“MY IDEA OF MAGIC DOESN’T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH STAGE TRICKS AND ILLUSIONS. THE WHOLE WORLD ABOUNDS IN MAGIC. WHEN A WHALE PLUNGES OUT OF THE SEA LIKE A NEWBORN MOUNTAIN, YOU GASP IN UNEXPECTED DELIGHT. WHAT MAGIC! BUT A TODDLER WHO SEES HIS FIRST TADPOLE FLASHING IN A MUD PUDDLE FEELS THE SAME THRILL. WONDER FILLS HIS HEART, BECAUSE HE HAS GLIMPSED FOR AN INSTANT THE PLAYFULNESS OF LIFE.
WHEN I SEE THE CLOUDS WHISKED AWAY FROM A SNOW-CAPPED PEAK, I FEEL LIKE SHOUTING, ‘BRAVO!’ NATURE, THE BEST OF ALL MAGICIANS, HAS DELIVERED ANOTHER THRILL. SHE HAS EXPOSED THE REAL ILLUSION, OUR INABILITY TO BE AMAZED BY HER WONDERS. EVERY TIME THE SUN RISES, NATURE IS REPEATING ONE COMMAND: ‘BEHOLD!’ HER MAGIC IS INFINITELY LAVISH, AND IN RETURN ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS APPRECIATE IT.
WHAT DELIGHT NATURE MUST FEEL WHEN SHE MAKES STARS OUT OF SWIRLING GAS AND EMPTY SPACE. SHE FLINGS THEM LIKE SPANGLES FROM A VELVET CAPE, A BILLION REASONS FOR US TO AWAKEN IN PURE JOY. WHEN WE OPEN OUR HEARTS AND APPRECIATE ALL SHE HAS GIVEN US, NATURE FINDS HER REWARD. THE SOUND OF APPLAUSE ROLLS ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, AND SHE BOWS. Dancing the Dream Michael Jackson 1992
“I love to create magic…to put together something that’s so unusual, so unexpected that it blows people’s heads off. Something ahead of the times. Five steps ahead of what people are thinking. So people see it and say, ‘Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that!'” Michael Jackson Man in the Music Joseph Vogel 2011
“Michael Jackson’s art transcended every way that human beings have thought of to separate themselves, and then healed those divisions, at least at the instant that we all shared his music as the GLOBALLY UNDERSTOOD GRAMMAR OF HOPE. You didn’t have to speak English to understand Michael. His language, as hokey as it sounds, was the language of joy and love.” Michael Eric Dyson Ebony Magazine
“I don’t think I have ever worked with an artist that can cause as much excitement as Michael. When Bea and I have traveled with Michael to his concerts all over the world, we have often thought that we don’t know Michael Jackson, the performer, that amazing person on stage. To experience the music that we have recorded together in a concert, with tens of thousands of people, in a foreign land, and feel the intensity of the emotions of the crowds, is something I can’t find the words to describe! For someone like me, who usually only hears the music I’m involved with in the recording studio, to be on tour with Michael is a tremendous event. I get chills just thinking about it.” Bruce Swedien In the Studio with Michael Jackson 2009
“It’s really extraordinary during the whole night emotion was high, a very personal emotion because I think people who heard or saw Michael Jackson once in their life, even if they aren’t close to that music, were touched by his appearance, his charm, the beauty of his music because the first thing that has to be said is that he was a great musician.” Frederic Mitterand French Culture Minister
“Why we can’t take our eyes and minds off him? Because he entered deeply in our souls, because he gave us everything, because he exploited himself until to exhaustion, he gave us new magic shows, because he was not turned back when offended or doubted, because he always turned more fascinating and more amazing to our delight, because he simply loved us with all his heart.” It’s All About L.O.V.E. THE FANS
People who were lucky enough to have experienced being near him said that when he entered into a room the room changed. People, children flocked to Michael. People wanted to love him. His love for humanity was evident in the way he treated every single person he met. He had no ego. He was very humble. He was a teacher with a message.
