Phillip Kansa - Animal Spirit Wisdom: A Pocket Reference to 45 Power Animals

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my daughters Brigitte and Charlotte for their openness and for letting me follow my vocation, even when it took me thousands of miles away from them. They have always been close to me in my heart!

Phillip Kansa (Spirit Bear)

It was while I was following my shamanic path that the door that would lead to power animals opened, a path that I am able to follow thanks to the love, tolerance, and support of my family. I would particularly like to thank my mother Ingeborg, my sisters Barbara and Heike, and their children, Anika, Anna, and Simon; you have always believed in me. My thanks also go out to my beloved companion, best friend, and life partner Spirit Bear. Thank you for your greatness, your love, and for making me realize that love is the most important thing for all conscious beings.

Elke Kirchner-Young

We would both like to thank the participants in our seminars for their insights, for they have often been our teachers. We must also thank Schirner Verlag for the faith they have placed in us, and Markus Schirner and Elke Truckses for their support and for the love they have shown as we follow our path.

Introduction

Knowledge of spirit animals still remains a key part of the lives of many Native American tribes to this day. The tradition is handed down orally, and shamans in particular work with spirit animals, also known as power or totem animals.

These animals are spiritual helpers from the animal kingdom that bring healing, strength, protection, companionship, and support to our daily lives. They connect us with our spiritual dimensions and deliver the gift of their power. Bear's healing power, for example, will help you maintain a strong body and a cool head. The sharp eyes of Hawk will bring perspective, and the wisdom of Owl will guide smart decisions. All these animals share a connection with the Divine Source, with your own higher self, and with your soul, which bears all knowledge within it. They also connect you with Mother Earth and all her creatures.

We invite you to make your world a richer place and to accept the help of animal energy from other dimensions. The exercises in this book will enable you to make contact, receive strength and support, and enjoy deep spiritual experiences that will strengthen you in your daily life and in specific circumstances.

Choose a place in which you feel calm and relaxed for the exercises. Light a candle and use it to invite the spiritual world to be present. Soothing background music will make it easier for you to connect with light-filled dimensions.

We wish you great joy on your inner and outer journeys, and in your encounters.

Read this book in one hit or dip in and out of it. Hold it against your heart while thinking about a situation in which you could use the support of a power animal; using your intuition, open the book and find the animal that can help you at that precise moment. You can also use the same approach to invite a spirit animal into your life for a day, a week, or a month. Spending time thinking about power animals will open up a whole new world for you. More and more animals will begin to come to you, they can greatly enrich your life and help you at every level.

In a number of different traditions, power animals accompany people from childhood throughout their lives, and the animals become closely connected to their spiritual destiny. In order to discover your animal, make a spirit animal journey (see ) with a shaman or another spiritual teacher.

Ancient peoples would often carve an image of their animal into rock, capturing the strength of the animal within the carving (fetish figure). As a sign of your connection, wear an image of your power animal around your neck as a pendant or hang a picture of it on your wall.

The animals you encounter in the natural world could be a sign that you need their strength at that particular time. Interpret it as a clear signal if an animal shows itself to you several times and refer to the relevant pages in this book for its message. However, if the animal does not feature in the book, focus on it in your thoughts in absolute silence in order to contact it and ask for its message. Always trust your intuition.

Animals that come to you in dreams also have meaning. If the animal you dream of is not described within these pages, think about it and connect with it by imagining a small rainbow in perfect colors emerging from your heart and ask for the animal's message. Be patient if the answer does not come immediately.

The answer will come...

A Spirit Animal Journey

Allow approximately ten minutes for your spirit animal journey. Light a candle and perhaps play some soothing background music. Close your eyes and focus on taking four deep breaths, in and out.

On your next breath out, you find yourself standing in a beautiful, sunlit meadow. You can feel Mother Earth beneath your bare feet and a warm and comforting energy spreading through your body; it is complete trust. Look at the meadow with its magnificent colors and enjoy the wonderful natural fragrances. This meadow is your soul landscape. See your spirit guide taking visible form, full of light and goodness; hear it say in a soft voice that you know you can trust, "I will come with you, I will be by your side." This is one of your inner, heavenly guides. You are shown a bridge that spans a wide river. The opposite bank seems to be brighter and planted with trees and plants that are even more beautiful. You begin to cross the bridge together with your spirit guide, which says: "With every step you take across this bridge, you reach a higher level of consciousness, a level at which you can see and feel more and more." Now walk across the bridge, step by step. The closer you get to the opposite side, the more brilliant the colors of the plants, the scents, and the light become. You are now in a higher world. There is a jungle full of animal calls. Your spirit guide enters the primeval forest with you and leads you to a clearing. In the middle is a large flat stone. Sit down upon it and in your mind call your spirit animal to you. It has been waiting for you for a long time. Entice it in with your desire for a connection. Suddenly, the clearing falls silent and you notice that a creature filled with light and power is approaching from the depths of the primeval forest. It is your spirit animal! It moves toward you, gently and full of love. Greet it as you feel is appropriate and tell it how very glad you are that it has come. It will return with you to your normal life. Filled with joy, leave the jungle and walk back to the bridge, returning to your normal consciousness one step at a time. Once you have reached the other side once more, thank your spirit guide. You can meet it here any time you wish to call upon a spirit animal.