One thing I would like to mention is that a personal Power Animal will never be another human being, an elemental, nor a higher sentient being like a deity or Sky Teacher! Your personal Power Animal is representative of your essence in its most basic form. Working with your sacred animal strengthens you overall and your ability to ground on this earth while you are developing your spiritual gifts. It creates equal strength and Balance as you walk simultaneously in both the physical and spiritual worlds.
When Medicine Changes
It is upon rare occasion that a person’s Medicine changes, and it is never a casual thing! It is never because an individual desires it. An individual’s personal Medicine is more than just an identifier. It is the true essence of who they are, who they are becoming, and how they will move in the world. When a person undergoes changes so profound that their old Medicine no longer aligns with their soul, then the Creator assigns them a new one. It usually takes place over a long period of time when a person has undergone a series of deep transformational life events, powerful spiritual experiences, and mystical epiphanies. In addition to a person’s spiritual energy changing, signs from this world and the world of spirits repeatedly indicate that a transformation is taking place. Wisdom elders and spiritual teachers are consulted. If they agree that a change is indeed taking place, then they guide the individual through various sacred practices to ascertain what the new Medicine is. Once the new Medicine is determined, there is further prayer and teachings given by the wisdom elders and spiritual teachers to assist that person in learning to Walk with that new Medicine and to understand the impact that it will have on their life and destiny.
After many years of being a spiritual teacher and ceremonial leader, I began to receive profound spiritual insights and teachings from the sacred spirits beyond what I had been given by my Medicine Teachers and elders.
I shared these different dreams, thoughts, and greater visions with my teachers and elders. I could feel a deep change was going on within me but had only equated it to the stage of life that I was in. I simply thought that this was the result of becoming more mature and following my desire to lead a more spiritual life by going further with my practices. All this was taking place in addition to having a busy schedule and devoting myself to be a good mom to my children. My teachers had seen a pattern that I had not. I was told that I needed go on Vision Quest. Vision Quest is a sacred rite of transformation and rebirth, and under the guidance of a spiritual teacher, you are prepared spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally to be able to endure this sacred retreat. Once your teacher says that you are ready, then you go out into the wilderness to a sacred place and fast for four nights and four days. While you are there you continuously pray and “cry” to the Great Spirit to grant you a divine vision.
Throughout my entire Vision Quest, only the Eagle consistently reappeared to me both physically and in the realm of the spirits. Connecting with the Eagle resonated deep within my soul and felt like a part of me. I experienced a deep communion with the Sacred Fire of the Great Spirit, as symbolized by the sun. At one point when I journeyed, I saw the Eagle sacrifice herself by flying straight into the sun, and she was burned away. She rose again as a Fire Eagle and she hovered in front of Earth Mother.
After returning from my sacred space, I shared what I had received on my Vision Quest with my spiritual teacher. He went to consult with other spiritual elders and teachers in order to determine the lessons I needed to learn that would guide me in growing with the Eagle. After a long while, when I demonstrated that I understood what I had been given and could Walk with this Medicine responsibly and in Balance, a simple ceremony was performed in front of the community to acknowledge and confirm the change in my spirit. At the time my elders and spirit teachers chose the name Eagle Skyfire for me. The Wolf is still with me and will always be a part of me as my teacher, helper, and guide.
Counterbalance Power Animal
I would also like to introduce a teaching that I have not seen written anywhere else. You have not only your personal Power Animal but also its complement. The personal Power Animal would be like your dominant hand, and it represents the most pronounced, familiar, and recognizable aspects of yourself. The Counterbalance Power Animal is not only the complement to your personal Power Animal, but it also represents the challenging side of yourself that you need to master to be a complete person.
I will use myself as an example. As I mentioned earlier, my Medicine is that of the Eagle spirit. The Eagle is known as one who oversees, teaches, and see things from a very high vantage point. They are interpreters of law and divine law. Eagle people are known to be very responsible, quite formal, and serious. They aspire to create higher standards for this world and want to help elevate it. People with this Medicine have to make sure that they do not become biased and believe that their standards are the only ones by which things should be measured.
My Counterbalance Power Animal is the Macaw. The Macaw could not be more opposite than the formal and dutiful Eagle! Indeed, there is a reason why the macaw is a symbol for Margaritaville! This noisy and playful bird believes that life should be a pursuit of relaxation and enjoyment. The Macaw is a sacred clown. While the Eagle tries to be very diplomatic, precise, and cordial while speaking, the Macaw is the opposite, using very casual, blunt street talk. Macaw Medicine just tells it like it is with few if any filters, and people with it sometimes get in trouble because they can be too direct.
