Just as I Suspected
In a vision I heard this clearly whispered: Study those who sing the most, but are free of criticism or praise.
Following that advise, things turned out just as I suspected: I started spending more time with birds.
Hafiz, Translated by Ladinsky
When I was in Australia the sounds of the birds were so foreign and pre-historic sounding that it seemed I had transcended time and space, lending to a physical startling experience of the deep spiritual question, “What am I?” This morning I find myself learning about one bird from that region who can bellow 16 of those sounds and mimic my own if he so fancies, baring a strong resemblance to the Starling brought to America from Europe in the 1890’s. This bird is called the Bower Bird.
The male bowerbird, native to Papua New Guinea and Australia… builds the bower for the female to walk through as he dances and shows off from the other side with colorful trinkets he has stolen from rivals, shells he gathered from the seashore, stones he selected from nearby river beds, bones he found in the valley or mountainside, insects he snatched for their attractive display, or bright human refuse he pillaged from anywhere. He is known by Aborigine natives as the Sneaky Jewel Thief.
With intention, the male chooses his color scheme. Interested in a Spotted Bowerbird, he will gather objects of green and white. Interested in a Great Bowerbird he will gather red and green. Interested in a Satin Bowerbird, he will showcase whatever he can find in blue, oftentimes bottlecaps or the feathers of another bird. The bowerbird will not only woo his mate with his fine building skills and carefully selected color scheme, he will show he can copycat up to 16 other birds! (Not to mention his skill in mimicking human speech!) Female bowers find this skill very attractive. Mimicking is a strong survival asset for the offspring, protecting against interested predators and disarming prey.
The bowers’ song and dance is made extra special by an optical illusion called “forced perspective” which he creates with a gradient path, strategically placing larger objects as you move away from the bower so that his sensual display is magnified, larger than life.
If all these skills were not enough, the Regent Bowerbird, privileged to be born with all his fanciful colors, reducing the seductive demands of decorating the bower, HYPNOTIZES the female with his dilating pupils and mesmerizing dance!
Returning now to the beginning where I described my spiritual experience listening to the birds in Australia, so foreign and pre-historic sounding, I wonder if I too was being hypnotized by this amazing bird! Brought to a transpersonal state of consciousness.
In the video below you will see the reward of all his efforts, talent, and beauty! It’s hilarious.
