Can you sense in the sea horse that which is the same in you?

...WOW!!!...I am on the gulf of Mexico and have never seen a seahorse out there...once, after a hurricane 13 years ago there were tropical yellow fish out there...

..this weekend, I spent time with my parents' 8 month old Yorkie...is HE ever a personality!!!...then, came home to the dachshunds...and the litter of kittens!!!...

...Animals...is it not uncanny how they feel a sickness in us???..

good spaces

Yes at this moment I am for sure a sea horse, I have always been a little bit of a cowboy but these days I am ridding a little more magical horse.

A Shaman

That was such a fun thing to do Sha... I googled butterfly and eagle thinking that they may contradict each other... but they both made sense... very cool... thanx for sharing

And what did you find out my little very colorful butterffly?

A shaman

Well I googled eagle first and I soared to great heights... until I sawed "to experience extremes, to utilise my ability, even if it means getting scorched - a demanding totem"... seems I can be grounded even when flying high (pedicures may help with that), my manicured talons grasp things of the earth and my sharp beak... well we all know what touble that causes me My totem shows me opportunities and how to ride the winds to my benefit (which kinda explains my penchant for flatulence and belching at present )... what I actually took from the message was the second to last paragraph, "Eagle people can live in the realm of the spirit yet still remain connected and balanced within the realm of the Earth." The kicker was the last sentance "You must become much more than you ever dreamed possible."

Well then I just had to google butterfly to balance out my name and kinda liked the transmutation, dance of joy, symbol of change, joy and colour, life is a dance, not to take things seriously, sweetness of life... kinda balances me out nicely, I'm thinking...

totem animals.....I have a bald eagle on my right and a cougar on my left.....this I know for sure......and I must have a horse totem...because I have 4 of them....A few years back on my farm.......a mature bald eagle landed on the pasture fence post.....not more than 10' away....this is rare....even in the country....and it was off season for the bald eagle to me here....the game comm. said they all went to Alaska for fish....well, there he was just sitting on the fence post staring at me with his head turned almost completely around........I could not take my eyes off of his eyes.....they glowed like 2 suns.....and it was as if......I could see the universe in his eyes...we stared at eachother for at least 5 minutes....and my quarter horse ( with an attitude ).....came running toward the eagle....swinging her head....in a attack mode......I just watched.....as the horse approached....the eagle turned its head toward the horse, without turning his body, and with his eyes....confronted the charging horse....Well! Honey could not believe the eagle was not fleeing....and she skidded to a stop about 15" from the eagle...and backed up slowly without taking her eyes off the eagle..........when she was 20' from the eagle....she walked away and started eating grass.....the eagle then turned his attention back to me....and looked at me for another minute of so.....and then he calmly flew away......My horse with an attitude learned not to mess with an eagle....ha, she needed to be put in her place.....love all those animals.......great thread thanks.....shaman

peace

tt

ps. years back....driving over puget sound on the Narrows bridge......I had an overwhelming connection to all the life forms in the water below me....the exp. is hard to put into words....I was one with All of those sea creatures.....it was amazing..........I will never forget the feeling, never......way strange...in a nice way....

I LOVE this topic and thank you for starting this conversation!

It was the first week of December 2005. I was out shoveling snow with my neighbor when I heard a noise behind me. I turned to find a huge red tail Hawk sitting on the bottom branch of a tree in my front yard. The Hawk was about 15' away from me and at eye level. She just sat there staring at me. My neighbor looked and said, "How odd" and went on shoveling. I KNEW that this encounter was way more than "odd". I remained completely still and was totally connected to this magnificent bird. I knew nothing about totem animals at the time or their significance. All I knew at that moment was that "something" way more powerful than myself was visiting me. I wanted to get a picture of this Hawk but, was afraid to move because I wanted the moment to last forever and didn't want to scare her off. After several minutes I decided to chance it and went inside my house to get my husband and his camera. Much to my surprise the Hawk was still sitting on the branch when we got back outside. In fact, she sat there as my husband took several pictures of her. Then she spread her awesome wings and flew away.

