The Daily Forest Report June 13, 2015 Look Deeper… With a More Spiritual Eye
by nielskunze on June 13, 2015
Okay, I admit it. Sometimes I bring a very chatty mind to the woods with me… and sometimes I just let it run wild! It’s kinda funny… ’cause all of the baggage I drag along in my head doesn’t really exist out here. It’s all just a fantasy I can pay attention to… or not. If I follow my thoughts closely, I can completely miss the actual path that I’m on; whole swathes of Forest pass me by unnoticed. And what’s the point of that?
Housekeeping
Fortunately (?), Spider has set little reminders along the way in order to bring me back to myself, to the actual moment wherein I exist. I break a few spiderwebs with my face every day! (That’s the main reason I don’t typically walk with my mouth open!)
Bear has been spotted recently among the houses and yards of the Dutch Creek community.
Down By the River
And now I found this sure bear sign on the path by the river. It’s actually fairly rare for any large animals to hang out by the river, especially during high water spring runoff. Dutch Creek is very loud at this time of year, and the animals don’t feel safe awash in the white noise.
Bear Print in Puddle
This print was up at the swamp a few days ago. I wonder if it’s the same bear, or if we have a few burly residents milling about. Black Bear and I are pretty tight, so either way makes little difference to me. My preference though is to actually interact with the bear… not just the signs of his passing.
Mud-Lovers
And in nearly the same place, there are now hundreds of butterflies remineralizing themselves in the mud, after the ordeal of their profound transformations. Every day as I walk through the swamp there are clouds of butterflies stirred up by my feet.
Damp Feet
But do you know what encounter is most conspicuous by virtue of its absence? Mosquito. So far this year I have encountered exactly two mosquitoes. It’s the middle of June; the swamp is swampy… and there’s virtually no mosquitoes!
Where have all the parasites gone? Long time passing…
Seriously, have we forged a new relationship with all the parasites who feed off humanity? Has something drastic happened in the unseen realms that many or most of the common parasites have no basis for manifesting into the physical anymore? I already noticed a reduction last year… Is this just the natural progression? *Fingers crossed.
I guess I’m my own distraction now. If I could just get out of my own way…
Sometimes it takes me awhile to get the message. Four days in a row, in virtually the same spot each time– and nowhere else, I got flowers stuck between the second and third toes of my left foot. (I wear five-fingered shoes.)
Bear Track & Me
Now, if Spirit was attempting to give me a clear message, this would be a really good way to do it. Spirit, who knows me better than my own recalcitrant mind, would know that eventually I would look on a reflexology chart to see what the place between the second and third toe represents in my own Being. As it turns out, it represents my eye– my left eye. The left side of the body, in general, represents the Spirit… so perhaps we could say my Spiritual eye.
The purpose now seems to be to integrate my Spirit more fully into my physical body. But what exactly is this mysterious essence called Spirit? It is that which is being expressed unfettered all around me when I take these walks. Everything I look upon in the Natural world is a unique and kindred expression of Spirit… Bewildering isn’t it?
‘Bewilder’ is my favourite word of all time!
This insistence to look deeper… with a more Spiritual eye was actually pretty obvious. Two days ago I watched Master Red-Tail and the Other Hawk cavorting in an enthusiastic aerial display, ducking in and out of the trees. And before that, it was Eagle who’d come to share insight… insight, hawk-eye, eagle-eye… Do you see? Of course you do… or at least, your Spirit does.
Close!
The Daily Forest Report June 11, 2015 What’s the Difference? Love the Difference!
by nielskunze on June 11, 2015
Eagle!
When Eagle comes by for a proper visit, it’s far more significant than just spotting one or two eagles off in the distance… doing eagle things.
As Close As I Can Getcha
(I over-exposed this photo and lifted some of the shadows in the post-processing to reveal a bit more detail in the underwing.)
The whole feel of yesterday’s walk was that ‘important things are afoot’… and possibly a-flight.
Missile To The Moon
At the moment I snapped this pic, I was perfectly unaware of the ‘shot’ coming from the bushes at the bottom; I was just framing the moon.
Half-Note
At this point, I was perfectly aware of what I was doing. A partially-erased musical note, framed by the Forest on all sides, seemed a powerful symbol… of… of something-or-other. It gave me a feeling of fun and whimsy, at any rate.
And for the more serious-minded folk… here’s some nice detail of the moon:
Summer’s Day Moon
…so remote, and yet it’s right there! You think you can almost touch it… “No touchy!” The moon can molest us with its influence our whole lives… and we believe ourselves to be powerless to affect it; we’re not allowed to interact… just align with its rhythmic dictates… or not.
When it comes to worlds, I used to think that the lives of presidents and prime ministers, of CEOs and celebrities were somehow more important than my little old life here in the sticks. In some strange and perverse way, I felt that it was my obligation to at least know a few things about famous people and all those making ‘important’ decisions. But so very little of the news is actionable; there’s very, very little we can do about any of it. Our so-called leaders are a lot like the moon. If Obama ever shows his face in my speck of the Forest, I’ll be sure to take a great shot! (Careful NSA guys on how you read that!)
BumbleFun!
Have you ever watched a bumblebee dive into and ravish a wild rose? It’s like a kid in a bouncy castle ball pit– except for the overtones of sexuality… It’s sex for the flower, anyway… and the bee damn well knows it! Them bumblebees is having some fun!
I could never do what Bumblebee does. Oh sure, I could transfer pollen from one flower to another… I could get the job done. But could I ever delight in the task to such a resplendent degree as that indulgent display? Not hardly!
Every task in the Forest gets done; and everyone seems to delight in their own tasks. No one gets saddled with the shit jobs. Even the shit-eaters flash their grins often.
The problem I see is that the ‘big’ decision-makers think they’re making decisions for the world. No, they’re making decisions against the world by never taking into consideration who all makes up the world.
This Eagle!
Who represents Eagle in the big-whig process? Seriously, when does Life ever get proper consideration? When will it? Only when we begin considering it… ourselves… and begin making Life-affirming decisions.
What happens when you ignore the fuck out of famous people? What famous people? Exactly.
Eagle has come to represent integrity and sovereignty to me.
I can’t do what Eagle does either, but we can appreciate each other for the differences we each Live. Beware any who preach conformity. All true strength, value and worth rests in diversity. It is each other’s differences we must learn to cherish… genuinely… authentically. Sovereignty choosing unity is Nature’s way already; all we have to do is respect the example given and choose to participate.
