The Adirondacks in upstate New York is filled with lakes and the landscape is breathtakingly beautiful. This synchronicity occurred on Fourth Lake and involved a loon. It was sent by our friend Janice Cutbush. Last year, we posted another of her synchronicities, The Two Toms. This one also is about Tom – and the loon. Tom passed away some years ago, so this story definitely falls under spirit contact.
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Tom loved going to the Fulton Chain of Lakes near Old Forge NY every summer with the kids. It was his favorite vacation. One of the things he loved was listening to the loons on Fourth Lake early in the morning. Shortly after he died, our close friends who have a home on the lake invited me to come visit.
I went for a swim late in the afternoon one day and was immersed in the activity when I suddenly felt a presence near me in the water. I looked up and there was this enormous lone loon about 20 feet away from me. He stayed near during my entire swim and left when I got out of the water.
Each day of my visit he appeared in front of my friends’ home. We began calling him Tom. My friend said it was unusual to see a loon alone, as they usually travel in pairs and mate for life and also because they generally are spotted early in the morning or just before dusk.
We vacation there still every year and have rented different homes on various lakes in the area, but no matter where we are, our lone loon appears at some point during the vacation. I like to think it is Tom’s spirit visiting us.
With all that Bird Talk I am compelled to weigh in with the I Ching on the subject.
One of my favorite hexagrams, #61, Inner Truth – according to Wilhem says, "The character fu (truth) is actually the picture of a bird's foot over a fledgling. It suggests the idea of brooding. An egg is hollow. The light-giving power must work to quicken it from outside, but there must be a germ of life within, if life is to be awakened. Far-reaching speculations can be linked with these ideas."
And the second line is really all about ESP and also a favorite of mine to receive: "A crane calling in the shade. Its young answers it." … "The crane need not show itself on a high hill. It may be quite hidden when it sounds its call; yet its young will hear its note, will recognize it and give answer."
There is much more in the Wilhlem book on this but this is a hint. He goes on to discuss spiritual attraction and "mysterious and far-reaching influence."
Stephen Karcher writes about the pair, hexagram 61 and 62 – both having reference to birds. I recommend reading Karcher for more on this but will take out a few quotes that relate to this discussion.
From "Inner Truth" – " … It is a return to and of the spirit, establishing the myriad blessings that flow from the ancestors and Heaven through the act of sacrifice … Through all these meanings it points at connection to the spirit world and the carrying wave of blessing and energy that pours forth through that connection."
And in line two about the crane calling in the shade, Karcher says, "This is the centre of he heart's desire. This is the profound call of one soul to another and the call of the inner self."
In Hexagram 62, Wilhlem names it, "The taming Power of the Small" and says. . ."The flying bird brings the message…"
and Karcher names it, "Small Traverses/The Flying Bird," and says:
" … It presents the image of a bird in danger of being caught by hunters, a bird who must fly low, moving towards autumn and the festivals of harvest and realization, and the Flying Bird, the words that will cross the river of life and death. … It is a bird of omen, a dance that calls the spirit and houses it in an image or a tablet."
This hexagram also has reference to communing with the spirits of ancestors.
Interesting, all this bird talk.
Ray Grasse in The Waking Dream begins his book with a story about an Indian healer interpreting the movement of a bird as a divinatory answer to a question that Grasse had just posed to him. We used Grasse's tale in the animal oracle chapter of 7 Secrets.
WV: unest you nest?
WV from Gyps: pyxwmwn pixie men?
Reminds me of how my WV yesterday "numlets", had me giggling all afternoon because I kept seeing images in my mind of little gremlin-types running happily all over the place! Yeah…I have a weird sense of humor! cj WV: "inglou"
Perhaps, like my robin "Tubby", the loon that visits Janice has distinctive features of some sort that made him different from other members of his species? There was never any question that the robin in GA who preceded letters from my Ohio teacher was the exact same robin who later appeared in FL. Tubby was the fattest bird I've ever seen in my life, and rather then the ordinary orange color on his breast, his feathers were a bright red, AND he came alone, AND he came regardless of the season: summer, autumn, winter, spring. Perhaps Janice's loon has such distinctive identifying characteristics. Spirits seem to know when we need "verification" that it's a message from them! I'm not a Bible person, although I was raised in a Bible-oriented family.
In the Old testament King James, in the Book of Ecclesiates, chapter 10, verse 20, it reads: "FOR A BIRD OF THE AIR SHALL CARRY THE VOICE, AND THAT WHICH HATH WINGS SHALL TELL THE MATTER". Every time I see a bird, I remember this, and find it incredibly comforting. I envy Janice the visits from Tom's loon, for surely it is that! cj in MU
I don't know that it was the same loon. But it was along just one loon rather than a pair.
unest?!
I've never seen a snowy owl, but would sure love to.
pyxemen – pixie men?!~
what a beautiful story of our feathered friends/cousins – and it reminds me, as does cj's beautiful story, of the owl that followed me after my brother died – very short version is that i lived in the city but this little owl came the night i received word of his death and stayed with me for a long time –
one of the neat things in delaware is being able to see all the different migratory birds as they travel each season –
neat wv, cj – i've no clue what mine might be "pyxemen" ???? 😉
I don't miss those northern winters either, Rob! But I do miss all of the different birds in the Twin Cities area. I once saw a snowy owl – it was amazing. I also miss all the turtles.
I was watching the robins on my recent visit to Minneapolis. We very rarely see them here in South Florida, tho a few play the role of real-bird snow-birds in winter.
I also miss the wild call of the loons from my youth, which I would hear when we went up to the north woods of Minnesota and the numerous lakes.
But I don't miss those northern winters too much. – R
I wonder how she knew it was the same loon.
I absolutely LOVE bird stories! I have the absolute conviction that spirits travel with our feathered friends and send us messages through them as well. For many years I had a teacher who lived up north, and I lived outside Atlanta. I began to notice a really fat, red-breasted Robin who would come to visit, and invariably, when this robin came, a letter would appear in my mailbox from my teacher in Ohio. Now, GA is filled with robins at certain times of the year, right? But this particular robin, whom I eventually named "Tubby" because he WAS, always came alone, not in a flock, and he came year round, even in Winter, always followed that very day by a letter from up north. When we re-located to FL, lo and behold, Tubby STILL came, and would be followed by a letter on the same day. I never saw Tubby except when a letter was put in the box. All of a sudden a few years after we had moved, I stopped seeing Tubby, and the letters and communications ceased. I knew intuitively that my beloved German teacher had passed, and surely enough, it wasn't long before I received word that indeed, my teacher had died. I never saw my red-breasted robin friend again. But anytime I see a flock of robins, I think about Tubby, and about my teacher. It was an amazing gift from Spirit! I have no doubt Tom is visiting with his loon friend, and watching over the family. Such a loving comfort! cj in MU OH WOW! Check out this WV: "unest" !!!!! Is that synchronistic or what!!
Lovely, comforting story.