Wisdom Rising

How to Unlock the Wisdom of Spirit Animals

• Christine Renee, Isabel Wells, and Shantel Ochoa • Season 1 • Episode 20

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Discover the extraordinary world of Spirit and Power Animals in today's episode. Together, we uncover the mystical significance of these spiritual messengers and how they can transform our daily experiences. Along the way, we share our personal stories and insights, providing a deep understanding of how animals serve not only as symbols but as guides and protectors in our lives. This episode invites you to open your heart and mind to the profound wisdom these creatures offer while giving you tools and techniques to begin deciphering their messages for yourself.

Throughout our conversation, we explore the shamanic perspective on Spirit and Power Animals, emphasizing their roles as lifelong companions and timely messengers. You'll gain practical advice on how to engage with animal consciousness and recognize the intimate messages they convey. We discuss how keeping an open mind allows us to forge a deeper connection with nature, helping alleviate feelings of disconnection. By trusting our intuition, we can interpret animal appearances uniquely, enriching our personal growth and healing journey.

Join us as we share enlightening anecdotes about connecting with animal consciousness and the shared energy between humans and animals. From bees representing community to the unexpected wisdom of ants, we highlight how every creature has a purpose and message to offer. Uncover the magic and insight these spiritual affirmations can bring to your life, helping you stay aligned with your highest self.

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Speaker 1:

It's time to remember your divine purpose and limitless potential.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Wisdom Rising, the official podcast of Moon Rising Shamanic Institute.

Speaker 1:

Join shamanic Reiki practitioners Christine Rene, isabel Wells and Chantel Ochoa as we guide you on a journey of radical self-discovery and spiritual guidance. Each week, we'll dance through the realms of shamanism, mysticism, energy, healing and personal development to illuminate your path to true healing and self-sourced wisdom Through weekly inspired conversations and interviews with leading spiritual and shamanic practitioners. We are here to help you acknowledge, reconcile and balance your energy so that you can awaken to the whispers of wisdom rising from within. Welcome back to another amazing episode of the Wisdom Rising podcast. I'm your host for today, isabel Wells, and I'm so excited to be joined with our Moon Rising Shamanic Institute mystic, chantel Ochoa, as we take you through today's episode on spirit animal stories and how we can embrace the symbolism of animals in our daily lives, from power animals to spirit animals and more. We all know that animals are powerful creatures who convey messages from spirit, whether it's a feather we find on our path or a ladybug that lands on our car. We know enough to recognize the signs when they come, but we're often at a loss as to how to interpret them. In this conversation, chantel and I are going to be sharing our own stories of interacting with spirit animals, sharing the common ways they bring us messages, while also sharing how you can begin to interpret their symbolism for yourself so that you can receive the full healing and power of their wisdom. We explore the many ways that spirit animals can communicate with us. Questions to ask yourself to begin decoding and deciphering their messages with us. Questions to ask yourself to begin decoding and deciphering their messages. Practices that you can use to engage with animals in your daily life. And how, from a shamanic perspective, the animals that come to us are so much more than just a single animal happening across our path. They have profound magic and wisdom, and they come to us from the lower world and the roots of the tree of life itself. So if you have been noticing feathers cross your path or having dreams about animals, or just feeling a call to connect with nature and really engage with the animals in your life more, then this episode is for you. We're going to share all of the different ways that you can learn to connect with and understand the animals around you, how you can call on different spirit animals to help and support you throughout the different circumstances in your life and share our own stories of magical experiences and healings that we've had by connecting with our own power and spirit animals, both in daily life and in our shamanic practices. So if you're ready to connect with nature, then we'll dive straight into today's episode. We would love to hear your top takeaways over in our Moon Rising Shamanic Mystics Facebook group, as well, as if you give us a subscribe to the podcast so that you can receive new episodes just like this one sooner and help us reach more spiritual and shamanic seekers around the globe. But for now, let's dive in to today's episode.

Speaker 1:

Welcome, welcome to another amazing conversation. I am here with Chantel Ochoa. It is always such a joy to get to talk with you and share space with you, and today we're going to be talking about specifically about spirit animals and power animals and how they show up in our daily waking life. Last week, Chantel and Christine talked about the lower world and how those energies can come up into our physical reality so that we can heal with nature, and so today we're taking it one step further and looking at another energy that we find in the lower world, which is our spirit animals and our power animals and what it means when they show up for us in our daily waking life. And you know it's so funny.

Speaker 1:

I love having this conversation and I love these Monday conversations because they always something always happens the week before that, you know, adds into the conversation.

Speaker 1:

So last night I was actually out and about walking and we got a new hummingbird feeder, which we'll play into our conversation later today. But I caught my neighbor outside and she was like oh, I noticed that you got a hummingbird, a hummingbird feeder, and she was telling me how that the hummingbird to her is always a symbol of her mother-in-law and so anytime she sees a hummingbird, she sees mother-in-law. And now what I love about that is that my neighbor isn't particularly spiritual. From what I know, she's in the Christian religion and she's really happy and solid in her faith and yet she still has this knowing that when a hummingbird comes, it's my mother-in-law. And so I think this conversation is such a fun entry point into spirituality because there's just something universal about knowing that when a feather lands in your path, when a bird that doesn't usually come crosses ways with you, when you see a snake in a dream, right, these all have meaning and purpose, and there's something universal about that. Knowing that, I think, gives us a really good launching pad for today's conversation.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I love that. She is connecting to that, to spirit, with the hummingbirds, and I think most people do, and that's what I love about it. It's like when you really dive into the conversations and I'm sure there's gonna be people that are gonna be, you know, giving us their interpretation of what their animals are at least I hope so. Give us your interpretations of what your animals mean. But it's a common conversation.

