My Favorite Butterfly Story From John Of God
I just returned from Brazil where I basked in the light of the Divine sitting with John of God in meditation for many hours each day. The house I was staying in had this beautiful painting of Mary in it. I had actually met the painter many years ago in Brazil. She is no longer with us on the planet but she did tell me that the paintings were completely guided by the beings of light who actually appeared before her, and asked her to paint them. This particular painting was very appropriate for me as I was working on letting more of God’s light into my heart. Mary whispered in my ear, “God is revealed to us every time we are willing to see through the eyes of Love.”
“Seeing through the eyes of Love,” is so important when embarking on the spiritual path. As seekers we can often be so critical and hard on ourselves as we navigate the road to awakening. This is why I want to share with you a story that happened to me many years earlier on one of my visits to John of God.
During the same visit to see John of God, where I received what was the beginning of the Spirit Coach Method, I also received an important lesson about the transformation process itself. As I approached the house I was renting for my stay there, it seemed to be covered with little black bugs that I must say made my skin crawl. When I went inside this small house, I saw hovering in the middle of the kitchen a giant blue butterfly. It seemed to be welcoming me home. In that moment, I realized those little black bugs I had been afraid of were actually caterpillars on their way to becoming extraordinarily beautiful butterflies. This was a metaphor for my own spiritual growth process, one that we all eventually go through. Often, we look at ourselves in the transformation process and we see only what we don’t like instead of realizing we are in the process of transforming into the beautiful beings that we are-the result of which is revealing our unique beauty to the world.
A few days later, I was sitting in the orientation. A woman was seated directly in front of me, and I noticed there was a butterfly on her arm. It was a curious sight, as the orientation lasted about two hours and the butterfly did not leave her arm the entire time. When we were leaving, I asked her about it. She told me this butterfly had landed there a few hours ago and hadn’t moved since. Then she explained the butterfly had landed on the same place where she has cancer. She had come to John of God to heal it. She and I both knew that it was already being healed.
Ever since those experiences, I have seen butterflies as a symbol of God. Whenever I see them, I say, “Hello, God.” It is a reminder for me of the transformation we are all making to spirit, to our Divine selves. When we allow ourselves to make this shift to spirit, despite being uncomfortable and afraid, we emerge gloriously transformed, radiating more of our light into the world.