chupacabra Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

An 8-point buck; I swear! – Photo: L. Weikel

Trickery

I don’t know what it was about today, but things did not seem to be what they appeared. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say they didn’t appear to be what they were. Either way, the trickery with which I felt my eyes and brain were being teased was unexpected.

I think I was expecting the light of this powerful full moon to illuminate everything that needs to be seen, both easily and obviously. If we have been deceiving ourselves, then certainly it stands to reason that when the big reveal arrives, we should be able to recognize it. Right?

Well, maybe that’s not the way things really work. I don’t know.

Or maybe some things were being revealed while others were just messing with me. Or – a third option: maybe the ephemeral is the reality. Maybe what I take to be something certain and obvious actually isn’t.

A Better Look – Photo: L. Weikel

Chupacabra?

My first example of what I mean is the creature I encountered early this evening as I was driving home from the grocery store. The moon was just coming above the horizon and was filling the backdrop of blue-black sky with an eerie orange glow. I rounded a 90 degree turn and this was standing in the middle of the road. It took me by such surprise that I had to fumble for my iPhone – and even when I found it, I only managed to take this single photo.

I think it’s a chupacabra. And I think it usually disguises itself as an 8-point buck.

Sea Lion Amused at the Illusion – Photo: L. Weikel

Number Two

My second surreal moment today came while permitting myself a couple moments at the creek. The weather was flawless. Ha ha – I take that back. In all the vastness of this perfect autumn day, one single cloud appeared in the middle of that cerulean sea. Even that moment felt like it was hinting that there’s more to what things than what meets the eye.

But the photo below took what felt like an inordinate amount of time to come into focus. It literally felt like my brain was doing that in-and-out with a telescopic lens that cameras do now. No matter how I looked at this photo, I couldn’t make heads nor tails out of it.

The wavy attempts to focus and make sense of what I was seeing did settle. And when they did, I very clearly saw the smiling Sea Lion sitting at the base of the portal – err, I mean, the shimmering entrance to another world.

So, you tell me. What was revealed? The truth of the way things really ‘are?’ A glimpse into another realm?

Which makes me also wonder what ‘the truth’ is about the things and circumstances I’m seeing now in other areas of my life. Am I engaging in trickery over myself?

Puppy Pic

Brutus Beefcake – Photo: L.Weikel

(T-37)

Dingo Or Chupacabra

The lonely figure loping across the field strikes terror in the hearts of those who catch sight of it. Seeing it directly or out of the corner of the eye, it causes gooseflesh to rise without warning.

Mothers clutch their babies to their breasts, terrified that the beast, be it chupacabra or dingo, might randomly turn its ravenous, amoral gaze in their direction, stealing their child and dooming them to a life of despair and lamentation.

Their blood runs cold. They’re nearly paralyzed with fear. They sense stories of this encounter will be handed down for generations – if they, and their loved ones survive, that is.

Check It Out

While this reaction is understandable, it’s essential to step up, check things out personally, and make sure what’s being seen is real. A lot of times, our minds leap to conclusions, causing us to interpret what we see as something far scarier than it really is. Indeed, our imaginations can run wild if we let them, especially if we’re prey to the stories we’ve heard from others.

But investigation can sometimes feel daunting and scary. If we take a chance and get too close, perhaps it’ll turn on us. Maybe it’ll even savage us!

Yes, it takes courage to stand up to the fear that might overtake us and cause us to either freeze in terror or run the other way.

Not This Time

Not in this case, though. It wouldn’t take a lot of courage to sniff this baby out.

This time it was remarkably easy to stop for a moment, take a breath, and engage in one’s ‘due diligence.’ All you had to do was take a few steps back, shift your perspective, and follow the leash.