Snake, Snake, Snake!

“No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell.”

You got that right! 

Warning: if you don’t want to read about snakes or rats, this is not the blog for you 🙂

On our recent adventure in Bali, I was having a delightful massage one afternoon in the hotel spa. Massages in Bali are wonderful…and they’re only $15 for an hour! During this particular massage however, I got more than I bargained for.

It was near the end of the massage and I was lying on my stomach, face down. The therapist was massaging my upper back when she suddenly started tapping me with both hands and whispering what I thought sounded like, “snake, snake, snake!”

I lifted my head and sure enough, three feet to the right of my head was a HUGE snake slithering into the room. Let me tell you, the massage therapist and I were standing on top of that massage bed in seconds flat. There was no one else in the spa so we quickly stepped from one bed to the other – as far away from the snake as we could get – and stood there, arms huddled around each other, screaming.

Yes, I was buck naked…but thankfully I had grabbed the sarong from my massage table!

I think the snake was as terrified as we were because it was now slithering up and down the wall, really fast, probably trying to figure out how the heck to get out of the room. It looked like a garden hose that had gone rogue. In fact, it was so big, I thought at first that it was two snakes fighting.

Naturally, the massage therapist and I screamed again. The rat left the room even faster than the snake did…and we watched it scurry up the wall and along the top of the indoor/outdoor wall in the room next door – then outside, presumably.

The whereabouts of the snake, on the other hand, remained a mystery.

The massage therapist eventually let go of me, climbed off the bed, grabbed a broom and started gently tapping all the plants in the room next door. Alas, no sign of the snake. There was, however, a very murky pond in that room…that we had to walk past in order to get out of the spa. Chances were good the snake went into the pond to hide (from us).

And there it stayed. Thankfully. Not the most relaxing massage I’ve ever had 🙂

Now…when something this out of the ordinary happens to me (and judging by the massage therapist’s similar reaction, likely for her, too), I like to reflect a little and see if there it might be a possible spiritual meaning in the experience…just in case the Universe was trying to get my attention for some reason. So when the time came for me to write this blog, I took a look in my Animal Spirit Guides book by Steven D. Farmer.

If SNAKE shows up, it means: 

#1. “You’re about to go through some significant personal changes, so intense and dramatic that an old self will metaphorically die as a new self emerges.”

Yup! I am SO far outside my work comfort zone these days (which is ironic because I am physically back in the familiar comfort of home versus traipsing about the planet, dodging snakes), I can practically feel the old snakeskin of my former self sliding off.

#2. “You’re going to feel a surge of energy that will sharpen your senses, alert your mental faculties, and open up new channels of awareness.”

Yup. If I could harness the energy I have these days, I could fuel a small nation. My challenge is in directing it properly…with clarity, intention and focus.

#3. “You’ll experience a dramatic and unexpected physical or emotional healing very soon, coming from an unexpected source.”

Okay…this oughta be interesting!

As for if RAT shows up: 

#1. “A project or investment is about to pay off.”

YAY!

#2. “Take an inventory of the material goods you have and recycle or throw out what is no longer purposeful.”

I’m on it! Or rather, I will be…in early July, when I’ll make the time to channel my energy into home & office decluttering 🙂

How about you? 

Any out-of-the-ordinary encounters with animals of late?

Here are some more photos from beautiful Bali:

 

If you’re heading to Bali and want to stay in the treehouse (or any of their other lovely rooms), the resort is called Bamboo Indah. Or you can just go for the day and soak in their lovely spring-fed pools. Delightful!

Maryanne Pope is the author of “A Widow’s Awakening.” She also writes screenplays, playscripts & blogs. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and Co-Founder of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund. To receive her blog, “Weekly Words of Wisdom,” please subscribe here. And be sure to visit our PinkGazelleCards Etsy shop.