Michael's Story

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           It's easy to see how Lifelighter came to be when observing Michael's past.  His journey has always been explorative and one of self-learning.  Being a healer and seeking deeper understanding of life were common themes in his early development as well as throughout his later years.

 

          As a young child you could often find him assembling and disassembling anything he could get his hands on in an attempt to know and understand it.  At 5 he learned to express himself heartily, often, and to his mother's chagrin, by pulling all of the pots and pans out onto the kitchen floor.  There with wooden spoons he would gleefully beat out a tremendous cacophony of rhythm until he tired and could perform no longer.  He also entertained a curious fascination for healers early on.  This began with his childhood pediatrician, whom he visited often as he struggled as a bronchial asthmatic. 

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          Middle child syndrome left him a lot of time to disappear into his own world of adventure and exploration.   His early mechanical curiosity, however, was not restricted to the realm of the physical.  He also pondered the mechanics of the psychological, spiritual and philosophical. In fact, he remembers quite clearly his first out of body experience as an infant.  By the age of 9 he found himself immersed in the deep existential musings more commonly displayed in adults.  He found the nature of reality intriguing.  It's plasticity and the concept of the physical body acting as a vessel for soul energy perplexed him.  What perplexed him more, however, was why no one else around him seemed to be questioning it.  Out of this observation a dissonance grew between him and the people around him.  He often felt cognitively incongruent, separate.

 

         By his early teens, Michael had begun to use drumming as mode of self-expression.  Music became a great outlet for him.  He began playing by ear and eventually formed his own band with his brother.  At 16 the band brought in a new lead guitarist and bass player.  They played well together and the band really took off.  This is when his focus shifted to girls, marijuana and mind expansion.  Not long after, his path naturally segued fully into a musician's lifestyle and the world of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

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        The ups and downs of exploring this lifestyle proved to be just another chapter of expansion in Michael's book.  During this time he found himself up against the various challenges a young rock musician might experience.  As a latent-hippie, Michael was influenced by the 60's counter-culture of psychedelic music, sexual exploration and mindfulness;  all which were great adventures, especially within his music creativity. These experiences, however, didn't always end without incident.  The highs and lows drained him.  Sometimes the inner turmoil created outer chaos that erupted in his life.  And, so, whilst weathering the throes of a young, musical psychonaut, Michael experienced legal proceedings, which instilled him with a sense of distrust and a need to interact while protecting. He went inward, became a self imposed social outcast, and continued his quest to understand the meaning of life. 

 

       Like many of us, from within his darkest moments he became ready and receptive to a wisdom that would create life balance and promote self-healing.  He had difficulty, however, finding the guidance or healing he sought from the conventional avenues readily available to him.  These are the challenges that would eventually prove to be highly instrumental in the shift in consciousness that he was swiftly approaching.  His drive to evolve away from self-perpetuated chaos and the temporary darkness he was experiencing catalyzed a more finely tuned focus towards spiritual and psychological enrichment.

   

       Michael began to branch outward.  His mind expanded as he scoured the ancient wisdom of cultures abroad.  His third eye opened as he sought deeply within himself for answers to his questions.  He explored modern and ancient modalities alike, using them to discern the efficacy of each from a personal stand point.  What worked for him he learned forwards, backward and creatively evolved it to suit his circumstances.  What did not work for him, he filed away for future use, should it become relevant or helpful to anyone who may need it.  Relentless, self-guided study and a willingness to love and forgive himself through his less wise choices brought him hard won healing and self-realization.

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        The mystical teachings of Judaism, Kabbalah, have and continue to play an important role in his wellness journey. His nurtured soul was already primed for the deep concepts that filled the void for understandings, which evolved into mindfulness of the soul, mind, and body. The teachings of sacred wisdom that resonated with him from synagogue, also provided clarity to the sense of community that has no borders.

 

        Then something beautiful happened.  Having cultivated a wealth of knowledge and experience along his own journey, he often found himself in a position to offer guidance to sporadic souls that he was destined to have met along his way.  He noticed that it wasn't necessarily the compassion and healing that he offered them, but also the capacity to offer tools and support for these wayward souls to heal themselves.  He met them without judgement or pretense. It felt miraculous that, when it was needed, just the right guidance and inspiration was always there on the tip of his tongue, ready to be delivered to the person who, seeming by happenstance, had recently come into Michaels acquaintance. Michael consciously engaged in the work to be ego-less and become a worthy vessel. 

 

       Little miracles started popping up all around him. The more he followed his heart, the more opportunities he recognized that he was called to serve in.  The synchronicity astounded him.  He found himself delighted to help in anyway he felt called to, and he served in many different ways indeed.  Sometimes it was to offer a reference of an exotic healing modality to one who had never been exposed to such methods.  They would express later that it was just the thing they'd been looking for.  Sometimes it was to introduce someone to a person or a place that ultimately ended up being life changing for them on a scale that bordered divine affirmation.  He began to notice, delightfully, that those he had guided were achieving progressive, sustainable and liberating expansion in their journeys.

 

       Just when he thought he had seen the full impact of his efforts and inspirations he began to observe another miracle.   As he watched the people he connected with grow and heal, he began to hear stories about them going on to offer guidance to others that were also in need.  More and more stories came back and he noticed that some of these people received the same sense of fulfillment by empowering others towards their personal best.  It seemed as if the "light" he offered in the beginning, now had a mind of it's own and was traveling exponentially onward, out into the world.

 

       Once he recognized this effect... this pattern of light, love and wisdom echoing forth from all of it's well-intentioned origins, he knew unequivocally that this was what he was meant to create.  He set forth to establish this phenomena as a comprehensive but flexible program that would empower a community of light workers and Lifelighter was born!    

       

       Today, Lifelighter embodies the same loving attributes that were originally the cornerstone of Michael's work with others.  Non-judgement, compassion, respect and deep understanding is displayed in every connection.  Having walked each of their own paths, Michael and his Lifelighters believe that all are deserving and capable of self-healing and growth.  Like this, Lifelighter empowers each of us to transcend our suffering, carry out our guided purpose and come into the most genuine expression of ourselves.