Animal interaction interpetation

[Everlong]

From a totem perspective does anybody have a reference site or guide that interprets the meaning of living animal interactions that randomly happen? I have several instances of random acts that I'd like to interpret as I don't feel anything in life is truly random.

I was running one morning and a hawk swooped over my head gliding ahead of me for as far as I could see. I was wearing an IPOD so I never heard him coming, I might not have anyway, so I wasn't shocked. The same morning a flock of wild turkeys crossed the road right in front of me and they all stayed close to the road not fearing me as I ran by.

Then yesterday morning in the same exact spot as they turkey crossing a deer jumped out of the woods and jumped on my hood. She literally was 8 feet in the air coming out of the brush when I saw her. I was alert and went from gas to break as fast as possible and she hit the hood almost simultaneously as I hit the break. Luckily I was only going 30 MPH. I actually had the awareness to watch in my rear view mirror as she fell behind the car. I came to a stop, unbuckled and attempted to run to wear she stopped but she was already gone. I went over and checked for blood but there was none. I checked my car after and again none. So I'm hoping she was ok. Really other than missing each other it couldn't have gone down better for either of us. Only my hood was damaged and I am fine and I believe she is ok.

I also have a bunch of interaction with cardinals the last few months that I won't get into but I'm hoping somebody has a reference and of course all opinions are welcome.

[Ophidia]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

For the most part encounters with animals, much like dreams, are best interpreted by yourself. Is there a decision you need to make, or something important that you're involved in? Maybe you're waiting for a sign of some sort? Or maybe something will happen soon that will make the animal encounter seem clear in hindsight.

[Taiga Pagan]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

Well cats like me.
Dogs bark at me as if I was dangerous... except huskies which seems to like me alot.
Foxes follow me on my runs in the woods.
I've been on a standstill against birds... I tried to go through and they kept blocking the way. If I shifted left they shifted left, if tried right they shift right. The only way they allowed me was back and they use to walk with me until a certain distance.
I've been approched by bears, which if they go berserk is a really bad thing, so I steer clear from them.
Squirels and chipmunks do not fear me, they quite like to taunt me.
All weird stuff like that.

[Dez]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

I agree with Perzephone...if it has meaning, it would be personal. Sometimes it takes time to figure those things out, too.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

Before I give my answer, I have to voice one concern - if you ever hit another deer, do not try to get near it, even if you think it's dead - a wounded deer will flail and kick, and could easily (way easily) put you in the hospital.

OK - so here goes...

There's two ways of thinking about things like this - rational and nonrational. You're asking for the nonrational explanation, which is good, but in situations like this, it's also a good idea to consider the rational explanation. If one doesnt maintain balance, one is in danger of becoming a flake.

Rational explanation:It's spring. The hawks are nesting, and you came too near a nest so you got swooped as a warning. Or something you were wearing was flapping and attracted the hawks attention. Around here, getting swooped isn't unusual - they come down after the chickens.

Turkeys, in the spring, flock up - the tom wanders around with his harem which he gaurds while they forage. While not exactly tame, wild turkeys aren't really all that wild either - they will hide during hunting season, but, other than that, they'll come pretty close to people because they know they have a secret weapon. As soon as the tom decides you're too close, he alerts his women and they fly up and away.

The deer came out of the same place because there is a game trail there, and the turkeys and deer are both using it. If you have a small car with a low front end, the car will kind of scoop up the deer and leave no visible damage to the car or the deer.



Nonrational explanations:"Something" is attempting to attract your attention. If something is trying to attract your attention, this gives you a way in.

Your brain is capable of processing both rational and nonrational information, but the two different types of information are processed by different parts of the brain. The part that processes rational information works in a linear way - A leads to B leads to C leads to D, etc. Language and logic are both rational; meaning is built up by the effect of sequential events.

The part that processes nonrational information (nonrational is very different from irrational. Irrational is the opposite of rational, nonrational is the compliment of rational) can not use language or logic because it works in an oceanic way, which means that information is understood all at once, the way you would take in a picture, which, by the way, is the way in which this kind of information is most commonly conveyed (actually, anything which stirs the emotions can work - pictures, music, movement, poetry, stories, etc.)

This means that you can't think your way through nonrational information. It can be throught about after you understand it, but thinking about it is not going to help you understand it. You have to "feel" it. thinking about it after you understand it will allow you to use it, though.

The upshot of all this is that any attempt to explain the meaning to you will force me (or somebody) to present it as if it were rational, which destroys it right away. The best way to understand this sort of thing is to allow the nonrational part of your mind to tell you what it knows - and which you (your ego self) would already know if your ego self weren't trapped in the logical mode of thinking. There are procedures for doing this which are fairly simple, if you have enough self discipline to give them a good go.