The Daily Forest Report June 9, 2015 Foraging Notes, Nature– Especially Human Nature & Telepathy
by nielskunze on June 9, 2015
Mountain Clearing
I will be trying to kill two– or more– birds with one stone here. (Not that I’m at all likely to kill any actual birds with stones or any other implements of minacious intent!)
Lately, I’ve been writing less frequent Forest Reports, but those that I’ve posted have been considerably longer than usual. That seems to be a new emerging pattern. I also have a tremendous backlog of photographs from my recent daily adventures… so there may be more pics presented here than are relevant to the accompanying text.
I still walk my mountain route every day, even though I don’t always write it up. I can honestly say that my daily Forest walks are my first priority. It is the four hours spent out in Nature daily that really makes everything else possible. Nature is the magic balm that soothes my restless soul and nourishes my creative Spirit. This relationship that I cherish so as a part of the Forest Life is ever-deepening… and seemingly endless in its potential.
Oh Deer!
Beyond the usual suspects spotted in the distance, there is such a shocking variety of encounters to be had!
Butterfly
Nature is the expression– in shocking diversity– of Spirit; Nature also has a soul. Much of my personal focus lately has been on this difference between Spirit and soul. The simplest, and therefore best (IMO), explanation of this fundamental difference comes from Steve Richards, the founder, developer, and premiere practitioner of Holographic Kinetics: soul is the movement of experience from the external to the internal; Spirit is the movement of experience from the internal to the external. This human body is the point of convergence.
Earth Stepping Up
Soul is all of the programming, teachings, philosophies– beliefs— acquired and imprinted within the cells of the body… all that which comes from the outside and is permitted to penetrate molecularly.
Homeward Outlook
Spirit is the creative Life Force energy, coming from within. The true Home of All… lies in the inward direction; we are Sourced inwardly. We share Spirit with every living thing on the planet for the duration of our lives.
A Spider Named Rose
So what is Human Nature? The human part having Free Will is the part which decides. You ARE fundamentally, and quite simply, ‘that which decides’… Earth Human.
Where Angels Fear To Tread
Soul’s inclination is to obey the dictates of the past. Generally, souls have been heavily programmed in polarity… duality… binary. Souls can be very stubborn.
Summer Break
Spirit’s inclination is to create anew; Spirit is original… and fully collaborative. While soul organizes the past into hierarchies of meaning, the Spirit is ever crafting the future.
Looking South
Human Nature is whatever we choose as our inner experience right Now. If we choose to not actively (consciously) participate in the crafting of that inner experience– working with the Spirit of Life– then, the dictates of the soul’s acquired programming (beliefs– conscious and subconscious), written into our cellular biology, makes all of our decisions for us– a path of obedience… fight or flight…
Other Hawk
I really like Nature’s creativity! And it is Nature which gives me nearly all of my instant gratification, synchronicities, and adventure mysteries. For as long as my inner experience is still influenced by external circumstances, I choose Nature’s creativity to be that influence.
Stand Casual
This character, Master Red-Tail, seems to be waiting for us more often than not. (He stands more like a Bigsquatch than like a Hawk. *wink)
Shoulder Check
On this day, he flew silently from his perch to almost hover above us… as I was busily stuffing my face with green Gooseberries– hence, no photo. The strawberries too are coming out in the hundreds now. And one of my very favourite Forest flavours is just getting started since the recent rains…
Pineapple Weed
The tiny yellowish knobs atop these inch-high plants taste almost exactly like virgin pina-coladas… and they’re pleasantly overwhelming! It’s never really about the quantity of what I forage; it’s about the quality of all the different experiences I get to have daily… forever changing. Now that we’re developing a relationship, the plants are quite happy to adjust themselves– as an expression of Spirit– to suit my tastes. My Nature experiences are always new, despite the familiar feel of my surroundings.
Roses!
I urge you to imagine the exquisite smell of the Forest when the Wild Roses are in full bloom… fucking everywhere! (And you can– and should– eat the petals too!)
Red Clover Blossom
The Clovers have begun to bloom– red, white, and the mixed red-and-white ones that taste of unsalted nachos. The Saskatoon Berries will be ripe in a few days; the Wild Raspberries are flowering profusely; the High Bush Cranberries have just set their fruit; Alfalfa is beginning to blossom; the Dandelions continue unabated; Wild Onions always abound; the Grasses are tall and juicy; the Purple Asters are tasting of hot black pepper; and then there’s Wild Tarragon…
Wild Tarragon on the Mesa
I get to taste these ripening flavours every joyous day! And it’s all in such abundance that there’s plenty to share.
Bear Track
The Bears have left their tracks…
Bear Track Perspective
… in the mud beside the swamp.
Mystery Morsel
And Sitka loves to share in the bounty… although I’m not always sure what she’s eating. When she stole this bit of something-or-other it created quite the ruckus among the Ravens; they was pissed! And within ten seconds after snapping this pic, Sitka had swallowed it whole. Yum!
Half-Eaten Hare
But that’s okay! The very next day, Sitka procured this freshly-killed (by whom I don’t know) half-eaten hare. She didn’t have it for very long before I insisted that we move on and leave it for the birds. (Wild Rabbits are an excellent source of tapeworms. Um… no thanks! We just went down that road recently.)
Just a few minutes after leaving the rabbit, a lone Turkey Vulture circled over us twice to confirm our position in the densest part of the Forest before it flew off in the general direction of the abandoned hare. I’m quite sure the vulture claimed it.
Hideaway
Nature has always communicated to me… in feelings and impulses, and certainly as inspiration, but sometimes– and very recently– the communication gets incredibly specific… so much so that it can only be called telepathy.
I was walking down by the river across a bank of piled rounded river stones. I don’t recall exactly what I was thinking about… but I can assure you that it had nothing to do with Frank Zappa. A thought suddenly intruded upon my mind utterly unbidden. It was a movie (and song) by Frank Zappa called Baby Snakes. Well, just as the words “Baby Snakes” were silently articulated in my internal dialogue, the tenth Snake of the season– a very little one– scurried beneath a rock directly below my feet. I noticed it the very instant the words rang in my skull… very simultaneous… and totally freaky!
Above the Truck
This relationship with Nature is deepening my own creative impulses. I don’t really want to relearn all of the stuff the soul already knows; I’d rather just learn how to be as creative as the Spirit of Nature… but that’s just my Human Nature.
The Path of Awareness and Creativity
by nielskunze on June 6, 2015
Me and My Big Brother
(Author Narration with musical accompaniment: Garden of Paradise excerpt by Steve Hillage)
I know that it must seem that I’m hopelessly self-obsessed. I almost always write about my own experience, and I’m constantly sharing whatever new creations I come up with. It would be easy to label me a narcissist; I joke about that all the time! But ironically, it’s not at all about me; I’m inconsequential… to you. Why should you care in the least what self-aggrandizing thing Niels has come up with now? Indeed, you shouldn’t.
