by Susan Gammage, Baha'i Life Coach

A question I’m sometimes asked in my Life Coaching practice is: Are pets good for my health?” especially by people who didn’t grow up in cultures where animals were valued. The Bahá’í Writings give us some reasons to agree that they are, as you will see below.

The animal spirit is the power of all the senses (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 208)

Experts agree that in addition to affecting all of our senses, caring for a pet can be good for both your physical and mental health. An animal companion can be a loyal friend and a valuable member of your family, plus, pets provide companionship and unconditional love.

The bond that develops between a human and animal companion can be just as strong as the bond between two people, sometimes even stronger, since pets offer unconditional love.

Companionship

A pet can bring fulfillment into the lives of those who might otherwise suffer from loneliness or depression. Dogs, specifically, provide a feeling of safety and help keep you active.

Mature adults, especially those who’ve lost a spouse, can find comfort and companionship in a pet. They often go through a period of feeling as if they’re no longer needed, but owning a pet can fill that need.

Children

The Bahá’í Faith teaches:

Educate the children in their infancy in such a way that they may become exceedingly kind and merciful to the animals. If an animal is sick they should endeavor to cure it; if it is hungry, they should feed it; if it is thirsty, they should satisfy its thirst; if it is tired, they should give it rest. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Baha’i World Faith, p. 373)

Children who are shy can benefit greatly from having a pet. Animals can help draw a shy child out of their shell. There are many other benefits of having a pet for a child:

A pet can be a good way to start a conversation and make friends.
A family pet can boost a child’s self-esteem.
Pets can give a child a sense of protection and security.
Pets can help children cope with and overcome fears. For example, a child that’s afraid to go to sleep in his own room may adapt more easily if the family cat or dog is allowed to accompany them to bed.
Pet ownership can help teach children about interaction, compassion and responsibility. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s recommendation that children be entrusted with pets, is to help them recognize that animals share the capacity for feelings with humans. Unlike humans, animals are unable to verbalize their emotions and appeal for just treatment. Their fate is determined by our good will and they depend on our care and protection.

“The feelings are one and the same, whether ye inflict pain on man or on beast. There is no difference here whatever. And indeed ye do worse to harm an animal, for man hath a language, he can lodge a complaint, he can cry out and moan; if injured, he can have recourse to the authorities and these will protect him from his aggressor. But the hapless beast is mute, able neither to express its hurt nor take its case to the authorities…Therefore it is essential that ye show forth the utmost consideration to the animal, and that ye be even kinder to him than to your fellow man.” (‘Abdul-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdul-Bahá, p. 159.)

Exercise

Pets can keep you active. Dogs need regular exercise and their owners can reap the rewards of keeping fit and healthy in the process. Having a dog forces you to get up and go outside whether you want to or not.

Taking the dog for a nice leisurely walk is a great way to get moving, enjoy the outdoors, and get some fresh air. If you feel up to it, you can always go for a run with your dog. You’ll both get some exercise and have fun.

If health prevents you from walking a dog, consider getting a cat instead. Cats can be very loveable and energetic. Toss a ball across the floor or pull out a ball of yarn, and your cat will keep you both entertained for hours.

With a cat, you may not get as much exercise as you would with a dog, but you’ll get plenty of laughs, and laughter is great for your health, too!

On the subject of laughter, the Bahá’í Faith teaches:

‘Abdu’l Bahá loved laughter and His laughter was often a source of solace… He said that… It is good to laugh. Laughter is spiritual relaxation. (H.M. Balyuzi, Abdu’l-Baha – The Centre of the Covenant, p. 31)

Health Benefits

Studies have shown owning a pet provides many health benefits. People with pets tend to have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system, and are generally healthier. Pet owners who’ve suffered a major illness recuperate quicker than those without a pet.

Pets have even been shown to increase a person’s immunity to allergies, especially in children. Owning a pet can reduce the risk of allergies, asthma and even heart disease.

Stress

People with pets also tend to be more positive and have less stress. They’re better able to cope with anxiety and deal with stressful situations. The action of petting a dog or cat can relieve stress and lower blood pressure. Pets help people relax and can even improve their attitude.

Socialization

A pet can help break the ice when meeting new people. Pet owners who are new to their neighborhood or have difficulty meeting people may find that their pets give them a chance to make new friends.

Animals are naturally curious and may run up to people in an attempt to make their own introductions. Conversations may start between two dog owners and a new friendship begins.

Understanding God

We know from the Bahá’í Writings that each and every created thing is a sign or expression of at least one of the names or attributes of God. Bahá’u’lláh says that a true seeker:

will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul… He will discover in all things the mysteries of divine Revelation and the evidences of an everlasting manifestation. (Bahá’u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 267)

The attributes and names of God that animals manifest are what we are essentially attracted to in our our animals – gentleness, gracefulness, devotion, joy, enthusiasm, tenderness, strength, sincerity, meekness, trust, etc. So it’s fun to think of my cat sleeping with a smile of heavenly delight as a revelation of the quality of God, the Peaceful or my dog, greeting me at the door, tail wagging, as God, the loving. Some people have even suggested that “God” is “Dog”, spelled backwards!

