Spirit Wisdom of Panda

Do you find yourself scrolling through social media and being drawn in by the cute kitten and puppy videos?  I know I am a sucker for them and could lose hours if I allow it to get out of control.  But a lot of people don’t know that videos of baby pandas can be just as, if not more entertaining.  At least my own inner child feels that way.

I was first introduced to panda when I was 3 years old.  My Dad had gone on a business trip to Hong Kong and brought back a stuffed panda bear doll.  I remember I was intrigued by the coloring and imagining what a live one looked like.  One night I dreamt that my panda bear was life sized and alive in my room.  I got so scared I had to sleep with my parents that night.

Fast forward to my thirties, during the Reiki master training, and panda appeared to me again in a dream.  I was once again a child and my parents were handing me the stuffed panda.  As soon as I held it, the doll came alive.  

It said to me, “I’ve been with you all this time.”

In that moment I realized Panda was my power animal!

The spiritual medicine of panda is for those who tend to be sensitive to energy, especially emotional extremes.  Panda also likes to have lots of personal space and sets strong boundaries around that space.  As a young child I had no siblings until I was seven and we didn’t have children my age in our neighborhood, so I was left to my solitude and imagination to entertain me.  While panda is a bit of a loner, they also enjoy being playful with other panda bears.  For me panda is the perfect power animal because they remind me of my love for people but my equal need for solitude.  To this day, I am mindful to set aside “unstructured” personal time on my calendar and keep strong boundaries around that time.  Without it, my energy gets depleted and scattered.

Summer is the season of the inner child, as the magic of nature is in full expression.  I invite you to connect with your inner child and ask them if there is a spirit animal you could work with at this time.  Invite your child self to speak to you while you are going for a walk, meditating or journaling.  You could also ask the question as you fall asleep and see if a message comes through in a dream.  Or you could take your inner child on a play date by doing something you used to enjoy as a child.  As you engage in any of these activities, your inner child just might reveal the perfect spirit animal for you at this time.

While many people have a single spirit animal that stays with them their whole life, other animals can come and go at different times with messages to support you.  If you don’t have a spirit animal, your inner child just might be able to help you discover yours.  My inner child certainly did.  I’ve come to recognize Panda as my lifelong spirit companion and am always grateful to my inner child self for revealing this to me.