TOTEMS and the SOUL CIRCLE
- Written by Dr. Linda Salvin
We come from all walks of life. We have different passions, interests, levels of awareness, demographical variables ranging from age, race, geographical location, marital status, etc.
None of us are exactly the same but we are more alike than not. DNA within each person is only a percent or two off when comparing our uniqueness blueprint. What is really one of the only constants in our lives is God, the universe and the synchronicity of all actions.
I’m walking my dog on a daily basis, I have thoughts of a certain person, my career or even my deceased mother. I look down at the ground and there lies a beautiful feather from a bird. I collect them. Since moving to my current residence, I must have collected over 100 feathers which I place in two containers. The feathers are a totem, a message, a confirmation from spirit.
I watch for totems. A totem is an object, tangible or not, with a specific spiritual meaning. Often, I find something near my car, on my walk, in a parking lot and if I do not know its meaning, I google its spiritual significance. When I began my spiritual journey, I would look at a butterfly as a wink from God. A butterfly would appear as I questioned something, made a statement or sought a sign that I was on the right path.
I read a poem on my radio show almost every night called “God Are You Real?” It talks about a child seeking and finally after the stars shining, thunder rolling, a bird singing and a child coming into the world, the child still questioned God if he were real, ‘whereupon God reached down and touched the child but the child brushed the butterfly away and walked away unknowingly.” Totems, proof, a sign, a symbol.
Through the years, I learned the meanings of hundreds of totems. Ted Andrews, in his book Animal Speaks, described almost every imaginable totem in the universe. Gone before his time, he left an amazing work of years of research to explain the meaning of each totem one might come in contact with ranging from a simple insect to an enormous animal.
Butterflies, crows, snakes, feathers, a praying mantis, a fly, squirrel m horse or whatever seems to be in my path at the moment I am aware will provide a message for me to evaluate or smile as confirmation of my immediate path, concern or intent. There are messages with each and every movement, entity and symbol if you want to believe, connect and embrace the and apply it all to your spiritual connection to the earth.
When I meet people of similar interests or the fans and listeners I acquired over two decades as a radio talk show host or those that follow me online in today’s digital age, I consider then all part of what I call the Soul Circle. Sometimes our own blood family members are furthest from our Soul Circle and others become our family to connect to and love.
I have found friends, partners, co-workers as we all do, either compatible or not. We compete, adore, resent, love, embrace and reject. No one is right or wrong, it’s more on who we feel most comfortable with to share ideas, philosophies, adventures. We are more compatible in some groups and less so in others; the more in alignment of the Soul Circle, the more unity and security there is. Many people from school and clicks shared the same ideas, feelings, and were of a specific Soul Circle at the time; as years continue to pass, we meet many new people, enlarge the circle or even walk away from the more negative or less compatible. Often times, the door is shut for you whether or not the reason is understood at the moment. Everything happens in time for a reason. That is the synchronicity of the universe. Much like a monarch butterfly fluttering its beautiful wings while walking deep in thought, surprised by its appearance, I look up as if to hear it say, “I’m here…whomever that may be.
Can we all trust God? Agree politically? Socially? Financially? Creatively? The opportunities are endless. Ideas, modalities, merchandise all the way over to the spiritual, non-tangible ideas of the world. Why do stars shine and why is there war? We have questions never to be answered or resolved but we are in sync with the movement of what is around us each and every moment if we stay aware of the totem, significant messages and the Soul Circle of people to talk to.
During anxious and upsetting times, such as what we have been experiencing during the Covid19 Pandemic, totems can appear to give peace, comfort, calmness to an anxious, upsetting and confusing time. While on the air, I used to teach listeners to watch for the butterflies and let them guide them on their journey.
My grandmother died in 1986, my aunt in 2006 and my mother in 2009. I had signs from grandmother and aunt all along. The butterflies flew abundantly for a few weeks. When my aunt was passing, I had left her apartment at 11PM only to receive the call at 3AM. She and I both owned an Infiniti G20 at the time. As I opened the door to my house, my key chain suddenly fell apart. It had never done that.
When I looked on the floor, I noticed the “Infinitii” logo from my car’s keychain was staring back at me. How odd or was it? Of all things, was it the totem she had passed successfully to the light? But of course, it was! I drove to meet my cousins at the apartment. While walking from the parking lot to the grounds where there were five buildings surrounding the park like-setting, I heard in my head I’d find three pinecones.
To my recollection, there were no pine trees on the premises. As I walked slowly down the path, I scoured the ground for pinecones thinking I must be crazy. Just before reaching my aunt’s complex, there, on the ground were 3 baby pinecones. I picked them up and took them with me. When I found my cousins, the first thing I asked was, “what did she say would be a sign from her” and they both said, “pinecones”. I opened my palm to reveal the three baby pinecones I had just found. One for each of us. The totem, symbol, synchronicity, proof in the moment.
After my mother’s death from lung cancer in 2009, I remember asking for signs. One day while walking my dog, I noticed a white butterfly. I smiled. I watched. I heard a voice say, “wait, there’s more”. As I turned the corner, there was yet another white butterfly. I was hoping to see a third but there wasn’t one…until I reached the next corner and there it was, butterfly number 3 within five minutes to let me know my mom was now with her mom and sister.
So, the totems appear and the Soul Circle expands or shrinks, as we live our daily lives. To me, as I mentioned, a butterfly is a simple wink from God. It is a sign there is more to the universe than what meets the eye if we can just correlate our thought with the appearance and understanding of a messenger, totem, coincidence in the moment.
To some, it’s a school of dolphins jumping out of the deep sea in unison. To others, it could be a hawk spreading its wings in flight. Perhaps a spider on a wall, fly, mountain goat or giraffe. What is your totem? Have you seen one to identify with? Or, do you watch for nature’s little miracles during the busy times of your day?
I returned home this afternoon knowing I needed to complete this essay. I noticed a pinkish colored spider was just outside my front door. Spiritually, the spider represents birth, growth, death, rebirth, cleaning out the old and move forward creatively. I’m traveling in a few days and recently donated old belongings. I saw the spider. I tossed it to the ground. The message was pertinent for my day and week ahead. The web of life we all weave in our tapestry of our existence changes every day. Just watch.
Dr. Linda Salvin
Metaphsyical Clinician
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