I sometimes wonder if all humans are sentient beings (i.e., able to care for self and others). Some human behavior can appear sociopathic (i.e., lacking empathy with little or no remorse).
I rarely wonder if other-than-human animals are sentient. Companion animals, especially, will often demonstrate a variety of feelings and they are able to communicate those feelings without words.
Below are five references I recommend for learning more about sentient beings and how we might be more sentient ourselves.
“A sentient being can feel, perceive and sense things. They have an awareness of surroundings, sensations, thoughts and an ability to show responsiveness. Having senses makes something sentient, or able to smell, communicate, touch, see, or hear. All sentient beings have an awareness of themselves they can feel happiness, sadness, pain and fear.”Jenni Madison, What Is a Sentient Being? @ naturesheart.org
“Humans have long insisted on believing that we are different from other animals, and somehow better. This idea, however, is slowly starting to change. Animals have moved into our homes as companions. We spend hours watching their antics on social media. We throw birthday parties on their behalf and spend millions every year on their care. And while our relationships with our pets are changing, research is also increasingly demonstrating sentience in nonhuman animals, challenging the idea that humans and animals are separated by an insurmountable gap.”Grace Hussain, https://sentientmedia.org/sentient-being/
Based on award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff’s years studying social communication in a wide range of species, this important book shows that animals have rich emotional lives. Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy, grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and experience have long implied. Filled with Bekoff’s light humor and touching stories, The Emotional Lives of Animals is a clarion call for reassessing both how we view animals and how we treat them. https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Lives-Animals-Scientist-Explores/dp/1577316290
Animals, companion AND wild, teach us daily, if we take time to notice, to listen, to contemplate. In our interconnected world, we cannot survive without others; biologically or metaphysically.
This week, I reflected on our animal nature, mammal classification, omnivore eating habits, AND our ability to communicate AND be compassionate like fellow animals on this planet (see previous posts AND their references to birds, dogs AND a whale).
Individually, we are both special AND incapable of living without many other life forms in our biosphere. It “takes a village” to learn and grow … it takes an environment to be born AND live before we die.
One of our individual attributes is the talent or gift we uniquely possess to contribute to our environment AND our community. See today’s senryu AND daily meditation from Richard Rohr below.
Today’s senryu: RESPONDING TO THE CALL AND …
here I am, now what?
receiving AND giving back –
mammal relay race
Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation
From the Center for Action AND Contemplation
Week Two: Responding to the Call
Surrendering to Our Soul Gift
For Father Richard, God shows us our soul’s calling through spiritual practice AND letting go of the ego’s drive:
Our age has come to expect satisfaction. We have grown up in an absolutely unique period when having AND possessing AND accomplishing have been real options. They have given us an illusion of fulfillment—AND fulfillment now—as long as we are clever enough, quick enough, AND pray or work hard enough for our goals or rewards. [1]
I am convinced that the Book of Jonah can best be read as God moving someone from a mere sense of a religious job or career to an actual sense of personal call, vocation, or destiny. It takes being “swallowed by a beast” AND taken into a dark place of nesting AND nourishing that allows us to move to a deeper place called personal vocation. It involves a movement from being ego-driven to being soul-drawn. The energy is very different. It comes quietly AND generously from within. Once we have accepted our call, we do not look for payment, reward, or advancement because we have found our soul gift.
I have met many people who have found their soul gift, AND they are always a joy to work with. It’s apparent they are not counting the cost, but just want to serve and help. Benedictines have a group they call oblates, which means “those who are offered.” To come with our lives as an offering is quite different from the seeking of a career, security, status, or title. Even the [retired head of the] Vatican’s office for bishops dared to admit publicly [his] worries about rampant careerism among bishops worldwide as they sought promotion to higher AND more prestigious dioceses. [2] It sounds like we still have James AND John wanting to sit at the right AND left sides of the throne of Jesus (Mark 10:37). Maybe young people need to start there, but we can see why Jonah has to be shoved out of the boat. Otherwise, he never would have gotten to the “right” Nineveh.
We must listen, wait, AND pray for our charism AND call. Most of us are really only good at one or two things. Meditation should lead to a clarity about who we are AND, maybe even more, who we are not. This second revelation is just as important as the first. I have found it difficult over the years to sit down AND tell people what is not their gift. It is usually very humiliating for individuals to face their own illusions AND inabilities. We are not usually a truth-speaking people. We don’t speak the truth to one another, nor does our culture encourage the journey toward the True Self. The false self often sets itself up for unnecessary failures and humiliations. [3]
[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Near Occasions of Grace (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993), 1.
