Close encounters with wildlife

[Jhanananda]

Hello everyone....
An interesting experience happened while I was on a solitary retreat in the forest a couple of years ago. While meditating, a very clear image of a fox's head appeared in my mind's eye. Three days later, while walking in the forest, a panicked hare came running out of the branches, touching the heels of my boots as it ran to the other side of the road back in the forest. A few seconds later, a beautiful orange smiling fox ran a few feet in front of me, concentrated in the hunt, and also disappeared in the forest. The hare eventually screamed and died most probably. These animals rarely come so close to humans.

Violet's experience of a fox chasing a hare, and completely ignoring her presence, while on a solo wilderness retreat reminded me of some of the many close encounters with wildlife that I too have had, while on a solo wilderness retreat.  I tell these stories not so that others will think that I do miracles, or to make less of Violet's experiences with wildlife, but to show that it is not so uncommon for wildlife to react very differently with rigorous, self-aware contemplatives.  And, maybe others will share their experiences with wildlife as well.

1) The earliest memory that comes to mind was some time in 1976 or 1977, I was traveling with my first wife from San Francisco to Tucson.  We were taking the back roads as much as we could.  We were somewhere in central California in the mountains just after visiting a hot spring in a small town.  We stopped for the night to camp at a dispersed campsite.  We were on a dirt road. 

The next morning I got up and walked up canyon to squat over a hole I had dug.  While squatting I heard rapid hoof sounds coming toward me.  I looked up and saw at the top of the ravine a stag.  Its head was held up and it appeared to be listening intently, then it bounded down the ravine and stood right next to me.  I almost reached out to touch its hoof, when I looked at its large rack of horns and changed my mind.

It stood there for a few moments with an intent expression, then it bounded up the other side of the ravine, as if gravity had no effect upon it.  It then came to rest at the top of the ravine, and stood again listening, before it disappeared.

2) I spent two six-month periods on solo wilderness retreat in the Inyo National Forest, which is in Central California.  While there I had several close encounters with wildlife worth noting.

a) it was around June first, 2004, and I had just arrived in the Inyo. I was not sure where to camp.  I found a place north of Mammoth Lakes west of 395.  It was near a place called "Convict Lake."  I camped for the night not near anyone.  It was a quiet night with no humans around.  The next morning I got up and meditated under a large pine tree.  I sat on a blue tarp and a rolled up wool army blanket.  My back was against the tree, but I was not resting against the tree.

I meditated to the depth of the 4th jhana.  I felt powerful energy coursing through my body, and I was alert.  I heard an odd knocking sound, like someone was taping on a resonating board, or the side of a musical instrument.  The knocking came several times, a little like a wood pecker, but much more resonant.

After several sequences of knocking, then I heard something fall from the tree almost into my lap, so I opened my eyes, but I did not move, nor did I leave my depth of meditation.  I saw a rather plain looking small bird that was about the size of a sparrow, and not unlike it in coloration, but it was stocky and had a wide beak, like an owl.  It was right between my knees, and I sat cross legged.

I figured the bird was a fledgling that was just learning to fly.  It flopped about right in front of me, almost doing summersaults, which reinforced my thought that it was a fledgling.  I remained at the depth of the 4th jhana.  I did not move at all, nor did I respond in anyway to the bird.

The bird did 3 summersaults between my knees, then it flew to the rear of my van, which happened to also be blue.  Then remarkably another bird of the same species, but more brightly colored dropped between my knees in exactly the same place as the previous bird.  It too did 3 summersaults, then it flew up and landed upon my head.  I did not move.  It then made the knocking sound, then it flew to the rear of my van and did 3 summersaults in front of the plain looking bird, which I realized as a female, and the second bird was a male, and they were engaged in mating.  They then flew together to the front of my van, which was out of sight.  They then returned, and each took turns doing a summersaults in front of me, then flew off.

I later told a ranger about the experience.  I could tell he thought I was nuts,  I just wanted to know what kind of bird it was.

