Coyote Plays

 

Coyote has many personas in many belief systems.  In North America, Coyote is seen as a trickster.  In other places, Coyote is the messenger from the gods.  Still others think that Coyote is a special guide that warns you when trouble is coming, and tells you to beware.

Coyote comes in today to tell everyone to play more.  Her observation is that humans are too serious and that humans miss all the possibilities to increase their productivity and creativity. 

Her message is that you do not need to play for a long period of time; you just need to play to relax your focus so that you can let go of the tunnel vision that plagues many people.

Coyote says that by looking at things with a fresh eye, you can tell whether you need to be in service to the situation, or to offer a prayer for the situation, or, even whether you should be doing some soul searching around the situation.  Nature creates events to allow us to grow.

Blessings,

Judy

Spirit Says “Play Well!”

The word of the day is “PLAY”.  Play with friends.  Play an instrument.  Jump, walk, bike, run, jog, or play with the dog.   Let yourself go and be relaxed.  You are now off duty.  In playing, you learn about yourself.  It is time to do more learning.

Things to ask yourself:

• When is the last time you laughed out loud?
• When is the last time that your body felt totally relaxed and refreshed from sleep?
• When did you simply go and have fun with your family or friends WITHOUT an agenda?
• When did you last do something for you?

Blessings,

Judy

Magpie Drops In

Magpie dropped to the path ahead of us (the dogs and me), and began to chatter.  Slowly, the chattering took form in my mind.  Here are some of the thoughts.

• Spend time in the present for this is where your power comes from.  In the present, you will be open to all that is available from the Oneness.
• Magpie does not dwell on the past; we remember the lessons.  One lesson is that a man with a long stick that smokes (gun) will hurt or end us.  Remember the lessons and let go of the emotion, the scene and all the blame!
• Walk more.  Even though we fly, we walk on the ground because it does ground us.  Humans do not walk enough.
• Play more.  Magpies enjoy each other and other animals.  We play.  We see you compete, we do not see you play.

I contemplated what Magpie was saying and realized that I can do better in being in the present.  I worked to stay in the moment as I wrote this blog.  I realized that my mind is like a herd of cats, different thoughts wanting to go different places.  I had to consciously work back to the moment.  When I did that, I felt more energy.  I am grateful to Magpie.

Blessings,

Judy

Beaver Shares Its Traits

We have several beavers in the Bow River in Fish Creek Park.  They can be very entertaining.  And, yes, they can bring down a lot of trees.  Beaver does, however, seem to be a caretaker of waterways and works to keep the area from drying out.

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Beaver was sitting across the channel, on the bank, looking for some tender young trees and, keeping an eye on my dog and on me.  Beaver has been in this channel for about four years.  She has created several good dams, and she has helped change the eco system of the channel and the river.  The channel now has young trout in it.

Beaver has some traits that humans can use.  They are:

• when you see water that is stagnant and mucky, find a way to clean it up.  You may have to get dirty to do it; it will be worth it. 
• being industrious leads you to discover new ways of doing things.  So, be busy when it is required – as when you need to fix your den, the dam, or gather food for winter.  When you are not busy, play and socialize. 
• when somebody says that “it can’t be done”, go ahead and do it anyway.  See the picture below of the world’s biggest beaver dam.

  

  

The dam is located on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park in Northern Alberta, Canada Photo: BNPS 

 

• understand that there is a shortage of fresh water.  Beavers know how to maximize fresh water and aerate it to create a healthy environment for fish and wildlife.

Celebrate if beavers are in your area. 

Blessings,

Judy

Blue Monkey, A Spirit Animal

Blue Monkey picture is from Wikipedia.

Blue Monkey came into my meditation this morning, to introduce herself. 

I asked her why she had dropped by.  She said that humans needed to pay attention to what is happening to the Blue Monkey species.  Their habitat is shifting due to weather and to man made environment changes.  Their range is shrinking in some areas and expanding in other areas.  It is causing the Blue Monkey to shift locals and to learn new ways of being in different environments.  Blue Monkey has had to learn to adapt to new foods, and to doing more work for their food.  They have less play time than before.  Part of their socialization comes from play, and learning what the boundaries are for one another.  She said that she thought I would want to know.  I thanked her, and away she went.

I knew nothing about Blue Monkeys, so looked them up.  They roam in central and Eastern Africa.  They are tree top dwellers who prefer moist, water rich areas to live.  Their primary food is fruit and leaves.  They like pine trees and bamboo trees. (from Wikipedia).

Many blessings,

Judy

Dolphin Dream Visit - A Spirit Animal

Picture comes from an email so the source is not known

My dream time is always very active.  From time to time, Dolphin comes in to teach me or show me a different way to do things.  This blog is about Dolphins for all those folks that dream about Dolphin.

Dolphins have been called the “Ambassadors of the Oceans” because they are so friendly and love to play around ships, boats, and even swimmers.  They more truly should be called the Messengers Of the Oceans” because when Dolphin shows up, she comes to lead a ship through treacherous waters, or help out a sailor, or do some healing work.

When Dolphin shows up in dream time, then these may be some of the messages that she brings.

• You have had your head down, working, for a long time.  You are in danger of drowning.  It is time to come up for air, and see what the world looks like above the surface.
• The Sun penetrates only several feet into the water.  Sunlight does not go through the walls of buildings.  You know this.  Yet, you do not spend time outside.  Are you feeling poorly?  Could it be that your Vitamin D (sunshine vitamin) is low?  Check in with your Doctor and you will find that it is much lower than you think.  
• It is time for a deep dive into the world of your child hood.  Face all the emotional issues from that time before your next big family event, and you will see that your family no longer has a hold on you.  Get some help with this.  Dolphins know how to work together to raise young, hunt food, and keep the pod safe.
• Jump for joy!  Oh, you don’t feel joyful?  Isn’t it time that you discovered WHY it is that you do not feel joyful?  Spend time thinking about what makes you joyful, and what doesn’t.  Get your jump back.

