The time had come for Coyote to cross the First Threshold. Since the fire had gone out sometime before dawn, Coyote had begun to get cold again, so he leaped up and set out on his journey. Following the directions White Buffalo Woman had given him, he ran north towards the mountains.
Coyote ran all day and most of the night, stopping to rest only when he was too exhausted to go on. After three days he had journeyed further than he had ever been before. He came to the river that marked the boundary of the tribal lands of his people. The snow was thick on the ground here in the north, but the river had not yet frozen, and he could not cross. So Coyote ran up and down the river bank looking for a way to get to the other side. The more he ran the more frantic he became. He could not find a shallow spot or a place with rocks that he could cross.
As he ran up and down the riverbank, Sister Beaver sat on a log by the river watching him. Amused at his antics, she called out, “Are you trying to cross the river?”
“Yes! I must get to the other side!” shouted Coyote, “Do you know of a way?”
Sister Beaver was wary of Coyote. He had played pranks on many members of her family, and in the spirit of vengeance, she was eager to do the same to him. So she said to him, “Continue on downstream and you will eventually come to a huge beaver dam. It’s old, and a bit rickety, but I’m sure one as agile as you could cross it with no problem!”
“Thank you very much!” shouted Coyote as he ran down the river bank searching for the dam.
Sister Beaver knew that the dam was too old and rotten to support Coyote’s weight for his river crossing, but she was out for revenge for his many tricks at the expense of her and her family. Anxious to see what happened next, Sister Beaver swam downstream silently, out of sight. When she arrived at the rickety old dam ahead of Coyote, she climbed out of the river and hid behind a tree to watch.
Coyote eventually arrived at the dam and began to make his way across, stepping gingerly on the rotting twigs that made up the dam. Things were going well, but about halfway across he stepped on a twig that gave way, plunging him into the icy water. The water was so cold that it took his breath away when he fell in. Gasping, he grabbed for a twig to keep from being swept downstream by the swift current. He managed to fight his way back to the shore. Shivering, he climbed onto the river bank, shook the icy water off his coat, and began again. Meanwhile, Sister Beaver stood behind her tree laughing at him.
Once again Coyote made his way about halfway across the dam, and once again he stepped on a twig that snapped beneath his paws. Once again he plunged into the icy river, and once again he barely managed to rescue himself before he drowned. All the while Sister Beaver gleefully watched his predicament, trying hard not to laugh out loud. She tried to giggle quietly while hiding and watching, but Coyote’s keen ears heard her snickering. Quick-witted Coyote soon deduced what must be going on here. Needing to cross the river, but not wanting to spend the day plunging again and again into its freezing depths, Coyote quickly formulated a plan.
As he stepped onto the dam for his third attempt, he said aloud, “I just can’t seem to find the right path across the river! If I do not succeed this time, I’m surely doomed, for Sister Cougar is hot on my heels, and she appears to be so hungry that even my scrawny carcass might look like a meal to her!”
Just as he expected, he heard a rustling from behind the tree where Sister Beaver was hiding. He knew what she was thinking; that if scrawny Brother Coyote would make a good meal for Sister Cougar, how much finer a meal would Sister Beaver’s plump, well-fed body make!
Sister Beaver hesitated for only a moment before bounding out from behind her tree and onto the dam. Leaping from twig to branch, she made it all the way to the other side of the river. Coyote watched where she stepped, and careful to place his paws only where Sister Beaver had stepped, he followed her path across, making it safely to the other side without falling in again.
Crossing the First Threshold
“In the universe, there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.”
For every journey, there is a first step. For those of us who seek the path of the Vision Seeker on the Way of the Coyote, the Crossing of the First Threshold is that first step to a wider world. The significance of that first step is that it indicates a commitment to the journey. The reluctance and refusal are over, and the intention of the seeker has been set. Once your intention has been determined, and you announce your intention to the Universe, there is no turning back. Crossing the First Threshold means that we can never return to the way things were before, because our world has changed.
In our story of the Way of the Coyote, Coyote has learned that if he sits still long enough, the fire goes out. This coldness before dawn is a reminder that spiritual practice is a daily practice. If we don’t tend the fire daily the fire grows cold. So Crossing the First Threshold is an acknowledgement that we are accepting a new way of seeing and being in the world. With that new way of being comes a new responsibility of living intentionally.
As we talked about in an earlier session, the Hua Hu Ching, by Lao Tzu, says this about living intentionally,
“Those who want to know the truth of the universe should practice the four cardinal virtues. The first is reverence for all of life. This manifests as unconditional love and respect for oneself and all other beings. The second is natural sincerity. This manifests as honesty, simplicity, and faithfulness. The third is gentleness, which manifests as kindness, consideration for others, and sensitivity to spiritual truth. The fourth is supportiveness. This manifests as service to others without expectation of reward.”
As you set forth on the Way of the Coyote, make it a daily habit to intentionally practice these four virtues. Do so and see how your interactions with others, self, and nature improve. When you commit to living a life of intention, you will have crossed the first threshold.
Share Your Thoughts on the First Threshold!
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