Let there be 'Light'

...And there was.

...And it was good.

As I turn 32 today, I realize how life is unceasingly funny. Ever since I seriously began considering the implications of changing my name to ‘Light’ I’ve encountered much reassurance as to why it was the right thing for me to do. It’s like I say in yoga class, “Doing what’s right for you doesn’t always feel good.” In fact, sometimes it can be very uncomfortable. But at the root of that discomfort you’ll oftentimes find new growth, new experience and new wisdom.

The majority of you have been very supportive of the name change, and I would like to thank you for that. But still, the big question is “Why?” I’ve never been big on trying to convince people of anything, but I would like to share a little of what I’ve learned about words and vibration, and hopefully this will clear up some of the confusion around my name change.

Let me just start by acknowledging that changing my name to ‘Light’ isn’t meant, in any way, to take away from my birth name. I’ve always liked 'Derry' and I was particularly amused when I discovered a few years ago that the name Derry comes from an Irish folk hero who, as it turns out, was a great lover---a sort of Don Juan of Ireland! Not a bad name to live up to.

But from a scientific point of view, I came into a greater understanding of the way words can affect us on a molecular level. One of my biggest influences in this context is the research of Dr. Emoto (his book is Hidden Messages in Water). Dr. Emoto discovered that high-vibration words like ‘love’, ‘gratitude’, ‘light’, and ‘peace’ (just to name a few) have an alchemistic effect on water crystals. ‘High vibration’ words have the ability to transform distorted water molecules into beautiful, healthier water crystals. Considering the fact that the human body is over 65% water, changing my name could benefit my overall health and vitality.

And from a spiritual perspective, words are thoughts expressed. Thoughts are the creative power of the universe. Nothing is created without first being realized as a thought vibration. Therefore, words have vibration, and our names carry a certain vibration embedded within them. For instance, there’s a reason parents don’t name their children Hitler, or Napoleon. That’s because, intuitively, parents understand that those names have a potential to be accompanied not only by Hitler-like or Napoleon-like vibrations, but by energetically matching responses to those names from callers.

Therefore, the name Light is an affirmation and a reminder of who I really am: I am spirit! In other words, I am a light being experiencing myself in human form. It bridges any sense of separation between my individual self (Derry from Alabama) and my universal self (a spirit of light and love with unlimited potential). As a result, a positive shift happens in my consciousness (and in the consciousness of the caller) as we are constantly reminded of our true nature. In that sense, Light can even be viewed as a communal name.

Believe me, I already tried talking myself out of it. Who wants to go through the potential ridicule of changing their name to ‘Light’ (especially because it sounds like such an “L.A.” thing to do)? After deliberating over the idea for about 3 weeks, I realized that much of the reason why I wouldn't do it was because I would have been concerned with what other people thought. And that just wasn't a good enough reason. Luckily for me, I don’t take myself too seriously. At all. So if you know any good 'Light' jokes, I’d love to hear them.

In the meantime, I’ve devised a little game called, What’s Your Spiritual Name? It goes like this: if you had to change your name, and it had to be a word from the dictionary, and you had to pick it in 30 seconds or less, what would it be? The first word to come to mind (by divine inspiration of course) would be your spiritual name. So far, I’ve heard names like 'Truth', ‘Ocean’, ‘Integrity’, ‘Oneness’, ‘Omniscient’, and ‘Passion’. What would yours be?