Photo: inhisgrace

Have to admit, I had a few toxic thoughts this weekend.

First, there was some jealousy of the many friends, acquaintances, and basically everyone surrounding me in Truckee, California who are on their way to Burning Man. This is the first year I really wanted to go, was supposed to perform, and have been living in a town right off the I-80 path to Black Rock City. But I couldn’t afford to go.

Then there was a feeling of being disconnected from one friend, my roommate, and a couple of other people I was hoping to meet up with. Feeling disconnected with one person is doable for me, but these things tend to come in threes, and end up making me feel pretty unhappy.

Yet, toward the end of the weekend, I came across the piece, 10 Ways To Transform Toxic Thoughts by Sandra Ingerman. Aha, right, there is something I can do.

Whether we are on the road or at home, we all face some of those moments or days (or weeks), but without sounding too new-agey (I’m trying hard here), we do have a choice of how to look at things. Sometimes we just need a little prompt to see things in a different light.

In that vain, here are my favorite four ways, from Ingerman’s list, to transform those ugly, unhelpful thoughts:

Breathe Through Your Heart

She says: “Place your hands on your heart and feel your heart moving as you breathe.”

Photo: helgasms!

We often forget both the power of breath and the power of the heart, much less the power of touch (even our own). Put all of those together, and you have a recipe for feeling calmer, safer, and less toxic.

Don’t forget breathing through your stomach. The number one thing that quiets my sometimes extremely loud head is the breath of fire, a kundalini yoga technique.

Breathing at a very fast pace seems to clear out my anxiety and leave my mind soft (yes, you are free to compare it to sex – I have no problem with that).

Express, Don’t Send

One of the issues that I was having this weekend was feeling an acquaintance had some sort of a problem with me, though I had no idea what. I sat with the feeling of anger and general pissed-off-ness (’what did I ever do to him?’), vaguely understanding that hurt lived underneath that anger. Finally, after rolling the situation around in my head for so long that I couldn’t sleep, I realized I had to say something.

I’ve learned that in this life, with my personality, I need to express myself or I will eventually explode in a much less constructive way (to put it mildly). I actually believe most of us need to verbally express our issues, but we are taught we aren’t supposed to, that we need to keep the peace. Yet I wonder if more peace would occur if we actually expressed our feelings more often.

So I want to shift the “don’t send” part of this one to “don’t send negative thoughts and feelings.” Express what you have to say in a respectful and constructive manner. For me this weekend, I started out wanting to write an email saying, “What the hell is your problem with me?” It evolved to asking if there was something that happened which bothered him, as I was feeling hurt by his disregard, and I wanted to clear the air.

Much less toxic.

Connect With Nature

Sometimes, this is easier to do on the road than at home. I know that nature saved me this weekend. Right now, I’m lucky enough to be in a place that is filled with amazing fir trees, so many hikes it would take a lifetime to do them all, and more watering holes (of the lake variety) than most states contain.

Photo: Mike Pedroncelli

I sat by the Truckee River on a warm rock, feet dipped in the cool water, getting my Vitamin D on. It was lovely.

You can’t help but feel better, physically and emotionally, once you get outside in nature. If you don’t have that luxury, try and have a plant or an animal close by – they can also work wonders.

Respond With Love

Ah, yes. The easiest and the hardest thing to do in life: show love. It’s especially hard to show appreciation when someone, or something, has hurt you. And feeling angry, hurt, or upset is completely valid. Just don’t let it take you down.

After fully feeling the pain, it can be really healing to respond with love to whatever has hurt you. It changes the energy of the situation, and probably even the outcome.

If you can’t seem to show love because it feels like the other person doesn’t deserve it, do it for you. Then you get to move on with your life and bring more good people into it.

So I’m sending lots of love to everyone I know and don’t know who is heading to Burning Man, to my roommate, and those I have felt a bit disconnected from. And I’m taking that love along with me to the East Coast. See you guys on the other side!

What are other things a person can do to transform toxic thoughts? Share your ideas below.

