Sublime and/or Spiritual Experiences of the Natural World..

[Anka]

Posted by Ken (here)
Hey All!

First, this thread is meant in no way to compete with Rachel’s wonderful thread for members, EXPERIENCERS: Sharing, Exploring, and Learning Together

And to differentiate the two, this thread is not meant to include experiences of the overtly paranormal or transdimensional.

Rather, with all the negative information and events that are communicated far and wide every day, I thought it might be uplifting to have a thread devoted to the sharing of, and learning from, special, spiritual, magical, and/or sublime experiences in nature.

This could be virtually any kind of experience had while traveling, camping, hiking, looking at the night sky, gardening, birdwatching, simply existing, whatever!

And I recognize that what may seem sublime to one may seem mundane to another. But, so what! Please do not be afraid to share. Nobody will make fun of you here

To the Mods, if you feel this thread should be placed elsewhere, or already exists somewhere, please do with it what you will.

I’ll start by sharing an experience that I’ve been meaning to write down for many years now and, this morning, I did just that.

The Song of the Whale

I awoke one summer morning to one of the most sublime, ethereal, events of my life. This was an event that seemed to bridge two worlds, the 3-dimensional, material one in which we go about our day to day life taking care of this, planning that; and another, more timeless and exalted, where magic finds its openings more easily.. more frequently.

I opened my eyes in the soft gray light of dawn, well before sunrise, and was greeted by perhaps the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. A humpback whale was singing! But I was not in the water, I was in my tent just the other side of a thin row of mangroves from the beach.

The songbirds surrounding our campsite, usually very vocal heralding a new day as dawn broke, were strangely quiet. I knew the sea was glass calm as, normally, while in camp, the gentle sound of the surf accompanied our activities. The rest of the time (most daylight hours), we could be found anywhere up to 1500 feet above and several miles away, conducting research.

Everything was completely still and silent, but for the mournful call of a single whale.

I unzipped my tent, stepped out, and stood up to listen. Silence.. The clouds had descended to ground level and fog washed my surroundings in various shades of gray. It was comfortably cool, perhaps 65 degrees.

This was the second summer of four that I spent camped on an uninhabited island in Galápagos, 600 miles west of the coast of Ecuador. That’s what the inhabitants call the island archipelago, rather than adding a “the” before the name, it is simply Galápagos.

I trod the very short path to the beach and stood listening in eerie stillness. There! There it was again. It was loud and sounded like it couldn’t have been more than 20 to 40 yards offshore. And yet.. I heard not one exhalation, which should have been clearly audible as the whale would have to surface in order to breathe.

Could I be hearing the whale due to the dense fog? Could water suspended in droplets aloft be carrying the song of the whale? Or could it be due to some strange anomaly having to do with the shape of the beach, the surrounding topography?

Four times in total, the unearthly calls of the whale echoed across the sand. Full of mystery and evoking the dark ocean depths. A tale of starlight and of moons risen and fallen. Ships come and gone. Loves lost.

I did not imagine it, for my fellow researchers heard it from their tents as well. Each one noting it later in hushed and reverential tones. A magical and mysterious event not once repeated during four long summers. A gift never to be forgotten.

The story is extremely impressive. I feel connected to the song of the whale!
How easy it is to communicate with Nature, how close we are to each other, all living beings ...
How easy it would be to promote all such stories, would be, finally, a communion between human nature, the living Nature of the Earth and a coexistence with Life itself in full happiness.
Ken's story is pure simplicity in our existence.
Very fantastic beautiful and thank you Ken!

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=HsMuvyZdUAk

Love,
Anka

[Anka]

My experience with the words next to the presence of my walnut in the garden.



On the road with the words

The words that speak their name have the vital force and the magnitude of the true thought perceived intuitively and rendered instantly natural, undiluted by other thoughts or reactions.
While reading and writing, a number of pages are born smoothly or in step with time, in a sweet and complex or simply pronounced way, but it is only a number of pages and they are only pages inscribed with a number in relation to feelings, emotions, and interdependent connections that I can create.

A life will be born on the horizon of empty expectations and will be indefinitely filled with full pages. The difference is that any number of pages can be read in a day when life it cannot be lived on a page of living words, so, I let myself be inspired by all the experiences finding the essence in each experiment.

