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Totems - 4/20/2007 11:17:05 AM

juliaoceania

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I was going to put this in random stupidity, and then I realized it really is not a stupid or random post, but is more related to spirituality.

I was wondering if some of you would share whether or not you have animal totems that you identify with or animal spiritual guides. By totem I mean a part of the spirit of that animal that resides in you. By spiritual guide I mean an animal that has come to you in dreams or visions. Has your totem or guide temporarily changed? Mine has as I have grown but there has been one constant totem that I have.

I have both a totem and "spirit guide" animal

My totem is the monkey.

My spirit guide is the dolpin which has come to me repeatedly in my dreams.

Now I view these things as archetypes, I do not want to debate whether these things are real or not. I am sure there will be the usual ridiculing posts... so preemptively I would like to add, I respect all beliefs, even ones that are different from my own and this universe and message board is big enough for all of us.

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 11:27:16 AM

SusanofO

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I know what you're referring to, because I read about it in abook I've got. I am not sure what mine is, but supposedly most people have them. I know I just love animals, and going to the zoo is one of my favorite things to do, and I have two doggies as pets, and as a child had many other kinds of animals as pets, too.

I really like elephants, and also dolphins, particularly, so maybe it's one of those. I've never had one come to me in a dream (that I am aware of), but maybe it's happened, and I don't remember.

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 4/20/2007 12:05:48 PM >

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 11:28:28 AM

seeksfemslave

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Wish the animals in the Zoo felt the same SusanO

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 11:37:52 AM

jayded34

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my totem is a jaguar and hawk
i havent been able to contact my spirit guide as of yet.......but i have been assured that he is there.
meditations have been lax lately and i am slowly making time to re establish this into my routine.

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While loving someone deeply gives you courage.
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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 11:43:59 AM

dawntreader

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juliaoceania ,

i do have a spiritual totem...it is the dragonfly. This totem came to me at the start of my spiritual journey and has stayed, i don't expect it will ever change. i have always attracted them in the garden or the wilds of a trip. i wear a dragonfly around my neck constantly, i have a few particularly special ones.

The beautiful thing about the dragonfly is not only is it considered a spiritual messenger... but for those who identify with it as their spiritual totem, it is an indicator of spiritual growth. As the dragonfly evolves and matures, their wings become more irredecent and their true colors emerge...just as we evolve and our auras change colors and intensities - because of this, i wear a crystal borealis dragonfly most of the time to remind me of my journey :-)

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 11:45:54 AM

SusanofO

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seeksfemslave: I know zoos are considered inhumane by many (and some do definitely seem to have periodic problems dealing w/animal care), but I also think they're educational in a very personal way. I don't want to have to travel to Africa to be able to see a lion, for example. I always thought it was nice I could go to the zoo and see them.

I was a Zoology major for over a year in college, and have a lot of curiosity about various exotic animals, and considered it a privilege to be able to view some of them up close in zoos.

I don't really get how people jump to a conclusion about how animals might actually view being in a zoo. In a zoo, animals don't have to fight for their food every day, at least. Their safe environment, and veterinary care are a given as well. I have no real problem with zoos existing, if the animals are well cared for.

*Do you have a "totem"?

- Susan

< Message edited by SusanofO -- 4/20/2007 11:55:57 AM >

_____________________________

"Hope is the thing with feathers,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all". - Emily Dickinson

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 11:59:56 AM

LuckyAlbatross

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Polar bear- not a spiritual guide, more like a warm companion.

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 12:07:22 PM

proudsub

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I collect bear art, a lot of which is in the form of Native American carvings as totems and statues with totem art on them, so i guess that would be mine. I really should do some research on it.

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 12:48:44 PM

juliaoceania

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Susan, I hate zoos personally. I have went to them to study behavior and motion of different primates. I will say that zoos serve a couple of functions that are very important They educate people not only about the different species that exist in the world, but their natural habitat too. They also create awareness of the plight that some of these creatures face in the wild, like extinction... Because so many of these species are on the endangered list, zoos are also a biological reserve in case some of them do actually go extinct in the wild, preserving their DNA for reintroduction into the wild one day perhaps....

< Message edited by juliaoceania -- 4/20/2007 12:49:12 PM >

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 1:02:19 PM

juliaoceania

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quote:

The beautiful thing about the dragonfly is not only is it considered a spiritual messenger... but for those who identify with it as their spiritual totem, it is an indicator of spiritual growth. As the dragonfly evolves and matures, their wings become more irredecent and their true colors emerge...just as we evolve and our auras change colors and intensities - because of this, i wear a crystal borealis dragonfly most of the time to remind me of my journey :-)

I was born in the year of the monkey under chinese zodiac. I was nicknamed monkey by my father, I chose anthropology as my discipline and primate studies are a part of that (although that is not my particular emphasis). I had a screen name related to the monkey, and my former dom also called me monkey.

The dolphin chose me. My first dream about dolphins was one in which I was in the ocean swimming, and I was surrounded by dead human bodies. I was terrified and then came the dolphins that communicated through my thoughts that they needed my help to gather up the dead and find the living. So I began to help them.