Well, there are lots more stories of such to tell, but that will be it for now.

[Jhanananda]

Wildlife and meditation
Uploaded on Jan 22, 2013
Some wildlife seem to be attracted to people who are meditating. A dialog at the GWV Ecstatic Buddhist Wilderness Retreat, August 2012 Gila Wilderness, NM with Michael Hawkins, Karen Sattler, Stuart B. Skadden and Craig Anzelmo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY0Np_nh8CY
A sign of deep meditation is when wildlife wants to be close to you when you are meditating

[violet]

The story about the deer mouse was cute.

I don't know why this sort of thing happens. Maybe contemplatives are incredibly still and hardly breathe and don't attract attention - I notice how little sound I make compared to other people when I'm in an elevator. Or maybe somehow, animals know that contemplatives won't hurt them.

Once when I was walking in the forest and sat down to meditate, all was quiet. But after a few minutes of sitting still, I noticed how much life there actually was there. Birds began to sing and fly and I heard animals moving around nearby, probably hares.

[Jhanananda]

The story about the deer mouse was cute.

Thanks

I don't know why this sort of thing happens. Maybe contemplatives are incredibly still and hardly breathe and don't attract attention - I notice how little sound I make compared to other people when I'm in an elevator. Or maybe somehow, animals know that contemplatives won't hurt them.

It is possible that creature think any creature that does not move for a long time is dead, so they might think we are dead when we meditate.

Once when I was walking in the forest and sat down to meditate, all was quiet. But after a few minutes of sitting still, I noticed how much life there actually was there. Birds began to sing and fly and I heard animals moving around nearby, probably hares.

Another possibility is when we meditate we become like all of the other creatures, so they are not afraid of us.

I recall once writing in my van in a wilderness area.  The side door to my van was open.  At one point I noticed that the van gave a little shiver, like something had landed on top of it.  I gave it no notice, but after a while I saw through the open side door a red tail hawk swoop down from my roof, and skim across the ground, then it swooped up, apparently having missed its pray. It circled and glided back to the van.  Our eyes met, then it swooped up and perched on the roof again. 

The bird did that for an hour while it hunted for food.  The red tail hawk seemed to be completely comfortable with me typing away in my van.  But, I did make a point to enjoy the grace of the bird out of the side of my vision, because I knew that if I watched it, then it would become uncomfortable with the attention and leave.

[Michel]

Interesting, Michel, that you stopped eating potatoes this weekend.  I did as well.  Too many carbs, which was keeping my blood sugar too high.  I cut them all up and planted them in the garden, because the rabbit likes to eat their shoots.  I let the rabbit have the run of the yard, and when i let him out, he literally ran about and danced with obvious joy.

I love animal stories. When I read your rabbit story I couldn't help but smile; I got all mushy. I think we should grow our food crops and let the animals have a share too, as long as there's enough left.  But instead we kill them and poison them with pesticides and treat them as pests, we hate them for destroying part of our crops. Modern agriculture is an insane practice fuelled by greed, malice towards other creatures and ignorance to the great detriment of our health and other magnificent creatures who we should love and therefore respect. The delusion or ignorance here is thinking that modern agriculture will lead to our happiness and well being. Sounds familiar. Doesn't it? What modern agriculture is doing is practicing the Buddha's 3 unwholesome roots: greed, delusion, and ill-will, and they all lead to suffering and despair, the 1st Noble Truth. What's the problem with us humans?! Are we that stupid, that we can't figure this out. They're still trying to figure out how to increase crop yields. We think we're smart because we can put a man on the moon. And now there's talk of putting a man on Mars. We get something and we just want more; it's a non-ending. I'm shaking my head right now.

The other animal story I very much like is that of the deer mouse that sat on your knee, while you were meditating one night, and who couldn't stop staring at the moon. I bet it may have been in a state of bliss and awe at the sight of the moon that night. What a beautiful story. It was in one of your YouTube videos, a discussion with Michael Hawkins.

