Healing And Changing

This poster says:

When you can tell your story and it doesn’t make you cry, you know you have healed. -from NotSalmon.com

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

March is a time of big change for us because we go into Spring after a challenging winter..    As Mother Earth changes, it is a time for us to look at change.  Maybe, this is the time for you to practice some self healing.

The world is shifting at an ever changing pace.  The fears that are surfacing and then come to pass, are fears:

• about loosing one's identity, 
• about poverty including lack of food and/or money, 
• about people having power over you
• about lack of control
• about loosing what one has
• about pain and illness
• about doing the wrong thing
• about dying

Many of these fears may be overcome by spending some time learning how to do some quick, self healing.

Note that the self healing that will be discussed over the next month does not replace medical doctor's advice, and these blogs should not be taken as medical advice.

What these blogs are intended to do is to provide some coping mechanisms for the turmoil and pains that one might feel in their daily life.

Blessings,

Judy

Mother Earth Speaks - Companion Planting

It is spring time!  Finally! I was looking through past journal entries about Mother Nature and Mother Earth to see what wisdom each of them sent me in the past.  In a meditation, I channeled the following information about getting ready for the garden and wisdom on companion planting as guided by Mother Earth.

**********************************

Dear Ones!  I come to speak to you about planting for some of you are getting ready to plant in green houses or even out doors.  You can give your herbs and garden plants a new kick start by planting different herbs with different plants.

For example, if you plant Basil with Tomatoes, you will repel insects that plague tomatoes.  This is a Mother Nature natural remedy for pests!  This works with potted plants as well as ground planted veggies.  

If you plant chives around apple trees, it will prevent scab on the apples.  Since chives have a lovely purple flower, it also brings the bees around to the apple tree.

Nasturtium plants repel aphids when planted with beans and tomatoes.  Nasturtium flowers can be used in salads and sandwiches.  Nasturtiums also make an excellent companion plant to not just broccoli or apple trees, but also to corn, sweet corn, Zea maize,  and cabbages.  

Harvesting your Herbs

As soon as there are enough leaves on the herb plant, that picking a few will not impair the plant's survival. This also means that the herb is ready to be harvested. Always harvest your herbs in the morning hours. It is usually in the morning that the herb plant's oils are at their highest concentration. When harvesting herb make use of a sharp knife, pruning scissors, or shears. Do rinse the herbs gently in cool water immediately after harvesting. Allow the herbs to air dry, or pat the herbs lightly with a paper towel. Use them immediately, alternatively, store in the refrigerator for later use.

Blessings,

Judy

Badger on Teaching

 

One of the other interesting animals that popped in for my meditation was Badger.  Badger had lots to say about teaching.

• Everyone has a responsibility to teach the young.  This is not a job to be delegated to one or two beings.
• Those that are delegated to teach should not choose the path.  Instead, those around them should observe that they are good teachers and support them in the role of teaching.
• Teachers should be well paid because they are teaching the future.
• Teachers should teach what is the common understanding and the common courtesies of the community.  
• Truth is limited by the interpretation.  It is better to let students discover the truth on their own.
• Mother Earth and Nature will help in the teaching of the truth.  Trust this resource.
• When one teaches, they should be in a place of ONENESS with the Universe and with Mother Earth.

***********************

To learn more wisdom from Badger, see the previous posts noted below:

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/12/when-badger-appears-to-you.html

https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2024/06/badger-away.html

Blessings,

Judy

Camel is a Spirit Animal

 

                                                 Picture of Camel from Snap-shot.com 

 

When we talk about going into the desert, the first animal that springs to mind is the Camel. The desert means that the climate is hot and dry, and perhaps with out food or water for several days. How is it that Camel survived her fifty million years without going the way of extinction? Why do the Bedouins call her “Allah’s Gift”?

Camel has some physical properties that human kind would love to have. She is able to eat anything – even thorns. Excess food is stored in the humps as fat, and, as she requires water, she metabolizes the fat into water. The longest Camel has been known to go without water is two months. Her dry dung gives the Bedouins their fuel for fires. Her milk and meat and hair provide food and clothing. She carries great burdens for the nomadic tribes, and even provides entertainment in the form of camel racing. She is truly a gift!

