Owl Tell You a Story

I have a confession to make. As utterly obsessed and in love with owls as I am, I actually hadn’t seen a real one in person…up until a few weeks ago. Well, that may not be entirely true. I have a vague memory of seeing one from afar once in the shadows of the big trees in the back of my parents’ house when I was a kid. But I can at least say I hadn’t seen one up close in all its majestic glory until recently.

My Creative Owlchemy blog began as an outlet to talk about all things spiritual and creative, and even more special to me, combining the two topics. I’ve always been a spiritual person, deeply intrigued by dimensions beyond the ones we see only with our physical eyes. A deep rooted knowing that the Universe has me in the palm of its hand has kept me believing in magic, even when that hasn’t always been easy to do so.

Of course though, life is life. And sometimes that magical flame can simmer and dim in the background of daily clutter, allowing us to navigate in the murkiness, but still ever-burning to lead us back home when we’re ready.

After experiencing an unexpected spiritual elevation that majorly shifted my life path while on a somewhat spontaneous trip to Nashville to pursue a creative endeavor with a friend in 2018 (is that vague enough for you?), I returned home knowing I was forever changed. Spirituality had stepped once again into the forefront of my heart and I cared much more about my soul’s well-being than I had in years. I had experienced the beauty and power of the present moment in fullness. I was in the flow. And it was critical for me to hang on to that feeling for as long as I could. I never wanted to lose it.

But well, life is life. And presence is a practice. Without tending to our spiritual alignment, we can become unbalanced. There were times of disharmony after that Nashville trip when I forgot how to be present, which frustrated the hell out of me, pushing me even MORE outside of the IS-ness sphere than I already was. Because the vibrational upgrade was so unexpected in the first place, I wasn’t sure what had triggered it. So I’d have moments frantically harassing myself, “How do I get back?! How do I get back home?!”

I started with meditation. I carved out a hefty and disciplined 20-40 minutes a day for a (short) while where I put on some meditation music, held on to a crystal, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to get lost in neon daydreams.

It was in the Spring of 2019 when I first started noticing a regular visitor in my meditative visions. An owl. (Sometimes more than one). It would swoop into my mind’s eye and lead me on journeys I can’t quite even remember now. I do remember some of its messages. Messages I’ll value forever. The owl showed up so often that I became quite curious about my little guide so, as I do, I looked it up on Google.

I ended up exploring a world of information on animal spirit guides/animal totems/power animals. It is SO cool. All animals have spiritual meanings associated with them and I do believe animals are sent to us by the Divine to guide and protect us as well. Do you know your spirit animal?

The High Priestess card from the Vice Versa tarot deck by Lunaea Weatherstone and Massimiliano Filadoro

Obviously owls are associated with wisdom. I ended up reading everything I could about this beautiful creature, often tied to intuition and deep knowing. Side note: If you’re into tarot, you know the High Priestess card is sometimes depicted with a moon in addition to an owl (or a crown that looks like a horned owl) on the card to represent her inner wisdom. (My favorite card!) I even found a quiz online that you could take to find out what your spirit animal is. I took it and of course, I got the owl! It’s so silly, but it brought me so much joy.

Straight away, I started seeing owls everywhere. Owls on commercials, owl figurines in gardens, references to owls in books and songs. Seeing an owl on anything became one of my personal signs letting me know I was watched over and on the right path. Any time I saw one I’d shriek, “Look, an owl thing!” People thought I was crazy, and I was so happy. And the interesting thing was, the more the owl showed up for me, both as external signs and in meditative trips, the volume of my intuition knob began turning up louder and louder… The High Priestess energy ready to take her throne. My inner knowing clearing her throat, getting ready to speak.

Since then, the desire to see a REAL owl grew stronger within. After emerging from a pretty rough 2020, I knew 2021 would be the year I’d finally meet my wise old friend. I mean, enough was enough already! If I had to travel to the ends of the earth, I’d find him.

Muir Beach Overlook

Fast forward to March this year. My birthday was coming up and I knew all I wanted was to be in nature. I wanted to hike around for the day, but I didn’t want to go anywhere I had been before. I craved a new adventure. While exploring online some cool places to hike, I stumbled upon a beautiful place called the Muir Beach Overlook, a breathtaking site providing copious views of the Pacific Coast. Well that looks like a lovely spot to explore and I can’t believe I’ve never been here, I thought. I’m in! As I looked up parking logistics etc., I started making a list of nearby trails I could check out. And that’s when I saw it: The Owl Trail.

