Spirit animals find their mention in Native American culture and are associated with finding meaning in life through their wisdom and way of living. They are believed to act as messengers or guides connecting the physical and spiritual worlds. They can be in the form of an animal, bird, reptile, or even an insect. Each animal represents a spiritual path. 

Any animal can act as a spirit animal and provide its guidance in various aspects of life. Some represent courage, strength, bravery and protection, while others represent gentleness, wisdom, and healing. There are many others that represent love, care, peace and so on. Depending on where an individual is on his or her personal journey and what sort of guidance one needs, different animals may be able to provide various types of guidance.

Some common Spirit Animals and their associated meanings:

Butterfly: The butterfly is a symbol of growth and transformation. It represents adaptability and gracefulness, it attracts all types of changes with a lot of ease and uses them for growing.

Dolphin: Dolphins symbolize playfulness and wisdom. It is a powerful communicator and uses this power for its benefit.

Tiger: The tiger represents raw emotions and feelings. Known for its intuitiveness, it follows instincts very well and acts on them after careful deliberation. 

Finding your spirit animal :

Doing this can help you align yourself better with the things going on in your life. It can also provide you with an insight to your inner self. You can do the following things to find yours. 

1. Meditate: It'll help you relax and connecting with your spirit animal will become easier. While breathing, set an intention either to find your spirit animal or have a deep connection with it. Pay close attention to images, shapes, feelings, anything that appears in your mind's eye. Be patient and open to possibilities of getting any messages. Do not set your expectations on a particular animal but let it reveal itself to you. 
2. Write down your thoughts and feelings: Journaling can also help you connect with your spirit animal. You can also write down what guidance you need at the time. As you are doing this, pay attention to what kind of animals are coming to your mind. 
3. Spending time in nature: There's a good chance that the spirit animal might appear in front of you if you ask him to, according to many beliefs. Pay attention to all the animals that you see while in the company of nature and observe how you feel while looking at them. 

Once you've understood which animal you connect the most, try and know more about it. Each animal carries a lot of wisdom with it and it reflects in the way they live and behave in certain situations. We can learn so much from them and apply that wisdom in whichever area of life we are struggling with.