Category Archives: psychology

Feb 24 – 10 Benefits of Having a Dog

1 Reply

Here’s a repost of an article from Parade magazine by Margie Zable Fisher 

Weighing up the pros of having a dog? Here’s 10 ways it could improve your life.

10 Benefits of Having a Dog© Provided by Parade

Most of us love dogs. In fact, 63% of households own a dog, according to the 2019-2020 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA). This has steadily increased over the years and was helped by a 30% jump in pet adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Insurance Research Council’s October 2020 report.

There are so many benefits of having a dog. Dogs give us unconditional love and snuggles and they also help our health in a variety of ways, especially by motivating us to exercise, by walking them. But did you know that pets help improve not just your physical health, but your mental health, too?

You may have heard about emotional support animals, often seen providing comfort and emotional support to owners on airplanes and in other public places. Or even psychiatric service dogs, which are specially trained to help people with mental health issues.

The good news is that your family dog can also provide many mental health benefits.

Weighing up the pros of having a dog? Read on for science-backed ways that pooches help reduce anxiety, stress, loneliness and more.

Benefits of having a dog

1. Decreases anxiety

“Dogs provide unconditional love and are a safe harbor when people are in distress,” says Leslie Sinn, DVM, DACVB, of Behavior Solutions, which helps pet owners with animal behavior issues. A variety of research shows that dogs help people relax and become less anxious.

2. Benefits kids with ADHD

Dogs can have a calming influence. In a 2015 study, children who received cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) with canine-assisted intervention experienced a larger decrease in the severity of ADHD symptoms. Social skills improved and difficult behavior was reduced.

3. Lowers stress for college students

Dorm life isn’t just one big party. College students have always experienced a high level of stress, due to the demands of studying, getting a job and even getting too little sleep. Inspired by “Pet the Stress Away” programs on college campuses, researchers at Washington State University studied 249 students, some of whom interacted with cats and dogs. The results were extremely paw-sitive. The group that interacted with the animals had a significant decrease in cortisol, a stress hormone. Even more interesting? Stress levels decreased after only 10 minutes.

4. Lowers stress for kids

Several studies show that dogs lower stress levels in children. One study showed that after being exposed to something stressful, brief, unstructured interactions with dogs decreased kids’ anxiety. Another study showed that when a dog was present during a physical examination, children had larger decreases in arterial pressure, heart rate and behavioral distress. In other words, they were less stressed.

5. Lowers stress for everyone

Having a pet allows us to fulfill one of our most basic needs—the human need for touch. But that’s just the beginning of the benefits of owning a dog. In addition to research showing that just petting a dog lowers stress, a study showed that cuddling, playing and petting Rover increases the level of the feel-good hormone oxytocin, which is the same hormone that helps bond moms to babies.

6. Decreases children’s anxiety

“Animals don’t judge. I think that’s one of the things they do best,” says Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB, of Veterinary Behavior Consultations. “For example, when a child is learning to read and reads to a dog or a cat, they might be more comfortable, because no one is correcting them on the pronunciation,” she says. One study measured the effect of children when reading to dogs. It found that anxiety levels of children were lower when reading to dogs than when they weren’t reading to dogs, as measured by a decrease in blood pressure. Dogs may also help lessen the anxiety of kids in other situations. In a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the anxiety levels of 643 children at their annual pediatric doctor visit were analyzed. The results showed that the anxiety levels for kids with dogs in the home was 12%, vs. 21% for those without dogs.

7. Helps older folks feel better

As we get older, our friends and family might move away or even pass away, physical limitations may prevent activities and it may become harder to socialize. That’s why having a pet is so important to older adults. In fact, one study found a variety of benefits for community-dwelling older adults who owned pets: they provided companionship, gave a sense of purpose and meaning, reduced loneliness and increased socialization.

8. Reduces loneliness

In addition to being your buddy in the house and on the go, your dog can even help you make new friends. “Dogs are social magnets,” says Sinn. “They can help anyone meet people, but they are especially helpful with people who have problems engaging with others.” Case in point: One study showed that dogs help people with intellectual disabilities have social encounters, since more people talk to them when they have dogs.

9. Improves mood

It’s hard to be sad when you’re hanging out with Rover. Several studies confirm that we feel better when we’re with our dogs. One example, from the University of Missouri-Columbia, shows that participants who stroked their dogs for a few minutes experienced a release of mood-boosting hormones, including oxytocin, serotonin and prolactin.

10. Increases happiness

Doesn’t it feel great coming home to a wagging tale and a joyful pet? Science confirms that we feel a sense of wellbeing from having pets. In fact, one study found that pet owners were more satisfied with their lives than those who didn’t own pets.