Here’s a previously unlikely combination of two of my favorite things, that I’m sure will come together more often in the age of organic açaí-infused energy drinks and late-night yoga jams:

Buddhism and Gangsta Rap. Hells, yeah.

What can the Buddhists say? Recruitment has hit the skids along with the economy. Can always use a llama-turned-woman-in-a-bikini to get the troops motivated.

Go total consciousness Lama Boy.

Community Connection

Buddhists aren’t the only ones who can rap. Southwest Airlines is still keeping it real as Julie Schwietert notes in Southwest Airlines: Still Cool After All These Years. And it’s not just about rap when it comes to Buddhism; alcohol may also be involved, as Ian MacKenzie ponders in Buddha Booze: The Practice Of Mindful Drinking.

Feature photo: utpala ॐ.

Photo: Burning Blog

Life changing. Mind blowing. Complete insanity. These are just a few of the words I’ve heard tossed about when mentioning Burning Man to those that have made the pilgrimage to the sands of Nevada.

I decided this was my year. It’s time to experience the mayhem and beauty first-hand.

I have no idea what to expect, but I do know that a few familiar faces around Matador Network will be joining me, including Ross Borden and Josh Johnson.

As well I hope to meet up with inspiring travelers from around the web, including Pat the Vagabond, the rest of the crew from Camp Nomadia.

On the eve of such a trip, I find myself reflecting on the many people I’ve recently met in person, or more likely, online. These are people busy doing. They are changing the world in their own way. Or more appropriately, they are changing their own worlds, which in turn affects the world at large.

I can’t say exactly how we cross paths. A meeting through a friend, an article published online, a comment left on a blog. I like to think we’re both putting out the vibes. This in turn, attracts people on a similar wave length. It’s like…science for the spiritual.

Sometimes, we trade ideas for collaboration. We fire each other up with our mutually positive energy. We know there’s a project we could work on… but…

The problem is time. There are only so many hours in the day, and so many ways to spread yourself too thin.

And so, this brief moment of mutual collaboration among like-minded individuals fizzles… perhaps we both sense it’s not going to happen. Part of me feels disappointed, knowing that the chance to work with another’s creativity may have passed.

But another part of me realizes that these moments come and go. The very fact that I’m creating positivity means that other like-minded people will inevitably arise. Not all of them will result in a collaboration. And that’s okay.

When the time is right, we will work together to build something. Or we won’t. It may be just the two of us, or it could be a much larger crew. Which brings me back to Burning Man.

I suspect Burning Man is what you get when a vast amount of people pour their hearts and energy into manifesting the impossible: an alternative city in the middle of the desert.

As I said earlier, I have no idea what to expect, but I have no doubt I will cross paths with an array of enlightening individuals that will challenge, inspire, and most importantly, teach me. In anticipation of these future encounters, I want to offer my sincere gratitude.

I’ll see you in the desert.

- Ian

p.s. I came across this bit of prose and thought it was entirely appropriate to share. I hope you enjoy it.

A SPIRITUAL “CONSPIRACY”

On the surface of our world right now
There is war, violence, and craziness
And things may seem dark.

But calmly and quietly
At the same time
Something is happening underground.

An inner revolution is taking place
And certain individuals
Are being called to a higher light.

It is a silent revolution
From the inside out
From the ground up.

This is a global co-operation
That has sleeper cells in every nation.
It is a planetary Spiritual Conspiracy.

You won’t likely see us on T.V.
You won’t read about us in the newspaper.
You won’t hear from us on the radio.

We don’t seek glory.
We don’t wear any uniform.
We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and styles.

We are in every country and culture of the world
In cities big and small, mountains and valleys
In farms and villages, tribes and remote islands.

Most of us work anonymously
Seeking not recognition of name
But profound transformation of life.

Working quietly behind the scenes
You could pass by one of us on the street
And not even notice.

We go undercover
Not concerned for who takes the final credit
But simply that the work gets done.

Many of us may seem to have normal jobs.
But behind the external storefront
Is where the deeper work takes a place.

With the individual and collective power
Of our minds and hearts
We spread passion, knowledge, and joy to all.

Some call us the Conscious Army
As together
We co-create a new world.

