Nexus - 0205 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Nature ca 2 tg A a Spiritual Adventure spective and accept it. You must learn to let go of emotional attachments, becoming as free and unencumbered as the breeze." He laughed. "That's all!" I swallowed in apprehension. "As you probably know, I had another really bad episode with a dog. I had to shoot my much loved Great Dane, Whisky. She was ailing with a cancer. I chose to shoot her rather than call in a vet. Now I wish I hadn't.". My eyes misted over at the memory. "When I recall her life, there are so many things I could have done better." This time I could see compassion in Pan's eyes. "Don't you feel in retrospect that you could have done many things better? Relating to people, for example?" "Oh yes, I do, but I don't feel guilty about that." "Why?" I sat for a while thinking it over. "I think it's because I view peo- ple as being responsible for themselves and for their own actions, but domestic animals are the responsibilities of their owner, as is their behaviour." I felt comfortable realising this, and for a while there was silence as we watched the river sweep past with soft, hesitant gurgles. "Pan. Do I have to experience the Whisky trauma?" His voice was level, calming. "Only you can decide. If it is resolved within you, then it is finished; if not..." "If not, then I'll find it all happening again." I winced at the thought. "And there's nothing I can do to prevent it. What a prospect." I felt shaky. "Will you be with me when I journey out?" "Yes, but as Spirit. I cannot help you. I cannot change anything. You are totally responsible. You determine whether you will suffer ornot. You are the experience." For an eternity I encircle the planet. It all seems familiar, a plan- et I have visited many times. Slowly, without any sense of time, my consciousness becomes more solid, taking on form. In many, many separate bodies, I roam the Earth, but gradually my focus becomes one single animal. I am a dog. I experience my self as separate, yet my awareness of connecting with the All is ever pre- sent. There is only Now. Thoughts of soon or late are nonexistent. Within the Now, beyond any need of thought, I am connected. I am a large doge, a Great Dane, and I live on a farm in the foothills of Mount Arthur in Tasmania. l experience my years of puppyhood by eternally playing with the children who live on the farm. I live in the house with the fam- ily, spending the winter evenings on a rug before a blazing fire. I am loved, and that love is part of my connection with life. I need love; I thrive on it. To be stroked and patted is rapture. The vibra- tion of my owners’ Being is transmitted by touch. Their love is as vital to my well-being as food. When I am full grown, something dreadful happens. I am dis- missed from the house! I no longer sleep on the rug before the fire. I feel that 1 am shamed, but no punishment for misdeed is inflict- ed. Nobody tells me why I am banned from the house and garden, but it happens. | am unashamedly proud to be able to review what | unbiasedly consider one of the most important books available to humanity today . To recognise that we are one with nature, is a concept many of us can intellectually grasp, but how many KNOW it? This book truly stands alone in its field. Many books have covered how to look at nature, but none have covered how to BE nature. The author of this book is a guy | can personally vouch for - his is both my father and my friend. He is no more special than you or I, and yet he is as special as you and I. | have selected a piece from the book as my review, and being in a position to indulge, | picked a piece dealing with an issue, and a dog, who was as close to my heart as the author's. Duncan Roads - Editor Two strong hands held me briefly around the middle - and then pushed. I hit the water with the sound of wind chimes ringing in my ears. Surprise! They continued chiming while I swam under- water! I came up laughing. Together, we sat on the old bridge board. I gazed at his faery beauty with deep appreciation, while his golden eyes regarded me with amusement and affection. "Nothing has changed, you realise." There was concern in his voice. "T'll do what I have to do. I guess it's a case of either trust you or quit. And I know I couldn't quit!" "You have to go back into the experiences of your own connec - tions with animals. It may be rough, but there is no other way. Your path to Beyond requires that you journey into the conscious - ness of Nature. You must experience Nature's metaphysical per - NEXUS - 26 by Michael J. Roads Becoming Animal YEAR BOOK + OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1991