The Renegade Dream

I have always sought understanding of the magical nature of the universe. I recall as a child, looking up into the night sky wondering if this vast sparkling universe could in some way reflect the brain inside my head, the electric mind, the soul I sought to connect with behind my eyes.

As the story of my life has progressed, the puzzle pieces of my artistic vision have come together, forming a tapestry of all of the imparted knowledge and magical experiences that have shaken up my perception of reality.

We are all seeking a system reboot, right? What does it look like to shake oneself awake?

It was five years ago, almost to this this day that I had what I would understatedly call, the most dramatic, transformational, and mind blowing experience of my life. Within an instant the whole world changed. In a sacred ceremony, a shift occurred, an ancient song came through my vocal chords, a fire light blaze of remembrance illuminated the chambers of my heart and mind, and I saw my soul for the first time.

My entire experience of reality turned inside out, right side up, left side down and all the way around again, making sure to let me know that the confines of my perception of reality were to be smashed into a million prismatic pieces. Puzzle pieces, to be put together anew, formed not by the archaic perceptions or belief systems of dead men, but by the natural laws of symmetry, cycles, and symbiotic formulation; by creative intuition, by the heart.

Everything around me became alive, the universe, once just a backdrop was now interacting with me in new ways, giving me clues, signaling me on my journey, modifying its behavior in relationship to my own, reacting to my interactions and engagement with it. So, I followed the clues, the guides, the songs of the soundtrack, the calls of the universe. I drove myself all the way down to Mexico City in my beat up 1990 Toyota Camry, no passport, registration or cellular device, just an analogue map on the dash and a “go bag” stuffed with a couple of wigs, wrinkled up sundresses, candied peanuts, and a vintage cream colored wallet filled with expired credit cards... just in case.

But I had hope that the angels and the aliens alike, were on my side.

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Over the past 5 years I have deliberated over how to go about telling the story of my wild-goose-chase-ramshackle-quest into the desert, and my lifelong search to understand the nature of the magic.

As any good story should, it has evolved over many iterations and taken many forms. First in the notes and diagrams of the desert, the scribbled symbols from the road, the thoughts stained with agave, plant magic, adventure, and the horizon of love’s hopeful dawn. Then, there came the stacks upon stacks of typewritten pages, ink outlines, memories like notes on the staff, now faded with the kisses of those humid, New Orleans nights. It wasn’t until I moved back to the Bay Area, shortly after quarantine hit, that I decided to put down the pen for a little while and begin the build of my spaceship.

This was the point when I had to ask myself what I was doing with my life and why was I building this spaceship?

And suddenly I remembered the visions I’d had of an electric rock opera, the stories of my wild experiences told through music and theater. The lessons, the questions, the hypothesis, the existential detective work - all fashioned in a way that could somehow be useful to people, offering a toolkit of concepts and ideas that could serve humans on this journey through life. And the music would be really, really good.

Now, as I approach the 5 year anniversary of the “Big Bang” of my story, I see how the puzzle pieces fit together, and I am ready to share the culmination of my artistic vision in it’s fullest form - an episodic, multi format, musical space opera!

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The Renegade Dream space opera will begin as an episodic web series. Employing a Science Fiction motif, visual storytelling, music, and mixed media performance, the Renegade Dream series will explore abstract concepts with a fun and interactive approach that asks the world audience to think creatively about the nature of our own narrative, the interconnected world, and the future of our beautiful planet.

This series, as both a living story and a study of experience, will explore concepts of physics, alchemy, philosophy, shamanism, spiritual/societal transformation, art revolution, and consciousness evolution. It will be informative, and it will be engaging - using interactive elements to invite a network of curious people to explore their lives and the world in new ways.

With the intention of building a strong online network of creative thinkers, Renegade Dream will offer memberships for those interested in a more interactive and immersive approach to the material and content. Access to the special archives of the Renegade Dream Academy will be made available for members, including secret works of the Time Travel Curriculum, the Game Manifesto, and the Reality-Dreaming Toolkit - all designed to provide members with creative tools that promote engagement and the exploration of new realms of possibility in our daily lives.

In addition to the interactive coursework, members will gain access to behind the scenes music, video outtakes, and the “making of” process of the Renegade Dream Space Opera.

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It is now, coming out of quarantine, that the world is desperately seeking interaction and involvement. We are yearning for connection, experience, for passion, for love, for art, for music, for the revolution of the soul.

We have questions about where the world is going, questions about the ways in which we, as individuals might have power to shape it. It is my opinion that no one person can provide the answers to these questions. But I do feel that we have an opportunity now, collectively, after this period of quarantined hibernation and forced reflection, to share the unique vision of who we are, and connect our hearts and minds through expression, art and co-creation.

We might just discover that we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.