Oneness is the Way to Go with Nature
Another dimension of
the ongoing apocalyptic process of our vaporizing boundaries has to do with
animal consciousness becoming more and more transparent to humans. Another veil
of separation falls, although this one has been partially permeable for a long
time. That’s because there have always been those of us who could talk to the
animals and communicate with the plants.
In the approach to
nature communication that I have taught, based on Edgar Cayce’s idealism
concerning the experience of oneness, the process involves finding the “other”
in one’s own heart. We make a heart connection with the animal or plant, and
then embrace that experience into ourselves to see what it brings up in us.
Working with other intuitive perceivers, so we can take advantage of the
comparative approach that Cayce recommends, allows us to notice similarities and
follow them to the source.
There are other methods, of course. Another I favor
uses inspirational writing based upon a meditative experience of oneness. Check
out
Michael Roads, Journey into Oneness.
A new book has come out that has a very similar
intention, but grounded in a very different approach. I’m referring to Tamarack
Song’s new book,
Becoming Nature: Learning the Language of Wild Animals and Plants (Bear &
Co.). Tamarack’s approach, as the title suggests, is founded primarily on the
ideal of oneness, as in “becoming one with nature.” On the other hand, as
suggested by the phrase in his subtitle, “learning the language of…” he teaches
observational skills as the basis for the process of becoming one.
Let me give you an
example. It represents something of the uniqueness of his approach.
He has quite a bit of
material on birds, and explores them one species at a time. Take a favorite bird
and learn its song, he says. As you learn to recognize the bird’s song, notice
what it brings up in you as suggestive of what the bird might be expressing.
Also watch the bird’s behavior as it sings, for further clues. Now put on ear
plugs so you cannot hear the song. You still know it, and can maybe even imagine
it now. So bring that inner singing to your awareness as you watch the bird’s
behavior. Now you are observing the same thing, the bird singing and dancing,
but you have only the visual channel directly available to you. Notice what that
behavior suggests. In this two stage process, you begin to realize the language
of the bird.
Excerpt for Becoming Nature:
Step 12
To Touch an Animal
COUNTING COUP
I think there is something in Counting Coup--being able
to touch an animal--that is intrinsic to the Human psyche. We’ve been
huntergatherers for most of our existence as a species, and we have undoubtedly
needed to derive emotional satisfaction from the hunt in order to continue with
it.
A Disappearing Act
Animals have ways of picking up on our expectations, even
when we make an effort not to focus on them. It’s best to hold off on clarifying
our intention, along with waiting until the last possible moment to move or act,
after we have gathered all of the available information. Otherwise the animal
could suddenly bound away for no apparent reason, as happened in the following
story.
Mind-Reading Deer
“I was out scouting for Deer,” Tom said to me, “and I
came across a buck grazing up ahead a ways. ‘I think I’d like to take that one,’
I thought to myself, and right away he raised his head and bolted. It’s like he
read my thoughts. Is that possible?”
“It’s possible,” I replied, “but he may not have done it
directly. Your thought was reflected in the energy you radiated, which set up a
disturbance pattern. It may have been transmitted through your posture or your
gaze, which made you conspicuous. At that moment, your focus pulled you out of
attunement, and you quit Shadowing the movement around you. That may have caused
the Blue Jay above you to nervously twitch, which triggered a Red Squirrel to
flick her tail, which is what the Deer picked up. Or it could have been the
opposite: the pocket of silence you created by dropping out of attunement became
conspicuous.”
“What could I have done differently?” he asked.
“Approach the hunt as a Native would,” I suggested. “Rather than
I
want to hunt that Deer, think
I might like to hunt that Deer, if it is so intended.
It’s the difference between putting oneself in the center of the experience and
being in balance with the Hoop of Life. Rather than a simple cause-effect
relationship, stepping back allows us to recognize the interrelationship that
exists between the animals and ourselves. Young predator animals learn this very
quickly, as it’s the only way they can keep themselves fed.”
A Game of Deception
Following are the evasive techniques I learned from Wolves, and--not so
coincidentally--from playing tag as a kid. Similar to canine pups, feline
kittens, and the young of many other animals, Human children worldwide play tag.
It is no more than a game of Counting Coup, which is played instinctively as
training for the hunt and Guardian missions.
With these techniques, it’s possible to get close to an animal and even Count
Coup, all while remaining visible. A prey animal, accustomed to the endless flow
of life before him, feels threatened only when he perceives attention being
directed at him. When Prairie Wolves aren’t hunting, they can stay within sight
of a herd of Buffalo and be ignored.
To
Delude an Animal
•
Approach
Conspicuously, yet indirectly
•
Be about some other
business. Don’t just pretend, but have another
goal in mind.
•
Don’t be concerned
about creating a disturbance, which will allow
our disturbance to be a voice in the chorus.
•
Transition in an
instant from casual, passing interloper to
keened, tensed predator. If we hesitate, all we’ll see is the animal’s track.
Anywhere Training
The beauty of learning to Count Coup is that it can be
practiced anytime and anyplace. It requires no equipment, it’s always open
season, and everything is fair game, whether it’s people, pets, or Squirrels in
the park.
Let the Animals Come to Us
I’m writing this while sitting under a Maple Tree
overlooking a small woodland pond. A short while ago, a Squirrel made her way
silently down the trunk of the nearby Tree and peered around at me. I doubt that
she knew I was aware of her. Now a Raccoon comes up to me and sniffs my
shoulder. We engage in a brief, wordless communication, and he ambles on.
Letting animals come to us could appear to be the reverse
of stalking, yet the two approaches require the same indifference and
nonchalance. When Raccoon sniffed me, neither of us made a big deal of it. I
continued with my writing as though I was unaware of his approach, so he wasn’t
threatened. He calmly left the same way he came.
This letting-them-approach method works because foraging
animals generally have a curiosity for any disruption from the norm. They make a
portion of their livings by noticing and exploiting whatever foodstuffs are
kicked up by disturbances, and we can take advantage of this survival trait to
lure animals to us.
To Attract Animals
•
Stir up silt in the
shallows of a pond or lake, to attract small
Fish that feed on the minute life forms that reside in the pond muck. The small
Fish will attract predators.
•
Use shiny objects
and swatches of bright cloth, which are
irresistible to some creatures.
•
Create a brush
pile, upturn a log, or mound dirt, all of which
will draw attention.
•
Plant a scent,
such as an open can of sardines or a ripening piece of flesh.
•
Act silly or out of
character. The more clever Wolves are great at
hamming it up to mesmerize small prey animals.
It’s inevitable: some of us have found the process of
Becoming Nature to be overwhelming, at least at times. That’s beautiful, as I
can think of nothing better than being overwhelmed by rejoining the Trees of the
forest, the Birds of the air, and every other living thing, in the splendid
community of Nature. I assure you that once you reawaken to what it is to be
fully Human, you will find Becoming Nature as easy as breathing. And the
discoveries--the endless kaleidoscope of discoveries that await you!
Reprinted from
Becoming Nature, by Tamarack Song. Copyright c 2016 by Tamarack Song.
Reprinted by permissioin of the publisher, Bear and Co. All Rights Reserved.
To
explore Becoming Nature on Amazon.com, click here!
Tamarack Song has spent his life studying the world’s
aboriginal peoples, apprenticing to elders, and learning traditional
hunter-gatherer survival skills. He has spent years alone in the woods as well
as living with a pack of Wolves. In 1987 he founded the Teaching Drum Outdoor
School in the wilderness of northern Wisconsin. He is the author of several
books, including Entering the Mind of the
Tracker.