A great deal of my healing work is the interpretation of language and symbolism. It’s my way of accessing the treasures buried within the unconscious mind and the natural world.
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to study several languages and I learned that the symbolism behind the words of each language reflects the thought processes and belief systems of the culture within which it exists, creating different worldviews.
I have developed a fascination with language and symbolic meaning. Let me give you an example. A couple days ago I was walking along a pathway in the beautiful wilderness park near my home and I was intentionally engaging with the sounds of the natural world around me. It was a bit windy so it was difficult to hear the sounds of the birds and insects, so I mainly listened to the sounds of the wind. All of sudden the strangest thing happened.
Encounter With Nature
I noticed a large white butterfly flitting about in front of me, and then it started to fly towards me. As it came close I expected it to flit around me the way I had experienced all butterflies in the past, but instead it flew right into the middle of my face as if I wasn’t there. I was a bit shocked to say the least, and then I began to laugh. For a brief moment the thought crossed my mind that I must have become invisible or something, because the butterfly didn’t seem to see me or sense my presence. However, I definitely think it felt my presence because it must have been stunned by the impact – I was.
Anyways, if I was looking for an encounter with nature, I certainly got it. It dawned on me that perhaps the physical encounter between the butterfly and I was intentional. I had never experienced a butterfly doing anything but alighting from plant to plant, looking beautiful, and dancing gracefully through the air. I knew that butterflies sometimes land on people when they are sitting or standing still, but this was somehow different. It was like this butterfly had a message for me and wanted to make sure that I received it.
Butterfly Meaning
Having chosen the butterfly as the symbol of my wellness practice, I immediately felt the need to sort out the symbolic meaning of this bizarre encounter. It occurred to me that perhaps the butterfly had just been tossed about by the wind, however the wind really wasn’t that strong. The butterfly often symbolizes air or wind, blowing away the cobwebs of the mind to clear the way for mental clarity, so it seemed odd that it would lose its balance or direction in the wind.
With the butterfly colliding front and centre with me, perhaps she wanted to draw my attention to something right in my face that was being overlooked. Could this be the message?
During the final stages of creating my website two days earlier, I had insisted that my company’s butterfly logo be changed from the top upper corner of the website to a place front and centre on the screen on the home page. Could this have some relevance to my butterfly encounter? Did the butterfly not only want to be seen but heard as well? Let me share what I know about the symbolism of the butterfly and how she embodies my work.
I believe we have something to learn from each creature of the natural world around us. By studying and emulating their natural behaviour patterns we begin to understand how similar we are to them and how much we can learn from them. Through this study we gain respect for the creatures of the wild and also those that are domesticated, and we learn something about ourselves. We benefit when we bring the energy of the land, sea, or air creatures into our own lives.
Since antiquity, in many cultures, the butterfly has been a symbol for the soul. Our purpose as human beings is to naturally experience change through a lifetime of spiritual growth, development, and self-transformation. We travel from one phase of life to another: birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood, senior, to physical death. There are times that we feel confident and times that we feel vulnerable. It is in learning to move into the unknown, those phases when we step outside our comfort zone or into chaos, that allows us to create, develop, and grow.
The Butterfly’s Transformation
Transforming or healing self, of re-discovering that authentic inner self within, is key to my own healing journey and my work with others. The soul, that deep inner core self that is eternal, is the authentic part of you that connects you to All That Is in the universe. Understanding the soul is integral to understanding the concept of healing. Healing is returning to self. Just as the butterfly sheds the layers that no longer serve her to shift from larva to pupa, healing entails removing all the layers of suppressed emotional baggage that have piled over that eternal part of you during your lifetime. That emotional baggage has served as the story that you tell yourself and others about who you are. It’s the rational self-talk that bounces around in your head. Healing is creating the space and capacity for the authentic self within to express itself freely without the story attached.
The butterfly expends great energy toward metamorphosis, transformation, and change. The transformation of the soul is front and centre in healing. Transformation is an art that comes naturally to us when we let go of the need to resist and control.
The butterfly doesn’t fight the natural possesses of life, but accepts change to her physical body and her environment. She is a symbol of maintaining hope and having faith that everything will all work out as it is naturally meant to do. The butterfly doesn’t get concerned, worried, irritated, angry, or afraid about change. She goes with the natural evolution or flow that is meant for her and she embraces and welcomes change, and so should you. Life may not always go the way you feel it should go, but in every obstacle or difficulty there is a valuable lesson to be learned. There are no errors or mistakes in life; there are only lessons to be experienced. Are you valuing those lessons regardless of how unpleasant they may have felt to you? Or … are you creating a victim story about the experience that overlays your authentic self?
It’s important to understand where you are at this moment of your own transformation so that you’re able to move forward. Through the lessons of the butterfly, you become aware of cycles of time and cycles of change. Are you at the egg phase just beginning the process? Are you just turning a thought into an idea?
Are you at the larva phase, already manifesting your ideas in the world with perhaps a decision needing to be made to shift you forward? Do you have to gather extra resources or knowledge for the journey ahead? Do you need to work with others to achieve your goal?