Speaker 2:

When you get into power animals, even if they don't know the history of what they are like, how they show up in our life, people are, always have some form of interpretation of it's my so-and-so, or represents this or it's a heads up for that, and so I really love that. Spirit has this way of connecting to us internally before our logical mind can even. Has this way of connecting to us internally before our logical mind can even dismiss it and say, no, that's not real. The heart lingers with it, it connects to it and it's like, yeah, that is it and you can't deny it. So, people, when you say, no, that's not your mother-in-law, people won't deny that. They're like no, that's my mother-in-law.

Speaker 1:

She's sending me a message.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

And I remember one of my first introductions when I was really young was to the idea of cardinals being kind of messengers from souls who have passed on or crossed over, and that was kind of my first introduction to this idea I was probably seven at the time to this idea that animals have messages for us and meaning for us. And as we step into the shamanic perspective on today's show, it starts to make a lot of sense. And so as we dive into this conversation, it is, as always, important to really define what it is we're talking about. And so when we're talking about power animals and spirit animals, power animals and spirit animals are inhabitants of the lower world. And so from a shamanic perspective, as a little refresher, there are three spiritual realms the upper, middle and lower realms. And the lower realm is really Mother Earth manifested, so it is the realm of nature with a capital N, and in the lower world we find pure nature as well as the nature spirits, the mythical creatures, our power animals, our spirit animals. There are human guides in the lower world that are very much kind of our like Neolithic ancestors before, like pre-civilization souls, that really are still so connected to the earth and to mother nature herself. And so when we're in the lower world, we're really in this realm of a little bit more of a denser, more tangible energy, because if you think about earth, right, one of the first things that everybody thinks of when we think earth is the soil and the trees, and that's really what the lower world is. The lower world was this place, where the tree of life that I think most people are familiar with has its roots in the lower world. It's really where all of this starts, and so the idea behind spirit animals and power animals is they spring up from the earth.

Speaker 1:

There are these different aspects of the energy of mother earth that are embodied. They become these distinct beings, and so each spirit animal has an oversoul which is kind of like you can think of it like an archetype. It's the archetype of that type of animal. So there's panther with a capital P and there's lion with a capital L and there's hummingbird with a capital H, and then, of course, each one of those has an individual, these individual representations, where there is the hummingbird that comes to visit you on your porch, or the lion that you see in the zoo, and so we kind of have this core being. This core start here in the lower world, and then we have the oversoul of all of that species and then the ones that come see us in our physical, waking life. And so when we're talking about power animals and spirit animals, there is a little bit of a distinction.

Speaker 1:

When we look at it from a shamanic perspective, we have our power animal. Who our power animal is? Again, that oversoul, that main energy, that archetype of this animal that comes and finds us when we first cry is kind of how the legend goes. They recognize that as human beings, especially in today's culture, we are the weakest of the species, if you will. They recognize that we have this need, that our energy has a space where maybe we're not as strong, and they come to bring that balance and that harmony and protection and strength. And so if they know, for example, that when you come in maybe you need support with having fun and play, the power animal that finds you is going to be there to support that place in your energy where you're maybe not as strong or developed in this lifetime. And so your power animal is with you from the time that you first cry all the way until you die. You have one primary power animal.

Speaker 1:

Some shamanic practitioners have two primary power animals, which is beyond the scope of this conversation. But for all intents and purposes, your power animal is this one animal that is with you from birth until death, and they are here to really supplement and support and protect your energy so that you can reach your fullest potential. They're here to keep you safe and help you stay true to your life path. And so if you think of times where you were a kid and you were in a dangerous situation or you almost got hit by a car but you didn't in adult life right, those moments where it was an almost something bad almost happened, from a shamanic perspective, that was your power animal coming in to help you. And so our power animal is helping us and engaging with us in daily life, even if we don't realize it. And then we have spirit animals, and spirit animals are again those oversouls of hummingbird with a capital H, panther with a capital P.

Speaker 1:

But spirit animals come to us at specific points in our life. They come to us when we need to know a specific lesson or have an energy, come and support us. And so if we're in a time in our life where maybe we're not feeling as safe. Maybe we'll see bear show up in our life a lot more, so that we have some of that protective energy bolstering and supporting us. Or, if we need to have a little bit more dedication and hard work, maybe the spirit animal of ant will come and help us right. And so these spirit animals are a little more transient.

Speaker 1:

We can have many, many spirit animals supporting us at the same time, and typically they don't stay around for very, very long compared to a power animal.

Speaker 1:

They're these spirit animals that come to us with messages and specific purpose for specific times in our life, and these are typically typically the animals that when a feather falls in your path, when the hummingbird flies over your porch, when the ladybug is somewhere that it shouldn't be right, those are typically spirit animals that are here with a specific message and a specific purpose to come and teach us something, and that's really where we want to center today's conversation around is when we have these encounters with animals in our daily life.

Speaker 1:

How do we learn to understand what they mean or what the purpose is, or how do we learn to understand what they mean or what the purpose is, or how do we learn to decipher those messages and a lot of that comes with practice and time.

