Releasing The Dogma of Birdsong

Releasing the Dogma of Birdong

Birdsong brings relief
to my longing. 
I am just as ecstatic as they are, 
but with nothing to say! 
Please, universal soul, practice
some song, or something, through me!

~Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi

All the great mystical traditions love birds and their singing. Birds speak of our longings for purity and freedom, shouting messages of joy on the winds. Birds move easily between the worlds, reminding us of our Higher Self, bringing us with them to another dimension - a spiritual realm.

Some birds begin singing at dawn to celebrate the returning light, and some whisper their songs in the night to deepen our silence. We humans find ourselves under the spell of the wistful harmonies of white-throated sparrows, the warbling sky-dive of skylarks, and the playful melody of chickadee's morning message. The nightingale, with its evening song, is the legendary bird of love, sheltering secret lovers from prying eyes. Birdsong soothes the soul.

Birds are often represented as symbols of the mythical and supernatural. Carl Jung believed that the anima, the divine feminine archetype, can appear as a bird. In Russian mythology Sirin and Alkonost, birds of joy and sorrow, have the body of a bird and head of a woman. These legendary bird-maidens of paradise would come down to earth to “bring their sweet song to man.”

Rudolf Steiner believed that plants are part of sonic systems that respond to the musical frequencies and harmonics of wingbeats and birdsong. Modern scientists agree that the cellular structure of plants are triggered to growth by music. Birdsong beckons forth the flowering blossoms all around us.

I believe in the dogma of birdsong. The musical truths of these everyday mystics calls forth a holy encounter with presence. Birdsong is universal, it holds no prejudice of race or religion, all are welcome. It is at this sacred altar that the petals of my soul unfold; in this singular moment, in the stillness of breath between the notes.