Panda's shortcomings
Last week, following our communication workshop with Barbara Janelle, I attempted to communicate telepathically and diagnose some physical issues of a dog that I am close to, Panda. Panda is a border collie with a beautiful coat and an excessive love of human attention. Adopted from the shelter at one or two years of age, Panda carried with her some psychological baggage. For example, when I first met her, she scooted away from me in reverse and peed on the floor. As I quickly learned, she does this with almost every new person that she meets. After several conversations with her owners and my own sleuth-like observations, I came to the conclusion that Panda was undoubtedly abused as a puppy. This abuse left emotional scars such as her initial fear of all humans and non-stop neediness for affection from those humans she trusts.
I’ve known Panda for close to three years and her behavior in my presence has dramatically shifted since our first, leaky encounter. Now when I arrive at her home she starts to cry and, even with her bulbous form, jumps up and plants both of her paws on me. This type of reaction from any creature is, of course, very flattering, but with Panda I’m starting to become annoyed at her constant desire for physical contact. So, last week I took heed of all of our interactions and began to build a strong vocabulary that she would hopefully understand. I made note of her fear of strangers and the associated peeing; the way she seems to only cry and lose herself in happiness around men; her aggravating habit of lifting her paw to you as if she wanted to shake hands, but instead scratching incessantly at your leg or foot until you return the gesture with a nice head scratch or belly rub; and finally her ever present case of canine obesity that plagues her dog brother Shakespeare and each member of her human family. As she was lying down exhausted (from no action in particular) I sought awareness of myself and started to meditate as Barbara Janelle taught us the week prior. During my breathing I paid great attention to the environmental cues in the room and the distance between Panda and myself. As I began to visualize and conform my own physical awareness into Panda’s swollen body, my own hair stood on end as she began to snore. I tried accessing her physical awareness several more times but the distraction of her sleepy grunts kept me from any sort of meaningful connection.
As I continue to encounter Panda during these weekend retreats, I will also persist in my communication with her. Getting to the bottom of why she does the bizarre things that she does is of great importance to her and to those who live beside her.
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I’ve known Panda for close to three years and her behavior in my presence has dramatically shifted since our first, leaky encounter. Now when I arrive at her home she starts to cry and, even with her bulbous form, jumps up and plants both of her paws on me. This type of reaction from any creature is, of course, very flattering, but with Panda I’m starting to become annoyed at her constant desire for physical contact. So, last week I took heed of all of our interactions and began to build a strong vocabulary that she would hopefully understand. I made note of her fear of strangers and the associated peeing; the way she seems to only cry and lose herself in happiness around men; her aggravating habit of lifting her paw to you as if she wanted to shake hands, but instead scratching incessantly at your leg or foot until you return the gesture with a nice head scratch or belly rub; and finally her ever present case of canine obesity that plagues her dog brother Shakespeare and each member of her human family. As she was lying down exhausted (from no action in particular) I sought awareness of myself and started to meditate as Barbara Janelle taught us the week prior. During my breathing I paid great attention to the environmental cues in the room and the distance between Panda and myself. As I began to visualize and conform my own physical awareness into Panda’s swollen body, my own hair stood on end as she began to snore. I tried accessing her physical awareness several more times but the distraction of her sleepy grunts kept me from any sort of meaningful connection.
As I continue to encounter Panda during these weekend retreats, I will also persist in my communication with her. Getting to the bottom of why she does the bizarre things that she does is of great importance to her and to those who live beside her.
Typical Panda |
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