Listening To a Very Large Snake

 I woke this morning from a dream of a snake. A very large snake.  

In the dream, I am with several people. We are by a body of water. I am not sure if it was a lake or an ocean because in the dream we spent most of our time in a building next to the water. We are indeed discussing snakes. Unfortunately, I do not remember much of those conversations. What I do remember is a very large snake kept appearing and would follow me around. Not in a menacing way, but it worried me mainly because I knew nothing about it. 

A woman who was also part of the group walked in holding a white egg. I do know this woman in my waking life, but our paths have not crossed in years. As I pondered the egg, I wondered if the snake might be hungry. I then had a revelation about the snake: it was following us because it simply liked the companionship of humans. It also seemed to be changing color. At first it looked to be a dullish brown, but as the dream progressed, it took on a beautiful green patina.  

A man then walked into the room. He had a clipboard, and he was assigning people in groups to study various things, including some smaller snakes. He looked at me and said that he would like me to work with another man who was standing slightly apart from the others. We were to study the large snake, and I was happy about that. He looked at me and simply said, "I like the work you have done so far." 

I recently read online that snakes grow their entire lives. This continual growth means that they periodically outgrow their skin, so they shed it and leave it behind. I think this dream speaks of transformation and transition. Perhaps the egg symbolizes that there is food for this part of the journey. 

Yesterday was my 74th birthday. I am definitely in the third stage of my life, and I want to stay aware of that. My work with SpiritCare taught me that we should not underestimate the importance of this stage of our lives. This is a time of growth as we assimilate what we have learned over the years. It is also a time of learning to let go of what no longer has meaning for us, and learning to let go even when letting go is incredibly painful.  

Today is the first day of autumn, and yes, the leaves are starting to turn. Last night's sky filled with clouds that gave the Waxing Gibbous moon a beautiful halo. The view out our small window at the top of the stairs revealed a view of the mystery that autumn always seems to usher in. 

Blessings to you all, whatever season you may be finding yourself. Do take care and listen to your beautiful souls. 

       

image: February 2026 I have no photographs of snakes. I simply like this photograph.

Honoring the Body

 The first thing I do in the morning is look out our bedroom window and gaze at the eastern sky,  At night, I look west. For the past two nights we have been able to witness a large waxing crescent moon on the horizon. Last night I could see the outline of the full moon to come. I know in truth the moon is always full, but I find it a blessing that we experience phases of the moon as we orbit the sun. During my morning sun salutations today, I was bathed in a tender pink light that continued to grow. There is peace and therefore healing in all of this - perhaps because we humans have always gazed at the horizon and simply watched the light change morning and night.  I say watch, but really we not only watch, we take in and experience those changes. They are a part of us. We are of earth and sky. When we forget that, or choose to ignore, or believe we can dominate all of life, we do so at great peril.    

This summer I have been blessed to do some guest preaching. At one church, I received a gift of fresh eggs. At another, garden grown tomatoes. Yesterday a friend picked some Asian pears from his tree and brought them to us. I know that tree but I did not know that he was the one who planted it as a gift for his wife. The fruit is as sweet as he promised.  

   

​"I bind unto myself today

The virtues of the starlit heavens,
The glorious sun's life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.​"

~ from the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate"​ 

​Friends of Silence    

    

​Let us bind  ourselves to the generosity of earth and sky.     

  

      

 

  ​image:  San Leandro, September, 2026.  No pink, but beautiful full light

  

Dreaming

 "I believe Earth is dreaming us into a new way of seeing, a new way of being, if we will favor our senses and receive what is coming to us through heartbreak and love."  

Terry Tempest Williams, The Glorians    

   

When I read this sentence, I thought of the photograph I took yesterday, September 4. I know some of you saw this photograph on Facebook, so please excuse the duplication.  What came to mind today was, "What if this turkey vulture is dreaming the world into existence?"  Yesterday, I watched it fly away. I had no idea why it flew. I have no doubt it saw something I did not; that it sensed something I cannot yet articulate

Creation is ongoing. Despots and authoritarians have their primitive, punitive, and selfish dreams. Let us remember that we, too, are being called to fly.   

Last night I dreamed of a bighorn sheep standing on a high boulder. I am grateful for the encouragement. Creation is indeed ongoing, and according to author and teacher,  Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley, who is of Cherokee descent, creation is also healing. I am beginning to believe that the destruction and chaos we are experiencing now may prove to be healing. Perhaps that is the message of the turkey vulture who certainly knows that death never has the last word.    

   

My gratitude to Rabbi Yael Levy who recommended The Glorians. I am on page 3.     

       

image:  East Bay Regional Park, September 4, 2026