Our orders come from the Spiritual Intelligence Agency
Instructing us to drop soft, secret love bombs
when no one is looking.

Poems ~ Hugs ~ Music ~ Photography ~ Smiles ~ Kind words
Movies ~ Meditation and prayer ~ Dance ~ Websites
Social activism ~ Blogs ~ Random acts of kindness…

We each express ourselves
In our own unique ways
With our own unique gifts and talents.

“Be the change you want to see in the world”
That is the motto that fills our hearts.
We know this is the path to profound transformation.

We know that quietly and humbly
Individually and collectively
We have the power of all the oceans combined.

At first glance our work is not even visible.
It is slow and meticulous
Like the formation of mountains.

And yet with our combined efforts
Entire tectonic plates
Are being shaped and moved for centuries to come.

Love is the religion we come to share
And you don’t need to be highly educated
Or have exceptional knowledge to understand it.

Love arises from the intelligence of the heart
Embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse
Of all living beings.

Be the change you want to see in the world.
Nobody else can do it for you.
Yet don’t forget, we are all here supporting you.

We are now recruiting.
Perhaps you will join us
Or already have.

For in this spiritual conspiracy
All are welcome, and all are loved.
The door is always open.

~ Author Appropriately Unknown

Cambodian child / Photo: subliminati

This morning, I was making tea, and I read the name on the tea canister—the Thai company Phuc Long—and I didn’t even smirk, didn’t even think about making a joke about it.

And that’s one indication that perhaps I have been living here too long.

Here’s another:

Yesterday, I was walking down the street, and the guy with no arms who sells books out of a box hanging around his neck asked me for some money. I wasn’t carrying my moto helmet under my arm (as I usually do, marking me as an expat rather than a tourist), and he didn’t recognize me at first.

And then he remembered me from around town, and gave a sort of shrug and a not unfriendly smile, as if to say, “Sorry! You’re a regular here. Of course you’re not going to give me anything.”

And then we both sort of chuckled and walked past each other, and it wasn’t until I was about half a block away that I got a sickening chill at my own indifference.

Tea and Indifference

Has living in Cambodia made me less capable of sympathy? Even after close to a year here, it’s hard to know the “right” way to behave in the face of other people’s poverty and trauma. Feel it too much and you’ll be incapacitated; feel it too little and you’ll be some sort of Marie Antoinette (”Let them drink Angkor Beer if they have no potable drinking water!”)

Photo: Jason Leahey

To feel as if you belong here at all, you have to become a little inured to the realities of landmine victims and grubby children, and to act otherwise is to be viewed as a sap by both Khmer and expats.

Once, I went into the local Mexican restaurant and two expat women were sitting with a little Khmer boy for whom they had purchased dinner.

They seemed a little sheepish though, because after they had ordered, they noticed that, unlike most of the kids hanging around Pub Street at night, this guy had new tennis shoes, went to a government school reserved for the solidly middle class, and had a mother who was keeping an eye on him while chatting with her friends across the street.

Of course, there are far worse things than buying a child, any child, a Coke and a quesadilla, but they felt as if they’d been duped, giving help to someone who might not need it the most. It was such a tourist thing to do.

And we roll our eyes at tourists, the people who swoop in for a week or two and throw money at the first problem they see, regardless of whether it will do any lasting good. Then again, at least they’re doing something.

Judging The Other

What am I doing? Has anyone in Cambodia benefited from my writing so far?

And if I’m sometimes less sympathetic than I should be toward Khmer, you should hear my internal monologue about Westerners and their problems. Woe to the person whom I overhear complaining about heat, insects, potential bacteria in the water or uncomfortable bus seats; they will be silently excoriated by me.

Firstly, haven’t they ever opened a guidebook about any Southeast Asian country?

And there’s another level to my reaction, the part of me that has always considered myself sort of a wimp. “If I can handle this,” this part of myself says disdainfully, “then you must be the lowliest of pansies.”

What’s worse, I actually like this tougher side of myself sometimes. It makes me feel hearty and resilient and less likely to feel sorry for myself. It’s not as if I’ve forgotten about the fact that, should I fall into penury tomorrow and die a slow death of starvation, that I still will have lived a more comfortable life than 99% of Cambodian citizens.

