“If the doors of perception were cleansed,

William Blake

Poetry was the most important creative expression to Jim Morrison in his life. He immersed himself in books, devouring William Blake, Nietzsche, Aldous Huxley and other philosophers as such.  To be a poet entailed a commitment to live and die with great style and an even greater sadness. This was no problem for Jim. His creativity was helped and his shyness buried, by his experiments with LSD, peyote, marijuana, and alcohol.

      When he discovered he could use his talents and good looks for singing, he could cleverly hide his shyness, taking delight in feeding the fantasies of everyone he met. He could be what ever the people expected him to be, like a mirror he reflected back to them. Jim was the first rock star to plunge himself into the darkest realms, exploring himself in public. However, he eventually lost himself in his wasted escapes as he literally self-destructed in the public’s eye.

     There are regions of unexplored feelings inside all of us that rarely are given an outlet in everyday life. Everyone recognizes in himself these things as the dark side. Jim Morrison was a philosophical, self-absorbed rock star hero pushing himself to the limits, exposing his dark side to an emerging bohemian culture in a time of social revolution…sex, drugs and rock and roll. Shocked, appalled, fascinated and turned on, all at the same time, the public and the media ate him up.  He wanted to be liked and accepted and his way was to show off by acting the fool and doing outrageous stunts. It is commonplace today for pop/rock stars to use their music as a vehicle for indulging their ego.

     In the end, a scarred idol with complete contempt for his audience. He had grown to hate the tortured icon he had created for himself. Hardly an icon of the new age, he was tortured by his own image. Alone, fractured in his illusion of his disillusion. He’d never grown up, a boy, looking for love, but not knowing how to find, it trapped in a hull of a mans body.

      In Paris, on July 2, 1971, Jim Morrison died of a said heroine overdose. Only in death was Jims biggest wish for accomplishment even realized; his death certificate read: James Douglas Morrison, poet. Some say Jim got out just in time, as he remains today, twenty years after his death an undeniable hero for our young generation. The doors have sold more records, books, videos and discoveries of lost poetry in the years since his death than ever before. Jim Morrison’s image is stronger than ever, no mater what; nothing seems to tarnish his image. He is “stoned immaculate”.

     When I began painting Jim Morrison’s “Spirit portrait.” My intension was to help heal his spirit, bringing love and compassion and understanding to him in the Spirit world. I felt how lost, how so very alone and shy he was.  I’ve had huge parts of myself that deeply resonated with him and absolute frustration living in this world. In the past I easily drank myself into oblivion intentionally trying to escape my pain. And the idea of death fascinated me deep into the exploration and fantasy of it, beginning at a young age. He was so expressive of his anger. He helped me connect to my dark side, a concept I may never have thought of doing consciously. I believe it’s imperative and necessary for a complete healing to take place to explore these dark corners of the mind. Jim’s example gave me permission, I think he gave everyone permission and a challenge at the same time to step up and out of our “what is supposed to be norm.”  He offered himself as our sacrificial lamb and willingly walked to the alter on his own, daring his audience to follow him. When I paint a portrait I connect at a deeper level than I could connect otherwise. I am blessed with a greater insight and an unsurpassable amount of love for that person or Being who I am painting. Moreover, this time I was connecting to quintessential rock star Jim Morrison the man...Walking Song… Mojo Rizen the transcended Light worker Spirit Angel celestial star. 

     I called in his spirit to paint, using his words and music to guide me all the way. I was being guided to paint him as a Hopi Snake Priest; because of his experience, he talked about when he was four years old where the Indian spirits went into him. I was so confident in my intension to heal his spirit and offer my love, that fear was not a concern. I could feel him communicate with me the whole time I was working on him. "Always been a word man, never been a bird man."  Well Jim, I said, you are a birdman now. An Angel.

     It was a very powerful and exciting experience. Before actually completing him, I was planning to paint Jimi Hendrix and so I stopped painting Jim to listen to a CD of Jimi. “If six was nine” was playing and I was reading how Jimi was really into numerology and getting excited to bring that into his Spirits portrait. “Mojo Rizen” sat next to me almost complete in his demure pout and feather headdress in blue. American Prayer was in my tape deck and Jim began inter-cutting into and stopped Jimi Hendrix music from playing. I looked over at him and realized he was communicating to me that I needed to complete him before moving on to Jimi. Which therefore I did, understanding his point, and giving him the respect he was asking for.

     I believe when young Jim experienced death on the highway and felt the Indian spirits come into him, the trauma triggered a deep fear and an ancient memory of other spirit worlds that would not let him rest until he could explore them in depth.

     When he tried to tell people his way, he knew they were not getting it, even with the fame and power he had risen to so quickly, the people still were not getting it.  In telling people not to be afraid of the dark, of death, he scared them. I think at that point, Jim became prejudice against everything, and excepting of anything and he was making a mockery of it all.

      Upon completion of Mojo Rizen, I had planned to make a trip to the Four Corners area in the South West. We were bringing our love and support to a reservation there. I felt as though I was bringing Jim with me to once again experience this powerful area and these ancient beautiful people, in a less traumatic and more positive way. And to release the Indian spirits he felt had come into him when he was four years old. The trip was magical and I felt much light had been brought upon his spirit, I am grateful Mr. Mojo has risen.

     The Eagle in the center represents Jims’ freedom in Spirit, and his spirit touching ground, touching Earth once again connected to Heaven. The feathers are fading and melting into Oneness. Transformation is like the snake shedding his skin.  The symbol below the eagle shows the mountain ranges near the Four Corners described in the Hopi prophecies. 

     There is a legend of a young Hopi man who tried to find the origin of all waters by following the Colorado River to its source. Along the way, the youth was initiated into the Snake Clan by the Great Snake himself, who controlled the waters of the earth from his kiva.

I believe sometimes these sensitive Beings come in and try to take on the pain of the world, not quite knowing that that is not their job, not quite knowing how to shield themselves, not quite knowing how to handle it all. Although there are many sensitive Beings who do make it through, we sensitive spirits can use the sensitive martyrs of the world to help teach us how not to do it and transcend our human lives to make a difference here on Earth.  For Jim I feel he has  transcended into the spirit world no longer needing to escape, a spirit walker doing his word and song from the other side.

I call him Walking Song…Mojo Rizen.