[2] See Michael J. Buckley, “Resources for Reform from the First Millennium,” in Common Calling: The Laity and Governance of the Catholic Church, ed. Stephen J. Pope (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004), 77.
Beck also authored a keen article for Lions Roar magazine in August 2011 called A Sane Life; see https://www.lionsroar.com/a-sane-life/. I love her opening paragraph:
“My dog doesn’t worry about the meaning of life. She may worry if she doesn’t get her breakfast, but she doesn’t sit around worrying about whether she will get fulfilled or liberated or enlightened. As long as she gets some food and a little affection, her life is fine. But we human beings are not like dogs. We have self-centered minds which get us into plenty of trouble. If we do not come to understand the error in the way we think, our self-awareness, which is our greatest blessing, is also our downfall.“
There is an ancient parable very close to my heart, which goes as follows: a Jewish man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers, leaving him half dead. A priest and a Levite saw him yet passed by. But a Samaritan came to where the man was and bandaged his wounds. Then, put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn, and cared for him until he healed. Today, this beautiful story is the etymology of the phrase “good Samaritan”, a person who is a “neighbor” not just to people of their own group (at the time, there was intense hostility between Samaritans and Jews). We understand it, remember it, and retell it later because the idea of love, compassion, and a man crossing a tremendous social gulf to help a wounded man sticks with us. The story may even change our behavior in some way as we remember to help others in times of distress. Legendary stories like these encapsulate: stories hold a miraculous power.
Made to Stick is a book I read written by two brothers, Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University and Dan Heath, a senior member for Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University. The brothers explain, “stories are told and retold because they contain wisdom. A story’s power is that it provides simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act).” Being a health and fitness freak, the key example highlighted in the book sticks with me: the Jared Campaign for Subway. In the late 1990’s, Subway launched a campaign to tout the healthiness of a new line of sandwiches. This campaign was based on the statistics: seven subs under six grams of fat. Sounds pretty good yeah? But this 7 under 6 idea didn’t stick quite like Subway’s next campaign which focused on the remarkable story of Jared. Jared, a college student, was seriously overweight, ballooning up to 425 pounds. But by spring, Jared decided to slim down. He had his first Turkey sub. He eventually developed his own all-Subway diet: a foot long veggie sub for lunch and a six-inch turkey sub for dinner. After 3 months of this diet, he dropped almost 100 pounds. Coad and Barry, president of the advertising agency Hal Riney, found out about this and thought, “we’ve got a great story on our hands”. They decided to run an advertisement for regional Subway franchisees. The idea blew the internet. Unlike the 7 under 6 idea which only held logos, the tale of Jared holds a simulation value as well as pathos, the emotional resonance which provides inspiration. Perhaps we are not all looking to lose weight. But ‘fighting big odds and prevailing through perseverance’, now that sounds inspirational to any ear. And inspiration drives action.
That being said, not all stories stick. Chip and Dan hence came up with 3 types of plots if our goal is to energize and inspire others through our stories. First, the challenge plot. We all recognize this one, where a protagonist overcomes a formidable challenge yet succeeds in the end, attracting triumph and glory. As someone who is obsessed with Disney princesses, my personal favorite story, much similar to the Jared story, is the one about Princess Mulan. Mulan is a loving and determined daughter. Desperate to prevent her ailing father from being drafted by the army, she disguises herself as a man and enlists in his place. In the army, she must try to hide her true identity while battling the enemies. With determination and bravery, Mulan ends up saving both her father and her country. Seems like the quintessential challenge plot, right?
Second, the connection plot. The story of the good Samaritan fits well into this one. We live in a world where we are constantly surrounded by people. Connection plots are all about the relationships we form with these people.In the business world, connection plots create an emotional connection between a company, its products and its customers. Always is a company that produces period products for women. As a girl, watching the advert from Always titled ‘Like a girl’ made me feel proud being one. It showed a group of teens acting out certain actions such as “Can you throw like a girl?” or “Can you fight like a girl?”. Girls were illustrated as soft, wimpy, and sloppy. The ad then contrasted this by asking the same questions to little girls. These girls this time ran, threw, and fought normally. “When did doing something “like a girl” become an insult?” was the food for thought. All over the nation, this advert empowered women. Our power was unleashed!
