What is Your Power Animal?

What is Your Power Animal?

 

Power Animals exist in multiple cultures across the world.  Native American, Chinese and Christian cultures are just a few examples.

Power Animals, (also known as totems, as referred to by Native Americans), can be familial (tribal) or personal in nature.

I have two Power Animals that I relate to and draw strength and guidance from. 

The first is the Wolf.

The reason I associate so strongly with the Wolf is because wolves can “run with the pack”, or become the “leader of the pack”, as I tend to do when feeling happy and social, but they can also be a “lone wolf”, which I tend to do when I am feeling stressed or challenged in some way.

It is a common misconception that wolves mate for life, wolves are “serial monogamists”, just like me.  A wolf will stay with a preferred partner for as long as he or she is available and will often reject mating attempts from other wolves, but a wolf will take a new mate if its’ significant other leaves the pack or dies.  The majority of wolves maintain one partner at a time, but may well have more than one mate over their lifetime.  Polygamy is rare in wolves.

My second Power Animal is the Tiger because I was born in 1962, the Year of the Tiger in Chinese Astrology.  Tiger characteristics are a natural match for my Western Astrological Sign of Aquarius.

Whenever someone is getting to me, I always warn them, “Don’t Poke the Tiger”, and I mean it.

Tigers are known to be born leaders, strong and in control of themselves and their environment.  They are magnetic and charismatic, excellent communicators and possess a raw appeal that attracts many into their personal jungles.

Tigers, although kind and generous, can pounce without warning at any given time, so caution should be exercised around them!  Tigers are extremely sensitive and subject to emotional outbursts.  They like to live life to the fullest, but should learn moderation.  (Boy is that me!)

What are your Power Animals?

What Chinese Astrological Year were you born in?

What animals attract and fascinate you and why?  How does it relate to you?

Your Power Animals exist to protect and guide you in the spiritual and physical worlds, drawing on their energies help us in many situations.

Copyright © 2007 Brigid Bishop

This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author.  You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part. 

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How Free Are You?

How Free Are You?

How Free are You?

This is a simple self-assessment exercise for you to determine how “free” you are as a person.  Again, I am a list person, so get out your pens and papers!  Fold your paper in half.  Set a timer for ten minutes, only spend ten minutes on this exercise!!!  Don’t over-think it, it is supposed to be a spontaneous exercise.

In column one, list all of those things that bring you comfort, a sense of peace, happiness or joy, pleasure, in its’ simplest forms, maybe how you feel when you see the ocean, or hold a seashell, or when you think of baby pictures of one of your children, the simplest things that make you feel some delight.

In column two, list those things that make you feel anxiety, or anger, or fear, or embarrassment.

Remember, you only spend ten minutes on this exercise.

When the timer goes off, check your lists.

Which list is longer, the pleasure or the discomfort column?

If you spent more time and were able to brainstorm more thoughts in column one, you are a free spirit and optimistic in your outlook on life.

If your column two was more expansive, you are not free, and the very things that you listed, (and the more you expounded on any particular item), is an indication of just how trapped you are.

The only thing that can free you is yourself, this exercise can begin to effect that change in you, right now, today.

You now have brought to consciousness those things you need to feel free and happy, just as you have brought to consciousness those things that imprison and bind you.

These items in column two are the tip of the iceberg in that hell of your own personal demons.

Now that you have begun to identify them, you can begin to disempower them, let them go, and free yourself from bondage.

The items in your column two could well be represented by several different cards in the tarot deck, but are most likely related to the card of The Devil, that which holds us back and prevents us from making progress and living in the light.

Keep your list, and you can add to it and subtract from it.  Repeat the exercise in a month or so, has anything changed?  Are the things that are imprisoning you self-imposed or are they items that are out of your control that you cannot affect and can only let go of?

Think about it………

Questions to Test You

Questions to Test You

Every so often I come across a thought strain that I consider provocative, and being the way that I am, I like to encourage others to think about how they would respond as well.  I will post these occasionally under my “Thought of the Day” Category here on my blog, and today, I am asking myself, and you, “What would you most readily die for?”

You can just think about this to yourself, or you can take an active part in this blog and post your answers and thoughts in the comments, and I will share my answer with you here:

This is an “easy” one for me.  If faced with a choice of saving the life of one of my biological children I would instantaneously die so that they may live.  I don’t think I would die for my mate, despite how much I love him, he is an adult, I would do all I could to save him, but if it came to the ultimate self-sacrifice, I think I would choose to preserve my life over his.  I gave this some deep consideration, and that is my honest answer.  My children are adults too, but I would still rather give my life for them than see them suffer in any way.

I might consider giving my life for my country, if it were to make a significant impact, such as stopping an act of terrorism, etc., but I have very low odds of finding myself in that type of situation, so I am staying with my initial reaction to the question, and my answer is “I would most readily die for my children.”

How about you?

Is there anything that you actually would die for?  Would you preserve your own life no matter what, or are there some things that you would give up your life for?

???

I look forward to any answers you may choose to post.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Probably one of the most difficult emotions that we, as evolved human beings, are in need of mustering up.

When you hold on to anger and resentment you are not hurting or punishing the object of that anger, but damaging your own inner being.  You are keeping yourself in a state of agitation that will damage your health and you emotional well-being if you allow it to continue.

Letting go of anger is difficult.  We are usually most angry when we have been hurt, and being the egocentric beings that we are, we have the backward belief that by holding onto our anger we are maintaining some kind of control over the person who has hurt us.

Quite the opposite is true.  By allowing our anger to continue we are inadvertently giving the object of our anger an oppressive hold over us.  Are they lying awake at night ruminating over the pain that they have caused us?  No.  They are living their lives in total abject disassociation with our anger, if they have apologized, they feel they have done all that they can do, and if they have not attempted making amends, they may a) Not be aware that we are still in pain or b) Not be concerned with our pain, being immersed in their own lives.

By letting go of anger, we are freeing ourselves.  We are releasing the pain that we feel, although it is so human to try to hold on to it…..we are rising above it and moving on.  We glean what we can from the lesson so that we do not find ourselves hurt in the same manner as before, and we simply let go.  The only way out of anger and pain is through.  Yes, we must let the anger and pain surround us and begin moving THROUGH it and out the other side into acceptance.  The past cannot be changed.  It is a static entity.  The present is ours to manipulate and the future is ours to create.

Forgiving those trespasses against us opens a whole new perspective on life.  It allows us perhaps to view hurtful situations from a different perspective, to let go, to feel good inside again, to move forward.

My thought for today is to wish you all the grace and serenity of “Forgiveness”.  Think about those you need to forgive today and open your heart to letting go of the pain, your blood pressure will lower and you may feel more at peace living in your own skin.

May you forgive your worst enemy today!