I don’t remember the plot well but I do remember being frightened.
And a little confused.
Unlike almost all New Age advice, the instruction given to Carole Anne in Poltergeist is:
“Do NOT go into the light!”
It made sense in terms of that film, but for almost every sci-fi moment, and every spiritual text and trope, the advice is always the opposite.
It’s even throughout the Bible, both Old Testament and New.
“Light is better than darkness.”
Ecclesiastes 2:13
“God is light.”
John 1:5
Indeed, pretty much everyone in my sphere is, as Debbie Ford said, a committed “Light Chaser.”
This week I remembered another moment from what seems like another lifetime ago.
I had written and directed a short film that was in a prestigious festival.
I was doing a Q&A session afterwards with some up-and-comers like myself, along with some A-list movie stars.
After the last credit rolled, we filmmakers were invited to come forward and stand in front of the screen to field any questions.
As the first question was asked, the much more accredited writer / director next to me leaned in and whispered in my ear:
“If you move ten inches to the right,
you’ll be completely in the light.”
I was truly startled (and a little starstruck).
I hadn’t even considered how I was lit, much less was I trying to find the spotlight.
It’s all rather ironic because technically I was there as a filmmaker and used to thinking about such things on set.
I just hadn’t ever applied the practice to myself in real life.
Even now, his words sometimes haunt me.
Just how often, exactly, am I (or any of my creative clients), 10 inches away from our spotlight?
And why would this be so?
Is it that we only want the focus on our work…?
Or are we afraid of truly being visible, really being seen…?
Around that same time, I had a conversation with a producer friend––one whose films have had Oscar-winning performances in them––and we bonded over something quirky that we’d noticed.
Every time someone had asked us to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) for a project, we both knew that that project wasn’t going anywhere.
Somehow, inevitably, it would never see the light of day.
Note: I’m not saying NDAs don’t make sense in other business situations.
I’m just saying that in the creative realm, in my limited experience, it means the person doesn’t realize that piracy isn’t the biggest obstacle threatening their success.
Obscurity is.
And, as Cory Doctorow memorably said:
“It’s impossible to monetize obscurity.”
As this unbelievable year is winding down, I’m launching so many projects.
I had an outdoor photo shoot on our coldest day yet and I’m editing endless drafts of press releases and promo copy.
Perhaps that’s why several times this week, I’ve found myself wanting to stay offstage, or at least ten inches from the light.
(Obscurity may be hard to monetize, but it’s a very easy goal to achieve.)
And then I reminded myself of those incredible words from Marianne Williamson (often attributed to Nelson Mandela; he spoke them, yes, but she’s the one who actually wrote them):
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
I’m hoping this newsletter reminds you (and me), to move ten inches forward and into the spotlight.
Namaste for Now,
Just FYI, today is the second day of the Diwali, the five-day Festival of Light in India.
In that spirit…
FREE Meditations HERE
Creative HERE
Yoga Adventures HERE
