Today I am sharing a story from my early days when I was just beginning the journey of exploring the Earth-Spirit connection and receiving guidance from the natural world. I was reminded of this memory of an encounter with a humble creature which started my journey on a spiritual path of gratitude during my Autumn Equinox Walk this week.
It was late summer. The sunshine streamed through the leaves and made dancing patterns on the ground. This moment marked the beginning point of my soul guidance quest. I sat on a log alongside seven others, listening to the instructions from the grey haired ‘shamaness’ of the camp. We were all about to carry out ‘Spirit Animal Quest’; to receive a message about what we needed to know in our lives. I had never done anything like this before…I was naturally “spirited” but had not really explored it deeper than interest level.
The start of the search...
I set off with the instructions in my head; walk, be aware, pause, listen…..I wandered slightly aimlessly through the woodlands and countryside in silence and solitude. All eight of us set off in separate directions, to not to disturb each other. Each one of us carried sticks and a bit of string. We were going to capture our quest in a Native American Journey Stick….adding things to the stick from our walks. At the start of the path, the first thing that I put onto my stick was a piece of flat slate. Looking for things to add brought an outward awareness and mindfulness…some leaves, some moss, a twig all got added.
But my eyes were constantly looking for clue that my Spirit Animal was there with my message. Would I see a deer in the woods? Would it be a kingfisher as I walked by the little stream? What about a rabbit - that would be nice and cute? But I didn’t see anything. I heard tweets, I saw some tracks, but all remained elusive. No spirit animal with my message.
Seeing the signs
Then, on the path in front of me, I came across a feather – brown with stripping. Something inside, an inner knowing told me that this was a signal that I was on the right path, and it was time to pause and listen. This still remains, even now, a sign from spirit that I am on the right path. But this is not the end of the insights I was meant to receive that day, for feathers are another story.
It was time to pause and listen….I looked around for somewhere to sit and just be. Be in silence, meditate and be open to receiving…that had been the guidance…I had forgotten the bit about or however feels right for you or you are being guided.
Time to pause
I climbed over a little stile, and arrived at a sunny spot in a meadow. It was quiet and warm and pleasant. And I sat….and sat…I tried closing my eyes and meditating but my mind was all disconnected…I was really tired and the warm sunshine was making me feel very drowsy. Sleeping on the ground with my seven camping companions the night before meant I was sleep deprived and more than a bit achy…My mind would not settle to meditate, especially as I was not really experienced at it, I had only just started dabbling with it meditation. I was starting to get frustrated. How on earth was I going to get a message if I could not meditate and be quiet?
Dealing with distractions
I was still there feeling frustrated, when the ground started rumbling….I looked around for the source…over the brow of the hill came a herd of black and white cow. I jumped up fearful of getting trampled but they were intent on a mission and it wasn’t me, they were heading around the bend with their full udders flapping crazily…must be milking time!
I smiled, my heart still racing a little, I tried to resettled myself. Just another distraction in my meditation attempts! I was thinking about giving up, defeated. When…..out of the corner of my eye I caught a movement on a swaying bit of grass. I was about to leap up once again as my brain registered a spider. I hated spiders.f they were bigger than a 2p piece I would end up hyperventilating through panic. But something strange happened to me in that moment. A moment of calm enveloped me as the sunlight shone down, and this spider, like no other I had ever seen, with the smallest, finest little body and the longest, finest of legs that glistened almost golden and shimmered, caught my breath, not in fear, but in wonder. My eyes remained fixated on it…memorised by this little ‘Gossamer Spider’, that looked like it has stepped out of a fairy tale. It continued to sway on the top of its little blade of grass, busy about its business of moving its legs.
My answer...
I sat in silence for an amazing length of time, watching…my mind quietened and made space to receive. ‘Find the beauty in every moment and everything’. This humble, beautiful little spider was the spirit animal carrying the message for me.
This marked the point, the start on the spiritual path of gratitude; learning to count my blessings and connection with the flow of abundance. It is not about the big things or the showy things, it is the small things that make a difference. Learning to be thankful for each and every moment that makes a difference, create a soulful life. This is a foundational mindset change and one step in the path to blossoming your abundant life.
It is no surprise that memory returned at this time the energies of Earthly connected energies of Virgo Moon cycle along with the the flow of abundance and gratitude with the changing Earth Cycle of the Autumn Equinox makes a powerful doorway for spirit to flow into the earthly realm and the for earth to embrace the spirit