 |
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
Avant-Gardening:
Insights
by Frank & Vicky
Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
The Divine Human
by Ornesha De Paoli
Awakenings
by Karen Johnson
Worshipping by Wondering with
Sankara Saranam, MA Founder of the Pranayama Institute
A Woman's Beauty
by Robin Rice,
Shaman & Author
Wisdom Walks
In Circles
Margaret Lewis,
Shamanic Practitioner
The Awakening Generation
by Ann Marie Judge
Divination Systems:
Be Your Own Oracle
By James Wanless, Ph.D.
Creator of the Voyager Tarot Deck
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
In Practice:
Juliet's Marketing Wisdom
by Juliet Austin, MA Marketing Coach, Author & Consultant
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah Revealed:
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Kabbalalist
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
News Briefs
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Life's Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Healing & Alternative
Health:
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
Lose Weight Permanently: Stop the Endless Cycle of Dieting
Rena Greenberg,
Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming & Hypnotherapist
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
Creating Bridges: Spirituality & Philosophy:
Wisdom Walks In Circles:
The Call of the Wild
|
|
|
by Margaret Lewis |
|
|
Johnny Chapman was a real person whose life has taken on grand mythical proportions in our memories of him as Johnny Appleseed. When I was a young girl, I often played make believe. One of my games in the forests and meadows near my home was to pretend I was Johnny forging through the frontier, planting seeds that grew into those elegant orchards of blooming apple trees, which would later be discovered by the settlers long after I’d moved on down the trail.
Johnny Appleseed worked alone, living in the wilderness, whose closest companions were the animals he encountered daily. The Native Americans got along well with him and he had no fears and didn’t carry a gun. He was deeply religious, living by the golden rule, and it was reported by those who crossed his path that he often spoke to animals who gathered around him while he planted and tended his nurseries. It was said that the animals drew near him because they sensed his gentle nature. A story spread about a time when he was caught in a snow squall and took refuge in a fallen hollow tree. He shared the night there with a hibernating bear and her cubs in peaceful sanctuary. For nearly half a century, Johnny lived in harmony with nature and all her creatures.
Another legend foretells how each Christmas Eve the animals are endowed with the gift of speech in honor of their love and care long ago for a babe in a manger. Children, before age seven, live in the dreamy state of magical thinking, where they perceive all of creation as alive and able to communicate with them. The world of a child’s imagination is rich with the potential to cross bridges into the realm of the unseen where access to hidden parts of human individuality lay in shadow.
Children instinctively know that guidance comes in many forms and methods woven into the fabric of the natural world. When a child speaks to animals whether they are plush stuffed ones, alive at the zoo, or discovered along a forested pathway, this venture represents an innocent crossing into the imaginal realm existing between spirit and physical form. It is a way of opening to the mysterious in life and can often be truly enlightening. So many of the sage realized ones counsel adults to be more like little children – open to receive with fresh unsullied senses. A child’s world view leaves no stone unturned and no source of guidance rejected. As an adult, how would you gage your ability to see the world through the eyes of the child? Seeing the world with childlike wonder depends on whether you perceive yourself as a human being living on the earth or as a human being of the earth.
Like Johnny Appleseed, how many of us live in harmony with the vibration and spiritual power in the presence of nature? If we are human beings of the earth, whose bodies consist of mostly water and calcium, then what place or role does the animal kingdom have in the stream of spiritual guidance we seek and follow? When we identify with an animal nature, such as a bear, a deer, a wolf or a hawk, we are relating to an archetypal energy that symbolizes our natural and potential abilities. This type of guide has many names and labels, but all cultures past and present who identity with this kind of spiritual counsel, describe the animal familiar as a being that actually communicates with us in a way that enhances our understanding of our true identity.
The word Familiar as a noun means an intimate, a close companion. Most people identify with spiritual guardians, be they ancestors, guardian angels or guides who help them connect with the divine source of creation. This type of assistance is found through prayer, meditation or some method of tuning into the frequency of our inner spirit.
Indigenous cultures have long held that animal archetypes are spiritual companions who help us understand ourselves. They represent natural tendencies in our behaviors and unconditioned responses to environmental or relationship stimuli. These responses are inborn impulses rather than learned reactions. An animal familiar is the companion within who is gutsy and daring, courageous and downright plucky! Spiritual fortitude is the gift of your animal familiar.
Ancient cultures inform us that whether you are a stalking predator or a peaceful grazer, your animal familiar is your friendly guardian who has the inherent ability to keep you safe, healthy and wise. In our technological society where efficient furnaces have replaced home fires in the forest, and security systems ward off intruders, it may be difficult to perceive how such animal familiars could be of relevance to us today. But if you were to choose an animal familiar and learn its habits with regard to hunting, mating, social behaviors, sleep cycles and habitat conditions, you may reveal aspects of your self at the gut level of your instincts.
