The following sparklet is a reminder to all that Nova Luna is a school of magic and mystery…think Hogwarts on Maui…the house and its grounds are enchanted. It reflects the wisdom and learning we seek to inspire in the world.
At Nova Luna last week, we gave a talk on body image. Within days we noticed a beautiful red cardinal beating itself against the side mirrors of our car.
We watched the bird over many days as it beat its precious, beautiful body against the mirrors over and over, attacking the image that it didn’t recognize as its Self. The bird appeared to find its reflection threatening and horrible, not only attacking itself in the process, but also defecating all over the car as it couldn’t pull itself away and take care of its basic needs.
How metaphorically, this bird — like many of us — self-harm and harm the people and things around us out of not seeing or recognizing who we really are and loving ourselves.
It’s like attacking aspects of ourselves that we are seeing through a distorted mirror. The distortions are our parts that have in essence, a life of their own, taking us down the proverbial rabbit hole to the core wounds that have not yet been brought into the light. These parts have come to believe they are ugly, worthless, unloveable, intolerable, wretched, and despicable. Thus, like this bird, attacking one’s Self, because these parts believe they are threatened, threatening, and in need of obliteration.
How then to meet that beautiful bird — how to save it? How to facilitate it saving itself? In order to save our car in the short-term, we covered the mirrors with a towel; not really effective long-term. We aren’t going to kill the bird obviously. For that matter, the bird is effecting its own demise if it can’t STOP attacking itself. We can’t remove the mirrors. The mirrors in our lives are everywhere. We must address the internal distortions: the parts that see the illusion rather than the truth, the light, the beauty and brilliance of our Selves.
That beautiful red bird is our radiant Self. It reminds me of my favorite Hogwarts bird Fawkes, the phoenix whose tears of love healed the most toxic wound from the serpent who bit Harry Potter. And remember Fawkes, as a phoenix, looked mightly sorry before he burst into flames and died — only to be reborn from the ashes of its old self. Radiant, Rising…In this process no one will tell you there is no pain, but we can promise you there is redemption, there is looking in the mirror of all that surrounds us and seeing that everyone is you, and that we are not “alone” — we are “all One”.
In celebration of ‘red birds’ everywhere, including the Red Sparrow (if any of you have seen the movie), Recovery and Redemption are possible and Oh So Awesome!!!
Magic comes in many ways. Just look outside your window and you may find it, taking flight with widespread wings.
—MV
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