One Man’s Journey to The Golden Age.
By Julie Starke
In a world made up of opposites none is more apparent than the paradox of a man who lives with one foot in the world of nightclubs and multi-million dollar properties and the other deeply embedded in third world countries and spiritual retreats.
A precarious balance of ego and spirit, this is a man who possesses a deep sense of mindfulness yet a twinkle often escapes his eye and a perpetual smirk rests on his face. One wonders whether he has a secret lurking deep inside, the truth of which is only accessible to the most astute.
Michael Capponi, a name synonymous with Miami since the early days of surf and sun, is a permanent fixture on the South Beach social scene. Long before art deco buildings dotted the landscape and celebrities chose slivers of paradise to call their own, he was a name to know and, as time passed, he secured a status that would morph him into ‘the Prince of South Beach.”
Stories have been written of his beginning, countless articles about his early rise to fame and his quick yet hard fall from grace. It is no secret that he had way too much, way too soon and it catapulted him into destruction.
His life, in many ways, has always been on public display. He is not ashamed of it rather he speaks of it with an understanding that communicates his evolution. His is a story of redemption yet he possesses a quiet acceptance of what had to happen to put him in this unique place. One that has made him supremely qualified to understand both growth and decay and to excel in the world of extremes.
It becomes apparent that his is a purposeful life, a life he has been privileged to live, but one that also indicates that the best is truly yet to come. He is a sharer of both wealth and information. It is easily apparent that he has an abundance of both.
Connecting for A Cause.
Capponi’s world is made up of a myriad of events: million dollar real estate deals, celebrity attended fund-raisers and world-class travel. He understands connecting people and building things, and he shows his expertise in both his business acumen and empowerment missions.
He also understands that unless you connect to a cause you don’t really have a relationship with it and he goes to great lengths to bring people together to cross those boundaries. It’s his personal desire to move people beyond their own motivations and to connect them to the whole of humanity.
This all adds up to a bigger vision for Senate Reform that would qualify non-profits based on the level of revenue given to the cause. But that’s another story for another day and one that will take time. For now, this mover and shaker is moving and shaking because the world, in his perspective, is running out of time.
Now lest you see that as a ‘sky is falling’ voice or just another recourse of doom and gloom, think again. This is a guy who is quick to respond to disaster, one whom isn’t the least bit afraid of the future, and one who pays the utmost attention to the details, showing ingenuity and purpose in all of his work.
“The whole world’s on this verge – something is about to happen,” says Capponi. “You look on Facebook today and more people are interested in health, meditation, spirituality – I used to send out something about a DJ playing at one of my clubs and get a few likes. Now, I go to a mountain and say I was breathing the air and there are about a hundred likes.”
There is excitement for the evolution he is witnessing and Capponi feels that all the signs are pointing to massive change. It’s his personal quest to press forward, supporting the world in its awakening, and helping to bring humanity to a new level of awareness.
“If this were a school and we were given a report card, our remarks would read ‘failed to unite,’ he confidently reports. “Humanity is on a treadmill. There are a small percentage of people that help others but until the entire human race comes to help one another nothing will change. We must gradually accentuate the unity portion of everything. If we do that, we have a shot.”
And that’s what this Miami mogul is up to – uniting people in a way that levels the playing field, promotes connection and innovation, and creates lasting change. He unequivocally believes it is our duty to help other human beings and is out to prove just how feasible his idea is by helping the people in Jacmel, Haiti.
Empowering the Culture.
When Capponi landed in Haiti just days after the devastation, he was not prepared for what he was to witness. Armed with paramedics, he dove in and, in typical Capponi fashion, took charge. Or so he thought. In reality, a simple seed was planted and he found a level of connectedness he had yet to experience.
It’s this connection that led Capponi, along with Donna Karan and others, to create an economically viable model for the people of Haiti to follow. They are taking what they know to be workable businesses for the area – namely art and tourism – and teaching the people of Jacmel to manage their own economic base. As Capponi says, “we are teaching them to ‘fish.’ If one guy from Miami is able to create one model and 5000 jobs, then 40 people from Miami can do even more.”
Capponi is willing to bet that his model will work – whether it is for rice fields in Tibet or a clean-water well in Nairobi – and that most people from poor nations just need the tools to do something. With his beliefs that we are all in this together and what happens to one,
happens to us all, Capponi is sure that the world is capable of coming together for humanity’s sake. He has played personal witness to such events and has already been touched by the heart of humankind.
“The most beautiful story of Haiti that I have ever seen in my life – and not reported on CNN – is that by day seven there must have been 100 countries there. Libya had a plane there, Venezuela…Egypt…Japan…every country sent all these groups of people – Israel had a center there. It was incredible. And a great model of how the world can come together when these types of situations happen. What’s sad is that disaster is the only time the world seems to come together.”
