Magic Bread Crumbs

Sometime in the last couple months of 2021, I had an ocular migraine. That wasn’t particularly unusual. I am prone to these glimmery, shimmery, kind-of-nauseating ocular experiences. The unusual thing about this particular ocular migraine was that I didn’t see the usual shiny-around-the-edges amoeba. I saw a Thunderbird.

I know that the Thunderbird is a mythological creature, and I am not claiming that I saw a real, flesh-and-blood Thunderbird flying over my house. I saw a shiny-around-the-edges shape, and it looked like Thunderbird to me. I grew up in the Great Plains area, and that image is a little pebble that my brain picked up along the way.

My brain recognizing the image as Thunderbird is only part of the story. Here’s the rest:

After the migraine went away, I did a little Googling about Thunderbird. I learned that visions of Thunderbird are associated with those people who are called to the occupation of Sacred Clown. I followed my investigation of Thunderbird with a search for clown classes starting early in 2022 and ended up registering for a class through the Los Angeles Clown School called Make Like a Trickster. I will also be taking a course called Sacred Clown and another called Clown and Ritual this year. Why? Well, because

I follow signs.

I notice synchronicities, and

I do not call these things coincidences. I call them magic bread crumbs. It’s not that I believe that these blips on my radar are NOT coincidences (what do I know about this stuff?). I have simply chosen a magical life that is driven by my intuitions and my connections to the dancing, weaving, mysterious world around me. Living this way allows me to be titillated. It opens doors, exposes hidden passages, and unlocks windows to new ways of seeing and being.

This isn’t about superstition or magical thinking, it’s about being awake and fully present in a world that is chock full of beauty and wonder. It’s about open-mindedness and open-heartedness. It is about creative engagement with an ever-changing, ever-evolving, ever-creating universe. Following magic bread-crumbs like ocular migraine-induced shimmery Thunderbirds has led me out of fear-based constriction and into an open-handed, open-hearted, open-eyed adventure.

It isn’t about Belief. It’s about Choice.

Would I be in Clown School right now without the Thunderbird vision from my ocular migraine? No, I don’t think I would. Would NOT being in Clown School right now be terrible? No. It wouldn’t be terrible, but I’d be missing out on an experience that has been interesting, enriching, and pretty fun. Also, had I not recognized the Thunderbird in my migraine, I wouldn’t be getting the education I’m receiving about the Trickster archetype from someone who’s been studying Trickster energy for 20 years. I’d probably be spending Wednesday nights watching Netflix.

What magic breadcrumbs have you followed lately? Where did they lead you?