As Spiritual as a Slug

Higher Level Living?

Because of our intellect, humankind has come to believe that we’re all living at some “higher level” than the rest of our earthly companions: animals., plants, rocks, rivers.

Lately I’ve been wondering about that. I’m questioning it is all. So humans have invented the iPad, high rise apartment buildings and gigantic mono-culture farms. Okay. We can entertain our brains, live in great stacked groups and eat, eat, eat. We are awesome at consuming and reproducing and generally dominating the life cycles of just about every creature we live in proximity with – but is this living at a higher level?

That we have the resources enough to allow us the freedom to ponder the “I am”-ness of life doesn’t put us in the present any more than the male cardinal singing what amounts to about the very same thing in the tree in my front yard. Does it?

In the Moment

Does a slug experience a natural nirvana?

The goal of many a spiritually enlightened practitioner is to experience the “being in the moment” aspects of life, hence meditation. A worthy goal indeed, but how is it we who are so clever don’t see that pretty much we’re the only ones who struggle with that? I can’t prove it, but I think a lioness laid out in the sun, a snake basking on a rock, a slug paused on a rested garden rake are all in their moments quite purely. Maybe we wouldn’t call what they’re experiencing having achieved “nirvana” but could be we’re quite mistaken.

I don’t think we’ll ever know for certain either because they may not be able to mentally grasp what not being in the moment is like. We’d ask our smartly crafted questions and the cat we’re interrogating is going to look at us in the way they do – you know the look – they’ll do the ol’ squeezy-eye and we’ll be all, like, “Awwww, cutie-pie kitty guy…” and meanwhile the puss-cat is caught in the outflow of the Oneness of Being and quite beyond (let’s not say above, shall we? It’s so judgmental.) our material grappling in that moment. This won’t be a language problem, it will be an issue of a root level conceptual incomprehension. I don’t think their brains have a capacity to not be in the moment – the thought that such a way of being could exist will be invisible to them.

So who’s living the more meaningful life, eh?

I don’t know. Like I said, I’m just asking questions.

Creative Consideration

Think about it too, if you like. Pick some creatures or objects and wrap your thoughts around how they might be experiencing their existence. Take notes. Jot your thoughts down. Take snapshots and work it out who you think has the better life.

Better Life?

I know, right? That’s judgmental. Maybe just look at how the differences in experiences play out for others. Make a note of who might be doing things in ways you wish you could.

Biscuit Math

We humans have a charming habit of measuring stuff in relation to ourselves. Thus we segment areas in feet and report the height of horses in hands. Tiny things we say are thinner than a hair, presumably one of our own.

As earthlings we measure vast distances of space by their quantities of Astronomical Units (AUs) which are themselves the average 93 million miles between the earth and our (ha!) sun. Industrial designers necessarily take into account the average sized human when they concoct items for the mass market like dinette sets, keyboards and automobiles.

When I invite you to consider an ordinary chair, in your mind’s eye you do so and as it forms you have a sense in your whole body of how you might relate to that chair in space. Through habit, or experience, or familiarity with the function of ‘chair’ you sense the thing wholly when you consider it mentally.

Those who study cognition call this sense of self in space in relation to the external world exteroception. This includes the body negotiating itself within the volumes of the external world or proprioceptions as an auxiliary component to moving around without always banging into things. Fancy words for easy ideas. I want to shine a light on these concepts we tend to take for granted for a moment because it is these ways of being that cause us to have instant unquestioned reactions to what we perceive.

Enhancing the creative process often entails examining things heretofore taken for granted.

We humans are hardly unique in this ability to judge space. Many’s the pony who has figured out how to wipe an unwanted rider off her back by trotting under a low hanging branch. In her mind the accommodating limb was as high as a pony’s back but lower than a mounted child. Clever pony! I think it’s safe to conclude that this little equine has a well conceived sense of her physical self in relation to the world around her.

Song birds, when they fly back to their nests tucked in to the safe interiors of shrubs demonstrate a pitch perfect ability to slip themselves into these irregularly tight spaces showing an impressive full body dexterity. They zoom in, fold their wings at the exact perfect last moment and hop with nary a bonk to the beak.