Feb 19 – Interspecies Companionship – Sarah Bowen

Leave a reply
Rev. Sarah Bowen 12-minute video introducing Animal Chaplaincy

It’s a sunny winter day here in MId-America and I’m contemplating the questions Rev Sarah Bowen introduces in the video link above. Questions like:

  1. Do animals have spiritual lives?
  2. How can we survive the loss of a loved one?
  3. What self-care looks like for animal advocates and Earth Warriors?
  4. What are some of the ways we can honor animal lives and heal human hearts?

I was very fortunate to attend the original webinar offered last Spring, 2022, and join the Animal Chaplaincy Training Program, Rev Sarah began last Summer. Barring the Apocalypse occurring this coming week, I’m looking forward to certification next Sunday, Feb 26. After that I hope to continue on for another 3 – 4 months and be ordained as an Interspecies Interspiritual Chaplain (aka Spiritual Care provider).

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know of my interest in Animals, Mindfulness and now Animal Chaplaincy. If you’re interested in learning more about these topics please subscribe to this blog AND check out Rev Sarah Bowen’s organization: Compassion Consortium. https://www.compassionconsortium.org/training

Today’s senryu: Interspecies Companionship

breathing in, I feel

life teeming all around me;

breathing out, I smile

Compassion Consortium’s Tenets of Agreement

https://www.compassionconsortium.org/our-founding-principles

Feb 1 – The Mixed Messages of February

7 Replies

What comes to mind when you first realize it’s February? What memories, historical events or important people come to mind? What about February do you look forward to this year?

Personally, I first think of another Valentine’s Day that I won’t be celebrating. My partner doesn’t like this day and I became less interested myself when my beloved grandfather died on this day. This “holiday” has become more of a dirge than a celebration, a personal St. Valentine’s Day massacre.

Next, I think of Groundhog Day. A funny day and an even funnier movie. Did you know that the Groundhog Day movie is considered a great metaphor for life from a Buddhist perspective?

Then I remember the U.S. Presidential holidays which quite frankly are another mixed message, from my perspective. George Washington was a rich slave owner and Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer who used the Emancipation Proclamation as a war tactic. Fortunately, both of these thoughts remind me that February is Black History Month in the U.S. which is a very good thing to celebrate.

My life has benefited greatly from African American contributions and specific individuals who have demonstrated honor and nobility in their own lives. Many black Mindfulness practitioners have especially role-modeled the benefits of nonduality and nonviolent principles.

Now I’m looking forward to this month and the topics I will be blogging about.

Finally, this mixed-emotional month reminds me of a poem published last year in a self-published book Natural Beauty and Other Poems (c) 2022 Patrick J. Cole

Here’s the poem:

One Tree, One Lonely, February Afternoon

In the middle of a field, far apart from others, that lie in the woods to the West,

stands a tree, alone, exposed on every side; a tree looking different from the rest.

How did this tree end up here, all alone? Does a tree ever have a choice?

Perhaps our ancestral seeds blow where they will and all we have is our voice,

to tell what we know, however small it may be, in whatever field we find ourself.

Sometimes, what stands out, catches our eye, ends up on a mantle or a shelf.

Alone and lonely are two separate states but sometimes they’re intertwined,

like the branches of a tree, one lonely afternoon, in a late February state of mind.

Photo taken by the author in a nearby nature park.

Jan 31 – It’s all in your state of mind

Leave a reply

Why pay attention to what’s in your mind? Why become more acquainted with your thoughts? Why practice Mindfulness?

Here’s a response from a poet for whom little is known yet his words from 1905 still inspire today.

Thinking by Walter D. Wintle

“If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don’t,
If you like to win, but you think you can’t
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”
― Walter D. Wintle – https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/mindfulness

For a brief inspirational video see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZnxUdke3TQ

I would love to hear a nongender rendition someday.

Jan 30 – Benefits of Mindfulness

Leave a reply

There are many benefits to the practice of Mindfulness. The excerpts below come from a more comprehensive article, if you’re interested. Check it out here:(https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/benefits-of-mindfulness.htm). Hopefully this brief introduction will encourage you.

“Practices for Improving Emotional and Physical Well-Being

Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing your attention on the present moment—and accepting it without judgment. Mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness.

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

Professor emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine and demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can bring improvements in both physical and psychological symptoms as well as positive changes in health, attitudes, and behaviors.

Mindfulness improves well-being. 

Mindfulness improves physical health. 