Is the rabbit a pet of yours?

[Jhanananda]

Please note that I split this thread off from Sam's health blog and merged it with Close encounters with wildlife, to add to that thread, and not hijack Sam's health blog.

I love animal stories. When I read your rabbit story I couldn't help but smile; I got all mushy. I think we should grow our food crops and let the animals have a share too, as long as there's enough left. 

I second this motion.

But instead we kill them and poison them with pesticides and treat them as pests, we hate them for destroying part of our crops. Modern agriculture is an insane practice fuelled by greed, malice towards other creatures and ignorance to the great detriment of our health and other magnificent creatures who we should love and therefore respect. The delusion or ignorance here is thinking that modern agriculture will lead to our happiness and well being. Sounds familiar. Doesn't it? What modern agriculture is doing is practicing the Buddha's 3 unwholesome roots: greed, delusion, and ill-will, and they all lead to suffering and despair, the 1st Noble Truth. What's the problem with us humans?! Are we that stupid, that we can't figure this out. They're still trying to figure out how to increase crop yields. We think we're smart because we can put a man on the moon. And now there's talk of putting a man on Mars. We get something and we just want more; it's a non-ending. I'm shaking my head right now.

Yes, I agree.

The other animal story I very much like is that of the deer mouse that sat on your knee, while you were meditating one night, and who couldn't stop staring at the moon. I bet it may have been in a state of bliss and awe at the sight of the moon that night. What a beautiful story. It was in one of your YouTube videos, a discussion with Michael Hawkins.

Thanks, for liking the animal stories.

Is the rabbit a pet of yours?

No, I see it that I am the animal's caretaker.  If I let it go, then the predators will eat it very soon, because it is a domesticated rabbit.  I try to meet its needs whenever I can.  I do corral it when I need to move the vehicles around.  I am quite certain it does not like that, but I do my best to accommodate its needs.

I have noticed that when it has access to the entire yard it will sit 24-7 in one spot, which is not well hidden, nor near food or water.  I came out early this morning and saw the rabbit taking its vigil at its favorite spot.  It ran off, as if I was going to harm it.  Wanting to understand what was so important to the rabbit to be in that space, I put my head down at rabbit's level and faced the direction it was looking in.  It happened to be the only place in the yard where a creature the size of the rabbit could look over the fence and see a tree and some of the famous red Sedona cliffs.

I know biologists will have a hard time believing that a domesticated rabbit would have a preference for a view.  But, after caring for pets and ranch animals, and camping close to wildlife for years, I do not have such a problem.

[Michel]

I have noticed that when it has access to the entire yard it will sit 24-7 in one spot, which is not well hidden, nor near food or water.  I came out early this morning and saw the rabbit taking its vigil at its favorite spot.  It ran off, as if I was going to harm it.  Wanting to understand what was so important to the rabbit to be in that space, I put my head down at it rabbit's level and faced the direction it was looking in.  It happened to be the only place in the yard where a creature the size of the rabbit could look over the fence and see a tree.

I know biologists will have a hard time believing that a domesticated rabbit would have a preference for a view.  But, after caring for pets and ranch animals, and camping close to wildlife for years, I do not have such a problem.

I'm not at all surprised by this. Animals are far more sophisticated emotionally than what modern science thinks. I think animals can appreciate the beauty of their environment. Modern science would say, that in the case of your rabbit, that it is instinctively looking out for predators like owls and hawks that could be perched in the tree. In other words animals are dumb and stupid and are completely ruled by their base instincts. Thus they are not worthy of respect and it is alright to conduct vivisection experiments on them and treat them inhumanly as they do in factory farms.

[Michel]

Crows are highly intelligent and emotionally sophisticated animals. This beautifully authored article, on a crow funeral, is a testament to that.

A Crow Funeral

Whether it is fact or legend, the significance of this behavior cannot be decided among corvid authors. However that which appears obvious finds a way into our language and therefore the term “Crow Funeral”. I was witness to one such event on a summer afternoon and there is no longer a doubt in my mind as to what this was. I’ll try to share through written words, my experience of that event and take you to an unforgettable memory.