Speaker 1:

But I think the most important thing that we can start this conversation with is that idea of an open mind and an open heart, of knowing that if we can first open ourselves up to the perspective that these messengers from Mother Earth herself have come to give us an energetic tune-up, if you will like, a tuning fork, or to give us a specific message or to support us in a specific area of life, if we open ourselves up to that understanding, that's when we're then open to receive their messages, whereas if we're just walking around going, oh isn't that cool, it's a bird feather, oh, look, a hummingbird, and we think that's the end of it, then that's all we're going to get out of it.

Speaker 1:

And so it's this really fun conversation where it really just depends on how open we are to receiving, of how much we're going to get back from that animal. And this is where we can start to commune with nature, because I think so many of us have this feeling of disconnection, like we're just not getting the depth that we want out of life, like everything feels a little shallow, we don't feel very rooted, et cetera, et cetera. Everybody has this. This is a really common feeling, this feeling of something's not quite right, something's missing in life. And when we start to open up to the idea of mother earth and nature as this living, breathing energy that we can connect with and we can learn from and we can give back to, a lot of that feeling of shallowness starts to fade away, because suddenly we wake up to the world around us as being alive and magical, and I think that's really what spirit animals have the potential to do for us.

Speaker 2:

Yes, absolutely. When you were talking about connecting to like, their purpose, I guess, is what is the interpretation? And one of the things that we can do is recognizing what is their purpose within their community, right Within their tribe or their herd or whatever it is. They're packed, and so how does your power animal show up for you? So if, like, for example, mine is a lion, so for me, what I'm pulling in from that is the strength that I've needed in life. It's, you know, connecting, being like the leader of my family, stepping into that role, noticing that I can also be the protector of my family and that's all. Throughout my whole life has been my role. And so when I found out, when I actually, you know, journeyed and found out that lion is my power animal, I wasn't surprised, you know. Then a few extra did come and they did stick, because I do work with a few others. But when I recognized that the lion did come in and how it came in, I was like, yes, you are exactly what I needed in life.

Speaker 2:

And so, if you're at home and you're listening to this conversation and you're thinking of like, the animal that you loved as a child, or the one that you're the most connected, to tune into how they act, what they do in their life and how does that impact your life. How does that help guide you? What are the strengths they have, what are the weaknesses they have, what are their traits? All of those things and you can almost guarantee to figure out what your power animal is without journeying but then going into a journey to really meet your power animal is so powerful. But when we can just tune into that part and then seeing how it shows up in our daily life so, for example, going to the hummingbird, what are you thinking, doing and talking about in that moment, you know, because that's how spirit communicates with us in nature is it's to confirm something, is to give us, give us like a heads up or a warning, or, hey, just pay attention to what you're doing right now, be in your moment. And so a lot of times when you recognize like, oh, you know what I'm thinking about this and I have this idea and I'm manifesting that or whatever it is, I'm working on my work, you're getting that confirmation from spirit that you're on the right path, you're doing exactly what you're here to do, and so it's just like a nice.

Speaker 2:

I see it almost like a way of celebrating with nature as well, because birds don't birds, cats, animals, anything that you come across they don't come into your daily like your actual energy field, like wild animals don't, unless they feel truly connected to your energy. And so when I'm outside and I've had we have a lot of hummingbirds around here, but they there's some that will come so close and you're just like, oh my gosh, like, and you have to recognize what that means. You know, or hawk I have a lot of hawks around here and you don't always see them, but when you do, what is it that we're talking about? What are we feeling into in the moment and what kind of message do they have for us?

Speaker 1:

And this is, you know, this is the invitation of this conversation. Is this beginning of getting curious about what does that animal have for you? There's no. I had a student this week ask me what does this specific animal mean? And my immediate answer is always well, what does it intuition telling you about this animal? What was the feeling that you had when this animal showed up for you? Let's pull in our intuitive and our heart knowing of what this animal was already saying, and then, if we still have questions, that's when we can turn to something like Google and look at what are the symbolisms that come through. And it was so funny because she responded and she was like wow, I had no idea that there were so many different interpretations of this animal, but I found this one sentence that really resonated for me.

Speaker 1:

And this is what we do, right, because there are infinite numbers of ways to interpret what a specific animal means to each person, because not only do we have the energy of that animal as a whole, we also have the energy of the circumstance in which they appeared. Was it a dream? What was happening in the dream? Was it in physical life? How were you feeling when you saw it?

Speaker 1:

Et cetera, et cetera. But we also have your energy as a person and how you're going to interpret it, and your beliefs and your experiences, and so there are so many different layers, which means that there's not exactly one universal way of interpreting every single animal, but there is something in each one that's going to resonate for us. Right. There is a reason and a purpose for why they showed up in our life, and when we can find that whether that is by meditating on it or journaling on it, or just sitting with that animal for a while and seeing what comes through, or doing some shamanic connection with that animal, or giving it a Google or reading a book about that animal, et cetera.

