Clever Bird Gets My Attention

This red-breasted grosbeak hung around outside my writing cottage window for quite a long time this afternoon. I took great delight in snapping quite a few pictures of him and share three of them here with you. I didn’t realize it until I did some research but the grosbeak is related to the cardinal family.

This past Sunday in our county we had over seven inches of rain! My gardens and flower pots won’t need watering for a while.

Curious about the symbolism of the red-breasted grosbeak I found this through a Google search: “their sweet whistles remind us of warm summer days bleeding into carefree delights.”

It seems like the perfect message after all the rain and many days of clouds that this red-breasted grosbeak is bringing us a most welcome message that sunny days are soon to be here again.  And I kid you not, just as I’m writing this post the song that comes on the radio?  “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles.

Okay, okay, red-breasted grosbeak I hear you loud and clear and can’t wait to welcome the sun and warmer temperatures tomorrow. You are so clever in getting my attention!

xo,

Barbara

Hedgehog Guides Us Gently Within to Find Peace

The oracle cards and the message for us this week are from Hedgehog and Peace.

I was immediately drawn to the light glowing from within the hedgehog as well as the orbs of light surrounding him. I felt an immediate sense of hope, centeredness, and calm flow through me just by gazing at the card for a few moments.

What a perfect card in conjunction with the peace card as that is what I was feeling also as I took in all the beautiful colors and twinkles of the light surrounding the hedgehog as well as the soothing colors of the peace card, along with the dove which is often symbolic of serenity.

I see the hedgehog as reminding us that when we are feeling off balance and the fact he is a nocturnal creature and curls up into a ball until he feels safe, that we too must be willing to go into the darkness within ourselves and sift and sort through feelings we are unsure about.

This message from Hedgehog was definitely reflecting my own inner state this morning as I’d been waffling back and forth wrestling with some things that had me feeling off-balance the last few days as I worked on deciphering what was mine and what wasn’t.

On Saturday I spent some time digging in my gardens planting some new perennials. This required digging down into the earth deep enough so the new plants will have their best chance at taking root and blooming and thriving into their best selves. The dirt was still cold as it will slowly begin to warm as the temperatures continue to increase as we move from spring to summer. This feels in alignment with the message from hedgehog and how we have to do the work to get to a state of peace also when we feel off.

Peace feels warm and comforting, just like the roots of those plants will soon experience as they take root and then feel more stable and nourished as the days begin to warm.

My hands digging in the ground and planting new life was helpful as it took me out of my busy, overanalyzing, and what can be sometimes a critical mind.

This morning moving through various exercises on my AeroPilates machine I began to feel even more grounded while I also began to feel the heaviness I was carrying begin to lift, too. I knew meditation would be what I’d end my workout with, and I curled up on the platform of the AeroPilates machine which I now see symbolic as the hedgehog curling up and then showing up as he did today for this reading.

As the meditation music played in my ears I felt called to list everything at that moment that I feel grateful for. The list was quite extensive, and all simple things really – a roof over my head, food in the freezer, gardens to nurture, a husband who loves me, a writing cottage to come to, and share my heart through my writing and other work, etc.

I now think about the hedgehog and when he emerges from within himself you see his sweet pink face – he is glowing and radiant! Just like when we take time to be with what is bothering us, rummaging through all the thoughts of why that is while being gentle with ourselves, to then eventually emerge feeling more in alignment with who we truly are…. and then we too glow and sparks of twinkles surround us just like the Hedgehog card. Another reminder that it’s an inside job to true and lasting peace.

So if you find yourself in a space of feeling off-kilter in the moment or encounter that this week, remember Hedgehog and find a place to curl up and just be with it all and soon enough peace will find its way to you too.

Have a beautiful week!

xo,

Barbara

Cards used: Archangel Animal Oracle by Diana Cooper and Wisdom of the Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid

How Animal Wisdom Heals Emotional Wounds Radio Interview

You can catch an interview that I recently did with host Charyl Kayle of Mind, Body, Paws on Empower Radio. I appreciated how Charly really did her due diligence in learning about my work and my book and asked some great questions, plus shared her thoughts on a dream I share in my book from her experience as a dream interpreter workshop facilitator.

Just click here to listen.

Next week I’ll share another interview I did with her as she invited me to do back-to-back interviews. The second one is something I’ve not had the opportunity to talk about in some time and it’s all about wheelie dogs and IVDD!

xo,

Barbara