But sometimes it is an asset to be able to witness the misfortunes of others and, instead of feeling crushing depression at the state of the world, feel sort of…well, lucky. And yet…

Cultivating Non-attachment

I was talking to my monk friend Savuth about how, in the Buddhist view of things, human love is a kind of suffering, just like hate is. It is hard, having been raised amidst Western ideas, to wrap my head around this.

Photo: Ian MacKenzie

To a Westerner, the Buddhist ideal of “detachment” sounds suspiciously like indifference. But I think what Savuth was speaking about was achieving a philosophical equanimity—you should feel sympathy and pity for wealthy crooks and beggar children alike, because they are both suffering as part of the human condition.

My friend Elizabeth long ago told me something similar in a different way—”Just because root canals exist, doesn’t mean that getting a papercut isn’t painful.”

But isn’t that just like me, to look at a problem cerebrally instead of dealing with the sticky business of how to feel?

The last time I was in New York, I found myself telling a friend about the Big-Headed Baby, the monstrously deformed infant whose mother takes him to all large festivals, where she begs for money, a container for change placed on the corner of his dirty blanket.

Who wouldn’t feel sympathy for the child? But I have a hard time feeling pity for the mother, when she must be aware of the glut of nonprofit organizations in Cambodia who could possibly help her child—it is simply more immediately profitable to parade him around like a circus act.

Even so, my friend looked a little taken aback by my callousness. And maybe he should have been. I cannot conflate my own attitude with Savuth’s universal sympathy—nothing proves this more than my very disparate feelings toward the Big-Headed Baby and his mother.

So where does this leave me? Vainly hoping that I can force myself to feel for both the root canal patient and the papercut victim? Cambodia never provides any easy answers; it only makes it harder to ignore the questions.

Perhaps that means that I have not lived here long enough.

What are your thoughts on compassion versus detachment? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Photo: The Gainesville Sun

I don’t take a lot of comfort in the direction we are heading when I read that a 10-year-old wore a shirt to a Florida school proclaiming, “Islam is of the Devil.”

She isn’t the only one. Seems children who attend the Dove World Outreach Center are showing up at school in these kind and loving t-shirts (view the Dove Center’s explanation here).

They are being sent home by school officials when they refuse to change or cover up their apparel.

Free speech comes up against freedom of religion, although district attorneys have said the school is more than likely safe “from a First Amendment standpoint.” The US Supreme Court has ruled several times in favor of schools not allowing speech that may be disruptive to students.

My larger concern is the hate message being espoused to those of other religions by a church “based on the Bible, the Word of God…bring(ing) Godly changes to our entire society.” Especially when the news article notes:

Dove Senior Pastor Terry Jones said no local company “had the guts” to print the shirts.

Guts or anger? One of the member’s daughters, who also wore a shirt to school, said the “statement was aimed at the religion’s beliefs, not its members.” Ah, yes, of course.

I know this is nothing new, with the “shock” religious advertising that seems to have become a daily occurrence, but I have to say I always hope the next generation will be a bit more tolerant. But how can they possibly have tolerance when their parents are instilling these “we’re-just-trying-to-save-the-nonbelievers-from-going-to-hell” messages?

What do you think of this anti-Islam t-shirt? Share your thoughts below.

Modena, Italy / Photo: Ian MacKenzie

It should go without saying that travel is for everyone, not just the svelte and the toned. Nevertheless, airlines such as Southwest, United and Continental, among others, are beginning to charge larger passengers.

Or, in their terms, those who can’t fit into 17-inch economy seats with the armrests down and their seatbelts buckled must pay for a second seat or upgrade to a larger, considerably more expensive one.

Struggling with one’s weight is never easy, even without the apparent discrimination that many of us either subconsciously or, in the case of certain airlines, overtly expose our larger brothers and sisters to.

But in spite of the apparent onset of restrictions facing the third-trip-to-the-buffet crowd and those who are just plain genetically predisposed to packing on pounds, budget travel can actually be a good way to lose weight.

