A Spring Conversation with Bear
On a beautiful Spring day in May 2014 I ventured out to the mountains with a student for some dedicated time with nature. We found a little open area in the forest where we could sit at the base of a mountain, in full view of the mountain range ahead and a still-frozen lake below. From this vantage point I became aware (with my inner senses) of a mother bear and two cubs, recently awakened and still in their den.
The connection was very strong and so I engaged in a ‘spirit conversation’ with the Bear. This is what she told me:
“(Sternly) Your people don’t know how to be quiet! Before you came to this land we had peace and quiet in the springtime. We could hear, feel, and sense then. It’s not so much your people as the machines, their noises and vibrations are very disruptive. I am here with my young and I am very sad they awaken to this as their first experience – it is more important for them to hear my breath, and my heartbeat.
(Tone now softening somewhat.) But then again they will know no other way. This is what they get – until they come to know from their ancestors what it was like before – but that will be some time from now. Soon they will leave this place and will become explorers – to feel, sound, and taste. As Bear we can sense, we can smell, and prior to coming upon it physically, we know what is around us.
(Now more gentle) I am pleased that you have come - pleased that you have found me with your spirit eyes. It is a safe way for us to connect and your people have separated from these opportunities and no longer come very often. To know that you have reached out to find us – to know that you can sense our presence here in the forest in the same way we sense and know where the food is – it further connects us together.
And because you have come I will offer a teaching: You two legged – you always ask a question before an answer comes! We don’t – we only listen and sense to know what is coming to us. When you always ask a question you already limit the answer. Take spring – you are curious about the plant growth so you watch and observe the shoots coming out of the earth. If you go deeper you will feel the power of the shoots – feel them pushing upward. But what are you missing in the process? What else is going on all around you that you are not aware of because your questions are only about the plants? Because you have come in a gentle way this is good advice for your people. When you really want to learn, don’t form questions – stop asking and pay attention. Pay Attention. There is far more going on than you can imagine.”