Are you the pupa forming the chrysalis, shedding the old to get ready for the new? Is it time to go within for a period of reflection or integration? Are you considering what you are naturally meant to do or develop? What would bring joy to your heart? Where do your passions lie? Are you letting fear stop you from moving forward?
Are you entering the final adult phase of leaving the chrysalis and birthing something new into the world? As you shapeshift, are you wondering how you might share all that you have created with those around you? Are you sorting out how to be authentic, to live in your integrity, and to show your true colours like the butterfly? Are you willing to reveal yourself in all your magnificence to those around you or do you tend to hide your talents away and get frustrated when they go unnoticed? Are you willing to experience the expansion of your inner light as it radiates out into the world spreading beauty, love, peace, and joy to all those around you?
Embracing Change Like the Butterfly
The butterfly shows courage during the process of change as she moves into the unknown world from stage to stage, finally emerging into a new world that is infinitely filled with peaceful possibilities. The butterfly emerges realizing that she is part of a greater whole, in unity with the rest of the universe. She leaves the chrysalis and discovers she has these magnificent wings to fly. The butterfly embodies change and with the flutter of her wings she radiates energy movement out into the world. This is known in the realm of physics as the Butterfly Effect. It’s the belief that there is a sensitive dependence on initial conditions and the slightest movement of the butterfly wing could create a greater energy movement somewhere else in the world. As you accept transition and change as a natural part of life you will also find your wings to soar. Be aware that this is your birthright. Life will continue to challenge you, but it is your attitude toward life and your response to these obstacles that changes your outcome along your spiritual journey.
Embracing change and being courageous is meant to be a natural process. In some situations, you may have been overly cautioned as a child as you wandered out to explore the world that surrounded you. This may have caused you to develop a fear or resistance to change and the unknown world around you. You no longer felt safe exploring the world. You only felt comfortable and safe when you built a rigid structure of safety and constancy around your life. The need to control became your norm and you learned to embrace the status quo. Changes raised fears and you began to struggle against them. When you resist change you face greater obstacles in life, and the health and wellness of your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energy bodies is compromised.
Interconnected to the Whole
The butterfly accepts that she is part of the natural world, and so must you. You are interconnected as a creature of the natural world. Through the lessons of the butterfly, you begin to understand interconnectivity, and realize you are inseparable from nature. You are nature. When you interact with the whole of nature, you learn compassion and respect for nature, which develops into compassion and respect for self and others. Self-love is the sought after outcome of any healing journey. Self-love is a return to self, and the freedom to accept self and life as it is. Self-love releases attachment to overwhelming fears, and like the butterfly you encounter your natural courage. Remember that once you step into your healing journey there is no going back. The butterfly would never consider going back to being a caterpillar or an egg, and nor should you.
The Heraclitus philosophy that there is nothing permanent or constant in life except change has played a major role in my own life. Through social activism, I discovered that when one half of any relationship, or society as a whole, clings to the status quo, holding onto old structures and/or institutions, attempting to halt the gentle shifting flow of energy that brings change, clashes or conflict will occur and personal or societal symptoms of un-wellness will result. Embracing the inevitability of change is a fundamental element in a life of balance, self-love, and inner peace. You cannot have inner peace if you are in battle with the nature of change, for the two cannot exist in the same space.
The butterfly is loved for the beauty, elegance, colour, peace, and joy that she brings to any situation. She encourages you to dance lightly upon the earth, just as she dances from flower to flower. Dance has been in my life for as long as I can remember. Dancing is as natural as breathing and I love the sensation of movement to all different beats and rhythms. With dance comes fun, laughter, and celebration. The butterfly encourages you to enjoy each stage of life and celebrate them all with rites of passage.
Butterfly energy also asks you to lighten up and to not take life too seriously. This is one adage I have had to regularly remind myself to heed. The butterfly reminds us to enjoy life for it is but a fleeting moment, and to embrace change whenever it presents itself, for transformation breaths new life into all situations. I encourage you to dance physically, swaying to the beat of music, and if that is not physically possible, to dance figuratively. Be grateful to all the creatures of the world that connect their energy vibration frequencies to your own. They all add a dimension of richness to your life to keep you from taking it for granted.
What about the fact that the butterfly that flew into my face was white? Colour holds immense symbolic meaning. The white butterfly is thought to represent a pure soul. It is spiritually thought to be a guardian or spirit of another realm helping you along your life journey. The white butterfly is the sign of good luck and brings with it the prospect of a good life. Perhaps this all bodes well for the launch of my new website.
Embrace Change as a Way of Life
The first step in healing is acknowledging the need for healing and committing to your own healing journey. When you courageously open this doorway, surrendering yourself to being vulnerable, healing love can begin to flow freely within you and out into the world.
I believe my encounter with the butterfly in the park was a reminder to bring forward to front and centre this immensely important message about flowing with change and opening to transformation.
How might you be resisting change in your own life?