Mindfulness improves mental health. In recent years, psychotherapists have turned to mindfulness meditation as an important element in the treatment of a number of problems, including depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, couples’ conflicts, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Mindfulness techniques

There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment. All mindfulness techniques are a form of meditation.

Basic mindfulness meditation – Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or on a word or “mantra” that you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or mantra.

Body sensations – Notice subtle body sensations such as an itch or tingling without judgment and let them pass. Notice each part of your body in succession from head to toe.

Sensory – Notice sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Name them “sight,” “sound,” “smell,” “taste,” or “touch” without judgment and let them go.

Emotions – Allow emotions to be present without judgment. Practice a steady and relaxed naming of emotions: “joy,” “anger,” “frustration.” Accept the presence of the emotions without judgment and let them go.

Getting started

Mindfulness meditation builds upon concentration practices. Here’s how it works:

Go with the flow. In mindfulness meditation, once you establish concentration, you observe the flow of inner thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without judging them as good or bad.

Pay attention. You also notice external sensations such as sounds, sights, and touch that make up your moment-to-moment experience. The challenge is not to latch onto a particular idea, emotion, or sensation, or to get caught in thinking about the past or the future. Instead, you watch what comes and goes in your mind and discover which mental habits produce a feeling of well-being or suffering.

Stay with it. At times, this process may not seem relaxing at all, but over time it provides a key to greater happiness and self-awareness as you become comfortable with a wider and wider range of your experiences.

Practice acceptance

Above all, mindfulness practice involves accepting whatever arises in your awareness at each moment. It involves being kind and forgiving toward yourself.

Some tips to keep in mind:

Gently redirect. If your mind wanders into planning, daydreaming, or criticism, notice where it has gone and gently redirect it to sensations in the present.

Try and try again. If you miss your intended meditation session, simply start again.

By practicing accepting your experience during meditation, it becomes easier to accept whatever comes your way during the rest of your day.

Cultivate mindfulness informally

In addition to formal meditation, you can also cultivate mindfulness informally by focusing your attention on your moment-to-moment sensations during everyday activities. This is done by single-tasking—doing one thing at a time and giving it your full attention. As you floss your teeth, pet the dog, or eat an apple, slow down the process and be fully present as it unfolds and involves all of your senses.

Invest in yourself

The effects of mindfulness meditation tend to be dose-related — the more you do, the more effect it usually has. Most people find that it takes at least 20 minutes for the mind to begin to settle, so this is a reasonable way to start. If you’re ready for a more serious commitment, Jon Kabat-Zinn recommends 45 minutes of meditation at least six days a week. But you can get started by practicing the techniques described here for shorter periods.

Adapted with permission from Positive Psychology: Harnessing the Power of Happiness, Personal Strength, and Mindfulness, a special health report published by Harvard Health Publishing.

Last updated: December 5, 2022

Jan 28 – Animal Ministry – “Don’t Push the River”

Leave a reply

Some people get it, some don’t. Some people need it, some don’t. Below are two more people who have dedicated their lives and their professions to animal ministry: Robert Gierka and Rebecca K. OConnor. See a brief introduction for each below and check out their websites for more information.

Robert Gierka, Ed.D., Founder and President of the Association for Veterinary Pastoral Education and Pet Chaplain®, Raleigh, NC, USA

“Despite the ever growing popularity of pet keeping in America, there are still people who are indifferent to the agony of pet loss, who think a dog is just a dog, and if after two weeks you’re still upset about the dog dying you must be experiencing an irrational attachment. Typically, in an uninformed but well-meaning way, they may suggest, “You need to get another dog; that’ll make you feel better.” Culturally, this is still the norm in Western society, and in my lengthy interviews with pet lovers, there’s a tacit awareness that we have to be careful who we share our feelings with. The truth is that many people still misunderstand or deny the deep emotional and spiritual connections people enjoy with companion animals and the intense grief they can experience when those animals are lost.

My path with AVPE and Pet Chaplain® has been long and circuitous, and, though I strongly believe the mere existence of pet chaplaincy bodes well for the public good, especially for those who grieve for animals, I have run into skepticism about my work in some circles. A good friend of mine told me years ago that some people would “get it” and some would not. The also advised, “Don’t push the river, just go where it flows.” I have found this to be sage advice.” from the Robert Gierka bio at https://petchaplain.com/collaborators/

What is Animal Ministry and Why Does It Matter

“Animal ministry is actually about people and how we interconnect with the animals around us. Most religions have traditions regarding the spirituality of animals and that intersects with human life in a positive way. Some would argue that in American culture, this reverence for feathered, furred and scaled creatures has disappeared. This is where animal ministries step in.

