Carl Gustav Jung, NASA and Raccoons

When in the Caribbean, I think Bob Marley`s music is what most people will remember hearing. I can understand his popularity; the music is perfect for the lazy, unconcerned life, in the heat, by long stretches of beaches and jungle. In Puerto Viejo all kind of music was heard, but thank god, since leaving Guatemala I have been speared from hearing Rhianna, Britany Spears and the likes. In stead salsa, marengue, cumbia, raeggeton and better bands and musicians and bands from the western world is played. The bus   
 ride down (it is down hill from you star from San Jose) to the coast, Puerto Viejo takes 3 hours (if I remember correctly, it feels like ages ago). The road goes quite steeply down hill and is quite curvy, so I felt like my breakfast was about to come up again at some points. You can not see very much else than green, because the road is narrow and surrounded by hills and vegetation. Puerto Viejo is a beautiful spot by the coast, and very touristic. I was lucky enough to visit during the low season, so the place was not over crouded by tourists, but there were backpackers and quite a few families from Germany and Holland around. Come weekend, the Ticas themselves like to come there, escaping from the cities to get some sun and nature. 

The day after I came to Puerto Viejo I took the bus to Cahuita National Park. It is a little bit special this park because it protects tropical lowland wet forest (rain forest), beach and coral reefs. There are over 500 species of fish and a wide variety of birds and mammals. On the picture below you can see the little guy I met, walking alone on the trail by the beach. I was in the park very early (took a bus towards Limon 09:00 in the morning, and was in the park after 30 min.), walking alone (not many tourists had arrived yet) minding my own business and takeing pictures when I heard a sound behind me. When I locked back a raccoon came towards me, pretty unconcerned that a human was walking there. I was so happy I had my camera ready, because this little guy was busy and was not about to stop and pose for me. He passed me, and I stopped to try to "shoot" him a few more times, but he was walking fast on the trail. When he heard me following him (it was on the human trail!), he first glanced back at me a little reproving, and after a last "salut" he disappeared into the jungle. The raccoons living in this area of Costa Rica Crab-eating Raccoon and are native to marshy and jungle areas in Central (Costa Rica) -and South America (down south to north of Argentina and Uruguay (east of Andes and they also exist in Trinidad and Tobago)). They feed on crab, lobster and other crustaceans and sometimes they will feed on small amphibians, turtle eggs and fruit. My friend here has a good source of all of these foods. One way to recognize them as raccoons is the bandit mask and the bushy ringed tail. The coastal crab-eating raccoon is not as bushy as the common raccoon and appears smaller and slimmer. They grow from 41-60 cm (head to tail, the tail is more 20-42 cm), the shoulder height is ca. 23 cm. females are usually a little smaller than the males. Raccoons are nocturnal animals (but not strictly, they may go out foraging during daytime, especially females with offspring in the den), traveling in small groups of 1 or 2 families searching for fruits, vegetables, and small animals (if they are common raccoons found in USA and Canada). Often they can be seen sloshing their hands and food in water before eating as if they are washing their food. They are excellent swimmers, though they prefer being up a tree, which is where they are often found. Up in a tree they are aware of everything around them and see danger a long way off. Racoons are highly curious leaving no stone unturned. This has its up and down sides. Following ones curiosity can pave the way for new and exciting things. However curiosity without caution can pave the way to trouble. The Spanish name of the animal is mapache and it comes from Nahuatl (Mayan language). The Maya and Aztec called it mapachin.

Raccoon mythology: This is indeed an interesting animal, and interesting that I met him! In the native American (the Abenaki and the Penobscot tribes) mythology there was a raccoon God called Azeban who exploits are mischievous, funny and trivial. He appears in many stories for children where he causes trouble for others. The Abenaki and Penobscots are related tribes that live in Canada (New England and Quebec), they spoke Abenaki but now only a handful of people speak the Abenaki language.The traditional homeland of the Abenaki is Wobanakik (Place of the Dawn), their name on NE and Quebec. Many Indian tribes see the raccoon as a trickster and a mischief-maker, but at the same time the cleverness and dexterity to escape danger and acquire food is admired, so many tribes use the raccoon as the clan /totem animal, among them the Shawnee and Iroquois (and many others, they have a tribal raccoon dance in their dance tradition).
An amusing true story is about NASA`s raccoon, who did a trick on them in space; In January, 2004, an    inquisitive raccoon somehow got on board the International Space Station, along with the scientists, but was not discovered until orbiting earth. He got his deft paws on the flight controls sending off danger lights and alarms. ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke did not seem to mind and only said, "This is how astronauts learn to deal with new things,” adding, "You have to give it to the little guy, he's persistent!"