The second one involved me signing up for college classes at my old college, the lady that worked for the college told me that I was not enrolled under my name... instead she showed me a ledger in which my last name had been changed to "dolphin". The third dream was fairly recent, I was at the harbor with my Daddy, and the dolphins called me to swim with them, I got into the water and held on to the dolphin as it swam with me. It told me that I needed to do so.

I wish the dolphin was my totem, but my spirit is not there yet. I see these creatures as other worldly, a connection with the spirit world and the unconscious. They never really sleep you know, and their brain is different from every other mammal because of it.

Thanks for sharing your dragonfly, I was unaware of their spiritual significance and I learned something new.

As far as bears, many Native American groups have stories that put them in the group of almost or being human on a level. They are considered brothers of man, which makes them special indeed.

The Jaguar is a very spiritual creature to South American indigenous people, and I have heard of the jaguar shaman.

_____________________________

Once you label me, you negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality has a well known Liberal Bias ~ Stephen Colbert

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 1:17:39 PM

Lashra

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My spirit totem/guide is the wolf and here is some info I found on them:
The wolf has a capacity for making quick and firm emotional attachments. Learning to trust your own insights and to secure your attachments accordingly is part of what wolf medicine teaches. The wolf can help you to hear the inner and guard you from inappropriate actions. It will guard you as it teaches you—sometimes strongly, sometimes gently—but always with love. When wolf shows up, it is time to breathe new life into your life rituals. Find a new path, take a new journey, take control of your life. You are the governor of your life. You create it and direct it. Do so with harmony and discipline, and then you will know the true spirit of freedom.

~Lashra

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“We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation. It's one thing to feel that you are on the right path, but it's another to think that yours is the only path.”

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 1:31:20 PM

juliaoceania

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Thanks for sharing that..... wow, I am going to learn a lot on this thread!

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Once you label me, you negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality has a well known Liberal Bias ~ Stephen Colbert

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 1:48:27 PM

Real0ne

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ah dunno if thisis exactly a spirit guide but it is the way i view life:

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. (Theodore Rooseveldt)

< Message edited by Real0ne -- 4/20/2007 1:49:03 PM >

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 1:51:16 PM

juliaoceania

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Have you heard of the "Hero" archetype? If you google joseph campbell you can get some interesting insights into it (there are some google videos on that)

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Once you label me, you negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality has a well known Liberal Bias ~ Stephen Colbert

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 1:55:09 PM

Real0ne

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quote:

ORIGINAL: juliaoceania

Have you heard of the "Hero" archetype? If you google joseph campbell you can get some interesting insights into it (there are some google videos on that)

lol well i certainly do not claim, wish or dream of being hero but those words do have a tendency to inspire one to pick themself up by their own bootstraps and keep on trucking in any weather life can dish out.

_____________________________

"We the Borg" of the us imperialists....resistance is futile

Democracy; The 'People' voted on 'which' amendment?

Yesterdays tinfoil is today's reality!

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session

(in reply to juliaoceania)

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 2:11:32 PM

juliaoceania

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If you watch that documentary you may see that we all have a little of the "hero" in us... it is not a bad thing...smiles

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Once you label me, you negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality has a well known Liberal Bias ~ Stephen Colbert

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 2:14:43 PM

seeksfemslave

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quote:

susanO
I don't really get how people jump to a conclusion about how animals might actually view being in a zoo. In a zoo, animals don't have to fight for their food every day, at least. Their safe environment, and veterinary care are a given as well. I have no real problem with zoos existing, if the animals are well cared for

.

At the risk of diverting the thread I must say that it is well known that many animals are driven to a form of melancholic madness being cooped up in zoos. Tigers and bears pacing remorselessly up and down for instance.

With regard to my totem, the concept is a bit "airey faiee" for me, I am a simple son of the sod. (soil) lol

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 2:16:10 PM

WilliamWizer

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no. I don't have a totem or a spirit guide or at least not that I know. but I have loved cats and felines in general since I was a child. is it possible that it's related to a spirit guide or something? I don't know about things like this but I'm curious.

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 2:25:49 PM

Real0ne

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quote:

ORIGINAL: juliaoceania

If you watch that documentary you may see that we all have a little of the "hero" in us... it is not a bad thing...smiles

i have had it on since you mentioned it, and it gets difficult for me to process beyond "inspiration", though i can at the same time recognize how people could deeply embrace this. That is not to say that i do not recognize the powers of spirituality as a fact because i believe it is a fact, i think i just identify with it and understand it in differently possibly even live within it in different terms. Thanks, that is good stuff! i will continue to watch it through.

_____________________________

"We the Borg" of the us imperialists....resistance is futile

Democracy; The 'People' voted on 'which' amendment?

Yesterdays tinfoil is today's reality!

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session

(in reply to juliaoceania)

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RE: Totems - 4/20/2007 2:28:17 PM

juliaoceania

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Joseph Cambpell is one of my spirit guides, sadly he is gone now. He did the anthropology that I would love to continue... honoring humanity without taking sides about religion. It does not matter if one believes in God or not, because God becomes an archetype too...very deep without becoming religious.

_____________________________

Once you label me, you negate me ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Reality has a well known Liberal Bias ~ Stephen Colbert

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people. Eleanor Roosevelt

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Post #: 20

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