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updated: 1/24/18

 

Relate to the practice of meditation:

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.  Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)  Mathematical Circles

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Pay attention, then you will know there are other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but  sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.

David Foster Wallace, Commencement Speech

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Love alone can unite living beings so as to complete and fulfill them... for it alone joins them by what is deepest in themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love developing until it embraces the totality of men and the earth." 
~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"LOVE AND DO WHAT YOU WILL"  St. Augustine

Animals/Children Lesson Plan

Learning lessons from animals (5:00-8:00)

●      Seaturtle

jellyfish

 coping w animals(8:00-11:00)

            jaguar

View cats/dogs > other pets (11:00-14:00)  

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•    Jellyfish

•  

  cat

   

  Dog Videos 10:00-12:00

  Discuss 12:00-15:00

  Cat Videos 15:00-18:00

  Discuss 18:00-21:00

  Fish Videos 21:00-23:00

  Discuss 23:00-26:00

  Cow Video 26:00-28:00

  Discuss (28:00-30:00)

Derek Yu (Hedgehog)

Outline of Children/Animal Blogs

Seaturtle (Animal rolemodelzz)

• "I remember being surprised by this, recalling learning about sharing with others from Clifford the Big Red Dog, or the value in friendship from Arthur the Aardvark. While it may not be "as" effective, I believe that children still have lessons to learn from animals, whether real or fictional.."

• Seaturtle brings up an interesting point here, one that I would have to agree wiith.

• "This practice of anthropomorphizing birds caused Americans to become enamored with birds and see them as tools of moral instruction. "

• This is an interesting point here, one that I think plays a big part in Western society's abhorrence with consumption of dog meat.

Peacock (ideas assoc w animals)

• "Bird, fish, and a dog. Those are the only pets I've ever had in my life. I don't remember much about having two bird, and I have no clue what happened to them."

• I think this is an interesting point that interacts with Seaturtle's earlier point about pet ownership/ human views on nimals. Fish are also an incredibly common household pet, yet humans still seem to have to problem with fish consumption.

• "Not only do animals convey cute/small/needy, but they convey a range of qualities. In many ways, animals can be tied to the brand identity. Think of Tony the Tiger. "

• This is another interesting angle about animals used in poop culture that I had not thought of. It also goes to show the deep ingrained ideas we associate with animals.

Bear Cub (morality of pet ownership)

• "Owning an animal can easily be compared to slavery. One group is dominant and thinks less of the subordinate group because of biological reasons. With that said, it doesn't feel like slavery to me. "

• This is one of the problems I have witht e Holocaust/ Slavery analogy that was brought up throughout Earthlings. It certainly doesn't feel like we are doing anything wrong to these animals, yet we do certainly own them in the same way that humans were once bought and sold as commodity.

• "I would argue that loving one's pet doesn't change the morality. In any pair, I think that we should determine if we approve of it before adding in emotional calculations.."

• I'm not sure if I agree with this assesssment. I think the amount of emotional attachment to the animal does play a big part, since it is probably an indicator for how well the animal will be taken care of.  

Asian Elephant (animals in society)

"As a former child, I can definitively say that I, like so many others, had a fascination with animals. Growing up in the dense apartment complexes of Mumbai, seeing pet animals was quite rare but stray dogs were rampant. I have memories of wanting to play with those dogs but my ever cautious parents pulling me away at every opportunity.."

This is something that I can relate to myself. I recently returned from a trip to India, and at first sight of seeing all these dogs, my American-born instinct was to pet some of them. I then however quickly remembered the advice of my doctor who warned of the risk of contracting rabies. I also witnessed first hand a little German girl who was incredibly awed by someof the stray puppies.

"I find this topic to be particularly fascinating. There is no denying that the universality of powerful animal figures in religion, myth, and history holds profound significance."

I wonder if in cultures where gods are portrayed as taking the form of animals, if those in the culture have more of a reverence towards animals.

Jellyfish (freedom, essence of being)

"it is a strange idea that I count my dog as my first pet, even though I did technically have hermit crabs years before my mom finally let us get a dog. Why do I feel this way? Why didn't I feel attached to my hermit crabs? I can't even remember their names…"

I thnk this is an interesting point that interacts well with Seaturtle's earlier point about attachment towards pets as animas.

"What is this fascination with humanizing animals? Why does it work to teach kids in children's books? I'm thinking of my favorite books as a child. The Wizard of Oz, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland- these all have animals in them "

Again, anther interesting interaction with one of seaturtles points of citing the study that showed that animals do not teach as well as humans.

cat (bond b/w humans animals)

"Many children's shows indicate to young children how to play, to share, to be kind, and overall affect their learning about the world, so I can imagine that a lesson being taught by an animal makes animals a large part of their world (if the child watches television). ."