Many spiritual leaders – prophets and shaman – pilgrimage in the desert because it is believed to be a magical place that can shift out of time to different worlds and dimensions. Camel then, is one who can walk between worlds, or walk out of time. Some believe that she can go so long without water because she slips between dimensions and never changes.

Camel’s great, large, two toed feet keep her firmly grounded on the top of the sand and in contact with Mother Earth. She “hears” from the Earth where water is available. Her colour is great camouflage for blending into the shifting dunes, or even into the dry mountain tops where she may make her home. The white shading, sometimes on the muzzle and above the feet indicate that Camel is enlightened.

When Camel looks at you directly in dream time or in the physical, know that she is telling you that a journey is in store. The journey may be physical travel as well as a quest or pilgrimage of the spiritual kind. Know too that Camel, who travels out of the ordinary, is preparing you for a time where you leave behind all that you know. The constant is the great Unknown. Camel says – do not fear. Great Spirit always provides, and if called upon, Camel will show you how bountiful Great Spirit is in the unknown times.

May you carry all that you need with you, and may you travel lightly!

Blessings,

Judy

Snow Leopard Has Messages

"Their big eyes are so well adapted for low-light vision that snow leopards can hunt in near total darkness—but they can still go hungry when humans compete for their prey. Though trophy hunts for wild sheep and goats bring income to local communities, they can deplete food stocks for snow leopards."   Out of the Shadows, photo project by Steve Winter  The Winner of The Best Wild Nature Photo 2008

Snow Leopard has the colour brown, for the Earth, black for the Night and mystery and magic, and white for the Day, and connection to Great Spirit.  The reverence for Snow Leopard is displayed in the many legends around it. 

In  Nepal, in Dolpo, there are stories of great lamas frequently making trips to Tibet in the form of snow leopards, in search of rare medicinal herbs. Other folklore describes the snow leopard as a “fence” for the crops, meaning that in the absence of snow leopards livestock would be free ranging and thus would invade crop fields.

Dr. John Mock, in 2004, went to Pakistan, and investigated some of their myths.  This is one around the Snow Leopard.

Pari are female supernatural denizens of the high mountains. People in Pakistan, Afghanistan, north India and throughout Central Asia are familiar with pari. The Wakhi ethnic population in northern Pakistan, China, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have their own word for pari: mergichan. The mergichan inhabit the mergich realm, which is the realm of the mountains and high pastures. It is a pure, even sacred realm, where the supernatural mountain spirits tend their wild flocks of blue sheep and ibex. The Wakhi word for snow leopard is pes. A pes is a mergich animal found only in mergich areas. It rarely interacts with people, is hard to see, powerful, beautiful, and potentially dangerous. As such, it exemplifies many of the qualities of the mergichan, and so is an appropriate animal shape for them to assume.

If Snow Leopard comes to you, then know it brings several messages, and all of them or some of them may be for you!

1. Living high in the mountains, this animal is at one with Great Spirit and Mother Earth.  Leopard communes with the Wisdom Keepers (in Munay-Ki the mountains are Wisdom Keepers).  She reminds you to open up your intuitive abilities.
2. Snow Leopard moves invisibly and so is able to stalk her prey, as elusive as her prey is.  The message is clear – keep a very low profile as you pursue your goals to avoid drawing attention and competition to what you do.
3. Leopard is a hunter that attacks the neck from the back. As many belief systems say the soul enters and leaves through the back, it is believed that Leopard may consume souls. If Leopard comes to you, know that she is telling you that it is difficult for you to meet people face on, and to ensure your back is covered.  She also cautions about moving up on someone else’s back.  Balance in all things is required.  If you do need to defeat someone, beware of taking on their “stuff”.
4. Leopard medicine is one that requires strong bodies – and quick action.  This may lead to humans with quick, angry tempers.  Leopard cautions that the angry energy must be released. If not released, it will settle into the body causing pain in the bones and limbs…arthritis may result.

May those of you with Leopard medicine find peace.

Many blessings,

Judy

Black Squirrel - A Spirit Animal

  Black squirrel picture from Wikipedia..

After several inches of snow last night, I expected the yard to be very quiet.  Instead, I saw a miniature snow squall erupt from the mountain ash tree.  Three black squirrels were chasing one another through the tree, around the tree, and then back up the tree.  This lasted for about five minutes, and then all three of them shook off the snow, and climbed up on the bird feeder to forage out some sunflower seeds.

