Ever since I was a young girl, I was taught that God had given each person a guardian angel. Being young, I never questioned it and often talked to my angel whenever I was lonely, sad or afraid. As I grew older, I lost my contact with the spirit world and fully immersed myself in my education. I was a loner; incredibly shy and brainy. I didn't have any friends, only occasional hi's from classmates that sensed my loneliness. Thankfully I never fell to peer pressure or depression. I just worked hard in my studies and expressed my emotions through writing and art. Btw, that's me on the far left! I'm in Dominican Republic with my cousins. I was about 8 years old :)
When I met my husband, he was still finding his way in life. Together, we discovered the secrets of spirituality and healthy living. During this time, I matured and grew stronger in my voice and presence. I realized that I wouldn't get anywhere in life without discipline and balance. After spending days at the library and barnes n' nobles, I discovered Shamanism. I identified with it so strongly because it allowed me to use my imagination to establish a connection between myself and the spirit world. Shamans are tribal medicine people, that use nature and their contact with the spirit world to heal people and solve problems that keep the tribe alive and thriving. These shamans have a lot of work to do, but they do not do it all alone. They have helpers known as power animals, or animal spirits.
The first time I read about shamanism, later that day I went home and did an exercise to discover my animal spirit. I wrote an article about it and you can find your animal spirit too:
My power animal came to me immediately. It was an otter. During this time, I was an emotional wreck because I was experiencing disapproval from my family and having problems with my husband. I constantly worried about the future and kept resisting any change in my life due to fear. When I looked up what the otter's attributes were, I was taken aback! Here is what it said:
"Otter’s medicine includes woman’s healing wisdom, sensibility without suspicion, guidance in revealing ones talents, psychic awareness, faithfulness, recovery issues, understanding the value of playtime, primal feminine energy, joy, playfulness, prognostication...Part of the otter's vibrant energy is associated with its deep connection to water, where they spend most of their time, and in which they are very fast and agile. Often they are seen floating on their backs with their paws sticking out of the water, playfully sliding on their bellies or doing acrobatics. Water symbolizes receptivity and has also been long associated with emotional energies in man. Let life simply be, rather than stopping the flow by worrying about things which have happened and about things. Learn to be like otter, gliding through the emotional ups and downs of life with effortlessly.
The otter also shows us how to detach form our problems, yet be curious about them and find an answer. Allow events to unfold naturally. Having this perspective on life helps us find answers as easily as the otter catches fish, become like otter and move gently into the river of life."
The otter also shows us how to detach form our problems, yet be curious about them and find an answer. Allow events to unfold naturally. Having this perspective on life helps us find answers as easily as the otter catches fish, become like otter and move gently into the river of life."
After this revelation, the otter has taught me the balance that my life needed. I had too much yin (female energy) and had to learn to be mo re yang (male energy), while still embracing my female talents of healing, caring and creativity. It was very difficult and I still struggle sometimes, but I have become more whole by contacting my animal spirit Otter! :)Up until now, more animal spirits have revealed themselves to me through meditation, nature and dreams. I now have the penguin, tiger and polar bear by my side. Penguin helped me to have out-of-body experiences when I first learned about them and I was struggling. Penguin has also taught me how to remember my dreams and interpret them to give me answers to my life.
Tiger has taught me to be solitary and meditative. Tiger is connected to the moon cycles and I learned how to get my menstrual cycle to fall on the full moon every month, thus enhancing my female experience.
Polar Bear, which appeared in a dream, has taught me to have strength in the face of adversity, to not need food for long periods of time (at this time, I did not have money to buy food and went to bed with an empty stomach) and to navigate through emotional waters. I did not realize that all of my power animals either spend most of their time in water or are excellent swimmers! My sign is cancer, a water sign! My strong personality traits are being emotional, nurturing and creative; all the traits of water! This proves that power animals are very real! So go ahead and click on the link to find out what your power animal is:
Love, Ailin