Between an expression and a truth,I ask to be offered shelter where I can rest and celebrate the words of longing and relief from what I feel is a waterfall of creation that constantly happens in the human diary of my innate authenticity almost immortal.A fantastic sense of tranquility in the protection of a wisdom that floats in the air in the silence of Nature

A good thought that is transcribed into words is like a beautiful bird that flies across the garden of your soul.I always write good thoughts on paper when I return from the garden.As if Nature is loading me with pleasant and sometimes important information that I feel the need to write.

The fragrance is good, it stands in the air and I like to smile when the sun accompanies the warmth of my life and melts me in the comfort of my dream, the clear sky think along with me, the fluffy and white clouds cross my image in this world I feel pleasantly lost when the clouds travel great distances, it is as if they would tell a story all the time.
I feel lost in the beauty of nature, I feel fascinated by her power over me to fulfill myself and I trust in her hands where I dream in a dream for a long time.


The best thought for me now is that "I am here" and all of a sudden all my senses are calmed, the rumbling of thoughts ceases, the conversation with Nature begins and the Nature speaks in the sound of rustling leaves of the trees, with me,
the wind confirms my good hope, the dew of the morning endows me with sprinkles of happiness, the sun in the rays of wisdom gives me a bright hue that suits my nature to be for him.

I look around and look for a living being to share my joy with, I look for a child or an old man as a grandfather looks for happiness within the eyes of the nephew, and as I look for an old walnut, he finds me in change, and as I prepare to ask him, he is already answering "you should value what life already values ​​in you" and I thank him somewhere inside me, for his wisdom.
I feel my roots deep in the Earth along with this "old man tree" and the branches of my soul along with his branches directed away from the Cosmos, I look at the sky and I see them unite in pure blue, touching his "body" in all the cleanness of his mind, in his bark I understand his experiences and I realize his significance over so many years of existence and I realize the guard post he has kept for our benefit to all.

I am fascinated by the task of Nature to maintain life in a mission in which it participates incessantly, I take my ship of mind and on the waves of the soul, I start to understand, it's great work and its great influence on us.

I memorialize every event in which a miracle takes place, I find my words in the bosom of a beautiful life, I raise them to their height like a spring that fills a fountain, our fountain of all that adapts us with the spring water of our awakening together.

The bag of words that identifies us, indicates the facts and the exercise of existence in the entire procession that is poured back into the depths of our soul.


And because I let myself be driven by the wave of joy, below is my first English poem.
I thought that I would not be able to find the English rhyme in the poems, but I succeeded, and I will try again ... I am extremely happy!
I hope you will be happy in the heart of Nature, in the arms of life that will seek happiness.
You just have to seek happiness, along with life, and happiness will bring you the gift of life itself!


The sound of Nature's calling me
My name is now, is life who live on me
I feel the random dream in leaves along the tree
I raise in soul my thoughts for him in poetry
He is the love of life, the tree who's live me
Be your existence now, just come along with me
I am a human you're my soul, you are a tree with me!

Love,
Anka

[RunningDeer]

March 21, 2020

The Clock

I had been thinking of my ex-hubby/dear friend the last few days, nights and in some of my dreams. I chalked it up to that the 2nd anniversary of his passing was in about a week. Well, he popped in and we had a chat. He apologized for ‘stuff’ that I’ll skip here.

Apologize is a word I never heard him use in 40+ years, so the skeptic in me questioned if it was really him. I suggested a sign. I closed my eyes to better concentrate on a feeling, a knowing, a sound, or a visual. He told me I’d miss it with my eyes closed.

A minute later, I saw the digital clock blink off. It stayed off while I checked to see if the electricity went out. It didn’t because the microwave would’ve needed to be reprogrammed. Then when I came back into the living room, the clock came back on.

Even if there’s a logical explanation for the clock going off, there’s something to be said for the timing.

♡

[Forest Denizen]

Posted by RunningDeer (here)

March 21, 2020

The Clock

I had been thinking of my ex-hubby/dear friend the last few days, nights and in some of my dreams. I chalked it up to that the 2nd anniversary of his passing was in about a week.

