Totem of the Day is Panda! Any goal is in reach for you as long as it comes from a sincere part of yourself. It will help you to move to a high place with a wide vantage point in order to meditate. Observe the reactions you have to being in this place as you do so. Use this to remind you not to think strictly in black or white but with a broad, open-minded perspective. You may also want to make sure you are not switching between projects too much. Focus on one at a time in order to complete them rather than jumping back and forth. The Panda totem is known for it's connection with peace, gentle strength, good luck, and Eastern wisdom. The Panda totem reminds us that we can be strong, powerful, and supportive while retaining a gentle aspect throughout it all. It is a reminder to focus on growing the gentle and loving aspects of our heart. In China, they are seen as a national treasure and sacred creatures of the forest. Tibetan folklore tells the tale of how the panda became black and white. It tells of how all pandas were white and that one day a leopard killed four shepherdesses who had tried to save a panda. The pandas were so sad at the deaths that they attended the funerals with arms dyed black in mourning. They wept tears of sorrow and wiped the black dye onto their eyes as they wiped their tears away. When bowing their heads in grief, they cupped their heads in their dyed paws and turned their ears black as well. On that day, the Pandas swore to never wash the dye from them in memory of the women who sacrificed themselves. The Pandas turned the four women's bodies into a tall mountain with four peaks that are known as the Four Girls' Mountain in Sichuan province in the Wolong Natural Reserve in China. People who connect with Panda are modest, strong, and often solitary. They may need to create a special place just for themselves to find solitude even when living with others. These individuals prefer to do one thing at a time to feel the sense of success in completion before moving on to another project. It is important to be careful with food since these types often have a sensitive stomach and should be sure to watch what and how much they ingest.

Giant Pandas, Auluropoda Melanoleuca, are omnivorous mammals that can live up to 35 years in the wild. Pandas also go by other names such as Bamboo Bear. Their scientific name translates literally to "Cat-foot black and white" with their Chinese name translating to "Giant Bear Cat". They belong to the Ursidae family that is comprised of 8 species including the Giant Panda's closest relative the Spectacled Bear from South America. An adult panda can grow up to 6 feet tall and weigh over 500 lbs. These bears are native to China specifically where they are endangered and revered. Only around 1,600 pandas live in the wild with only around 100 living in zoos. In the wild, they are only found in mountainous regions of central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. In Shaanxi province, there is a small population of brown and white pandas as well as the normal black and white variant. They prefer a specific environment of wet, cool bamboo forests. Their diet consists of primarily bamboo, eating up to 28 lbs of bamboo in a single day. Eating this food takes up 12 hours a day for a panda and is necessary due to bamboos low nutritional value. A panda's stomach is specially adapted for digesting bamboo with a extra-muscular stomach wall which helps to digest the wood as well as a laying of mucus that keeps their stomach walls from being punctured by splinters. On occasion, pandas will also eat fish, insects, birds, and rodents. Pandas have an excellent sense of smell due to their large nose and muzzle. Large jaws with strong jaw muscles and flat molars help them to eat the tough bamboo stems. They also possess special adaptations such as an extension of their wrist bones which works like a thumb to grip bamboo stems. Giant Pandas are solitary bears. Communication occurs through a range of vocalizations with approximately 11 different identified noises. Male pandas will possess a territory twice as large as females, both genders using scent markers and scratches on trees to mark their territory. A male's territory will overlap several females. Breeding season occurs between March and May. A female Panda will give birth to only one or two babies which are only the size of a jellybean. Giving birth at the base of a hollow tree or cave, mother pandas must take care of their blind, hairless babies diligently. These young will not be able to even crawl until almost three months of age. These newborns will be weaned until approximately a year old and will then leave their mother at about 18 months old. Some cubs may even stay longer until she becomes pregnant again and they must leave to find their own territory.