Are You A Frog?

It is no accident that the Frog figures prominently in all forms of shamanism.  It is prehistoric and operates with one of the most evolved nervous systems on the planet. Even so, it has a weakness in its programming.  The frog cannot detect gradual change.  You put a live frog in a big pot of room temperature water and gradually heat the water to a slow boil, the frog will just swim around in the pot until it is cooked to death.  However, put a live frog into a pot of boiling water and those legs will keep its chin from gettting wet.

This phenomenon is similar to the way some people achieve true self refinement.  Some of us will spiral downward in tight concentric circles never seeming to hit the proverbial bottom, then suddenly, WHAM, we get T-Boned by a real shock to the system and then we see the light.

I discovered I had a Frog Totem when I went for a Guided Meditation session. Animal Totems represent energies that aid in our personal journeys.  First Nations people erected totem poles to represent their success in completing the many rites of life.  The higher the totem pole, the more challlenges and hardships overcome.  However, it is the animal on the base of the totem pole that is the most important and represents the thematic struggle of its companion.

We started guided meditation just like you see in the movies: You're in a forest... you smell the grass, the moss, the bark of the trees, you feel the moist earth beneath your bare feet and you begin to walk in one direction... until you come into a clearing.

Three animals will approach.  Let them come one by one and if you feel like interacting, interact... if you don't that's okay.

My first animal was a mountain lion.  She paced around me a few times and then walked to the edge of the clearing and lay down.

Then, a Kodiak bear emerged from the forest and got up on her hind legs right in front of me.  Must have been 12 feet tall.  She sat on her butt and pawed the air a bit, sniffing, then went to the other edge of the clearing and began scratching her back on the trees.

Then a frog came hopping in -- crazy hops: 8 feet at a time.  It was fluorescent orange with black and yellow markings.  It hopped up my leg with a sticky pad grip and hopped right into my mouth.  I started to trip out in my meditation, kaleidescope globs and glass shards into impressionist paintings then buffets of exotic food.

At the end of the meditation, our guide explained that since the frog made physical contact with me and further, I had ingested its substance, that was a clear indication that my totem animal was The Frog.

I say was, because I am no longer numb to the gradual.  I've slowed down my perspective and because I am shooting more frames in my life with my attention, I can manage my self work even through gradual decay. Now, I am a Lynx.

What totem animal is the influencing force in your life?  Below are some interesting sites.
http://www.animaltotem.com/ - classic site, easy to nav
http://www.totemanimals.com/ - modern site with dynamic features
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4076/index1.html - annoying site but wealth of info