Well, he popped in and we had a chat. He apologized for ‘stuff’ that I’ll skip here. It’s a word I never heard him use in 40+ years, so the skeptic in me questioned if it was really him. I suggested a sign. I closed my eyes to better concentrate on a feeling, a knowing, a sound, or a visual. He told me I’d miss it with my eyes closed.

A minute later, I saw the digital clock blink off. It stayed off while I checked to see if the electricity went out. It didn’t because the microwave would’ve needed to be reprogrammed. Then when I came back into the living room, the clock came back on.

Even if there’s a logical explanation for the clock going off, there’s something to be said for the timing. I haven’t put much attention on the woo-woo of late. I’m appreciative to be reminded that desire + focused attention is the ticket; stay open, flexible and don’t complicate the process.

♡

Dearest RunningDeer,

What a lovely surprise to check in on the Forum and find your post in this thread

I think you know that what you experienced was not a "coincidence." And I know that you also know that the "woo-woo" is one of our windows into the real magic that is constantly at play all around us.. All of the time

With Love,

Ken

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Ken (here)
Dearest RunningDeer,

What a lovely surprise to check in on the Forum and find your post in this thread

I think you know that what you experienced was not a "coincidence." And I know that you also know that the "woo-woo" is one of our windows into the real magic that is constantly at play all around us.. All of the time

With Love,

Ken

Attachment 43406

Thank you, Ken. And thank you for the reminder.

Sending the big kind of Love back your way,
Paula ♡

[Gracy]

Posted by Ken (here)
Four times in total, the unearthly calls of the whale echoed across the sand. Full of mystery and evoking the dark ocean depths. A tale of starlight and of moons risen and fallen. Ships come and gone. Loves lost.

I did not imagine it, for my fellow researchers heard it from their tents as well. Each one noting it later in hushed and reverential tones. A magical and mysterious event not once repeated during four long summers. A gift never to be forgotten.

Funny how these things happen sometimes. And they always, always, always, happen at times when we least suspect them. A mundane moment suddenly turns magical out of the clear blue sky!

My story is nothing extraordinary, as is the main aim of this thread, but it certainly did grab my attention for a good couple of minutes.

Just a little while ago I was briefly chatting with Ken on the mod Discord chat, he happened to have brought up this thread I somehow had not paid much attention to. I clicked straight here to a thread dedicated to sharing little mystical experiences that is so much needed in this time or swirling energies affecting us all.

Soon as I had read Ken's experience with hearing the voice of the whale, an immediate question came to mind. I couldn't help but wonder if the whale Ken heard in that magical pre dawn moment, had any clue their voice might not only be overheard by a human, but that said human may not forget that voice for the rest of his life?

Wouldn't it be moving for the whale to know that?

So then subsequently my little moment happened. Was just about to head back into the house after my evening outside relax, semi meditative time in the woods with my dog Scooby, and a sudden sun shower came blowing through. Those don't happen that often here, and this one had a message. I stood mesmerized for a good 2 minutes under the leaves of the protective trees as a gentle, moderate, sunshine drenched rain came cascading over my up and coming garden in the clearing feeding it new life, while it also spoke to me.

Thanks Ken, that was beautiful, and it wasn't by accident!

[EFO]

For about five-six years bugs,bees and wasp started to have a "relation" with me.My "first" contact was when taking a break from doing gardening work I sit on the chair looking at the garden,when I "felt" that a bug will fly towards me and in the same time a big black beetle jumped and fly straight towards me from a distance of about four-five meters.My first instinct was to stay away from his flying path,but "something" changed my mind and I stood still and that bug landed right on my right cheek.It took some seconds until I was "acclimatized" with the bug and the sensation of it sucked on me and then I shout to my wife which was at a some distance from me.When she turned around she asked me:"What do you have on your face?",I told her smiling knowing her reaction:"It's a bug.".She replied terrified:"Get rid of it!He will bite you!" and I calmed her:"He just sitting here.He will not bite me."I stayed there together with the bug,resting each other until he took flight like nothing happened.