Change Your Mindset

If money is no object, of course it’s possible, and even probable, that you’ll gain weight while traveling. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Even if you have some extra cash to play around with, travel as though you have to consider every dollar.

Most budget travelers I know would much rather cut a few dollars here and there from their food fund than cut a trip short and indulge their culinary fantasies. By no means is this statement meant to advocate self-starvation, but for people who are chronic overeaters and compulsive snackers at home, being far away from the familiar cookie jar can be a good way to cut down on between-meal indulgences.

And remember, the less you snack, the longer you’ll be able to stretch your travel dollars.

Photo: Divine in the Daily

Take Advantage of Smaller Portions

In many places, especially Asia, food portions are in general, visibly smaller than they are in the West. This means travelers there will likely be less liable to overeat. Over-drink, perhaps, but overeat? Only after over-drinking.

What’s more, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating less can, over time, actually reduce the capacity of the stomach by up to 36 percent, meaning you’ll feel fuller sooner, and eat less.

Be Conscious of Cultural Differences

In places where being overweight is the norm, such as the newly-crowned monarch of the rotund new millennium, Australia, being “drought and famine resistant,” as Homer Simpson once famously described having a spare Michelin around one’s midsection, will not likely draw any untoward comments or unwelcome stares.

However, there are places, and even whole continents, such as Asia once again, where it is far more common to see stick-thin men and women than it is to see overlapping underbellies and thighs-a-chaffing. This means the larger among us may, unfortunately, be met with the occasional seemingly socially awkward comment while abroad.

A Case Study

“My god, you’ve gotten fat.” My former roommate, a once very slender and fit Kiwi who had indeed put on a pound or two, but was by no means “fat” in the Western sense, was visibly taken aback.

After all, this was the opening remark of a woman with whom he had arranged to meet for a date in a crowded Taipei night market after they had met a few weeks previously.

But this woman was Taiwanese, and in Taiwan such remarks are not seen as malicious, but more of a sign of concern for one’s health.

Travel as a Tool of Physical Reinvention

So what does this have to do with the rest of the chunky jet set?

Simply this: If you are self-conscious about your weight, use travel as an opportunity to do something about it. Invent a healthier, slimmer new you. Explore new cities, or even your own city, on foot or by bike. You’ll save money on transport, discover muscles you never knew you had, and extend your potential travel time all at once.

Photo: echiner1

If you prefer biking to walking, but don’t want to haul your bike overseas, take advantage of the fact that more and more cities, such as Taipei, Milan, Montreal and Paris, just to name a few, are implementing free or low-cost bike share programs.

For a fat-melting one-two punch, research the top health food joints in cities you plan to visit ahead of time, type in their addresses on Google Maps, and when you arrive in said cities, make walking or biking to the restaurants from your hostel a part of your daily routine.

And if you, like my ex-roommate, find yourself in a situation similar to the one he faced, try to take it in stride and remember that it’s likely a cultural difference, not a bumptious attempt at public belittlement.

Many better men than I have pointed out how good travel can be for the mind and the spirit. Make it good for your physical well-being too.

What do you think of the traveler’s diet? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Indian students in AU protest attacks / Photo: will ockenden

Although I’m under no delusions that racism isn’t alive and well in this world, I have to say I’m a bit surprised about the attacks happening lately to students of color in traditionally white countries.

Between Buster’s piece on Matador Abroad asking Should People of Color Go To Russia?, and a recent article in the Times of India about attacks on Indian students in Australia, the fear reverberating from the ruling class of the past is palpable.

It hardly escapes attention that those being targeted, according to both of these pieces, are students, some of which are working on their Ph.D. To me, it seems like the fact that people of color are being educated to a higher degree than most of the rest of the population is triggering some deep insecurities of being ‘less than,’ which are being acted out with vigilantism.

For both Blacks in Russia and Indians in Australia, the need to tell roommates their whereabouts at all times, be on full alert while taking public transportation, and not be out past a certain time at night certainly makes one feel like a second class citizen.

What Is Being Done About It?