Squirrel and her companions sat on the bird feeder and munched, and glanced at the house, as though wondering whether I would put out more food.  Squirrel has never been shy about letting me know when more is needed.  I then realized that Squirrel’s lesson today is about trust!  Just as she trusts that there will be food in the yard, she tells me to trust that Great Spirit will provide for me.  Just as Squirrel feels comfortable and safe in my yard, Squirrel tells me to feel safe and comfortable in Great Spirit’s yard – Mother Earth.  The message that was coming through, loud and clear, was that I was not trusting enough, and in being somewhat reluctant to trust, I was limiting myself to all the treats that might be handed to me or left out for me.

As soon as I muddled through all of those thoughts, Squirrel chattered happily to the other two squirrels and they bounded down the pole, across the yard, and up the fence to disappear to a neighbouring yard.   I realized that I had received a very great gift.  I am grateful!

 I would love to hear your squirrel story! You can send it in the comments or email me at lightstationwisdom@gmail.com.

Blessings,

Judy

Elephant Power

Several years ago, I was at a conference where a very fascinating lady, called an Animal Whisperer, gave a talk on how we in the audience should be treating all animals as sentient beings.  She said that each animal had a role to play on Earth, and that humans interfered with this natural talent all the time.  She then told us the story of the Elephant.  She was headed to Africa to do some workshops.  As soon as she made the arrangements, she started to dream about a large tusked elephant, in the wild, that wanted her to come and see him (in the wild).  When she got to Africa, she made arrangements with a guide to take her to the place to meet the wild elephant.  She sat on the hood of the jeep and waited.  The elephant arrived at late afternoon.  The following information comes from the wild elephant as he told the story to the Animal Whisperer.

*******************

Elephants were charged with keeping the rhythm steady for the beating of Mother Earth’s heart.  When the world was new, and there were lots of elephants (and whales), this was an easy task.  Now, however, the Elephant has fewer and fewer members of the tribe that can do the work that is passed down through elephant memory.  

Elephant is now looking for other ways to fulfill its commitment to Mother Earth.  Nightly, Elephant walks in Dream TIme, looking for humans that will walk with him and the others in the herd, and learn the ways of the Elephant.  Elephant is not just about being strong; it knocks down trees, and has pushed railroad cars off the railway tracks – it is about being smart and remembering.  Elephant looks for people that are compassionate and kind.  They look for people that have a strong sense of duty.  There is power in having a cause and sticking to it.  Elephant may come to you tonight, or the next night.  

*******************

Welcome him or her, and ask how you can help.  You will become part of Elephant Power.

Many blessings,

Judy

A Ritual For New Year’s Eve 2023

For those of you that have asked questions about how to set your intentions for the new year, I would like to share a beautiful ritual that one of my friends sent to me several years ago. 

I do not use this at New Years, however, this ritual is certainly right for that purpose.   I do use it to set intentions for any time.  It is powerful to use this ritual with the New Moon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the initial technique - Setting Your Intentions for 2023 or any other time:

You start by asking yourself 4 questions...

1. What do I want this year in my personal life
2. What do I want this year for my financial life
3. What do I want this year for my business life
4. What do I want this year for my spiritual life

Then you write your answers. I feel into my body to identify in my heart what I am being drawn to create from the year. The MOST IMPORTANT part is to write it as if it has already happened.

As an example / template, here is an excerpt in part of what Maureen Collins (an artist) wrote for the category of business:

I am so grateful that this year became such an amazing journey of openness and discovery in my business, as it moved into the corporate world and lecture stage larger than ever before. I was able to deliver my shared vision via “What If? The Movie” through divine energy to hundreds of thousands of souls that were not only open to the information but contributed to the content collectively... AND they further delivered it to many more through word of mouth. This wisdom known to us all was a huge success with so many experiencing heart felt shifts and changes through the material offered by many like-minded souls. It became a place of safety and conversation for all who viewed it, and grew to include new audiences of those opening to the materials being offered by me and other contributors. The opportunity for the community to converse with one another about their own positive belief and pattern changes was a blessing and a joy to my heart, showing me the possibilities for all communities of the world. I loved watching and hearing the shifts and changes clients and friends and family were experiencing as they also awakened to how amazing and powerful they truly are, and reveled in the moments they shared with others in the community ...which triggered more openings and shifts and more sharing and so on. What fun... and so effortless and flowing... I felt like a kid again with all the discoveries...