My invitation to a crow funeral several years ago arrived on a still summer afternoon with a cacophony of cries. The screaming of mournful cries filling the air, each getting louder than the next until its magnitude drew me outside my patio door. It was soon to become deafening with the urgency of it, almost as if it were saying “come now!”

As I stepped out the door I was astonished to see a thick sea of black clouds rolling in. Murders of crows were flying in from every conceivable direction and landing in our neighborhood; the sound of ruffling feathers getting settled into place with each landing quieted by continued calling. Trees in every yard and in every direction were leaved in black, telephone wires and fences no longer distinguishable, rooftops and swing sets were covered, all the while screaming in unison, piercing the air with their haunting song of lament. The decibel level was increasing with each arrival.

There were, by no exaggeration, literally hundreds and hundreds of them arriving! Was this Alfred Hitchcock’s inspiration for his movie “The Birds”? Had he been a witness to such an event? Those were the thoughts filling my mind with each arrival of yet another swirling black cloud. I remember thinking there was not much landing room left, all seats were taken, how could they still be flying in? Where were they coming from and where were they all going to sit!

As I continued to watch in awe and breathtaking wonder, my neighbor’s son who was in his yard asked me with trepidation “what does it mean?” I replied in a hesitant whisper “I think we have been invited to a crow funeral.”

We continued to stand there, this young man and I, as the deafening noise ceased and the sound of jockeying for position quieted as if instructed by an unseen director of ceremony. The silence became so poignant that you felt that to break it would be sacrilegious. All was quiet, not a sound of any other living kind was to be heard, four legged or winged. Not the bark of a dog, not the buzz of a bee. In the stillness, all you could hear was the sound of your own heart beating. Standing there enveloped in silence you knew that whatever was happening here was important enough to these corvids that the sound of nature had halted and so should you.

We stood silently watching, waiting and wondering. For twenty minutes or so we stood there rigidly and solemnly as if paying our respect to an unknown dignitary. For who of their clan they mourned I cannot say. I only know that my heart knew that theirs were saddened and I could feel their loss of a member much loved and respected by all.

That reverent twenty minutes was ended by a single crystal clear sounding “caw” and the periwinkle colored sky again became awash in black, as each left in silent departure creating the sound of the wind with their wings. You knew the service was over with that solitary caw, and that you would forever be haunted and humbled by it.

A group of crows is known as a “murder” of crows based on the folktale that crows form tribunals to judge and punish the bad behavior of a member of the flock. If the verdict goes against the defendant, that bird is killed by the flock.

Crows and Ravens are associated with battlefields, medieval hospitals, execution sites and cemeteries because they scavenged on human remains.

The Raven is known throughout history as both portent and prophet. The reputation of crow and raven for being dark messengers of doom and concerned only with death and destruction is ill deserved.

Corvids are sociable birds and tend to form social groups. Ravens, the largest of the corvid family, reach as much as 3 feet from beak to tail, form groups as juveniles, pairing off into lifelong monogamous and extremely territorial relationships at around age three. They are found all over the world and their intelligence is compared to that of an African Grey. They can be taught to talk.

They are federally protected in the United States.

Ravens achieve mastery and possess manipulative powers over other creatures in their domain; often letting others do work for them. For example, ravens will call wolves and coyotes to prospective meals so they can expose the carcass and make the meat accessible to the birds.

[Jhanananda]

I'm not at all surprised by this. Animals are far more sophisticated emotionally than what modern science thinks. I think animals can appreciate the beauty of their environment. Modern science would say, that in the case of your rabbit, that it is instinctively looking out for predators like owls and hawks that could be perched in the tree. In other words animals are dumb and stupid and are completely ruled by their base instincts. Thus they are not worthy of respect and it is alright to conduct vivisection experiments on them and treat them inhumanly as they do in factory farms.