Seems to be a reoccurring theme about the power of animals teaching these lessons to humans vs only humans teaching these lessons.

"Those who show larger animals, such as  steers and pigs, tend to develop an amazing bond with their animal. They must feed it, walk it daily (which includes teaching it how to walk on a halter), and attend to its needs. I've heard of kids even sleeping next to their animals in the cold. I read an NPR article about children crying the day their animal is auctioned. ."

To me, this is a very interesting to see the emotional bond that develops between caregiver and animal given that the begininning of the relationship seems to be very financially motivated.

Beluga (reason for animal reps)

"Humans can look into animals' eyes and see themselves in them. By creating stories in which animals talk, we are giving them another medium to connect with us that we can understand."

This is an interesting way of explaining the phenomena of animals being so widespread in representations through out our culture.

"Why can't we continue to recognize the importance of animals and our deeper connection with them past our childhood?"

I think this is an interesting point, and once again is an answer to the reason why Westerners are so abhorred towards consumption of dog meat but so nonchalantly consume beef, pork and chicken.

Stingray

Goat Yoga, now that is an idea! First pitched to me by Screaming Goat herself, goat yoga is a highly coveted event in Austin aimed to help you relax by utilizing meditation and the calming power of animals.

This is another thing that makes me wonder about abhorrence towards consumption of dog meat. Goats are yet another example of an animal that humans find adorable, yet there is not the widespread outrage towards consumption of goat meat as dog meat.

Every time I see a pet dressed up in a stupid outfit, I cringe. The animals always look so uncomfortable and the families always looked so pleased.

This si something that I've always thought of as well. Seeing cases like these has always brought to mind children wearing backpacks with leashes attached to them.  It ultimately just looks ridiculous.

Orca

Why is it that professionals wouldn't have thought to explore the psychological relationship between children and animals? Every other industry seems to exploit this bond to the fullest, but somehow the academic exploration of this connection has fallen behind. 

I think two possible answers could be that we either take for granted the role that animals play in our daily lives, or also plausibly that we just don't place that much importance on the role that animals play in our daily lives.

"Growing up, I distinctly remember begging my parents to get a dog for my brother and I. Multiple powerpoint presentations and tantrums later, their firm resolve remained unwaveringly. Instead, we were repeatedly reminded that every other house on our street had a dog, and we were welcome to play with any of the neighbor's dogs whenever we wanted to - so long as we asked them. "

This was exactly the same predicament that I face growing up. I had always been a lover of animals and growing up surrounded by friends and neighbors who had them only further cemented my own desire to own a dog.

Lion

"At that point, I learned two things, first: my mom is very mean. second: owning a dog, like many things in life, are harder that advertised. We always focus on the glamorous part of while ignoring the tears and sweats that allowed the experience to seem glamorous'

I can see from this exchange that you are/were probably more mature than I was when I began pestering my parents for a dog. When I was in that position, I merely accepted the duty of pooper scooper w my parents and continued to beg. After taking care of my neightbor's dog on many occasions, I can now see that the cons of owning a dog were not nearly as bad as my parents made them out to be.

"While I do believe personification allow us to relate more with the subject or understand the topic a little better, I often wonder if the process is precise enough to where we can predict what the animals are feeling, especially between owners and pets."

This is an interesting proposal to answer the question of why animals may not be as good as teacher for moral lessons as humans are as Seaturtle points out.

Dank Deer

Built in attitudes are more effective at achieving their ends than learned ones by their virtue of arriving earlier. Unfortunately, the possibility of innate attitudes towards animals allows negative ones as well. I think that some degree of species-ism is innate. Humans as omnivores likely could not have always relied on edible flora, especially pre-agriculture. Humans less likely to feel remorse during a hunt must have been more likely to survive, leading to a selection pressure for speciesism. 

This is an interesting point that I had not given much thought to before. I for one am not entirely convinced that there does not exist some sort of natural biological hierarchy between humans and other animals.

Animals actually have these qualities, yet we still treat them as if it were metaphorical. To use these adjectives to describe them while not respecting them is contradictory.

This is an ironic example of how our speciest mindset can interfere with even educated papers.

Jaguar

I worked for a program that helped autistic children learn social skills and coping mechanisms, and one of our biggest recommendations was to enroll the child in horseback riding.

This is a common theme that I have also read about with people with PTSD or other conditions who begin bonding with a  support animal.

"It hit me then that she really was more like an addition to our family, we all cared for her and we all had a dynamic with her as if she was just like the rest of us."

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 CONNECT, HAMMER INTO UNITY: Your Head and Your Heart

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