On Living With Pets
After seven years in practice, I realized that I didn’t know what I was doing. Basic medical treatments solved immediate circumstances or crises, but I could feel that the underlying reasons for the circumstances were most often not addressed and that the animals were left with the underlying shock that produced the illness or the circumstance.
I left a thriving practice and went to a career counselor who suggested that I meet Dr. Niek Brouw. A profound diagnostician and therapist, Niek was known for his ability to see deeply and accurately into human beings and identify the developmental origins of disease. This changed my life. Niek understood what I felt and helped me to grow my possibilities as a diagnostician and creative therapist, enhancing my sensitivities and therapeutic possibilities. I adapted Niek’s model, his methods, and his understanding of the nature of human beings to animals with great success. I began to feel and understand what an animal felt, and I was able to translate that for the owner.
The Relationship Between People and Animals in Freedom and in Health
For thousands of years, humans and animals have lived together for many purposes. As our society and consciousness evolve, we continue to share limited common resources — space, time, and our natural energy. The meaning of having an animal differs from person to person, culturally and individually. In Western cultures, animals are increasingly seen as essential to life satisfaction and relationship.
When we live with animals by choice, it’s usually to fulfill a certain satisfaction — conscious or subconscious. Sometimes it’s emotional: it just feels good to have a soulful dog nearby. Sometimes it’s spirited: we want to share adventure and movement. Other times, it satisfies our form: we feel more complete with an animal that looks or acts a certain way. When our relationship includes all these dimensions — emotion, spirit, and form — both we and our animals grow. We enhance our experience as human animals on Earth.
As society has modernized, we’ve become consumed with knowledge and technology. In the process, we’ve drifted from our own nature. While our animals are influenced by us, they tend to remain more connected to their instincts. They adapt — sometimes out of necessity, and sometimes in unhealthy ways. We are often more powerful than they are; it is our world. And unfortunately, we may suppress them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Our relationships with animals may become limited to play and exercise (spirit), obedience and behavior (mind/form), or feelings alone (emotion). But when we embrace their individuality, we can learn deeply about them — and about ourselves.