It doesn’t take long when watching Animals to see that they absolutely love their bodies. And they typically use them to the fullest ability of their particular physical design. They twist, run, dive, and leap. They generally have a completely joyful experience in them on this planet. And sometimes, their physical achievements can even leave our mouths agape with wonder as they continually defy gravity and even the limitations of their own bodies. Humans, on the other hand, typically don’t even like our bodies. We perceive ourselves as “too” this or that. We lament the genetic inheritance of hair or lack thereof somewhere on our bodies. Whole industries have been created based simply on our desire to be anything other than what we actually are. We’ve become disconnected with the body’s ability to be able to decide for itself what is in its highest and best good. Instead, we leave that to other humans who study bodies in general to tell us what to do with our own body. Animals listen deeply to the messages their bodies gift to them in every moment of every day. In this regard they far surpass us in their ability to respond to these messages.
I think we can agree that the positive emotions of joy, excitement and pleasure are easy to accept and that our response to them is usually a resounding “hell, yes!” Interestingly, our bodies don’t really know the difference between our perception of either positive or negative. It is simply information that our bodies know we need in order to survive on this planet. The innate wisdom of all bodies can, however, tell the difference in how we respond to this information. All bodies use this feedback to bring in more of the same based on the strength of the response.
When it comes to messages that we perceive as less positive such as fear or anger or physical and/or emotional pain the same areas of the brain are activated. So that emotional pain such as heartbreak can also be physical as well. And not surprisingly, our responses to these negative stimuli can often reverberate for hours, days and months at a time in ways that the positive emotions typically don’t for humans. What we fail to realize is that the “how” of the response is key. Animals know all too well it’s how we respond to any emotion that our bodies send to us as they’re rooted in physical states that matters a great deal. Not only to the depth and length of pain but also as to how it relates to the body interpreting and processing this signal.
The collective aspect of Animals not only with Earth and all beings on it is an integral part to understanding how close the relationships with their physical bodies are. They have a way of viewing their physical forms as being at-one-with their soul essence. They respect and revere the body enormously. Humans as a group tend to “lose consciousness” around our bodies and see them as somewhat mysterious and therefore frightening at times. So that when especially negative emotion is present we tend to think “what’s wrong now?” And Animals as a group tend to think “Ok! Thanks for the message.” They know they have a choice about what response to give and how deep it goes. There’s an innate sense of trust that can only come from this unique place of separate, equal and unified all at once. It does not mean they don’t feel everything exactly as we do physically, emotionally and mentally. It does mean that because they are so open to these emotions that at times they may actually feel more. It also means that they know exactly what to do and how to respond to these messages brought about by their animal experience on this planet. The next time you find yourself either berating your body for being ill or not looking a certain way or anything else that doesn’t resonate with the beautiful person you already are try something different. Check your response at the door to your soul. Chances are once you look inside your body and into the emotion itself you’ll see the wisdom being offered to you by the best friend you’ll ever have in this lifetime – the amazing organic machine known as Body.