Bowl of Light
kinda like delicious cereal, but less carbs
“YOU’RE a big ole bowl of light!”
“No, YOU ARE!”
This is my imagination of a conversation between my inner child self and another friends lil’ one as we navigate some dark-ass times right now….maybe it’s you? Ah friends, we gotta keep it light.
But, really! We are a bowl of light.
My guides will sometimes yell in my ear about certain things to do or books to read, and I recently heard GET ‘THE BOWL OF LIGHT' book by Hank Wesselman. And I was like ‘Ok, ok! Sheeesh!’
So I did, cause guides know things, and sure enough, it’s been a beautiful book to engage. Especially now.
As I shared here, I studied with Hank Wesselman 20+ years ago and found his teachings (along with his amazing wife Jill) to be quite extraordinary and life changing. And as the only early 30’s something-babe in the room, it was entertaining and enlightening to hang out with all the 50-somethings like the current me.
He always talked about how honored and amazed he was to have struck up a friendship with a Hawaiian elder named Hale Makua who had royal lineage on both sides dating back to King Kamehameha. Moreover, Makua was considered a kahuna which is not a name given lightly to anyone, Hank explains beautifully in the book that there’s a certain way that one must carry themselves (and many studies and circumstances as well) in order to be honored with that name. And Makua, with his sparkling eyes, big walking stick, giant laugh and profound wisdom, rocked kahuna status for sure.
Hawaiian tradition is passed down through generations orally, but Hank was an anthropologist - so was more of a written word guy. After a long period of time and trust growing in their friendship; Makua eventually approved Hank writing about the wisdom they discussed. Tragically, Makua died in a car accident before the publishing of this book, but Hank felt confident that he had permission to share; in fact he and Makua discussed it the night before he died.
Today I want to bring you one section of the book where they discussed the Bowl of Light; here is what Makua had to say:
“Each of us comes from the great beyond with our bowl of light. This bowl nourishes us and sustains us as we pass through life - but as we grow in experience and wisdom. Things happen. Sometimes we lie. Sometimes we steal. And sometimes we injure others through our thoughts, our actions or our words. When we step into the negative polarity, it is as though we put a stone in our bowl, and some of our light goes out. Slowly through time, our bowl of light fills up with stones, and our light dims until it is nearly gone”.
Makua stopped and looked at us with great seriousness.
“The great problem in the world today is that the whole show is being run by individuals whose bowls of light are filled with stones. With few exceptions, there is no light shining forth from these bowls, despite what they may think and proclaim, and we can observe the truth by their actions.”
(the bold is my emphasis)
After several long moments (where the three present considered the state of the world) Makua went on to say….**
“Hopefully we wake up to what is going on and discover what we are doing….at that moment we realize our bowl of light is almost filled with stones and and that there is almost no light shining forth. And do you know what we do then?”
**Hank and his wife Jill hung onto every word….Makua finally said
”We simply dump it out!”
They all laughed uproariously as they were able to release the previous thoughts of how dark the world has become.
–From The Bowl of Light, p.47-48 - Hank Wesselman, published 2011 **some sections shortened by me for brevity**
Of course, incredibly salient here in 2025.
And do you remember the essay I shared here (and reshared recently) about my very first shamanic journey where I met up with a giant lioness who ripped my head off and showed me the pile o’ diamond-like things; gorgeous crystal-globes-filled-with light within me? AND do you remember how (I’m saving some of you from having to click back) she also said, every time you do something AGAINST yourself or your divine truth one of those diamond-thingee’s will explode? Basically the main job of you lil human, is to protect them with all of your might.
How, you ask?
By being in integrity, but keeping love online and running the show, by staying true to yourself even when it’s super inconvenient.
So you can imagine my joy at reading this; here are some other super dudes; I mean truly righteous shamans talking about this same concept. We are light beings, holders of the light and we have control over the dimming switch; (or the not letting them go ‘kablooey’ if you’re working with my original image of the diamond thing-ee’s).
I’m charmed to think that instead of a finite number of diamond-thingee’s there is actually a bowl of shadow that I can dump over; gifted with the humor of the way Makua’s delivered wisdom and the impeccable love of the infinite, start again.
And then, this week, a dear friend of mine - let’s call her Catherine (we should cause that’s her name!) sent out the perfect meditation. Catherine is a spiritual seeker and reiki master, in fact she’s a total spiritual badass, and she sent the following in her newsletter which made me just go HOLY COW YES TO THIS. I’m excerpting with her permission:
Visualization for Comfort (Catherine Mulligan from Druid Rising)
About a year ago, I received a visualization technique from the Guides that is so wonderful, I want to share it with everyone.
I call it "the Champagne tower of light." It's a wonderful little technique you can use any time you need a boost of energy, comfort when you're feeling anxious, support with physical healing or relief.
It is a super easy technique:
Sit comfortably and invite light in from the Universe. Call in the Highest Purest Source light and invite it to pour down through your crown and into your body and energy field.
Ask the energy and light to fill every cell of your body and aspects of your energy, releasing anything that doesn't serve you.
Then invite every cell of your body to turn up toward the sky, like little chalices. Ask the light to pour down into every cell like a Champagne tower.
As it pours down, it fills and clears every cell with the perfect light. It should feel great! Even just a minute will really help. When you're complete, thank the light for the help and gift.
See why? Little bowls of light - and I especially love that each of our cells are little bowls. So sweet ones, let's turn our faces, our cells and our delight up to the light, let it fill us and render us strong, capable and courageous. Like the lioness who bounds through the night, knowing that we are all perfectly okay, perfectly capable and have the choice and chance to start again. And again.
I am saturated and spilling over with light after reading this. Maybe that's actually why I spilled the dogs' water bowl and am sitting here with drops of tea on me that overflowed from the cup. Thank you for the vital work you are doing of communicating ancient, tried-and true wisdom from both sides of the veil and across the years. You are such a bowl of light Janey. Bows and love.
So funny, Jane! I just wrote a message about magic and how we can find it every. single. day. And here you say just that....! Sending love, seeing the whole magic world. Love your magic.