{"id":7775,"date":"2020-08-17T20:10:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T20:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resources2.soundstrue.com\/?p=7775"},"modified":"2020-08-17T20:10:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T20:10:30","slug":"what-does-it-mean-a-4-step-guide-for-understanding-your-animal-spirit-allies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resources2.soundstrue.com\/blog\/what-does-it-mean-a-4-step-guide-for-understanding-your-animal-spirit-allies\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does It Mean? A 4-Step Guide for Understanding Your Animal Spirit Allies"},"content":{"rendered":"

How often have you had an unusual encounter with an animal and immediately wondered, \u201cWhat does it mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps you saw an owl in daylight. Or you kept noticing images of elephants everywhere. Or maybe a huge spider appeared right in front of you on the sidewalk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like many shamanically-inclined folks, the first thing you\u2019ll want to do in these situations is google what that animal \u201cmeans\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I understand the temptation, but please\u2014hold off!<\/span><\/p>\n

The universe and spirit have many ways of communicating with us, including animal messengers. <\/span>And the universe does not play by a set of pre-existing rules. <\/b>The messages each animal carries will be unique to you, and <\/span>no book or website can tell you the full meaning of your encounter.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The same is true of power animals<\/b>\u2014spiritual helpers in animal form who share their gifts and medicine with us. While a bit of research can certainly be helpful,<\/span> if you dive right in to other people\u2019s interpretations, you\u2019ll be more likely to miss important elements of your personal relationship with your power animal.<\/b><\/p>\n

Animal messenger or \u201cnormal animal doing normal things\u201d?<\/span><\/h2>\n

I can hear it now . . . <\/span>Sometimes a bird is just a bird. It doesn\u2019t have to mean anything.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

That\u2019s true. Not everything has to mean something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But I have to be honest\u2014one of my biggest pet peeves in spiritual communities is dismissing others\u2019 experiences in this way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the truth is, the universe is always communicating with us. Who are you to say what does or doesn\u2019t have meaning for another person?<\/span><\/p>\n

The great advaita scholar Richard Miller, PhD, once spoke to this in a training while teaching us about the art of <\/span>welcoming.<\/span><\/i> As he explained, it\u2019s too exhausting to keep trying to figure out which parts of life are trying to tell us something and which parts are so-called \u201cnormal life\u201d, so he has the practice of \u201cwelcoming everything as a messenger\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This practice of <\/span>welcoming<\/span><\/i> is a beautiful way to fall deeper into relationship with all of life. Every sensation, emotion, encounter, or insight can provide an opportunity to open to and learn from spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

If this sounds overwhelming, not to worry. This doesn\u2019t mean you need to go through life looking at every little thing as a symbol to decipher or every animal as a messenger bearing life-altering news. Instead, it means that spiritual guidance is always available to us. To access this wisdom:<\/span><\/p>\n