For example, if you relate to a wolf, you might enjoy completing goals within the structure of group dynamics, which mimics pack behavior. Or perhaps you are more of a loner like a stalking cougar who hunts in solitude. Maybe you relate to the field mouse that keeps her nose to the ground and holds detailed accounts of all she surveys. Do you scare easily and run for cover when confronted like a rabbit?
All animal familiars carry symbolic meanings beyond their natural behaviors that relate to the spirit of the animal. The coyote tricks us into laughing at ourselves. Bears symbolize hibernation into the inner cave of your dreams. Buffalo traditionally represents the nurturing giver who provides for others and the eagle symbolizes freedom and the flight of the soul to great heights.
The ancients describe an animal familiar as an inner spiritual teacher that takes an animal form. We are connected to all of creation, to each other as humans and to the natural world of wildlife through a weaving of consciousness that is collective and universal to each one of us. Long ago our ancestors lived with the environment of wildlife in a very intimate way, and they were inextricably linked with the animals they observed or perhaps hunted daily. They created folklore, legends, myths and stories about these animals that spoke of their visioning, dreams and experiences of the animal realm. These dreams and visions live on inside of you, passed down through the ages from your ancestors to your physical being via your DNA.
In my work with clients I often find when we enter the inner realms, an animal familiar appears who is a helper, a guide and companion who wants to be of service to our healing venture. The presence of this inner guide provides comfort and strength to my clients, empowering them to face whatever they need to examine so that healing and transformation can occur. With the wonder of a child’s curiosity, the inner realm provides symbolic energetic forms such as the animal familiar to better reveal our true nature and to guide us home to the embodiment of our best sense of self.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Margaret Lewis,
Author & Shamanic Practitioner
|
 |
Margaret H. Lewis is a highly regarded professional speaker, workshop facilitator, business and personal development consultant, gifted spiritual practitioner and author. For over 20 years she has provided countless training seminars and workshops on a wide range of life management and personal development skills.
Margaret is a graduate of an intensive four-year program of spiritual study, receiving her professional certification and ministerial license. Margaret holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Science and Art of Herbology Course, created by Rosemary Gladstar, author of Herbal Healing for Women (Fireside/Simon & Schuster, 1993).
From 2000 - 2005, Margaret directed Lynn Andrews’s website where she designed, wrote, and taught Online Spirituality Courses with Ms. Andrews. In her role as the Online Course Creator, Margaret oversaw the entire learning environment and curriculum presentation. Margaret has ventured out on her own, offering a monthly newsletter, message board, and online courses on her website at www.wisdomwalks.
com/.
Margaret’s first book, Wisdom Walks In Circles, The Spiraling Journey of Your Inner Voice offers a compelling story of a hero's journey to the heart of intuition.
Woven within this tale are the essential elements needed to forge a deep and lasting relationship with your inner voice of intuition. Among the numerous titles written about accessing intuition, none have taken this unique storytelling approach. While whisking you into the center of sacred wheel teachings, Margaret offers empowering strategies to break through the internal and external challenges we face when attempting to access our often-elusive inner voice of wisdom.
Please visit Margaret at http://www.wisdomwalks.
com/ to learn more about Wisdom Walks In Circles, and Landings, The Spiritual Return to Living Fully in the Body, her new book, which is in the publication process.
In private consultations, Margaret has assisted hundreds of people in releasing the blocks that are holding them back from achieving their goals and visions of fulfillment. To set up an appointment with Margaret, please email her at
info@wisdomwalks.com
or visit her online store at
http://www.wisdomwalks.
com/.
Come join Margret in an online adventure of spirit with unique coursework offering pathways for reuniting with your Wise Inner Teen!
Visit her site for a full course description:
www.wisdomwalks.com/
Services/kuanyin.html
A Note from Margaret:
I hope you will join me for my February, 2006 online course, The Spiraling Journey of Kuan Yin, Wayshower of Compassionate Intuition.
Each of my online courses focuses upon a direction on the wheel of life. At each direction on the wheel is a life stage and an attribute of our intuitive nature.
The wheel is used as a model to illuminate the pathway leading to the intuitive voice as described in my book, Wisdom Walks in Circles, the Spiraling Journey of your Inner Voice.
My online courses place the developmental stages of life, spanning from childhood to wise age, around the wheel and describe the inherent gateways of intuition at each life stage.
www.wisdomwalks.com/
Services/kuanyin.html
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