We talked about what had just happened and I told my husband that I knew it was something special and that we were being watched out for. I told my kids about it and told them to be extra careful and to listen to their instincts even more.

3 days later one of our sons was building a church and was 30' in the air working on the ceiling from a scaffold. A cement floor was below. He has never been afraid of heights. While he was up there he became "anxious" and "something" told him to get down off that scaffold. He listened. He reached the ground and was standing and talking to a co-worker about 2 minutes later and he had a Grand Mal seizure and collapsed onto the pavement. Paramedics were called and he was rushed to the hospital with minor injuries to his face.

Had he of not listened well to his instincts he would have fell 30' onto the cement and the outcome would have been very different.

I KNOW for sure that Hawk was sent to me that day to give my family a heads up. I have never looked at Hawk's the same since that day. They have my upmost respect as well as all animals. I pay close attention to what they have to say to me now. I bought the book "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews and have learned so much more about my totem animals. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about this topic. It said that Hawks are messenger birds....I couldn't agree more.

Thanks for the fun and enlightening thread!

Blessings,

Debbie

Thanks all I had a feeling this would be a great subject, wow what great stories and I have a feeling there will be many many more, I have so many animals around me back home in Chile, the road I live on is home to hundreds of very large hawks, I can sit for hours and watch them. Every once in a while the condors will come down out of the mountains behind my house and then you realize that the hawks are just small birds compared to them. I Shaman from Peru recently said this is the time of the condor meeting the hawks and the hawks is modern technology and the condor is the wisdom of the indigenous people of the planet and he says that these two will meet and the wisdom will be shared with many.

Debbie love the story of listening to your instincts. Happns, love your eagle story for me eagles are wisdom and you sure have a lot of that, thanks. Taratuna wow to be on that horse when the lesson of order was given out must have been somthing. "overwhelming connection to all the life forms in the water" well Tuna what do you know:)

Love, Peace and Understanding the animal signs

A Shaman

I too own the book by Andrews. I am blessed to have had many wonderful experiences with several animals. A couple of years ago I was faced with a major decision and while thinking about what to do, I suddenly realized that two redtail hawks were on my fire escape. They stayed there even when I opened the window for about 20 seconds. I could have touched the back of the large female..

I went to "Aminal -Speak",they are messengers and I was directed to meditate on the 13th card of the Tarot deck. In my new deck the only card that was out of order and on top of the deck was the 13th card. It was just the information I needed.

Feather

Great Topic ashamans , Well I saw a Dove , a Kestrel and Hawk . So looked them up and here is what it said; Dove , ,Holds the energy of promise when inner turmoil is cleared the possibility of good fortune awaits us. In order to recieve the gifts the Dove bestows on us healing on all levels is paramount, go within release emotional discord , it assist in releasing trauma stored in our cellular memory. Legend and lore associate Dove with many Goddesses and it is considered the embodiment of Maternal instincts. Home and Family are important issues and will be important in this life lessons to learn.  ( Funny thing about seeing the Dove as the moment I did I cried and said " I miss you Mom " as my Mom passed away a couple months ago and when I saw the Dove that was my first thought was of her. )
Ok so next the Kestrel :  The Kestrel is the smallest member of the falcon family , Like all birds of prey it is strongly connected to the accuracy of movement , Speed and grace in hunting are its strongest attributes. Kestrels perch themselves high above thier prey then when the timing is right they swoop down hover in the air and attack, Hovering is uncommon amongst most birds and symbolizes ability to use flight to its fullest advantage. In a person mind strengthening ones intuitive agility , Kestrel medicine people often have the desire to site or be placed in a position where a wide range of vision is possible they also enjoy high places with an expansive view , their need to spend time alone is strong and a sense of independance is neccessary in order to maintain healthy relationships. They do well in any type of work that requires planning and make excellent strategist and diplomats
Hawk you have covered , but here were a few other notes on Hawk not mentioned yet One thing all Hawks have in common is the skill to move between the seen and unseen realms gracefully connecting both worlds together , their acute vision compliments this ability and their discriminating nature keeps them out of harms way . The broader vision of Hawk allows them to see what the future holds. In Man this symbolizes prophetic insight. If this medicine is underdeveloped a tendency towards over analyzing everything is common. In so doing clear vision is lost those who hold this totem should remember to keep their analytical mind under control and not allow it to run wild . also  We can run but cannot hide from our destiny sooner or later it will catch up to us.  The destiny of all humankind is to awaken from their spiritual amnesia and realign with the original intention of their soul , When Hawk flies into our life we will be asked to evaluate who we have become and rip out the threads of our self created illusions. This enables our inner truth to surface . Hawk signifies union with Great Spirit a bird of the heavens it orchestrates the changes necessary for our spiritual growth . Having this totem can be bitter sweet , If we accept its presence in our life we will be asked to surrender anything that does not honor the sacredness and integrity of all life be it an idea a feeling or an action , Although hard work is involved the rewards hawk offers us are great.

