What Animals Can Teach Us About Spirituality

Diana L. Guerrero

Description

Take a spiritual safari…

Do you want to deepen your spiritual connection? Do you want to strengthen your bond with animals? What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality will help you unlock the secrets of the animal kingdom, provide intriguing perspectives on the complex relationships between nature and humans, and lead you to a greater awareness of yourself and the world around you.

Respected animal behaviorist and therapist Diana L. Guerrero demonstrates the ways in which animals can teach us about:

• Bringing Out the Best in Each Other
• Living in the Now
• Moving Beyond Fear
• Helping One Another
• Healing through Life Experiences
• Living by Example
• Embracing Change Positively
• Listening to the Unspoken
• Unconditional Acceptance
• Making Time to Play
• …and much more

With practical and meaningful advice, Guerrero will help you understand why animals touch the soul, and explore your own answer to the question: "Do animals have souls?"

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Spirituality
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 19 juillet 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781594734663
• Langue: English

Extrait

Dedicated to the memory of Clyde
and to all the spiritual animals.
In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals, for Tirawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent certain animals to tell man that he showed himself through the beasts, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and the moon, man should learn.
Chief Letakots-Lesa of the Pawnees to Natalie Curtis in The Indians Book (1907)
A Note from the Author
H istorically, human-animal comparisons provided sources of moral instruction and examples. Within this book you ll find analogies tied to animal behavior. All creatures exhibit a wide range of good and bad traits. Anthropomorphizing is considered heresy in some circles, but people remember animal examples and stories. So, I have taken creative license and described them from my human perspective. In this work, all stories, people, and animals are real. With few exceptions, the names have been changed and the stories have been combined or altered to maintain anonymity.
Contents
Preface: Becoming a Spiritual Animal
Introduction: Following Animal Tracks to Spirituality
1. Loyalty of the Dog
Bringing Out the Best in Each Other
Choosing a Life of Integrity
Stewardship Is Not Domination
Living in the Now
Moving beyond Fear
The Fear Response
Helping One Another
2. Playfulness of the Otter
Healing through Life Experiences
Honoring One Another
Going with the Flow
3. Power of the Polar Bear
Adapting to the Environment
Adopting Right Action
Moving through Fear into Appreciation
4. Heart of the Lion
Out of Every Adversity Comes Something Good of Equal or Greater Value
Common Struggles, Common Bonds
Living by Example
Finding Center Balance on the Pendulum Swing
5. Call of the Wolf
Tuning In Instead of Tuning Out
Surrendering to the Divine Energy
Embracing Change Positively
Listening to the Unspoken
Clearing through Confession
Unconditional Acceptance
Tuning In to Nature
6. Vision of the Eagle
Using Our Own Intuitive Gifts
Focusing on Our Inner Sight
Entering the Universal Flow
Mindfulness Matters
7. Mind of the Dolphin
Moving in Harmony
Making Time to Play
Remembering to Breathe
8. Wisdom of the Owl
Changing and Expanding Your Perspective
Breaking Convention to Create New Traditions
Deeper Understanding through Awareness
Animal Social Styles
Animal Etiquette 101
Watching and Listening
Paying Attention to Animals
Sometimes You Get It, Sometimes You Don t
Being Open and Receptive to Other Types of Information
Moving Animals from Group Consciousness to Individuality
Acknowledging Your Hunches, Taking Action, and Trying New Techniques
Using Your Imagination and Creativity
Afterword: Creatures of the Divine
Suggested Resources
Acknowledgments

