Monday, December 22, 2014

“Thank You for Your Divine Presence!” – In Celebration of the Life and Work of Light Devoy Edwin Harris

Light Devoy Edwin Harris in a San Francisco Opera production of Aida (circa 1980s).
On 12/22/14 at 11:13 p.m., at the age of 81, Light Devoy Edwin Harris passed on from the physical plane. Light was a great alchemist (in the technical sense of that term) as well as a great maestro and scholar of African-American spirituals. Over the decades of his friendship and support for the Theosophical Society San Francisco Lodge, Light delivered many erudite lectures on the occult sciences and led many amazing performances by his choir, the Jubilee Singers. Light was a dear friend and ally of Joe and Guin Miller, and after their passing he was a dear friend and ally of those of us who kept that circle of light alive.

His home on Gough Street became known as “the University of Light.” There, he taught alchemy on weeknights and African-American spirituals on weekends. In the course of casual conversation, Light would inevitably weave in some profound mystical teaching and then turn to you and say, with utter sincerity, “You taught me that.” In greeting you or bidding you goodbye, he would typically say, with deep conviction, “Thank you for your divine presence.” For Light, all of creation was vibration. He taught it and he lived it. He would open his talks and performances with a signature song: “Everything I see is me. Everything I see is me. Everything I see is me. Everything I hear is me. Everything I hear is me. Everything I hear is me. L.I.G.H.T. Light! S.O.U.N.D. Sound! Light and sound! Sound and light! Light and sound! Sound and light! L.I.G.H.T. Light! S.O.U.N.D. Sound!”

Light’s presence was powerful and joyful, and one would invariably leave deeply touched.

A celebration of Light’s life and work will be held at the SFTS Lodge in early 2015.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Songs To Live By: Koan of Dr. Seo




Performed by Joe and Guin Miller
Text is a koan from the Ven. Dr. Kyungbo-Seo (Il-Bung)
Music composed by Guin Miller
Audio recording by Sarmad Ocampo
Sheet music by W. Blake Derby

Songs To Live By: 5 Dhyani Buddhas


"Vairochana, indigo blue of the midnight sky ..."
"Om Amitabha Hung ... may the red ray of love ..."
Amoga Siddhi, shine bright green light ..."
Ratna Sambhava ...golden light, golden light"
Akshobya Vajra Sattva, mirror back the clear light ..."

Performed by Joe and Guin Miller
Text by Joe and Guin Miller
Music composed by Guin Miller
Audio recording by Sarmad Ocampo
Sheet music by W. Blake Derby

NOTE: Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche called Joe and Guin Miller's Songs to Live By "the first American mantras."






Songs To Live By: Heart of My Heart





Performed by Joe and Guin Miller
Text by Guin Miller
Music composed by Guin Miller
Audio recording by Sarmad Ocampo
Sheet music by W. Blake Derby



Songs To Live By: 23rd Psalm




Songs To Live By: Buddhist Trilogy





"Thus shall ye think of all this world: a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, a flash of lightening in a summer's cloud ..."

Performed by Joe and Guin Miller
Music composed by Guin Miller

Text Excerpted from Three of the Millers' Favorite Holy Books:
  • Diamond Sutra - Section XXVI: "The Body of Truth Has No Marks" 
  • Sutra of Hui-Neng - Hui-Neng's Stanza from Chapter 1: "Autobiography"
  • W.Y. Evans-Wentz' Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrine - "The Six Rules of Tilopa" 
  • Diamond Sutra - Section XXXII: "The Delusion of Appearances"
Audio recording by Sarmad Ocampo
Sheet music by W. Blake Derby


Songs To Live By: As Long As Love Remembers