Each month author Lucy Harmer dedicates her journal entries to the theme of “transformative and inspirational living” – finding the fun, magic and laughter in everyday occurrences! She explores ideas, thoughts and quotes from her two books, Discovering Your Spirit Animal and Shamanic Astrology.
December 2009
Lions, Bears and Elephants!
How to Recognize Your Spirit Animal
© Copyright 2009 Lucy Harmer
I have just returned from being a guest speaker at the national Shamanic Conference in Switzerland and the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival in Geneva. A question that I am frequently asked is: “How can I be certain that a particular animal is really my spirit animal?” This month’s journal entry explores this question.
In my book, Discovering Your Spirit Animal, I present many different techniques to help you find your spirit animal, whether it be through dreaming, shamanic journeying, dancing your animal, going on a vision quest, observing your aura, or creative visualization. You can use whichever method feels best for you.
The people I speak to in courses, seminars and conferences have often completed an exercise to discover their spirit animal. However, they sometimes question what they have experienced and are not sure whether to trust their intuition. They want to know how they can be sure that the animal they have met is really their own personal spirit animal.
One of the ways you can be certain is to ask your spirit animal to give you a really clear sign. One of the stories I tell in my book is of a friend who discovered his spirit animal through creative visualization. During his visualization he felt as if he was on the back of a lion for a few seconds. However, he didn’t feel any particular affinity with the lion and a year later he was still wondering if this was his own personal spirit animal. Every year I organize a party at Christmas and ask everyone to bring a small gift to put into a lucky dip. This particular year, my friend mentioned his frustration at not knowing his spirit animal for sure; he questioned again whether it was in fact the lion. I told him to ask for a clear sign from his spirit animal, which he did. Just before leaving, he put his hand into the lucky dip and drew out a small packet. He was absolutely delighted upon opening it to discover a miniature lion!
Getting to know your spirit animal is a process of trusting your own intuition and reading the signs that present themselves in your life. All you need to do is to ask for a confirmation from your spirit animal and keep your eyes and ears open to the different signs that can present themselves.
A few weeks ago, one of my readers wrote to me about her experience of discovering her spirit animal (an elephant). She wrote:
“I was traveling home on the train from work and reading your book, Discovering Your Spirit Animal. I asked my spirit animal if it would reveal itself to me as I opened the book up at random… and as I turned a page, there it was! I asked that night for a confirmation through a dream and I got one – it was incredibly thrilling! I cannot remember ever having had a dream about this animal before. I would never have guessed it to be my spirit animal, but since that night it has appeared frequently in my life. Thank you for this thrill of knowing I have an animal which accompanies me on my journey! The morning after my dream, I saw a statue of my particular animal at a shop I often go to. There had never been a statue of this animal there before, so I took it as a sign and bought it. It is now in pride of place on my balcony, looking very regal – as it should.”
I received another email from a reader who wrote to me after trying out the dream exercise in my book. In her dream she heard a roar and wasn’t sure if it was a lion’s roar. She researched lion roars on the internet and listened closely to them, but could not duplicate the sound she had heard. Finally, her boyfriend suggested she try bears roars – because her mom was always saying that she was “like a bear” in the mornings! She found a roar that matched the one in her dream exactly.
When asking for a sign from your spirit animal, don’t forget that animals don’t always appear in the form you want them to appear; you may hear sounds, smell, or “feel” them, rather than see them. Keep all your senses peeled and enjoy finding the clues! I always enjoy hearing the stories of how spirit animals show themselves in different ways in people’s lives.
This month I wish you every success in your journey of discovering and developing a relationship with your spirit animal. I wish you lots of fun together over the holidays!
Love and blessings,
Lucy
Shamanic Astrology is available for purchase directly through NorthAtlanticBooks.com, as well as major book stores and online retailers.
CLICK HERE to learn more about courses, seminars and workshops offered by Lucy Harmer.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Shamanic Astrology.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Discovering Your Spirit Animal.