Yes, I agree most biologists that I have told my wildlife stories to dismiss me as crazy.  However, coming to understand biologists better, I now realize that most of them are like everyone else.  They have a job, and a family to support, so the most field work that they can fit in is a few weeks of camping every year.

Your Crow Funeral story was very interesting.  A link would be really useful, if it is easy to find again.  It reminds me, and possibly explains an event I had with ravens during the second summer of my solo wilderness retreat in the Inyo National Forest.  I know I have written about this before, so anyone who has read it before, then please excuse me repeating it here.

If memory serves me right it was the summer of 2005.  I was camped on the top of the hill just north of Little Hot Creek.  I believe it was August. 

I was returning to camp from my noon soak in the hot spring, when I saw a large flock of ravens, about 50, descending upon me.  They were coming from high altitude and descending rapidly.  At that point I too thought of Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "the Birds." 

The Ravens alighted on the trees all around me, and they were making their squawking, and clucking sounds.  The tall Jeffrey Pines were black with the birds. I kept walking to my van, and sat in it looking about at all of the ravens.  The ravens sat squawking and clucking for the rest of the day.

The next morning I walked to the Little Hot Creek for my morning soak.  The trees were still black with ravens, and they squawked and clucked as I walked by.  When I returned from my soak, it was the same, trees black with ravens, squawking and clucking.

It went on like this for about a month.  I had not spoken to another human the whole time, and it got to the point that I felt like I could understand that raven squawking and clucking.  It seemed mostly they were alerting each other about that human, me, or just talking about anything, just as humans do.

Anyway, after a few weeks of camping where I was, I had driven into town to get groceries.  I bought a very large bag of corn chips, and it was a windy day.  As is my custom, upon my return to camp I changed camp sites and stopped at the saddle to camp, which was just a little down hill. 

I got out and pulled on the bag of corn chips to open it.  The bag exploded and corn ships flew everywhere in the wind.  I looked about at the corn chips tumbling in the wind and decided that the wildlife would clean it up, and got back into the van and drove up hill to the next camp site, which was just over the crest of the hill. 

Once I was settled in I noticed that there was quite some commotion going on over the little hill at my last camp, so I walked up the hill, and just as my head crested the hill I saw the whole flock of ravens had descended upon my corn chips, and as soon as they saw me, one of them let out the alarm, and they all took flight at the same time.  It was an explosion of black right in my face, and it sounded like the mad rustling of satin dresses.

I kept walking toward the camp and saw that the birds had eaten almost every corn chip.  However, there was one raven there, who completely ignored me, and kept walking about picking up the odd corn chip fragment that had been left behind by the flock. I looked at it, and shook my head and walked back to camp.

About an hour later I saw that same raven walk up the trail to my camp, and it walked around my van looking, presumably for more corn chips.  Not finding any more food, it kept going up the hill to a rocky ledge, where the trail ended. It then became a pattern that this raven walked back and forth along the trail, and around my van, every day and never seemed to fly.

After about a month of having this old raven as a neighbor, and I leaving it food, and me going to the hot spring 3 times a day; on one day in late August, or maybe mid September, I came down the steep trail to the hot spring for my morning soak, and saw a schizophrenic man who I had gotten to know also that year. 

He was sitting on a rock by his car with his back against the hill and playing the guitar.  He motioned me over, so I walked to him, and he nodded to the side for me to look at something while he played his guitar.  There sitting next to him was this old raven.  It was no more than 2 feet from him, and it just sat there quietly.

I said, "Today is the day that old raven dies, and you are the lucky one, who gets to keep it company."

He gave me a creeped out look, then I walked to the hot spring and soaked for a while, then I walked back to camp.

Around noon I returned to the hot spring for my midday soak.  I stopped in to check on the bird and the man, and he was still playing the guitar, and the raven had not moved, but his head lay limply off to one side.

I said, "What an honor that raven would chose to spend his last hours listening to your music."

I do not think any "scientist" would believe that story, but it is true.

