This is great, Donna. I love animal magick. For me, seeing a hummingbird or butterfly brings me joy. A hawk means something (good) is coming. I had a telepathic moment or two with a dolphin in Cancun at a nearby water park. Incredible creatures. But I suppose my Spirit Animal is an otter. I was told once (I believe at the Monterrey Aquarium) that otters don't do anything that isn't fun. Now, that's the way to live. Plus, they are cute AF. However, I am something of a camel whisperer. I had no idea until I went to a bed-and-breakfast in Moab, down the Hurrah Pass (Camelot Ranch, no longer in business). I'm deathly allergic to horses, but since camels have "wool", and we all had had our fill of whatever white zinfandel and box wine neighbors donated since our retreat host under-bought at the scary liquor store (I mean, I had only known these women one day and I told her that wasn't enough), I thought, Today's a good day to die. Let's see if I'm allergic to camels. LOL. Camels are land dolphins. They have all the wisdom of the desert in their eyes. I bowed to the elder, he bowed back; we touched noses. The young female and I preened at each other. Then, the two young males came running over. A friend wanted to take a photo. Both boys put their faces next to mine...then the alpha of the two wrapped his neck around me and put a Moab clay print on my white tank-topped chest. The photo didn't turn out well because I was a little surprised by this development. The top was stained for good (that clay ain't going anywhere). And I lived to tell the tale. LOL. xo
What an amazing story about the camels, that must have been an almost-transportive experience! I've never seen a camel that close so appreciate living vicariously through you💕
If you've never tried this exercise you should see what your animal tells you, it can be fascinating. Yes to the otters! We have many of them where I live and I can easily pass an hour just watching them play.
I love this Donna! I got a deer which I always thought might be my spirit animal if I had one. She said,'be calm, trust'. I've been a bit more stressed than usual for a few days, of my own making and it helped me get some perspective! 🦌
Thanks Kate. I found this little exercise quite useful for regaining perspective so I'm glad you did too. It's interesting that your deer told you to trust and be calm (a lovely message!) because that is certainly what they respond to.
We live with the deer in our town, they wander through the community all the time. While we often have a few hanging out in our yard we, of course, can't get close to them. Yesterday on my walk I was feeling very centered and calm and, for the first time ever, I walked right through the middle of about 15 deer, including babies, and they just stood there saying Hi to me. It wasn't like they were frozen and anxious I was there, it was as if they were accepting me. It was the most amazing thing, I was very thankful. Perhaps your deer has a message for me also so thank you for sharing it!
What a lovely experience gonna! They are such beautiful creatures. Where my daughter is at uni she watched two tiny deer gallop across the grounds from her bedroom window! They are always a pleasure to see. 💜
I love this post! The exercise was quite challenging for me because’ clear your mind’ exercises don’t end well (can’t clear my mind) which is why I do guided meditation. However I was super interested in this so I stuck with it trying again and again and it wasn’t until my last try that I realized I’d been seeing a jellyfish all along. These blobs of light were floating across the black landscape behind my closed eyes, which I thought were external and indicators of my inability to clear my mind. On the last ditch effort I laid my fingers upside down on my eyelids to keep them from jittering and the light came again causing me to pay closer attention. It was a jelly fish and when I asked ‘what say you’ it said “life lasts for eons” and floated away then another appeared, more distant and said “just float”. I wanted to see another one since I’d missed them prior lol, so I could see the tentacles but they were done with me. This is profound because we’re having a health crisis with a family member which is putting me in close touch with them and with my inner self and a couple things connect to this experience. 1 I’m in my head a lot and external things small things, like a person walking into a room talking, startle me REALLY BADLY. Over the top startling. 2 I find myself utterly CRAVING solitude, which I don’t get. My family members are poor sleepers so my house is bustling 24x7 and it’s beginning to cause me spiritual distress - I’m working on this. And 3 the combination of these things is contributing to a new tendency to lash out and sting people who get into my space. I think the jellyfish’s protective sting is analogous of my needing to become more externally aware, to not compromise on quiet solitude, and to forgive myself and others for my defensive lashes. They’re part of my floating through life. They’re part of me. Thank you for this🙏🫠✨⚡️
Wow Cori, wow! Thank you SO much for sharing your experience. As you said, there are so many layers here.
