deer once asked an Indian acquaintance if he had a totem. He said he had several, and proceeded to name off about seven animals or so. I found that curious, and kind schizophrenic. But I thought, well, he's an Indian, he should know. Over time, I noticed that this fellow could never seem to make his mind up about himself. Still a nice guy, but scattered and lost. No real identity. When I talked with him, he always seemed to be somewhere else. He was the proverbial 35.4.

Since we are not (really) any one thing (said deer), something is given to us, to bring unity in a single identifiable form, something our human brain can ground itself in. We are the daemon possessing the animal, the animal does not possess us.

The superficial woman who is quick to remind others that "I am a cat person" has more chance of being at peace with herself than a shaman with more than one animal spirit.

This is a great story, meng. From the encounters I've had with 35.4, the multiple identities and yet no identity fits my experience. What a good illustration.

thanks. :bows:

Not sure why this is in Open Space, though. Can you move it? Should you move it?

Thanks. I think it's fun to present thoughts in a lighter way. 35.4 changes to 23, with the fan yao 23.4 - stripping resting place by superficiality. So Open Space seemed more apropos. It's okay to color outside the lines here.

the totemic animal is the one connected to one's family/clan, isn't it?
(i can't guess how he could have more than one..)

which differs from the guiding One, the One (or two or three) that we meet in a shamanic journey).

you agree?

A totem can symbolize a tribe, a family or an individual, and all the above at once. Some traditions do assign multiple totems to an individual, but more as to categorize elements, such as Yi does with 8 trigrams, all which exist in every individual.

We're a composite of every type, every hexagram, every astrological sign, but our individual natures demonstrate characteristics closer to one specific type over the others.

But my story wasn't intended to be a documentary on the beliefs and practices of indigenous people, it is a true observation of someone who, by trying to be all things, was effectively none of them, such as in 35.4.

meng said:

But my story wasn't intended to be a documentary on the beliefs and practices of indigenous people, it is a true observation of someone who, by trying to be all things, was effectively none of them, such as in 35.4.

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yes. thank you.
with your last post you made me think about the first steps i moved into alternative way of Living (in opposition to normopathy i used to live before my 25): new age movement sounds now at me like a mixture of "believes", and, at the end, a very good springboard to choose one's real direction, not as an arrival.

neither i didn't intend to document anything, just chatting a bit about sweet subjects in our openspace

Thanks for teaching me a new word: normopathy.

and, at the end, a very good springboard to choose one's real direction, not as an arrival.

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I like that a lot. I believe that is the spirit of 64.