The Times of India tried to come up with a more subdued reason for the prevalence of attacks:

Another possible reason for the attacks against the Indian students could be the fact that they work part-time along with pursuing their studies and travel late in the night, which makes them vulnerable to assaults.

Hmmm. Well, the Victorian Police have started “sensitisation programmes” in order to educate the community about the attacks happening in Melbourne. Also, Buster notes in his article, “most people in Russia are not violent racists.”

While in one way, these are attempts to stem the assaults, I feel like a much stronger message needs to be sent to those initiating the attacks. Unfortunately, that may not come from within these countries, so pressure from the outside – by the media, or your blog posts – might be the way to help keep these students safe.

What can we do to help stop attacks on students of color? Share your thoughts below.

Community Connection

The first week of August was International Blog Against Racism Week, and you can find links to blogs leading the revolution here. And if you think that racism isn’t outwardly tolerated in the US anymore, check out the piece, A “Whites-Only” Pool in 2009?

Photo: Azriel Cohen

Last month, I wrote two articles on inviting us to think about including animal culture – and not just human culture – as part of our explorations as we travel through the world.

Healing our relationship to wild animals may hold keys to reversing the environmental crisis as well as helping us rediscover our own natural state of health.

Now, I wish to share an experience that introduced me to a new way of thinking about humans and animals, and changed my life. Afterwards, I will share twelve principles, distilled from my experiments, that I invite you to try yourself.

There are at least two reasons for you to take my invitation seriously. Firstly, it may assist you in developing a more healthy relationship with nature, which is so crucial given the serious environmental crisis we are living with.

Secondly, while most humans desire to move towards more balance, we often cannot tell if we are actually moving towards balance or away from it. Eastern medicine teaches that in a state of imbalance an individual’s tendency is to move towards greater states of imbalance, while believing what they’re doing is the healthiest.

If collectively we are in such a state of imbalance, we need to be extra mindful to ensure we move in the right direction. Wild animals can serve as reliable “tuning forks” to help us calibrate our nervous systems towards states of natural balance.

Peace Within Myself

The experience that forever changed my relationship to the animal kingdom was in 2002, after a retreat focused on “peace within myself”. I went into retreat because of my first experience of war.

Thich Nhat Hanh followed by Israelis and Palestinians in
walking meditation at Plum Village (Azriel Cohen
holding the umbrella), summer 2001

Shortly after I left the retreat, I had an experience with an animal that I never imagined possible.

Having grown up in war-free Toronto, my ideas about war were not rooted in any direct experience. I thought that the roots of war were just emotions and attitudes. But living in Jerusalem during the second Intifada (Palestinian Uprising) in a field of great violence, I sensed there was something else at the root of war that was not being addressed – something physiological. Something subtle shifted in my body as a result of living in a field of extreme violence, and I began to wonder about the role of the nervous system in cycles of war and violence.

I sensed that war zones had something intangible that could, in a sense, infect people, and that peaceful places had something intangible that could help people heal.

I decided to take a leave of absence from Jerusalem and immerse myself in a peaceful zone. I chose the eco-village Findhorn in northern Scotland. The main inspiration for my retreat was a program that I co-founded called “Peace Begins With Myself” in July 2001.

This program brought Israelis and Palestinians to Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village Meditation Center in France. It was rooted in the Buddhist perspective on peace – that peace in the world begins with each of us working on peace within ourselves. Peace exists in every detail of life, even how we walk, sit and eat.

In addition to various practices that I learned in Plum Village, I spent a lot of time in the woods around Findhorn. I had the sense that tuning into nature held a key to rediscovering an embodied peace.

I constantly wondered: if this state of being was my central focus, would I experience the world differently?

Encounter

After two months in that bubble, I left Findhorn to meet a friend in the Austrian countryside. During a walk near a forest, experimenting with that embodied state of peace, a young male deer emerged from a distance of about one hundred and fifty meters.

The deer walks away / Photo: Azriel Cohen

Something in my body and mind urged me to become very still and calm. I did all the things listed in the twelve steps below – it was not a rational decision, but rather it came from listening to my intuition and my body.