“He reached and touched the entire world with his music. His body was the vessel through which he channeled the white hot energy of universal love…the life force or God’s Glory… his everlasting hope and love for mankind. He wanted everyone to see this connectedness, this bond that we all share with one another, the animals, the trees, everything on the planet…the moon, the stars and the universe. We are all one.” An Angel Among Us We Called Him Michael Jackson Ms.Elizabeth Michelle Billeaudeaux 2010
“He’s incredible. He’s a genius. Just to be in the same room with him, I felt everything I wanted to accomplish in life had been achieved…That aura…that’s how incredible that aura is. The way he thinks. Some artists think regional, some think national, I was thinking international, HE THINKS PLANETS! I wish the world could have just seen Mike the person.” Akon “Right On!”
“HERE IS MY EXPERIENCE WITH TRUTH. DID YOU EVER FEEL JUST TOO TIRED OR SICK TO GO TO WORK? OR MAYBE SOMETHING DRAMATIC HAPPENED IN YOUR LIFE, WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO GO TO WORK. AFTER 27 YEARS, I HAD DAYS LIKE THAT, EVEN WITH MICHAEL. BUT ONCE I ENTER THE ROOM, WHERE MICHAEL WAS, I WAS IMMEDIATELY BATHED IN ENERGY. HE WAS CONSTANTLY GIVING ENERGY. HE WAS NOT DOING ANYTHING, BUT BEING THERE. HE DIDN’T HAVE TO DANCE OR SING. YOU COULD ALSO SEE, EVERYONE IN THE ROOM WAS AFFECTED BY THIS ENERGY ALSO. I NEVER LEFT A JOB WORKING WITH MICHAEL DEPLETED. I LEFT INSPIRED. I KNOW ALL OF YOU HAVE FELT IT, TOO.” Karen Faye-A Life Intersected 2010
“Michael Jackson was a stage magician. He was utterly euphoric, electrifying the audience with his trademark pop-and-lock dance. He always took his performances ten steps beyond. Instead of waving a magic wand, Michael used his hands and feet. Dancing fiercely, he used them like props, extending his 120-pound frame with every dramatic movement, furthering the illusion that he was larger than life. Living with intention and meaning was what motivated Michael. Through the convictions Michael wrote and sang about, he inspired generations to seek a similar higher state of being. And when he took his show on the road, the exchange of energy between Michael and his fans built a tight-knit, socially conscious community. HIS MIND, LIKE THE SKY, SIMPLY KNEW NOT THE CONCEPT OF BOUNDARIES OR LIMITS. LIMITATIONS, I LEARNED THROUGH HIM, ARE EITHER SELF-IMPOSED OR PREDICATED BY THE LIMITED VISION OF OTHERS. MICHAEL DIDN’T BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE.” The King of Style Dressing Michael Jackson Michael Bush 2012
“I’VE NEVER WITNESSED ANYTHING OR ANYONE AS POWERFUL AS MICHAEL” Teddy Riley
Magnetism is defined as unusual power to attract, fascinate or influence. The best magic doesn’t trick you…it makes you believe. In my researching, I have come across countless people who felt a certain type of magic that Michael had…if you spent time with him, you were changed for the better. I feel such a strong connection to them because I know the change that has happened to me. The feelings are so very strong. They come from studying the music, I mean really studying it. They come from watching performances and getting lost in the beauty, talent and art…the showmanship. They come from my very core. THEY TRULY COME FROM FEELING THE MAGIC. Many have said that you just can’t get enough of Michael. I know I can’t. There are good reasons for that…The depth, the tapestry, the layers, the inspiration, the truths, the genius, the sights and sounds, the never-ending surprises…all touch my heart and give me so very much to think about. And, of course, JOY! “TO ME, NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY, GIVING THEM A RELEASE FROM THEIR PROBLEMS AND WORRIES, HELPING TO LIGHTEN THEIR LOAD. I WANT THEM TO WALK AWAY FROM A PERFORMANCE I’VE DONE SAYING, ‘That was great! I want to go back again. I had a great time.’ To me, that’s what it’s all about. That’s wonderful!” MJ. Michael succeeded in that goal over and over again. We all leave wanting more. That connection, that bond, we will talk about another time. For now, I leave you with Michael’s words. Have a wonderful day.
