Teachings from the Birds
Teachings from the Birds: 6 minutes
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
- This story is really at the heart of this entire course. How would you say that this is so?
- What teachings have you learned from animals?
- It is sometimes said that humans are the only animals that have lost a sense of our proper place. What do you think our proper place is? What woul it mean for you individually to occupy your proper place? What would it mean for our modern culture to occupy its proper place?
AWARENESS PRACTICE
Read these instructions first, and then try it. Once you've tried it, journal about it, or document or reflect on it in a creative way. Take a moment to think about an animal that you've learned something from. Consider the body of that animal, and begin to imagine what it must feel like from inside. See if you can allow your body to feel into what it must be like to be inside an animal body like that. Consider then the sensory world of that animal. An eagle, for example, can spot a field mouse from half a mile in the air. What would it be like to have vision like that? A dog's sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than our own. Consider how the sensory world of an animal shapes their experience of reality and exemplifies their unique intelligence. See if you can 'put on the mind' of the animal you are imagining. What does this feel like? What do you learn?
