Illuminate the Committee in Your Head – Day 21
Illuminate the Committee in your Head Day 21
Perceptual States
“The images of the animals and the expressions of Nature help us to transcend our normal, waking consciousness sot that we can more easily attune to the ethereal realms and beings.” ~Ted Andrews
Imagine a snake, jaguar, hummingbird and an eagle. A snake is low on the ground, slithering, winding, and focused on survival. A jaguar walks on all fours with its head high, always watchful, often hunting. A hummingbird flits here are there, seems to disappear and re-appear, and annually performs an epic journey of migration. An eagle soars high above it all, has a broad perspective, yet can zoom in on its prey with great precision. Each animal has its literal point of view, and also symbolically captures archetypal traits that are helpful in sorting through the various perceptions of the individual members of the committee in your head. How are the perceptions of each of these animals different?
I want you to imagine that you perceive some topic in your daily life from these four different points of view. As an example, imagine you are late for an appointment. From the snake level of perception, your own reptilian brain is focused on survival. If the appointment relates to healthcare, job performance, or other survival issues the snake in your mind will be focused on the immediate concern of getting to the appointment as soon as possible! You may drive less carefully, become irritated with those who slow your progress, and be able to stave off any feelings of hunger or other distractions. From the level of jaguar your body is determining if fight or flight is in order. Adrenaline is sent to your major muscles and you are ready to pounce. From the perspective of jaguar you are more aware of your surroundings that you were at the level of snake. You will probably still drive aggressively, but also defensively. You will consider other priorities such as hunger or the needs of your loved ones and do a quick assessment to decide which is most important in the moment. From the hummingbird point of view you will see that this is one of many moments in your life where you will simply be late and you not feel much stress about it. You will be able to see a bigger picture and believe that you are not in immediate danger. You are fully aware that there may be very negative consequences for being late, but it will not kill you. You remain relaxed and go to the appointment knowing that this too, shall pass. At the level of eagle, you know this is not a big deal. In fact, you know that even if you miss the appointment entirely, it may change the path your life is going, but it will not change the direction or destination you have in mind unless you choose to change it. With an open mind you choose.
