Theos-Talk Archives (August 1995 Message tl00139)

According to LIESEL@delphi.com:

>Dear Brenda,

>I don't agree with you that the consciousness of animals is
unrecognizably different from ours. I base my view mainly on my
having now lived for 12 years in close proximity to a cat. She
works on a more primitive plane, but it must be similar to mine,
because I've learned to recognize the signals. Coming for a
little pat means" I love you" (which is rather synonymous with
"I'm hungry". Rubbing noses like an Eskimo is just plain "I love
you".When she nips, it means "I'm scared". When she shakes her
front paw it means "I don't like that". When she sits by the
front door gazing at me solefully, it means "I want to go for a
little walk".

Dear Liesel--

I endorse your view 100%, and based on recent acquaintance with
critters supposedly "lower" in consciousness than cats:
cockatiels and guinea pigs. My mother has the former, and a
close friend recently got the latter. Both of them seem
fascinated by being in close face to face contact with a person,
radiate feelings of love, and have a wide range of sounds with
which they communicate. The bird quite clearly uses human
language appropriately: "hey, baby" when he first sees you, "be a
sweet little bird" when you're leaving, "stop that racket" when
he doesn't like something on TV. He also stares intently and
whistles "Old MacDonald" when he first sees me after a month
between visits, knowing that this particular trick is highly
prized. The guinea pig has a much more limited range of sounds,
but (interestingly) some in their repertoire are used ONLY for
communicating with humans, and do not manifest in the wild.

The most impressive story in the new book "When Elephants Weep"
is about a parrot who, being left for surgery at a vet hospital,
said to his owner (in this precise order): "Come back! I love
you! I'm sorry! I want to go back!"-- apparently thinking that he
was being punished by being abandoned.

>Serge King teaches that we can learn how to act for ourselves
from observing animals, & empathising with them. They're not
that much "other".

There is a certain sensation associated with feeling connected to
an animal that is akin to something much higher. I can't help
wondering, when feeling love for a bird or cat or whatever, if
there are higher beings directing the same kind of energy at
humanity.

Cheers
Paul