What Did Animals of the Tsunami Know and What Can We Learn about Instinct and Survival?

 

Shamanic Practitioner and Psychotherapist
DR. STEVEN D. FARMER
Author of "Power Animals"

 

Although it's been a while since the disastrous tsunami, what lingers foremost in our minds is the tremendous outpouring of aid from so many different countries.

It's touching that for a while there was so much press on the good or light side of humans.
These outpourings brought us together as a human community, a world community. In addition to this, what I was intrigued by, were the stories that were coming in about the animals.

There were several instances where the animals responded to the earthquake with sort of an early warning system of some sort. In Khao_Lak, Thailand, a dozen elephants giving tourists rides started trumpeting hours before the big waves hit. This happened at about the same time as the earthquake

Just before the waves hit, they grew agitated and headed for higher ground. Some even broke their chains. Flamingos on India's southern coast took for higher ground. At the hard-hit Yala national Park in Sri Lanka, hundred of elephants, leopards, tigers, wild boar, deer, water buffalo, monkeys and other smaller mammals and reptiles headed for the hills and escaped unscathed.

In addition to the animals, there were reports of indigenous tribes and villagers that somehow anticipated the tsunami and made it to safety. All 250 members of the Jarawa tribe in India, one that goes back 70,000 years, fled into the jungle and remained there for several days.

In another instance, a group of Thai fisherman known as the Morgan sea gypsies saved their village of 181 people. They had this incredible knowledge of ocean tides and currents passed along over generations.

The village chief was quoted as saying, "The elders told us that if the water recedes fast it will reappear in the same quantity in which it disappeared." Unlike some of the other Thais who went to catch the flapping fish, when the sea drained out prior to the big wave the sea gypsies headed for a temple in the mountains.

Okay, so what's going on here?

In the case of the animals, it's instinct. Although some would call it a "sixth sense," I prefer to call it a primary sense. Instinct is a product of the reptilian brain, that very primitive part of animals, and including humans. Instinct is registered in the body as sensation. Like a gut feeling.

True that many animals have heightened senses as well. Dogs can smell fear. Species of birds, elephants, tigers and other animals can detect "infrasound" frequencies in the range of 1-3 hertz, compared with humans' 100-200 hertz range.

Yet even we humans have an innate capacity of responding to internal and external cues like the tribal peoples or the fishermen. But in our contemporary civilizations there's ways we've learned to stifle and suppress our awareness of these signals.

How many times have you ignored that gut feeling, only to regret it later? Even with less than life-threatening situations, like the guy that you're dating, and you just have a "funny feeling" about him, but you go ahead and marry him (or her) anyhow!

Some of the factors that have conditioned us to ignore these instinctual and sensory data
start in our childhood. When there's physical, emotional, sexual abuse, our caregivers didn't know how to respond, so they told us to ignore our feelings such that in turn we learned to ignore our body's signals.

It's quite natural when threatened if you see no way to fight or flight to "freeze," to shutdown, numb out, which literally over many instances causes you to deaden your nerve endings.

Into adulthood we maintain this numbness through addictive substances or behaviors
like alcohol, drugs, food, work, or any number of other compulsive behaviors. Another related reason is the fear of losing control. We've certain inherited a lot of beliefs and conditioning about that!!

The third reason, one which is at the core, is how removed we are from the natural world. This is just the way it is when we're raised in an urban or even suburban environment. There are a lot of conveniences to be had, but there has been a cost.

I doubt that if any one of us were in the zone of the tsunami we would have been able to detect the subtle shifts or signs that suggested we best get up the hill. So given this, how do we learn to attune more to our instinctual selves?

First, learn to breathe.

I know that's a natural process, but so many of us have learned to hold our breath or breathe very shallow as part of the conditioning to perceived threats whether they're there or not.

So three or four times a day, in fact right now do these&. take four slow easy comfortable deep breaths&. that's it. Notice how you feel when you do this. It will take you into a greater awareness of what's happening in your body.

Just notice, don't try to change anything. Do this three or four times a day for about a week, and it will increase your awareness. You'll also notice more often when you "freeze" your breath.

Second, GET OUTDOORS!

We get so cooped up in our cubicles or get so busy. Especially in the northern hemisphere, where it's the front end of summer. Take your socks and shoes off; connect with the earth by standing or walking. Also do your breathing while walking or standing.

Thich_Nath_Hahn encourages walking more slowly as a meditation. Relax while you're doing so.

Third, learn to simply observe any animals in your neighborhood. They will teach you.

And fourth, connect with an animal spirit guide. Those of us in settings where we don't see a lot of wild animals, this is another way to connect with them. You can check out my book, "Power Animals," for instructions on how to connect with an animal spirit guide.

Connecting with the natural world is the main key to all of this. And doing so on a regular basis. So that's a bit of a sketch.

 

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Dr. Steven Farmer is the author of 'Power Animals: How to Connect with Your Animal Spirit Guide' and 'Sacred Ceremony: How to Create Ceremonies for Healing, Transitions, and Celebrations.'

He is a shamanic practitioner, minister, and licensed psychotherapist with over thirty years experience as a professional healer and teacher.

For more on Dr. Steven Farmer visit his web site at: http://www.StevenDFarmer.com