My dogs seem to measure aspects of their days in biscuits. The beginning of the day is spent anticipating the peanut butter supplement hidden biscuit. Midday focuses on the after-visiting-the-barn biscuit back at the house. Then we’re on the Main Event of the Big Bowl of meat, rice and kibbles. We finish up with the evening last call for outside come back into the house reward biscuit with an occasional good dog bedtime biscuit. So time might be chunked into an equivalent of one Big Bowl = our clocked minute and one biscuit may = one second.

Activity

Define the world around you in terms of different animals observing it. Let’s say you chose an ant – how will he describe distance? Size? Speed? Will a cheetah do so differently? What are some terms a fast cat might use that are different from what a slug might say?

Creative Consideration

Construct a chart choosing various critters and the measured worlds they inhabit from their point of view.

Bonus Info

• Knee-high to a grasshopper
• In a coon’s age
• Dog tired

Discussion

Where I currently live (Lexington, Kentucky USA) they say we’re within ” a day’s

drive” from over half of the rest of the country’s population. Day’s Drive being the measurement. Indeed there are so many counties here (120) which is more than typical, because the early state planners wanted each county seat to be within a half day’s ride on horseback from the furthest point within that county. Now the measurement is in Horseback Rides. What other interesting measurements can you think of or create? Share them with your group or jot them down in your notebook.

Idea sparks:

• How many Snickers bars in a week?
• The meeting was how long in cups of coffee?
• That wait in the doctor’s office was how many insipid magazine articles long?
• The outside temperature is how many layers c-c-cold?

Enjoy Like a Dog

Dogs are some of the most delightful optimists as ever bounded across the face of the earth. Plus they can be very clear about expressing themselves. Happiness, anticipation, joy, disappointment, excitement — we’ve all seen dogs acting out these emotions (whether they’re actually emoting or not is becoming less controversial as science catches up to actual life on this issue).

The way they naturally embody their impulses seems so healthy — so right! Their natural gusto for eating, playing, wandering, even sleeping, gives refreshing meaning to everything they turn their attention to.

Activity

“Enjoy Like a Dog”

React with joy and happiness to life’s simple pleasures.

• Eat a cookie (or two or twenty). Nothing fancy, animal crackers would be perfect
• Go for a walk – meander, explore, let your nose guide you, backtrack
• Go for a ride – be a passenger, stick your nose out the window!
• Greet friends and family effusively
• Play ball with all your might
• jump in a lake!
• take a nap in the sun
• wolf your food
• follow your nose, smell every smell

Experience these ordinary delights with an enthusiasm usually reserved for our canine pals. Adopt their upbeat tone and sense of adventure through what might otherwise be rather mundane experiences.

Questions

• Did doing things this way feel different? What were those differences?
• Did you notice things you might not ordinarily? Like what?

If you adopted the Dog way of life how might you approach the following everyday situations?

• your job
• your housework
• routine tasks
• ordinary pleasures

Creative Consideration

Record your feelings and experiences when you’ve finished being Dog for the day. (Maybe you’re dog-tired!)

Size Wise

I have a very small equine; a miniature horse by the name of Iota McHippus. One of his many fun features is his small stature. It gets him into places regular sized horses wouldn’t dream of being invited — houses, book store, and so on. He is an inspiration to me because he is so very full of himself even though his physical package is quite small compared to the other horses he shares his life with.

Play with the Concept of Size

Activity

Size Wise

This activity then focuses on thinking about size.

• Spend 10 minutes and envision yourself as 1/10th your current size. How would things change for you? How would objects appear? How would they feel?

Creative Consideration

Record your ideas in a notebook, Pay particular attention to things that stand out to you.
Make a sketch of what something you’re used to having around you might look like to you if it were all of a sudden ten times bigger to you!

Add your comments below and share any links to images you create as a result of this activity!

Questions

If you were much smaller than you are today – what sorts of activities would change for you?

How would those things change?

Could you do more? Less?