Third, the creativity plot. As a frequent flyer, I have often observed how on-flight safety instructions are given little attention by most passengers. One of my favorite examples showcasing the creativity plot is hence the one about a flight attendant, Karen Wood. Karen wanted to make people care about the safety instructions on flight. “And as the song goes, there may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only six ways to leave this aircraft:…”, she spoke. It didn’t take long for passengers to tune into her comic spiel. We can’t demand attention, we must attract it. Creativity plots help us achieve this as we do something different, harness creativity, and experiment with new approaches (within certain regulations, of course).
The power of storytelling fascinates me. Thousands of years ago, myths and legends were told through oral cultures. These then developed profound ways of communicating so that cultures were able to transmit themselves through generations. Think also about the way we get lost in fictitious worlds from the books we’re reading or the way we identify with different protagonists from the movies we’re watching. I often marvel over how the horror movies I watch haunt me in my sleep, or how tales of adventure like Princess Moana’s venture into the sea drive me to go set out on my own, how romance novels set expectations in love I’d possibly carry with me throughout my life, and even how comedic pieces make me fondly quote cheesy lines in my day to day life. In the marketing world, too, it is through storytelling that the audience is able to connect, engage, empathize, and most importantly, remember messages. As Steve Jobs exceptionally summarizes, “the most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”
Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh died last January, 1.22.22, yet his impact on the world continues. Below are a couple of quotes from his book The Art of Communicating for your consideration:
“Every human and every animal communicate. We typically think of communication as the words we use when we speak or write, but our body language, our facial expressions, our tone of voice, our physical actions, and even our thoughts are ways of communicating.
Every time we communicate, we either produce more compassion, love, and harmony or we produce more suffering and violence. Our communication is what we put out into the world and what remains after we have left it. In this way, our communication is our karma. The Sanskrit word karma means ‘action,’ and it refers not just to our bodily action but to what we express with our bodies, our words, and our thoughts and intentions.” The Art of Communicating, Thich Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press (c) 2013, p.139
May our thoughts, words and actions contribute more compassion, love and harmony today.
Humans are competitive, omnivores and violent BUT do we have to be?
COMPETITION in the world is seen as a natural aspect of our “struggle for existence” and a basis for natural selection. See Population Biology: Ecological and Evolutionary Viewpoints https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-642-74474-7
What is the competition between species? Food, shelter and water.
What is the competition within the same species? Food, shelter, water and mates.
And it was Sigmund Freud he reminded us of our sublimation: In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defense mechanism, in which socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initial impulse. Sigmund Freud 1926. Or in other words, we divert or modify our instinctual impulses into more socially acceptable activity. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublimation_(psychology)
Humans, as omnivores, (meaning they eat both plants and meat) may have developed larger brains as a result of meat-eating behavior. “Animals have been part of human diets for more than 3 million years” and “we do know that meat-eating was one of the most pivotal changes in our ancestors’ diets and that it led to many of the physical, behavioral, and ecological changes that make us uniquely human.” (See Briana Pobinar’s article https://www.americanscientist.org/article/meat-eating-among-the-earliest-humans)
VIOLENCE
“Some argue that humans are inherently aggressive, violent, and competitive, cooperating only for personal gain, while others believe that humans are inherently compassionate, peaceful, and loving, acting aggressively and violently only in unnatural circumstances or when they are afraid.
Isn’t it more reasonable to perceive humans as capable of horrific cruelty and violence as well as astonishing altruism and peaceful collaboration (and everything in between), and to notice that the great majority of the time? Humans can even be cooperative and competitive simultaneously. Think of team sports, in which we collaborate peacefully with our teammates to compete (sometimes violently) with another team.
But what remains true, no matter where one falls on the “What is humanity’s essential nature?” spectrum, is that we are capable of nurturing, reinforcing, and cultivating our more peaceful natures, and that we can also become violent based on the situations and systems in which we find ourselves.” Zoe Weil, co-founder and president of the Institute of Humane Education
Walking meditation is a mindful movement practice in which you consciously concentrate on walking so that you know you are walking AND notice the sense perceptions around you with each step. For example, if you’re walking outside, you see where you are walking, you hear the various sounds of nature while you are walking, you feel the breeze and the temperature of your environment and smell the aromas of Mother Earth. You can also focus your thoughts by using a word, phrase or mantra (e.g., repeating your canine companions name).