Jude
“Michael Jackson sometimes compared the reciprocal energy of a performance to a Frisbee…’you hold it, you touch it, and you whip it back.’ Audiences, he believed, were more than passive spectators; they were a vibrant community, composed of all ages, races, religions, and cultures, standing shoulder to shoulder, temporarily bound up in the collective spell of his music, imagining the world anew. ‘You can take them anywhere,’ he effused. This was his gift as an artist; the ability to dissolve into the stories, the emotions, the MAGIC of his music…and to take masses of people from all walks of life with him. He called this creative BOND many things over the years: ESCAPISM, ENTERTAINMENT, SHOWMANSHIP, ART. BUT ULTIMATELY, FOR MICHAEL JACKSON, IT WAS ABOUT SHARING AND RECEIVING LOVE.” Man in the Music Joseph Vogel 2011
HIStory
MYstory
YOURstory
OURstory
Dear beautiful Jude… I have been scrambling for words worthy of this post… but there are none. Michael’s expression of Love through His life and His art was/is nothing short of Divinity and anyone who missed it has my deepest sympathy. Those who knew Him KNOW.. and those who have been struck by Him KNOW… and all of us can’t stop talking about it. It is THE MOST beautiful, unfathomable, and undeserved Gift I have ever or will ever receive. Thank you for this incredible post. You amaze me.
Jude dearest,
Thank you for Paying Michael Forward!!!
Michael gave everyone who came to his concert a personal gift; it doesn’t matter whether we watched it live, in person or through a channel, he handed over a gift personally, and sincerely, to each and every one of us. I left the concert with a powerful message humming in my mind; we all can pay it forward – to be kind, to be peaceful and to love one another.
No obstacles, no shame, and no fear when we reach out to others sincerely from the heart. I could see how full of energy he was when he was in front of his fans, delivering beautiful messages through his music and dance. That energy was what kept him going strong for two hours; Michael was, and still is, a preacher of love, peace and joy. We all left the concert energized and couldn’t help but extending that message to others.
“If you enter this world knowing you are loved and leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with”.
POWERFUL!!
Thank you for inviting me to a feast with Michael, Jude.
Keep Paying Michael Forward …
Oh darling JUDE! I LOVE this so very much!!!! You did such an awesome job of bringing together many quotes of MichaeLOVE from those who knew him personally. And as always I adore your personal insights. I loved seeing Bruce S. speaking on a big screen via satellite at the Siedah Garrett Breakfast at Westlake in Aug. 2012. Greg Phillinganes was there too. I have a funny story about that – please remind me to tell you. But the LOVE in the room for Michael, the feeling that his spirit was right there with all of us too – it was almost visible and sparkling.
Here is a link to favorite moments from the Breakfast w/ Siedah (below) if you haven’t yet seen this. Your quote from Bruce reminded me of this.
What people will come to see MORE and more, is that Michael’s spirit grows stronger and his MAGIC is just beginning. Not a trick, as he says, but REAL MAGIC! Link to Siedah at Westlake – CUTE magic Michael moments from her: http://bit.ly/BreakfastWithSiedah I Thank you again, dear S.I.M. (Sister in Michael) 😉 ~H~
thanks jude very beautiful. michael leaves me speechless always. love to all.
Reading this again – and being even more deeply immersed in the Michael magic – I learn more each day – of how genuine and pure his idea of “magic” truly is. xoxoxox
Beautiful Jude,
Thank you so much for all you do. When I read your writings I begin to ponder, and I become drenched in the message. It is so important. It presses us to dream like Michael did.
Michael hoped and dreamed fantastic dreams… and like magic they came to be. He could turn a dream into what can be called reality, everlasting. We are evidence of his magical love. Something like faith,if you will
Hebrews 11:1 (AKJV)
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I recall Michael saying he was a visionary. He was able to see so much more than we could. He became the magic in our lives. When Michael made a video, it was announced world wide, and everyone made room in their schedule to watch. He was our magic, and who can ever get enough magic? We still have not had enough…and we won’t stop either. Michael said he wanted to be immortal, and he is. He lives in us. He is the magic of our souls…
Thank you dear Jude….