THE WISDOM OF THE ANIMALS

The most remote artistic manifestations, the paintings on cave walls, deal with the intimate relationship between the human beings and the animals. These were venerated as fellow-travelers and sacred food. Before each hunting trip there was always a providing ritual, revealed in the cave paintings, in which the animals were honored and venerated with everybody's gratitude for the nourishment which provided life. Those were other times, and the Great Mother Earth - the Black Madonna - reigned absolute in the hearts of the human race and of all serving beings, including the animals, the rocks, the water, the fire, and the air they breathed. The Word of Command was cooperation and the Power was the power of responsibility for the fellow creatures and for the Web of Life. We will find later this intimate relationship of the animals with the human beings in the myths of the Heroes or companions of the gods (goddesses), indicating that the association continued, and that the heroes and gods (goddesses) drew their strength for their herculean tasks from the wisdom and shrewdness of the animals.

In our days, when cooperation was replaced by competition and Power is domination, we should think where we are placing or hiding this instinctive strength which archetypically is part of our genetic heritage. For us, Shamans, the Power animal - our guardian - is the holder of our vital energy. As a force from the Collective Unconscious, the power of the animal should be acknowledged and honored, otherwise it will show itself in our Shadow. The animal is well defined in the biotype of some people, or shows itself in behaviors that "take over"us. It is popularly said "she seemed a lioness defending her cubs" or "it seemed a tiger took over me and I lost control". Obviously not counting what is usually said about a beautiful and wild woman - a tigress!

When we get to know the strength of our power animal, its energy is placed to serve the light and from it we receive physical and psychic health, intuition and acknowledgement and respect for the beautiful human animal that we are. Our spontaneity sprouts and the door to Creativity opens. In order to find our Power animal, we use the drum beat which takes us to a slight state of altered consciousness (E.A.C.X. for Michael Harner). In it we enter the last connection with the shamanic memory of Humankind. As an archetype, the Shaman is a pre-existing psychic behavior pattern in every human being. The drum beat and the Clear Intention (determinant of the shamanic journey) leads us to experience all the adventures of the Shaman Hero that we are (for Erick Newman the Shaman is the Hero of Consciousness - History of the Origin of Consciousness, Cultrix). And as a companion of pre-history and guardian of the heroes, the Power animal is the main ally of the great adventure of living. The drum beat brings the Power animal and also those of healing, wisdom all those we need in certain specific situations. The animal strengthens our personal medicine, which is the only way of healing and creating. When we find our Power animal, the vital energy and creativity start to interact and we can face old and insoluble problems with the wisdom of "surrender" - the great learning that the animal gives us.

After meeting our Power animal we are ready to start the Shaman's way. As the initial step in this journey, we need a self-healing trip. One of the basic principles of Shamanism is that we can only cure if we first find what needs to be healed in us. As it is from pre-history, the Shaman is the archetype of self-cure and therefore preceeds the healing archetype, Kiron. This trip consists in releasing some animal which is imprisioned. Most diseases are due to the imprisionment of the Power animal. Our ability to create, to produce, to reach an objective can also be blocked by an animal which gives us strength in those areas, and that needs to be released and cured. Only after our self-cure can we serve someone else with the animal's power for, besides the "surrender" he teaches us the humbleness of first looking into what is imprisioned and wounded in ourselves (the Shaman is the Wounded Healer), and cure with the pain of our human wound which opens our heart and brings compassion to all feeling beings.

The teachings of some (26) animals can be found in the book The Wisdom of the Animals , whose authors are myself (Carminha Levy) and Álvaro Machado, who embarked on our great adventure of being a "Piece of Peace", writing and editing this sacred vehicle at the service of rescuing the animals' Strength and Dignity with the clear intention of bringing Peace and Harmony to Humankind.

The book The Wisdom of the Animals was publicly recomended by Michael Harner at the Transpersonal Therapy International Congress in Manaus, in May 1996.

It is our Clear Intention that it is published in other languages so that it can fulfill its fate of taking the animals'speech to Mother Earth's service.

This clear intention is now stated in the Cosmos and in the Internet. Those interested in publishing it please contact Opera@uol.com.br

The book and the tape are available at Paz Géia. The book costs US$32.00 and the tape US$10.00 plus shipping costs.

pazgeia@pazgeia.org.br