About the Author
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Preface: Becoming a Spiritual Animal
F ish. My grandfather and I giggled uncontrollably while each of us took turns trying to say the word clearly. As a Mexican immigrant, he spoke with a heavy accent, and I was an infant working on my first word. In the end, we were quite pleased with ourselves. Witnesses shook their heads, chuckling at the oddity of my first utterance, which proved to be a prophecy of my future.
Although animals lived in my home as I grew up in California, my childhood asthma prevented my parents from keeping them. Instead, I made do with a large menagerie of stuffed animals. Deemed a dusty hazard to my health, these plush pals were eventually ripped from my clutches, too.
Despite those early challenges, animal friends always found their way into my life. Wild animals visited our yard, I watched the birds of prey soaring above the nearby fields, the neighborhood pets joined me on walks, and I covertly cared for the wayward animals who managed to find their way to our doorstep. Somehow animals always surrounded me.
My two loves are animals and the ocean, so when it came to considering a vocation, a career in the marine world seemed logical. My first declaration to the universe as an infant manifested at the ripe old age of fifteen when I began work as a volunteer marine naturalist and a narrator for whale watch tours.
To say I was driven is an understatement. If not out surfing at dawn, I could be found on the docks, waiting to embark on a whale watch vessel with hordes of school children, or perched on the rocky crags of the tide pools. Evenings were no different. I loved being on the sea under the stars as we sailed to Catalina Island, or on the shore leading onlookers to the grunion glimmering in the moonlight.
In addition to practical experience, I obtained academic training and special certifications along the way. My path meandered as I moved from the natural environment to a marine park, followed by a jaunt into the world of terrestrial animals. My work with land animals took me into captive wildlife handling and training for the entertainment industry. Some of my best teachers were the creatures most people call animal actors.
Lions, tigers, bears, elephants, snakes, and chimpanzees filled my days and tore me away from my cliff-dwelling existence into a hot and smoggy environment. Despite the glamour most people imagine when they think of the movie and television industry, I found the days on the sets long and boring. My happiest moments consisted of working with animals at the ranch, prepping them for their camera appearances. Captivated by the individuality of each animal and by the differences among species, I thirsted for knowledge, which motivated me to pursue a broader perspective. Soon I found myself entering the zoological realm.
At that time, only two animal training colleges existed. The first focused on training animal actors for Hollywood, while the second involved zoological institutions and marine parks. Facing tough competition, I vied against other candidates for one of the coveted spots. I found myself in a zookeepers boot camp where I was required to maintain an acceptable grade point average while I also slaved away at tasks related to animal care. Those responsibilities included zoo-keeping; training animals; participating in internships at other facilities; patrolling the premises during night watch duties; and other assorted tasks, such as performing shows with live animals for audiences that ranged from a small handful of people to hundreds of onlookers.
If those duties were not enough, I traveled to other animal institutions, where I inspected every detail related to animal care and facility design, and explored every department and exhibit allowed. I pestered and picked the brains of anyone involved with animals to glean hidden insights from their experiences and personal knowledge. I visited small and large animal institutions throughout the United States, attended professional conferences, and explored anything else animal-related in the process. Sometimes my experiences were a bit awe inspiring.
For instance, when I met my first killer whale, she asked me to rub her tongue by coming up to me on the platform and opening her mouth full of very large conical teeth. As she bobbed up and down in front of me, I took a deep breath and stuck my hand past those daggers to rub her tongue. It took a whole lot of trust to oblige such a request.
Eventually, I traveled to the United Kingdom and Europe to train and work in conservation. There I learned about the complex challenges related to such tasks, and I worked with people from all over the world and with animals so endangered that fewer than a dozen existed in the wild. Most of those critters originated from small exotic places hard to locate unless you owned a special map. A few of the more obscure creatures I encountered included the volcano rabbit, the pink pigeon, and the round island gecko.
Because my nontraditional career includes a wide variety of experiences and roles, it is difficult to summarize. I ve worked with animal welfare groups, in animal shelters, at animal rescue leagues, on the forefront of the animal disaster realm, at veterinary clinics, with zoo veterinarians, at pet and feed stores, on ranches, in private and public zoos, and with municipal agency animal programs. I ve conducted seminars about animals and their behavior; taught pet owners how to deal with their animal delinquents; helped zookeepers overcome animal problems; and appeared on television, on radio, and in other media.
When I literally fell into writing after a tumble from the top of a zoo hay barn left me unable to perform my normal duties, I didn t imagine where the path might lead. I just followed it. The fall also thrust me into the exploration of alternative healing modalities and spiritual practices, and I became an affiliate of a progressive animal clinic. Ultimately, a series of synchronistic events led me to write this book.
I ve walked in many moccasins on a road where trail tangents led to interesting insights and knowledge. The journey has finally brought me to a place where I have the opportunity to share the insights gleaned from my lifetime with animals. I d like to connect people to animals so that they can understand and care for them, but there is more to it.
Animals remain bound to Spirit and do not follow any religion or spiritual practices. Because of that direct connection many of us lack, animals can link us to the Divine in new ways. In essence, animals can help us in our personal and spiritual growth, and compel us to pursue a connection to Spirit without the need for a religious or denominational approach. Some people search their entire lives for such a connection. Learning how to relate to animals can be a first step to recognizing how to unite with your spirit. This book will help.
Introduction: Following Animal Tracks to Spirituality
A nimals serve as a link to the intuitive and to the Divine. Y