You see, it’s because I’m really only an expert on one thing: me. That’s where my responsibility lies. If I were to obsess about others and their information, that would be irresponsible and undoubtedly misleading… So I stick to what I know. And we teach best by example anyway.
I’ve always been different. From a very young age, ‘they’ always told me I was smart, but truthfully, I still to this day don’t know what that means. When I was still young, that meant that I was assured good grades and every advantage which would inevitably ensue therefrom. The problem was that I discovered, while still a teenager, that any such ‘advantage’ was no guarantee for fulfillment or happiness. In fact, the path ahead looked bland, drab and rather bleak.
I don’t think ‘smart’ is a real thing; it doesn’t mean anything. But there’s this other thing in consciousness; it’s called awareness. That’s real. And what’s more, I believe that our level of awareness is the ‘thing’ we carry from one life to the next through the incarnation cycle… through the veil of forgetting. Awareness is that aspect of consciousness which has the greatest affinity with Spirit.
In a nutshell, awareness is the ability to witness (notice)– especially oneself. Awareness can only function properly in Zero Point or Neutrality. Awareness is not time-bound. Basic linear time, with its propensity for looping in reoccurring fractals– according to acquired programming (beliefs) and associated trauma, belongs to the Reactionary Being. The Reactionary Being is mired in polarity (duality), ‘choosing’ from among paired opposites in a polarized existence– as a consequence of past experience (also polarized). In any real sense, the Reactionary Being lacks Free Will; the only real choice available to one stuck in reaction mode is the choice for developing awareness (or not)– in order to eventually move out of polarity (extremely limited choice) and into Neutrality (infinite choice: creativity).
When awareness is firmly established within consciousness, it has a natural affinity with the internal Spirit, as the Spirit is the absolute Master Witness, being privy to one’s every thought, word, deed and action as well as knowing one’s ancestral (biological) lineage and all the memories of the soul. Spirit is the infallible witness… as well as the source of Life. So when awareness becomes adequately developed within an individual consciousness, it naturally acts as the internal bridge to the Spirit. It is awareness which invites the Spirit fully into the body, preparing the way for Its creative Life expression as an Earth embodiment.
Spirit is infinitely creative; It can do anything! Awareness, functioning in Zero Point, is the same creativity, but limited, conditioned and shaped by its own Life Experience. Awareness deals with new information creatively, utilizing it as the basis for new experience… whereas the Reactionary Being, stuck in duality, forces all new information into already well-established patterns, characterized by polarity– or else it outright rejects the new information altogether.
Sometimes– no matter how aware we are– we don’t know exactly what to do with new information; we don’t know how to craft an experience in the real world that adequately incorporates the new information… to test it out. Fortunately, it makes no difference to Spirit– and indeed our bodies– whether an experience occurs in the real world, in a dream, or merely in our imaginations; it’s all the same to Spirit… hence my unabashed proclivity for unfettered creativity!
I hunger for new information… and the more radical it is– the less it fits with what I think I already know– the more excited I am about it, provided that it has some internal coherence of its own and internal resonance with my Spirit. I typically take that new information and I craft a story or a poem, or maybe a song; or maybe I’ll write a lengthy, in-depth article exploring its veracity (wink). Nevertheless, the bottom line is that I make it my own by thoroughly experiencing it– whether internally or externally, or both. By making new information the very building blocks of our own coherent creations, we take that information into a very deep layer of the psyche… in the direction of Spirit. That is the action of awareness when it’s not merely witnessing. From the infinite space of awareness we create new possibilities where before the Reactionary Being could only choose among variables that are already established as a given.
Awareness creates a new relationship with Time. Awareness– with its close affinity to Spirit– regards Time as a Living thing. When Time is alive, the past is always changing, in accordance with my evolving understanding of it. When past events are fixed (adhered) in consciousness, we are stuck in linear time, conditioned by the programs stemming from those events. To the Reactionary Being, the past is fixed; it’s set in stone and cannot be altered. To awareness however, the past is fluid and alive. Although the physical (external) events of the past cannot necessarily be changed, the interpretation, the meaning, the significance of those events can– and should be, according to new information acquired. Remember, awareness is not time-bound; it can revisit any situation and create new meaning for the Being having had that experience. The internal experience of all ‘past’ events is infinitely and eternally Alive, changing, evolving! In the realm of Spirit, nothing is ever finished; it’s never a done deal… and therein lies the Spirit’s freedom to fully inhabit the body in this lifetime.
Awareness can be difficult to measure or gauge; it is most conspicuously noticed when it is absent. Someone utterly lacking in awareness– a Reactionary Being– is a pitiable creature, seemingly bound by fate. But once the seed of awareness germinates, it can be coaxed and nurtured to grow. When I first began to meditate regularly, like most people, I thought that eventually I would start to have some far-out experiences occur during my meditations. Nah, that never really happened; my meditation is extremely uneventful. When I’m sitting in meditation– usually with my Holosync entrainment headphones on– when I’m just sitting there, I’m just sitting. Some varied thoughts– rather ordinary ones usually– float through my head, and I watch myself think… and sit. And that’s it. That’s as exciting as my meditation gets. I get deeply relaxed; and I also noticed over time that my level of awareness went up, as I continued to meditate regularly.
There are two things which actively support growth in awareness. The first is one’s genuine intent to do so– to allow space for the mere possibility of becoming more aware. And the second one is practicing being the witness to oneself. Once I realized that, for me, meditation was just me practicing being the observer– especially of myself– once I realized that, it was easy to commit my time.
Awareness replaces the Reactionary Being. Reactions are locked in time; awareness spans Time. Awareness is free to create a new response to old tiresome stimuli. Awareness is free to create the inner experience with less and less regard for external circumstances. Awareness chooses the internal expression of Being as an act of liberated Will: “I choose to be such-and-such a type of person, for that is who I perceive myself to Be in this moment anyway… when I’m not triggered, when I’m not reacting…” And eventually, the outer reality will make room, accommodate, and finally support that Being who is, in awareness, crafting Its own experience from the inside out… intentionally.
The enemies of awareness are too numerous to even categorize. Any lapse in consciousness is an invitation for incursion. In the realms of consciousness, it’s like entropy is paradoxically a rabid beast ready to spring into and inhabit the least crack in one’s awareness. And this brings us to the topic of substance abuse. Sadly, it is undoubtedly alcohol which consistently kicks the ass of awareness. I see it so pervasively and consistently that alcohol brings out the Reactionary Being– if not outright allowing for demonic possession! I see it a lot. Folks literally become different people when they’ve had a few drinks. Those other personas and devil-spawn express in total unawareness… and seek only to continue existing throughout time. (And they will often tell the same story three or four times in a night to the same person!)
