{"id":661,"date":"2015-02-04T19:01:33","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T02:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/dirtheartwitch\/?p=661"},"modified":"2015-02-04T19:01:33","modified_gmt":"2015-02-05T02:01:33","slug":"the-animal-you-are-a-meditation-on-our-creature-hood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dirtheartwitch\/2015\/02\/the-animal-you-are-a-meditation-on-our-creature-hood\/","title":{"rendered":"The Animal You Are~ a meditation on our creature-hood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Mother Earth, dark and fecund, hold me to my flesh. \u00a0Help my molecules to slow to an easy vibration. \u00a0Teach me to center into depth, root into confidence, remember my part in the dance. \u00a0Bless me and blessed be.<\/em><\/p>\n

I struggle sometimes, this time of year, when the light is returning in force and the days get measurably longer. \u00a0It is as though my whole body contracts, like our eyes do, coming from darkness into the bright sun. \u00a0My flesh is filled with too much energy and it feels like anxiety and hyper-vigilance. \u00a0Uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

This year, I have a place to put my anxiety. \u00a0Becoming responsible for these goat-children is raising all sorts of questions and concerns for me. \u00a0Are they eating too much? \u00a0Not enough? \u00a0Should they have more hay? \u00a0Less grass? \u00a0More grain? \u00a0How the hell can we keep them in the yard?! \u00a0If you have goats, you know what I mean. \u00a0If you don\u2019t, you can trust the old saying: \u00a0if a fence will hold water, it will hold a goat.\"slip<\/a><\/p>\n

Okay, that\u2019s a little too glib, but it is kinda true. \u00a0We\u2019re having better luck, rather than trying to keep them in, providing them with an abundance of what they want so they don\u2019t\u00a0want to leave.<\/em>\u00a0 It\u2019s a balance, really. \u00a0At times, I need to muscle them around; they do not want me to mess with their hooves, but I will anyway because they need cleaned and trimmed. \u00a0But I will also feed them something delicious while I\u2019m doing it, so they are more inclined to stay still. I want them to want the same things I want, so I try to see like them, think like them. \u00a0Allow myself to be tempted by the same things that tempt them: \u00a0delicious food, comfort, freedom.<\/p>\n

In my practice, there is a focus on the relationship between our human mind, our animal body, and our divine spirit. \u00a0We strive for alignment between these parts of us, awareness and health throughout. \u00a0How I think about my animal-animals can inform how I think about myself as animal and vice versa. \u00a0I bet this will work for you too.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s play a game:<\/p>\n

(Probably, you want to do this when you\u2019re not at work, but I suppose it depends on what you do for a living.)<\/p>\n

If you have animals in your life, dogs, cats, birds, bring yourself into their presence. \u00a0If you don\u2019t, watch some animal vids on YouTube. \u00a0Look for something that you find enchanting, funny, adorable.<\/p>\n

Watch them move, breathe, eat. \u00a0See where their attention goes, what they are interested in. \u00a0Observe them sleeping. \u00a0Make this a practice and spend a little time each day becoming aware of the animals in your life.<\/p>\n

Now allow your attention to drift into the center of your own form, the flesh and blood of you. \u00a0Feel yourself move, breathe, eat. \u00a0See what draws the attention of your body. \u00a0Tune into the position of your body when you are at rest. \u00a0Allow yourself to interact with your world as the creature you are.<\/p>\n

Lie in a sunbeam like a dog. \u00a0Suddenly jump up and run into the other room like a cat. \u00a0Shiver yourself into adjustment like a bird.\"shutterstock_185361641\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Slip the fence and wander off like a goat. \u00a0See what unexpected treats you find. \u00a0Come back when you feel like it.<\/p>\n

Know, too, that the human thinky brain of you is strong, and the god that is you is strong, and they will take care of you. \u00a0Not let you wander where you shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

(As long as you remember to listen to them\u2026)<\/p>\n

Goat image<\/em>\u00a0courtesy of the author<\/em><\/p>\n

Dog image courtesy of shutterstock.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mother Earth, dark and fecund, hold me to my flesh. Help my molecules to slow to an easy vibration. Teach me to center into depth, root into confidence, remember my part in the dance. Bless me and blessed be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1721,"featured_media":666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,80,13],"tags":[118,117,35,116,33,34],"class_list":["post-661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fauna","category-meditations","category-prayers","tag-cats","tag-dogs","tag-homesteading","tag-mother-earth","tag-pagan","tag-paganism"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Animal You Are~ a meditation on our creature-hood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mother Earth, dark and fecund, hold me to my flesh. Help my molecules to slow to an easy vibration. 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