[Michel]

Your Crow Funeral story was very interesting.  A link would be really useful, if it is easy to find again.

This is the site it's from: http://www.aviannation.com/

The actual article: http://www.aviannation.com/forum/lets-talk/bird-chat/789-a-crow-funeral

Whenever you want to find the source of any article, just copy any sentence from that article and paste it in to the google search engine and it will take you to the source of the actual article. I learned this recently. Works most of the time, but not always.

I kept walking toward the camp and saw that the birds had eaten almost every corn chip.  However, there was one raven there, who completely ignored me, and kept walking about picking up the odd corn chip fragment that had been left behind by the flock. I looked at it, and shook my head and walked back to camp.

About an hour later I saw that same raven walk up the trail to my camp, and it walked around my van looking, presumably for more corn chips.  Not finding any more food, it kept going up the hill to a rocky ledge, where the trail ended. It then became a pattern that this raven walked back and forth along the trail, and around my van, every day and never seemed to fly.

After about a month of having this old raven as a neighbor, and I leaving it food, and me going to the hot spring 3 times a day; on one day in late August, or maybe mid September, I came down the steep trail to the hot spring for my morning soak, and saw a schizophrenic man who I had gotten to know also that year. 

He was sitting on a rock by his car with his back against the hill and playing the guitar.  He motioned me over, so I walked to him, and he nodded to the side for me to look at something while he played his guitar.  There sitting next to him was this old raven.  It was no more than 2 feet from him, and it just sat there quietly.

I said, "Today is the day that old raven dies, and you are the lucky one, who gets to keep it company."

He gave me a creeped out look, then I walked to the hot spring and soaked for a while, then I walked back to camp.

Around noon I returned to the hot spring for my midday soak.  I stopped in to check on the bird and the man, and he was still playing the guitar, and the raven had not moved, but his head lay limply off to one side.

I said, "What an honor that raven would chose to spend his last hours listening to your music."

I do not think any "scientist" would believe that story, but it is true.

Thank-you. What a beautiful story. Ravens are truly sacred beings. If only we could live like the ravens and crows as mystics and contemplatives.

How did you know that the raven was going to die? I guess because it walked and no longer flew to get about?

[Jhanananda]

This is the site it's from: http://www.aviannation.com/

The actual article: http://www.aviannation.com/forum/lets-talk/bird-chat/789-a-crow-funeral

Whenever you want to find the source of any article, just copy any sentence from that article and paste it in to the google search engine and it will take you to the source of the actual article. I learned this recently. Works most of the time, but not always.

Thanks for the info and links.  I did copy the title, but all I saw was a mountain of Google listings of no relevance.

Thank-you. What a beautiful story. Ravens are truly sacred beings. If only we could live like the ravens and crows as mystics and contemplatives.

How did you know that the raven was going to die? I guess because it walked and no longer flew to get about?

Yes, I agree.  To me wildlife in general has many of the characteristics of a mystic/mendicant.

Intuition told me the raven was old and dying, but arguably I never saw it fly, so it was reasonable to to conclude it would be dead soon.

[Michel]

Videos on crow intelligence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbwRHIuXqMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpgCQj-sgqk

http://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY8-gP3Sw_8

Nature's Smartest Birds - Ravens by PBS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUqrBWli_D4

[Alexander]

Nature's Smartest Birds - Ravens by PBS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUqrBWli_D4

An interesting fact is that in alchemy, ravens represent "putrefection":



Putrefaction is the first step to creating the philosopher's stone.

Do you see the black stone in this image? That is the prime matter, forged into a stone. Do you see how it is on fire? That is the fire of the alchemists, which refines the quality of the stone.

The skeleton represents how a man has to die to be reborn. As it is impossible to have a new birth without experiencing death. The skeleton also holds a raven, which represents a knowledge of ourselves. The two angels point downward, which indicate that in order to go up, we must go down.

When putrefaction is over with, the alchemist is said to possess the white stone of illumination.