I calmed my thoughts, breathing and muscles, made the most gentle of movements and never initiated direct eye contact with the deer. The deer walked closer and closer, until it came right up to me. I was almost shocked, but I continued to calm myself on all levels.

With the curiosity of a young child, the deer slowly came closer and closer, until it reached me. It sniffed the sleeve of my jacket and proceeded to lick me.

It took a couple steps away and I began to walk. It followed closely behind, sometimes letting a larger distance separate us, but then would run back to my side, like a dog without a leash.

This continued for about thirty minutes and then it retreated into the forest.

I took photos as the deer walked away. Otherwise, I would probably still wonder today, if it was but a dream.

Post Encounter

Since then I have had more experiences with wild animals that have absolutely surprised me. I deconstructed the experiences and extracted the following twelve principles, or steps, so that others may reevaluate their relationship with wild animals. These steps are meant as guidelines, but the process is organic, not linear.

In the process of refining these principles, I consulted with three international experts in human-animal relations (Tara Lumpkin, Marta Williams, and Wynter Worsthorne).

I am grateful for their time and feedback.

Twelve Steps Towards Healing Your Relationship With Wild Animals

(Please exercise caution: this is not for use with dangerous animals)

1. Your emotions, thoughts and intentions

Connect to a feeling of love, as you would as you approach someone dear to you. Keep sensing that you are energetically communicating love to the animal. Focus your mind on the phrase “I am safe for you.” Repeatedly think this phrase towards the animal.

Focus on the following intention:

“I believe we have scared and hurt you, causing great damage to our relationship. My intention is for you to know that I will not hurt you, that I care about you, that I am safe, and maybe in a tiny little dose I can contribute to healing our relationship. I have no expectation whatsoever to get anything from you. Just to be a caring human being who, for at least a few moments, has a presence that is not a threat to you.”

2. Your breath:

Notice the sensation of your breathing in and out. Allow your breath to get deeper, slower, steadier and calmer.

Elephant kiss / Photo: Azriel Cohen

3. Your heart rate:

Allow it to slow down.

4. Your muscles:

Let your awareness scan your body from head to toe. Gently release every place where you notice tension, especially around your eyes and mouth.

5. Sense your whole body:

As your attention moves from head to toes, keep your attention on the sensations of the body part your are currently focused on, while focusing on the sensation of the body parts you have already passed. Do this until you can feel your whole body at once.

6. Movement:

While sensing your body as a whole and your breath, let the movements of your arms, legs or head be slow, steady and fluid. Move without altering speed or tension. If you have ever done or seen Zen walking meditation, you will have a good example.

7. Your eyes:

Keep your vision relaxed. Allow your eyes not to fixate on anything as you look ahead. Keep the range of your visual awareness as wide as possible.

8. Your jaws:

Release all tension around the mouth and keep it loose.

9. Approaching a wild animal:

Simultaneously do all steps 1-8 (thoughts, breathing, heart rate, relaxed muscles, body sensing, slow movement, soft eyes, relaxed jaw) as you move as slowly as possible towards the animal. At some point you will likely sense to not move closer, but rather to let the animal move towards you. Do not make direct eye contact, but rather allow the eye contact to be via peripheral vision.

10. Making contact with a wild animal:

Spend some time close to the animal – it may be a few feet, or a few inches away. Allow it to feel safe and stay steady with steps 1 – 8. Pay attention to subtle sensations, images and thoughts without censoring. Some animals may initiate contact with you, if you feel safe enough.

11. Open mind:

Keep focused on the possibility that this isn’t some crazy new-age esoteric practice. As you do these exercises, think to yourself,

“I am open to the possibility that all living things are able to communicate with one another, although that communication might be different from how I communicate with humans. I know there is within me the capacity for communication with animals, because my ancestors had that capacity within them. There are people today who are able to communicate with animals.”

12. Experiment:

Be patient. If, indeed, this is a lost capacity, then modern humans as a whole lost it long ago. Realize that it might take some time for you to rehabilitate your animal communication instincts.

The goal: try these techniques and report back here. Share your experiences in the comments!