Smoking pot can be a huge problem too. The vast majority of cannabis consumed in the West is grown artificially indoors, often without soil… and often by unsavory characters, who are only in it for the money. Pot is a highly impressionable plant. Its natural Spirit is creative and expressive– but not when it’s grown in isolation from all other life on the planet, except the thug who tends (exploits) it. I never liked the so-called ‘wheelchair’ weed. That commercial stuff always made me instantly feel disconnected and mostly dysfunctional, sometimes paranoid. When someone wants to trade some buds with me, I usually end up giving those buds to someone else and stick to my own, which is always grown in soil, and in actual contact with the Earth. In my experience, it makes a huge difference!
As for the harder drugs, I’ve pretty much tried them all. (I never mainlined heroin though.) During the six years I toured with Missing Peace, opportunities arose, and if I was reasonably sure that I’d survive the experience, I wanted to try it. (Equally true for trying foods too.) My life is a grand experiment… and I want to Know.
Through all of the varied experiences had on these many substances, I always maintained a continuity of self-awareness. Even while blasting into orbit on smoked DMT, I was still unequivocally Niels among those stars; I never lost my awareness of myself… except on alcohol. When I was still a teenager, during the first times I got drunk, I sometimes blacked out; I lost myself. I instinctively knew that this was unacceptable, and despite what others might expect, I have managed to maintain my continuity of self-awareness ever since; I Will not abandon myself!
(Admittedly, I do lose my continuity of self-awareness in the dreamtime; I never used to as a child. My dreamwork needs work!)
It’s very difficult to demonstrate awareness to others in benign circumstances. Challenging situations will bring awareness to the fore. I can’t prove to you that I’m not just some drug-addled hippie spewing nonsense. All I can point to is what I create. It is my claim that it comes through me internally, through my awareness, at the behest of Spirit… expressing. The only other thing I can point to is the impeccability of my written word. I do all of my own proof-reading– which breaks the first rule of proof-reading: get someone else to do it. There was a time in my youth when I couldn’t properly proof my own work; like anyone of average awareness, I was apt to perceive what my mind knew the text was supposed to say, rather than actually perceiving the typos on the page. In unawareness we gloss over our own errors automatically. I’m not saying that all of my work is error-free (especially keeping in mind that I use British spellings as opposed to American spellings… mostly), but in the thousands and thousands of pages I’ve published and proofed in the last twenty-odd years, one will find very few oversights.
Now I proof-read my whole Life, as I’m ‘writing’ it… in awareness.
Because of the language and structure I use, it may appear once again that I’ve written this article for you, Dear Reader, but no; this is, in truth, just me selfishly integrating some of the new things that I’ve recently learned. No, it’s for me… so that I’ll eventually Know exactly how to properly deal with you whackos!
The Daily Forest Report June 1, 2015 The Magic of it All
by nielskunze on June 1, 2015
WARNING: Awesome photos ahead! (Every photo can be clicked to view an enlargement.)
Mystic Nature
Please, follow me into this Living place… to discover your own true mystic nature…
Breaking Mystique
Too much time we spend in turning circles in our imaginations, trying to determine what’s really real.
In the last Report I told you about the Little Bird that Sitka had found. I convinced her that the feathers made it not worth eating. No Sitka, leave it for those better qualified.
Getting Started
Every prize is claimed, recycled… and then Lived.
Sixth Snake Revisited
We’re up to nine snakes already… but ol’ Niney didn’t want his picture taken. Sitka chased him for a bit, but was easily called off. Number Six looks a bit macabre, but he’s still appreciated by the flies and the ants for the snake jerky he’s become. It’s not always black and white, good and bad…
The Prettiest Infection
The roses are so pretty to all of my senses… Even their version of cancer looks nice!
Yellow Spider
Spider hides behind the petals… and leaps from my hand sometimes when I reach for the sweet pink flowers that gently open my calcified heart.
Standing Rapid
And down at the river, it’s clearly the peak of spring runoff.
Borderline Catastrophe
Will this Old One retain its grip among the Living much longer?
Detour Closed
In some places, the trees fall like dominoes, disrupting the familiar pathways. We adjust, and carry on.
The next day, it’s much the same… and completely different…
Finishing Up
There’s progress… but in something other than human terms.
Bashiba’s Breath
Gods Live and breathe here. (My friend Brenda named this land feature The Bashibas, inventing gods out of Beauty’s dire necessity.)
Ancient Cloud Cities
Imagination runs wild… but then, so does everything else!
Master Red-Tail waits for us more often than not. I’m almost certain that he reads my blog.
Backward Stare
At first, I played it safe, grabbing some quick pics at maximum zoom…
Sideways Glance
…but he wasn’t going anywhere. He was there to model for us… to build rapport, to set the foundation for a real relationship.
The Look!
He gave us everything… even tossing the rain from his feathers…
Shaken Not Stirred
He even allowed me to stand directly below him, making eye contact…
Hawkin’ A Loogie
He said “Come back after the rain, and we’ll finish up.”
Looking Up Old Friends
But first we chatted with this old friend…
Purple Rain
…standing like a prince!
Lady Gooseberry
And the day after that, the sun was shining again… and the Forest Life was even more alive!
Done Deal
Even the ants seemed very pleased.
And when we got to the power-line again, there was Master Red-Tail again, just as he’d promised.
Preparing To Fly
It’s difficult to track a moving target in the sky sometimes at maximum zoom…
You’re So Cool!
…but Master Red-Tail understood perfectly, and swooped in for a better shot.
Master Red-Tail In Flight!
Can you just imagine? Oh wait, you don’t have to… It’s real, all too real.
Thanks for journeying along!
Confessions of an Astral Dupe
by nielskunze on May 30, 2015
Scaffolding of the Sun
(Author Narration with musical accompaniment: Mountain Trust by John Sund & The Danish Radio Big Band)
Perhaps it was just me, but Michael did not seem at all himself. This time when he came to me in dream, he said nothing, and only beckoned me to follow. On previous occasions, the Archangel had always greeted me by name and offered– at the very least– a cordial smile. It appeared to my dreaming mind as though this Michael was little more than a hollow, near-empty shell. But, as I said, it could’ve just been me; my energy had been frazzled lately; in recent days I could scarcely string two thoughts together, so I may have not been thinking straight at all. Besides, it could always be dismissed as merely a dream anyway…
Anyway, he took me unfailingly to the council chamber I’d known well from years of attendance at these seemingly endless war-briefings and strategy sessions. I had always understood my role as one of reporter; I carried back with me the memory of these briefings to share with an information-starved humanity. Over the years I had built a sizable following on the internet. As always, I was eager to get the latest scuttlebutt about the war for Earth. Michael left me to it.
