Return to paradise – Body

Part 1 of the Jimboomba Trilogy

Welcome to the Australian Bush; Dawn Birdsong with Kookaburras

The man was sitting on his backyard verandah in the late afternoon, taking in the view of the waves rolling on to the beach of the nearby cove below. He appeared to be having a pleasant and calming experience.
“Hey little fella,” the man said with a friendly smile when he spotted Luurnpa sitting on the railing of the verandah a few metres away.
“Hullo Cooinda,” Luurnpa greeted in return.
“Cooinda?” the man asked with a curious look on his face.
“It means ‘a happy place’ and you seem to be a very cheerful bloke.”
“Ah, you reckon?” the man asked, smiling broadly. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“You’re welcome. They call me Luurnpa, by the way.”
The two of them paused a short while before the man said: “You look familiar.”
“I was just about to say the same about you,” Luurnpa chuckled.
“Do you think we were relatives or mates in a previous life?” the man asked.
“It feels like it. In any case, us meeting like this is no coincidence.”
The man nodded in agreement.

“Out of curiosity, how do you, being an animal, feel about what us humans have been doing over the past year?”
On hearing this question, Luurnpa pictured himself flying above the countryside that was gradually transforming from depleted farmland into a natural landscape where humans lived together with the animals, produced plant-based food and plant medicine in food forests and on regenerative farmland. It seemed to Luurnpa that everything was going green. Even the towns and cities were becoming greener with large areas reserved for the production of food and water catchment. Not that Nature had taken over altogether. People had rediscovered Nature and therefore their own true nature. Individually and collectively, humankind was realigning with Nature and beginning to live in harmony with the Earth. 

“It feels good,” Luurnpa replied as he felt the increased flow of energy through his body. That was when he put his finger on the biggest change of all. “You’ve begun to take on a different presence. It’s as if you’re no longer attempting to control life with your minds.”
The man listened closely to what Luurnpa had to say, sensing the wisdom in his words.
“Instead,” Luurnpa continued, “you are paying attention to your senses. Your senses feed you with information that enables you to experience yourselves in your physical form in this material world. A world where everyone and everything is connected spiritually and energetically. This is a good thing, Cooinda, and it makes my heart feel happy.”
The man smiled as his eyes became moist. He was clearly moved by Luurnpa’s answer.
“What your kind is beginning to experience is that everyone and everything is part of a big family that is cared for and supported by the Earth.”

Meanwhile in a different time and place, a lively, bright green tree frog clung to one of the tall solid timber stumps that supported a house in the suburb of a Queensland country town. It looked around for a bit, observing the combined work and recreation area under the house, unaware that it too was being observed by a pair of inquisitive eyes that belonged to a young boy named Billy.
“I can see you,” Billy whispered.
Billy was sitting inside an empty washing machine box with his knees pulled up towards his chin, like he often did on weekday afternoons after school. The box was a place where he lost all track of time and space, while he let his imagination take him to parallel realities in other dimensions.

At the moment though, Billy was focusing on the frog. While he peered at it through a small tear in the cardboard, he wondered where it spent the night and if it lived with other frogs. This reminded him of his own family and friends. He sighed with relief at the thought of having people who loved him and took care of him. At the same time, he felt sorry for people who had no one at all. Those who were utterly alone and also those who weren’t physically alone but could not rely on those closest to them. He was very contemplative for a seven-year-old, and also very compassionate. He knew there were a lot of evil people out there who did nasty things to other people and animals too. Still, a big smile appeared on his innocent face as he realized that things were going to change and so that this would change as well. This had only just occurred to him, when he began to sense a change in the air. It smelled a bit musty and felt moist. Mere seconds later, the temperature dropped considerably and he heard the rumbling sound of the Wandjina approaching overhead, announcing that the Wet was on its way. 

Billy began to hum softly. He liked listening to the sound of his voice and feeling it vibrate in his throat. It soothed him and filled him with a sense of calm. From there, his attention wandered off from where he was right now to his memories of a family holiday in one of the most northernly towns along the coast. On the way there, they had passed through a town that he thought was named after his primary school teacher. His mum said it was pure coincidence that both the town and his teacher had the same name, but she did not convince him. He had a mind of his own, or as his mum liked to put it, he was stubborn, and he was not going to let her spoil his prospect of telling Mrs Mackay that he had been to her town. However, it did not take long before he felt a hint of disappointment lurking at the back of his mind. Why didn’t she believe him? It saddened him that many grown-ups didn’t listen properly to what he and other children his age had to say. To him it felt as if the grown-ups’ senses had been numbed and that they were oblivious to what was really important. 

