Thank you once more for your gentle reminder of the preciousness of nature and life. 🙏
The meditations I am doing currently brought back a memory, or teaching really, from one of your books, It was the teaching on ‘Sunyata’, finding the self.
So I ploughed through a couple of your books found the relevant teaching in The Four Paws of Spiritual Success. There it was simply laid out and I find on rereading your books as I am presently, I found a deeper insight, and meaning as different things ‘open up’ or I experience more revelations along the way, so thank you David. I eagerly await your next book, thank you for being a guiding light.
My heartfelt thanks, Lorraine. I also find that 'when the student is ready the teacher appears' in the sense that I seem to encounter insights when I open to and prepared for them.
I loved this post. It reminded me so much of my time in the Rhodesian bush during the bush war.
We spent many months on successive camps in Chete Game Reserve. It was a Reserve that had never been visited by
Local residents. It was a closed Reserve.
I had the the most personal meetings with various mammals but mostly with our friends the elephants. They are not aggressive as they seem to be.
The first night out was to take a patrol to the river to be an observation post. We were told to follow the tracks of a Land Rover. By the time we got
Moving it was already dark. We started following the track and at one moment we all stopped. I heard the gurgling sound of an elephants stomach and right next to us in tte other tyre track was an elephant. There were whispers of run, turn around and run and I just said standstill. I reached out and felt the elephants side and we remained still. After a few minutes he/she just wandered off.
One night on return from a 5 day patrol, I made sure my guys were not on guard detail that night. We were stupidly based around the base of a Marula Tree which the elephants love the fruit. The person on guard woke me up to advise me that elephants were near us. When I looked up from the shell scrape thst we were sleeping in, I could see elephants a few feet in front of us feeding off the fruit of the tree. They didn’t stand on us or disturb us.
Another time we were on patrol and had run out of water. I led my stick towards a river where I thought we would find water. I found a pool of stagnant water with a sorts of rubbish in it but it was our life force. It was being guarded by two female elephants and two youngsters. It was a dangerous situation but we needed water. I just moved down to the pool and the ekephants moved off to the other bank of the dried river bed. The elephants moved off to the other bank with a lot of noise and trumpeting but we filled our water bottles and moved off with sterilizing tablets cleaning the water. The elephants moved back down and there was no confrontation.
If given respect they are the most friendly of animals but one must always keep your guard. They are wild animals and that is their backyard. You have to respect them like we respect each other.
I just love the bush and not afraid of any of the animals as long as you give them the respect they deserve.
Thank you so much for sharing those extraordinary encounters, Peter. I am so glad that you and the elies managed to accommodate each other. I have seen different herds of elies converge on a limited watering hole in the dry season, and behave impeccably, with each one being given its turn without any fighting.
When our beloved 22-year old cat, SiddhLee, passed last May, I consulted our respected professional animal communicator, Brenda, on what our remaining cat, Maisy Jane, might appreciate to support her in grieving and continuing here journey on the planet without Sid's physical companionship. Brenda suggested CAT TV videos found on YouTube to enrich Maisy's experience. We now have a variety of such videos playing from energetic squirrel, chipmunk and bird sounds and play to stimulate Maisy's life force, to what I call "sleepy fish" which are magnificent undersea videos of life in unimagined forms and beauty accompanied by gentle soundtracks that help Maisy rest easy. In the morning, when I come into our home office where her videos are nearly always playing, I encounter a sleepy fish video. Listening to the gentle soundtrack and catching the images in the corner of my field of vision is a perfect way to help me stay calm and grounded as I go about handling my various computer-based household administration responsibilities. I love being reminded by my cat and you about the power of nature. Thank you David.
David you certainly managed to capture the essence of your experience in words and watching the video produced what I call my “Tingle Factor” when I know I am connected to something much bigger than myself, and my eyes were very definitely not dry. Thank you so much for all you do on behalf of nature and the very timely reminder that I need to get out more. Blessings to you ❤️🙏❤️
I am so glad the Tingle Factor is there for you, Annette. As it happens, here in Western Australia we have Tingle trees which also evoke the Tingle Factor - they are vast giants in our southern forests. My sincere thanks for your kind message.
This resonates completely and thank you so much for the words and links.
Always happiest in nature - be it our gardens or 'out there'.
And often when we're boating we'll encounter a dolphin pod. They are so joyful and keen to play, but when they turn their eyes upon you, there's a millenia-old wisdom (like elephants or orangutans) and the way they engage visually has been known to reduce me to tears.
I can well believe it, Prue. There is something quite extraordinary when we are able to look into the eyes of a 'wild' animal and sense a heartfelt connection.
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. During our troubles at the moment in Israel I find my peace of mind snorkeling with my turtle friends in the sea
Lovely observations, one nature and “ours” seems to resonate with the one “out there” but we’re all made of the same stuff. I often see individual problems as system problems, the system is causing the stress. So nice you offer bridges back to the natural state.