I sat in my assigned seat and immediately noticed that the normally packed council chamber was at least half empty. That in itself was very odd. In fact, all of the seats immediately around me were conspicuously vacant, except for the one directly to my left. Here sat easily the most beautiful woman I had ever seen– and I had certainly never seen her before! I introduced myself quickly, as the meeting was about to begin.
“I’m Ana,” she smiled back in reply. “Ana with just one ‘n.’”
In just that brief statement, she had captured me; I was instantly within her thrall, her pleasant enchantment. Suddenly I was far more interested in her– this Ana with just one ‘n’– than I was in the details of the meeting we were attending. Perhaps it was just a quirk of my dreaming attention, but she had thoroughly captured me!
“Isn’t it interesting,” she whispered into my ear, “that all this counseling goes on behind closed doors, largely in secret, and the Being under discussion– the planetary Earth consciousness– is never invited to attend?”
I called her attention to the woman sitting off to the side of the dais, quietly listening in to the proceedings. “That’s Gaia right there,” I explained. “She’s always here,” I asserted. “But now that you mention it, I’ve never heard her speak; she only listens quietly, passively.”
Ana laughed quietly at this. “That is indeed Gaia… poor little thing! But you mustn’t mistake her for Earth’s planetary Being though. She’s just a waif of an egregore, a Draconian invention.”
I had never encountered this term ‘egregore’ before. (I made a mental note to Google it when I got back to waking consciousness.) There was simply no chance to argue with Ana; her assertions left no ingress or vulnerability. She was incredibly sure of herself! She continued.
“Earth is caught in a proxy war. In no way does this fight belong to humanity; it was imposed upon them– for they are the actual prize, the sought-after spoils of war.”
I nodded. “Yes, the Dark captured humanity long ago; and now Earth’s allies– these Light Forces– are going about setting them– er, us– free.” I was just stating the obvious.
“No, you misunderstand me,” she replied gently. “This whole war is a ruse; it’s a con; it’s a game being played in your mind. You’re being maneuvered into choosing sides… in a conflict that does not belong to you. Humanity is indeed the resolution to this whole affair, but never through choosing sides in an external conflict.”
There was something unsettlingly obvious about what she was saying, but somehow it seemed to go against everything I had come to believe, against everything I had become. It rang like truth within me… and yet, it couldn’t possibly be true! She continued evenly to the bafflement of my stare.
“Humanity is the Great Unknown… unknown to Itself. Humans have been relentlessly conditioned to seek identity outside of themselves. In so doing, they’ve taken upon their own shoulders the burdens of countless worlds, throughout the ages. Deep inside they feel themselves to be the remedy and the ultimate resolution to any strife they encounter. In this, humanity is not wrong– just misguided, or rather deliberately misled.”
I had no answer. I listened raptly, as though the meeting taking place on the dais before me was suddenly inconsequential.
“What might a human Be if this war had never begun? Or if it was simply put aside? What might humanity create for Itself if not riddled with the scars of other lifetimes, with the burdens of deeply wounded creatures stuck in the habit-patterns of an eternity of predation?”
I could only shrug. This is nothing I had ever considered before… and I was curious about that! Indeed, what were we humans outside of the popular stories we’d been given?
“Right now, humans are the quintessential wounded healers, and until humanity becomes whole, they can only exchange infinite band-aids with each other for an eternity. Reality creation isn’t about choosing the right allies. You are here, now, on Earth… old soul. You have countless identities among the stars; you would find yourself everywhere, indeed if you looked outwardly so. But the Creator that you are now, in your Earth embodiment, is alive… from the inside! …Story-less.”
Here Ana paused, presumably because I was supposed to utter some response. Something inside of me made an offering… “My life is precious.” I didn’t really even know what I meant by that!
“Life is precious,” she affirmed. “But you mustn’t think of it as belonging to you, as a prize possession– for indeed, that’s what it would become, a possession. No!” she shook her head. “T’would be much better to think that you belonged to It. It is all One Life in countless expressions, forms arising and falling, like the waves of an intricate symphony. The instrument is not the music itself… until the instrument begins composing; it is the composition which drives the actions of the symphony orchestra, and every Earth Instrument is a virtuoso… once in good repair, clean and eager. We are here to play together.”
“Yes, yes!” I was fully on board. “We must help each other to be the best instruments of Life… to be of eternal service to the grand orchestra!”
She frowned sourly and I was devastated! “Again, you misunderstand me. You are so conditioned into polarity that it is nearly axiomatic to assert that service-to-others is the preferred path. It is indeed the higher path… for taking one’s place in the hierarchy of endless war. One cannot find the Innermost Self by tirelessly catering to the outlandish whims of others. Nor is selfishness the answer though. Single polarities rarely make for good spiritual paths. Service-to-others must alternate with service-to-self. It is an oscillation, a frequency, bouncing from one side to the other… in ever decreasing steps… zeroing in on Neutrality– where the responsible Creator is birthed. Compositions born in Neutrality, such Creations serve Self and All equally and simultaneously… and polarity ceases to exist within the Inner experience.”
This was imprinting deeply on my dreaming mind! “So… the path of Neutrality lies in the inward direction…?” It was only half question; I was pretty sure that that was right.
“Yes, Neutrality is uncovered along the narrowing corridor of refinements of one’s awareness. Awareness, as it expands… paradoxically, it becomes laser sharp. Neutrality is an infinite space beyond the frequency fence, pinpointed at one’s core. But we should stop… I’m losing you.”
“No! Never! I could listen to you all day and night,” I insisted. But just then in the aisle beyond Ana’s seat there stood an usher… with a clipboard.
“Ahem,” he not-so-subtly cleared his throat in preamble and said “Excuse me Miss–” He looked down at the clipboard, squinting. “Miss Hara, is it? There seems to be an issue with your credentials. If you’ll kindly come with me.”
Not for an instance did she even glance at him. She stood by her seat, facing me, and said “I think we’re done here.” She nodded and winked and I could only think to nod back. As she left the council chamber, I turned my attention back to the dais…
It was over. I had missed it! I didn’t have a clue what they’d discussed here this evening…
…And honestly, I really couldn’t have cared any less!
