A Shamanic Birthday Walk

Today is the start of my forty-sixth year on this Earth and I wanted to celebrate this morning by enjoying what the Earth has to offer. I have been house-sitting near Airport Trail for a month and even though I walk it nearly every day, I never grow tired of it. Waking up at the crack of dawn, I put on my baseball cap to shield the early sun from my eyes and headed out the door. I wondered what I would see on my travels on this day only to be happily surprised by the amount of visitors crossing my path.

Almost each day for about two months I have been seeing a lovely Rabbit and today was no exception. Considering I have been in different homes, not to mention different towns in the last several weeks, I presume “the” Rabbit I have seen is actually several different Rabbits, but I prefer to think of them as a “him” and that he has been the one visiting me on a regular basis.

In fact, from the first time I saw my new friend he has allowed me to approach him. I have managed to stay within a few feet without him running away. Since that first day, we have stared into each other’s eyes, yet neither of us would ever move—that is until I decide it is time to continue on my walk. It fascinates me to watch him. Interestingly enough, later in the day, after my first sighting, I went on a Shamanic Journey and who did I see for the first time? Yep, you guessed it: the Rabbit. In that vision he guided me on my path, scampering ahead of me, but he constantly looked back to make certain I was following. Funnily enough, when I moved in to my current residence and went out on the first morning for my daily walk I saw my Rabbit scampering ahead of me, looking behind to make sure I was following. Needless to say, the Rabbit has never been afraid of me and today he even raced towards me, hanging out only a couple feet away from where I stood.

Now to back up a bit, when I was six years old, I had very straight and waist-long light golden blonde hair. Everyone loved to brush my hair and I certainly wasn't going to stop them. My two young aunts, who are only six and twelve years older than I am, were a part of my hair-brushing crew and they each thought I looked cute with a headband. So, they would constantly put one on me, all the while, telling me that I looked like Alice in Wonderland. Looking back on the photos, I can honestly say that I truly did. So, today I think of the Rabbit that I see as an icon for the Rabbit in Alice’s tale. While her story was a fable, it has a strong Shamanic overtone. It has long been rumored that Lewis Carroll was actually on some sort of narcotic when he wrote his story and it stands to reason that in his drug induced stupor he actually was on a Shamanic journey.

If we think about Alice’s “trip” she followed the Rabbit for a “journey” through life in a mysterious land. She was able to be small, which to me is a metaphor for how we think of ourselves when are embracing our ego, and then she was able to become large, a metaphor for our Spirit Selves. As I see the Rabbit each day I am reminded that we have a tendency to think of ourselves as small and insignificant, when in truth we are these gigantic powerful Beings that are a part of the Universal Source that fills this dimension as well as every dimension. I sent my thanks to the Rabbit who reminded me of this and went on my way.

A moment later, I saw two Quails racing down their path. They were like two love birds hiding their secret from me, the voyeur. Luckily, I was able to catch a glimpse just the same. What fascinates me about this bird is not only its obvious charm with its squeaks of delight and its lovely way it prances as it moves, I also rarely see a Quail without its mate and it continues to bring a bit of joy to me, knowing that there is a possibility for the pairing up for all of us.

As I moved on I next witnessed a third Quail, which admittedly surprised me to see her alone. However, this bird was balancing itself on the very tip top of a young pine tree. It immediately came to me how even when we are a couple, it is important to spend time committing ourselves to our passions. It also was clear that we can choose to bring balance into our lives embracing our single self and our couple self as well as bring balance between this physical reality we experience alongside with our Spiritual Body.

Again, just another moment later, a large Raven spanned his wings as he flew overhead. Raven is the soldier who warns the entire animal kingdom of incoming intruders. So, I think of him as being focused, which is how I like to be when I am writing. He also symbolizes the magic that life really is if we choose to see it from that perspective. A good reminder for me as I try to find my next home that is needed in only three days. Miracles can happen at any moment and we are constantly creating what we focus on.
With all this activity it seems as though I was out for hours, but in truth, by this point I not only was outside for a mere five minutes, I hadn’t even reached the path yet. It was truly a magical morning.

Within minutes, I found myself climbing the initial hill to reach the starting point of the trail, and as I stood at the top, I gazed upon what I think of as the best view in Sedona. Cathedral, Bell and Courthouse Rocks, along with a plethora of other rocks that I don’t know the names of, stood tall holding court for the valley below them.
And as they do every morning, the individual rays from the sun peered over the rocks beaming their light and energy to the occupants below them showing me another aspect of the Divine.

With all its beauty, what I enjoy most about this particular path is that it has been a great teacher for me as it has enabled me to face my fears. For you see, this trail is only about a foot wide, which then plummets to dizzying heights. Even so, the views are so spectacular I find that I am called to come here often. However, it has occurred to me that if it were five years ago, I wouldn’t have had the stomach for it. I hadn’t learned to deal with my fears yet. I still suppressed everything. Then it came to pass that I decided to move to Paris. I did so even though I only had seventy euros in my pocket. Believe me when I say, that first year was definitely about me moving through my fears and shedding layer after layer of old beliefs so that I could embrace the Divine Truths. Without that experience, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my daily walks on this beautiful (albeit a bit frightening)t rail. I was being shown that the pieces of the puzzle from my life not only fit together like a glove, each piece builds upon the other enabling for the expansion of Self—and for that I am grateful.

I also noticed that I had to constantly look at the ground below to make sure I wouldn’t lose my footing. Still, I constantly wanted to look up at my surroundings. Again, the metaphor for the balancing between my physical (looking down at the ground) and Spiritual (looking up to see my surroundings) Selves was being shown—and as I thought this, a Dragonfly swung around me and I smiled. For you see, not only does the Dragonfly symbolize transformation to me, it also represents the unveiling of old beliefs, enabling the space to make room for True Divine Wisdom to come in. I think the Universe was trying to tell me something!

After being out in nature for an hour and half, the heat filtering in from the sun was getting to be a bit too much for me and I headed home. This excursion was a beautiful birthday gift I gave to myself—and I am thankful for all the wonders that I paid heed to today.

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