The Shelter of Your Gaze

Dear Friends of Nature,

Is the autumn season beaconing with its colors, smells, festivities of the forest, and fairs? Well, it sure is for me in the cozy corner of NW, CT.

Please review my upcoming virtual workshops below and read on!

Last week, I met a prickly muse that inspired my essay, The Shelter of Your Gaze. You can meet her as I had if you click the link to a 30-sec video of our encounter. Ms. Prickly nudged me to create a 1:30-second video illustrating the many places and beings we experience the gaze of shelter in our daily life. You can view both videos below. Once you reach my VIMEO channel, MAKE SURE YOU CLICK the image to start the video and have your volume up.

Join me in one or both of my upcoming workshops.

With the support of our virtual community, deepen your ability to communicate with Nature. Learn collaborative Nature healing skills. Renew your commitment to our natural world and your well-being.

I invite you to join me in one of my two upcoming virtual workshops.

NOVEMBER 3, 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM Nature As Mentor, cost $20. A virtual experiential workshop.

View my website for details. Click Here.

NOVEMBER 17, 6:30 PM-8:00 PM The Nature of Mindful Eating & Living costs $20. A virtual experiential workshop. View my website for details. Click Here

Payment will reserve your seat in the program.

*SEE details below on how to make payment via PayPal

With Nature in heart and mind,

Marlow

The Shelter of Your Gaze

By Marlow Shami

I am looking into the animal's eyes; this creature knows my intention to be present. Our connection seems to open a portal between us that can only be felt, not seen.

This melding of kinship has occurred in the past with a chipmunk, a tufted titmouse, a tree, and a river; in this case, it was a young porcupine. I had seen her a few weeks earlier positioned far too high in a young black birch tree, precariously fixed to a thin branch. Wildlife rehabilitators handling these solitary animals say it is not unusual for them to fall from trees occasionally.

Seeing that dark silhouette perched so high caused a wave of fear for her safety. Now a few weeks later, walking the same trail with a friend, we jump away from the trail side, both having noticed something alive and unknown alongside our path.

"It's a porcupine," my companion gasped in surprise.

Peaking over a fern, she is that same young porcupine, I'm almost positive. Moms give birth to up to four porcupettes (yep, that's what a newborn is called) at a time. I might have seen two different animals from the same litter, but I comfort myself by thinking she's one and the same.

Speaking to her, sending out the intention of "I'm here, I see you; I'm in love with this moment we are in." She remained still with her back to me. She did not run. Standing just two feet away, she seemed to be listening.

Slowly the diminutive animal turned to look, our eyes locked, and the portal splashed open at that moment.

Time evaporated. The world shifted. Nothing insulated the space between that sweet presence and me; it was wind, autumn leaves skipping along stones and moss, and birds conversing deep in the woods. A sweetness in my belly and warmth in my chest melted the barrier to our melding. No thoughts now, just those tiny black button eyes, chestnut and black-furred body with ivory-streaked patterns of different lengths and thicknesses of quills. An invitation into reverie.

The feeling is expansive inclusive, and magnanimous.

This is home to her; A place created by the flow of her interactions, instincts, and intelligence. No constructs. No assumptions, judgments, expectations, or habits can block my vision and heart. Such a sacred space to have been welcomed into.

This experience has happened before. It happened daily as a child wandering the back woods behind my home; A natural state of relationship with everything I innately knew I was a part of. As a child, the illiterate language of Nature, the senses, and various attractions to my surroundings allowed me to experience comfort, company, and resilience. This shift was more accessible and more natural then.

Shifts from practical/rational into a calm, receptive state happen as a function of being a part of the whole of life. Known and unknown. There is much mystery in life. Little is understood about how and why this shift happens. Still, I believe it is a part of our evolutionary heritage and essential to our survival and planet to pay attention to.

We are designed to enjoy and restore ourselves in this contemplative space throughout our lives—the recipe for feeling that “welcome home, dearest friend,” is etched in our hearts.

Ms. Prickly's Video

CLICK HERE

Take a minute to enjoy this very special video of the many faces of the Shelter of Your Gaze.

CLICK HERE

P.S. Consider sharing your experiences within the Shelter of Your Gaze with me. I'd greatly appreciate learning about your adventures and contemplative insights and, with your permission, share what you have written in upcoming publications to help inspire others on the path. Thanks! marlowshami@gmail.com

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Marlow D.J. Shami

Marlow D.J. Shami