How I Became an Animal Chaplain by Sarah Bowen

Leave a reply

Below is an article from Spirituality + Health magazine highlighting Sarah Bowen, Director of the Animal Chaplaincy Training Program offered through Compassion Consortium. I am a current student in this program and look forward to becoming a certified and ordained animal chaplain later this year. Please let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to respond to you directly or in future blog posts.

May you and all sentient beings be happy, healthy and safe.

How I Became an Animal Chaplain

(And Why It Matters)

by  Sarah Bowen

Sarah Bowen shares ways humans can rebalance their relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom.

“You were real to the boy,” the fairy said,
“because he loved you.
Now you shall be real to everyone.”
—FROM THE VELVETEEN RABBIT

It’s possible the seeds for my call to animal chaplaincy were sown the first time I was read Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit. In this classic children’s story, a stuffed rabbit struggles with some of the life lessons we humans do: What does it mean to be real? How powerful is unconditional love? Are some lives valued over others?

As a result of the story, I formed rich relationships with my stuffed animals, concerned about their welfare, loving them as the boy in the story loved his rabbit. William’s tale deeply informed my beliefs about what might have a soul or spirit, causing me to treat seemingly inanimate objects with great compassion. One day, I was in the toy store checkout line with my mother, preparing to hand over my allowance in exchange for a fuzzy brown bear. Taking a long look at the bear and then at 7-year-old me, the cashier noted, “Hold on a minute, sweetie, I’ll get you a different one. This bear is missing an eye.”

I boldly announced, “I know he is. That’s why I want him.” The cashier suggested, “Well then let me call a manager so you can get a discount since he’s damaged.” I emphatically countered, “That is just the way he is, and I will pay full price. He’s worth it.”

Much to my mother’s dismay, my growing love of animals also included bringing home dead chipmunks. Raised as a preacher’s kid, I often visited funeral homes with my father. I deduced that these animals needed burial in our bushes, accompanied by a small service ending with “May the Force be with you, chipmunk.”

Decades later, I found myself explaining to my new husband why we could not allow the cats to catch any mice in our house, teaching him how to capture the mouse in Tupperware and return it outside. In the event the cats won the scramble, a backyard burial would ensue, ending in the blessing, “May you have a most auspicious next lifetime, mouse.”

In my 40s, I enrolled in a seminary program to learn about the world’s spiritual traditions—but with no desire to be a pulpit preacher like my father. About a year in, students were asked to share about what each might do for their ministry. I blurted out, “I’m going to have a roadkill ministry.” Silence and wide-eyed stares followed. I continued (as if I was in a pulpit), “Each year, human motorists kill nearly 400 million animals, leaving them to die on the road. It’s just one of the ways we have become careless, callous, and cruel to the other beings we share the planet with.”

Perhaps impressed by my homiletics, my academic advisor suggested, “Have you ever thought about animal chaplaincy?” Now it was my turn for wide eyes, paired with a gaping jaw, as I queried incredulously, “Wait … that’s a real thing?”

A Day in the Life of an Animal Chaplain

No, I do not have a church that animals attend. However, you might be surprised how many people ask me if I do. Instead, my ministry takes place where animals are.

First, there are the needs of the cats we share our home with, and myriad critters who occupy the land on which our house sits. From our cleaning products to the type of ice melt we use on the driveway, each choice is informed by the needs of all the beings we live with, not just the two-legged ones paying the mortgage.

Next, there are the 8 million dogs and cats surrendered to animal shelters each year in the US—more than 913 each hour. Each week, I spend time sitting, playing, or talking with some of these animals. I’m especially drawn to those who are hardest to place in new homes, the so-called special needs animals. Many needs are simply symptoms of being scared, lonely, or confused as the result of being abandoned.

Humans can also be scared and downright perplexed when it comes to decisions around medical care and end-of-life decisions regarding their companion animals. As a chaplain, I help people deal with these issues and the grief and loss that often follow.

Finally, animal advocacy takes an increasing amount of my time, as I sign petitions and educate people on animal-welfare issues and rights. For example, as our society continues to expand into what was once wild, we traumatize and displace millions of other creatures. In the book Ethics on the Ark, William Conway notes, “It is a paradox that so many humans agonize over the well-being of an individual animal yet ignore the millions daily brutalized by the destruction of their environments. … We are touched with sadness at the plight of vanishing species but much more readily brought to tears by the difficulties of E.T., Dumbo, or Mickey Mouse. … Poorly equipped to discern data from deceit, we populate our concepts with caricatures.”