Billy hummed louder now, in an attempt to drown out his unpleasant memories. He succeeded and seconds later, he recalled the cane fields they had seen along the way. In turn, this reminded him of the flattened cane toads that often lay scattered all over the road that ran along the side of their house. They had been run over by cars and left to dry out in the scorching heat of the sun. He grinned at the memory of him and his brothers poking at them with sticks. In an instant, his memories were interrupted by the sound of heavy rain pelting down on the corrugated iron roof of the house and on the road where the dead toads lay. His grin made way for a sad look as he began to feel sorry for them. It was so degrading for them to be run over and left to lie in the road until they dried up completely and were washed away down the drain by torrential downpour. For one short moment, he thought he could feel the rain wash his body away as if he were one of them. He shuddered and reassured himself with the thought of their souls returning to the greater whole. His thoughts were confirmed when he became aware of the powerful yet gentle flow of energy from his feet to his crown.

As Luurnpa remembered his words to Cooinda about the big family, his heart began to glow. Instead of taking off on his morning flight, he waited a while to enjoy the pleasant sensation that his heart radiated throughout his entire body. What had sparked this seemingly sudden change in humans, he wondered. Then a slight breeze came and began whispering the answer in his ear. Something strange had happened. Strange and wondrous at the same time, and no one seemed to have expected it. Well, almost no one. A small yet rapidly growing number of humans from all over the world had seen it coming and had wholeheartedly worked on purifying themselves to transform fear, drama and age-old conditioning into love with its inherent creative power. 

And because everyone and everything is connected, the healing and empowering effect of this transformation built up like a huge ocean swell, producing waves that flowed outwards all over the world. Individual transformation had brought about collective transformation. People no longer regarded themselves as victims or perpetrators, and because of this they were no longer susceptible to manipulation. They felt free and self-empowered. Everywhere, people removed their masks and reconnected with their essence and with the essence of life. They began working together and taking better care of themselves and of one another. Not because anyone told or expected them to, but because they had resumed leadership over their lives.

When Luurnpa realized this, he decided to visit Cooinda again to share his insights. With a loud ‘kee-ip’, he spread his wings and took off from the branch towards the sky. As he flew in the direction of the small town on the coast where Cooinda lived, he sensed that by forming his intentions, he was already communicating with Cooinda. It was then that he realized that they had been relaying information telepathically for a long time without being aware of this. It made him wonder if there were other humans and creatures who he communicated with in this way. Definitely, he answered to himself with a smile of gratitude for this little serendipity. 

It was with this same smile on his beaky face that he arrived at Cooinda’s a few minutes later. He circled above the house a couple of times before descending and landing on the branch of a wattle tree in the backyard near the verandah where he and Cooinda had chatted the day before.
“Hey Luurnpa! How ya goin’?”
Luurnpa turned to his right to see his new-found human friend appearing from the yard alongside the house, wearing a pair of dark brown boardies and looking very wet.
“Hi Cooinda,” Luurnpa replied, with a curious look in his eyes. 
“Just caught some beaut waves,” Cooinda said as he placed his bright green surfboard on a rack with three other boards on it.
“Ahh, that’s what you’ve been up to,” Luurnpa reacted, remembering seeing other humans riding such boards on the waves towards the beach before.
“Yeah, nothing beats starting the day with some early morning surfing. It clears my mind and helps me to realign.”

Luurnpa smiled. He was becoming fonder of Cooinda with every moment they shared together. He sensed that Cooinda was in his fifties and that he had travelled a very long and winding road to get to where he was now. A man who had dared to venture deep into the subconscious realm of his existence, there where his soul dwelled.
“Are we reading each other’s minds?” Cooinda asked when he felt the intensity with which Luurnpa looked at him.
“I believe we are, Cooinda. That’s what I came to see you about. I discovered that we’ve been communicating telepathically for a long time now without even realizing it.”
Cooinda arched his eyebrows.
“Hmm, now you mention it, I don’t suppose you’ve been reminiscing about our conversation yesterday arvo, have you?”
Luurnpa nodded, enthusiastically. “Yes, I have. And something tells me I don’t have to fill you in on my new insights.”
“If you mean the transformation of humankind and what caused it, then you’re right.”
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Luurnpa said while he felt his heart glowing. “Now let me guess what you were going to tell me about your own personal transformation this past year.”
“I’m all ears, mate.”