I searched the internet and I only found a similar bug,but mine was bigger than this triceratops beetle Phileurus truncatus

After this other bugs (praying mantis,stag beetles,green scarab beetles,hornets,wasps,bees,dragonflies and other insects that I don't know her's names) came to me for resting or saving them and non of them bite or sting me.

Last month I took some pictures and videos of some apiaries found in an acacia forest on our way back home from shopping.The forest was full of bees and we pick some acacia flowers for winter teas,but I got close tow transformed into bee hives and I took some close up pictures of the bees.

On that yellow painted entrance a bee landed and stopped resting and I gently comforted her three times on her back with my index and it didn't sting me When I sensed that's enough with my intruding I left the area letting them to made their job.

From distance first


then a close up


In their company I felt like this

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uStEUy3xQ-M

I have other stories related to Nature,like unburying living trees lying in sand dunes or "flowing water" made of light blue crystals,but these are from other Natural Worlds

[Harmony]

So many members have written about their pets and experiences with animals that are so profound. I’d like to write about an experience that was something I will always remember.


I previously had two donkeys that were sisters and spent their whole lives together. I had them for over twenty-five years. When they were quite old the eldest sister passed on and I adopted another donkey that was actually related to them both because they always love company.


After about 18 months I started having dreams where they (the sisters) were fenced off in different paddocks and the one I still had was trying to get to the other donkey that was calling to her in another paddock. When I went to find the donkey that passed (in my dream), I could only go so far and she would dissappear into the mist. Not too long after these dreams started, maybe 2 months, the remaining sister donkey that I still had got sick while I was away visiting my father who was ill, about 1000 kilometers away. When I got back she worsened and passed away also after nursing her for several days and nights, always someone by her side to comfort her.


Needless to say I was devastated once more. Directly after her burial in the forest that she loved, a group of about 100 birds made a circle in the trees above her grave and sang constantly for several minutes in the most melodious sweet way all toghether, and that somehow brought my heart back from a deep place. I felt a miricle message was sent just for me and my family. Somehow the different “worlds” met and I knew the “girls” were ok and back together. So, I had to get another sweet donkey friend for the one that was on her own and they loved each other straight away.


I know other members on the forum have also experienced our animal messengers that bring us connection in a way we can understand and feel. This has also happened to me when a loved one has passed, our angels letting us know in a way we can understand.


If you have had an extraordinary experience where unconditional love has encompassed all, it is something you carry in your heart forever, an imprint to keep with us, especially when “the valley of darkness” can temporarily bring us down without realising there are other “places” we can choose to be if we but remember.

My two "girls"



Attachment 55246

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Harmony (here)
My two "girls"

Harmony, I was touched by your Sister Donkeys story. Thank you.
Is that lovely lady you?

[Harmony]

Posted by RunningDeer (here)

Posted by Harmony (here)

My two "girls"

Harmony, I was touched by your Sister Donkeys story. Thank you. Is that lovely lady you?

Thank you Paula, yes that was me, but I was younger then , time keeps flying by, but luckily our hearts are always young

[Victoria]

Harmony, 

What a beautiful photograph and memory together...and a very special reminder that we go on with love. The sisters were so very fortunate and happy to be there together with you. It looks like a lush paradise where you are.  

Your post brought tears to my eyes and happiness to my heart.

[onawah]

Thanks for sharing that wonderful memory, Harmony
I think donkeys have been vastly underrated.
They have so much heart and personality, and can be very entertaining as well...

Posted by onawah (here)
Donkeys have always been one of my favorite animals.
When I was a kid, I loved visiting the donkey at the zoo-- with his sad, expressive eyes, I could tell that he liked having visitors too.
Evidently they can also be a bit stubborn and uncooperative though ...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YwZud-5s-Ws

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=V1F5sNLxHZ0

Posted by Harmony (here)
So many members have written about their pets and experiences with animals that are so profound. I’d like to write about an experience that was something I will always remember.

I previously had two donkeys that were sisters and spent their whole lives together. I had them for over twenty-five years. When they were quite old the eldest sister passed on and I adopted another donkey that was actually related to them both because they always love company.


