Spirit Lodge - Totem Animals - Page 131

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Bear Medicine	Birth Totems	Coyote Medicine	Dragon Ranks	Dragonfly Medicine	Eagle Medicine	Four Animal Helpers	Grey Wolf Medicine	Hawk
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PREDATOR VS. PREY
By Silver Eagle Dream Dancer

I'm wondering if we could all share a bit of our experience with the differences in predator vs.
prey medicine. I've found it to be a particularly difficult aspect to integrate when a new medicine
comes to me. For instance, working primarily with Eagle, I had wolf come to me a year or so
ago. I found that while both have their predatory aspects, wolf feels far more aggressive in that to
me and that became a fascinating challenge. That started me wondering, how do others
experience it?

Wisowl:
Hmm ... that does make me think, SEDD. My main guide, Owl, is a raptor, but I don't feel it as
menacing at all, I only feel/see her good sides ... I learned a lot from her.
When my panther got back to me (he was there in my teens!) I didn't feel him as a predator, only
his big, physical strength ... I don't feel his predatory aspects. Hmmm ... maybe I don't have to
learn these lessons? Could that be it. I know owl has aspects I haven't come across, because I
don't seem to have to learn about them!??

Silver Eagle Dream Dancer:
I didn't noticed the predatory aspects until wolf came along and there was contrast. See, I
experience eagle's predatory aspects to be targeted, precise... almost surgical in nature. Since
eagle had been my primary medicine for years, it never occurred to me that all may not be that
way. When wolf was introduced, it was messy (to me anyway) in comparison. Eagle spirals and
then strikes its target while wolf will stalk.. wait and then strike. Not to mention that eagle could
be prey to wolf.. that was interesting to integrate and balance. I have limited experience with owl
but from what I've felt, owl predatory aspects are also very different from eagle - softer
somehow. I feel owl takes more time, consideration and care in the predatory aspects than eagle
and wolf do. It is interesting to explore!

CinnamonMoon:
Spiritually speaking, when we work with our Totem Animals and they teach us their hunting
techniques, what they are teaching us is the techniques we are to apply in our life quest to find
our answers and how to grasp them, digest and assimilate, and then move on. What they hunt
teaches us what to look for and why, what attributes of their prey will benefit and nourish our
growth. What attributes of their prey makes that prey vulnerable to us so that we know why we
hunt their Medicine. When we examine the prey they go after we are examining the
vulnerabilities of the situations we explore or the information source. In this way we know how
to approach that exploration process.

The Totem Animal will have strengths demonstrated in their hunting skills; and their weaknesses
demonstrated in their vulnerability to be preyed upon. How vulnerable they are is exemplified by
the number of predators they have. Things we are to reflect on in our own nature. Whatever
preys upon that Totem is what presents a danger or places us at risk in life. Hence knowing what
another person's Totems are will tell you how that individual will compliment, teach, enhance or
threaten, challenge, or prey upon you, your beliefs and pathway.

In understanding the nature of each creature-teacher we learn many different techniques of
seeking our enlightenment and also self-protection and defense. In this way we learn how to
shield our weaknesses with our strengths, and how to bring those into harmony with our own
natures so we can balance our interactions with others and our lives with greater ease.
It's important to realize that we walk with 9 or more Totem Animals so there is a vast
combination of techniques that, over time, merge into a cohesive whole and contribute to our
own unique makeup. By studying and coming to know the habits and natures of the physical
creature we learn much about them. Then transfer that information to a spiritual perspective and
we see their higher nature, their essence, and it reflects our own. We learn through them to come
to know ourselves.

