Last week, I accepted a challenge on Habitica that suggested at least 10 minutes of meditation daily. I felt up to the challenge, but rather than spending that time sitting quietly focused on nothing but breathing, I found a series of guided meditations to try out. The most helpful of these have been from The Honest Guys and involved letting go of past hurts and gaining confidence. These are short journeys, but each time I’ve finished with wet cheeks.
My first guided meditation took me to a green field beneath a tree, holding a handful of balloons. I gave each one a name to correspond to a worry or past hurt that I’d been carrying. The second was to realize my place in the world by going to dark nothingness and talking one-on-one with a spirit guide (it’s pretty easy to feel important when there’s nothing around you). In both cases, the narrator asks that you visualize a comforting, familiar presence. They can be anyone you want, but they are there to help, mentor and guide you. In every instance, my spirit guide is an animal. To help me let go of old hurt, I encountered a wild horse. To help me feel confident and positive, I encountered a lion. These aren’t my usual totem animals. I’m more drawn to cats, rhinos and octopuses. These two were unexpected.

After consistently meeting animals in my visions, I decided to research their significance. That’s when I realized how powerful that symbolism had been.

Most interesting to me was the particular horse that came to me.  It was a Przewalski’s horse.  Here’s a cool bit of trivia for them.

Spirit?  You don’t say!

I continue to seek out new meditations daily, but these have been the most fascinating and profound.  Have you met your totem animal yet?