One Way to Find Hidden Wisdom

a helpful visualization exercise that surprised me

After putting a lot of effort into researching and writing The Guilt Series which you can find on my website (you’ll see it in the navigation bar at the top) I’m giving myself a break this week to share a fun post from a couple of years ago. It’s about spirit animals and my initial skepticism. I was recently reminded of this essay by my friend

Michael Edward

who said he has used this exercise a few times since reading about it here, so I’m hoping you might find it useful as well. Heads up Sweetie, if you’ve already read this essay I updated it at the end so take a look.

My new spirit animal! image created by Ian Mikraz

There’s been a lot of talk in the last decade about figuring out our spirit animal. While I’m into all things Spirit the number of times I’ve felt called to go down this road was zero.

It’s unlikely that my white middle class ancestors were wandering the plains looking for guidance from their animal (I don’t want to even think about what they were doing on those plains, but I digress). The Indigenous people I have had the opportunity to work with have been very forthcoming in sharing their thoughts on the importance of getting information this way. They suggested I give it a try but, even with their permission, I didn’t. However, I recently came across a simple exercise that I found very powerful. It made me realize that the Indigenous folks likely, once again, are onto something!

Recently, while reading Dr. Lisa Miller's book, The Awakened Brain, I came across an interesting visualization exercise that blew my socks off when I tried it. Dr. Miller says:

Twentieth century views of the mind describe imagination as something we construct. Imagination is invention. Make believe. But in awakened awareness, imagination is not an act of creation so much as an act of perception - a way of detecting information…When we engage in guided imaging, we can perceive information that is highly therapeutic, useful or directive.

Dr. Miller suggests this simple, age-old visualization as a tool for self-discovery:

Close your eyes and use long, steady breathing to quiet your mind.

Clear out your inner space. Then, invite an animal, and watch to see who comes. Once they show up ask, “What say you?”

Immediately a mouse came to me, a real mouse not a cartoon one. Weird. I am not afraid of mice, nor do I like them. Mouse is totally neutral to me. I could’ve seen a frog showing up (I am very frightened of frogs) or a lion – I mean I’m a Leo, of course I want the lion. But a little grey mouse?

It said to me “DON’T KEEP QUIET!”

This strange, short little exercise was so powerful for me that I can still feel it many weeks later. The outcome was completely unexpected.

To me a mouse can be a mighty creature. I grew up on childhood cartoons of the little mouse frightening the big elephant. I have seen grown adults stand on chairs to avoid a tiny mouse. While I never wish to have this kind of ‘power,’ I am a small human (literally & figuratively) examining her family of origin, her culture of upbringing, and what she has brought to her own family. Some of it is not pretty. This effort requires personal power.

I’m working on developing my writing in a style that is absolutely true to me, constantly striving to overcome my fear of what others will think. This effort requires personal power.

I want to show up as a good human. Some days this effort requires personal power.

I’ve found, time and again, that deep insight arrives in the most unexpected ways. An imaginary mouse, telling me what it wants me to know….I couldn’t have dreamed that up.

Science is a wonderful thing but we don’t know how spirit works, we don’t know how imagination works, and we don’t know how our unconscious mind works. I’m up for exploring it all.

Here are a few of my more recent thoughts on this exercise:

Personal power — that deep inner sense that we have a right to take up space and act in alignment with our truth — rarely arrives fully formed. It’s not something we can magically summon in the moment if we haven’t laid the groundwork. More often, it’s a skill we build over time, through intention, practice, and courage.

So why then, would an exercise like this, the kind of thing that seems silly to some folks, be useful? Why bother?

How about if we think about it as our own special truepoint (yes, that’s a made-up word), like a steady invitation to move toward that which is for our greatest good, even if we can’t see it from where we stand right now.

Interestingly the mouse, and what it told me, has been very accurate. The way that message played out in my life is something I could only recognize by looking back. Since doing this exercise I’ve experienced a great deal of inner growth that has helped me find my true voice and use it. So, I thought I’d try the exercise again in case something different showed up and Honeybun, I was laughing in my seat at the lameness of how it went…

A grasshopper showed up and told me to “keep hopping”.

That’s it!

Not exactly an epiphany.

I looked at that grasshopper and said, “You’ve got to be kidding, that’s the best you’ve got?!” Their response was “Yep, keep hopping. Life is very spicy right now and it requires agility and forward momentum.” Well this is certainly true and Grasshopper’s response is interesting because many times in recent weeks I’ve felt overwhelmed with the state of the world and how best to proceed. Apparently I just need to keep showing up and be nimble as well as draw on Grasshopper’s cultural significance¹ of being patient. (Argh! If only it was that easy.)

Have you ever tried an exercise like this? If you did it the last time I wrote about it maybe try it again to see what shows up. (If you forget what your animal was you can check the comments of this post to see if you told me about it.) Take the time to see what the animal wants you to know and you might be amazed.

Let me know in the comments if an animal showed up for you. Does the same animal show up or, like me, is it different than last time?

Thank you, my friend, for being here. I appreciate it! May you move forward with agility, momentum, and patience.

xoxo Donna

P.S. Smash that heart button if you love animals. Also tap it if you don’t love animals (you get what I’m saying?!)

1. “Patience, young Grasshopper” comes from the 1970’s show Kung Fu and is used now as a reminder that we have much to learn.