Luurnpa cleared his throat and began to tell Cooinda what he had picked up so far.
“Despite the fact that your parents loved you, nurtured you and did everything within their power to care and provide for you, from a very early age, you felt there was something missing, namely a heart-to-heart connection. You could say that for the greater part of your life, you suffered from affective deprivation.”
A meagre smile appeared on Cooinda’s lips as he listened silently to Luurnpa’s accurate description of what he had struggled with for over fifty years and had not recognized and healed until recently. 

“You were a very sensitive and open-hearted boy who immediately felt what was going on around him. You knew when something wasn’t okay, even when people insisted that it was. This confused you. It made you hesitant about expressing your feelings and sharing your thoughts. And so, you lost touch with yourself and subdued your feelings, while remaining sensitive and receptive to what went on around you. This is what happened until a few years ago, when you had the courage to open your heart completely. That was not only a courageous step but a vulnerable one as well, because you accepted all of the painful emotions that you had suppressed over the years. As a result, you reconnected with your true self. Nowadays, you remain sensitive towards other people without getting emotionally involved. This is the strength that comes from vulnerability. And this is pretty much where you are now.”

“Spot on, Luurnpa,” Cooinda commented when Luurnpa had finished telling him what he saw. “I have to say that my parents weren’t to blame. Like the rest of us, they lost touch with themselves and therefore found it hard to really open their hearts and connect at a deeper level. Realizing this enabled me to forgive myself for the way I reacted in the past and for everything else there was to forgive myself and other people for.”
“Exactly, Cooinda,” Luurnpa said encouragingly.
“As a species, we lost touch with Nature, which is why, we lost touch with ourselves, our fellow human beings and all other living beings. We no longer respected Nature, ourselves or others.”
“But that’s all changed now, hasn’t it?”
“You bet. There’s no turning the tide of transformative change,” Cooinda said, smiling broadly through tears of joy.

While it continued to rain bucketloads, Billy turned his attention to the tree frog again. It had moved from the stump to a lattice that served as a barrier between the space under the house and the backyard. The frog sat beside a flower of a hibiscus that had entwined itself with the lattice. Suddenly, it was disturbed by a fat juicy raindrop that bounced via the flower on to its head. It did not seem to mind though and simply lapped the drop up with its tongue as it slid down its cheek.
“Haha, I wish I could do that,” Billy chuckled.
Whereas most people he knew paid little attention to animals, and when they did, treated them with contempt, Billy regarded animals as equals. He was fascinated by them and loved looking up animals that he had spotted for the first time, in his parents’ encyclopedias. While he stared at the frog, he scratched the mozzie bites on his legs, knowing that his mum would tell him not to for the umpteenth time. It did not matter to him, because his mind began to wander off and before long, he found himself at the edge of what looked like a rainforest but also resembled the tree nursery that bordered their backyard and was situated at the end of the road with the flattened cane toads. Little did he know, that he was catching a glimpse of the future. What he did know, was that his curiosity was stirred by a small, perky looking bird that was observing him from its spot on the branch of a river red gum.

Billy stood still as he and the bird locked eyes. There and then, he felt a tingling sensation in his neck where his spine connected to the base of his head. This was followed by a surge of warmth through his entire body. He could not help but feel that he had been here before. Everything seemed so familiar, even the bird, even though he did not recognize what species it was. Surprisingly, his swimming instructor Mr Douglas came to mind and in an instant, he understood why. Mr Douglas was the kindest and gentlest man he had ever met. He was very impressed by him from the moment they had met for his first swimming lesson. With his tall, powerful stature, his smiling face with a smear of sunscreen across the bridge of his nose and the huge sombrero on his head, Mr Douglas was not someone who went unnoticed. What had surprised Billy most was that, unlike many men, Mr Douglas was not one for overly displays of manliness. He was a highly sensitive human being who understood how overwhelming the world could be through the eyes of a child. This was apparent in the way he patiently and gently guided Billy and the other children in his class, setting an example for other adults. As a result the children’s self-confidence was boosted and they all learned very quickly. Not once, had Billy felt afraid during his swimming lessons. In fact, he loved swimming and was becoming pretty good at it.

“Hi Billy. My name is Luurnpa,” the bird said, shaking him out of his daydream.
Billy did not reply. Instead, he listened eagerly and with great curiosity, knowing deep down that the bird’s words would quench his thirst for wisdom.
“I know you feel unhappy at times, Billy, but the world you live in now is not what it was intended to be. You know that don’t you?”
Billy nodded.
“In the beginning, there was paradise on Earth. However, somewhere in time, humanity strayed from paradise and lost its way home. Now people no longer follow the way of love. Instead they lead a passive life consumed by fear. They feel unhappy, powerless and afraid and are unable to think for themselves or to act from their own free will. They are not conscious enough of the power that they possess within and believe that they are what the powers that be lead them to believe. They are trapped in their minds and oblivious to the fact that they are powerful and loving beings capable of creating a better life for themselves and their fellow human beings. They behave unkindly towards themselves and therefore towards others because they do not know how to love themselves and because they suppress their feelings and what they intuitively sense to be right. However, this will soon change with the great awakening that will lead to humanity’s return to paradise.”