Your Counterbalance Power Animal is the other half of yourself that you may not be as comfortable expressing, much like feeling awkward when using your nondominant hand. Know that mastering the Medicine and developing the gifts of your Counterbalance Power Animal will make you a more complete and well-rounded person. I would like to mention that the counterbalance does not have to be from the same kingdom or the same type of animal as your dominant personal Power Animal. Just because I have two birds does not mean that you cannot have a different combination.
Journey to Find Your Counterbalance Power Animal
Here would be your third journey into the Lower Kingdom. When you are ready, go again to a quiet place and make sure that everything was blessed off. Within the Fire of Your Heart, call your personal Power Animal to you. Allow your personal Power Animal to take and lead you into the Lower Kingdom where your Counterbalance Power Animal dwells. Observe where your Counterbalance Power Animal lives. Once again, respectfully ask permission to be allowed to touch and to approach it. You will recognize this sacred animal because just as before, it will show itself in at least four different aspects and will resonate deep within your spirit. It is quite normal for your Counterbalance Power Animal to be an animal that you might enjoy but that feels extremely awkward and hard to identify with. Remember, these are the other parts of yourself that need to develop in order for you to become a whole person.
I know that my Fire Eagle Medicine has finally learned to lovingly tolerate the Macaw after several years. The Macaw has finally stopped ribbing the Eagle . . . at least not as frequently. I found over the years that developing an intimate connection with both my sacred animals has helped me become strong in many ways. One of them is that I have become a formal speaker but have that earthy humor that everyone can identify with. Spend quality time with both your sacred animals. You will be well rewarded by being able to love all aspects of yourself equally.
From here on when I say to “ask your Power Animals to come with you,” I mean both your personal Power Animal and your Counterbalance Power Animal. Depending on what’s needed, one or both may show up for you to safely journey. If I ask you to “call your Guardians,” I mean the collective that is made up of your Guardian Spirit, Power Animal, and Counterbalance Power Animal.
The Middle Kingdom: Our Home Realm
The second realm that I like to speak of is the Middle World. It is where we are right now. In addition to life as we know it here, some of the beings you would find
here are earth spirits, souls in transition, and spirits who are earthbound. Here a shaman would be able to see a person’s life lessons from a first-person perspective. Seeing a life from ground level, as it were, gives a more “human” perspective to why things happened as they did. Information and energy that comes from the Middle World can assist a person in feeling more connected with being here in everyday life. Since we reside in the Middle World, this is the easiest realm for a beginner shaman to journey through.
Being a shaman means consciously walking within the spiritual world and the physical world at all times. If you are to become a shaman or shamanic practitioner, it is imperative to strengthen your ability to be a bridge between the worlds. This begins by strengthening your connection with the land. Sadly, in modern society, the earth is just seen as an object. In contrast, the sacred connection between Native American people with Earth Mother is legend. For us, Earth Mother is a beautiful, divine feminine being and we are all her children. You may have noticed as you walk in different places that some feel friendly, others dark, and others welcoming, and still others seem to call you. Before we became so preoccupied with modern distractions, all our ancestors, regardless of where they came from, needed to pay close attention to what was going on in the natural world around them. Failure to do so could result in countless hardships and even the death of the whole tribe or village. We still need to be connected to the land and to nature. When we are disconnected from our natural environment, we feel stressed and alienated. You do not have to be living on the edge of the great wilderness in order to be connected with nature. For those who live in cities, walking through a park, sitting by plants in a shopping center or bus station, or even tending to the houseplant in your home along with a fish tank could do in a pinch. However, whenever possible, it is better to go outside to a park or other places of natural beauty.
Being an active bridge between the worlds is what gives a shaman the ability to bring messages and energies and act as an intermediary with the unseen and the divine. Just as a bridge has two abutments, you have to be equally strong in connecting with the energy of this physical world and of the spirits. Since we are residents of the Middle Kingdom, let’s create the first abutment here. Just as we are body and spirit, so too is our native realm.
Middle Kingdom Exercise: Walking the Land
Let us begin with something simple. This exercise should take between fifteen minutes and half an hour. Make time to visit a place of beauty in nature that is nearby. It is even better if you feel a special attraction to the place. It should be a location that you truly love, enjoy, and feel safe in. It is preferable that you go on your own since being with another person will distract you from this exercise. Go on a day when the weather is pleasant and you are not in a rush to go anywhere. Begin walking at a leisurely pace and pay attention to your senses one at a time. Listen to the ambient sounds on land and in the air. As you walk, feel the ground beneath your feet and the kiss of the breeze and sun upon your body and face. Pay attention to every detail of the landscape that is around you. Note the color of the sky and the shape of the clouds. What people or animals are around you? Breathe deeply and see if you can decipher the different smells that are surrounding you. Is there a certain taste that is in your mouth right now? Do not rush through this; with every footstep, you are sharpening your senses one at a time. Let your mind be open to receive the information that your senses are giving you.
