Find Your Totem Animal

reply to post by Agree2Disagree


That was an interesting exercise, thank you for sharing it. It really made me feel calm and at peace while I imagined it.

Things got a bit foggy when I "turned around" to see what had emerged from behind and I started to lose the visual, but a grizzly bear came to mind.

Do you know anywhere to get some information on the different totem animals? This seems pretty interesting.

reply to post by Nola213


Right. Animal totems will change according to the needs of your spiritual journey. Once one fully understands what their current animal totem has to offer and puts it to use and learns the ways, it probably will not take long for the totemic animal to change. As with life, it's a journey, not a constant....

I do feel however that there are a type of constant animal totems. These would be the ones that represent your true nature - like when you were a child and didn't have any worries.

I am not a subject matter expert on the name-game. I will ask around next time I am at the res.



[edit on 3-12-2009 by Agree2Disagree]

reply to post by somedude


Well, I would suggest that you think of the characteristics of your totemic animal for yourself. What they represent to you would most likely be the traits that you possess/need to adapt.

However, with that being said, I find that www.linsdomain.com...
offers some very good interpretations of animal totems. Most of which are on-par with the characteristics I have come to understand from the animal kingdom. They don't have a grizzly bear, however they do have a bear.


[edit on 3-12-2009 by Agree2Disagree]

reply to post by Byrd


Now SEE! And people laughed at my "totem-bot" idea...called me a fool...and clown!

And now...It makes even MORE sense to have a totem-tank,totem-mech or plane, because "technology" does things...it can pull things...vibrate things...heat things...technology-shamens are a thing I could actually "begin understanding as being legit".

I mean...that is actually useful.

And hell...even doctors are tech-shamans if you wanna get "technical". Even a DJ, or a barber (though I admit a barber-tech-shamen would be rare) could be "tech-shamens"...

Wow...come to think about it...I THINK I MAY BE A TECH SHAMEN!

Whooooa...hold the phone.

I am...I really...really...am.


PS-Edited this to add= "I just learned my Totem-bot was an old Speak-n-Spell."
[edit on 3-12-2009 by Mr Mask]

[edit on 3-12-2009 by Mr Mask]

[edit on 3-12-2009 by Mr Mask]

reply to post by Mr Mask


you said:

So...what about the real Native Americans who would find this casual use of a deeper concept, being used in an MTV-way? Would they see the OP to be "mocking them". Would they also be "mocking the OP"?

Hmmm...I dunno...I still think my idea was better. If that makes me some kind of universal scum bag, then hey, poor me. But I just don't see it.

I mean...I can really see a "real" native rolling his eyes at this "shallow grasp" of the "Totem Animal".

I don't think you fully understand. This method was given to me by a "real native" who is content to staying on the res, where they cherish nature and its beauty. They understand that not everyone can be as free-spirited and at peace with nature as they are. They understand that often times people are too caught up in the fleetingness of life and don't take time to really connect to the spiritual realm of mother nature. This is simply a methodology for those who are seeking but don't necessarily have the means to experience the journey first hand.

They would not "roll their eyes" at this. In fact, I think they would applaude the effort.

edit:grammar

[edit on 3-12-2009 by Agree2Disagree]

That is awesome...I would hang out with an Indian.

I learned about "what I know about Tech-Shamens" from a Moderator.

We learn mysteries in all mysterious places!

No?

PS-edited to add=I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be dysfunctional. I just want "my Totem-bot"...it is my Tech-Shamen right.

[edit on 3-12-2009 by Mr Mask]

reply to post by Agree2Disagree


Thank you for the link. I'm not sure if it was suppose to be a grizzly specifically, it was a bit fuzzy and I just imagined a big brown bear.

I found this from that site very intriguing:

The power of the Bear totem
is the power of introspection.
The answers to all our questions
lie within us.
Each of us has the capacity to quiet the mind,
enter the silence and know.

Just as the bear hibernates during the winter,
people with a Bear totem will be quieter
during the winter months. But they
must awaken in the spring and seek
whatever opportunities are around them.


At times, I tend to let my mind race and ask too many questions about things that should be rather simple and I get indecisive.

I've been in a bit of rut for a while and haven't been progressing in life. The part about awakening from hibernation and seeking new opportunities really caught my eye. I'm gonna have to look into this further.

Thanks again.

cool thread, shall be trying this

S&F

My totem animal..

reply to post by FadeToBlack


That is a beautiful picture. There are many with wolf totems here. I would be surprised to find another otter.

Originally posted by Byrd

Originally posted by Alexander1111
Mine is the praying mantis. I did a guided meditation a year ago where you were supposed to meet your totem animal and this is what appeared. I don't really know what it means or symbolises...

Patience, for one thing. The mantis knows what it needs and gets it... patiently. It doesn't dart around like the dragonfly chasing down food. It waits and watches for opportunities.

In order to fully explore what it means to you, you can also do something like "mind mapping"... sit and think about a mantis and write down all the things that occur to you, no matter how trivial or how insightful (like "big eyes" or "spiky forearms" or "eats bugs"). Eventually one of those things will give you an "aha!" sort of moment to explore (like "antenna" = "open to receiving messages").

Explore them.

Thanks, Byrd! I will try that.

