Armadillo wears its armor on its back, its medicine a part of its body.
Its boundaries of safety are a part of its total being. Armadillo can
roll into a ball and never be penetrated by enemies.
What a gift it is to set your boundaries so that harmful words or
intentions just roll off. Your lesson is in setting up what you are
willing to experience. If you do not wish to experience feeling invaded,
just call on Armadillo medicine.
A clue to how to proceed is to make a circle on a piece of paper and see
it as a medicine shield. In the body of the shield, write all that you
are desiring to have, do, or experience. Include all things that give
you joy. This sets up boundaries that allow only these chosen
experiences to be a part of your life. These boundaries become a shield
that wards off the things which are undesirable to you. The shield
reflects *what* you are and what *your will* is to others on an
unconscious level. Outside of the shield you may put what you are
willing to experience "by invitation only," for example a visit from a
long lost relative, or critcism from friends, or people needing
handouts.
If Armadillo has waddled into your life, it is time to define
your space. YOu may have been too willing to let your home become a bus
station. You may find that you cannot say "no" even when you know that
you will have to cancel plans to be obliging. This routine can get old
in a hurry!
It may be time to ask yourself the following questions:
1) Am I honoring the time I need for my personal enjoyment?
2) Do others treat me like a doormat?
3) Why do I always get upset when I'm taken for granted?
4) Is there a reason for my being a "yes" person?
All of the answers to these questions relate to setting up boundaries:
what you will and won't do; what make you feel uncomfortable and what is
comforting to you. How you react in any circumstance has to do with your
ability to be objective. You cannot be objective if you cannot tell
where the other person's personality stops and where yours begins. If
you have no boundaries, you are like a sponge. It will seem as if all
the feelings in a room full of people *must be yours*. Ask yourself if
you are really feeling depressed, or if this feeling actually belongs to
the person you are talking to. Then allow Armadillo's armor to slice
in-between, giving you back your sense of self.
CONTRARY:
Go ahead, roll up and hide. This, sarcastically, is the message of
reversed Armadillo. Yo may think the only way to win in your present
situation is to hide or to pretend that you are armor-coated and
invincible, but this is not the way to grow. It is better to open up and
find the value and strength of your vulnerability. You will experience
something wonderful if you do.
Vulnerability is the key to enjoying the gifts of physical life. In
allowing yourself to feel, a myriad of expressions are made available.
For instance, a true compliment is an admiration flow of energy. If you
are afraid of being hurt and are hiding from feeling anything, you will
never feel the joy of admiration from others.
The key is in allowing Armadillo to help you to stop hiding, and to use
Armadillo's armor to deflect negative energies. In this way you are able
to accept or reject any feeling, action, or energy flow without having
to hide from it.
The underside of Armadillo is soft, but its armor will protects this
softness if the boundaries are in place. Hiding from your true feelings
and fearing failure or rejection will *amplify* your need for cast-iron
protection. You have the power to rid yourself of these doubts and to
touch the deepest part of beingness. You will know you are doing the
right thing. Whether it is communicating, or painting, or surfing--- the
creation belongs to you. The only real rejection is in not trying to
break out of the armour you have used to protect yourself. Is the armor
now becoming a jail, and your fears the jailer?