Raccoons in psychology, as totem animal and animal medisin; Early American Indian methods of interpreting animal totems were not, in theory, too far flung from the unconcious significance of dreams later attributed to Sigmund Freud, or the interpretion of meaningful coincidences practiced by famed psychoanalyst, Carl Gustav Jung. The totem was regarded as the alter-ago, both a demon and a guide, and so the traits of the animal would either be emulated or eradicated depending on who had its spiritual medicine when a person fell ill. The way the animal would appear in visions and dreams, or came to a person were looked upon as mirrors to our psyche. It can be compared to how Jung described synchronicity. The totem animal was believed to bring a message to make a person a better person, or well. Raccoons are VERY verbal; it can express 50 sounds among them hiss like a cat, whimper like a child, grunt like a bear, howl like a dog and so on and so on. It makes it mysterious and difficult to identify. Plus, it wears a mask. In Indian animal medicine the raccoon is used to persuade a shy person to speak and converse, and the opposite encourage the extroverts to practice more silence. A totem animal's negative traits (in the case of the raccoon, mischief and trickery) would be discouraged in order to fully learn the totem’s lesson. American Indians correctly believed that animals were older than mankind, and often wiser, thus the animal kingdom was viewed as an abundant source of spiritual lessons. The double nature of the raccoon makes him very interesting. He is devious, active at night, while resting lazily through the day. He is an opportunist and will take over a squirrels nest or the home of a beaver. He might be in a tree or inn your garden. He is adapting perfectly to modern city life. As a totem, animal medicine warns against his plunder, but applaud his flexibility. They have more than one homes and are in that sense a kind of vagabond. The raccoon is greedy but so charming that he gets away with it. He loves artful theft and steals with innocent grace, such that it becomes a virtue. But he will share his resources. The symbol of the raccoons hands represent holding, receiving or giving. If  a raccoon comes to you, you may be asked to let go of a situation, person, belief or habit. Reversely, the message may be for you to receive the gifts being offered to you by the Universe. With raccoon medicine you may get so irresistible that you will get away with almost anything (but the natives say it is not advisable and that another totem animal will show up). Under; Cahuita National Park, the home of the raccoon I met.

 The beauty of the mask; I grew up learning that wearing a mask is false, that we hide who we are, and that people do not change. This is quite the opposite of what raccoon medicine teaches us,  because sometimes wearing a mask simply means that you explore the human qualities and feelings that we have been given to experience on this planet. And that is the reason why we are here as bodies that will decay and die; to experience ourselves in all the earthly feelings, dramas and qualities. The magic is the MASK and their magic is their mask. Though often the raccoon's mask is linked with its banditry (they have been known to open peoples house doors and bin lids to take food), the mask has a far deeper meaning. There is also a supernatural symbolism linked to masks, and we all wear many throughout our lives. Masks allow us to be anything we choose to be, and anything else than we thought we could be. They can be powerful, liberating, empowering, playful and mysterious (superheroes always wear a mask, as did Cinderella), and you can still be true to who you really (feel you) are. No one, including you and I, are ever quite what we may seem - even to ourselves, for in our lives we can experience the freedom of many identities. Be it with friends, partners, children, parents, work colleagues, strangers etc. This medicine helps us to take on and let go of the many roles we fill. Having various identities is not negative, for we can learn to become adept at changing identities when appropriate. Identity has nothing to do with the spiritual beings we are. It has more to do with attachment, and that we identify ourselves with our friends, partners, car, house, job, nationality and so on. I believe with the raccoons mask we can identify ourselves with love and take the mask of the lover, with generosity and take the "mask" of Mother Theresa, or another selfless person, and so on. In practicing non-attachment we can truly be anything we want, and we can make anything possible, because we become fearless. Our many faces will be revealed to us and the raccoon will assist us in how to mask, disguise and transform ourselves. Masks are a powerful tool, through the use of masks, altered states can be reached. Raccoon people generally do well in professions to do with theatre. Raccoon's Wisdom Includes understanding the nature of masks, disguise, dexterity, seeking guidance and confidence, questioning without fear, balancing curiosity, shape shifting, secrecy. I welcome the raccoon into my life!

So, I met this sole raccoon Cahuita National Park, and it acknowledged that I was there. I could see that it is an intelligent animal and they have looks. It was talking to me with its eyes. Cahuita National Park was established in 1970 to protect a large coral reef off the Caribbean coast. Unfortunately the reef is struggling for survival. An earthquake in 1992 lifted a large portion of the coral by about three meters, some of it was exposed to the air and sun at low tide and rapidly perished. If it rains while you are there you will find that the submarine visibility is limited to a few feet for a few days due to the silt brought down in the Rio Estrella. This is an increasing threat caused by legal, and illegal logging of the forests inland from the park. The denuded slopes erode quickly, and the silt blocks the sunlight the reefs need for survival. When it is not raining the fate of the reefs is equally grim. The sunlight in combination with the excess fertilizer (and pesticides) from the Dole banana plantations (most of the forest lands are planted with banana after clear-cutting) causes plankton blooms that not only block the sunlight but poison the water. Something to think about when you sit in your comfortable home to have a banana. I have former blogs about the "banana states". Since I have been writing about the raccoon and its wisdom, and since I have been to an animal rescue center with some heartbreaking stories (I will write about that in another blog) I want to say this in the end; American Indians constantly self-analyzed and believed in evolving goodness. They worked hard to improve individual character. Today, humanity can follow their example of compassion toward other species through knowledge and protection of wildlife. Sounds very much like Buddhism to me, so the principles of Buddhism have been known world wide for centuries. I am constantly heartbroken by how we treat nature, and how many species of animals that may no longer be on this planet for future generations to learn about. Disrespect for nature is disrespect of ourselves. We are, after all, also the children of Mother Earth and the nature around us. Why have we become so alienated and gone so far away from ourselves?

Over; an "oso pericoso", sloth, is welcoming in many languages. When you are done swimming on the incredible beach, further inn is a beach without rip current, where it is safe to swim. Look for a beach without the red flag. When you go back, please donate some money to the park. The entrance is free (it was the first park to not charge entrance fee in CR), but depends on donations from the visitors. Please help them help the animals by donate money. When walking out look for a small cafe (I do not know the name) a little away from the park entrance. It has a sign that says organic food, and sells a few products. They will make you an amazing iced cafe latte, and amazing vegetarian sandwich. Under; the sleepy Cahuita town.