Once these issues are in the forefront we can then apply those techniques on all levels: mental,
physical, emotional, and spiritual. As we do this we greatly strengthen our own growth process
and hone our abilities. Their sensory perceptions reflect our own way of perceiving. Their nature
reflects our nature. But...it is in combination and unification that we bring it all together so that
we know which techniques to apply in a given situation that will be to our greatest advantage.
As we get to know our Totems and work with them, beyond their general nature, we learn their
individual traits and habits that enhance our understanding. The particular Totem we have
coming to us is unique to our needs, and will be very complimentary to them. We study first the
species, for our spiritual Animal Helper is going to represent that species in essence. But it goes
beyond just that to what it is intending to teach us to help us further our path according to our
specific needs...fine tuning. *S*

In combining our understanding of all our Totems and Guides we learn what it is that makes us
such complex creatures and we learn to fully understand what it is in ourselves that needs to be
honed, brought under control, overcome, or enhanced. Simple as baking a cake....right? ROFL

Northernwolf:
I have to disagree with that aspect of wolf as I don’t see it that way. And yes I'm arguing just for
the sake of it . Hey I got to give another point of view . You see I don’t find wolf messy, au
contraire! It's a very discriminant hunter, hunting the old and diseased animals thus ensuring a
renewed food supply for the seasons to come. Not as surgical as Eagle but more discriminant. It
teaches cooperation as well which implies cooperation communication and pooling of strengths
and resources. Hey I just had to pitch in my 2 cents

Mouse:
Cinn, could you elaborate a bit more about how this would work if the prey and predator are both
Animal Helpers in a person? For instance, Cougar and Deer walk with me, as do Mouse and two
raptors. Could you give me an example of how a situation could be explored by seeing the
Cougar/Deer aspects in it, or the Mouse/raptor aspects?

Northernwolf:
Mouse, I'm not Cinn ( at least last time I checked... still too tall and wrong gender ) but I can give
you a brief idea, I think. If you take Cougar/deer. If I remember well deer as to do with
gentleness ( at least in the Sams-Carson cards ) so this gentleness would balance out the
something aggressive nature of cougar and remind that even if we walk our own path and ask
nothing of others when they do cross our path we need to take a more gentle approach with them
instead of simply brushing them off. Vice versa for dear it could imply an assertiveness and a
quiet strength reflected even in gentleness.

As for mouse/raptors, you could take it for a point of focus. Raptors macrocosmic and rodents
microcosmic view of the world. In this case if you have both of them I'd say it would help you
balance yourself out or at least help maintain an equilibrium.

CinnamonMoon:
I know it may sound confusing at first Mouse, but in actuality, it's the lessons they teach so the
predator/prey aspect is not the life/death cycle but the issues surrounding the play-out of those
actions. I hope that made sense. Okay, let's try this...Cougar preys upon Deer. Strength vs.
Gentleness. Temper your power/strength with gentle nurturing and you will know when to be
aggressive with it and when not to. When to show gentle strength through love. In the negative
sense it is just the opposite.

Mouse is preyed upon by many predators, be that a Hawk, Fox, Wolf, Owl...all those predators
teach Mouse to be *very* cautious, but also to learn to trust those instincts that warn so it can
keep exploring life. It is demonstrated in Mouse's movements. Sniff, lift the head and look, take a
scurry, sniff more, look again, leap to get a glimpse and back down with your nose to the
grindstone so you can get where you're going. Sometimes, when Mouse doesn't see it coming it
will become a victim, but mice are prolific and there is survival in numbers. Lots of family social
issues. I don't want to sidetrack too much here with that but give you the general idea.
Let's take Cougar/Deer and a theoretical situation. You walk as a mother and are in Cougar's
perspective, caring for your young. Feeding and tending their needs. Deer would teach the
gentle nurturing to soften the swipes of Cougar in frustration with those young. You see? Now if
those children are in danger, watch out, Deer would flee (a vulnerability to avoid for the
children's sake) so you would bring forth Cougar's instinct to powerfully defend your children
and protect them from that danger.

