Animals

[Sinera]

Something is communicated to me but I do not really understand it. I had never before any animal dreams. Now I have an entire zoo if I count it all together.

Some dreams or events, all very recent:

- I am before the cage of our green budgie deceased long ago (80ies). He looks at me as if to ask for help (he has shortly a human face then) while lying on the cage floor with a kind of broken or twisted pair of legs. I try to help him but do not know exactly how and first position him, then try to fetch some help but get back again only to note that he has gone. I ask where he is and a voice says 'a place which I did not even know of that it existed'.

- I asked my Higher Self for any specific purpose I might have had for coming here into this life (will write a dream programming thread on it soon). One possible answer in one night (I asked it in two) was as song: I saw and heard a performance of a singer with "Bungalow Bill" by the Beatles. I had a hard time finding out the song which is indeed on the White Album. I skipped through the songs, thankfully, the tune was catchy enough to recognise it without being able to remember any detailed lyrics from the dream. I am not a great Beatles fan at all and have not heard this album too often, but did once recently. The contents in short: It's about a kind of 'yuppie' guy who comes to an ashram but instead of meditating goes on a tiger hunt traditionally on elefants' backs. Lennon then blames him for life-destructive behaviour. Two possible interpretations, rather metaphorically as I am definitely not a yuppie: 1. I should meditate more instead of "killing tigers" with my thoughts (metaphorically), and yes, I am still too bad at shutting off thoughts! 2. The animal theme again: I should do sth for animals' lives protection or care. Indeed ... In following dreams tigers and elephants reappeared again - see below!

- I am sitting in a forest before an enclosure with deer, looking peacefully at the lovely animals. One of the keepers or animal caretakers, a woman, comes up to me and talks to me. I do not remember anything of the conversation but it was about me joining their work team. Then there is a another group with horses joining that corral. They seem to struggle with the other group, but it is more of a fun game they do. Some of the deer also leave the caged area and come up to me, as if naturally.

- This is not from a dream but from a recent projection:I checked the letter combinations (E,L,B,K) on that probable 'future self's' shirt for reasonable words and (not mentioned there) another word I came up was immediately was "Keleb". I knew somehow subconsciously that it was 'somehting biblical' and I was right: it's amongst other things a Hebrew word for ... "dog".

- I am in a kind of lab or animal shelter inside. There we do sth with cats or baby tigers (!). There are some kitten tigers, but also a female mother tiger that puts her head out of the cage she is in and seems almost to friendly huddle against my leg or knee. I do not remember more of the dream.

- In tonight's dream, I am out for a jogging tour in the forest. I turn around as there comes up trampling behind me a herd of elephants (!). For my own safety I leave the track and "hide" a few metres inside the forest (conifers) to let the herd pass me by. However, some of the smaller kid elefants deviate from the herd and join me trustfully (like the deer and the tiger mother did, too, in the other dreams). So we sit there together waiting for the herd to pass. I pet some of the animals and note there are not just little elephants but other furry animals, maybe cats or mice or hamsters. When the heard has passed I lead them all out of the woods again onto the forest path. There is a man (iirc he wears a suit and I for some reason compare him to a kind of hotel portier) who thanks me and takes over the little animals. There is a last one on a leash of which I say 'this is mine' but then I note it is my mp3 player (I use for meditating with hemi-sync), the "leash" being the cable and the "animal" just the player being dragged along on the ground.

Ok, so what the heck is going on? All are VERY recent experiences. Before that, almost no animals in my dreams.

Should I buy a dog or a cat? Should (since I seek a new job anyway) apply for job with an animal care/protection/rights company? Should I become an animal healer? I rule out any power animal / totem revelations, since there are too many different animals appearing.

Or is it a hint for developing better meditation skills? The meditation ashram and my mp3 player (mistaken for an "animal") hint to this possibility.

But why are the animals really 'seeking to be close to me' now, as the tiger, deer, elephants and other little furries did?

Anyone any idea or similar experiences with dream animals?

[Korpo]

The animal on the leash could be a hint - there's a connection. Animals often represent elementals, as the elementals and animals have a lot in common: An elemental has a certain intelligence of its own, and may have its own will and resistances depending on the state it is in.

Take a note of how the song makes fun of the one who goes chasing tigers and how in contrast to that the animals come to you. It is not so much about chasing certain experiences, following along the ideas about what is needed that come from the elementals. It is more about what comes up, as it is what is required. Furthermore, dealing like this will keep the elementals aligned - notice how docile the animals are when they come to you.

