i stroll across the harvested cornfield on the way home from my
meditation with the mother hemlock tree in shelter valley.
i come to a halt near the massive old oak tree by the fence line
& peer up at the clear sky. i see a hawk flying low overhead,
firmly grasping a writhing snake in its powerful talons. i
stand amazed, fixed in place, watching. i know that this is an omen.
a week later, standing on the lawn, i see & feel the hundred
year old oak tree crash to the ground in the field with a great sharp crack!
it shakes like an earthquake beneath my feet: yet another omen.
something big is coming, i think to myself. it is getting close.
it is just two more weeks until the world trade towers are brought down,
using hijacked airplanes as fearsome juggernauts of destruction.
of course there are omens. there are always omens when we are part
of something this big that needs the balm of our healing energy
helping to mitigate the shock & damage. some of us have the
ripe destiny to invoke positive & strengthening blessings
from divine helpers, & not to give in to anxious fearfulness.
Shiva, You can always use us as first responders, although our
response is energy, not words or physical activity.
we drench the noosphere with healing, with compassion & kindness.
You have placed us here as buffers against the travail of these hard
times, Shiva. we are the unlikely assistants in this rugged
aftermath of covid too, whose quiet service goes unnoticed,
yet forms the foundation for all that follows in this birthing time.
when i was a small sparrow & i ate seeds where i could find them,
i said "thank You" to Shiva for giving them to me. when i was
a hawk & i could catch a sparrow on the wing for my supper,
i said "thank You" to Shiva for providing my next meal for me.
when i was a deer & i munched on tender grass & leaves to feed
my hunger, i said "thank You" to Shiva for offering Himself
to me in this form. when i was a wolf & i ate deer to stay
alive, i said "thank You" to Shiva for this welcome gift You bring:
& i laid myself down flat upon the ground, prostrating to Him.
now i am human. i ask Shiva what He suggests I should eat.
He tells me that i, myself, am both the eater & the eaten.
Shiva confides that everything is made from His own body, that
all things nurture in their own way: & that once i eat i also
am confirmed within the realm of the eatible. all matter is
circulated & transformed in the process; as caterpillar
becomes chrysalis; as water evaporates from the ocean
to become rain. all matter is subject to transformation, &
the master-transformer is Shiva, who provides everything that
we eat from His own primal substance, His body of expression.
all is given by divine provision, for it is one & it is
holy. i call this Shiva; others may say God or Jehovah,
Allah, Buddha, Krishna or the Tao. Although appearing as quite
diverse, all is seen essentially as one, when examined with
holistic sight & a receptive heart capable of melting.
though all is made from the substance of that one vast holy being,
what i eat does become part of this body, thus i'm selective.
i don't eat anything that has a face, so i eat vegetables,
grains & milk products, giving some degree of purity for You
Who finally partake of me in the higher realm that i am
headed for. i say "thank You," Shiva, as i offer myself like
a sweet, juicy purple plum, ripe on the branch in morning sunshine,
ready for a transformative journey to Whom all things return.
THIS HAPPENED 