Firstly, well done keeping on trying when you weren't too comfortable with this exercise and then allowing your perspective to shift to see the jelly fish. The message you received is fascinating, especially in light of what you're going through. I hope you are able to hold those words close to your heart as you navigate the tough terrain of having an ill family member.
I wish there was a magic wand to get you (and sometimes me) the solitude that your soul is screaming for. Sometimes we have to take it in small snippets of time, a walk or a bathroom break where nobody can come in the room - even when we are longing for days of unbroken silence. Keep doing your best to seek it out.
Have you ever tried Martha Beck's space within meditation? She does it on all her podcasts (The Gathering Room). I've found them helpful because it's taught me to access that space within even as I'm dealing with a lot on the outside. Perhaps you would like it.
I am sending you so many good vibes and wishing you ease (if that's even possible?) and grace as you get through this tricky time❤️
Donna, your every essay puts a smile on my face, this one especially, because what a beautiful and simple twist on the spirit animal phenomenon. Rather than wondering about an encounter "in the world," why not invite an animal to appear in a visualization? I look forward to exploring this and love what Michael says below about "the idea that the imagination is an act of perception." Thank you, Donna, as always.
My dear friend it's lovely to see you here in the comments. I've missed you (and I don't mean in the comments!). Thank you for your kind words. I'm sending love❤️
Awwww, Donna, I love this message from you, mostly because I've missed YOU, too (and I don't mean in comments either!)! I'm sending love, too, and a virtual hug. ❤️
I think I like this post even more the second time round. The idea that imagination is an act of perception was something that resonated with me much more than I remember it doing so last time. In recent months I have spent a lot of time lying on back meditating and just letting the thoughts swirl, and I’ve found that I’ve come to realisations about things that really surprised me and which I didn’t think I could access. And in a way I feel that those experiences lend credence to the idea that imagination is an act of perception, it feels as though, I’m perceiving some deeper part of my subconscious, which most of the time is unreachable.
As for the exercise, I did it again, and again I was surprised. This time it was a grey wolf (which is weird for me) and it said, “trust yourself, you know the way”.
This is SO amazing! I am jumping around in my seat after reading your comment because you know why it's amazing and so do I. It's one of those things that seems like a cliche except when you're living it - that you go to the dark side where you are forced to see what you don't want to see and/or feel what you don't want to feel. Those times when life derails you and brings things to a standstill and, out of those ashes, comes insight that may have taken decades to learn otherwise.
Do we say that this was the purpose to the pain? Of course not. There is never any purpose to human suffering. But, if we choose the right lens from which to see, we can look at that suffering, and what came from it, in a different light and in doing so become a different, likely better, person. Certainly a person with an elevated consciousness.
I love love love that you got a surprising wolf and he left you such a powerful message. (Is it possible to have spirit animal envy🤣?? Wolf vs grasshopper! Haha).
Wow! Very well said Donna. I totally agree. It’s hard, when your in the thick of the suffering, not to wish it away, but then, as you start to acclimate and accept realisations and lessons that may have otherwise take a lot longer to come to light seem to occur. And then yes, we walk out the other side hopefully better.
It’s a funny old game this life thing.
Haha spirit animal envy! That’s gold! Thanks Donna :)
I love your spirit animals and their messages! I haven’t experienced one yet. I will try this exercise later. I did find a great meditation that puts you in touch with your higher self. I’ve been meaning to send to you.