The Daily Forest Report May 28, 2015 New Connections and the Astral Kiss-Off
by nielskunze on May 28, 2015
That’s More Like It!
Ah, that’s more like it! We got a thorough soaking… and we needed it. The smell of the Forest after a good rain is indescribable. Someone really needs to build the prototype for Smell-A-Vision. (I conceptually invented this about a year ago– totally feasible!)
Crocusworks
As summer’s finery begins to come out in staggering variety, the earliest harbingers of the new season go out in a silent ‘blaze’ of glory…
Brand New Logjams
…while down at the river the evidence of the melting snowpack is obvious.
Wild Peas
And on the riverbanks, the Wild Peas have begun to bloom. The flowers already taste very much like fresh pea pods, so I find very little reason to wait. The actual peas in their pods come later in the heat, but tend to be a bit fibrous and stringy… so the flowers are a nice early season alternative.
Cedar-Hawthorn Rust Spore Masses
Meanwhile, this fungal infection was just waiting for the rain to produce its orange jelly-worm spore masses. It’s a bizarre thing when you first encounter it! (Junipers are in the cedar family– that’s why they’re susceptible.)
Dishevelled Rodney
Rodney seemed to tolerate the rain well enough… although remaining rather tight-lipped (beaked?) about the dismembered member of his clan from a few days ago. There seems to be a stark message in that about a radical shift in humanity’s relationship with the whole astral/mental plane. (Birds in general relate to the astral realms.)
Little Bird
Sitka, the forensic archeologist / coroner, found this dead little bird. Well of course she did; that’s what Sitka does! I’m guessing perhaps a siskin, but I didn’t poke around much looking for the yellow markings.
And let me remind you that animals encountered as predator/prey pairings add extra significance to the symbolism involved…
Eighth Snake!
It’s hard to believe that this is already the eighth snake of the season… and it’s still May! Snake is the herald for Rebirth, Resurrection, Initiation and Wisdom… Yeah, that sounds about right!
Master Red-Tail Again
And just before we got to the power-line yesterday, Hawk called directly to us. I consider this guy to be my personal guardian. He’s gotten very friendly as of late, and isn’t nearly as camera-shy as he used to be.
Watching Over
I’ve caught him a couple of times lately too, silently following. A couple of days ago, I glanced up to track a small plane in the sky overhead, and there was Master Red-Tail quickly ducking behind the trees. It makes me feel very good to know he’s keeping an eye out.
Holding Still
Along with Eagle, Hawk’s favourite food is Snake… Dining on Wisdom; can’t go wrong there!
Close-Up
I bet you’d feel pretty good too knowing this guy was looking out for you every day!
I honour and appreciate the diversity of life I continue to encounter each day!
A Little Inoculation Against the Vaccine Distraction
by nielskunze on May 27, 2015
(Author Narration with musical accompaniment: Kartoffelsalat Im Unterseeboot by The Tangent)
The vaccine debate, like most every other controversial subject, is primarily a distraction. “A distraction from what?” you ask. A distraction from the real issue at hand. Vaccines are presumably about preventative medicine, and yet in the ongoing debate, the very idea of preventative medicine is barely mentioned or examined or explored. Vaccines are really the only tool in the modern medicine toolkit that deals specifically with prevention, and as the hysteria rages on, on both sides, the very idea that there may be other useful forms of preventative medicine, like nutrition, clean water, proper sanitation, adequate sleep and exercise and other lifestyle choices, gets routinely pushed aside.
It is this very ostracization of preventative strategies from our modern conception of health which forms the basis for my personal rejection of the entire allopathic paradigm. I know, I know… they don’t like it when I call it ‘allopathic.’ The preferred term among mainstream health practitioners is ‘evidence-based’ medicine, but the glaring problem with that term is that it not-so-subtly implies that all other forms or systems of medical treatment/prevention are not based on evidence… and that’s just wrong. This is a whole other subject… but one which I explore in depth in my essay The Paradigmatic Shortfalls of Mainstream Medicine.
I have been drawn into the vaccine debate numerous times, despite the fact that I care very little about vaccines and who receives them and who doesn’t. Honestly, I wouldn’t give a shit at all if there wasn’t this looming spectre of a vaccine mandate hanging above the whole fray. To me, that is the only aspect of the debate worth commenting on. That vaccines remain a product of individual choice to consumers is all that matters.
Typically, in the froth of vaccine hysteria, anyone who expresses a reluctance to immediately submit to any and all vaccinations which may be recommended by a medical professional is instantly categorized as ‘anti-vaccine.’ I am not anti-vaccine; I am pro-choice. And there’s a huge difference. If someone who wishes to receive a vaccine is denied access to that vaccine, I will be the first one to sign a petition on their behalf demanding unfettered access. I believe very strongly that if you wish to receive all of the recommended vaccines that you should be given them. It’s your choice, and that should definitely be respected. Let natural selection prevail.
The crucial issue is the right to self-determination. I don’t know how else to state the importance of the right to self-determination other than to say that it is the singular most important aspect of living a life as a human being on this planet at this time. There is no other issue which supersedes it. Really, the right to self-determination underlies virtually everything I write. It is the common theme to all of my moral philosophizing.
Real science is compelling, never coercive. There is nothing more repugnant in my mind than the legal enforcement of medical interventions against one’s honest will. The scientific validity of the placebo effect is acknowledged and well-established within vaccine academia, therefore to inject someone with any agent which they honestly believe to cause more harm than good is commensurate with rape. State-sanctioned rape is still rape… commensurately speaking.
The enforcement of a vaccine mandate stems from the hypothesis of herd immunity. This is the only ‘reasonable’ justification for such an action. Herd immunity hypothesizes that if a certain relatively high percentage of a population acquires immunity, that immunity is conferred to the entirety of the herd, including the weaker members who might otherwise die in the event of exposure. This has been observed in nature, among animal populations who have acquired natural immunity to specific pathogens. Herd immunity is a real thing in nature, but applying it to vaccine-induced immunity is the hypothesis. Can it be done? Does it work?
I’ve been reluctant to even call herd immunity a theory at this point. A scientific theory, after collecting and collating relevant data for decades, should be able to put out publicly a detailed predictive model for exactly what level of vaccine coverage is needed to confer herd immunity for each pathogen targeted. If the predictive threshold is reached and herd immunity fails, the theory has to have some accounting for its failures. One of the primary determiners of a scientific theory’s validity is its predictive ability; the results should match to a consistently high degree with what the theory predicts, with detailed precision.
Herd immunity remains a hypothesis. Check the data; it is far from a proven theory, and therefore cannot be the basis for public health policy.
