I awoke in a grand valley filled with a million shades of green vegetation; thick and full. Ahead of me was a narrow flowing waterfall and winding path to the East that lead to a cave. I followed it. I stood in front of the cave. It was dark inside; unknown. I took a deep breathe and walked in. A cutting damp smell was released with each pace forward I took. It smelled like rain and wet dirt. I rose my hands out in front and beside me to feel secure in the darkness ahead. Just as my finger tips reached the surface of the walls, torches lit up. A multitude of drawings intricately carved and painted into the stone danced fiercely behind the luminescence of the glowing torches. I took another deep breathe in and slowly released the air out of my lungs.

I continued to walk ahead. The ground beneath my shoe became dry; loose dirt. The path ended at an entrance to another great luscious valley – or perhaps the same one from a higher altitude. I closed my eyes. Another deep breathe. The oxygen filled my lungs, my body, my brain expanded and I felt euphoria. As I opened my eyes,  I was no longer by the exit of the cavern but alone inside a warm, white room.

I was alone but there was a strong familiar energetic presence lingering, enticing my senses. The hair on my arms slowly began to rise and it was then in my mind’s eye the cougar and her prey – rabbit and deer – appeared as water-colored busts gazing at me in a hierarchical pyramid. To the side, was a white cat and a yellow-horned viper with no prey. I had seen them all before. I knew they were there to speak to me but there was a hesitation – a pause; holding back.

“There’s someone else that wants to meet you.”

It felt foggy, this image entering my mind. It was as though a veil of clouds was slowly fading, gradually revealing a new face. Whiskers appeared. A dark nose. Unmistakably I saw a mask. A bandit mask.  A raccoon!

It did not expose itself any more. The introduction slipped quietly and I was back to looking at the dark entrance of the cave.

As days ensued from this vivid meditation, I yearned and hoped to find more revealing signs that the raccoon was interested in sharing its medicine with me. I didn’t how I would receive confirmation, after all, I hardly leave the house. But as it were, the universe always finds a way to speak and I often find that I am exactly where I need to be in relation to the lessons I am here to explore and learn; perhaps teach.