You get the idea... write it as if it has already happened AND makes sure you include how you "felt" when it happened. Do this for each of the categories (there may be some overlap but the categories are designed to allow for specifics in those four areas of your life). This is a POWERFUL exercise that almost acts as plan for the year but flows through and creates a vibrational resonance with what you are desiring. You can do this over the next couple of days... I promise you it will really make a lovely impact. Then print it out post a couple of copies in places you will regularly see them to remind you what you are creating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ritual:  Burn and Release from Maureen Collins…

On a sheet of paper, I write out all of the things from the current year that I've outgrown, no longer want in my life,  no longer work for me, and anything else I feel I want to shed and leave behind.  On a separate piece of paper, I write all of the things I can think of and feel that I want to grow and expand in the new year.  I then burn each paper in separate dishes or shells, making sure all pieces are turned to ashes.  Then, when cooled, I put them into separate envelopes or containers (film canister, Ziploc baggie, etc.) and mark "to shed" and "to grow" on the container.   Around 5 minutes before midnight, I start visualizing all the things on the "to shed" list, and see them slip away, see them blown away and washed away, out of my energy field, out of my life and  out of my reality.  I go out side and pour the "to shed" ashes into my hand and let the wind scatter the ashes away and release them and all they re present, as the old year fades away.

After midnight, after blessing the new year, with the second container  "to grow",  I visualize all of these goals, desires, etc. coming to fruition, to this level of reality.  I bring that envelope down to the garden, and with a stick dig a small hole, then plant these ashes in the earth, near a tree or in a special place, (for those in apartments, I encourage them to use their favorite houseplant).  The ashes are a reminder of the life cycle, the power of nature and the honoring of Mother Earth, that these seeds of hopes and dreams are nurtured into reality, in the coming year.   This is a ritual that I've shared with many people, and even had a group in Ireland do it one New Years!  You may want to try this and tweak it and do it a way that suits you.

Happy New Year and many blessings! 

Judy

Ostrich - A Spirit Animal

This wonderful picture of a giraffe and an ostrich having a chat, came in a slide show in an email. I don't know who to give photo credit to, however, Bravo! for a great picture.

Ostrich walks the Mother Earth because it cannot fly. It therefore, must gather all of its wisdom from the Earth. By walking all the time, Ostrich is totally grounded even though its neck, which is about truth and spiritual truth, is very long and reaches to the Heavens to bring down Divine information, just as Giraffe does. Ostrich has very large eyes and tends to appear dreamy and unfocused, often fooling those who would steal up on it kill it for its skin and feathers. Ostrich will either flee on its incredibly long, speedy legs, or will turn and fight with death dealing kicks. The very young birds or injured birds camouflage by lying flat on the ground and burying their heads in the sand.

If Ostrich appears to you, it brings messages such as: 

-check to see if you are grounded, and if not, walk the Earth with bare feet, if possible.

-are you too dreamy with your thoughts and eyes sky ward instead of paying attention to what is around you on the Earth?

-is it time to be a little less visible? Have you been attracting those energies that do not agree with you?

-do you need to take a look at those around you to determine if they are true friends? Perhaps it is time to “kick” some of them out of your space.

-is it time to work on your clairvoyance so that you truly “see” what is really going on around you?

Ostrich feathers have long been considered a valuable possession. The feathers are used by the Egyptian Goddesses, especially the Goddess Maat, to symbolize truth and justice. If Ostrich is appearing to you now, perhaps it is time to take a look at any injustices you are feeling around you. Are you the cause or the recipient of injustice? Perhaps it is time to let truth prevail.

May you see each moment clearly!

Blessings,

Judy

The Tree Of Life Explained in Lakota Terms

The CHA WAKAN card - Tree of Life, #32, from The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards by Chief Archie Fire Lame Deer and Helene Sarkis

In many traditions, the TREE OF LIFE is recognized - for all people see the tree as having roots buried deep in Mother Earth, and branches reaching up to Great Spirit, and Father Sky.  

