BIRD CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness knows all. This “Life” essence is substance for all outward form. Sacred life appears. Inhabitants of green Earth. Moved by this “Something.” All birds simply know— why, when, where to fly how far. Stomachs full, eggs laid. No conscious thought here. Divine Impulse equips, prompts. Current need fulfilled. Eye-to-eye with birds. They alight on gentle arms. Hearts that beat as one. United we live. Harmony between life’s forms. Melodic bird song. Remembering Saint Francis In the fleeting but sacred moments I enjoy with the many birds that visit our garden sanctuary, my thoughts sometimes drift fondly to St. Francis of Assisi, well known as the beloved patron saint of animals, birds, and the environment. Pope Innocent III told Francis that God had given him the greatest gift of all—the grace to approach Him through His beloved creatures. In “The Canticle of Brother Sun,” written shortly before Francis passed on, one of his famous stanzas goes like this: “Praised be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.” His boundless love of life was inclusive when he prayed, “My God and my all.” For him, every particle of the natural world was holy in its multiplicity of manifestations—in the reassuring ways Life reveals God’s Love. Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates Francis’ enduring voice for nature and his great love for animals is recounted in the “Fioretti” (“The Little Flowers of Saint Francis”), a collection of legends and folklore that sprang up after the Saint’s death.1 In one of these stories, it is told that while he was traveling with some companions one day, they reached a place in the road where birds filled the trees on both sides. Francis told his companions to “wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds.” The birds surrounded him, intrigued by the power of his voice. Not a single bird flew away from his humble, radiating presence. Thus, the famous “Sermon to the Birds” became an enduring legend. Naturalist John Muir put it perfectly when he wrote, “any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.” My life is daily enlarged and made better by every feathered and furred encounter of grace and blessing. Thank you, sisters and brothers of the animal realm. Thank you, Saint Francis, for your unforgettable, spiritual legacy of love, joy, and humble presence. In today’s rapidly changing world, you help us to remember who we really are—divine beings surrounded by divine beings. Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. St. Francis of Assisi We would give you a vision of an infinite power working in perfect order, from the heights to the depths, from heaven above right down to the physical and through all humanity. We would show you a process in all life of changing darkness into light. Light creates life. And even in the very lowest form of life, light is working amid the darkness. Divine law, the law of God, is working on the darkness, the positive state working on the negative, in a process that is gradually producing the perfect God-conscious being.                    White Eagle, Further Steps on a Spiritual Path Other Animal and Nature Offerings: • Those “Shy” Birds • Graced By White-Crowned Sparrows • Frequency Aligners • Until The Last One… • Natural Dispersal • Five Snow Geese • For the Love of Animals Endnote: 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi © Haiku poem and text © by Zane Maser, 2016. Photos gratefully used from Wikimedia Commons. All 2009-2016 rights of Zane Maser and SunnyCat Astrology reserved worldwide. My editorial guru and technological wizard is Chris Maser, my stupendous husband.