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June 2010 /
You may just get a
creepy feeling or if tuned in, you realize there’s something
significant
about that animal’s behavior. It
depends on how much of a naturalist you are, or perhaps, whether you read this
column.
When an animal speaks to you in unexpected ways, don’t
dismiss it. If
you see a hawk and he draws your eye and then, knowing you are watching,
lifts off and flies due west, what did the hawk say to you? Maybe
nothing. Or perhaps the communication was as clear as when you are
deeply engrossed in something, you glance up, and there’s your dog
sitting by the door, patiently waiting for you get the message.
Primitive peoples
have always noted animal behavior as either normal or meaningful. Beliefs
became legends and finally dissolved into folk tales as we became more
“civilized” and lost touch with the natural world. We take for granted
holding a phone and talking to someone a thousand miles away but are
blown away when told that whales and elephants communicate over 300
miles - with no electronic gadgets! We are tantalized by the smell of
steak on the grill but can’t imagine how a dog can smell cancer and
point out the affected area of the body.
So
then, why shouldn’t animals be able to communicate with us on levels
we’re too civilized to understand? In many cultures, animals are spirit
guides or messengers.
The first
Americans were not only good trackers, some can still read sign.
Certain animals, seen in unusual circumstances, behaving in an
uncharacteristic manner, are believed to deliver a message. Why do we
think spring is imminent when a woodchuck emerges? Why do sports teams
use animal symbolism? Why do native Americans believe if a woman sees a
buck while traveling, it is a sign she will soon meet a man who will
changer her life?
Woodpeckers are
symbols of imminent wealth or good luck. If a family member is sick, a
visiting woodpecker is a sign that person will get well. On the other
hand, an Owl is a bad sign. We think of the Owl as wise but have you
ever wondered how that concept filtered into our beliefs? The Owl was
an ally of sorcerers, somewhat as a cat was said to be the witch’s
consort. The Owl is a messenger of evil, sickness, even death. When
seen in daylight, he is particularly powerful and the closer the Owl is
to one’s house, the closer the relative who will be affected.
This may sound
strange to someone boarding a jet plane with a laptop in one hand and a
cell phone in the other but I have personally had an experience with an
Owl which was beyond logic.
From the first day I was hospitalized, every time my eye was drawn to
the lovely picture window, I saw
the ominously threatening Owl.
 At
that time, I was not desperately ill but the three foot tall threat to
the parking garage pigeons went back and forth on a mechanized track,
the end of which faced my room. There he would flip back and forward
several times towards my window, as though threatening me.
Finally, I suppose the chain would catch and the owl would turn around to repeat the
endless sequence. This continued until the third day when my demands to
the hospital administrator were finally met and I was moved to another
room. |
Too late, my condition had rapidly deteriorated; I
underwent two emergency lung surgeries, and at one
point, was nearly removed from life support.
Prior to that, I
was a remarkably healthy person but I spent six weeks in
hospital and another six weeks on chest tubes at home.
My doctors said I defied the odds. Only the Owl knows
how that happened because there’s this…
While unconscious and on life support, I dreamed a dream
so powerful that it must have imprinted on my
subconscious because other than becoming aware of myself
it was the first conscious thought I recall after having
regained consciousness. Even today, it is real and it comforts
me. I was lost, wandering, frightened; you’ve probably
had a similar nightmare. Desperate, I felt that I would
surely die. As I wandered in a dark, dangerous forest,
I became overwhelmingly tired. When I could go no
further, there was suddenly a beautiful meadow with
flowers and I heard the most glorious, crystalline voice
singing, of all things, Ave Maria. I’m not Catholic.
Go figure.
Feeling safe, I lay down and having done so, I became
aware of movement against my ribs. I clearly knew it was
bear cubs snuggling against me and I was comforted.
Then I became aware of a smell which grew ominously
worse and I felt very weak and as though something was
trying to pull me away from my companions. I held onto
them desperately even though their fur was damp and
bristly against my body.
Animal signs and symbols. Deep in our human hearts
there is a place animals can still reach and in that
place, they continue to serve us. Those who
truly love animals are not that far removed from the
natural world. We marvel at it every day. And some of
us sense that there’s more to life than we ever
suspected.
In my dream, there was no surprise when
 suddenly, there rose up a mighty bear, towering above me,
just like in the movies. The ground trembled with the
reverberations of his angry roar and powerful paws
threatened an unseen enemy. As corny as it sounds, I
lay there watching the terrible sight and did not
cringe. In fact, I was strengthened
because I knew he was protecting me. I felt small and
helpless but safe in his presence. The bear’s
challenging roar seemed to go on forever and ever and I
can still remember the vibration in my whole body. Then he
dropped to all fours, seemed to be listening … and disappeared. Poof! Gone.
I
don’t know at what point in my fight for life this
occurred. Only that I survived. When I regained
consciousness and became coherent, I spoke of this
“dream” to my daughter and a friend of hers. My
daughter was awkward as she held my hand and assured me
it was okay. Her friend, a Sioux family adoptee, said
nothing. His expression said it all.
I’m content to believe the bear was simply a drugged
delusion as I teetered on the brink of death but I pay
more attention to things now. I share this,
risking ridicule, because some
of you, it will open your minds. One
of my dearest friends shared a story about a Hummingbird. I doubt he has told many others because like
me, he would fear being carted off to the loony bin but
it was just as surreal and it changed his life forever.
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