Both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated can be carriers of the disease without themselves exhibiting symptoms. For injected vaccines, the immunity conferred lies in the production of serum antibodies (in the blood). The body’s natural immune system, however, concentrates its efforts wisely at the periphery of its domain. Its main defenses are at the various mucosal membranes (from mouth to anus and a few more) where mucosal antibodies are produced. It’s a different kind of immunity, mucosal versus serum, wherein the body concentrates its efforts at allowing no pathogenic ingress at any of the body’s entrance points, preferring not to rely on the last defense, once reaching the bloodstream, and its serum antibodies. That this may have a bearing on the efficacy of herd immunity in the vaccine paradigm– the data certainly suggests it.
The eradication of smallpox is often heralded as a major vaccine accomplishment. That’s rather curious though. It certainly wasn’t achieved through herd immunity. Less than 10% of the world’s population was ever inoculated against it, and yet it completely disappeared. Vaccine proponents point out that a ‘ring strategy’ was employed, wherein the latest outbreaks were aggressively tracked and surrounded by fresh inoculants. This too is a plausible hypothesis. But again, if we have a comprehensive working vaccine theory fully explicated in scientific terms, why can’t the successes be more frequent? That is the point, isn’t it? To eradicate infectious disease. Over the many decades of widespread vaccine use, only two diseases for which vaccines were developed and employed have ever been eradicated: smallpox in 1980 and rinderpest in 2011. I wonder what the natural rate of pathogen decline and extinction is in epidemiology? Two a century seems reasonable, especially when the pathogens’ host species begins en masse to refrain from living in its own filth. Yes, that’s right, pathogens naturally die out, especially when you take away their favourite breeding grounds. Bubonic plague anyone?
A viable scientific theory centered around the deployment of vaccines has got to do better, consistently. All of its claimed successes are questionable; science has to answer those questions satisfactorily.
Where can I find the detailed thesis on how exactly vaccines work in modern populations and the specific strategies that should be employed to further eradicate dangerous diseases therein? In science, you don’t get to pretend that you have a theory; you actually have to write it out comprehensively and concisely, so that it may be scrutinized, understood and tested by others.
I am willing to stipulate that vaccines confer some benefit for some recipients. (The placebo effect alone has got me covered on that one.) But to many people, the risk-to-benefit ratio on vaccines is way too high, especially for those who are aware of dozens of immune-boosting choices they can make everyday to increase their overall immunity to all pathogens, not just the ones specifically targeted in the vaccine industry’s micro-management of some disease. Those individual risk-to-benefit assessments should be respected.
If vaccines work, then the status of the unvaccinated is irrelevant to the health of the vaccinated. Your vaccine either works or it doesn’t, and the unscientific blame-game has no place in public health policy. If the eradication of diseases must rely upon 100% vaccination, it is unachievable, but even if it were, why wasn’t that the case in either of the claimed historic success stories? (Not even close!) Scientific theories need to be consistent; that’s not really optional.
If vaccines are to be central to public health, then a coherent plan, based in rigorous science, which answers all of the public’s concerns satisfactorily is all it would take. A legal mandate wouldn’t be necessary. To demand a detailed strategy and the expected results according to all of the data compiled so far is a perfectly reasonable and completely scientific request. Convince me with more than Facebook memes and lame demonstrations by oddball magicians. Lay out the science, all of it, concisely in one place; that’s what other sciences do. And please show directly, and in no uncertain terms, the clear link between vaccine science and the public health policy derived therefrom. All I’ve ever wanted was clear, explicated science. I have the right to understand the full rationality of it, and have all of my questions and concerns answered to my satisfaction, if public health policy actually claims to be based in science.
“Getting your flu shot is the single best thing you can do to prevent the flu,” said the tv add paid for by my government health agency. Bullshit. Optimizing your serum vitamin D level kicks the flu shot’s ass! But rather than support the case for vitamin D here– this is about vaccines, after all– let’s take a peek at the conclusion reached by the Cochrane Review’s 2010 meta-study, the largest one undertaken to date on the efficacy of flu vaccines. In the words of Tom Jefferson, the lead medical researcher: “In other words, we report that no effect of the influenza vaccines was detectable on influenza and its complications such as death.” Got that? Flu shot: no effect… largest study of its kind. Yet, my government sees fit to inform the public that the flu shot is the best we can do. Really? Something that confers no detectable benefit is the best we can do? Irresponsible. There are many, many things we can do to prevent the flu. (Please see my Independently Healthy: A Quick Reference Guide for a few suggestions.)
And for the record, my dog has all of her shots. I’m not convinced that they are necessarily the very best thing for her, but according to my research and experience, dogs tolerate vaccines generally well, and a dog’s vaccine schedule is far more reasonable than a human’s. I risked it; see, I’m really not anti-vaccine.
Now let the hysteria resume!
______________________________
Please consider reading and sharing the following well-considered article:
How to Win Converts to the Vaccine Paradigm
Nailed it!
The Paradigmatic Shortfalls of Modern Medicine
by nielskunze on May 27, 2015
(Author Narration with musical accompaniment: Return to Egypt by James Asher)
Whatever I may lament in the words which follow, it is my own lament. There is no medical advice intended or implied.
The first thing that needs to be stipulated is that acute trauma emergency care in our modern mainstream hospitals is generally topnotch. The people who put back together all variety of accident victims are doing excellent work. I am sincerely grateful for their presence and expertise.
As for the rest of the modern mainstream medical establishment, it’s not for me.
About twenty years ago I noticed something. People, relatively young people, people I knew… were getting cancer and dying, some of them in their early fifties. Of course there was nothing new there, just the fact that I suddenly noticed it, once it actually impinged on the periphery of my own life. And another horrifying fact became immediately clear too: the treatment was often worse than the disease. The answer to the relentless scourge of cancer was immediately obvious to me; prevention was the only reasonable answer. It was this conclusion which inevitably led me away from conventional medicine… and into everything else. Health became an adventurous exploration; I honestly wanted to know exactly what was best for me.
I am responsible for my own health; that is the basic foundation of my health. It makes no sense to take responsibility for one’s own health only when health has already been compromised; by then, it’s largely too late… The opportunity for prevention has obviously already passed.
If I wish to be effective in my preventative strategies, I have to engage in a dialogue with my body, its innate and superb intelligence. I trust my immune system to function impeccably if it’s consistently provided all that it needs. In order to know what those needs are, I’ve honed my intuition through relentless practice and a great deal of experimentation and trial-and-error. But it’s really very simple: when symptoms arise– especially those mysterious ones with no discernible physical cause– I understand that some aspect of my lifestyle needs adjustment. I’ve learned over time that it’s best to address symptoms as soon as they’re detected, rather than waiting for them to get more serious before making lifestyle adjustments– ranging from nutritional tinkering to new meditation protocols.
