There are many ways to finding out what your journey, it is best to meet one at a time in order to make the most of the visit. My favorite way and most recommend is through a special meditation journey. That is, a meditation with a specific purpose and intent. As usual, grab your journal so you can write down your experience as soon as you’ve finished.
You don’t want to forget anything. When you have completed your journey, start your research about your particular animal. You might want to pull in their essence during your daily events, so pick a calendar, a picture, a statue or whatever you like. The most important part to this meditation is to keep an open mind. Don’t go into this with preconceived ideas or perceptions!
Animal Guide Meditation Since this is a special meditation, you may want to prepare your meditation space in a special way. Add a few ritualistic events, such as lighting a white candle and saying a prayer stating your intent for this meditative session. You may want to decorate your space with several animal statues or books about a variety of animals. Once you meet your animal guide, you can remove these generic items and replace them with specific ones of your personal animal spirit(s). Once you are all set and prepared, this is what you do.
Take your time, try to imagine as much detail as possible. And it can’t be stressed enough how important it is not to go into this meditation with pre-conceived ideas about what you would LIKE your guide to be.
Keep an open mind and an open heart. Sit in a comfortable position, one that you can sustain for about 30-45 minutes. Close your eyes and take in a deep cleansing breath. Fill your lungs to their fullest capacity. Then release the breath through your mouth and push all the air out of your body. Take in 3 deep breaths through the nose, imagine the white light from the universe coming into your lungs and collecting at your solar plexus <chakra.htm> . With all 3 exhales, image all the stress, anxiety and negativity you have leaving your body carried out to the universe on a gay smoke where it can be dissipated and no longer do harm to anyone. As you exhale, imagine the events of the day or week floating out of your body. Put these worries aside and begin to relax your entire body and mind.
Feel the tension in your muscles begin to subside. Begin at your solar plexus and imagine the white light moving up and down your body from this point. Imagine the warmth of the energy as it passes through your muscles and organs. Feel the tingling sensations as the light moves down to your toes and up your body to the top of your head. Imagine your entire body engulfed by this white divine light, from the inside out. Say a prayer once more asking your guides and teachers to come to you and to help with the purpose of this mediation. State your intention clearly and ask ‘God’ to help you with your meditative journey. Don’t forget to thank them up front for their efforts. This step takes a little practice, don’t worry if you can’t do this for any extended period of time, but at least give it a try.
Keep your eyes closed, but look up at the pineal gland. This is a small gland located in the middle of your forehead, just above the brow. (this is also considered to be the position of your third eye and is therefore the gateway to higher conscious realms). Try to keep your eyes focused on this point. The muscles around your eyes may become sore as you stretch them upward, so don’t over do this at first. As you practice, this step will become easier and easier to do. As you focus on your third eye imagine your at the base of a tunnel, dimly light and slanted upward. Imagine your astral body (or your soul) standing up from your physical body and begin to walk toward and into the tunnel. See the lights on the walls and the texture of the floor as you walk through the tunnel. Imagine yourself moving upward.
Just ahead you see the opening to the tunnel and as you reach the top, you realize you are standing on a ledge high above your town. You feel propelled to raise your arms and step off the cliff. At the very second you leave the cliff, your astral body morphs into a beautiful bird and you begin to fly westward toward the Pacific.
Imagine the landscape passing below you, the mountains, rivers, forests and deserts. Imagine your soul flying over the coastline of California and out over the ocean. Now turn your wings a little to the north, flying toward the center of the northern pacific. As you travel over the water you see in the distance an island. It’s not a terribly big island, but it’s large enough to hold a tall dormant volcano which now has a great water fall spilling into a clear pool at it’s base. Now dip your wings slightly and make your way to the edge of that pool. As you step onto the island under a large shade tree, you instantly morph back into your human soul form. Look around and see the soft carpet of moss under your feet, listen to the crashing soothing sounds of the waterfall, take in a deep breath and smell the fresh flower sweetened air. This is the Island of the Animal Kingdom. Every animal that has ever existed lives on this island or in the pool of water before you. Now imagine yourself sitting under this tree on the moss, next to the pool of water. Get very comfortable and prepare yourself for another internal meditation on this island. Imagine yourself going into a meditation state. Call your animal guide and ask them to come and make themselves known to you. Imagine yourself getting as relaxed as possible. As soon as your ready, imagine yourself opening your eyes. The first image you see before you is your animal spirit. Either on the land or in the water, the animal makes itself known to you. The remainder of this meditation is up to the individual. You can ask their name, ask them what lessons you have to learn from them. Ask them what strengths and/or weaknesses they bring to you.
Ask them how they can help you combat these weaknesses. And ask them how you can call on their strengths to help you during stressful situations or when ever you need a little extra energy. When you have concluded your visit, make sure you thank them deeply for their gift of service and protection to you. Thank them for coming here during this meditation to meet you and/or visit with you. Give them a goodbye hug. Then imagine yourself lifting your arms and morphing back into the bird spirit. Fly back over the ocean to California, over the deserts and forests and rivers. Back to the edge of the tunnel. As soon as you step down on the tunnel you morph back into your human self again.
Imagine yourself walking back into the tunnel and heading back down to your meditative space. Imagine your soul walking through the door to your room, and seeing your physical body right where you left it. As your soul steps back inside your spiritual body, all the visions sensations and answers you received merge with your physical brain and are automatically stored into your conscious mind. Take in a deep breath, begin to feel your body, become more and more aware of your surroundings, have a nice long and hard stretch, then open your eyes.
Remember: The last thing you should do before you get up from your meditative spot is to record this event either on tape or in a journal. It’s important to do it right away while the images, feelings and sounds are still clear in your mind. Next, find information about your animal guide. Read about it’s habits, talents and personality. How much does this animal reflect your own personality? You should also begin to surround yourself with images of you animal guide. This helps the conscious mind connect with the animal spirit during the day and can give you added strength and support during your activities. The more you meet with your animal guide, the more you begin to feel their presence around you during your conscious states. You will feel them at your side, perhaps lying down next to you, protecting you, and giving you comfort when you may feel all alone. They are truly our best friends and will never leave us.