To truly understand Spring Opara, you might need to understand a bit of optics.

“Visible light” is just a part of the vast spectrum of electromagnetic energy. But there are other kinds of light that we can't see, like ultraviolet and infrared.

Opara is living in the observable world, but she's also consciously operating from the metaphysical plane.

“I genuinely care about people," she said. "We pick up on light. We pick up on energy. Your energy will meet me before your words do. I give what I want back. They call me the Supreme Challenger of the Status Quo. If you've got a status quo, I will probably shake it.”

Opara practices Science of Mind - a spiritual belief that we are all creators in our own right, that what we believe manifests into reality. She owns Blac Gurlz Ink, a postcard and greeting card company (check out the new facebook storefront).

“I started Blac Gurlz Ink because I felt that we needed cards to authentically represent what our community looks like. I saw it as a peacemaking tool. I wanted to promote a positive image of the queer community,” Opara said. “I rarely stage our photo shoots. I have an organic perspective.

“In 2009, a year after I started the business, an essay I wrote won me a free trip to network in Europe (British Airways Face of Opportunity Contest). At some point, I told spirit, okay, go ahead, you can use me. I am a child of the Civil Rights movement. I know what happened. I know what my own experiences were during the 60s.”

Opara deliberately cultivates the possibility of a world “where women could walk down the street at 3 a.m. and not have to worry; where a little kid could get lost and somebody would help him find his way home. I've always had this sense of humanity, that we will rise. I believe it.”

Opara was raised by her mother in Akron, Ohio, the rubber capital of the world.

“It was very segregated," she said. "The attitude was very conservative. They told me that I was going to be qu--r because I ate pickles. I had to learn early to self-validate.”

Opara is the oldest of 10 sisters. Despite giving birth to her first child at 15, she finished high school. She was unable to find work in Akron, so she joined the Air Force. During that time, she did a one year tour in Korea. She thinks of the globe as her home.

While three of her four children were still growing up, she graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a 3.76 GPA. It was one of her daughters, who is qu--r, who encouraged Opara to come out.

When she was 40 years old, 10 years into her third marriage, Opara gave her husband divorce papers and told him that she was going to date women.

"After about six months, my ex-husband said, 'You know, you're very happy now.' He was like a best friend, like my twin," Opara said. "My oldest son told me that I was going to burn in hell. That's okay. Mommy is okay with burning in hell."

Photons (mini containers of light) are a paradox because they act like waves, but also act like particles. Like photons, Opara defies classification.

"When I came out, they said pick a camp. What camp? I had no clue that there were camps. I'm not butch. I'm not femme. I walk the balance. I will put on a dress and still have swagger.

"Femme women tell me that I'm not butch enough. Then I date butch women, and they want me to validate the butch-ness. 'But you knew that you had to come as a self-validating person! I can't dress any different to make you feel better at being butch.' I didn't come out of the closet to go into a box."

Do you "get" Opara's ideals? Maybe the frequency of her ultra-violet reasoning moves too fast. Or does the stillness, the slow eternality of her vibe trigger you? Just breathe and be at peace with the oneness of her infra-red being.

"When I came out," Opara told me, "the creative flood gates opened. "I got published for the first time in Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2005. I performed in Liquid Fire in 2005. I was 45, hitting these marks.

"You're never too old. You're always beautiful if you think you are. You're it! I don't say it for other people. It's me re-programming me. I'm just let other people see the re-programming, and if it encourages you to do it, do it! If it doesn't, that's okay. Eventually some light worker will show up for you."