A Tsunami of the Soul
Take Capponi, for example. The rise and fall within his own life is a microcosm of what happens to the world when a cataclysmic event touches it. He fell from grace and others gathered to help. The tsunami that ripped apart Sri Lanka or the earthquake that destroyed Haiti is just as devastating to the world as a debilitating disease or losing a loved one is to an individual. So, in essence the person is but a microcosm of the world – and vice versa.
The idea that disaster can unite is both disturbing and captivating. If each event in our lives is designed to teach, to help us grow and evolve, and to become closer to ‘the source of all that is,’ it stands to reason that the same idea of evolution applies to us as the whole of humanity. That enlightenment comes from serving and helping – the micro infecting the macro in unseen ways. That this is, indeed, what makes civilization evolve and grow. If so, events will occur to help that evolution. If disaster and crisis are the way to unite and evolve, then disaster is what we will get.
He is aware that this may be controversial among his peers however as a man filled with analogies, he tries to break down these sometimes complex ideas into easy to understand, bite-size monologues.
“Imagine this,” he explains. “A costume is to an actor as a body is to a soul. Say you want to play the part of Jim Morrison, you put on a costume – leather pants, chiffon shirt, you grow your hair long, get skinny – and you play that part. Then you want to play the part of John F. Kennedy- you change costume and play that.” He expertly acts out each character. “The director loves you and keeps giving you parts and, after a while,” he says. “You get so good at understanding your part, you no longer need a costume to get into character.”
“The human soul is the same way. Suppose we are here for ultimate enlightenment. Lifetime after lifetime, we seek and find answers developing our role as an enlightened being. After a time we no longer need our bodies to do it.”
Controversial or not, for Capponi, the bottom line is when the universe functions as a whole, everything works and, from his perspective, this must include self-reflection and personal evolution.
“Based on history we are on the verge of major change. It’s like a wake-up time on planet earth or you may get ‘tsunamied out’ – whether that is a psychological exercise for humanity or whether it is literally happening. In the meantime, we can go one of two ways: we can forget about it or get in deep reflection about the human race and what we can do about it.”
He points to ancient civilizations as a barometer from which to gauge where we are in history and to help us navigate the often times turbulent waters of existence.
Cycling Through History.
The Golden Age was a period of unrivaled intellectual activity as well as great peace, prosperity and happiness. In short, the age of Truth and Enlightenment. On one side of it was ‘the fall’ and on the other ‘the rise.’ Ancient prophecy suggests that this always occurs after the material age. It is this idea that has captivated Capponi and led him, and others, to explore the possibility that we are on the edge of entering a ‘Golden Age’ in our own evolution.
He sites many scholars, historians and researchers who have come together to explore repetitive cycles surrounding the rise and fall of ancient civilizations as well as their bearing on the rise of the modern era. It is ultimately a search for truth and one that he believes can help us understand where we are on the continuum of life.
The controversial Mayan calendar is a great example. They believed the earth goes through a cleansing system every 6,000 years and that major climate events have marked the passage. Liken it to the Ice Age, the subsequent meltdown, and perhaps even the biblical flood and you will see that there is a built-in regenerating system of sorts, one that seems to repeat itself throughout the ages.
The ancient Egyptians, Sumerians, Megalithic builders, Indians and other ancient cultures describe the slow precession of the equinox as a 24,000-year period through the twelve houses of the zodiac. Ascending and descending cycles make up the four ages that correspond to the four seasons, hence 6,000-year cycles. This is where the Mayan Calendar excels.
Astronomically, their calendars were used to track planetary positions and predict events. This led them to believe that time was cyclical rather than linear and that astronomical events were tied to a state of being as well as being a great predictor of future events.
Great monuments throughout many cultures were each built to track the stars, with many of them, including The Great Pyramid, aligning to celestial phenomenon. These structures also reflect sophisticated mathematical concepts and awareness, with many similar attributes showing themselves in differing parts of the world.
Many believe that this points to civilizations that are much older than originally thought and that these cultures span across continents, sharing similar views, methods and an enlightened level of awareness. It is also believed that the events of one period of time could be contextually repeated in another period of time – as long as they share the same position in the planetary cycle.
Capponi understands that this is somewhat complex and super controversial but he has a personal understanding that nothing happens by chance. He believes that everything is part of the divine order of things and it’s not so crazy to believe that our universe would be structured with such purpose.
The Science of Connection.
Today, quantum physics and string theory teach us that we are all intertwined and that the universe is an ocean of connectedness. Many believe we are at a crossroads in modern civilization, where science, spirituality and religion all converge into the same message. Renowned Physicist John Hagelin, PhD helps us to understand our progress in physics over the past quarter century.