[Michel]

Nature's Smartest Birds - Ravens by PBS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUqrBWli_D4

An interesting fact is that in alchemy, ravens represent "putrefection":

Putrefaction is the first step to creating the philosopher's stone.

Do you see the black stone in this image? That is the prime matter, forged into a stone. Do you see how it is on fire? That is the fire of the alchemists, which refines the quality of the stone.

The skeleton represents how a man has to die to be reborn. As it is impossible to have a new birth without experiencing death. The skeleton also holds a raven, which represents a knowledge of ourselves. The two angels point downward, which indicate that in order to go up, we must go down.

When putrefaction is over with, the alchemist is said to possess the white stone of illumination.

You have such an elegant way of putting things, aglorincz. I often enjoy what you have to say, even though some of it is beyond my understanding, it challenges me to learn more. I know nothing of alchemy.

Let me interpret what you are saying and weave it into what I understand thus far. An individual on the mystics path undergoes a series of deaths of the ego in the 5 stages of the dark night of the soul when he is developing the 8 stages of Samadhi. Jhana or Samadhi burns away the ego leaving a new self, and in this sense the individual has undergone a death and a rebirth at each of these 5 stages of the dark night to finally emerge egoless when they have mastered the N8P. So in a sense the Holy One, the one who has achieved egolessness, or the state of non-duality, has achieved a deathless state since there is no ego left to burn away or die.

The raven is the knower of death and decay: putrefecation. I love the symbolism of this image. Is this your own interpretation or is this the wisdom/knowledge of the alchemist? What is the significance of the numeral 9 in the image?

[Alexander]

You have such an elegant way of putting things, aglorincz. I often enjoy what you have to say, even though some of it is beyond my understanding, it challenges me to learn more. I know nothing of alchemy.

Let me interpret what you are saying and weave it into what I understand thus far. An individual on the mystics path undergoes a series of deaths of the ego in the 5 stages of the dark night of the soul when he is developing the 8 stages of Samadhi. Jhana or Samadhi burns away the ego leaving a new self, and in this sense the individual has undergone a death and a rebirth at each of these 5 stages of the dark night to finally emerge egoless when they have mastered the N8P. So in a sense the Holy One, the one who has achieved egolessness, or the state of non-duality, has achieved a deathless state since there is no ego left to burn away or die.

I have come to appreciate symbolism, because I find that only symbols can communicate certain things. The unfortunate thing is that symbolism always puts a challenge put on the viewer: so, even if the intention is to make the symbol as clear as possible, it still has to be unpacked by the person interpreting it.

I've found that the key to alchemical symbolism is to see it as code for spiritual goals. Then, we can begin to understand what it means:

The goal of alchemy was to create the philosopher's stone. The stone was understood as tied to the elixir of life (immortality).

The alchemist explained his process in this way. First, the base matter (i.e., the ordinary man) has to be forged into a stone. This represents how all our interests about spirituality have to come together into a whole. Then, we can set a definite aim in front of us: spiritual accomplishment.

The stone is then subjected to a fire: this represents self-knowledge, knowing yourself.  The stone then goes through 3 stages of development, turning the colors of black, white, and red.

Black represents the spiritual crisis. It represents the process of us getting to know ourselves in our ugliness, humbling ourselves, and recognizing our failures and foolishness.

White represents illumination. It means enjoying the first 2 jhanas: joy and the still mind.

Red represents perfection. It is the last stage of the mystic's quest. Very few people reach perfection.

The raven is the knower of death and decay: putrefecation. I love the symbolism of this image. Is this your own interpretation or is this the wisdom/knowledge of the alchemist? What is the significance of the numeral 9 in the image?

I am trying to explain it as best as I can. I found this image on the web and thought that it had to be the real deal - that whoever made it had almost certainly to have been a very sophisticated spiritual person. Also, I believe the number 9 means the image was a part of a series, so whoever made this image set putrefaction as step 9 of the mystic's quest.