Speaker 1:

When we do that and we open ourselves up to what does it mean? For me, that's really where the power of these power animals and spirit animals comes through, because suddenly we're not looking at what is the universal energy of this animal, but what was its specific message in that moment, and that's when we really walk away with more than what we could have if we're looking for that personal, individualized message. And what I love about this is when you start to get curious about how are they showing up for me, what's going on in my waking life right now that maybe I'm not noticing right? We encounter thousands and thousands and thousands of bits of information every single moment in our waking life, and our brain learns to filter them out if we don't need to be seeing them. And so, chances are, you probably encounter animals or signs of animals in your life a lot more than you realize. It's the same thing as if you get a new car and suddenly there's 50 of those cars on the road, because your brain is now looking for it and labeling it as important. And so, as we start to have this conversation and we open ourselves up to what animals are showing up in my life. Suddenly you'll start to see them everywhere and you get to have this kind of practice with the universe of saying, okay, I know there's a reason and purpose. Can I find what that means for me with my intuition and with my heart first, before then looking it up on Google or in a book? Because I think there is this temptation, when we immediately turn to Google, to give our power and our wisdom away to what other people said or how other people interpreted it, and so when we can take that moment to just sit with it and sit with this animal, it gives us this space to receive so much individual wisdom. It's the same thing as if somebody has a really good friend that they want you to meet and they tell you the broad strokes of that friend, kind of what they're like, what their energy is like, and so you get this idea in your head of, oh, this is what this person is going to be like. And then you meet them and it's so vastly different when you actually spend time talking to them and learning about them and listening to them speak. It's the same thing with our animals. There is that overall archetypal energy that we see in each animal and then when we sit with them and we get to know them on an individual level, they have so much more wisdom for us. And so I actually have a really fun example of this in my daily life Last Sunday.

Speaker 1:

For the past probably two weeks, I would say, I have had this hummingbird come and sit on my porch. Anytime I've been doing shamanic work, so whether I've been teaching or I've been doing a session, if I come out from a shamanic session, there is a hummingbird that's been sitting on my porch, which has just been so magical, especially because they're typically spring birds, right, they don't usually come in the fall and so I thought, oh, that's really cool, maybe I'll get him a feeder if he sticks around. And so two weeks went by and he was still there. So I went and got him a feeder and I put up the feeder and they were flying around and eventually I came out and one of them was laying on the ground, just laying there, and I couldn't tell if he was just sitting and enjoying the view or if he was injured. And so I went out on the porch and I could see that he was injured. He kind of flapped his wings and fell on his side. So he was obviously injured and so I scooped him up in my hands and I was giving him Reiki and I'm in school to become a homeopath and there are remedies that help in this case so I gave him a remedy and I'm holding him and after about 30 seconds he flew away. He was totally fine and I was so happy, right that this hummingbird was, you know, alive and like. What a cool experience to have this hummingbird from basically dying to up and flying within 30 seconds. It was amazing.

Speaker 1:

But what happened after that is every day now.

Speaker 1:

It doesn't matter if I'm doing shamanic work.

Speaker 1:

Every single day he comes and he sits on my porch and he watches me.

Speaker 1:

He faces the house and he watches what I'm doing, and what I love about that is there are so many messages that I've been getting.

Speaker 1:

I'll go out and I'll sit on the porch with him, and every day it's this little bit more insight and a little bit more understanding and a new perspective of what he means.

Speaker 1:

And what I love about that is that it's giving me this really tangible experience of the fact that there's never just one meaning, there's never just one experience that the spirit animal has for us.

Speaker 1:

But when we can sit and be open to what they have for us, sometimes even just being in their presence is healing in and of itself, because they have so much power and they have so much wisdom that even just sitting with them and acknowledging them and putting ourselves together on their level, I would say Because again in shamanism we're dealing with this perspective where everything is equal. Humans are not better or worse than the animals. We recognize that everything has wisdom and power and something to teach us, and so when we can sit with that animal and recognize them as equals, suddenly it becomes this kind of give and take relationship of you know, in the physical world I'm giving him food and he's giving me the joy of being on my porch, but in the spiritual world there's this exchange of energy and this exchange of understanding and connection that is so beautiful and I wouldn't have been open to if my mind wasn't already open to the idea of when an animal shows up for you, there's a meaning and there's a purpose to that.

Speaker 2:

There's also interpreting how they're showing up. So if you have your hummingbird, that's coming to you and it's flapping its wings and it's flying everywhere, that's one level of energy that it's representing. When it's sitting and perching, that's a different energy. So that could be the message of rest, that could be the message of slow down, a little bit kind of thing. There's all like four litters in my yard and she takes them all away and she does all this stuff. But there was one litter that a friend of mine. She has cats and she's like you need cats? I'm like I don't need cats. And she's like, yeah, you do. I'm like no, and he said I'm not going to buy a cat, but if a cat shows up for me, then I'll know. That's my sign.

Speaker 2:

Literally within a month, that cat, that stray cat, had a litter of five, and so we found that she had all these kittens and she was outside under our deck and then I had a dream that they were drowning in my pool. So that was it. The next day I was like, okay, we need to gather up all these cats and I had a dog kennel. So my daughter and I went out and we gathered up the kittens and we, you know, nurtured, like, kept them for, like I think there were probably around five weeks or so, and part of it was because I can't have all these like stray cats in my yard either, you know. And so, mom and dad, they were very protective and they hung around the perimeter of our home and everything. But those five cats were very interesting and how their energy was showing up and I actually, like I would meow at them and they, wherever they were at, they would come and sit at my feet and then I would feed them or whatever. And then at some point, of course, they got too big and too old and it was like, okay, so I found them some homes, but I kept two of them and those two cats are extremely connected to my energy, whatever I'm doing.

Speaker 2:

So if I'm doing Reiki, if I'm doing shamanic work, if I'm with a client, if I'm teaching, all those things, they're in my hallway. So one the main, one not main, but they both have their own role. So one is Gremlin. I thought she was a male, but she's a female, but Gremlin will sit at my door, whereas sage will sit a little further up, but she's the meower, so she will meow.

