Synchronicity or Animal Guardians?
Not long ago, I came across a post from a friend of mine which told me about an experience she had while hiking a trail in Ireland. The post read as follows:
I was rushing through the last 2 hours of my hike on the Atlantic Way Trail, getting nervous about the dying twilight and empty trails. The last person I passed had been hours ago, and I still had no glimpse of Doolin. I was experiencing fatigue in my leg stabilization muscles and needed to watch my feet closely, when I looked up again I was startled to see this black dog silently watching me. I called out to her, and she timidly snuck into the high grass. 5 minutes later I turned around and she was following me a ways behind. Although I was a little unnerved, I again crouched down and called to her. She never let me touch her, but eventually, she was accompanying me into town a couple of paces behind me. Then, at the trails end and roads beginning, as suddenly as she appeared, she disappeared. It was strangely comforting to have this shadow sharing a length of the dark trail with me, and I’m thankful to her for the company.
This story reminded me of another that I had heard countless times. It was a story from my dad’s childhood in Greece. He and his friend were climbing a rocky mountain in order to avoid taking the long road from a village to the monastery where they were staying. After climbing for some time, they realized that they had reached a point where they couldn’t climb any further, but it was also too high and too steep to go back down. As the sun started to set, their fear took hold and they began wondering how long it would take people to find them once they realized they were missing. Suddenly a mountain goat appeared before them and began to walk along a path that they hadn’t seen before. They followed the goat just long enough to feel they were safe again before it disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared before.
These stories aren’t unique. There are endless accounts of people in far more dire situations who were rescued by animals that appeared at just the right moment to ensure their safety.
In 1974, the Philippine navy published an official account of an unusual rescue. On June 2nd an inter-islander passenger ship had sunk off of the coast of an island in the southern Philippines. Two days into the search and rescue effort a woman was spotted clinging to what appeared to be an oil drum. As soon as they started hauling her up, they realized it was actually a giant sea turtle that had been propping her up. It was witnessed by Lt. Cesario F. Mana along with practically everyone else aboard the ship. Mana was quoted in the Montreal Gazette saying “The Sea Creature even circled the area twice before disappearing into the depths of the sea as if to reassure itself that its former rider was already in good hands.”
In September of 2000, 19-year-old Kevin Hines had made the decision to end his life by jumping off of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. He immediately realized after launching himself past the guardrail that he had made a mistake and he didn’t really want to die. He managed to turn his body so that he was no longer falling head first, and miraculously survived the impact. However, he was in indescribable pain as he sank below the water since he had broken his back. He was struggling to keep his head above water when he felt a creature brush against his leg, he claims that the creature kept circling him and nudging him, keeping his head above water until he was rescued by the coast guard. He believes that the creature was a seal but one man on the bridge claimed that it was actually a sea lion that was circling Kevin and keeping him alive.
There’s no question that we have a special connection with animals, but are these stories just a case of being in the right place at the right time? In Kevin Hines case, he believed that the sea lion who came to his rescue was a guardian angel, and my dad claimed that the goat leading them to safety was divine intervention as well. In Kate’s case, she was just grateful to have companionship during a part of her journey where being alone could have been dangerous.
Is it possible that these people manifested their guardians in a time of need?
About the Author
How to Communicate With Your Ancestors
The desire to communicate with our ancestors is an innate part of the human experience. We intuitively sense their presence in our wisdom bodies and it begs the question: can we communicate with them?
Through daily prayer, mediation, creation of art, music, food, and ceremony, the ancestor spirits can communicate, guide, protect, and heal the living. Ancestral communication has been an ancient practice in every wisdom tradition throughout time. Your ability to connect with your ancestors is always available.
In particular, the days on and around October 31 to November 2 are a transformational portal on the wheel of life. It’s the mid-point between fall and winter, the death and dying season. Therefore, it’s a powerful time to communicate with one’s ancestors. This article offers guidance on how to create a beautiful ceremonial journey to communicate with your ancestors.
The Traditions of Ancestral Communication
Ancestral communications is an ancient and daily practice found in many cultures around the world, including Mayan, Celtic, Aborigine, Indigenous American, Ancient Greece, Ancient Eurasia, African Tribal, Tibetan, and the Vedic/Yogic traditions. Some major religions, such as the Catholic faith, honor the deceased on All Saints Day and All Souls Day with prayers, candles, incense, chanting, ceremony, and offerings. In Mexico, they celebrate the Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos). And in the Celtic tradition, Samhain, which observes the transition time between the two worlds.
In our culture, we are familiar with Halloween or All Hallows Eve. However, much of the essence and spiritual wisdom connected to these ceremonial days – meant to honor and communicate with one’s ancestors – has been lost.
I lost my own father early in life. Through ancestral communication, I have been able to open my heart, experiencing a deeper love within myself, due to the work I have done to connect with my father and other ancestors. Through this work, I have been able to reconcile deep wounds and karmic patterns that stem back even beyond my Dad, but also to my deceased grandparents and living family.
Ancestral work can transform the karmas of past generations, as well as work into the current and future generations for healing.
Halloween and The Day of the Dead
These two celebrations are traditionally considered ceremonial days and nights to honor and communicate with one’s ancestors. This is a time to create family altars, perform ceremonies with the ancestors, and layout offerings of flowers, incense, crystals, art, and food. Halloween or All Hallows Eve literally means Holy Night or All Saint’s Night. It is a time to honor and communicate with those that have taken their spirit walk, ancestors, and the holy or saintly ones. The Day of the Dead maintains the spiritual essence of ceremony, honor, and communication in the deeper regions of Mexico.
Last year at this time, I was in southern Mexico, in the city of Merida, studying the Mayan tradition. Two days before the Day of the Dead, I decided to take a walk in the main plaza to enjoy the night air. I encountered a celebration amongst the locals. Dozens of families from surrounding villages were joyfully creating altars, cooking and sharing food, lighting candles, putting up photos of their deceased, and playing music all around the central plaza. It was a very moving experience and I could feel the light coming in through their intentions and offerings to their familial ancestors.
Elements of these beautiful ceremonies and altar practices can be observed in our modern Halloween by way of candles in jack-o-lanterns, candy offerings, and festivities. If you choose, you can mindfully reconnect to these ancient practices while the veil between the two worlds is open this time of year.