Great discriptions, Akelas8, you say ( Funny thing about seeing the Dove as the moment I did I cried and said " I miss you Mom " as my Mom passed away a couple months ago and when I saw the Dove that was my first thought was of her. ) My mother also passed a few months ago and every day since she moved on I have had a little song bird show up out side my window at sunrise and sing to me, but since I landed in the U.S. a few days ago it has been replaced by a crow, here is my interpitation of what a crow means Each crows caw has its own mening sometimes it warns of inpending danger, other times it is asking for you to join the council to help make imporant disions, This seems pretty clear when I look around at what is going on in the U.S. today. The crows black color can also represent new birth and I am here to meet my new grand babies and to help bring another into this world. I also saw a butterfly this morning trying to get a ladys attention as she was talking on a cell phone, to the native americans the butterfly is a symbol of joy and they remind us not to take life so seriously. The lady on the cell phone did not want to notice her totem, we all get to make that choise.

Love ya

A Shaman

Love you too ashamans, how awesome to have new grandchildren , and for them to have you too is wonderful . Thank you for the crow message too as I have had crows around me for years and years . Yes we all have choice to notice or not these wonderful blessings , I am so grateful for all the wonderful teachers in my life who opened my eyes and helped me open up to the nature connection long ago, I have had so much comfort from this . New Birth , I think we are going to witness a lot of New births , in our country , our world , our individual lives , and it is a beautiful exiting time to celebrate with and for each other for each one that occurs. So I celebrate your new arrival with you in spirit, Welcome little angel to our world and may your life be blessed with love and happiness always. How wonderful that song bird comes to you every day at sunrise , what a beautiful gift : ) Thank you so much for sharing here , I always love your post and the energy you bring to this board , with much love to you ashamans

My boyfriend and I were driving all over Vermont and New Hampshire looking for floor grates and ductwork to fix the house we are buying. We were exhausted and feeling really down. Then, there on the side of the road on a little rise was a doe. She was just paused looking at us. We could see her so up close - it just made you want to kiss her on her beautiful lips. And those eyes!

She watched us slow to a crawl along with the car behind us. As we passed we saw her daintly cross the road behind us.

The only depressing thing is that we must have passed at least 20 hunters as we drove around, and in front of one house someone had a buck and a doe on the hood of their truck. I don't know how anybody can kill something that beautiful. A lot of people in Vermont need the deer meat to make it through the winter, but I don't know about hunting for fun. Timeflyer/Diana

THE WHITE DOVE

Year's ago on a Sunday a white dove layed in my yard out side the kitchen window. The night before a loved one was going to commit suicide. Days later a differant friend commited suicide.

The message was so strong took a picture of the dove.