Speaker 2:

Whatever needs to be removed out of my energy. And it's so interesting to watch how they act and they prowl. You know they have their tendencies and they act like. They're like cats, but with cats. They're also very spiritual animals and they clear out energy and they're like. They're like cats, but with cats. They're also very spiritual animals and they clear out energy and they're very etheric and they can see beyond the veil, where dogs are more grounding and connected to the earth, protective, in that way.

Speaker 2:

So it's really interesting to watch how, when you also need an animal, nature is right there to give it to you.

Speaker 2:

The universe is going to say well, here you go, you need some protectors now, and whether you want them or not, they're going to show up some way somehow.

Speaker 2:

And that's exactly what happened with my cats, and so I just tuning into really what is around us and why and how they're showing up is so important.

Speaker 2:

So if you have, like, a bird that is hurt and you're nurturing it back, that also gets to show you too, that you have the ability to do that, to be able to give that energy back out there. So it's really interesting and there's a lot of videos of people that you know, they'll save like a baby deer, like a doe or whatever, and then they come back and they bring their whole herd with them. You know, have you seen those? And they like or a duck or a goose. I watched one where this goose's head was stuck in a fence and the guy saved it and then it became its pet and he went everywhere with him and I was just like. So it's really interesting because we think of ourselves being separate from nature and really, when we connect with them, they want to be a part of the human race, like be a part of our world as well, like come into our home, do all the things. So I'm curious how your hummingbird is going to keep showing up.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's funny because he did end up bringing his friends there was only ever one at a time and then once he was healed and he left and he came back now there's three that come and sit on my porch all the time and they just bring me so much joy. And what I love about this conversation is it opens up this idea that animals have consciousness and they have wisdom and they have thoughts. That is one of the most hard to wrap my mind around beliefs that we see in mass consciousness right now is this idea that animals don't have feelings, they don't have thoughts, they don't have consciousness. They're just there. And I just. If you look at animals, like, at the very least, at your dog, right, if you look at your dog or your cat, they have a personality, right? I saw this study once that said that I think it's dogs that can make over 400 facial expressions something like that. Really Nobody. Yeah, isn't that crazy? And nobody. That number might be wrong, so don't quote me on that.

Speaker 2:

Look it up if you want to but it was some crazy number.

Speaker 1:

And what I love about that is that anybody who owns a pet would say that yeah, of course they have a personality. But then when we talk about the raven that sits outside your window or the lion at the zoo, how far does that go? How far does that extend? The rat that's in your basement Do they have consciousness and personality too? And that's where I love this conversation, because it really opens us up to that perspective of if we can say that our cat or our dog has a distinct energy and a consciousness, then so does every other animal. And when we open up to that perspective, suddenly our relationship with nature really, really changes and shifts, because instead of it being humans are the only ones who have consciousness, right? We can then look out into nature and realize that no animals are just like us. Their consciousness might present differently, right. We can then look out into nature and realize that no animals are just like us. Their consciousness might present differently, right, they might not talk to us in our language or act the way that humans act all the time, but there are those similarities. They do have thoughts and they do have feelings and, by nature, of being so connected to nature, right? Animals don't have ego in the way that humans have ego. They're so much more connected to nature, right? Animals don't have ego in the way that humans have ego. They're so much more connected to nature and energy. And I remember the first time I really understood that on a deeper level. I was doing Reiki on my dog actually at the time, and he only wanted me to do Reiki for about 45 seconds. That was all that he could take. And I remember asking him one day in a journey why what's happening that's causing you to only want Reiki for that short of time. And his answer was essentially that because animals don't have that depth of ego that we have or that intensity of ego that we have, that they're already closer to nature, they're already closer to that divine inherent energy and say that they don't need as much to be able to come back into alignment because they're already at such a strong vibrational state most of the time. And when we bring that idea into this conversation about connecting with spirit animals, that's when we really start to see that not only does that hummingbird with a lowercase h, the one that comes to visit you on your porch, have its own thoughts and wisdom and feelings and energy to bring you. But it's also connected to that energy of hummingbird with a capital H and therefore to nature itself, of the energy of Mother Earth, the energy of nature with a capital N, and how much wisdom can come through that. And so, when we're talking about well, how do you begin to decipher these in your daily life? What's the first step?

Speaker 1:

We've touched on a couple of thinking about. Well, what does that animal do in their tribe or in their herd or in their group? What's their function? Right, we can also think about what's their function as an individual animal, like a bee, a honeybee. They're really hard workers. They're also very much pack animals. They're very dedicated, they know when to rest, they know how to stay focused and look for what they need and leave whatever is not there.

Speaker 1:

If we look at something like a butterfly or especially a caterpillar, right, that idea of metamorphosis and knowing that it's okay to cocoon and it's okay to go through these stages of transformation and release what's no longer true to us, so that we can become this highest potential, right, and again, there's so many different ways, but that's the start is thinking about what do they do? What's their purpose in this daily, physical, waking life, and which parts of that really stand out to you and then thinking about well, how do you feel when you see them? Right, like Chantel was saying earlier, are they flapping around and really joyful and they bring you joy, or are they resting and make you feel a little calmer, or do you feel a little sad when you see them? Or what's the feeling that comes up in you? And how can you connect that back to this animal and their purpose? To start to create this story, right, or even with birds, right, we can start to then break them up into the different parts. So, what color is the bird? Does it sing or does it not sing? Is it being really vocal? Is it telling you to speak up and speak your truth, or is it telling you to know when to sit back and listen and just be and observe With the squirrel? Is it finding a nut or is it burying a nut? Is it going out and looking for what it wants or is it taking that time to conserve what it already has? Right, it starts to become this.