There’s a reason pets were put on this earth as companions, and we’ve only touched on some of them here. If you’re considering letting a pet join your household, it’s proven that they can do positive things for your health. Get a pet, and enjoy!

Going with the Flow

« The Sun of Baha has Set

Are Pets Good for Your Health? – A Baha’i Perspective »

by Susan Gammage, Baha'i Life Coach

I’m always praying to “go with the flow”, and when I’m not in it, it causes me great distress. So imagine my delight when a friend of mine sent me this blog posting, supposedly channeled by the Archangel Gabriel. I found it so helpful, I’ve been passing it along to my Bahai life coaching clients too, so I thought you might enjoy it too.

The Flow Channeled May 29/09
http://trinityesoterics.wordpress.com/

Flow…what is the flow?

Such a hot topic of conversation these days. What we have found in enlightening human beings such as yourselves, quite a willingness to move into the flow when there is tangible movement. Where the enlightening human beings lose their ability to follow the flow is when they are in period of lull (or a lack of perceived movement). Rather than embracing a lull period as a vital period of time that is designed to allow rest, release and assimilation of energy, for some reason they will very quickly launch themselves into a period of angst. Rather than seeing it as a lovely and well earned vacation period, they will launch themselves into great despair, usually within a few days, bemoaning the fact that there is no movement, no growth, no creation….that things feel awful, they are depressed, they can’t feel spirit around them, and believe by and large, that they are very broken indeed.

This is rather comical to us as we lovingly watch you cycle through this because we see it for what it really is.

We give the analogy that if you have students in a classroom, and they suddenly find out that school will be closed for the next few days, they will happily run from the classroom making plans for what they can do with their newfound freedom. We have yet to see a student linger in a classroom gnashing their teeth over whether they will be perceived as lazy or wondering if something is horribly wrong since their studies won’t be continuing for the next few days. Nor do they fear that their classroom will cease to exist if they leave it. No, they joyfully delight in the fact that they now have time for leisure activities. We can learn a lot from our children!

Lulls are created as a gift or present for hard work done. They do not indicate a lack of progress. The progress and growth continues, it is just “behind the scenes”, if you will. It is a time to kind and gentle with yourself, as much can be going on during such a period. It should embraced, much like a hard worked for and long awaited vacation. It gives you an opportunity to focus on the now and whatever brings you pleasure – all the things you may have yearned for time to enjoy during a busier period of flow. During a lull period, people will often be releasing or transmuting lower energies that no longer suit their newly acquired state of being. They may be integrating new skills or higher energies. Sometimes this process will require more sleep, or greater amounts of food. Sometimes it will be marked by unusual bodily symptoms or emotions that you rarely experience anymore. Often times those experiencing this will send themselves into a frenzy of worry, so concerned that depression, anger, frustration or any of the lower emotions have reared their ugly heads. They say, “Oh no, not this again…I thought I was past all of this! There must be something terribly wrong with me!” They then react by trying to stuff down those old emotions that are trying to leave by suppressing or denying them.

They say, “I have worked so hard, these can’t be mine!” They are right, that is why they are trying to leave. Yet they will continue to try to stop this which actually only serves to make the lull period longer and more uncomfortable than it is designed to be. We suggest that in a time of release, you look at it as a parade. Oh look, there goes some anger!! There goes a large float of depression! And look! Here comes the anxiety! Wave at them merrily as they pass you by, realizing that they are not stopping at your point on the parade route.

Once the humans come out of their lull period, usually quite battered and worn because they haven’t honored themselves in the way they needed and have resisted the entire process mightily, they carry their fear into the next flow period. They will see themselves as not whole or worthy and start to panic about their ability to move into the flow. So now what we have is a human who was doing quite nicely just a few weeks before now afraid of both the lull and the flow. They start to think, what if there are problems, what if there are things I don’t see, how do I get around them?! So sad, that even though they were feeling quite competent just a short time ago, they will suddenly doubt their skills and abilities. Does the child worry that he has lost what was learned before his unexpected vacation? No, he simply returns to the classroom and picks up where he left off.

We say this to you. A droplet of water at the top of the stream does not hesitate, concerned that there might be a rock below. It doesn’t sit there and say what if the rock is big? Should I go to the left or right of any rocks? No, the water droplet knows that the momentum of the flow will simply carry it to where it needs to be. Now, occasionally that water droplet may find itself in a quiet bay of water that has formed along the side of the river. We don’t see the water droplet panicking that it has ended up in the bay. When the time is right, nature will take it’s course and there will be an influx of rain that will allow the water droplet to be swept out of the lull of the bay area and back into the action of the forward moving flow. This is what we invite you enlightening human beings to do! We invite you to understand that a lull period serves a great purpose and to embrace both the periods of movement and stillness as being the entirety of the flow.

How does this relate to your life? Post your comments here: