No Drink, No Water. The story of the Koala, a spiritual journey.
Meditating has been an amazing experience for me. I have been able to clear my mind, find peace, journey to far off places, and meet many interesting beings. One of the beings I met at the beginning of my spiritual journey was my first spirit animal, the Koala.
As I was trying to go to sleep one night, I was very restless. I decided to close my eyes and meditate, relax and see if that would help me to drift off to sleep. Once I cleared my mind, I began to journey. I traveled to a bright green forest with bright brown tree trunks. As I stopped at the trunks of the tree, I began looking up at the bright green tree canopy blocking the sky. The tree canopies were lined with dozens of koalas just hanging in the trees. I saw many Koalas in the trees. They invited me to come join them in the forest. I started to walk into the forest with them and then, I fell asleep. After this experience, I came to the conclusion that the Koala is one of my spirit animals.
Wanting to understand the deeper meaning of my journey and what it meant to have the Koala as my spirit animal, I began to research the Koala.
The Koala, native to only Australia, gets its name from the word Dharug which comes from an Australian Aboriginal language and means "no drink" or "no water". The meaning for this is possibly in reference to the fact that Koalas barely drink water, most of the water intake comes from the eucalyptus leaves it eats.
Koalas are often mistaken for bears and that is incorrect. The Koala is not a bear, it is a marsupial. Its closest living relative is the wombat and it has many characteristics of a kangaroo. It has a stout, tailless body and a large head with round fluffy ears. They inhabit Eucalyptus woodlands and tree leaves make up most of its diet. They are mostly sedentary and can sleep up to twenty hours a day, (sounds like my teenager!)
The Koala can live 13 to 18 years in the wild, but the males are sometimes less due to their hazardous lives. The greatest threat to them is habitat loss due to land clearing, brush fires and tree disease.
If you are like me and the Koala has become your spirit animal, then you are in much needed balance like me. The Koalas spiritual energy brings harmony and balance. You should move slowly and choose wisely to help restore your mental clarity. Bring calmness to your life through meditation, breathing and walking with nature. Koalas' greatest senses are hearing and smell and could signal the beginning of psychic abilities.
I set out to discover the meaning of this spiritual journey and why the Koala appeared to me. What I discovered was not surprising but quite different and unexpected than I thought. It just amazes me how I can try to interpret a spiritual travel the way I think it went, but when I study and meditate about it more, the universe reveals something totally different.
Yes, the Koala is spirit animal number one for me. I need balance and clear direction in my life. I need to move slowly while seeking new endeavors and approach them with a clear mind. And I need to continue to hone in the abilities that I possess.
But that wasn't all. The biggest revelation was this. As children we are taught and programmed to look at everything through the perspective of our culture and not that of others. I grew up being taught that the Koala is a bear. I wonder what answer you would get if you show most Americans a picture of a Koala and ask them what it is? We have no teaching, no understanding to embrace the culture of others in our society. Only to divide and tear down. We are destroying the Earth. We are destroying nature. We are bringing on the extinction of cultures and creatures on our planet. The biggest threat to the Koala was taking away their land, their trees and bringing disease to the trees. Ask the Indigenous people of the America's if that sounds familiar.
The Koala appeared in my spiritual journey to guide me. The Koala appeared to let me know it was my spirit animal. But, the Koala appeared to ask me to help it. To show me what was happening to it in its habitat. To be its voice in a world that won't listen to it because it's different from the mainstream. I have a job to do. Through my writing, I have to bring a voice, bring awareness, to those who are having their rights violated. Who are being persecuted, mistreated and removed from the world we live in. It is happening to trees, animals, people, languages and cultures. That is what the Koala appearing in my spiritual journey meant. That is my calling.
What about you? Is it a bear to you, or something much bigger? Your voice matters, please speak! Blessings
By Michael Walters
The Ancestor's Fire
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