buffalo Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Rainbow Bridge – Photo: L. Weikel

An Abundance of Riches

I chose Buffalo with Raccoon underneath today. Of course, I’m referring to my ‘pick’ of a card (and its foundation or context) on my day from the Medicine Cards* deck by Jamie Sams and David Carson. The keywords for Buffalo in the Medicine Cards are prayer and abundance. And I can attest that I engaged in a form of prayer for another Being today – and later realized an abundance of riches in quite an unexpected manner and setting.

Buffalo set the tone for the day when I found myself holding space for a dear friend’s cherished pet to make its transition. The experience gave me the opportunity to demonstrate how to energetically lessen the effort it takes to separate soul from body when the time comes. The process reverently makes it just a little easier for the soul to disengage when it is ready. It does not rush the process in any way.

A Storm Approaches – Photo: L. Weikel

Rainbow Bridge

One of the expressions used by my Teachers in Quechua is the ‘rainbow bridge’ when describing where a soul goes when it leaves its body here on Earth. The soul ‘crosses the Rainbow Bridge’ in order to get to the next realm. I’ve also been taught that we have allies that assist us in making that crossing.

Without going into a great deal of detail, suffice it to say that I have a number of specific allies who help me assist others in crossing the Rainbow Bridge. The number of them has increased over the years as I’ve been called upon to act as a psychopomp – a facilitator of the crossing from this world to the next. I’ve actually established deeply trusted relationships with a handful of allies upon whom I know I can rely in this work. Most requests for assistance come when a soul becomes lost or stuck in this realm after their body dies.

As might be expected, my mind was on the Rainbow Bridge a lot this afternoon. And as might be recalled from my recent posts, but especially what I wrote last night, I was especially eager to take a walk this evening. It was hard to contain my need to simply ‘be’ in the presence of Mother Earth and her children.

An Ally on the Bridge – Photo: L. Weikel

Astonishing Reflection

I don’t think I’d walked half a mile late this afternoon (or was it early evening?) before a most ominous storm amassed on the horizon. I decided to take my (our) chances, and Spartacus didn’t offer any objections.

It crossed my mind that perhaps I’d made a grievous mistake when thunder shook the ground underneath us and rain began cascading upon us. We managed, for the most part, to thread our way from one sparse patch of rain to another, mostly enjoying the protection of a number of trees along the way.

Of course, before we even got halfway around, the Rainbow Bridge appeared before our eyes. Yes, it had been on my mind and in my mind’s eye frequently this afternoon. But here it was, before my eyes in this reality as well.

YCMTSU – LtWD – Photo: L. Weikel

An Ally Appears

As we made our way home, we stopped now and again to capture the utter beauty unfolding before us. I managed to take a couple of photos that I didn’t fully appreciate until beginning to write this post.

For instance, the appearance of an ally precisely upon the Rainbow Bridge – without a doubt checking in to give comfort and a ‘high sign’ that a successful crossing had indeed occurred.

The close-up is even more astonishing.

My life is without a doubt filled with an abundance of riches.

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(T-147)

Breathe Through It

My pinky finger is hurting even more tonight. Why? Because I apparently didn’t give it enough attention by writing about it last night. No. It yearned for more, as many a rogue pinky does; so it made more of a hang nail apparent early this afternoon, which I rewarded by practically maiming myself by gnawing at it with a vengeance not seen since the movie in which that guy was mauled by a bear. Ah yes, The Revenant.

I’ve even succumbed to the suggestion made by a few of you: application of a Band-Aid. For the record: I don’t have any WonderWoman Band-Aids. So I traced the weird outline created by the blood-letting that resulted from my gnashing – and voilà – a work of art. And given that I’m an Earth Pig, there’s no way I was going to wrap my pinky in a Band-Aid that resembles a strip of bacon. But thanks for the suggestion (I think?)

In the meantime, in case anyone’s wondering, I keep picking the damn Dolphin card. On Friday, I picked Dolphin squared (you’ll recall, that means I picked Dolphin right side up, with a blank card on the bottom of the deck). Then Saturday I chose Skunk reversed with Dolphin underneath. And today? I chose Dolphin reversed/Buffalo.

So, if I were one to ‘judge’ the cards (which I try not to do, but when I become petulant, I’ve been known to engage in some pithy repartee with my ego), I’d say I’ve impressively gone from bad to worse in record time. Or more honestly, from great to crappy.

Dolphin Up, Dolphin Down, Dolphin Inside Out

Dolphin is all about breathing, which is ironic, given that my 1111 Devotion is dedicated to Karl, who drowned. Yes indeed, it is true; we cannot live without oxygen for more than a few minutes. And quite frankly, I feel sad every time I read those words because they remind me of him, and frustrated as they apply to me. I’m literally starting to feel claustrophobic and my breathing becomes a little shallow when I look around and consider how complicated everything feels at the moment.

Particularly when I read (as I did so long ago , upon choosing Dolphin reversed another time) – and received such startling clarity from it:

“…Dolphin was given a new job. He became the carrier of messages of our progress.”

And “…This can be a time when you are to link with Great Spirit and bring answers to your own questions or to those of others. (…)”

As I said yesterday, I’m getting dial tones in abundance, both for myself and for many of the people around me who seem to be struggling as well.

So breathe, I tell myself. Stop going after your pinky as if you’ve chosen the Beaver card – or Bear.

Hoping Clarity Will Arrive With the Full Moon

I realize this post has been a bit haphazard. But the full moon is approaching and, with it, perhaps some elucidation will arrive on Tuesday as well. At the very least, I’m hoping a shift will take place and answers will begin revealing themselves.

While I may seem as if I’m kvetching, I want to assure you: I have the utmost faith that my path will be made clear. I’m just sharing the love with you guys because it feels important somehow not to sugar coat this stuff.

I certainly, definitely, without question, and unequivocally do not have all the answers. But my ‘peeps,’ as I lovingly but perhaps slightly irreverently call them, do. Always. Especially when I’m asking on behalf of others. But if I’m saying always, I mean always (even for me).

My point in sharing my anguish is to foster transparency. Too often these days, I get the feeling we give up if something doesn’t come through at the tap of a finger or the moment we ask.

We need to breathe through it. We need to relax. We need to be still and listen to the signals being sent to us.

Thanks for keeping me company – and for holding the faith with me.