Speaker 1:

Really, it's a lot more simple than I think. We think it is right, this idea of when an animal shows up in our life and we're thinking, well, what does it mean? It can feel like this big question of, well, what does it mean? But, exactly like Chantel said at the start of this conversation, your heart already knows. Your heart has this inherent understanding of what that bird is. And so if we let ourselves take a deep breath and release our minds, thoughts or wondering about it, and we just sit, that animal's meaning is going to come to us. But if we need help along the way in deciphering it, this is where you start is just looking at what's their role, what activity are they engaging with, what's their energy. How did it feel when it showed up for you? What's the symbolism of particular parts of that animal Again, like their color or what they're doing or if they're singing. And when you put all of that together, what's the story that it's telling? And this is where I think we bring in again that understanding that animals have a relationship with us.

Speaker 1:

So, for example, one of my spirit animals that comes and goes throughout my life is a ladybug, and ladybug shows up for me in a variety of different ways. So for me, when ladybug comes, it's not a particular message or insight every single time it's always a little bit different, but it's always for me a confirmation from the divine that whatever you're doing, you're on the right path. So I remember once about two years ago I think it was I was really starting to look at what are the aspects of my spiritual practice and my business that I really love, what are the aspects that I want to bring in more of? What do I want to let go of, this idea of again what no longer serves me and what's aligned with my highest self? And I had set the intention. I was driving home from work and I had set the intention that I would really love to start doing more of this specific kind of session, and I looked over and right as I thought that there was a ladybug inside my car just chilling, and so I set my intention. I thanked it for being there, I opened the window and it flew away, and by the time I got home, I had a client booked for that specific type of session that I had sent the intention for.

Speaker 1:

Now, fast forward to this year, I was having a lot of personal anxiety. One of my mind's chew toys when it comes to anxiety is this idea of loss. Right? What if everything goes away? I think everybody can relate to that one, and my mind was having this really big moment of anxiety, and so I was going through and I was kind of releasing those thoughts one by one and pulling in what I'd rather have that story be, what intention I'd rather have.

Speaker 1:

And I finally got to the last intention that I was setting and kind of just reinstating to myself that everything's going to be okay, we are okay.

Speaker 1:

And I look up and right in my line of sight is a ladybug on the baseboard of my house just sitting there, and I looked at him and he flew over and landed right in front of me on my couch and it was just this amazing confirmation of, yes, everything is going to be okay. And so that's another layer that we can bring in of these animals that come to us regularly throughout our life is maybe it's not the exact same message every time, but maybe it's always this confirmation that what you were thinking in this moment, or what you needed in this moment you have, it's this confirmation that the divine or that energy of Mother Earth is with you and you are safe and you are protected. And so these are all of the different ways that we can start to get curious about what animals are showing up for me, what message might they have for me and how is that going to help me make decisions or choices or frame my thoughts differently, moving forward, we also have the ability to communicate with them through our frequency and everything.

Speaker 2:

So I think that's why we're able to attract them like that, like you see it, and it comes, because we align to that frequency with them to say that it's safe to come near. And I've had, I've had many experiences, but one that I had was with a bee, and so I was looking at purchasing, like there was this whole bee set and it had it was crystals and it was like a teacup made out of what was it made out? Of? Rose quartz, and it had this spoon that had this bee attached to it. So it was this really cute like teacup set that was all bee related. And I was drinking coffee outside and as I'm looking at that and even contemplating, should I get it, should I not? A bee comes and lands on my cup and I was like, okay, so obviously bee energy wants to work.

Speaker 2:

You know, the medicine of the bee is going to be good for me, and so I ended up getting a pendulum with the bee on it and everything, and it's a very powerful one, and even when I use it in sessions and everything, but it reminds me of what that represents. It brings in community. It brings in hard work and dedication and all this stuff. So when you have the symbol of whatever it is that you're working with, like spiders people my daughter is deathly afraid of spiders it's the funniest thing. But when you recognize what spiders represent, they're hard workers, they are always weaving and mending you know, their tapestry, their web, and they will continue to like. If it gets destroyed they're going to come right back and keep it going right. But there's just so many um symbols and messages that spider medicine has for you and and so when we tune into each part of what the the animal to offer us, we don't have to come in fear. We just give thanks to it, we just notice it. Thank you for giving that medicine at my door, thank you for showing it up in my home, thank you for, you know, just having gratitude and when, or having a picture or having a statue or whatever it is that we choose to have, that medicine is working with us and then we get to tune into that and always be reminded, continuously reminded, of what it represents.

Speaker 2:

So I have a friend, for example, that has a sanctuary and I went and visited her and I gathered up all kinds. We went and feather hunted and I have a whole vase of feathers and like peacock feathers and turkey feathers, all kinds of feathers and but they all represent something different and I get to make things with them now and I have, um, a couple like feather prayer wands that my husband and I made and that's the medicine now that I get to work with when I want to go out into nature and tune into that energy and give my intention out and what is it that I'm seeking in answers, and then that energy is going to come forward for me. If you want to be like light, right, you think about the bones of a feather of birds and they're hollow. So being light, being in flow, being able to fly, being able to see from a higher perspective, is really a lot of ways of how you tune in and embody the spirit of that animal, of that, that herd or whatever it is. So there's so much that we can gain from these animals.