The Owl Trail is a short hiking trail in Muir Woods that travels from the Muir Beach Overlook to Slide Ranch, and named for the great horned owls that live in the area’s cypress trees. That did it for me. Birthday plans, MADE.

I was so excited on my birthday morning at the prospect of seeing an owl, I could hardly contain myself. I packed a backpack, turned my phone on Do Not Disturb, and hit the road, ready for whatever the day had in store for me, hoping with all hope I’d finally get to see my dear little owl.

The Owl Trail

After exploring the Overlook and some other trails for a bit, I set forth on The Owl Trail, trembling with anticipation. By that time, I was so determined to see an owl that I was turning my head quickly from side to side, reacting to every little sound I heard, and squinting my eyes at every tree, searching for anything that might resemble an owl silhouette. My thoughts wouldn’t shut up. Is that an owl?! What was that?! Is that one?! I’m gonna see one…NOW! Annnd…NOW!

But alas, no owl. I remember thinking how it was a bit naive of me to assume I’d see an owl in broad daylight anyway. Weren’t they supposed to be nocturnal creatures? Night owl isn’t a term for nothing, after all. As I continued to move on the winding trail alongside the expansive and dazzling ocean, my thoughts finally settled on how beautiful my surroundings were and how grateful I felt. I acknowledged how in love with life I was again, and I almost laughed at myself for forgetting in the first place.

The Owl Trail

I reached the end of the trail at the ranch and explored the wonder in this awesome tucked-away cubby-hole of nature. The cypress trees towered overhead and the sun beamed through their branches in heavenly halos. After spending some time walking around that area, I decided to head back down the trail.

While my mind was hushed and my heart was full, I turned a corner on the trail and casually glanced upwards at one of the trees next to me. And there he was. (And not such a little friend after all). A BIG ol’ great horned owl was just chilling on the edge of a tree branch, perched there in all its majesty like nobody’s business!

My owl!

I literally stopped dead in my tracks, mouth hanging open, in complete disbelief of what I was seeing. The owl wasn’t phased at all by my presence. He bathed himself a little bit and did his thing, while I clumsily fished for my phone in my jacket pocket that I had stupidly put away after surrendering to the present moment (ha!). As I stood there taking a video of my longtime manifestation in physical form, he turned his head and looked right at me. My mascot. My muse. He stared at me with such power and grace, and it legitimately took my breath away. I looked in his intense eyes and felt the magic of the experience overwhelm me. Everything was still. All was well.

We shared a long moment in sync and then breaking the stare down, he turned his head away, tucked himself into his wing and seemingly went to sleep right there on the branch. He sat and dreamed, and I loved him so much. I spent about 20 minutes looking up at the sleeping beauty in silence until I finally decided to leave him be. I thanked him, whispered goodbye, and continued back on the trail. The whole way back I felt myself beaming and I kept repeating in my mind: I just had the best moment of my life. I made it back to the Overlook area and found a nook to sit in and reflect on the moment. I basked in it, savoring the sun on my skin, taking in the fresh ocean air, and I soon drifted off for a few moments in my own morning reverie, just like my treasured friend, snoozing back there in the sparkling cypress trees.

It might seem insignificant to someone else, but it really was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had. And it was yet another lesson of God showing me: See Love, once you let go and just be in the moment without expectations, I will surprise you. Just stop worrying and enjoy the hike for heaven’s sake! And really, why can’t simple but delightful moments be the best moments of our lives? When we surrender, every moment has the power and potential of being the best moment.

As with the spiritual meanings of animals, the significance of names and numbers fascinate me as well. I often read about numerology, and a few months ago I realized that this year’s birthday was destined to be an especially auspicious one for me as my birthday is March 21st (321) and it being the year 2021, the month and year translates to 321 as well.

As numeric synchronicity continued, I noticed later on that the time stamp on my video of the owl turning to look at me was 10:10 AM, and I immediately recognized the “angel number” 1010. In numerology, you add up numbers for deeper understanding (minus the zeros, although zeros do have meaning on their own…another story!) All I could see with 1010 was 11, which is this year’s life path number for me (3+21+2021 = 2045 ; 2+4+5 = 11). If you keep adding to arrive at the single digit, as is the practice in numerology, it reduces to the number 2 (1+1 = 2), which corresponds to the High Priestess tarot card (always represented by the II roman numerals, and sometimes referenced as 11), which again, is often associated with the owl. The number 11 is also considered to be the number of manifestation in “spiritual math.” (11:11 on the clock; be aware of your thoughts!) I could keep going down the magic of numbers rabbit role (let me tell you!), but I’ll stop there for your sake I guess. You’re welcome!

