User blog:Vegeta8390/Totemic Animal

       When you were born, it was believed that an animal's spirit was trapped inside of you. This animal is called your totemic animal. Your totemic animal is also sometimes called an animal spirit guide, or spirit animal. Most of the time, your spirit animal is relevant to your natural element, but not always. In the rare cases where your animal isn't relevant to your element, those people tend to have special gifts, or powers, if you will. For instance, my element is Earth, but my spirit animal is an owl, which is a wind animal, and I recently discovered that I have the Healing Waters, which are an extremely curative power where you use water to heal injuries. If you discover that you have an elemental power, like the healing waters, then I would learn the basics of the element the power is based on. For instance, I learned waterbending before I knew  I had this power, but it really helps. Anyway, if you don't know what your spirit animal is, then I have a method of finding it, which I myself have used. You will know when you see your animal that is your animal guide, I was put into a sort of trance when I found my Owl guide, but it may differ between different people. Why find your guide? Well, first and foremost, it can help with your bending, and you will also take on certain traits of your animal. If and when you find your animal, you will know your real name. In example, my animal is an owl, so my name is owl. As for finding your animal, try this method:

Close your eyes, letting the outside world fadeaway, to the comfortable grey darkness behind your eyelids.

Take a deep breath. Inhaling, exhaling.

Inhale, breathing in the energetic life forces of the planet. Exhale, releasing the tensions of the day, feeling comfortable, calm, relaxed.

Inhale. Exhale.

And as you breathe, picture a cord of light which runs down your spine and into the earth below you. It goes down, down, through the floor, into the grass and earth and sand below you, past the roots of trees, past the bones and pot shards of your ancestors. Down into living rock. Down to the molten core center of the earth, where lava flows, glowing red and scarlet. Tap into this core of energy and as you inhale, pull it up into your body where it fills you and radiates through you. Feel the power of the red, vibrant energies of the earth as it pumps through your bloodstream, strengthening and energizing you.

And as you continue to breathe, feeling relaxed and energized, the light within you changes to a warm, orange glow. The color of daylilies, and pumpkins filled with the seeds of new beginnings. The color of new rising sun. It radiates within you, filling you with passion, and creativity, and excitement.

And the light within you changes again to a warm, sunny yellow, the yellow of buttercups and dandelions and the sun at noon. As it shines within you, the light chases away all shadows of fear, and you feel bright and filled with courage, strong in who you are and in the power of your will.

And the light changes to a vibrant green, the green of the living earth, the pale green of new buds, the deeper emerald of oak leaves, and you feel the deep love of the earth for itself and each of its creatures, as each creature gives way to each other, so that the cycle may continue. You glow with your love for yourself and for all around you.

And as you breathe, the glow changes to the blue of a robin's egg, the clear blue of the sky, the blue of the wind, as your heart takes flight and the joy within you rises to your lips in a wordless song exultation and self-expression.

And the blue deepens to the deep indigo of the night sky. Vast and limitless as the world inside of you. And as the deep indigo glow fills you, you feel your power to know and reason and think and learn.

And the glow within you deepens to a vibrant purple, that radiates through you, filling you with the understanding of who you are, and of all the spiritual lessons you are learning. Filling you with a deep sense of connection to all around you.

And the glow fades to a purest white light, and you feel yourself lifted, glowing, radiant with the light of the universe.

You land, finding yourself on a woodland path. All around you the deep, strong scents of moss and rich earth. The woodland here is scattered with saplings, birches and beech trees. Ferns and young growth. Birds sing. Sunlight streams down through patches of young leaves and warms the back of your neck.

The path beckons you and you move on, as you go, you move deeper into the forest, the trunks of the trees grow thicker and closer together. The path is soft with the loam of fallen leaves. You feel as though you are being watched. Guarded and protected, by the beings here, as you move along the path.

You come to a fallen tree which crosses the path. Lichens and mushrooms sprout from it's bark. You step across it, and move further down the path.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">Ahead you hear a splashing and tinkling sound. You come to a small stream of clear, fresh running water. You pause for a moment to plunge your hands into the stream and drink deeply. The water tastes clear and sweet, refreshing you and filling you with light. You feel any last concerns drain away into the water. Finding a path of stepping stones, you cross the stream and move deeper into the forest.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">The path rises up a hill, the woods are getting older, thicker. Ancient pines now, and oak. Ahead, two oaks lean towards each other forming an archway into a glade.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">The glade is ringed with oak trees, carpeted with moss and soft grasses. At the center of the glade is a low circle of stones, set into the earth. It is here that you know you will meet the totem animal whom you have come to join with. You move to the center of the stone circle, and wait.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">And after a while you hear a rustling in the undergrowth ringing the glade. A creature moves into the glade, and comes towards you. Its eyes radiate love as it moves toward you and you embrace.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">This is your totem. This creature will walk with you on your journeys now and teach you many things. Spend some time talking with your totem now.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">(Pause for 5-10 minutes or as time allows.)

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">And now it is time to go. But as you ready to leave the glade know that you can come back here at any time, and that you may communicate with your totem both here and in other worlds, and that your totem can be with you, anywhere, at any time you or they desire.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">You thank the glade and the beings of this place and move back to the path, passing under the archway of trees. You make your way down the hill, the trees growing further apart as you move along.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">You come to the stream and cross back over it, making your way, faster now, along the path. You reach the aged dead tree that crosses the path and step over it, moving along the path, as the trees grow younger and further apart.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">Until you come to the place on the path where you began, and you are enveloped once again in the white light. And light around and within you turns to purple, but a core of white light remains, which you bring with you, as the glow within you turns to indigo. ..

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">. . . And to blue, and as the colors change you bring the white light, and all the other colors with you as the glow turns to green. . . and to yellow. ..

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">And you radiate with the white light and the rainbows of color that you have moved through you, as the glow turns to orange and to red.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">And filled with the white light and with all the rainbow colors, you come back to a sense of your body, feeling refreshed and alert, and remembering all that you have seen and heard and felt and sensed. And in a moment, when you are ready, you can being to move a little. . . and awaken. . . and open your eyes.

<p align="left" style="margin-bottom:1.5em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-family:'lucidasansunicode','lucidasans',arial;font-size:medium;line-height:normal;">       If this sounds crazy to you, or if it doesn't work for you, then just keep searching using your own method or try this method again.