Makawao, Maui goat
Have you ever wondered what animals think about? When you look into the eyes of your cat or dog, do you wonder if they are thinking about what to do next or what happened to them yesterday?
Chances are, they aren't thinking much at all. Instead they are feeling. They feel when their body needs food, when their body and mind needs rest or when their spirit needs love and affection. Animals are very in tune with their surroundings because they aren't focused on what happened or what is about to happen, they simply focus on what is happening and what they feel.
What if people could learn to live in the world similarly to animals by thinking less and feeling more?
Often times when I am in session with a client, I ask how they feel about a situation they are struggling with. Instead of responding with an actual feeling, they immediately go to thinking which leads them to giving me a cognitive response as opposed to a heartfelt response. I help them to see and understand this more clearly by explaining to them that in order to feel what they are truly feeling, it is necessary to get out of your head and into your body. We are not meant to be walking heads!
Ways to get more into your body so that you can connect with how you feel are:
1. Close your eyes, connect with breath, and then shift your focus to one particular body part. A good place to start might be focusing on your hands or feet and noticing the sensations you feel when you take all of your focus there. Sensations can range from feeling hot or cold, tingly, jittery, heavy or light, etc.. This can be done with any part of your body.
2. Engage in using your five senses by really tuning into what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. This can be done while you are cooking, eating, bathing, or simply walking around a park. At any point in time, your senses are there to guide you and remind you of all that you are capable of feeling.
3. Take some time to be still and silent and ask yourself, “what am I feeling?” If you are able to sit long enough in silence, your feelings will surface and you will become aware of what it is you feel. The trick is to not be afraid of whatever emotion arises.
4. Yoga and meditation
Before snapping this photo of the goat, I stood and stared at him for a while. I was trying to feel what he was feeling. Was he feeling the wind against his face that swayed his long goatee from side to side? Was he feeling his full stomach from having eaten grass all day? Was he feeling content to be around his goat friends and family? Or was he feeling my energy as I locked eyes with him?
The best part of being human is that we have the ability to both think AND feel. For some reason, thinking has become way too overrated in our society. We believe that thinking is what leads to being productive, being productive is what leads us to more success, and we 'think' success leads to more happiness. Animals don't seem to care much about success and the truth is...they seem pretty darn happy. Perhaps we should try to live more like our four legged friends by thinking less and feeling more.