Jules Organic Living
Insights for the Mind Body and Spirit
Spiritual Meaning of a Bat
For most of us the first thing that may come to mind when we think of, or see a bat is “fear”, yes? To add a bit more to the table there could be intrigue, mystery, dark and evil as well. I say bats have a bad rap. For most of us, our perception of bats have been influenced by Hollywood vampire movies. The nature of a bat, even the scary “vampire” bat is one that could be very similar to a human being. Some bats eat just fruit and veggies, and some are blood eaters. Bats, like humans, can be very nurturing, caring and social creatures. Mother bats are very attentive to their young. And even if the mother leaves and doesn’t return, the other mother bats will automatically adopt the orphan babies as their own, The vampire bat in particular even prefers to live in large colony’s for their whole lifetime, and just like a big Italian family, bats love to share their food with each other. 😉
Because of their ability to grow so large, fruit bats can seem extremely frightening. The whole way that bats mostly come out at dark just puts another spin on our perceiving them as “evil”. However, it is more for their own protection against predators that they have been designed this way. Fruit bats are very vulnerable to hawks, eagles, and even humans who may set out to destroy them due to the bat eating fruit from their trees. Yet what the human doesn’t realize is that the bat eats the fruit, then spits the fresh seeds out onto the ground which will make even more fruit for the human. Who doesn’t want more fruit? Right?
So let’s address the spiritual meaning of the enigmatic bat in relation to ourselves. The connection can be as mysterious and intriguing as the beast itself. But who is the true beast? A better question is not who, but where is the true beast? When these flying fox’s enter into our lives, it is natures way of helping us to see that it may be time to “unveil ” ourselves. A time to release old paradigms and beliefs that our ego’s have kept wrapped up nice and tight very much a kin to the sleeping bat’s wings. Although releasing old patterns can be very frightening, it is the only way to grow from the old life into the new. A human being that lives their life through fear and anger is no different from a rabid bat. They are just carrying a different poison. I also see bats as a connection to death, and grieving. Death is an inevitable aspect of life. That knowledge doesn’t always make things any easier. When we lose a loved one through death, separation or abandonment it hurts. Sometimes it can hurt so bad that it keeps us in a perpetual state of subconscious shock. Which can keep us stifled from growing into a life we deserve. Some of us live in a state of limbo attaching ourselves to certain moments where we refuse to let go. Dr. LJ Rose, PHD. therapist, and professor of the International Hypnosis Federation states that our conscious minds are going to reject more information than it is going to accept. Ironically this aspect of the mind is referred to as B.A.T. This stands for Believable, Acceptable, True. Basically this means we need to “dig” a little deeper to achieve true freedom of our burdens…to reach for higher ground. Memories can be comforting. Yet in order for them to remain a contributing factor to healthy growth patterns, we must stay aware of the direction of their leads. Guilt, shame and fear are very destructive emotions. It was a very fine day when theologian-philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the prayer, ” Grant us the serenity to accept the things that we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Hollywood vampires has shown us time and time again, by looking into the reflection of a mirror , it is the invisibility and denial of our ego’s reflection that keeps us from seeing our dark sides. So what’s it gonna be? Will you make the choice to bury the life that no longer serves you? Will you give yourself the chance for re-birth into the unknown yet magnificent life that awaits you? Or will you continue to feed the beast. Your choice.
Live as Love,
Jules ♥
Jules Organic Living 