Nature Shows Me Love When I Better My Happy

This morning probably was the best result I received so far from my Positively Focused practice. It’s an extraordinary result showing how Universe delights the one who finds alignment with their better, happy place.

I woke this morning feeling joy so deep, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I felt at one with All That Is, and that feeling left me in peace, wherein all was right with everything. And in that, I felt struck in All That Is’ beauty, grace and love.

But when someone experiences such deep and profound spiritual experiences, Universe inspires movement because such movement leads to more and better experiences. Experiences confirming that blessed universal connection.

That’s exactly what happened next.

Joy and fun to come

I got an impulse to go for a walk. The impulse came with a sense of urgency, like I mustn’t ignore it. So I got up, did my morning routine and headed out the door.

A few weeks ago I wrote about an amazing experience had in a nearby park. It involved seeing a raptor in the trees with feathers dancing through the air like snow fall. Then a guy walked by who amplified that wonderful experience with a story of his own.

The park where this happened was where my inspiration directed me this morning. As I walked I had no idea what lie ahead. I only knew how good I felt and how wonderful the day unfolded up to now, even though it was only 7:30 in the morning.

The park was mine. No one else walked the walking paths, played in the grassy expanses, walked among the roses, or sat in the pavilion. My favorite music played in my headphones while the sun shone from my right, its warmth heating the day.

Halfway through the park, despite my headphones, I heard a sound I hadn’t heard before. It was a kind of screech. Even though my headphones muffled it, the sound caught my attention. So much so I made a bee-line straight to where I thought it originated.

The compulsion to follow that sound was so strong, I felt kind of odd, like I wasn’t in charge of my movements. It drew me to a spot in the park I rarely frequent.

That’s when it happened

I heard the sound again, then looked into the trees while turning off my music. The draw of this impulse felt extreme as it pulled me right underneath a medium-sized tree. That impulse drew my vision to the lower-most branch, which swung very low from the tree’s trunk.

There, perched on the branch, was an accipiter known as a Goshawk. I didn’t know the word “accipiter” in that moment. Nor did I know the Bird of Prey as a Goshawk. I thought is was a Sharp-Shinned Hawk or perhaps a falcon. Either way, the sight stunned me.

Little did I know, this was just the beginning.

My joyful adventure started with this sighting.

Accipiters are Birds of Prey specifically evolved for successful life in dense forests. These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail which helps them maneuver in tight areas such as forests. Accipiters have long legs and long, sharp talons used to kill their prey, and a sharp, hooked bill used in feeding. They often ambush their prey, mainly small birds and mammals, capturing them after a short chase. They are commonly found in wooded or shrubby areas.

I’ve always adored Birds of Prey, specifically Red Tailed Hawks and Sparrowhawks. Since moving to Oregon, however, my love of raptors expanded. I also love seeing Bald Eagles and Osprey, which populate Oregon’s scenic waterways.

But I never expected to see such birds in Portland’s city parks. This was astounding!

Watching this bird on the branch, I felt awe. But what happened next left me in stunned.

It was good, but got better

While filming the video above, the hawk suddenly disappeared from view. I stopped shooting to find it, but saw it nowhere in trees around me. That’s when my instinct took over, turned my head left and downward.

The hawk landed on the ground just feet from my…feet! Here’s a video of me in rapturous joy as I caught the moment on video:

It lands right at my feet! Listen to my joy!

This is incredible, I thought! Understanding how amazing this moment was requires understanding a little about Northwestern Goshawks.

Of the three U.S. and Canadian hawks known as accipiters, the Goshawk is by far the most impressive. As far as accipiters are concerned, they are the largest and most aggressive. Goshawks are favored for falconry the world over. According to state write-ups, Oregon offers limited permits for taking Goshawks for falconry purposes. I met someone with such a permit once. His specimen is exquisite even though I don’t think it’s a Goshawk. I mean, must look at this photo I took!

A bird of prey “taken” for falconry by a local falconer. I took this photo last summer at a local school. The owner used the playground as a training camp.

What impressed me most about Goshawks, and my seeing one specifically, is this: It is an uncommon to fairly common bird in Oregon. But they’re usually found in wilderness areas ranging between 1,900 – 6,100 foot elevations along the Cascade, Blue, and Klamath mountains. Even so, here I was face-to-face….or foot-to-foot with one in a city park!

It gets better still!

Just as the bird flew off, I heard another screech, the distinctive sound a Goshawk makes, that now sounds familiar to my ears. This one came from behind me. I turned around and saw another Goshawk, only this one fed on a bird it must have caught earlier this morning.

A Goshawk manages its kill in on a nearby branch. Astounding!

That’s two separate birds in the same area!

Then I heard yet another screech, again, behind me. When I turned around, I stood literally astounded. For there in front of me were four hawks. Three of them stood on the ground, the fourth on a brach above the others. What were they doing? Playing with sticks!

They threw sticks, tossed seed pods and even stepped on each other’s tails! Never had I seen such playfulness in Birds of Prey. I felt absolutely blessed seeing this display, again, in a city park.

Watch as these Goshawks play. At the end, one even playfully steps on its companion’s tail! Hilarious!

It turned out I was amidst an entire family of hawks. They played and ate from the same kill. They even chased crow and squirrel in front of me. Two even played with each other on a nearby car rooftop.

Joyful nature communion

For the next two hours I watched as these hawks put themselves on display for me. Once, one hawk perched on a tree, looked at me. Then, with no notice, it flew straight at me, swooping over my head close enough for me to touch. I felt I had gone to hawk heaven!

After filming, I noticed bird and squirrel carcasses in this area, particularly under the tree where one of the hawks fed. Apparently, they had been here some time. But my Broader Perspective coordinated this moment, these two blissful hours, for me to commune with these natural, graceful predators.

Carcass from a previous meal.

I tell my clients all the time that when one develops a Positively Focused perspective such that they chronically live in a state of alignment to the beauty of life, nature becomes one’s deliberate partner. It reveals to the Positively Focused its “secrets”. Animals people rarely, if ever, see come out and play, putting themselves on display for one who takes time to tune themselves back to their natural knowing.

I’ve seen coyote families, with pups playing alongside city sloughs, minxes carrying their prey along bike paths, owls flying in broad daylight and at night, perched so close to me I could touch them if I wanted.

Forgotten desires fulfilled

I know when these experiences come, they come solely for my joyful consumption. They also validate my Positively Focused practice as well as indicate that I stand aligned, not only to nature, but to the unfolding, natural fulfillment of all my desires.

I also tell my clients about the nature of “desire” itself. I know many desires I have I don’t remember asking for. But my Broader Perspective remembers them all. When I tune to my Broader Perspective knowing, it begins leading me to all my desires. Not just ones I consciously want, but those I’ve forgotten.

That’s what makes living life so joyous when Positively Focused. I didn’t realize experiencing something like a family of uncommon Birds of Prey up close and personal was something I asked for. Yet here it was delivered in a way I could savor for two whole hours!

Imagine other desires I asked for, cued up by my Broader Perspective and ready when I am to experience. It truly is the Charmed Life I write about. The Charmed Life includes the fulfillment of ALL desires. Not just those a person knows they want, but ones they don’t remember asking for.

My experience today with these hawks filled me with such joy, I am working on a short film about the experience. It’s amazing I got so much video footage, enough for a film I can share. And in the sharing I’ll amplify my own joy, which also amplifies my connection to All That Is.

I write that I am amazed and I am. But I also know what happened is just what happens when I stand at the center of my happy place, where the Universe shows me how blessed I am. How blessed we all are.