Procedure:

1. Ask the nonrational part of your brain to explain the meaning. To do this, construct a ritual, a song, meditation, prayer, or something like that in which you specifically ask for the events to be explained to you. The very easiest and most effective way which I have found is to, as you are laying in bed ready to fall asleep, say (out loud seems to work best) "I want to understand XXXX." Then forget all about it and fall asleep.

2. Pay close attention to what it tells you. The way in which the nonrational part of your brain communicates with your ego self is through dreams (day or night dreams), visions (generally, for most people, very brief, easily ignored, and almost instantly forgotten), sudden flashes of "gnosis" (knowledge which comes to a person without any discernable line of reason leading up to it). These are what you are paying attention to - try keeping a journal AND read through it frequently.

3. Keep at it until you understand. For some people it comes clear in one night of dreaming. For others, it takes years. It will happen though - remember, you've already decided that something wants your attention. If you give it your attention, sooner or later the two of you WILL learn to communicate. The most common problem people run into is that they try this for a day or two, then lose interest and forget about it.

The good news is that once you've learned to do it, it becomes very easy, even automatic - for me, it generally comes as gnosis, but a lot of people get it in the form of a vison, dream, song, story, etc., which just suddenly pops up when it's needed.

*** Incidentally, opening up this kind of line of communication between the ego self and the nonratioanl part of the mind is the goal of Carl Jung's Analytic Psychology - if you want more info, Jung is where I'd send you... but it's much better to run the experiment yourself...

Good luck - the world is a strange place once you've learned to live with the doors open.

[Everlong]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

B. de Corbin that is a hall of fame post. Thank you for taking the time to write it all out. I was looking for a quick cookie cutter solution but should know better. The last year I've begun to consider the irrational and never would have before.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

Good - I'm glad it's useful to you!

[calfhill]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

Or, you could pick up a copy of Ted Andrews, Animal Speak. It's brilliant, and provides great insight into our interactions with animals.

[Everlong]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

So I'm riding my bicycle nine days after getting clipped by deer. I'm on a flat going 19 MPH and my heart rate is 133 beats per minute. I know this because my Garmin GPS tells me so. A Saab comes flying onto the road from a hidden and unmarked dirt road only about 15 feet in front of me. My bike is a time trial bike so my hands aren't even near the breaks and the road is wet from recent rain. I attempt to swerve left and I see another on coming car eliminating that lane as an option and try to cut it back. The road is too wet and I can feel the bike lose it's edge and I know I'm going down.

I hit on my left side but on the way down I somehow make the conscious decision that I know I'm hitting but I'm going to save the bike bare minimum. My shoulder and elbow absorb the punishment and I pop back up as quick as I hit in a am I ok way. The bike suffers a slight fray on the back of the seat where my ass contacted the ground and a slight abrasion to the give gear lever. Overall that couldn't have been better given the circumstances. As for me I have a good sized braze on my elbow and lesser ones on my shoulder and by the oblique. After two days of rest I'm basically fine and ran 9.5 miles this morning.

I mention the heart rate because when my speed went from 19 to 0 my heart rate spiked from 133 to 165 and then back to 133. I can so see how people with heart conditions stroke out before contact in these situations.

This happened almost identically to the way the deer happened. Coming out from a hidden location. I cannot decide how I ever would have read this portent in the correct method if that's in fact what it was. I also cannot decide is I'm cursed or blessed, if this is half full or half empty. People don't have two incidents like this so close together if ever but they hardly ever walk away from either pretty much free of injury.

The Saab driver and with all apologies to anybody who drives one I've always disliked them as a general rule. I find them to be pretentious wannabes. The Saab drive is somehow block by me so he has no choice but to ask are you ok. I skip the answer and go right to what the F were you thinking? As I ask I walk around his car and he jets off with his path now unblocked. Gutless. The driver coming the other direction didn't stop but he/she was alert because they certainly would have run me over had they not been. Kudos and thanks.

[Scorpio74]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

If I tried to interpret every animal interaction I come across on a daily basis, i'd probably go insane! I live on a country road with 20 acres, theres alway a critter of some sort crossing my daily path. If your looking for an animal "sign", it should be somthing very pronounced, out of the ordinary, somthing out of the ordinary for a particular animal.

[shadow1982]

Re: Animal interaction interpetation

. If your looking for an animal "sign", it should be somthing very pronounced, out of the ordinary, somthing out of the ordinary for a particular animal.

I'm not sure I agree with this. I think if a particular animal sighting feels like a sign to you, whether it be out of the ordinary or not, then I would be inclined to say trust your instincts. Having said that, it's also important to remember that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar as the saying goes.