Speaker 2:

But it's really also thinking about how are they showing up in my everyday life and what do they represent for me? And is it just to say, oh my gosh, I recognize you, I see you, I see you, I feel you, thank you for showing up, or is it because there actually is a full message that we need to receive to shift, to move, to pivot, you know, and or to embrace something even more and deeper? And so it's just. It is an invitation to connect to whatever you see. It's amazing to me how many people don't look up. You know, I was talking to a neighbor like last year, a couple of years ago they're gone now but I said something about the hawk. She's like what hawks? I'm like the hawks that are always flying around, and she was like I never see hawks. I'm like you don't look up enough, like you need to look up and, um, when you do, you take in a whole different view of life, a perspective that we need to be a part of.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you know it's. It's amazing what happens when we do look up, right, when we do start to look around us and see I remember I think this was last year, it was early last year I had been working with the spirit animal of bear, had been showing up for me and, like Chantel was saying, we have every animal has what in shamanic cultures and perspectives is often called medicine. Right, it's again. It's that energy, it's that wisdom that they have to offer you. And so I had been working with bear medicine in my spiritual life for a while and I ended up feeling called one day to go for a hike up in the mountains near where I live, and I was on this path, I was totally alone, the path looked absolutely clear and I started walking and all of a sudden I hear this rustle in front of me and so I stop and not even a foot away from me this bear head pops out. And you know, typically if you're a hiker on a trail alone and a bear comes up, that's a really scary situation. I just started beaming. I was like it's bear in my waking life. How amazing is that? And so I just kind of stood there and she watched me for a minute and I just started slowly backing away and the whole time I was just sending her Reiki and thanking her for being there.

Speaker 1:

But what I loved about that situation, it was such a tangible example of I had been working with this energy of standing up for yourself and being strong and being protected in my spiritual life and suddenly it's like I'm faced with the situation in my waking life where those are things that I need right. I need to be able to protect myself, I need to be able to stand up to myself against a bear that could potentially, in physical life, hurt me Right. And so I could actually call on the energy of bear medicine to help me with this situation, with the bear that was showing up in my life. And it was just this amazing like full circle moment and I just walked away and she was totally fine. And the flip side of that story that I think gives it a little spiritual weight, if you will is actually the next day there was a story in the news about how that bear had injured somebody on the same trail that I was on, and I think it's this.

Speaker 1:

It's a really amazing example of when we're willing to connect with animals on our path when we're willing to acknowledge them as equals and not, like Chantel said, treat them in fear but treat them in thank you for showing up for me, right, obviously, I wasn't going to go try and pet the bear that's a different level there. But that acknowledgement of I see you and I honor you and I acknowledge the power that you have in this lifetime, and so I'm going to treat you with respect by backing up slowly and doing the things that you need to do to stay safe, right, but it was this really amazing moment of showing what can happen when we treat animals with respect and when we come to them with this understanding that they have something for us and we have something for them. And that's really where we can bring in a different aspect of working with spirit animals is knowing that they don't necessarily have to show up for you. You can go find them. Exactly like Chantel was saying, of thinking about what is the energy that you need right now? Right, we all have some area in our life where we could use a little support, some aspect of our energy that we're working on expanding. If you guys listened to our podcast a few weeks back on the life balance wheel, you might have picked an area of life that you'd really like to focus on and bring more energy and alignment to, and when we have this idea of I could really use more fun and play in my life, or I could really use some help staying motivated to be a hard worker and be dedicated at my job, or I could really use an animal to help me open up my heart more.

Speaker 1:

There's this medicine that I need knowing that somewhere in nature there is an animal whose energetic purpose is to provide and hold space for that energy, to provide and hold space for you to receive that medicine. And so then we can start to think if this is what I need, if this is the energy that I want to bring into my life, which animal can I call on to start working with me? If I need that sense of lightness, which bird comes to mind first? And how can I begin not only noticing them in my daily life, but starting to engage with their energy? How can I embody their energy a little bit more? How can I bring them into my meditative practice? How can I honor them? By getting a little figurine for my desk, or by going on a journey to meet them, or by looking for them in my daily waking life, or getting a coloring book that has their picture right.

Speaker 1:

There are so many different ways that we can do this and it's going to vary for every person, but there is this aspect of working with spirit animals, of that idea that when we're aware that each animal has medicine and power, we can call to them. They don't always have to be the ones calling to us. We can meet them halfway and say I'm ready to embody the energy of bear or hummingbird or panther or caterpillar or ant or bee or whatever it is, and so thinking on that side of things too. If you can't think of an animal that's been showing up in your daily life, that's okay. Start being open and aware. But maybe it's your invitation to start thinking about what's the energy that you want to be calling in more of in your life and which animal can help you to align more with that, which animal carries that energy and how can you start to call them in, both spiritually and in your physical life.

Speaker 2:

I was sitting out back one time and you know, flies are like the most obnoxious animal out there and I don't know what. But I totally tuned into this fly. That was like buzzing around and was like I don't know if it was on my glass or what it was doing, but it was somewhere like and typically you're going to swat out a fly and I actually like tuned into its energy and could feel it's like purpose, like it's collective purpose and how it was just really interesting. And my son-in-law went to go get it and I was like no, leave that flyer alone. He goes, what I'm like. I don't know why, but I just totally had a moment with it, so just leave it alone. And um, but it was the understanding that everything has purpose and everything is one. The only thing I haven't found purpose for is a mosquito. Yet I don't know if anyone out there knows what the purpose of a mosquito is. I don't know. That's the only one. I haven't really found anything other than spreading disease and sucking blood. But you know everything else, there's a purpose for it, whether the fly is to decompose and the earth is to till, or the worm is to till the earth, and on there's a hummingbird right here, so, as we're like speaking about it, it's showing up right now. So, um, it is tuning into what they have and why they're showing up.