The Lakota say that the humans are like leaves - when we become a certain age, or ripeness, we leave this plane and go into the Spirit World.   We die, our bodies go to the Earth, like the leaves from the tree.

The guidance on this card is one that is timely, as we move towards Christmas, a time that is very stressful for many people who either visit family or have family stay with them. 

"Open your heart to all your brothers and your sisters and to all of creation, relinquishing your judgements and expectations (of yourself and others).  Allow all our relations to be exactly who they are; accept all that you are."

If you feel the need to judge or criticize someone tomorrow, stop and ask yourself  - "Why does this bother me so much?"  For, often what bothers us in others is what we can not deal with in ourselves.  If we can identify why it bothers us, we are on the path to releasing that issue, like the tree releases the leaves.  When we release something that has bothered us for ages, we feel a deep stillness and peace.  The Shaman says that one must continually work on themselves-- if you believe that you have dealt with an issue and yet you remember it, then the issue is not solved.  Work towards Oneness and Peace!

Be compassionate...

Many Blessings,

Judy

Moose Is An Ancient Four Legged One

 

Moose in the snow from a set of winter pictures of Jasper, Alberta

As we approach Christmas, notice that in many yards in Calgary, and I am sure elsewhere, there are stunning light displays of a moose.  Some are large while others are small.  Since moose often comes to the city and hangs out along the river in Fish Creek Park.  Moose seems to represent the wildness and ruggedness of the West.  Here is a bit about this huge animal.

Moose are one of the more ancient four legged ones. In Alberta, we see them in the foothills, in wooded areas, and sometimes even along the rivers in the city. Moose was named from the Algonquin word “Moz” which roughly means stick or twig eater. Moose are totally herbivores and may eat up to 112 pounds of food per day in the summertime as the winter time is almost a time of fasting for them. Their great size – averaging six and a half feet at the shoulder, and one thousand pounds – makes sustenance a full time occupation. Their colouring allows them to blend into the bush, grass and water that are their habitat. Moose runs at about twenty-eight miles per hour, and swims quite rapidly as well. Even with its huge antlers which may weigh seventy-five pounds, the bull moose will move silently through the forest, and will appear invisible as well. When we do see Moose, it is so powerful a presence, one cannot help but feel a sense of the majestic force of Nature.

Our Ancestors have many legends surrounding Moose. Some are that those born with Moose’s shape – long legs and arms – will have Moose’s ability to connect with the higher realms. Moose’s gifts – presence and invisibility are also the message to those Moose appears to. Moose says to go and do what ever your journey is without drawing attention to yourself. If Moose has antlers, the message is to open up the crown chakra and connect to the universal consciousness and connect with the Heavens and Mother Earth and understand that balance is required. Moose reminds you that you do have great wisdom and that the wisdom is to be shared discretely; and that one should not be troubled by the garbled advice from those around them.

Moose’s habitat in summer is water. Here, Moose pulls up the tenderest shoots of marine plants, and feasts on the water lily, a brilliant yellow flower. This is a reminder that one must constantly plunge the depths of emotion to find the true moments of love and swallow them whole to incorporate them into one’s being, for love is the one true thing. All other emotion must be examined, and blessed and released to prevent this density from holding one back from growing into their full power.

Blessings,

Judy

Mother Earth Speaks - Answer The Call!

While out with friends yesterday, the conversation moved to the changes in the Earth.  And, we talked about the sounds that are coming from the earth.  Soon, our discussion moved to the various messages that each of us is getting from the Earth.  Here is the general message that we have been getting.

**********************

“Child, I have called you forth.  I have work for you.  Your Ancestors have always worked with me.  The last several generations of your people have not heeded my call.  I am calling to you, now, because I have work for you.  Where ever I call you to, you are called at my invitation – no one else’s.  I will call to you in Meditations.  I will call to you when you are being mindful of the Earth.  I will call to you in the form that you will see as “Mother Earth”.  And, I will ask you to do things to help me, and therefore, help all of the world.  

I ask that you answer the call.  Each of you have agree to work with me as part of your life path for this life time.  As you look around you, you will see the shape of the world is showing that help is required.  It is time to let yourself be guided by my words.  

Peace, Dear Ones!”