This is great, Donna. I love animal magick. For me, seeing a hummingbird or butterfly brings me joy. A hawk means something (good) is coming. I had a telepathic moment or two with a dolphin in Cancun at a nearby water park. Incredible creatures. But I suppose my Spirit Animal is an otter. I was told once (I believe at the Monterrey Aquarium) that otters don't do anything that isn't fun. Now, that's the way to live. Plus, they are cute AF. However, I am something of a camel whisperer. I had no idea until I went to a bed-and-breakfast in Moab, down the Hurrah Pass (Camelot Ranch, no longer in business). I'm deathly allergic to horses, but since camels have "wool", and we all had had our fill of whatever white zinfandel and box wine neighbors donated since our retreat host under-bought at the scary liquor store (I mean, I had only known these women one day and I told her that wasn't enough), I thought, Today's a good day to die. Let's see if I'm allergic to camels. LOL. Camels are land dolphins. They have all the wisdom of the desert in their eyes. I bowed to the elder, he bowed back; we touched noses. The young female and I preened at each other. Then, the two young males came running over. A friend wanted to take a photo. Both boys put their faces next to mine...then the alpha of the two wrapped his neck around me and put a Moab clay print on my white tank-topped chest. The photo didn't turn out well because I was a little surprised by this development. The top was stained for good (that clay ain't going anywhere). And I lived to tell the tale. LOL. xo
What an amazing story about the camels, that must have been an almost-transportive experience! I've never seen a camel that close so appreciate living vicariously through you💕
If you've never tried this exercise you should see what your animal tells you, it can be fascinating. Yes to the otters! We have many of them where I live and I can easily pass an hour just watching them play.
I will try the exercise. Right now, I’m in the midst of 3 courses, with a 4th starting next month. LOL. I don’t know why I do this to myself. xo
Good luck Girlfriend! You got this. Save the exercise for a treat when you’re done.
An owl 🦉 “Follow your path” 🙏🏼🌻
I love this Donna! I got a deer which I always thought might be my spirit animal if I had one. She said,'be calm, trust'. I've been a bit more stressed than usual for a few days, of my own making and it helped me get some perspective! 🦌
Thanks Kate. I found this little exercise quite useful for regaining perspective so I'm glad you did too. It's interesting that your deer told you to trust and be calm (a lovely message!) because that is certainly what they respond to.
We live with the deer in our town, they wander through the community all the time. While we often have a few hanging out in our yard we, of course, can't get close to them. Yesterday on my walk I was feeling very centered and calm and, for the first time ever, I walked right through the middle of about 15 deer, including babies, and they just stood there saying Hi to me. It wasn't like they were frozen and anxious I was there, it was as if they were accepting me. It was the most amazing thing, I was very thankful. Perhaps your deer has a message for me also so thank you for sharing it!
Stay calm and carry on😊
I appreciate you sharing your animal.
What a lovely experience gonna! They are such beautiful creatures. Where my daughter is at uni she watched two tiny deer gallop across the grounds from her bedroom window! They are always a pleasure to see. 💜
I love this post! The exercise was quite challenging for me because’ clear your mind’ exercises don’t end well (can’t clear my mind) which is why I do guided meditation. However I was super interested in this so I stuck with it trying again and again and it wasn’t until my last try that I realized I’d been seeing a jellyfish all along. These blobs of light were floating across the black landscape behind my closed eyes, which I thought were external and indicators of my inability to clear my mind. On the last ditch effort I laid my fingers upside down on my eyelids to keep them from jittering and the light came again causing me to pay closer attention. It was a jelly fish and when I asked ‘what say you’ it said “life lasts for eons” and floated away then another appeared, more distant and said “just float”. I wanted to see another one since I’d missed them prior lol, so I could see the tentacles but they were done with me. This is profound because we’re having a health crisis with a family member which is putting me in close touch with them and with my inner self and a couple things connect to this experience. 1 I’m in my head a lot and external things small things, like a person walking into a room talking, startle me REALLY BADLY. Over the top startling. 2 I find myself utterly CRAVING solitude, which I don’t get. My family members are poor sleepers so my house is bustling 24x7 and it’s beginning to cause me spiritual distress - I’m working on this. And 3 the combination of these things is contributing to a new tendency to lash out and sting people who get into my space. I think the jellyfish’s protective sting is analogous of my needing to become more externally aware, to not compromise on quiet solitude, and to forgive myself and others for my defensive lashes. They’re part of my floating through life. They’re part of me. Thank you for this🙏🫠✨⚡️
Wow Cori, wow! Thank you SO much for sharing your experience. As you said, there are so many layers here.