After about 18 months I started having dreams where they (the sisters) were fenced off in different paddocks and the one I still had was trying to get to the other donkey that was calling to her in another paddock. When I went to find the donkey that passed (in my dream), I could only go so far and she would dissappear into the mist. Not too long after these dreams started, maybe 2 months, the remaining sister donkey that I still had got sick while I was away visiting my father who was ill, about 1000 kilometers away. When I got back she worsened and passed away also after nursing her for several days and nights, always someone by her side to comfort her.


Needless to say I was devastated once more. Directly after her burial in the forest that she loved, a group of about 100 birds made a circle in the trees above her grave and sang constantly for several minutes in the most melodious sweet way all toghether, and that somehow brought my heart back from a deep place. I felt a miricle message was sent just for me and my family. Somehow the different “worlds” met and I knew the “girls” were ok and back together. So, I had to get another sweet donkey friend for the one that was on her own and they loved each other straight away.


I know other members on the forum have also experienced our animal messengers that bring us connection in a way we can understand and feel. This has also happened to me when a loved one has passed, our angels letting us know in a way we can understand.


If you have had an extraordinary experience where unconditional love has encompassed all, it is something you carry in your heart forever, an imprint to keep with us, especially when “the valley of darkness” can temporarily bring us down without realising there are other “places” we can choose to be if we but remember.

My two "girls"



Attachment 55246

[Harmony]

Thank you so much Victoria I know you have written about your everchanging group of animals that you care for, and indeed they have a special place in our hearts

Posted by Victoria (here)
Harmony,

What a beautiful photograph and memory together...and a very special reminder that we go on with love. The sisters were so very fortunate and happy to be there together with you. It looks like a lush paradise where you are.

Your post brought tears to my eyes and happiness to my heart.

[Harmony]

Posted by onawah (here)
Thanks for sharing that wonderful memory, Harmony
I think donkeys have been vastly underrated.
They have so much heart and personality, and can be very entertaining as well...

Posted by onawah (here)
Donkeys have always been one of my favorite animals.
When I was a kid, I loved visiting the donkey at the zoo-- with his sad, expressive eyes, I could tell that he liked having visitors too.
Evidently they can also be a bit stubborn and uncooperative though ...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YwZud-5s-Ws

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=V1F5sNLxHZ0

I really love those videos about the donkey sanctuary Onawah. I have two different donkeys now, both Jennys. Each one has such a unique and usually fun personality and love interaction with each other and people. They are actually very smart. I will add a picture of them here if I can a little bit later.

[Harmony]

I will add a picture of them here if I can a little bit later.

Poppy and Jenny browsing in the paddock



Poppy from about a year ago when she was smaller.

[onawah]

Deep Thinking with Donkeys
Can you think a little deeper?
Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
67.2K subscribers
May 4, 2025

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qfl-i9BeVeQ

Spine chilling donkey fights (for sticks)
Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
67.2K subscribers
52K views 8 months ago

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=iy7mcnu7k1I

Steve the Donkey is passed out and what on earth is Ronnie doing?
Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
67.2K subscribers
Aug 27, 2021

"Steve passed out, Ronnie being weird and Dotty is ignoring me."

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nMMON-5ln4g

[onawah]

Investigative journalists uncover shocking truth
Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
67.3K subscribers
Aug 31, 2021

"DONKEY CHAT TUESDAY
Investigative journalists have uncovered the truth of the JR Donkeys!"
(The donkeys DO have a salt lick by the way!)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UxuRaqbrdqU

You won't believe what this Donkey did
Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
67.3K subscribers
3 years ago

"Join Julian and the donkeys"

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=iJqeU4pwm5k

Naughty donkeys getting told off.
Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary
67.3K subscribers Jan 21, 2018

"Ronnie and Hotey live at Jacobs Ridge Animal Sanctuary (www.jacobsridge.com). After breaking out with the other donkeys, they all raided next door's lemon grove (just eating the grass, didn´t touch the trees). Julian had to give them a "bit of a talking to.

Jacob's Ridge is a vegan run, volunteer funded animal sanctuary near Murcia, Spain. To see how you can help with this incredible project visit our website: www.jacobsridge.com "

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=TJJZ88bRilw

(Julian is funny and very inventive, but the donkeys' expressions are simply hilarious....)