************************

Blessings,

Judy

Wasp Power

  Picture from www.flowers.vg 

 

As the summer days roll into July, more wasps are showing up in our yard.  There are over 2000 different species of wasps alive today, according to Wikipedia.  That means that Wasp plays an important part in the ecology of Mother Earth and represents the four elements.  Wasp nests in the earth (earth), or, in trees (hangs in the air) in hives made from pulp and saliva (water).  And, Wasp’s sting makes your skin burn which is the fire element. 

Wasp uses a form of alchemy to change wood to pulp and eventually to paper to make the hive.  If you are constantly seeing wasp hives, perhaps it is time for you to pay attention to your ability to “change” things, and perhaps to investigate alchemy to see where you may want to experiment with herbs, essences, or the stock market.

One of Wasp’s characteristics is that she is independent and likes to work on her own rather than in a group.  Solitary wasps have little patience and will attack whatever task they are performing with a vengeance. Wasp does not need a task master.  She is her own.  If you like to be independent from all authority, and do better on your own, then you may have Wasp medicine in your etheric field.

If Wasp is showing up in your life:

1. What do you need to do to improve your life?
2. What element do you need to balance your life?
3. Do you need to leave your current partners, or job?
4. What solitary task can you do to give new meaning to your life?  A quest?  Some creative endeavour? A silent retreat?

Many blessings,

Judy

Family Trees

One of the things that I have noticed as I have been working with people over the years, is that people are proud of their family trees.  Not the “son of a son” type family tree, but the big old trees in their yards or on their acreages.  These trees have stories of time and family involvement.  

Let me give you a “for instance”.  We have an apple tree in our yard that is now nineteen years old.  Her name is BJ.  She is our family tree.   She is now quite large and shields our yard from the folks across the back fence.

  

 

This is a picture of BJ in bloom taken in late May of 2009 

 

 

When my husband and I married, our neighbours gave us a gift certificate as a wedding gift.  We bought an apple tree and named her with the initials from our neighbours.  That was in 2004.  She was hardly a twig!  We have nurtured her, fed her, sang to her, and babied her. The second year, she had five apples. Since then, she has always produced apples, although we have lost many of them to heavy hail storms.

BJ is a living record of our life together.  Our Ancestors understood the importance of being able to have visible legacy, such as a tree or a grove, that they could point to and show that the family not only honoured Mother Nature and the Green God, but that the tree or grove was distinctive, and honoured the family.  

Here is another story of a family tree or set of trees.  The summer that I was nine, my parents had forty small maple trees shipped to the farm.  My Dad said that they were needed to create a wind break along our quarter of a mile lane and some of them would shade the garden and protect it from the wind.  The trees did not seem much taller than me.  They grew quickly and sturdily, and, by the time I left home, the maple grove was fully grown.  Every time I returned to the farm, the grove was a touch point for me.

I have heard the stories of many family trees.  Trees planted for each child born into the family.  Trees planted to honour the passing of a family member.  Trees planted when the family moved to a different house and yard.  Trees planted when someone graduated either school, college/university, or in a trade.  One of our neighbours has a yard full of cherry trees and apple trees as they planted a tree when each of their four children were born.

Perhaps it is time to think about planting a family tree.

Many blessings,

Judy 

Coyote’s Warning

 

Picture of Coyote taken by Judy Hirst in 2008

 

Today, a coyote paced Merlin and me as we walked along the river.  He was on one side of the channel, and we were on the other.  He started to “yip” and to make a wailing noise.  Merlin stopped and listened with ears picked up, and with his body very alert.  He was not nervous or afraid.  Instead, we listened intently.  Here is what I heard.

               Coyote’s Warning

We are the free people that roam the land.

We walk in the forests and the cities.

We know how to walk in two worlds.

We walk too between this world and the next.

 

The Mother of Us All asked the coyotes to be guardians of the prairies.

She asked the Wolves to be guardians of the mountains.

She worried about the frail two legged ones who struggled 

With the weather and the land.

 

Two leggeds are not like the trees that bend with the weather.

Man tries always to control and be master of all things.

He rejected the overtures of the Coyotes and the Wolves – 

For we all offered help to find food and good places to den.

 

Instead, Man saw us as ferocious and feared us.

He chased us away with pitchforks and swords and guns.

Who chases away a helping hand?

One who is steeped in fear and sees only the threat.