Firstly, well done keeping on trying when you weren't too comfortable with this exercise and then allowing your perspective to shift to see the jelly fish. The message you received is fascinating, especially in light of what you're going through. I hope you are able to hold those words close to your heart as you navigate the tough terrain of having an ill family member.
I wish there was a magic wand to get you (and sometimes me) the solitude that your soul is screaming for. Sometimes we have to take it in small snippets of time, a walk or a bathroom break where nobody can come in the room - even when we are longing for days of unbroken silence. Keep doing your best to seek it out.
Have you ever tried Martha Beck's space within meditation? She does it on all her podcasts (The Gathering Room). I've found them helpful because it's taught me to access that space within even as I'm dealing with a lot on the outside. Perhaps you would like it.
I am sending you so many good vibes and wishing you ease (if that's even possible?) and grace as you get through this tricky time❤️
I appreciate you being here!!
Donna, your every essay puts a smile on my face, this one especially, because what a beautiful and simple twist on the spirit animal phenomenon. Rather than wondering about an encounter "in the world," why not invite an animal to appear in a visualization? I look forward to exploring this and love what Michael says below about "the idea that the imagination is an act of perception." Thank you, Donna, as always.
My dear friend it's lovely to see you here in the comments. I've missed you (and I don't mean in the comments!). Thank you for your kind words. I'm sending love❤️
Awwww, Donna, I love this message from you, mostly because I've missed YOU, too (and I don't mean in comments either!)! I'm sending love, too, and a virtual hug. ❤️
I think I like this post even more the second time round. The idea that imagination is an act of perception was something that resonated with me much more than I remember it doing so last time. In recent months I have spent a lot of time lying on back meditating and just letting the thoughts swirl, and I’ve found that I’ve come to realisations about things that really surprised me and which I didn’t think I could access. And in a way I feel that those experiences lend credence to the idea that imagination is an act of perception, it feels as though, I’m perceiving some deeper part of my subconscious, which most of the time is unreachable.
As for the exercise, I did it again, and again I was surprised. This time it was a grey wolf (which is weird for me) and it said, “trust yourself, you know the way”.
So glad you posted this again grasshopper hehe :)
This is SO amazing! I am jumping around in my seat after reading your comment because you know why it's amazing and so do I. It's one of those things that seems like a cliche except when you're living it - that you go to the dark side where you are forced to see what you don't want to see and/or feel what you don't want to feel. Those times when life derails you and brings things to a standstill and, out of those ashes, comes insight that may have taken decades to learn otherwise.
Do we say that this was the purpose to the pain? Of course not. There is never any purpose to human suffering. But, if we choose the right lens from which to see, we can look at that suffering, and what came from it, in a different light and in doing so become a different, likely better, person. Certainly a person with an elevated consciousness.
I love love love that you got a surprising wolf and he left you such a powerful message. (Is it possible to have spirit animal envy🤣?? Wolf vs grasshopper! Haha).
Thank you so much for sharing Michael.
Wow! Very well said Donna. I totally agree. It’s hard, when your in the thick of the suffering, not to wish it away, but then, as you start to acclimate and accept realisations and lessons that may have otherwise take a lot longer to come to light seem to occur. And then yes, we walk out the other side hopefully better.
It’s a funny old game this life thing.
Haha spirit animal envy! That’s gold! Thanks Donna :)
Love the simplicity of this exercise. I'm going to give it a shot and see what the animal has to say!
It is so simple and sometimes very informative! I’m glad you liked it Kristi.
I love your spirit animals and their messages! I haven’t experienced one yet. I will try this exercise later. I did find a great meditation that puts you in touch with your higher self. I’ve been meaning to send to you.
Yes, please send the meditation!
It's funny how we can visualize what we think other people's spirit animal will be, I'll be curious to see what shows up for you.
❤️
"Life is very spicy right now and it requires agility and forward momentum." Love that Donna😁♥️🙏🕊️
Thanks Camilla! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know❤️
Keep hoppin! I love that - keep the momentum going by showing up, even when things feel overwhelming. Good lesson 🩷
I could see me being the grasshopper in years gone by but I'm not feeling it so much now! I'm curious what will show up for you Rosie.
I'll try it and let you know :)