Just look at how you are with your own children, how guarded you are about their safety and
how fierce about seeing it stays safe. At the same time you are a gentle and loving mother that
nurtures and sees to their needs, respecting those needs and giving of yourself. Teaching them
when to step out in safety and when to stay in the shadows...very Deer-like when they want to
play and very Cougar-like when they are stalking things. So that's a part of your physical
makeup.

Now on a spiritual level that's transposed to the higher essence of the creatures we walk with,
the focus then goes toward the Web of Life, the Circle of Life that sustains through cycles and
generations. Cougar would help you understand the responsibility of the next 7 generations and
how your actions would affect them. Perhaps Deer would help you focus on nurturing this
one....where others are concerned.

On a personal level both will take you deeper into their traits and their individual uniqueness to
better understand yourself and how to hone and employ them for your growth and advancement
with your pathwork. It is the same application, just on a level of need, presence, and perspective.
By this I mean that if you are focused in spiritual issues you adjust those traits to serve you there,
in the physical sense it may call for a more physical reaction in employing them through either
aggressive or passive behaviors.

If you were to let the vulnerability of Mouse dominate you then you'd never reach for anything,
your fear would be so great that it would hinder growth until you found the faith in yourself to
take that next step. But if you take the strength of mouse (in sensitivity to the environment) that
becomes a defense mechanism and you can walk more guided, slowly exploring each step, but
making the journey. Strength of Mouse is in its trust of its environment sheltering it and using it
for all it's worth to insure its safety. It's about learning to trust, to be innocent and see the good,
not allowing the fear to incapacitate you even through around every turn there may or may not
be a predator waiting. Learning to see things for what they are rather than illusions, pushing
past fear. Mice are very courageous. *Smiles*

The predator aspect is also what knowledge you are seeking after, the prey aspect represents
those answers. So in any given situation the predator is ‘hungry’ for knowledge and seeks out its
prey. Learn the stalking/hunting habits and you learn the best technique to employ. Learn the
defensive moves and you learn where answers may be hiding. In the spirit world they are not
enemies, so there is no physical conflict in having predator and prey totems. Does this help?

Mouse:
Yes, it does Cinn. Thank you! And Northerwolf, thank you too (giggles and asks NorthernWolf
when was the last time you looked in the mirror? Just in case... I mean, you never know whether
you've changed looks or gender in the meantime)

I knew of Cougar and Deer for a long time. I had been experimenting with the different aspects
of them in the 3D world. This is already more than 15 years ago though... I would experiment
with walking along, and if I saw birds on my projected path, I would consciously picture myself
as a cougar, just padding along. The birds would fly away. If I pictured myself as deer, the birds
would just move out of the path, but only *just*.

When I started working (this would be daycare), I would picture Deer if I wanted to make sure
that the person I was talking to about a sensitive matter, wouldn't feel threatened, and feel
ensured that I had their well-being at heart. A child, coming for the first time, would be greeted
by Deer. However, if I had to defend the space, I would picture Cougar. There were different
situations in which that was called for; a divorced parent who's rights were terminated due to
abuse/molestation, who would come into the group and claim to pick up the child with
permission. And once a co-worker who had been hitting children, whom I confronted with
Cougar in mind. There were children present during that confrontation, and I pictured that the
children would continue to see Deer along with Cougar, and the co-worker would see Cougar
only. But again, all this was already some 15 years ago, LOL.

At the time, I was convinced that it was the energy of Deer and Cougar that I was drawing on,
which affected my own energy and made it either more loving (Deer) or more strong and
protective (Cougar).

Northernwolf, what you write about Mouse and raptors is a good one. Mouse can get rather
caught up in one tiny detail, and a raptor would be able to perceive it from a much larger picture,
including where Mouse is stuck. Cinn, what you write about Mouse obviously makes a lot of
sense to me. Thanks for suggesting that other animals (not just raptors) would be predators to

Mouse.
Could the Animal Helpers cause perceived inner conflict? As in, would there be times where
Mouse would feel perceived danger from another Totem? Or would it be possible for Deer to
feel threatened/stalked by Cougar? I don't know if that would be the case for me, but I am now
finding myself wondering whether this has anything to do with when I might feel conflicted
about a situation.

