Working With Animal Guides - Part 1 - The Pigeon

Photo by Gary Kramer, Public Domain

Today I'd like to share with you some of the lessons I've learned, and am still learning, from one of my animal guides. The guide I'm going to talk about today is the Pigeon!

I believe that we all have spiritual guides who take many forms. They may be human, animal, angelic, extra terrestrial / cosmic (or something else outside my current realm of knowledge!), and it's my belief that we each have a team composed of both lifelong and circumstantial guides. Some are with us from birth, some join us along the path, and some come and go, but all are with us to offer teaching, support, love and guidance.

A Pigeon? Really?

Yes! I believe it took me so long to realize this specific animal's energy in my life purely because the idea of having a pigeon as a guide seemed somehow strange.

They're so commonplace, often disdained or overlooked, that for some time I carried an odd feeling of shame about my soft spot for them. Nowadays my outspoken love of pigeons is something of a running joke with friends, and the chuckles when people hear about it just make me smile too.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I can look back now and see all of the little hints that Pigeon has been with me from an early age. I've come to believe that my ignorance regarding their presence and messages has actually always been part of their message for me. Everything is serendipitous.

I'm hoping to write often about my guides, both animal and otherwise, in the hopes of helping others to connect with their own guides or simply to feel a sense of community and belonging. I promise you, no matter how weird your guide seems, they're real and their relationship with you is meaningful.

How did I discover this guide?

Pigeon has been a real slow burn for me, and wow that's a weird sentence!

I don't think I can pinpoint an exact moment in time when the lightbulb flickered to life and I realized 'Oh, hey! That's why you keep showing up!', but here are a few of my pertinent memories of pigeon.

1. One of my earliest memories is of going to Piccadilly Gardens (Manchester, UK) with my mum to look at flowers and feed the pigeons.

I was around 2 years old at the time, so everything else from that time is quite hazy, but I have an almost watercolor memory of the colorful flowers and throwing food for the hundreds of birds. A lot of children at that age like to chase them, and I can't say that I never did because I honestly don't remember, but that first memory is one of total joy and wonder.

2. In 2007, when I was 17 years old, I took a trip with an ex to Tokyo, Japan.

One of my most vivid memories, aside from a really weird story of riding the bullet train with $1000 strapped to my thigh, is of seeing a pigeon outside of a fast food restaurant being buffeted by passers by.

I couldn't figure out at the time, and still don't know now, if it was hurt or simply tired. Regardless, it was being completely ignored by everyone and pushed around by shoes and bags. Seeing it, my heart felt like it was bleeding, I felt so incredibly sad. I watched as it hobbled under a nearby table and somebody began feeding it french fries, and I stayed there and watched that scene for what felt like an hour.

I remember so clearly the raw emotions I felt - my sadness to see the little bird so close to getting hurt, my happiness when the nearby couple ushered it into safety and began to feed it, an overwhelming sense of relief and a cloud of love that seemed to make time stop. I felt as though a seed of compassion had been planted deep within my heart that day, showing me that kindness could come even in unexpected moments when all seemed bleak.

3. I have so many memories of sitting by myself on a quiet bench, nobody else around, and sharing my lunch with a gaggle of these funny creatures. I love the way they rush for crumbs, I love throwing something to the shy ones in the back, I love the way the males look so silly when they posture and strut. I love it when they climb onto my shoes and look up at me with their curious gaze, how they're so trusting and friendly. My overwhelming memories with pigeons are ones of laughter and joy, the same as my very first memory of them.

4. I experience a strong feeling of camraderie when I meet somebody else who also loves pigeons.

I don't know if this comes from the fact that a lot of people strongly dislike them, and so meeting somebody who unabashedly loves them is a relief, or perhaps it comes from them having Pigeon as a guide too. Perhaps it's a bit of both.

Undeniably though, when I meet one of these people, it feels as though a strong sense of community is formed between us. They often tell me stories of protecting pigeons from being hurt, or of taking an injured one to a rescue center. There's a sense of trust and kindness.

What Can Pigeon Teach?

First of all, I want to say that I believe our guides bring messages and teaching that is specific to us as an individual. You and I might both have Pigeon as a guide, yet they could mean totally different things to both of us. These messages might resonate with you, or they might not. Trust your own intuition.

I also believe that there are collective or community messages - messages that are meant for many people, for us as a collective embodiment of the Divine. I believe these are the messages we tend to find on websites dedicated to guide messages and meanings, and along with our own personal meanings, they can offer us support or a way to connect with these guides.

Without further ado, here are some of the lessons I learn from Pigeon:

1. Tenacity & Patience

Pigeons are prolific, tenacious, bold and have seemingly endless patience. Nothing slows them down or gets in their way, and they seem to take any and all challenges in stride. They'll wait forever if they think they might get a tasty morsel, and they'll try anything before they pass it up as inedible. Fear might make them scatter for a moment, but they'll observe and flock back quickly.

2. Trust

For all that they're chased after and shooed off every day, they're remarkably trusting and friendly. If you sit with them for a short time they'll get so close you could touch them, and they're not adverse to climbing on your shoes or sitting next to your feet. They look at you with curiosity and what always looks to me like mirth, as though you're about to drop the punchline on a really good joke that they can't wait to share with their friends.

They teach me to have faith in the goodness of others, in the goodness of the world, and to receive with gratitude all that is given to me. They teach me to trust the world and to keep my heart open, even in times when it seems like closing it would hurt less. They teach me to be good humored and look for the fun in every day life, in ordinary circumstances.

3. You Do Not Have to Be Loud to Be Heard

I've always found the calls of pigeons to be soothing - they blend in with nature, creating an energetic ambiance of calm and well-being. When there's hustle and bustle going on, you can barely hear them, and yet their presence is undeniable.

I've always had a very quiet and gentle voice, and 'speak up' is probably the most common constructive criticism I ever received at school. In order to be loud I have to really think about it (unless I'm laughing at something in a quiet room, then it's not a problem, of course..) and even when I'm trying to speak louder, it's still often too soft for some people to understand.

For a long time I found this really frustrating and even upsetting. Being naturally rather shy and introverted, having such a soft and small voice just seemed like an unnecessary addition. I would give myself a hard time, not knowing how I could connect with others if I wasn't loud, if I couldn't make myself stand out.

Pigeon has taught me that those who need my energy, with whom I resonate or can offer something to, will be drawn to me. My quiet voice and gentle style will be what they need. This isn't to say that I don't put effort into spreading my services - though this is always a work in progress - but it does take the pressure off my need to be anything other than myself. Some people are loud, and some people are quiet, and whatever you are, whatever your voice, it's perfectly aligned with you.

4. Community and the Collective

One thing I mentioned above is that whenever I meet somebody else who loves pigeons, I feel an immediate sense of community with them. The pigeon isn't the only guide I have who carries the message of community, but I'll share more about that in a later post.

To me, Pigeon is about the collective, about strength in groups, and they represent my Soul Group. Many members of my Soul Group are spread all over the world, some of them I've never met in person, but we know each other when we connect. Almost without exception, members of my Soul Group are involved in collective energetic healing - they work with groups or one on one with a lot of people to bring messages of community and ways we can work together to nourish each other.

I was very lucky in this lifetime to be born into a physical family with some of my Soul Group, having them as my parents, grandparents and extended family. Pigeon's message here is the importance of family / community connection, whether through blood or through choice. I believe this aspect of Pigeon's teaching for me focuses on karmic debts and lessons.

I hope you've found this post interesting and useful.

What animals do you connect strongly with? What are some of their messages to you?

Love and Joy to you,

Lottie

#animalguides #spirituality #spiritguidance