Friend and paranormal investigator Joe Giaquinto has been
telling me for years that I had to attend, and I'm so glad I finally did. It
gave me a chance to relax, to meditate and to connect with my animal spirit
guide totems. We all have spirit guides and angels to help us along life's
journey, and animal totems are believed to hold the power and knowledge that we
can use to become one with nature. Animal totems have always been part of
Native American culture. It is said that animal totems "awaken the natural
balance with nature that you already possess." If you honor your animal
totems, you can become not only healthier, but happier physically, spiritually
and emotionally.
So how does this all work? The power of labyrinths have been
used by Spiritualists for centuries, and for more than 4,000 years labyrinths
have been used in a spiritual manner. According to Christine's research,
"Walking a labyrinth can create a heightened awareness within the human
condition and aid in psychological and spiritual growth. Even those who say
they are not spiritual are enlightened by walking the path."
Many people confuse labyrinths with mazes. They are
different. A labyrinth has one, unicursal path, and you enter and exit from the
same place. A maze, on the other hand, has blind alleys, twists and turns and
dead ends. You can't make a wrong turn in a labyrinth like you could in a maze,
so it makes for a more relaxing experience. Perfect for me. I'm certainly not a
big fan of Fall harvest corn mazes! The labyrinth...that I could handle.
When I first arrived at Christine's I was amazed at the
amount of people who were attending. She has definitely developed a following
over the years. I was there with my husband and a friend, and Christine quickly
came over to greet us. After handing out paperwork explaining labyrinths and
animal totems, she lead us to a warm fire pit in a front section of her yard,
which was tucked away by some beautiful landscaping. We familiarized ourselves
with the handouts and spent a few moments gazing into the fire and meditating.
After about ten minutes, we walked down a candlelit path towards the backyard
where Christine told us we'd find a gazebo. One person was allowed in the
gazebo at a time. In its center was a table and chair. I took a seat, and on
top of the table was a very large tray with hundreds of plain white cards faced
down. The tray was surrounded by votive candles and the gazebo was decorated
with miniature lights. I was told to gently mix the cards up, and when I was
ready, I was to pick seven cards out of the pile. On the other side of the card,
the name of an animal or mystical creature appeared. The handout we were given
contained pages where we were to write the name of the animal we chose. When
all seven were written down, it was time for me to make my journey past a
tranquil pond to where the labyrinths were set up.
It was simply exquisite to see the labyrinth's against the
dark night sky. Red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, purple and white lit labyrinths were spread across Christine's
expansive backyard. Each labyrinth coincided with a Chakra, which are the
seven centers of spiritual power in the human body. Each Chakra represents
something. For instance, the first Chakra, which is located at the base of the
spine, gives strength to the physical body. It controls fear and helps to keep
us grounded. As I meditated on that Chakra, I entered the first
labyrinth...red. In the center was a chair and a small table containing a
lantern. I made my way toward it, and sat down. I then concentrated on the
first animal totem I picked up, which was a cheetah. The packets contained
different questions and affirmations you could read when connecting with your
totem. It was very peaceful.
I sat for two to three minutes and then
slowly walked back through the labyrinth and the next person entered. Everyone
continued on in this fashion until all the labyrinths were completed. While you
waited to go into the next labyrinth you could mediate and listen for
information from your animal totems. I used some techniques I've learned from
reputable mediums and applied my clairsentience, or my ability to
"sense" information. Before long, I found myself writing things down.
Once all the participants were through the
seven labyrinths, Christine lead everyone in a silent group walk through each
one again. At first, I wasn't too sure about this, but it turned out to be a
remarkable experience. You could feel everyone's energy working together
because we were all connected by holding hands. It was silent, except for the
beautiful New Age music playing softly in the backyard. When the journey was
complete, we formed a large circle where Christine lead us in a guided
meditation. I couldn't believe how powerful it all was, and how wonderful I
felt afterwards.
No photographs were allowed to be taken until
after the event, at which time we were encouraged to try to capture orb photos.
Many of us did pick them up.
It wasn't until a day or two later when I was
at home doing research on the totems I had chosen, that I came to realize how
accurate the totems really were. Not only did they match my personality and
things I was going through, but much of what I had written down at each of the
labyrinths matched what I had researched as well. I believe it's true that the
totem chooses you!
For more information on Christine's
labyrinths, you can go to the Internet and check out the archives on my
blogtalk radio show, "The Kerriann and Joe Show - Spirit Connection"
where you can hear an interview we did with Christine last year.