As one Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, explains, “Walking meditation is a wonderful practice. The primary purpose of walking meditation is to completely enjoy the experience of walking. We walk all the time but our steps are often burdened with our anxieties and sorrows. When we walk in mindfulness, each step can create a fresh breeze of peace, joy and harmony. Our destination is the here and now.”
Thich Nhat Hanh adds that you can use a small bell to begin and end your walk and use words or phrases during the walk to guide your focused, mindful steps. Specifically, he says, “When the bell sounds for walking, our breath is coordinated with our steps – we take an in-breath and make one step with the left foot. On the out-breath we take another step with the right foot. Then we begin the cycle again. We can also hold words in our heart. For example, with one step we can say, ‘I have arrived’ and with the next, ‘I am home.’ You may continue with other meaning phrases such as, ‘Yes’ and ‘thank you.’ Our body flows in a continuous movement in harmony with our breathing.”
See The Long Road Turns to Joy – A Guide to Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh, (c) 1996
A walking meditation practice can be very beautiful and comforting when done alone or with other humans. It can also be very enjoyable with “other-than-human” companions but may not be as orderly or synchronized. 😊
For example, when I walk with my companion canine, Zorro, a 7-pound Chihuahua, we begin with me carrying him for the first half of our 300-foot walk. Fortunately, he is easy to carry but he still needs his exercise to maintain his muscle tone AND, equally important, to do his daily duty/doody (i.e., defecate and urinate).
When I put him down on the ground next to me, he will often sniff, slowly begin walking until he finds the “right place” to do his duty/doody and then, upon completion, sprint the remaining 250 feet to the front door of our house where he knows his water dish and reward treats are located.
Anyone can do this dog-walking meditation knowing that their process and results will vary depending on their canine companion’s needs and desires.
May you and your canine companion enjoy your interspecies, interspiritual, walking meditation experience.
It’s the beginning of a new year so returning to basics, briefly, seems like a worthwhile exercise. I mean, I can spend a lot of time trying to answer questions like Who Am I and What Is My Life’s Purpose, etc. but I shouldn’t forget my biology, should I? After all, we are still dealing with mental and physical health, a pandemic, overpopulation and the Sixth Extinction, right?
So, I’m focused this week on our animal-ness, our basic living status and what that might mean when it comes to how we live our lives.
Here’s a question for you: why do we conveniently deny our animal nature? Below are a couple of thoughts to consider.
Question:Why is it, for some reason, that humans try to separate themselves from the animal kingdom when we ourselves are animals?
All religions hold that humans are special, created at separate times and under different circumstances from other animals. Some are even so arrogant as to say that humans were made in the image of some creator or another.
That is the problem.
Most, if not all, religions try to explain consciousness with the idea of a “soul” or a “spirit” – something other than the body. Those creeds that allow animals to have a soul, also believe that being an animal is but a stage in a human’s climb toward the essence of creation. So, the soul is human, after all, and the animal just a temporary learning stage for the sublime, divine spirit.
All rubbish, of course, but still at the very foundation of religion. After all, if your beliefs don’t make you special, why have them? If placing faith in such utter balderdash does not serve to at least unite you with similarly weak-minded imbeciles, why have faith at all?
This is the single most important difference between religion – any religion – and a scientific, realist view of the world.
See, if you can’t explain animals, or plants, put yourself so far above them that no explanation is required, except to say that they were made to serve you, either as food and clothing, or as faithful tame companions, or as a step up the ladder of enlightenment.
I always enjoy Lynn J Kelly’s posts and this one seems especially worth sharing this week with my focus on various types of mindfulness and the pragmatic advice to experience the benefits. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
[Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s teacher] Ajaan Suwat often recommended putting yourself in a good mood each time before you meditate. This may sound a little backwards for many of us because we meditate in order to put ourselves in a good mood, and yet he says to start out with a good mood. But when you stop to think about it, there’s really no way you can get good results out of the meditation unless the mind has at least some good qualities in it, some cheerfulness, some patience, some wisdom. These are qualities that act as seeds, that allow the meditation to develop. We’re not totally empty-handed when we come to the meditation. We do have good qualities in the mind, and there are plenty of things we can think about to put the mind in a good mood. …
If you sit down and you feel yourself totally disinclined to…
Life Matters 