Find a place to comfortably sit and allow your Heart to be open. Focus now on what is unseen. Once you feel that you can completely place yourself in this natural environment, begin to open your Heart and feel how this place touches you. What does the energy that is around you feel like? How intense is it? How much of it is of the land versus the people and animals that are upon it? What similarities and what differences are there between them? Breathe deeply and focus as these details come into your consciousness. Allow yourself to become immersed in this moment and sense your place upon the land. While you are thoroughly immersed in the vision and senses of this place of nature, allow yourself to connect even further with the land by sending love and gratitude. If you feel a warm and welcoming energy responding back to you and connecting through all your senses, this is the land responding to your call and strengthening its relationship with you. You may even feel emotions of joy and peace come rushing back to you. This is a very good sign! You have successfully begun a sacred relationship with this natural space. Give thanks for this moment and return to your regular activities.
Beginning your Walks with all your senses open and fully aware no matter where you are is a good habit to have. Only open your Heart in those places that you know are safe. This prevents unwelcome beings and energies from deeply touching you and attaching themselves to you. Remember that your goal is to move as a quiet observer. The more you do this in everyday life—whether it be walking through a park, downtown in a city, or in a quiet forest—the more you will be able to distinguish between the different energy levels of a place and how you might affect the people and animals that reside there, whether they are conscious of it or not.
This is an important skill to develop when you are walking as a shaman. This practice will teach you to pay attention to your environment and what might be moving within it both physically and unseen. This gets you in the habit of connecting and being completely aware with all your senses and your spiritual senses as you journey between the worlds.
Now you will build the second abutment of your bridge. It is time for another journey into the Middle Kingdom. Just as you carefully opened your senses and explored a favorite place in nature in this physical world, you will now explore the same location from spirit side. Go to your regular space for this journey. Make sure that you have blessed off the room and yourself. Ask for your Guardian and your Power Animals to be with you. Make sure that your Waterfall is strong and begin to focus on the Fire Within Your Heart. Ask your personal Power Animals to lead you to the place you physically visited within this Middle Kingdom. You may already feel that the land is calling you back to it. As you did in the previous exercise, use all your senses to connect with the land but focus especially on your spiritual senses to be open. Although you might know how the land looks and feels in the physical side, release yourself from all expectations. The landscape can look similar but have differences in its spiritual manifestation.
Pay attention to the beings of nature and the energy you feel there. You might find that they’re more than just animals and trees. You might find that there is more than what you would expect in physical reality. The Spirits of the Earth may choose to show themselves to you. Some of them are the little people known as the Jogahoh by the Iroquois Nations. They have various names throughout many cultures, such as the domovoi in Russia, the ebu gogo in Indonesia, the Patupaiarehe of New Zealand, and the fae of Europe, to name a few. You might also see the Ancestors of the Land, the Grandmothers and Grandfathers who live within the trees and stones. If you should meet them once again remember that you are in their home. Express your gratitude for being allowed to be there and for being permitted to see them. Ask if they have any messages or insights for you. The important thing I am trying to teach here is to listen with all your senses both physical and spiritual at the same time!
Give yourself permission go deeper and connect further with the energy of that sacred space just as you did when visiting this place physically in the Middle Kingdom. Let only the spiritual energy of the land touch your Heart. Permit the energy of the land to dwell within your Heart so that it may come back with you. When your Guardians say that it is time to come home or if you are dismissed by the Spirits of the Land, give thanks and begin to return here. Open your eyes.
It would be good for you if you have a journal to record what you have experienced. As soon as possible after you are done with this exercise, physically visit the place that you journeyed to. Begin to walk with your senses open and correlate what you experience
d on the spirit side with what you experience spiritually and energetically while walking upon the land. You will feel a very profound difference from the first time you visited this place.
In core Native American spiritual practice, this awareness and sacred connection are what allow us to Walk with respect and Walk gently upon the land no matter where we might be. For you who are beginning this sacred relationship, this identifies you as someone who is not ignorant and blind but someone who Walks with humility and who truly is beginning to learn how to See and Hear. You will find that the beings of nature seen and unseen will be very willing to talk to you in both the physical realm and in the spiritual realm. The more you practice this, the stronger the bridge you become by journeying between them. The strongest bridges take years to build.
Journeying Between the Worlds Page 7
