The Animal Within

Sometimes the Wisdom of the Animal comes from Within Yourself.  

I am a Shapeshifter, one who traverses the Astral and takes the form of a varying number of creatures.  Primarily wolf, or feline, but always an animal of some sort.

Yet in the waking world, I can feel these animal traits take over as a phantom-limb sensation or an instinctual mood. This is known as “shifting.”  Why would one do this?  Sometimes we can glean wisdom from the animals by becoming them.

There are times I’ll sit back and imagine, say, a deer, and I’ll feel those swiveling ears upon my head, alert for any sound indicating a predator is nearby.  The urge to flee and protect both me and my young.  A prey animal can never be too careful, but this caution saves lives.  What messages can be obtained just by shifting alone?  What kind of animal mental states can see me through different situations?

Let us take a Journey…

While not everybody may possess this ability to phantom or mentally take on the shape of an animal, I want you to sit down and try the following exercise.

1. Do whatever you usually do to relax.  Calm your mind, meditate, lay still for a time, and feel your breathing.
2. Now think of an animal.  Let us try a wolf.
3. Feel your face elongate into a muzzle, your nose now on the end of it.  Try sniffing with it, feel as if you can smell stronger and more vibrant smells around you than normal.
4. Your ears are now near the top of your head.  Listen to the noises around you and feel them swivel to pinpoint it.
5. Now that you feel some of the basic sensations, try to think like a wolf.  Let your mind take your wolf-shaped body on an adventure.  Are you at a rocky den?  Perhaps a snowy woodland!
6. Focus on what you are feeling as you wander.  What can you learn in this form?  Don’t focus too hard on making things happen, but instead let the feelings and messages come to you.
7. When you are done learning and exploring, pull back out.   Feel out your human body, much like reversing the wolf shift we just went through.  Your nose is shortening, your hands are dexterous.

I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments with this technique!