May 13, 2006
BIRD BRAIN
The absolute truth cannot be realized within the domain of the ordinary mind. And the path beyond the ordinary mind, all the great wisdom traditions have told us, is through the heart. This path of the heart is devotion.
- Soygal Rinpoche
above; i flashed this difficult boulder problem after becoming aware of Brother Raven soaring near me; He told me by his wing pattern that i would need to keep my left elbow high on this crux move. the WF Warrior allWays listens to the Medicine around him or her. the Path of Devotion is learning to become Devoted to being an Endless Beginner; one must allWays listen, listen, LISTEN for the Signs!
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i saw a Great Blue Heron, just like this one, soaring high, high above the WF Temple H(om)e one morning...
recent auspicious bird identifications i have made in the past month;
* Great Blue Heron (backyard, soaring, 1,000'+ over Observatory Mesa)
* Red Naped Sapsucker (backyard, feeding on a male Aspen tree)
* Western Tanager (backyard, pestering Ponderosa limbs )
* Golden Eagle (Moab, soaring between sandstone spires)
* Tree Swallows in courtship dance (backyard, near ponderosa nest)
* White Throated Swift (Moab, acrobatics between sandstone arches)
* California Condor (Grand Canyon, soaring above South Rim)
* Boat Tailed Grackle (Little Colorado River, pestering a cottonwood tree)
* Downy Woodpecker (backyard on pondersoa)
* White Breasted Nuthatch (backyard on ponderosa)
* Great Tailed Grackle (Agassiz Peak in spruce)
* Prairie Falcon (low flight pattern, high speed, cruised beside Bala while driving near Navajo Nat'l Monument)
* Bald Eagle (Mormon Lake, AZ while on club ride)
* Mexican Jay (Grand Canyon, South Kaibab Trail)
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"Learning the names, songs, and behavioral patterns of birds is to me, a most beneficial Practice of the WF Warrior. It increases Citi-Shakti (power of Awareness) which is instrumental for advancement along the Way Higher. Metaphorically speaking, when we are ignorant of the world of birds and birdsong, it is like being within Prakriti without realizing Purusha. Discovering the Dance of Birds is like discovering the awesome beauty of Truth within the Veil of illusion and ignorance. Becoming a 'bird brain' trains our peripheral Awareness to jump center. Delight is found among the most mundane of environments. To the WF Warrior, Yoga is everywhere, if you see with Yogic Eyes."
- Coach Ilg
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