Many Blessings,

Judy

When Badger Appears to You

Badger in an inquisitive moment! Courtesy Microsoft clipart.

 

Did you know that badgers are by nature very playful? This trait is because Badger is part of the same family as otters (very playful!), ferrets (also playful) and weasels. Most of us though, tend to think of badger as grumpy and perpetually fierce. Most of what we know comes from Britain where they have lived forever, and are one of the favoured animals of the Green Man - keeper of the forest and all things wild. 

Badger may be solitary or may live in clans of up to about a dozen members. They are very family oriented and will stop at nothing to protect their mates and their young. Badger's courage is widely admired as it has been known to fight wolves, bears and man, and send them all fleeing. For this reason, many European coats of arms feature badger as a prominent insignia - to show stamina and courage. In tribal cultures, the badger skin was a worn as a head dress to show that the chief or warrior was strong and full of courage, just like a badger. Indeed the black stripes on the badgers head, around the eyes is reminiscent of war paint used from the time of the ancients. 

When Badger appears in your life, you may be sure that it is now time to put fear aside, and to take the step beyond compromise. Badger encourages you to stand your ground, to be firm in your boundaries, to speak your truth and stand in your power, and to disregard what others may think or feel about what you are doing. Be sure that when Badger appears you are in a place where all you love is being or going to be challenged. She says that you must fight now or risk losing all forever.

Blessings,

Judy

About Death

Picture from a site called Legacy.com.  

Earlier this year, my mother-in-law passed away and then I found this beautiful poem that describes how death looks....Right now the world is looking at death almost daily and it seems that this poem fits for that as well.....

DEATH IS NOTHING

Death is nothing at all, 
I have only slipped away into the next room. 
Whatever we were to each, that we are still. 
Call me by my old familiar name. 
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used. 
Laugh as we always laughed 
at the little jokes we enjoyed together. 
Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me. 
Let my name be the household word it always was. 
Let it be spoken without effort. 
Life means all that it ever meant. 
It is the same as it ever was; 
there is absolutely unbroken continuity. 
Why should I be out of your mind 
because I am out of your sight? 
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, 
somewhere very near just around the corner... 
All is well. Nothing is past, nothing is lost. 
One brief moment and all will be as it was before, 
only better, infinitely happier 
and forever we will be one together.  

~~~Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)~~~~

May all in your life be gentle!

Blessings,

Judy

Happy Thanksgiving To The United States - November 23 2023

I wish Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the United States!  This has been a difficult year for many, and my hope for the next year is:

• good food for all
• great housing for all
• great jobs with great pay in a great company
• time for walks in the park or out in the country
• time to read a good book, or play with your kids
• friends that love you and support
• family that respects you and cherishes you
• warm houses for those that live in the snowy climates
• healing for all that are ill
• peace as you go about your day

I wish you all abundance this Thanksgiving Day.

Many blessings,

Judy

Otter on Fear - A Spirit Animal

Otter has a happy view of life.  Wikipedia says, “Otters are playful animals and appear to engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment. Different species vary in their social structure, with some being largely solitary, while others live in groups – in a few species these groups may be fairly large.” 

Otter tells us that she knows what it is like to have fear.  She and her family are hunted by humans, big cats, eagles, and sometimes wolves, and coyotes.  Being hunted has conditioned Otter to keeping a close eye on the landscape and to looking over her shoulder to see what might be watching or sneaking up on her.  Each den has an escape route, and often, that escape route takes her right into the river where she can out swim most predators.

However, Otter does not hide away.  Instead, she explores her territory and knows where she can hide if need be.  She is wily and quick.  Even in the coldest of times, she plays because playing helps her forget to be fearful.

If Otter is your guide, then some of the questions that you might answer are:

1. What is your biggest fear?
2. What happens to you if this fear does manifest?
3. Is this the worst that can happen?
4. Have you tried to create the situation so that you can deal with the fear for once and forever?
5. What do you do to protect against it?
6. Otters do not worry.  Do you worry about your fear most of the time?

If you want to know more about otter, check out this other post about her/him. https://www.lightstationwisdom.com/2023/08/the-story-of-otter-saving-animals.html

Many Blessings,

Judy

Dolphin On Gentleness

Dolphin has long been heralded as the keeper of ships, and the guardian of the seas.  There are many stories that talk about how Dolphin has saved shipwrecked men, or helped a small vessel navigate around treacherous waters.

People love to swim with the Dolphins because they are so playful, and so gentle. The message behind the massacre movies is that Dolphin is mirroring what Man does to Man.  Man kind thinks from Ego.  Why would a rite of passage need to be the killing of something that cannot fight back?  It provides the untested male with a situation where he is superior, powerful, and has absolute control.  This rite becomes the making of a warrior or, perhaps, a bully or abuser.

Dolphin, with its playful attitude and friendliness to humans, has tried for millennia to teach mankind, by shining example, the concept of gentleness! Man, represented by the masses, does not get it.  Gentleness to self, to others, to the Earth, to the seas and oceans, and most of all, to the animals, fish, fowl, creepy crawlies, and reptiles, because these beings sustain the Earth, and indirectly, sustain mankind.

Be gentle to yourself and to others today!

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