a reflection on the spirit of a tribal memory, as revealed in the Vampire Chronicles of author Anne Rice. Many within such a tribe identify with a "Gothic" dark side from past lifetimes, ensconced in romantic and religious symbolism... Symbolism that has served, as we know in modern times, only delusion. Many people who lived during the Renaissance, for instance, pursued daily interests in occult philosophies and practices such as astrology, tarot, meditation and contemplation of other lifetimes lived; and now days people turn to their computers.

Do you remember a time when all the pretty decorations in the church remained nothing more than pretty decorations? The density of old forms bleeds-off our human life-force energy. With illness, many of us are come to learn that if our gods don't serve us, we should find ones that do; for a relationship one's god is cooperative, by all means! In our karmic travels we realize our co-creative efforts to impress and unite with others. It's our spiritual connections that help direct our moral compass. So if that doesn't work, perhaps I shall aspire to be the best person I can be. Is that enough?

All suffering comes from the loss in not knowing, understanding or appreciating our true origins. Hope is in finding enough compassion for ourselves to face the nature of our own dark sides... The shadow is not separate of spirit or of "other". We often attract others who represent the qualities that we most despise within ourselves. We are hurt and abused beyond our understanding by others who are jealous. We have experienced the intimate dance of affecting, and being affected by someone. We have made presumptions about others without communicating; in being "psychic", we have been let-down. Then, in our solitude, we are left with that.

A re-claiming process evolves from the desire to embody what is sacred. Rather than participate in the exploitation of others, our isolation asks that we take a closer look at the agendas behind treating other living beings as inanimate objects to be "owned" and "possessed". It is not possible to control or change another We must acknowledge that such "reptilian-thinking" has never served humanity... But rather we know misogyny and all it's "isms" for what it is: domination. (Where is Our Home?) When we forget our origins, we forget about our potential for perfection. Tibetan Buddhists work on this perfection through their practices and vows, anticipating that fulfillment as a gift a future lifetime. We believe we have had multitudes of lifetimes. For instance, we have come to see all sentient beings as having once been, or will be our mothers. Christians aspire to make it to Heaven after death or during the rapture. It is the womb of the universe holding all those things that keep us interconnected with all living things.

Only by learning to love ourselves unconditionally is it possible to bond with and love others. In the practice of compassion and self-acceptance, we find ourselves. Acceptance of the good, the bad and the ugly traits we have to face within our own natures is transformation. Have you ever heard a diamond scream? In the same way a diamond evolves from a piece of coal, you too, can shine. Be a shining star. It is your divine right to bring the gifts you have been given into perfection!

"I'm intrigued with the momentum in body art. Scarification, tattooing and the like. It's become almost an alternative, well, a complementary medium to paint and wood and stone, now flesh, another part of the palette. One wonders why - where could it possibly go? It seems to me it's aligned to a kind of pagan deviation from Catholic rituals. There's some act of appeasing the gods in all of this... It's almost because there isn't significant thought now in Judeo-Christian ethics that popular culture is taking up a lot of slack. Some would say in a gratuitous manner, with violence and sex, but I wonder if it isn't really another form of ritualization, an area where fears and hopes and euphoric states and depressions are dealt with..." - David Bowie; Out, Oct. 1995

All Designs and Text © Orandon Marie, 1997; 2014