Mystical change comes to the mind of many American Indian people, 
when we see a raven nearby. There are times when certain animals seem to be hanging around or we keep seeing the same wild creature over and over for several days or weeks. The elders have told us that each of the animals has their own unique “medicine”. Medicine is defined as anything in the natural world that provides healing in any form, for the body, mind and/or spirit of us. Animals are often seen as messengers from our Creator. They come to teach us things about ourselves, each other and God that we may not otherwise notice. The presence of the animal reminds us that we are loved by the Master of Creation and that perhaps there is something new we can learn about ourselves.
Mysticism at one time, was surrounded by superstition and fear because it deals with the things of the natural world that cannot be defined by the laws of science or old fashioned organized religion. Mysticism seems to break the natural laws of reality as we understand it, by lurking in the shadows of our dreams and the hidden corners of our imagination. Mysticism has been associated with another word that receives avoidance in mainstream conversation—the “supernatural”. In today’s more educated world we do not shove these ideas aside as though they were the shameful secrets of our ancestors. The scientific community acknowledges the existence of the supernatural within the natural world. So many miraculous events have been observed in our world, that today they are openly discussed and studied by scientists and scholars. Mysticism and the existence of the supernatural are no longer shrouded with fear and placed alongside the workings of the occult and the unexplained.
The idea of mysticism suggests that perhaps we as humans are endowed with something like a sixth sense with the capacity to understand deeper spiritual truths then those more obvious facts of our material world. The mystics of the ancient Church were feared during the middle ages and that fear brought about things like the Spanish Inquisition and even events like witch-burning in later generations. Today, those same mystics have come to be known as Saints in the same religious arena that condemned them in earlier times. Saints are not supernatural beings, just ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives and today are considered teachers, whose writings are available to the rest of us. Native American practitioners of the ancient medicines are no longer considered witches either. Their skills as healers and teachers are honorably recognized by elite publishers and the scholars of the literary community. Mysticism has been set free from the judgmental chains of history.
The raven has landed. The eagle has landed. When we are visited by these messengers, we are honored by their presence. Miracles of profound understanding can come to anyone with an open mind and heart in just the same way the supernatural gift of recovery can be acquired through our willingness and desire for a richer more productive life then anything we have experienced in the past. Many sober indigenous peoples around the world share the same fascination about our spiritual interconnectedness with the animals. In the last few decades our ancient teachings have finally come to be as respected as those of more established modern faiths and religions. If the raven has entered our lives, we may be called to a richer more spiritual understanding. As we enjoy the wealth of recovery we become more able to receive these great healing events and share them with others. We learn to listen and speak from the heart rather than the intellect and that itself is mystical change. Let us embrace the supernatural and mystical events gifted us by our Creator. Aho!