Further, we seem oblivious to what is happening in our food, entertainment, and consumer-goods systems, which are clearly out of alignment with what our spiritual and religious traditions espouse. Dr. Richard Schwartz, president Emeritus of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, outlines the horror we face today. “The insanity of current policies towards animals can be summarized as follows: Firstly, millions of animals are killed to protect our livestock. Then billions of animals are slaughtered for your food. As a result of our flesh-centered diets, millions of additional animals are tortured and killed seeking cures for … diseases, which people generally wouldn’t get in the first places if we had more sensible diets.”

I profess, working to decrease the atrocities of our systems is hard some days. Our society’s collective denial, endless excuses, and senseless rationalizations abound as people tell me, “Stop. I don’t want to know. Leave me be.”

Luckily, two rebellious black cats named Deacon and Buba-ji, Picasso the rescued goldfish, Max the squirrel, a backyard full of yet-to-be-named critters, and my incredibly supportive husband await me at home. All greet me with unconditional love, reminding me what is real and inspiring me to continue working towards a world in which all lives matter.

Why It Matters

It turns out that what many of us were told as children is no longer real. Scientists continue to uncover plentiful evidence that many animals can empathize, communicate over long distances, complete complex tasks, and do all sorts of amazing things for which we historically have not given them credit.

Our food does not come from idyllic farms where the Farmer and his Wife treat animals well in the Dell. It’s heartbreaking to realize our species, which once had a deep reverence for life and consisted on a diet primarily of grains, now supports a system that abuses and kills six million animals each hour for food alone. Even for people unconcerned with animal welfare, there is a case for alarm: Animal farming is a major contributor to global warming. In fact, it’s the No. 1 cause of climate change.

Contrary to what many of us learned in Sunday School, religion does not unequivocally state that we can use animals as we please. Today’s theologians, including Andrew Linzey, Ken Stone, and Sarah Withrow King, have dug deeply into Jewish and Christian texts to expose solid academic cases that dominion was not intended to mean taking anything (or anyone) from the earth to satisfy our out-of-control desires.

Finally, sociologists who have begun to study the effects of speciesism suggest that as we privilege some animals over others, and humans over all animals, there is a relation- ship to other types of prejudice. A 2018 study published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology notes, “speciesism is psychologically related to human-human types of prejudice such as racism, sexism, and homophobia.” In addition, people with speciesist views tend towards lower levels of empathy and prosociality.

The foundation of our inherited values about other sentient beings is cracking. In field after field, people are redefining what we now know as true. And they need your help.

What You Can Do

• Reflect. Take a few minutes to consider your relationships with beings other than humans. What feels in balance? What doesn’t?

• Watch Speciesism: The Movie.

• Listen to the audiobook A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion by Matthieu Ricard.

• Grow. Cultivate a humane backyard using animal- friendly landscaping methods from Nancy Lawson (humanegardener.com).

• Reduce. Pledge to eat fewer animal products for 30 days at reducetarian.org.

• Download. Check out the Happy Cow app to find cruelty-free food worldwide and the Bunny Free app to find out if a company tests on animals.

• Volunteer. Visit your local animal shelter. Pet a cat. Play with a dog. Chill with a rabbit.

• Advocate. Get involved with an organization such as World Animal Protection, Animal Equality, or Mercy for Animals.

• Love. Save a mouse. Bury a chipmunk. Meditate with squirrels.

• Read. Dust off The Velveteen Rabbit.

• Become real.

About the Author

Sarah Bowen is an animal chaplain, multifaith spiritual educator, and award-winning author of Spiritual Rebel: A Positively Addictive Guide to Finding Deeper Perspective & Higher Purpose. Her latest book is Sacred Sendoffs: An…

Click for more from this author.

https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/articles/2020/03/04/how-i-became-an-animal-chaplain-and-why-it-matters

Jan 18 – A Poet & Editor More People Should Know – Gabriela Marie Milton

Leave a reply

An award-winning poet in her own right, Gabriela Marie Milton, is also an award-winning editor. Perhaps best known for her anthology, The Wounds I Healed – The Poetry of Strong Women (c) 2022, Gabriela Marie Milton is releasing a new anthology, Hidden in Childhood later this month.

For more information about her and her celebrated work check out her website and a New York Glamour interview here: https://shortprose.blog/ and https://nyglamour.net/keep-going-greatness-always-encounters-resistance-gabriela-marie-milton/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20244631.Gabriela_Marie_Milton

Jan 14 – What Is a Sentient Being?

5 Replies

Today’s senryu: What Is a Sentient Being?

Can we feel our pain?

Can we communicate care?

Are we sentient?

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

Jan 13 – RESPONDING TO THE CALL AND …

Leave a reply

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.

[3] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer (New York: Paulist Press, 2014), 82–83.