photo credit: Halsey Hemingway
Self Help Therapy Of A Different Kind
Have you ever had extended encounters with tame animals or even wildlife that behave so tame that they seem to enjoy interaction with humans? I’m not talking about just a quick pat on a dog’s head. I’m talking more about an extended period of time of let’s say at least 15 minutes of constant interaction with an animal.
If you have, and it can certainly be with a domestic animal like your dog or cat, what does it feel like?
Don’t you get this special strange feeling that something wonderful has happened? Even though the animal can’t talk or really understand all of your words, didn’t you sense that there was this unique communication between yourself and the animal?
I have experienced this countless number of times with my own Lhasa Apso dogs of course but also with certain other animals too. For example, I have had special times swimming with dolphins down near Key Largo, Florida at a dolphin training center. The experience was very special and I can now understand why they also run a special program for children who have development problems.
It’s the special bond that is created between the dolphins and the children that somehow magically causes the kids to improve their conditions. There are now similar programs involving horses too.
Self Help Therapy With Wildlife
I’ve even had encounters with dolphins in their own habitat which is the open ocean. This was like self help therapy for me and a past Motivational WebTV episode actually showed this as I took a special scuba diving with dolphins trip at Grand Bahama Island.
Another unique experience which I would also classify as self help therapy was an encounter with an endangered species in Florida called manatees. These marine mammals were so docile that there were like gentle puppy dogs. Again, I managed to have this encounter captured on video and released as another episode of Motivational WebTV. See this one about my swim with manatees.
There are many opportunities for us to have such encounters with animals. Of course the easiest would be with our own dogs and cats. But if you add on some really special experiences like the ones I had with dolphins and manatees, they would only add to your own self help therapy for better well being.
I know that they have for me as I feel that my life has been enriched by those encounters with these wonderful creatures. If you have had similar experiences, please share below in the comments section.
