The Bald Eagle Who Spoke to Me
(Continued from previous blog article "When River Spirits Speak: Water Remembers")
He was strong and majestic, and looking directly into my soul. Perched atop this long tree was an incredible Bald Eagle. It appeared as though he were waiting for me.
Just as earlier in the day I'd referred to the mighty Mississippi River (that I was now on the shoreline of) as "Mother" without thinking about it, I mentally greeted him as Grandfather Eagle. And just like the river, he too had a message to share that seemed to be communicated with the river's help. It was as though she carried it across the water to me chanting, "Remember. Remember." This chant was joined by the distant sound of ancestral drumming. But instead of coming from somewhere along the river, it came from within me.
"Remember that you are a medicine woman."
I had a full body surge of electricity run from the base of my spine sitting up on the earth barely a foot from the river's ice all the way up to the top of my head and the tips of my fingers. My skin covered in "truth bumps" that occur when something deeply touches the depths of your heart or spiritual presence is felt. Something awakened within.

I've known for decades now that my purpose on this earth is to help people heal. Many of you reading this have spent time on my table for massage therapy or Reiki, attended somatic yoga or meditation classes, or explored outwardly and inwardly at our weekend retreats. Still others have confided in me over a simple mug of tea or asked me to help you nurse a plant back to health. You've read my poetry and Empath guidebook written to empower the sensitive souls of this world. For your trust and confidence, I am grateful.
This experience stirred my soul and opened me up to another level of understanding. I was unsure if this sense of connection felt like a past life knowing, or a message from the land itself... perhaps both. Whatever it was, it felt... simultaneously activating and comforting. I was being invited to remember the wisdom I already held inside. While I never would have called myself by a medicine woman out of respect to native culture, the understanding washed over me that it is not the term nor the cultural background that was the message.
The message was to listen. To remember what we're here for.
Our country is burning. Some our lands are literally aflame, while other fundamentals of our government such as ethics, respecting all people, and honoring of the constitution appear to be burning down before our very eyes.
But the truth is, many ways of our country need to burn. Capitalism creating such unbelievably extreme wealth for a small handful of greedy men while thousands are homeless and starving. Patriarchal structures built to prevent women from owning our power, our bodies, ourselves. Christian nationalism creating illusions of godliness in the very judgement and hatred of those Jesus himself called others to love and care for. Religion being used as a weapon of superiority. Healthcare turned into a pharmaceutical payday and diagnosis equaling bankruptcy for too many families. Mothers forced to leave their newborn babies and return to work with leaking nipples and a wound the size of a dinner plate still healing inside them. White supremacy grown even more emboldened without the basic recognition that this was never "white man's land" to begin with. Such blatant disconnection with our natural environment that we're seeing the effects of our neglect and rapacious devouring of resources for profit. And the list goes on...
These ways must burn, being reduced to ashes so that we can regrow in unity and peace. We're being called to remember.
Just as I came to this earth and this country to support and guide healing, you came here with a purpose too. Your purpose was never to trudge your way through a nine-to-five that sucks the life from your very being, only to enjoy a day or two of your own time and begin all over again. Your purpose wasn't to spend your whole life saving to be able to experience freedom for a small amount of retirement years.
Remember why you are here. You can start by recognizing the natural gifts and skills that leave your feeling passionate and energized rather than depleted and exhausted. Go back in your memories and dig out those things you did as a child that brought you exuberant joy.
Then, create.
Create peacefulness in your home. Create art for no other purpose than because you felt like it. Create a safe and encouraging place for others. Create music. Create peaceful protests. Create ancestral healing. Create community and togetherness. Create hope. Create a version of yourself that is more true to your soul and that light within.
For these little creations fueled by love and the expression of our feelings will be the seeds. These little seeds will regrow the forest upon the burned soil.
It was only as I wrote in my journal later in the day that it dawned on me that the Bald Eagle is the bird chosen to represent our country. Like the eagle, we must rise above the distractions to take in the whole landscape... aware that we are all a part of the same environment. To those who lived as a part of this land before us, the bald eagle represents courage, strength, wisdom, and connection with the Great Spirit. The sacred eagle soars above everything going on below with a keen eye and tremendous grace.
The message of the eagle was clear. May we all aim to remember, and to embody the symbolism of Grandfather Eagle and the wisdom he shared.
Love & Peace,
Ashley Kay
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