I was treated to a slow-motion flyby of a bald eagle this first day of the new year. I was standing in my living room, talking on the phone, when I saw the bird fly slowly past my front yard. I suspect that it had just taken off from a nearby tree where it had been perched for the purpose of hunting in the waters below, otherwise it would have been flying a lot faster. Even though it was no longer early morning,and thus time to hunt for breakfast, it had the look and feel of morning hours. The fog was still spread lightly across the landscape, and the heavy cloud cover had not yet thinned enough to allow for full sunlight.
Seeing the bald eagle on the first day of a new year felt like an auspicious sign. These powerful beings are awesome to behold in person. They are intense and focused in everything they do. Their far-seeing eyes seem to penetrate to the core of the soul, not merely to the bottom of the river. The eagle has long been a reminder to me of deep, earthy spirituality. I used to wear a sterling silver eagle feather around my neck on the cord that holds my crystal in a yin/yang setting. Before I had to stop wearing earrings, I also had silver eagle feathers dangling from my ears, which along with my high cheek bones, gave me a decidedly Native American appearance. Several times when I encountered members of one of the native nations of the Pacific Northwest, once they spied those earrings and my pendant, they would ask me to what nation I belonged. Apparently my family on my maternal grandmother's side is somehow linked to the Blackfoot nation, but I know little about this history unfortunately. My choice of jewelry was more symbolic of my earth-centered spirituality, which I also embrace in Taoism and other nature-based spiritual teachings.
The first time I stumbled upon the burial site of Chief Sealth (Seattle was named after this famous leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish nations), I got out of my car and walked reverently to the site to pay my respects. While I was standing there communing with the energy of this powerful chief, a bald eagle gave its high-pierced shriek as it flew overhead. In that moment, I knew I had been blessed to touch energies with the Chief himself. I felt his energy then, and on a few other occasions I have felt his presence and heard his voice speaking to me. I first refer to this experience in this blog in "Kindred Spirit," which can be located using the Google blog search tool at the bottom of the page.
In the photo above, Chief Sealth's burial site is the black and red frame structure in the upper right hand corner. He was buried in the graveyard at a Catholic church because of his late in life conversion, which many suggest was largely a symbolic gesture to the white people with whom he was trying to keep peace rather than any sort of denunciation of his own people's spiritual practices and views. He does have a grave stone that is much like the others in the cemetery. However, his people also honored him with a more traditional Native American burial site and funereal objects left at the site. It is a humbling experience to visit this great being's resting place. If you are at all psychically sensitive, you will feel strong energy there.
In the photo above, Chief Sealth's burial site is the black and red frame structure in the upper right hand corner. He was buried in the graveyard at a Catholic church because of his late in life conversion, which many suggest was largely a symbolic gesture to the white people with whom he was trying to keep peace rather than any sort of denunciation of his own people's spiritual practices and views. He does have a grave stone that is much like the others in the cemetery. However, his people also honored him with a more traditional Native American burial site and funereal objects left at the site. It is a humbling experience to visit this great being's resting place. If you are at all psychically sensitive, you will feel strong energy there.
I particularly sensed Chief Sealth when I lived in a house in Poulsbo, Washington, whose surrounding property butted up against the Port Madison reservation. On more than one occasion while living there, I heard and felt the former inhabitants of the land pass right through my house on one of their "spirit rides," as I called them. Their cries raised the hairs on my arms every time they came through, but there was nothing in the least bit frightening about them. I simply accepted this awe-inspiring experience as part of being allowed to live so close to such a spiritually-imbued place. Chief Sealth's burial site is within the boundaries of the Port Madison reservation in Suquamish, Washington, which is right next to Poulsbo. Anyone who drives from Poulsbo to Bainbridge Island will pass through part of the reservation and only a quick jaunt off the beaten path will lead you to the Chief's gravesite in Suquamish at St. Peter's Catholic Church.
The cedars that framed the timber frame home, which I was so blessed to be able to rent for a year, were cut from the trees on the property. When the time came when I was forced to leave that house, because it had been sold to new owners, I was heart-broken and could barely stand the thought of leaving that place. In the last few weeks while I was there, I began to discern a vibration coming from the cedar beams. As I listened carefully, I realized that the vibration I was sensing was the sound of a chant. I listened day after day to these sounds and even jotted down the words and can still sing them to you.
Native Americans have long revered the bald eagle that once filled the skies over this country. I am delighted that the species has made such a strong recovery. Many of my earlier blogs here mention my connection to the bald eagles who were my neighbors on Hood Canal and are also my neighbors here. I love them, and I am delighted to have been treated to a flyby sighting today on this first day on 2010. I deem it as a confirmation of my New Year's intentions, which I recorded in a journal last night under the energy of the blue moon. One of those intentions is to get back to writing more about nature and spirituality.
Due to a bout of severe vertigo in 2009, which impacted my vision and forced me to look inward more because I could not see things very well at a distance, I felt as though I had lost contact with the rich experience of nature that surrounds me in this place. Only recently have I been able once again not only to look out at my gorgeous views, but also to witness the flight of the bald eagles, the blue herons, and all the other birds that pass by my window each day. Another smaller vertigo episode startled me this past week, but I am recovering quickly, and I am determined, like the far-seeing eagle, to remain in good health so I can fulfill my intention of writing more and more about nature and spirituality. The bald eagle sighting was a perfect way to confirm this decision and to assure me that I can indeed complete what I have set as my intention in 2010. I feel much like the eagle I saw today, that I am just lifting off into flight from a prolonged stationary position. Although we may both fly rather slowly at first, the momentum will build as the wind catches our wings and we soar once again to the heights.
The following link contains some incredible photos of bald eagles. Feel free to enjoy. http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Pictures/eagle_pg1.html
Some background information on Chief Sealth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Seattle