Even if it makes me weird, I don’t mind one bit—I like to see this all as a sign of a countdown to another momentous occasion in my spiritual growth journey. (3-2-1: owl!) The formulaic flow. The algorithm of alchemy. Manifestation in motion. Another bookmark in my story of creative OWLchemy. A shift in my own life’s trail. A return back to my true state of cherishing the majestic side of life. Yeah, life is life. But also, life is LIFE. You know?

A word about presence: I know I’m not the only person who has experienced those moments of feeling completely in surrender to the isness (just existing in the present moment). When you find that place of stillness, it feels like pure peace. It feels like yourself. It feels like home. Eckhart Tolle, spiritual teacher that has mastered the beauty of presence says, “When you say 'yes' to the 'isness' of life, when you accept this moment as it is, you can feel a sense of spaciousness within you that is deeply peaceful.”

If you’ve felt that before, you may have also felt the anxiety of NOT feeling that peace, post-stillness. It can be quite disconcerting. People might think you’re just stressed out or overwhelmed, but they really have no idea that just yesterday your being was experiencing the vastness of love in pure existence as is, and today you’re caught up in some problem at work and can’t figure out what the hell planet you’re on. It sure can be quite a bouncy ride to be on…

The truth is, we can never really lose that stillness because it exists within. We always have VIP access to it. Sometimes it’s easier to arrive at than other times. Our GPS’s signal can get weak and we may need to drive around in strange places for a bit longer than we’d prefer. But it kicks back in eventually. It reroutes and finds the main road. The satellite is always there, blinking in the darkness. Always.

And for sure, meditation for me is one of the best and quickest ways to return to that road. Once every so often, I’ll indulge in one of those 20-40 minute meditations, usually something guided on YouTube or something else online. But now, I stick to a minimum of just 5-10 minutes every morning after I wake up, before I look at my phone or do anything else. I light a candle and just sit in the isness and return home. I’ve been practicing this simple morning routine without missing one day since January 1st, and it’s pretty much changed my life. Throughout the day’s events, I may teeter away from that center, but I think returning every morning to my heart space is steadily building a growing trust within myself—a backlog of evidence I can flip to in times of doubt. A reassuring reminder I can always find my way back home, so there is never a need to worry. In turn, I like to believe I’m becoming more resilient in my surrender to what is. I used to think surrendering was an airy thing. But now I know, it is strength.

Some other ways to return to presence that I’ve discovered and recommend are: being in nature, breath work, doing something spontaneous/outside of your comfort zone, listening to or playing music, working out, stargazing, watching the sun/moon rise, repeating mantras, being around animals, being around kids, going somewhere new, trying something new, baking, singing, dancing, yoga, getting lost in reading a good book, writing, simply spending time with someone who you can laugh with from the pit of your belly to the wells of your tear ducts while forgetting the rest of the world exists.

While it’s important (imperative) to practice self-love and returning to stillness (and treat yourself every now and then to such pleasures as birthday hikes in beautiful places), reflecting on this owl story has also reminded me of something else. We are so protected. We’re guided by forces beyond our knowing. All we have to do is trust. It’s equally paramount to know we’ve got our own backs as it is to know that Spirit has our backs. We are co-creators after all. We’re never really alone and can always choose to keep our hearts open to receiving love from things and beings outside of ourselves. That’s when the real magic moments happen. Because our hearts are meant to receive love as much as they are meant to give love. Because love changes us, expands us, empowers us, heals us, surprises us, saves us. It’s not something to keep out or to fear, or to try to make sense of. It’s something to invite in. Something worth believing IN. Love is always standing by, watching over us. It is greater than what we can physically see. Love is alchemy.

This adventure was a gift from the Universe. A birthday wish come true. AnyHOO, it was an experience OWL truly never forget. It was a real HOOT. And I wanted to share the story with you because if you’re reading this, chances are we’re birds of a feather. (Yes, I’m being a WISE guy. No, owl not apologize).

All this to say, don’t forget to believe in magic, friends. The signs are everywhere. May we always recognize them. May we always appreciate them. Sometimes we can’t always see them. But sometimes, we just need to look up.

~~

Since I brought up tarot (again) in this post, and in the spirit of creative alchemy, I thought I’d share a private link to a one-minute film I made on tarot as an assignment for a film directing course I took last month, just for you. Click here to watch it. (password: raindance)