 

Over time, we have watched the humans and learned from them.

Not only did Man chase us, he chases away anyone that is different from him.

We wood land animals get on much better than do humans.

We do not hunt needlessly or threaten needlessly.

 

We four leggeds remember how to play – by ourselves, with each other.

We see you and smell your anger and frustration and underlying fear.

Why is that fear so ever present? 

How does it serve you?

 

We see your attachment to the animals that you control. 

They are all wild, like we are.

They work with you because of the deep love many have for you.

We too have that love – we watch you with love and affection.

 

Yet you hunt us and chase us because we will not be slaves to you.

And, as you take our land, we grow bolder in confronting you.

A deep fear of all things wild has seeped through humans.

We see you try to dig and cut and temper the land.

 

We say – go with Nature, for that is as was intended.

We say – greet us as old friends and see what you may learn from us.

We have survived for forty million years with all our stories passed down.

We watched you being born seven million years ago. 

 

We see you struggle and try to adapt Mother Earth to your ways.

We tell you, She is bigger!

We say that you need to learn from her and use her gifts as we do.

We say – begin now!

Many Blessings,

Judy 

Smoke and Wild Fires

   Photo is from three days ago from the Toronto Globe and Mail

The last several days have been incredibly smoke filled and in some places, have caused poor visibility.  I went outside to have my coffee on the deck and came back in immediately because it was too smokey.  

The smoke made me think of smudging - the smudging that you do to clear yourself (and others) before ceremony or before meditating.  It made me think that perhaps Mother Earth is smudging all of us with these big fires.  Smudging is for clearing away issues, problems, negative energy and actions. It is a form of purification. It is a very unusual time as at the moment, 87 fires are burning, and 25 are out of control, while the rest are confined.

I say a silent prayer for all the animals that people have had to leave behind as they are rushed out of danger areas.  Blessings to the firemen that are going into abandoned areas and trying to feed the pets left behind.  

Strength and compassion to all the fire fire fighters that are working in Northern Alberta and BC to fight fires.

May the rains come to tame the fires and clear the smoke.

Many blessings,

Judy
 

About Bat as a Spirit Animal

"Common Bat" found throughout North America - from Wikipedia

There are many beliefs in this world about BAT.  Some people in Africa believe that the Bat is a physical manifestation of the soul - thus allowing the soul of the individual to travel at night to complete the work that the Soul has left unfinished.

North American indigenous people believe that the Bat is a trickster type spirit whose home is in the Underworld.  Bat comes to Earth to trap those with weak morals or ethics and when the individual shows their weakness, Bat takes them below ground to work out the person's sins.  Eastern cultures believe that Bat represents abundance and long life.  It seems that all of these beliefs might be true.

Since Bat represents the link between the Day and the Night because it flies only at night, it is said to be blessed by Mother Goddess of the Moon.  The colours of Bat - red, brown, black - connect it with Mother Earth and with the base chakra - representing how we walk on this Earth.  If we walk in harmony, one does not fear Bat.  Just as Bat uses sonar to find its food and discern obstacles, we can use our "hidden" connection to Mother Earth to know which of her creatures and plants and trees are around us.  If we understand that Bat is nearby, Bat does not scare us.  If we walk in power on this Earth, we do not understand the ways of animals, especially Bat, and we fear it.  We make up stories about what wrongs it does.

Bat has been appearing more and more in writings and in pictures.  For the west coast of North America, it may be the hero that is needed to fight against the pine beetle which is stripping the pine trees of their needles, and eventually killing the tree.  

Medicine Woman sees Bat as representing the Night - and with Night, astral travel, dreams, intuition, and past life scenarios.  Bat is also about seeing without one's eyes to see what is REALLY out in the world.  Bat is known for seeing TRUTH.

Bat brings messages such as:

- perhaps it is time to stop and reflect on life and make some changes.  When Bat thinks and sleeps, it does so up side down.  When the God, Odin, wanted to understand and make changes, he hung on a tree for nine days and nine nights.  So take some time to yourself.

- some say that seeing is believing.  Bat will tell you that is not true.  What truth is it that you are missing because you are looking right at it?  Close your eyes.  Be in silence and "listen" for the TRUTH as you send out your thoughts around the situation.

Many Blessings,

Judy