Charles recently told me that "pushing is a mental body thing." This means that pushing occurs when the ego is in charge. The ego isn't supposed to come up with the plans, but to execute them. The really important impulses come from the soul, and the ego is needed to observe them, interpret them and put them into action. When the ego comes up with plans, it pushes into the direction of what it thinks must be right, following some arbitrary plan with more or less conviction.

You can see if you're doing this by being mindful of what comes your way. What is the feedback? When you're acting on a soul impulse, feedback will be different than when you're acting on some belief how things should be. You will feel different. Your reality will be different. Your reactions will be different.

By becoming mindful of what comes to you as the consequences of your action you develop the sense of direction you're asking for here. You're asking what all of this means. The same sense gives you a hunch to the answer what these dream images mean and what actions might be appropriate. Learning to discern the quality of the impulses you feel inside yourself is a most valuable skill that needs time to develop.

By doing so you all learn to take care of the needs of your animals - represented here by the porter and the animal caretaker in two different dreams, and also by the leash. By being mindful of your own reactions, impulses, your hunches, your feelings, your spontaneous ideas you will also learn how to work with your elementals, how to take care of them (caretaker), how to keep them aligned (up in the corral) without force (the deer that walked freely). You will learn to align them to further your progress (taking them back to the forest=growth path). There's power in the elementals (tigers and elephants), but when tamed they can be as docile (the tiger mom and the kittens).

Compare Neil's dream where the tigers turned into kittens. When you understand the nature of your elementals then you're the ringmaster of the circus. The soul will settle into the driver seat when you bring your horses together, and then you will have a better sense of the direction you look for.

[CFTraveler]

Charles recently told me that "pushing is a mental body thing." This means that pushing occurs when the ego is in charge. The ego isn't supposed to come up with the plans, but to execute them. The really important impulses come from the soul, and the ego is needed to observe them, interpret them and put them into action. When the ego comes up with plans, it pushes into the direction of what it thinks must be right, following some arbitrary plan with more or less conviction.

I like this. I hope you don't mind if I make a note of it.

[LPCF]

Volgerle, I read your post with great interest. For me, the most telling part is that you asked your Higher Self what was your purpose in life. I can't speak for others, but when I did that I got the answer quite rapidly. So IMHO (and I am very hesitant of offering an opinion to a Very Senior Member!) you are being told that you should devote your life to helping animals: if not through your work, then at least in a voluntary capacity. Wild animals are particularly in need of protection. Perhaps it is worth going back to your HS and asking for clarification? I can't say how much this thread interests me. Do please come back to tell us more!

[Neil Templar]

Isn't it wonderful, having experiences like these with the animals?
I've very little to contribute here, other than to say i think Oliver's nailed it. I'm finding the elementals appearing as all kinds of animals, very frequently for me.
As for working with animals, whether or not these experiences are actually telling you this would be a good direction to go in life, i reckon it would be a most rewarding way to live, protecting animals. I'd love to do something like that.
Thanks for sharing V.

[Sinera]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Yes the attraction / control / alignment of astral elementals could make sense and be related to some kind of spiritual progress taking place with(in) me, maybe also supported by the fact that I work to become a healer and retriever - this can be for humans and animals. The elephant herd dream also reminds me of a retrieval situation for animals, which I also wrote about in my journal now. However, I only remember one example of an animal retrieval by a human. It is mentioned in Bruce Moen's Afterlife Knowledge Guide Book, the discarnate 'angel' helper was, however, another dog then.

Just a question to Korpo: As you said "my" elementals. Does it mean we create them or just attract them as conscious beings of their own and they then stay and become "ours" - just like pets can become "ours" in physical life? Or just like power animals in shamanic teachings?

And yes, the elementals-interpretation does not at all contradict the more 'mundane' interpretation of caring for animals in this physical life - or even in the astral, too?
I looked out for jobs in animal care / protection but it is difficult. So far, I only applied to charities that care for humans (famine relief, Third World child sponsoring, ...), but I will keep an eye on this possibility, as I am still on the search for a good part-time job opportunity to finance my healer training (.... I need to as it seems I've given up on winning the lottery by now ).

[Neil Templar]

Remember, we humans are animals too. This new awareness of the various animals could also symbolise the inclusion of ALL living beings into your everyday experience...

as for the elementals, Oliver wrote a series of blogs concerning them, I'd recommend taking a look there

[Korpo]

Hello, Volgerle.

"Elemental" can be used synonymously with energy body, as they are the same. It's another perspective on the nature of the energy bodies.