Silver Eagle Dream Dancer:
“Could the Animal Helpers cause perceived inner conflict?”
In what happened to me when wolf came into focus... it was more an overshadowing of eagle for
just a little while. There wasn't any threatening feelings, just that wolf was expressed more
aggressively at first, than eagle was. I found that as a non-territorial person, I became very
territorial overnight! I mentioned the stalking aspect which was very difficult for me at first. I
would have the reactions without the understanding of why or how. But after a few days, eagle
came to help balance out the reactions and help focus wolf. I suspect I had trouble with the
balance because as just a person, I had few natural territorial tendencies, i.e. boundaries etc...
so while it was familiar because I experienced others who were territorial over my lifetime, I
didn't understand it from a personal perspective and eagle had not shared that aspect with me at
that point. Just my two cents

CinnamonMoon:
You're very welcome, Mouse! *S* Hon, let me say that you came into this life with your lights
on already so your own innate nature guided you to work in ways you already knew from past
life experiences. You did well and you used it appropriately. *S* Thank you for sharing your
examples as that's how we are supposed to apply the spiritual aspects in the mundane world.
Your observations with the birds reacting to Cougar and Deer differently is also accurate.
Calling upon the energy/essence of these creatures we certainly can divide them as you
exemplified with the children seeing both and the co-worker only seeing Cougar. Well done, and
again, innate to do so for you. You say this was begun some 15 years ago but I would venture to
say that you explored it in yourself way before that without noticing perhaps. It's in your nature,
you were born with these traits, that's why those Totems you have walk with you. They are your
Spirit Helpers, Teachers, and Protectors. *Soft smile*

"At the time, I was convinced that it was the energy of Deer and Cougar that I was drawing on,
which affected my own energy and made it either more loving (Deer) or more strong and
protective (Cougar)."

Basically that is what you are doing, but you don't call on it "from them" you call it up within
yourself. When you call on an animal that is not one of your Totems then, yes, you call from that
essential energy. Slight difference. Basically the same type of use though.

Northernwolf's contribution here is quite accurate too. There are so many examples that can be
presented in an infinite number of ways. Through what we've demonstrated here already you can
see how this works and how it can be applied very effectively. As for Mouse having other animal
predators, yes, most animals do. They prey on defined species for their needs and they are preyed
upon by defined species as well. The larger and stronger the animal the fewer predators (as a
rule).

Now you asked: "Could the Animal Helpers cause perceived inner conflict? As in, would there
be times where Mouse would feel perceived danger from another Totem? Or would it be possible
for Deer to feel threatened/stalked by Cougar?"

No. Not as a rule. The confusion or feelings of confidence or fear come from the vulnerabilities
surfacing or the assertiveness when needed. Where the confusion comes in is when people don't
understand these aspects at all or well enough to utilize them and recognize them when they
appear. That's why a study of your Totems is so beneficial on the surface alone. Then when you
take it deeper and actually establish contact with them you learn even more. They will teach you
the spiritual side of their aspects and you need to then apply that to the mundane situations later
on after honing them first. In the spiritual world they are not predator/prey but they use that to
demonstrate their gifts and natures because in the physical reality we are very much involved
with predator/prey situations in life on all levels...even in a daycare. Hope that helps define it
some anyway. LOL

Northernwolf:
Imho, in the way you present it yes. Since they are both totems and in a way represent a part of
your personality I would then say that it's possible that in regard to certain situation it may
cause a conflict as to how to act or what type of action to take like it can happen to anyone who
could have different views on how to resolve a situation. This however could not happen with
someone who as only Cougar as a totem and is using the prey aspect of that animal to balance it
out. In that approach the prey is only used for balance and not an integral part of ones make up.
Of course this is my opinion and I may be clueless