Lovely post. The advice at the end is particularly useful. At the moment intense hay fever is preventing me visiting my local park, so it's good to know that imagining being there works as well ❤️
Thanks so much Louise. I am also a hayfever sufferer and living on Zyrtex at the moment. But sometimes not even that helps - which is when we have to use our imagination!
Magnificent… I am moved to tears reading and watching. Meditation Safari is definitely on my Bucket List. Deep gratitude for your journey and for sharing it …
I totally resonate with the connection and emotion of being in the presence of the passing elephants. It reminded me of an experience I had in Uganda.
We had walked fairly deep into the forest to locate the gorilla family living in that area. We gently came upon them as they were sitting, basking in the sun, and feeding. There was one sitting off to the side adjacent to the dirt road. For some reason I was particularly drawn to "her" and suddenly she looked up and our eyes locked. A moment I shall never forget. Even as I write this I am filled with an indescribable emotion and it brings tears to my eyes.
I realize we can have these moments of connection even with our less exotic animal companions such as our pets. I will often have moments of deep connection with my sweet doggie Miss Sophia Peanut. She will suddenly turn her head and look at me in a way that touches my soul . It was just such a look that led me to adopt her almost 3 years ago .
Thank you for reminding us, David, of the power of Nature to invoke inner serenity and a connection to that part of us that has no boundaries and is one with all.
Thanks so much for the video, is amazing. I love the elephants. I would love to be there, but right now I keep myself practicing to be in nature, today is Sunday and I keep walking int the park with the dog they brought from the dog pound to see if I adopt it.
Chills and tears both from watching your video, seeing that the elephant family was peaceful walking so close and this even included their youngest little one! Heart shimmers for sure!
Thank you once more for your gentle reminder of the preciousness of nature and life. 🙏
The meditations I am doing currently brought back a memory, or teaching really, from one of your books, It was the teaching on ‘Sunyata’, finding the self.
So I ploughed through a couple of your books found the relevant teaching in The Four Paws of Spiritual Success. There it was simply laid out and I find on rereading your books as I am presently, I found a deeper insight, and meaning as different things ‘open up’ or I experience more revelations along the way, so thank you David. I eagerly await your next book, thank you for being a guiding light.
My heartfelt thanks, Lorraine. I also find that 'when the student is ready the teacher appears' in the sense that I seem to encounter insights when I open to and prepared for them.
I loved this post. It reminded me so much of my time in the Rhodesian bush during the bush war.
We spent many months on successive camps in Chete Game Reserve. It was a Reserve that had never been visited by
Local residents. It was a closed Reserve.
I had the the most personal meetings with various mammals but mostly with our friends the elephants. They are not aggressive as they seem to be.
The first night out was to take a patrol to the river to be an observation post. We were told to follow the tracks of a Land Rover. By the time we got
Moving it was already dark. We started following the track and at one moment we all stopped. I heard the gurgling sound of an elephants stomach and right next to us in tte other tyre track was an elephant. There were whispers of run, turn around and run and I just said standstill. I reached out and felt the elephants side and we remained still. After a few minutes he/she just wandered off.
One night on return from a 5 day patrol, I made sure my guys were not on guard detail that night. We were stupidly based around the base of a Marula Tree which the elephants love the fruit. The person on guard woke me up to advise me that elephants were near us. When I looked up from the shell scrape thst we were sleeping in, I could see elephants a few feet in front of us feeding off the fruit of the tree. They didn’t stand on us or disturb us.
Another time we were on patrol and had run out of water. I led my stick towards a river where I thought we would find water. I found a pool of stagnant water with a sorts of rubbish in it but it was our life force. It was being guarded by two female elephants and two youngsters. It was a dangerous situation but we needed water. I just moved down to the pool and the ekephants moved off to the other bank of the dried river bed. The elephants moved off to the other bank with a lot of noise and trumpeting but we filled our water bottles and moved off with sterilizing tablets cleaning the water. The elephants moved back down and there was no confrontation.
If given respect they are the most friendly of animals but one must always keep your guard. They are wild animals and that is their backyard. You have to respect them like we respect each other.
I just love the bush and not afraid of any of the animals as long as you give them the respect they deserve.
Thank you,
Peter
Thank you so much for sharing those extraordinary encounters, Peter. I am so glad that you and the elies managed to accommodate each other. I have seen different herds of elies converge on a limited watering hole in the dry season, and behave impeccably, with each one being given its turn without any fighting.
