Many may associate me with the neon glare of the Las Vegas Strip, and that's cool, after all, I've spent my entire adult life here, writing and promoting Las Vegas shows.
For the past twenty years my nights have been artificially lit, from lounges' candlelight and main rooms' spotlights, by the Las Vegas Boulevard's neon glow and under Fremont Street's millions of blazing LEDs, but my brightest memories are not illuminated by manmade light. From the sun kissed days to moonlit nights, my shiniest moments are the naturally glossy ones.
You might be surprised to learn that as turned on as I am by the electric Crayola colored Strip, it's the things I've seen in the desert sky that have provided my real and lasting glimpses of awareness. I speak of the light above the lights, and that light within all of us.
There's a song that starts out, "I used to lay out in a field under the Milky Way." The first time I heard it I became flushed by the JACKSON BROWNE lyric, so deeply personal to me. How could he have turned a light on my life story, illuminating my doubts and fears, without having met me? That song, 'The Night Inside Me' has come to haunt my nights, in a good way, reminding me that the world is inside my head and not the other way around.
I mention this after a friend remarked via Skype last night how surprised he was to hear me talk about the Shiva Sutras, and that when I said that a certain idea lacked shakti, the feminine creative energy I look for in any new project, he said straight out, "I always thought of you as a casino type materialistic guy," adding, "but tonight, you're blowing me away." (He taped our Skype conference call and wants to use it as part of a discussion: "Getting in touch with your creative energy," making me beam.)
The young magician DARIN DIAMOND gets caught-up in mandalas, fashioning his entire show around the sacred circle in the novel, "The King of Diamonds: The Magical Life of Darin Diamond." I saw Darin as a "strange enchanted boy," you know, "a little shy, and sad of eye" type kid.
As the sun sets and the lights come on (and out), I'm starting to experience real doubts about how long I'm going to be shining around here but I am positively grateful for those who have inspired me, fanning my flame as I made my way through the sometimes dark night.*
As I look up at the night sky, I just know that at the right time, I'll merge into the starlight.
Last night I was asked how I wanted to me remembered and I quickly said, "In light." Sun or stars, but neon's cool, too.
*You guys know who you are.
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