Modern doctoring, at best, ignores the conversation I may be having with my body’s innate intelligence, and at the worst, denies that such a conversation is even possible. The diagnose-and-drug-’em paradigm can only rudely interrupt that conversation and further disrupt and corrupt the very language employed. Unpredictable side-effects are like gibberish infecting the internal dialogue.
As an adult (I’m nearly 49), I have never had a prescription… for anything. As a child, I once had an 8-day course of penicillin for an ear infection and a prescription skin cream for severe dryness, at the end of my 8 years of competitive swimming. That’s my medical history as far as modern medical history is concerned.
“Ah Niels, you must have very good genes then.” Be that as it may, it is of very limited relevance. Decades ago, geneticists led the public to believe that genetics were a powerful determiner for physical expression, but that’s not quite how it turned out. The newer science of epigenetics has since taught us that only 5% of our physical expression is pre-determined; the other 95% is a result of our responses to our environmental conditions. Our choices in everyday life are what determine which specific proteins the genes are coded to produce, selecting from among as many as 20,000 coded proteins for a single gene. There is such a variety of expression! And that expression relies directly on the choices we make for dealing (or not) with every stressor in our environment, inside and out.
From my vantage, drugs, surgery and radiation look a lot like a box of hammers. In simply trying to respect my body, and taking full responsibility for my own wellbeing, I have come to appreciate my health and clarity in a way that is immeasurably beyond merely being disease-free. In this internal conversation, I have come alive. My body tells me everyday of new ways to become more alive; they’re subtle, but cumulative. I have to invest my belief into something; I believe in the relationship between myself and my body’s innate intelligence above anything a pharmaceutically-based paradigm can offer.
With the products for sale in the modern medical marketplace, I am forced to ask repeatedly “But is that really the best we can do?”
How much effort and funding– honestly– really goes into research and education for preventative medicine? And then compare that to the money propping up drugs as the answer.
My health relates very little to the convenience of market concerns.
I believe in root causes, and those causes can be physical/chemical, emotional, spiritual or other, or any combination of those. Pharmaceutical use is based primarily upon statistics, and typically ignores or circumvents root causes. “Here, let’s try you out on this,” says the doctor, scribbling in his prescription pad. “We’ve had the most success with this brand in treating your condition, but if it doesn’t work for you, or the side-effects are intolerable, there’s still plenty of other brands we can try.” From a health perspective, I find that particular conversation rather absurd.
I so much prefer being proactive with my health. Some say I’m just lucky, but honestly, I’ve never understood the science of luck; please enlighten me.
The Daily Forest Report May 26, 2015 Ravenshead and Other High Strangeness
by nielskunze on May 26, 2015
First, let it be known that I don’t reveal half the mysteries we’re presented with here. This experience with the Forest Life is absolutely saturated with little mysteries and exchanges that don’t make much sense to my rational mind. So many of them I just keep to myself… until a narrative emerges.
Loner
The greater context we’ve been dealing with lately is one of extreme dryness. Yes, the days are stunningly gorgeous, but so far all of the spring growth has been supported by the residual moisture contained in the ground, left over from winter. The last time it really rained, there was still frost in the ground, so it just ran off into the rivers and lakes… and that was months ago!
Promises Promises
There have been forecasts and promises, but it hasn’t amounted to anything significant yet.
Bear Print in Dust
A few days ago we mounted an expedition to a nearby waterfall– that almost no one knows about– so I could get some video footage for another project I’m working on. I rode my mountain bike, and the dogs followed along. The bear tracks were very clear on the dusty road.
Perspective
But don’t worry; it clearly wasn’t a very big bear… Perhaps we’d see him at the waterfall…
On the way, poor Lhasa got high-centred and stuck in a cattle guard. I thought she knew about cattle guards! She was lucky to not have been injured, and just waited patiently with her feet dangling helplessly for me to get off my bike and rescue her– which I did; and immediately she was off and running again! Resilient old girl!
The waterfall was a major disappointment.
Waterless Fall
There wasn’t even a trickle. The creek exiting Spur Lake above was pretty much bone dry… even though this is normally the time of spring runoff. We’ll have to come back later, I suppose.
At the conclusion of this little bike trip, we were presented with one of those little mysteries I was talking about. Right where I’d parked the truck, we found this:
Bigsquatch Tuft
Why is there a clump of matted hair lying out here in the middle of nowhere at all? (We were parked in a completely different place than usual.) Who did it belong to? Did Bigsquatch shave his pubes? I really don’t know. (And no, I didn’t take it home with me!)
Climbing Over
Now, moving forward, rainclouds are gathering…
Rain-Kissed
…and the Wild Roses are finally blooming! Rose petals are one of my favourite things to eat on our daily walks. It’s funny; the dogs have to try everything that I eat. Sitka and Toby immediately tried eating roses in imitation of me, but decided that the thorns made them not worth the effort.
Topless
On the Mesa, I finally took a picture of this topless tree… not knowing that it was a foreshadow of things to come.
Seventh Snake
First, down by the river, we encountered the seventh snake of this young season.
Slitherin
This guy had to book it down a steep embankment to avoid being trodden upon by some rather indifferent dogs. They don’t seem to care for snakes much.
Snake, being a favourite prey animal for the indigenous birds, added emphasis to this next mysterious encounter…
Whatcha Got There Sitka?
From a distance, I really had no clue what Sitka had found this time. And even when I got there for a close inspection, I could hardly believe it!
Ravenshead
Somehow Sitka knew that ravens were taboo. One simply doesn’t eat them! (Although, something obviously had!)
Tails You Lose
We found the tail nearby, and you can tell by the context of the sticks and plants around it just how big this raven must have been!
Just Feathers
And all that was left of the missing middle section was this pile of scattered feathers.
Raven is a powerful totem animal with connections to magic and creativity. Honestly, I’m not sure how to interpret this ‘message.’ My feeling about this has to do mainly with the dreamtime. There’s a bloody battle going on right now in the darkness. Raven is our daytime ally who skillfully navigates the darkest of sorceries.
I think we all need to claim our own dreaming as our personal space for healing… or there could be dire consequences. (Not to frighten anyone.)
Here It Comes!
Anyway, the rains have finally come in abundance. It rained all through the night! The Forest promises to dish up the most delectable fragrances and feasts today.
Perhaps when I get back, later today, I’ll write a Dreamtime Reclamation… unless I’m presented with more pressing mysteries…