Here's a picture of my totem animal.

Great post OP! S&F. I am not Native American except for maybe 3-5%ish Cherokee, but I have always found the culture fascinating, especially the spiritual aspect. Unfortunately I am not one you would call "spiritually attuned", as much as I would like to be. It's seems harder every day for the average person to get some nice quality quiet time aside from work, family, friends, general hustle and bustle of the modern American life, etc. But when I do have some time I will definately try your methods! I wonder what my totem would be...I do have a very soft spot in my heart for dogs and in general they seem to feel the same about me, so who knows . What do you think might a dog totem symbolize, or would that just sort of translate into a wolf/general canine totem?

Don't let the clowns on here get to you, a lot of us find this fascinating. If you have info on any similar subjects please do not hesitate to make a thread about it! You seem to know a lot about the culture, I would love to hear more

reply to post by Cantthinkofaname


Well I think just dog in general is kind of a broad brush stroke however, I would think it would represent a helping hand towards humanity in general. Also I think that it would be representative of great spirit(compassion, aspiration, those sorts of things). It really takes a lot to diminish the strength of a dog. Their spirits are not easily broken.

I'd say the 3 qualities that ring true for dogs in general, from my perspective, are loyalty, strength of spirit, and compassion.

I gave this a try, and what was shown to me was a grey eyed, red coat wolf.

I did this a few years ago, but with a slight variation on the setting. I was in a wide field with trees outlined in mid day. The sun was shining and I was walking up a hill until I came to the top and beheld a lion staring at me.

I'm very surprised with all the stories that have been brought in. I thank each one of you for your contributions. It's surprising really...I didn't think that many people really took that much notice to things such as this. Thank you!

My totem animal is the Tiger, and I'll tell you why. As a young man my parents made a huge effort to expose me to all kinds of marvels for my own betterment. One of the marvels was the Bronx Zoo. I was probably 10 at the time and completely spellbound by the huge grounds teaming with animal life that, before that day, I had only read about or seen on a very tiny t.v. screen. It was a warm summer day and many of the animals were out in the open, but fenced off enclosures, that the zoo had crafted for best displaying the animals. We arrived at the tiger enclosure late in the afternoon. Although the crowd around the enclosure was quite large I pushed my way past all of the people until I finally arrived at the very edge of the huge fence that seperated we gawkers from the wild animals we were intent upon viewing. When I got to the fence I was presented with the spectacle of a huge Bengal tiger not more than 20 feet from where I stood, languishing on a large articifical rock in the hot afternoon sun. Until that time the only feline that i was familiar with was our tiny house cat. This cat, on the contrary, was massive and brilliantly colored in orange and black. When I spied him I cried out "Wow", in an loud voice. Until then the animal had just been sunning himself with half-shut eyes. When I blurted my exclamation he turned his head and looked me straight in the eye! As you can tell I have never forgotten that moment.

For, you see, out of all of the many creatures that I had observed day, none of them had done that. They had all gone about their business more or less oblivious to my presence, even tho I was a stone's throw away from them. The tiger acknowledged me, and when he looked me in the eye the way he did, I felt a shock of fear run thru me. It was irrational fear, since the animal could never have gotten past the fence to get me, but still, he saw me. He connected with me. He acknowledged me. Ever since that day I have somehow felt that I was connected in some way to that tiger. When I began studying shamanism many years back I realized that, in their philospophy, I had been imbued with the spirit of the tiger on that day, and in some sort of sense, and I have always carried an affinity for the creature ever since that day. I try to emulate his independence, his invisibility and his strength in my daily life. If you're in the market for a totem animal I would highly recommend the tiger. He stands alone and he is magnificent.

reply to post by godless


Thank you for sharing that with us.

I like how you say "if you're in the market for a totemic animal" as if there is a store for them. Any animal is great though. They all have their benefits and special attributes that allow us to progress spiritually and physically. I find the playfulness of the otter to be something that I could never go without.

I apologize for these prior posts I made :::::

"My Totem animal is a Salamander, .... I think I'm going to name him Spanky.

Can Totem animals have totem animals as well ??? If so I would imagine Spanky's totem animal is probably some sort of raptor, ..... seeing that Spanky is such a D-bag. "


"This won't be your last thread, you'll see, it's going to take off like wildfire, .... or like herpe's at a pool party. It will be the first thread of many, .... and one day, when your old and grey, you'll look back and think, " ya know, ole Burst was right, ..... that son of a ****"

..... and somewhere out there in the wild blue yonder, .... Spanky will thank you for helping me find him, .... before he innapropriately touches some random salamander waitress "



"Although you explained a method to discover one's animal totem, ... could you go in more depth of what animal totem's are, ... and how we can use them for fun or profit ???


Also, .... is there a way to trade up my animal totem, I mean, I'm not going to go around introducing my Salamander to friends and family if he can't function in normal social situations due to blatant intoxication."


These are just a recap, once again I apologize, ... perhaps I should have shared why I have such a burning rage for this topic, ..... You see, some years ago, ... my little brother was torn apart by a pack of wolves, ..... A PACK OF TOTEM WOLVES !!!!

reply to post by IntastellaBurst


Here maybe you can share in this humor...To quote the movie Dewey Cox...

"WRONG KID DIED!"