I live surrounded by open space and trails. I love to walk and hike on a particular trail near my home that was originally farm property and still has many apple trees. But, the Open Space trails dept. signs declare that people must not pick the fruit.
Last May late one day, I was walking down a trail that dead ends above the river with a beautiful, wise apple tree behind a nice wooden bench and rocks between the tree and the river below. As I neared the bench, on the left side of the trail a large 4 foot beautiful bull snake slithered in the same direction. Bull snakes are not poisonous but make a sound with their mouths that sound like the rattles of a rattle snake as a means of defense. She/he stopped on the edge of the trail just beneath the apple tree. We both paused and looked at each other for 30-45 seconds. We were both calm, respectful, and about 7-8 feet away from each other. I really appreciated the incredible beauty of the snake as the spiraling and sacred kundalini energy of the earth, particularly as the earth renews herself with life emerging from the winter. The snake then continued moving underneath the apple tree and disappeared down between two large stones.
Wow. There I was with the snake and the forbidden fruit. But, snake didn’t try to get me to do anything evil. Snakes aren’t bad. They’re incredible animals that can teach us so much if we simply reconsider our unfounded judgments and appreciate them. They are very important to healthy ecological systems. Spiritually they represent the ability of life to constantly renew itself because they shed their skin and renew themselves. Their spiraling energy is also the spiraling, creative, and healing life force energy of God. The medical staff/symbol of the caduces is two snakes intertwined with each other. And, the martial arts and spiritual healing and movement practices such as taichi, qigong, kungfu, yoga, etc… all deeply value the sacred spiraling kundalini energy when it opens and moves within one’s body. That is a clear sign that a person is making progress and connecting more deeply with Spirit.
As another example, magnetism is created by two opposite forces entwining and moving around a core. That is the dynamic of how the spiraling kundalini energy moves within one’s body at higher levels of consciousness. It is a connection of above and below or heaven and earth entwining within somebody with heart as the center to create greater and greater levels of energy. It is the same as saying that somebody is magnetic. And, feeling the kundalini energy within oneself is identical to feeling snakes spiraling within. And, that’s where we can begin to powerfully engage and move with the flow of life.
Incidentally, it’s now September and I couldn’t resist. The apples are big, red, and plentiful. A nice ripe one was newly fallen on the ground. I picked it up, washed it in the river, and ate it. And, it was goooooooooood.