Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Diana Paxson on Animal Spirits


"Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse are the heirs of Br'er Rabbit and Anansi. We give our children toy ducks to protect them in the bath, and Teddy Bears to ward their sleep. When small, my grandchildren were guarded by a tattered toy in the shape of a bear that belonged to their great-grandmother when she was a girl.

"I have vivid memories of an afternoon in the Cornish town of Padstow, when a friend and I watched the procession of the Padstow "Hobby Horse." This is a stylized horse-shaped construction that has been carried through the streets to bless the town every May 1 for centuries. We listened to a young man from the procession explain very seriously to his young son why the "'Oss" was more powerful than Spiderman. We have been conditioned to believe in and trust our animal helpers since we were very small.

"In animals, we see the wisdom that comes from an unbroken connection with nature and the innocence of beings uncorrupted by the human world. We relate to them in a visceral and preverbal way that bypasses conscious inhibitions. By developing your connections with the animal powers, you expand your capacities without losing the advantages of living in the human world..."

Page 99 of Trance-Portation.

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