Billy smiled from ear to ear. As long as he could remember, he had felt this but had never been able to visualize it and thereby understand it.
“You have a part to play, Billy,” Luurnpa continued, conjuring up an inquisitive look on Billy’s face, “as does everyone.”
“What do I have to do?” Billy asked, daunted by the prospect of the great responsibility that he was being endowed with all of a sudden. 
“You will find out in due course by paying attention to the signs. For now, all you need to know is that you are loved.”
Billy was about to ask what Luurnpa meant by the signs when he vanished into thin air and he himself returned to the present moment in his box under the house.

Continue reading in Part 2 – Mind

Tony O’Connor – A Place To Hide

Tony O’Connor – Summer Rain

Symbolism and terminology:

1. Jimboomba: An Aboriginal word, meaning ‘paradise on Earth’. There is also a town in Queensland, Australia by the name of Jimboomba, originally spelled: ‘Gimboomba’, which is a Gungingin word, meaning ‘place of loud thunder and little rain’. 
2. Luurnpa: The Walpiri word for the red-backed kingfisher that is found throughout Australia.
3. Kingfisher symbolism: Connection between the spiritual world and the material world; peace; prosperity; abundance; communication; expression; focus; a sign that you are on the right path.
4. Yabby: A small Australian freshwater crayfish.
5. Laughing Kookaburra: One of four species of tree kingfishers native to Australia, often referred to as the ‘breakfast bird’ because of its habit of making a loud laughing noise in the morning. Kookaburras symbolize happiness, the bright side of life, family, good parenting, loyalty, unity, humour, healing, cheekiness.
6. Cooinda: An Aboriginal word, meaning ‘a happy place’.
7. Green tree frog symbolism: A message to deal with your feelings as feeling enables you to grow; awakening; transformation; abundance; alignment with our highest calling; transition from one reality or dimension into another.
8. Billy: Billy or Bill is a short form of the name William.
9. Wandjina: Rain and cloud spirits.
10 The Wet: The Australian wet season, which lasts from November until April and is characterized by high temperatures, high humidity, heavy rainfall and a high chance of  cyclones.
11. Dunny: An Australian word for toilet.
12. To hit for six: A cricket term for a hit that reaches the boundary without first striking the ground, scoring six runs.
13. Ringer: A ringer or stockman is the Australian equivalent of a cowboy.
14. White gum, also known as mountain white gum: A species of eucalyptus, called eucalyptus dairympleana
15. Sanga: Australian slang for sandwich
16. Educate: From the Latin word ‘educare’, meaning ‘to lead out’, hence education: leading out of what is inside.
17. Jacaranda Mimosifolia: A tree, originally from South America, that is now found along the east coast and south west coast of Australia. It flowers abundantly with lilac blooms and symbolizes: wisdom, rebirth, wealth and visionary dreams.
18. Banana symbolism: Health, wealth, fertility
19. Jungay: An Aboriginal, word meaning ‘west wind’.
20. Billabong: An Australian term for an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course or after heavy rainfall. The word comes from the Wiradjuri term ‘bilaban’, meaning: ‘a watercourse that only runs after rain’.
21. Balga: There are 66 species of balga grass plant, also known as balga or grass tree, all of which are endemic to Australia. Balga grass plants flower prolifically after bushfires and therefore symbolize purification and regeneration.
22. Yakka: Yakka or yacker is an Australian term for work. It derives from the word ‘yaga’ in the Yagara language, meaning ‘to work’. 
23. Coolibah: A species of eucalyptus, called eucalyptus coolibah.

Images Part 1:

‘Red Backed Kingfisher by PenAsh on Pixabay
‘Cocoa’ by Eliasfalla on Pixabay
‘Eastern Sedge Frog’ by Sandid on Pixabay
‘Rain’ by Sandid on Pixabay
‘Holding Hands’ by Laura Glover on Feeimages
‘Natural Background’ by Chesna on Pixabay
‘Surfer’ by Pexels on Pixabay
‘Guy’ by StockSnap on Pixabay
‘Rainforest’ by Sandid on Pixabay
‘Swim’ by Nevit Dilmen on Freeimages