Thank you to all who liked my post
When our beloved 22-year old cat, SiddhLee, passed last May, I consulted our respected professional animal communicator, Brenda, on what our remaining cat, Maisy Jane, might appreciate to support her in grieving and continuing here journey on the planet without Sid's physical companionship. Brenda suggested CAT TV videos found on YouTube to enrich Maisy's experience. We now have a variety of such videos playing from energetic squirrel, chipmunk and bird sounds and play to stimulate Maisy's life force, to what I call "sleepy fish" which are magnificent undersea videos of life in unimagined forms and beauty accompanied by gentle soundtracks that help Maisy rest easy. In the morning, when I come into our home office where her videos are nearly always playing, I encounter a sleepy fish video. Listening to the gentle soundtrack and catching the images in the corner of my field of vision is a perfect way to help me stay calm and grounded as I go about handling my various computer-based household administration responsibilities. I love being reminded by my cat and you about the power of nature. Thank you David.
My sincere thanks for your kind message, Deborah. Youtube is certainly a treasure trove of inspiring videos!
David you certainly managed to capture the essence of your experience in words and watching the video produced what I call my “Tingle Factor” when I know I am connected to something much bigger than myself, and my eyes were very definitely not dry. Thank you so much for all you do on behalf of nature and the very timely reminder that I need to get out more. Blessings to you ❤️🙏❤️
I am so glad the Tingle Factor is there for you, Annette. As it happens, here in Western Australia we have Tingle trees which also evoke the Tingle Factor - they are vast giants in our southern forests. My sincere thanks for your kind message.
This resonates completely and thank you so much for the words and links.
Always happiest in nature - be it our gardens or 'out there'.
And often when we're boating we'll encounter a dolphin pod. They are so joyful and keen to play, but when they turn their eyes upon you, there's a millenia-old wisdom (like elephants or orangutans) and the way they engage visually has been known to reduce me to tears.
I can well believe it, Prue. There is something quite extraordinary when we are able to look into the eyes of a 'wild' animal and sense a heartfelt connection.
Dear David,
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. During our troubles at the moment in Israel I find my peace of mind snorkeling with my turtle friends in the sea
What a wonderful place to go in your mind's eye Ayelet! As always, we hope the troubles there are resolved.
Lovely observations, one nature and “ours” seems to resonate with the one “out there” but we’re all made of the same stuff. I often see individual problems as system problems, the system is causing the stress. So nice you offer bridges back to the natural state.
Many thanks for your message, insightful as always, Patrick!
Lovely post. The advice at the end is particularly useful. At the moment intense hay fever is preventing me visiting my local park, so it's good to know that imagining being there works as well ❤️
Thanks so much Louise. I am also a hayfever sufferer and living on Zyrtex at the moment. But sometimes not even that helps - which is when we have to use our imagination!
Beyond words. So true ❤️.
Thanks so much, Roberta!
Magnificent… I am moved to tears reading and watching. Meditation Safari is definitely on my Bucket List. Deep gratitude for your journey and for sharing it …
Thank you so much Margaret! It is a wonderful privilege.
Lovely Elephant video,
How very special!
Thank you for this reminder and useful connection which we can all gain from in this busy busy world.
My pleasure, Sarah!
Nature is great and beautiful , help me in my life. Thank you David for your nice post and elephant's video.
My pleasure Zuzana!
I totally resonate with the connection and emotion of being in the presence of the passing elephants. It reminded me of an experience I had in Uganda.
We had walked fairly deep into the forest to locate the gorilla family living in that area. We gently came upon them as they were sitting, basking in the sun, and feeding. There was one sitting off to the side adjacent to the dirt road. For some reason I was particularly drawn to "her" and suddenly she looked up and our eyes locked. A moment I shall never forget. Even as I write this I am filled with an indescribable emotion and it brings tears to my eyes.
I realize we can have these moments of connection even with our less exotic animal companions such as our pets. I will often have moments of deep connection with my sweet doggie Miss Sophia Peanut. She will suddenly turn her head and look at me in a way that touches my soul . It was just such a look that led me to adopt her almost 3 years ago .
Thank you for reminding us, David, of the power of Nature to invoke inner serenity and a connection to that part of us that has no boundaries and is one with all.
Thank you so much for sharing that extraordinary gorilla encounter Brenda! Such a privilege!
Dearest David,
Thanks so much for the video, is amazing. I love the elephants. I would love to be there, but right now I keep myself practicing to be in nature, today is Sunday and I keep walking int the park with the dog they brought from the dog pound to see if I adopt it.
Rossy Cortes
Mexico
Thank you so much Rossy! I hope you and the foster dog get on wonderfully together!
Chills and tears both from watching your video, seeing that the elephant family was peaceful walking so close and this even included their youngest little one! Heart shimmers for sure!
They were very relaxed, Maura, or they wouldn't have strolled by. Sincere thanks for your kind message!
The kiss of the sun for Pardon
The song of the birds for Mirth
You are closer to God in a garden
Than anywhere else on Earth
Love this thanks Chris!