“What we’ve discovered at the core basis of the universe…is a single universal field of intelligence which unites the so-called particles of nature – quarks, electrons, neutrons…and it’s a mathematical tour de force, “ writes Hagelin. “Planets, trees, people, animals are all just waves of vibration of this underlying unified string theory. We’re really united at our core and ultimately the understanding is emerging that there is only one consciousness in this room and it is you, and it is me, and it is each and every one of us…and knowing that, knowing that through experience, is called enlightenment, and has been called enlightenment through the ages.”
Understanding that we are all made of the same fabric is just the beginning for many. Capponi believes the pendulum swings proportionately in both directions and that each of our actions has a direct cause and effect. In his mind, the evidence is clear to support a gigantic shift in consciousness and one that is supported by the archaeological and geological records of our planet.
“As soon as people start understanding that we’re all from the same fabric…we’re all the same substance, connected to the same energy, you will actually start looking at people the same as you. And that is where and when we can truly begin to unite.”
Awakening to Life.
Eastern philosophy points to the ability to ’tune-in and tune out” as Capponi calls it. “You go deep inside yourself…meditate, smell, listen, feel…get in touch with nature…when you get in touch with nature you don’t want to hurt it any more.”
The idea behind this attitude is essentially rooted in being in touch with your inner self. If you are sensitive and in tune – not only are you more sensitive to others, you will probably look at a human being as more equal to you. You will respect them more, not argue as much, talk down to them and, in the end, you may even want to help them.
That is the basic idea behind the spiritual path Capponi has been traveling for quite some time. It is one that has taken him on a journey through Peru, Mesoamerica, Bolivia, Turkey, Greece, Belize, Guatemala and all points in between in search of the truth.
It is not a path meant to exclude, divide or make others wrong but one that Capponi believes is ultimately universal in nature. He hints at the need for more inclusion and less exclusion and offers hope that we will find more acceptance as we begin to understand that all religions offer us connection to a source greater than ourselves.
A Time to Unite
You don’t have to understand all of it or even buy into the theories and ideas that Michael Capponi has dedicated years to researching. Forget that he has spent more than most people’s mortgage in paying archaeologists and historians to travel with him all over the world; that he has visited sacred sites and historical monuments and poured over piles of quantifiable data with some of the best researchers available; and, that his library consists of hundreds of documentaries – each one scrutinized to the nth degree with the most accurate details edited together for his own personal video library. Forget all of that.
What Michael Capponi wants you to remember is this: the world needs you to UNITE.
“I am suggesting that a more evolved human being would feel it is his duty to help another human being and that it eventually becomes second nature to do so. If you have five bucks give one, if you have 500 give 50, if you have a private plane lend it to give supplies, if you have an office lend it to allow people to run a call center. People need to unite to come together to help.”
Capponi has some ideas. Since his ultimate goal is to connect the dots and bring the world together, he is shepparding in a couple of potential solutions. One is his mission of Global Empowerment, which he is demonstrating through his work in Haiti; the other is to create a universal desire for giving that will cross all societal boundaries; and the other is the culmination of all that Capponi is, was and will be. He calls it the Global Enlightenment Foundation.
Global Enlightenment Foundation.
In a nutshell, Capponi believes that there are three fundamental problems with civilization on earth today – we are still ruled by power, have not figured out a way to unite across class, and have a complete lack of understanding of all religions. It is his deep desire to see Global Enlightenment Foundation (GEF) assist in the solution to each of these issues while inspiring others to get involved.
“There is no way you are going to enter the ‘Golden Age’ without first uniting. There are a bunch of different steps: first you get along with your yoga group, then you get along with your city…there are like steps and stages,” says Capponi. “Then you need to ask yourself – how can I take what I have and who I am and use it in a way that makes sense?”
It appears this is what Capponi has already done in his own life and David Kennedy, his newly appointed foundation Director couldn’t agree more.
“Michael is a connector – a neural node in the fabric. He looks around, sees what is the obvious next step and gets real about it. That is the basis of his whole life. “ And David has known Capponi for most of it.
“This is his crazy, powerful, wonderful story,” says Kennedy. “ Michael found the thread that pulls us together and is now compelled to bring conversations from the edge into the mainstream. The global initiatives that he has committed to will search for the obvious instead of the miraculous.” After all this is where Capponi lives, in the real world, doing real work.
So in the end, both Capponi and Kennedy believe this is a new paradigm and that each of us are on the verge of a gigantic shift in consciousness. It is their desire to create a movement going forward that teaches this generation as well as the next how to unite and create a level of social justice not yet experienced.
“We are lucky to be alive in one of the major turning points in recorded history.” Says Michael Capponi. “You can be a part of the problem or you can be a part of the solution. It’s completely up to you.”
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