No. 39 The Wild Within

Facilitator______________
Date___________________

Group Session Plan from FUSN (developed by Bob Zeeb)

Chalice/Candle Lighting

Opening Words:

. . . . Let us remember that the word animal derives from the Latin anima, or “soul.” To acknowledge one’s own soul, then, is to acknowledge the animal within. And I would argue that to live consciously in the midst of wild things is to live in the midst of soul. . . .We in the West have seen human nature not as an extension of animal nature, but as at war with it, and have tried to put as much distance as possible between our human and animal selves.

If we are to end our war with wildness, we must learn to see it rightly. For our common notions of wildness – savage, ecstatic, excessive – have almost nothing to do with the actual wild creatures I see about me. Far from lacking control, the animals I know exemplify it. What you observe most often in wild animals is a quiet but purposeful awareness, an enviable sort of calm.

Philip Simmons Learning to Fall

Check-in/Sharing

Topic/Activity:
Joseph Campbell once said that the mind is the most over rated organ in the human body. We are, as noted above, a part of the animal kingdom. And it is in claiming this less than human part of ourselves that we can also claim that which is truly divine. Consider when in your life you have been in touch with and able to acknowledge the animal within. Find an example in an anecdote or a reflection you can share with the group.

Select the topic and location for the next meeting

Check-out / Likes and Wishes

Closing Words:

Body and soul form a glorious union. Our holy sensuality begins at the very moment of our birth. It is when our soul is breathed into our body that we are made sensual. God is in our sensuality.

Julian of Norwich