Speaker 2:

And so I had a client the other day and, um, we did a shamanic journey and actually it was a soul retrieval, or a soul retrieval. And it was very interesting because when it was, what is the gift to you from Eagle, the Eagle gave her a worm and she's like, no, that's not, you know, in her mind, her mind's like trying to totally discredit it and everything. And I was like, no, that is your gift, and what does that mean? And so we went through the interpretation of what, um, what the worm can represent for her, because she's starting to really unbear, like to um, reveal herself, she's starting to unpack all of the things from her past and really like letting things be and open up and expanding herself. And so, um, I'm like, yeah, because you're being embarrassed Like she was actually, like the earth was taking her in, and it was a beautiful experience for her and she received a lot.

Speaker 2:

And now she gets to work with the energy of that, whether she goes and gets herself some earthworms or whatever you know, but she gets to have that experience and now doesn't mean that's her power animal, but that's definitely a spirit animal that came forward for her and is now working with her and when we can really bring forward that medicine all the way around. It is so powerful and it is so revealing to who we are. And so like yeah, looking out the window and seeing that there's a hummingbird out there and we're communicating or there's different animals, I'm sure if we all tuned into it right now, we'd be able to feel something because they are tuned into us. So it's pretty neat.

Speaker 1:

And I love that idea of not discounting whatever animal shows up for you, right, because we're so tempted to think that a lion has more power than a worm, or a panther has more power than an ant. And when we look at it again from that shamanic perspective, that really nature-based, animistic perspective, it's this knowing that there is no better than or less than, there is no more powerful or less powerful. It's each and every animal has purpose and has wisdom and has something to offer us. And so what I love about this is that, in the process of welcoming in the energy of animals like a worm or a mosquito or a fly or an ant or a bee, or these animals that our minds might want to label as quote-unquote less than, it actually teaches us to not dismiss the parts of ourselves that we tend to feel like are less than, are not as worthy or not enough or don't have value. Because when we're looking at an animal and we're able to see their purpose beyond what our mind would see as their external presentation, right, if we're able to look at the worm and notice its strength and its dedication and its knowing how to find the right path, and if we look at the bee and its ability to be a hard worker and to connect with community. And if we look at the ant and its ability to carry large loads but also know when to put them down right or to find the sweetness in life right, when we look at these animals that our mind wants to label as small and not worthy of our time or attention, we start to open ourselves up to this idea that maybe those things that we thought were small and not worthy of our attention are actually worthy and deserving of our attention and have medicine for us, and maybe those parts of myself that I've been labeling as small or unworthy or not valuable actually has a value and power and meaning and purpose. And can I then open myself up to seeing all parts of myself instead of just the lion parts or the panther parts or these big, shiny aspects of ourselves, right?

Speaker 1:

And so suddenly it takes on another layer of conversation that I'm sure we'll dive into in the future, of how can we then use our power animals and our spirit animals to become more accepting of and aware of ourselves and our own aspects, and so thinking about too when an animal shows up in your life, what does that say about you, what energy are you giving off that's calling them in?

Speaker 1:

What are the really powerful, strong aspects of your connection and how are they coming to support the things that need more attention and can be brought into more of an aligned space? Right, and so we start to have this really beautiful connection, this really beautiful back and forth with nature and with our spirit animals, of here's what I have to offer you, here's what you have to offer me, and can we enter into this co-creative relationship with nature where we recognize that everything has meaning and everything has medicine and everything has purpose? And so, as we wrap up today's conversation, I would love to know, chantel, for someone who is just starting out with this idea of connecting with spirit animals, or calling them in, or what have you, what would be your first piece of advice that you would give them?

Speaker 2:

Go sit in nature, go meditate, go, just just be in nature. However, that is, if it's walking, hiking, sitting at the park, you know, just taking time out and being aware, just being observant of what's around, but also tuning into, like, what energy that you're offering them because it's really what we're offering that is going to help them reveal themselves, because they they camouflage themselves, and it's not until we can release our barriers and everything and let our energy connect with them. It's when they're finally going to show, reveal themselves to us, because they see us before we see them. So it's just connecting with it and being open, open your mind, open your heart, and then notice how that is interpreting for you.

Speaker 1:

What is?

Speaker 2:

it. What's the medicine you're taking in?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. I think I would say to start by being open. I think we have a lot more preconceptions and expectations of how nature works and what animals are for in our minds than we often realize. So be open to seeing where those stories are that might be holding you back from being open to all of the wisdom that animals have for you, and then seeing if you can step into a space of just awareness and getting curious of what animals already are in my life, what haven't I been seeing? And when I open myself to that, what does it mean for me? Just be open and curious and aware is a great place to start as well.

Speaker 1:

So thank you all so much for joining us for this conversation, for tuning in today. I hope it brought you some insight and inspiration into how you can begin to connect with your spirit animals and power animals in your daily waking life. We would, of course, love to hear your top takeaways over in our Moon Rising Shamanic Mystics Facebook group what animals have been showing up for you, how you engage with your power animal, et cetera, et cetera. And until next time, may you awaken to the whispers of wisdom rising from within. You can find us on Instagram, facebook, youtube and TikTok at Moon Rising Institute, or visit our website moonrisinginstitutecom to learn more about our mission and find future opportunities to connect with our community of shamanic mystics. Once again, thank you for sharing space with us today, and until next time may you awaken to the whispers of wisdom rising from within.