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More Thoughts on Finding Symbolic Meanings of Animal Sightings

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Finding Symbolic Meaning

This post on finding symbolic meanings of animal sightings comes as a response to a comment left for my symbolic meaning of Owl post. Here is the question:

hello. I was looking for symbolsim on owls and found your comments. I have had an owl sitting outside of my house for about a month. It is there every day. About a month ago, my mother, who lives nearby, got very sick and I have been looking out for her night and day ever since. She is getting much better. The owl still sits outside my house, every day, on a a frond of one of my many tall, white Birds of Paradise. That area is a very protected area of my yard, and the Birds of Paradise thrive and bloom there. The owl sits on one of the low, dying frond. (I leave it natural outside- maybe I should clear it away.) I am still concerned about why his is out there. I sure hope it is a really, really good sign. Thank you for your commments, feedback.

Hi Peony,

If you’ve read my websites & blog – you’ll know I continually hammer one point home: “The only correct interpreter is you.”

We all have our own opinions because we see the world and experience life through our own personal filters and belief structures.

I would encourage you to follow the trail of your first instinct and impression about the Owl when it came into your awareness.

I would not allow other people, legends, myths, or interpretations to negatively impact your emotional energy.

That Owl is there for you, and you alone. This is a relationship between you both – take the time to cultivate the connection. Mine this experience for the nuggets of knowledge nestled deeply inside this connection.

First impressions are often our most accurate. I read in your first comment (which I accidentally deleted) that you felt rather uplifted by the Owl making its presence in your yard. I’d stick with this impression, and follow it – see where those first feelings take you.

I love how the Owl chose this area of your yard, how you emphasize the Birds of Paradise, and how these plants thrive and bloom. I believe it is no accident you’ve made a distinct connection between the Owl, and its choice to settle in this specific location.

Your attention to this specific connection may be a key to personal interpretation (answers) on a deep level.

I invite you to consider the themes of hope, protection, and trust in relation to this experience.

I would also advise you to consider the Owl as more than an event…rather, consider this a relationship. You chose each other.

Take quiet time to free associate about this experience. Take a creative, meditative stance (not a logical one) when contemplating this scenario. Relax with these details. By freeing ourselves just a bit – phenomenal insights come.

And how do we loosen those tight logical bindings that often choke out our most profound interpretations? Here are some ideas:

Drawing. Color, paint, sketch, doodle the Owl, the Birds of Paradise, your yard, your mother, yourself – just play with this imagery randomly. In this way, various parts of our brain work together a differently than linear logical thought operates. This different way of processing information yields interpretive gold.
Sleeping. We all know brain patterns are quite different during sleep than in waking hours. We can use sleep as a tool in our interpretive process. Contemplate your Owl before sleeping. Write a few lines about the owl before sleep. Or, look at a picture of an Owl before sleeping. Make a clear intent of connecting to the Owl before sleep. Most often this is an easy, organic method of garnering clarity about animal visitations.
Meditating. I’m a big advocate of meditation, and believe it to be the single-most effective technique for clarification. Meditation is nothing special. Indeed, every human is designed to meditate – it’s a natural ability that our busy, distraction-riddled lives have numbed us from having. Simply be still in the energy of the Owl. Just be still. When thoughts come, let them pass like soft, rolling ripples of water in a calm sea. Thoughts will continue to wave into your awareness as you are in this meditative stillness….continue to let them roll. Eventually waves of deeper communication will roll to you – these are the thoughts that carry nutrient-dense insight to your cause. You will know them when they press against your awareness. Swim with them, follow them.

These are just a few ideas on mining for symbolic meanings to your Owl visitation.

Another tip: Ditch the anxiety-causing babble. Perspectives born from a place of ignorance or fear will never serve you. The meanings that make us cringe are not our allies in life.

Rather, work with the Owl. Work with yourself. Work with the details that sing to your soul. When you come across perspectives that lift you as high as the Owl can fly – that’s your sign of a genuine insight – a true understanding.

Other pages of interest and assistance: