Author

Subject: Hummingbirds

Libra Lynn

09:03 03/12/1999 

A year and a half ago, I was in the desert, trolling for photo opps, when I spied the strangest looking desert plant I'd ever seen. It looked like a group of green octopi had been planted upside-down, and their tentacle tips sprouted fuscia flowers. I stopped, plopped my butt onto the ground, and began to take photos of a neon orange beetle who was napping in one of the flowers. I entered what I termed "the zone" (see the Altered Consciousness thread in the members community forum) and was focused completely on the task at hand. I was disturbed from this state by a strange sound directly above my head. I glanced up to find there was a hummingbird feeding on the flowers not two inches from my head. In my dazed state I watched him. It wasn't until I emerged from the zone and tried to take pictures of him that he left.

I was stunned by the realization that my altered consciousness and becoming "one" with my surroundings wasn't only in my mind, it had fooled the hummingbird as well.

A few days after this experience, I came across a book about Animal Spirits in Native American Culture. I looked up hummingbird, and it said that an extraordinary meeting with a hummingbird symbolized a reminder that you have a gift of beauty that you must share with the world.

Since then, I have been visited by hummingbirds whenever I am partaking in a highly creative endeavor- I had several this summer during outdoor photo sessions. OR, when I'm feeling down and doubtful of my abilities. Once last spring I was particularly frustrated when I looked up to see a hummingbird hovering in my livingroom window- no flowers for miles! We made eye contact for several seconds before he flew away.

Just a few days ago, I was feeling very pessimistic about publishing, driving with my husband. I was thinking "It's too bad there's no hummingbirds in winter to cheer me up." At the next stoplight, I looked up to see a van with "Hummingbird Services" painted d

babel

03:42 05/12/1999 

Dear Lynn,

This is really getting weird, I too have a hummingbird thing, but in letters, i.e. reading about and then seeing in an additional place, the hummingbird was discussed in length in a book I read about sychronicities, when I find the info again I'll let you know.

It was your photo(cat) on the gallery, no? Magnificent what was caught in that frame. Babel wrote you a short message in Bookmarks (a late response you your entry)

Lynn

18:36 10/12/1999 

Thank you Babel! Sorry it took so long to respond. I've been writing like mad under a deadline! Please tell me about your hummingbirds and let me know about that book.

JuliA

12:46 13/12/1999 

Hi Libra Lynn

What a great way of manifesting a hummingbird!!!! Glad to hear you're writing and getting your creative talents out there.

I'm sorry I've lost you're e-mail address in the switching of jobs etc - could you e-mail me at julia_george@socog.com.au. Sorry to use this as a message board Jane!!

Lynn do/will hummingbirds feature in your writing at all or is just a symbol that manifests in your waking life?

Love & Light JuliA

Libra Lynn

07:34 15/12/1999 

JuliA!

So glad to see you again! I've missed your astute observations. Did you see me in the gallery?

Actually, I didn't really do the hummingbird synch justice here. I realized more recently that the hummingbird had a dual meaning for me, one was the native one I described. The other was more personal. I'd been struggling since I discovered my love of writing because I loved photography first. I went round and round all summer, trying to decide which I would pursue. Trying to make them combine was like fitting a square peg because I loved writing fiction, and my photos are more journalistic in nature. I was having tons of dreams where everything came in 2s. I was also completely stuck on both fronts.

I finally realised that by forcing myself to choose between them or combine them, I was going against my true nature. I am like a hummingbird, I must taste all the flowers. I must migrate by season. Call me "flighty", but I'm never happy doing just one thing. I've seen since, that many artists are multiply gifted and making a living that way. I had to stop thinking of it as a deficit just because society hales the person with an all encompassing singular passion. I had bought into it completely my whole life, was envious of people who had it. I had to stop denying my nature.

Geotangent

21:53 11/02/2000 

Libra, I really liked your description of the plant and hummingbird, the way it hovered there, unable to photograph a special moment in space/time.

I guess I feel compelled to mention that as I have a CD by the band The Hummingbirds, autographed by the band members in gold pen...

WHAT IS
SYNCHRONICITY?

Jane Teresa's Explanation

Jane Teresa Anderson

WHAT IS SYNCHRONICITY?

________

Synchronicity occurs when you experience a coincidence, or several coincidences, that seem so bizarre that you feel they must be meaningful in some way.

Some people believe that synchronicities are signs to follow, to lead you to where you are 'meant' to be. My understanding, however, is that not all synchronicities are to be followed, because ...

Synchronicities are SYMBOLS of where you're at, not signs to follow.

Synchronicities speak the same symbolic language as dreams.

When you experience a synchronicity, you are witnessing a change within yourself, an insight, a birth of something that has been unconscious bubbling up into consciousness.

At such times of change we see, all around us, symbols that reflect our shift in perception and self-understanding. This is synchronicity.

To understand this fully, and to see why it is not always appropriate to follow synchronicity, you can read my book, THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME. This way you can also discover how to read the synchronicities in your life and how to act on them in positive, life-enhancing ways.

Reality may never feel the same again!

______

P.S.

In Jungian terms all synchronicities begin with a dream.

The dream comes first, then the symbol from the dream appears in waking life in ways that seem incredibly meaningful - though, classically, it is hard to understand, consciously, what that meaning is.

This is because the dream is painted by your unconscious mind in advance of your conscious mind 'catching up'. When the insight (unconscious shift) is big, synchronicities follow.

What happens is that your incredibly powerful unconscious mind (far more powerful than your conscious mind) manifests its insight physically into your waking life. (You have changed - the world, as you experience it, changes in accordance.)

It usually takes up to a couple of weeks before your conscious mind understands the symbolic dream manifesting in your waking life as synchronicity.

Being human, as we all are, we often forget the original dream but still experience the synchronicities.

There are many excellent reference sources on Jungian synchronicity.

My approach is largely Jungian, but slightly shifted.

Again, if you are seriously in-depth interested, I suggest you read my book "THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME" to understand where I am coming from.

Quite simply, synchronicity is a waking dream and interpreting it as such is immensely enriching.

Jane Teresa Anderson