Hello—I hope this finds you and yours well.
As October is winding down, I thought it might be useful to continue with the "theatre lab" work we began last time with "What Are You Doing?". This time, let's consider the power and teachings of the animal kingdom and how we can
access their lessons.
One of the best ways to approach someone who's energy is unclear or confusing for you is to get a sense of what kind of animal they would be. This is a great exercise I learned decades ago. Briefly, the task was to go to the zoo, find an animal we resonated
with, observe it, embody its characteristics and then create a person based on what we'd learned.
You have a sense of this practice with the animals already in your life. For instance, a dog's energy is often boundless, while a cat's is more aloof. There's useful info right
there. Use that as a jumping off point and begin to observe the patterns and behavior of a person through that prism. Are they bullish? birdlike? reptilian in the their dealings? Do they squawk? roar? or coo?
Approaching others through this metaphor can unload a tricky
situation, allow you to see a different aspect of the person you'd never considered, and respond in a less tangled way in the heat of the moment.
This practice also builds in a certain amount of breathing room—a useful distancing if you will—to re / collect Your Self and
come from a much less loaded place, allowing you to respond rather than react. There's a neutrality that surfaces when see people as their animal avatars and sometimes there can even be more of an appreciation of the person and the moment that wouldn't be there without this perspective.
So without further delay, let's go "To The Zoo!" (2:53)?
