Who said it first?

Shamanism is an art, not a science. All of us in the arts derive pleasure from tuning in to a subtle frequency, then interpreting and expressing what we're sensing. Sometimes we make paintings or create dances, sometimes we go into deep trances and then say what we've "seen" between the worlds. Every artist has her good and bad days.

For painters and dancers, sometimes they have to rely on what their audiences have to say before they know for sure if they successfully captured and conveyed their inspirations. I, too, rely on external validation after I've made a proclamation since I'm "wrong" as often as I'm "right." I believe absolutely that I can sense the subtle energies, but my process of interpretation, colored as it is by my values, can be spot on or completely off the mark. I never know for sure until the world shows me.

I wonder if there's anyone on planet earth who doesn't know that Michael Jackson died suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday. "Sudden" and "unexpected" describes many deaths of the last two weeks - like the pilot who died mid-flight a couple of weeks ago, my friend Gordon, the people who died on the Metro crash, and the biggest pop star on the planet. His talent was completely out of hand. He burned bright, then that brightness spiraled inwards, becoming quite dark and destructive, as a too bright light does sometimes. Though it's no surprise he died young, the timing of his death confirms what I was writing about yesterday. May he rest in peace. Farrah, too. She was such a good person.

Emboldened by yesterday's news, I'm going to say it again: there's a big portal open right now and apparently it's pretty easy to slip through it. So be alert! Take care, be mindful, please? Try not to ignore your intuition - at the very least - until God closes the gate. Gather the angels around you, I'm serious. OK? Safety first!