DTLA LIFE MAG #18 | JUNE 2015 | Page 51

dering what your animal totem is: Have you ever felt drawn to one animal or another without being able to explain why? This could be any animal, including birds and insects. Does a certain kind of animal consistently appear in your life? This doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical appearance; it coul d be represented in other ways, such as receiving cards and letters with the same animal pictured over and over, unexplainable dreams of a particular animal, watching television and seeing the same animal featured time and time again, or actually having the animal show up.” Following is a sampling of some totem animals right here in our urban backyard, a brief description of the “medicine” they carry, and their meaning: Crow: justice, shape shifting, change, creativity, spiritual strength, energy, community sharing, and balance. Cougar: leadership, loyalty, courage, taking responsibility, foresight. Coyote: the Trickster; intelligence, wisdom, guile, innocence, staying in the present moment. Deer: compassion, peace, intellectual, gentle, caring, kind, feminine, innocence. Dolphin: kindness, salvation, wisdom, happiness, playfulness, deep emotion. Hawk: messenger, focus, visionary power, seeing the overall view, receptivity, heightened awareness. Owl: clairvoyance, astral projection, magic, both black and white, illumination, messenger, keen insight. Wolf: loyalty, perseverance, success, intuition, spirit. Whale: wisdom, keeper of the ancient knowledge and earth history, sound, intelligence, kindness. As you call upon the essence of these amazing and local messengers, you will immerse yourself in complete harmony with their wisdom, their medicine or teaching. They are here to assist you as you navigate the “Good Red Road”, or lessons of vulnerability, being human, and seeking wholeness with all that is. They are part of the true pathway to power. Their power lies in the wisdom and understanding gained from one’s role in the Great Mystery and in honoring every living thing as a teacher. “We have not inherited the Earth from our ancestors, for indeed, we are borrowing it from our unborn children” ~ Lakota prayer Lori Tierney @cougaryoga www.loritierney.net www.redroadretreats.com