Power Animal for June: Horse

June is the month of summer vacation, picnics, Solstice, parades and finding peaceful solace under shady trees. In this green pasture of time, grazes our power animal of the month: Horse.

Horses have long been associated with the yang principle of masculine energies, because of their ability to take quick, powerful and decisive action, for their own sake and for the aid of humans. Horses are earth-bound and grounded: their hooves listen to the wisdom of the terrain, their nostrils sense danger, their instincts tell them when to go, when to stop, and who is friend or foe.

Yet because horses gallop and jump, riding one feels like flying through the air. This heavenly sensation, (terrifying for some), along with their keen sensitivity and extraordinary communication skills, makes horse a magnificently powerful and gentle being, all at once. This yin-yang quality is doubly emphasized in renditions of Pegasus and Unicorn.

These four-legged masterpieces of creation are deeply instinctual, passionate and sexual: their physical prowess and speed awes and delights and lifts the load us rational humans carry. The horse has been credited with the greatest contribution to modern civilization, for they were the precursor to the steam engine. Without their ability AND willingness to carry us tremendous distances, communities would be separated, native tribes would have become extinct, and most of us would not be living in the wild west (aka Santa Barbara) today.

Horse: hardworking, quick running, wild, free, domesticated, strong willed, rebellious, powerful, passionate, beautiful, helpful, carrier of heavy things, intelligent, sensitive, wary, quiet, still, gentle, bucking, galloping, racing, flying through the air.

When Horse makes an appearance in the Dreamtime and in waking, approach him/her respectfully, expose the contents of your own heart, trust him, but trust yourself too, ask him to take you places you have never been, to help you embark on the hero’s journey, to guide you towards your instincts, to allow passion into your life, or to reign it in if it is destroying you.

Horse is here to show you how to move ideas from the realm of dreams to the arena of action; to help you become spiritual grounded, embodied, in a way that will allow you to be of service to others.

Rhino Power

"NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW!" is the mantra of Rhinoceros people: the perfect power animal for those fed up with uncertainty, insecurity and inertia. Rhinos weigh 150 pounds at birth, and can reach up to 3 tons: next to elephants they are as ancient, large, powerful, tenacious and earthy as any creature alive. Thus, they are credited with the qualities of groundedness, practicality, endurance, wisdom and Power, with a big "P" (or "R"). Rhinos are typically gentle and community focused by nature -- unless provoked. They may keep cool in the mud, but they don't get stuck in it.  If you feel stuck in life, envision the rhino's horn on your own head; it's thick skin shielding you from the daily indignities and defeats that you have let knock you down; his sturdy feet forging a new and confident path. Rhinos know how to strike a balance between conserving energy and charging ahead. When they want or need something, they don't spend months or years contemplating it (even though they can live for half a century): they go for it. Stop being lazy. Stop making excusing. Rhinos don't whine, they snort. If you aren't happy in every aspect of your life, do something about it, right this minute....charge!

Interesting Article About Dangers of Meditation and Extreme Altered States

http://downthecrookedpath-meditation-gurus.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html

We would love to hear your thoughts on this article, published by renowned analysts. How common is it for someone to experience what is described in this article?

Have you ever experienced "Spiritually induced" psychosis?

How did you get balanced and grounded again (or didn't you?)

Do studies like this scare people more than they help people?

What did you learn from it that will help you in your meditation/spiritual practices?

What is wrong with this article, if anything? 

SLOTH: POWER ANIMAL FOR MONTH OF MARCH 2014

As spring time drags its feet getting to most of the country, our power animal of the month yawns and stretches. Say "Good morning!" (around lunch time) to Sloth. "Sloth is a power animal??" You stop your rushing around for a moment and wonder.

But they are so ... slothful!

In our busy, action-oriented society, creatures that nap all day as they hang from the tree tops like furry hammocks are often misunderstood, just as humans are when we try to preserve our energies. Yet Sloth may be the Taoist Master of the animal word. Instead of rushing into the future, they know how to "be" in the present. "Emptiness is fullness" says Lao Tzu Sloth. (Reference: Dr. Gary Toub, Jungian Analyst.)

Sloths rarely let their feet touch the ground. Instead, they escape their fastest predators, like the jaguar, by being perfectly still and letting their bodies blend into the tree-bark. What they lack in muscle-tone they make up in brain matter.

They also have long lives because they honor their slow metabolism. August is known as "the dog days", because man's because man's best friend also knows how silly it is to rush around when it is hot and humid out. If we dub March as "the sloth days" we might give ourselves permission to store up our energies for the exciting and fun summer months, and actually be more productive when all is said and done.

If you don't really have to move quickly or do extra work, address those guilty or fearful feelings, and give yourself some permission to be like our meditative mammal pals: and go stretch out on the beach, laze on the couch, or hang upside down from your palm trees.