Essentially you can say that no energy body is you. Each is a vehicle of consciousness (hence sometimes portrayed as car, bike, space ship, ...) - your consciousness. Your consciousness incarnates on Earth taking on in turn ever more dense vehicles as its means of expression and perception. These vehicles are said to be formed (according to theosophy) from the elements of the planes they derive from, hence called "elementals."

The consequence is that an astral body takes on certain characteristics according to the nature of astral matter, and a physical body according to physical matter and so on. This is another consciousness that cooperates with your consciousness to give you means to experience, learn and evolve, but this also means you have to find ways of fruitful cooperation with it.

An elemental has needs. The physical body needs food, shelter from the elements, health and fitness maintenance, good nutrition, etc. The etheric body, linked with the physical body needs authentic sensation, experiences of nature, touch, physical intimacy, etc. The astral body needs connection with others as emotional bonding, social interaction. The mental elemental needs intellectual stimulation, sharing of beliefs and ideas and an environment where its beliefs are acceptible and can be practiced. The causal elemental needs to lead a life of purpose. I'm basically paraphrasing Kurt here, who brought this information through with Charles.

As elementals are both part of us in a sense but also independent consciousness, it makes sense to portray them as animals, be it power animals (to portray the raw power and sometimes willful resistance of an elemental) or as pets (to portray the bond and loyalty). By dreaming such things you get a readout of how you relate to what makes up your energy bodies, how you meet their needs, how you keep them aligned and balanced. If you keep your needs satisfied, you usually have more resistance against stress, influence, manipulation, psychic attack. Your elementals become your allies, and change and evolution become possible, just as a power animal or pet can be your loyal friend. Deny them what they need and it may seem like you are sabotaging yourself at times or worse.

I read about a similar doctrine from a Tibetan lama once. He described the relationship of your awareness and the mind as one of horse and rider. He tried to convey that one needs to be mindful and kind towards the horse (mind) and then the rider will be in charge and chose the direction. If the horse is ill-treated, it will buck, it will not submit to pure force. This is the elemental nature of the mental body and a hint towards a training program which helps the causal consciousness to refine the mental elemental into a loyal ally - hence the title of the book "Turning the Mind Into an Ally" by Sakyong Mipham.

In this sense the "animal nature" of the elementals can be brought up in dreams, but they can also appear as children (to show the degree of their growth and their specific issues, their role as "smaller selves"/points of identification) or people, depending on what specific quality or attribute is to be highlighted.

I found the elementals to be rather archetypal and popping up more often than people would think. It is a kind of self-reading and self-monitoring many people miss out on in dreams because they don't know it exists. Seeing them as self-aspects or parts of the self can also lead to similar interpretation results. The astral elemental would then be one's emotional nature while the mental elemental would be one's intellectual functions, which is precisely what the elementals are.

Oliver

[CFTraveler]

An elemental has needs. The physical body needs food, shelter from the elements, health and fitness maintenance, good nutrition, etc. The etheric body, linked with the physical body needs authentic sensation, experiences of nature, touch, physical intimacy, etc. The astral body needs connection with others as emotional bonding, social interaction. The mental elemental needs intellectual stimulation, sharing of beliefs and ideas and an environment where its beliefs are acceptible and can be practiced. The causal elemental needs to lead a life of purpose.

Just making a note of this... I like it.

I read about a similar doctrine from a Tibetan lama once. He described the relationship of your awareness and the mind as one of horse and rider. He tried to convey that one needs to be mindful and kind towards the horse (mind) and then the rider will be in charge and chose the direction. If the horse is ill-treated, it will buck, it will not submit to pure force. This is the elemental nature of the mental body and a hint towards a training program which helps the causal consciousness to refine the mental elemental into a loyal ally - hence the title of the book "Turning the Mind Into an Ally" by Sakyong Mipham.

This makes me think of how sad it is when some religious and spiritual organizations demonize their own energy bodies (some the body, some the mind) and approach them as something to be tamed or suppressed.

[Korpo]

This makes me think of how sad it is when some religious and spiritual organizations demonize their own energy bodies (some the body, some the mind) and approach them as something to be tamed or suppressed.

Force and application of will is one way we try to achieve our goals in reality creation. These tools have their limits, and practicing them one will encounter these limits and learn other ways, taking you further. Many people on the planet are at this clashing of wills level of creating reality, and by finding these traditions they might learn the limitations of such approaches.

I tend to think that for people who don't need such a lesson such traditions would not hold much of a lasting attraction. And they might still be a helpful step for those who would formerly not even consider training the mind at all.

We're in a lucky age where we can mix and match, contrast and compare so easily. This can speed up the whole process.