It’s a word that feels like a phrase, it’s so big.
Autonomy has been repeating itself to me and re-occuring for a while. It is one I have been feeling a huge ask from the Animal Realm, our companion animals, and all life-forms, to bring us a reminder of; bring us back to a remembering.
“Remembering what?” I asked them.
They shared:
“That we all have autonomy. Not a specific species, person, or animal, but ALL. Each one in that All, too. Much is shared on respect, control, acknowledging and recognising the individual, but not about this right to choose; to decide and have full control over our own bodies. And minds. Coercion, co-control, instinct, and a sense of righteousness, being right, can manipulate the freedom we have around ourselves creating invisible or visible, tangible, subconscious or conscious, barriers and restrictions. Please lift them. Open yourselves up to possibilities. The possibility we can decide for our self is the first conscious step. No being truly knows another one-hundred percent, so how can we decide we know better? Advice, counsel, collaboration, and support are what we ask for from humans. What we remind humans to be aware of. Options to assist us. Avenues that are open. Final choice destined to the one making it. Teaching and guidance encourage autonomy. Beware the trap that intent can lay: controlling through judgement, controlling in fear. We learn through guidance. We teach through guidance. Discuss with us. Commune. You will learn much more about us, about self-power, and your own autonomy. You will learn to stand alone, strong and empowered, through guiding another back to their own autonomy. By releasing control and attachment to others, to recognise the chains on yourself, you release yourself.”
In the process of cutting a link in a chain, a chain we share when controlling or attaching to others, we also cut the chain that ties us to them. We free ourselves from what we chain ourselves to. We can attach someone or something to us, and us to someone or something, thinking it is to help, support, or ‘fix’ them. It is often for ourselves that we attach, through our own fears (Read previous article on attachment.)
A very interesting chat with a nervous dog, Archie, brought a crystal clear reminder about the power of allowing animals, including other humans, autonomy.
Archie shared how humans can, often unknowingly, try to bring companion animals into their own comfort zone, depleting the animal’s own energy.
When meeting an animal, especially companion animals, and expecting a certain, welcoming reaction, we can unintentionally create an interaction that has imbalanced, expectant energy. We hope and wait for a response that will bring a smile to our faces, joy to our heart, and allow us to continue our day feeling more loved. The human may feel better but, not always, the other animal.
Humans can feel a ‘right’ to automatically pat, stroke, hold, and converse with another species of animal. Regardless of how the day is going for that animal. How that moment is going. It’s how many humans are wired. Instilled belief patterns can allow humans to believe when meeting a dog, for example, it’s OK to either approach and pat the dog, or don’t go near the dog. How many humans were shown or reminded to ask a dog if they wanted to be approached? Or any animal? Permission may have been asked from the human that was present with the animal but rarely from the animal itself.
Other species, through human’s lack of awareness, can be unseen, decided for, controlled: Autonomy-stripped, subconsciously, by humans.
Archie explained to me how humans may know their own comfort zones when around other species but can stumble when it comes to the comfort zones of others. A human, when sensing discomfort in an animal, may seek to comfort or reassure the animal, usually through touch. This is often to make the human more comfortable in that specific situation. Subtly, or drastically, attempting to change the animal’s situation for their own comfort.
Humans can also expect an animal to be accessible to their need to hold, pat, stroke etc. Autonomy awareness can be forgotten when not recognising and respecting other species as empathic, thinking, knowing, aware, sentient individual beings. Physical rights can be overlooked or dismissed during a human’s own need for affection and reassurance.
Interactions filled with love benefit everyone involved. Companion animals feel the love we share with them as much as we feel their love for us but physical rights for companion animals can be forgotten, dismissed, or overlooked during a human’s own need to receive and feel love, validation, affection…. The list goes on. These conditional moments of affection are imbalanced. It takes seconds to ask permission. If something is not welcome or wanted, honour that. Whoever it is, regardless of species.
Animals have shown me how humans can end up ‘taking’ from their companions during these moments of imbalance. We can, unknowingly, be asking them to adjust their energy to fit with ours. How often do we try to reassure and settle a companion animal, only feeling better when their tale wags or they come sit with us? The animal may be feeling better or reassured, but s/he may also have just diluted their energy to comfort us. To reassure us. It may be that no reassurance was felt by them, but we feel better thinking they are settled. Their body language makes us feel more comfortable.
Humans can also fall into an entitlement that a companion animal is always accessible to their need for contact. We can forget, by entering the physical space of any animal including human beings, the energy of everyone involved in that interaction is affected and adjusts accordingly.
I’ve been shown by dogs with ‘aggression’, ‘timidness’, and other mislabelled issues, how they had been trying to preserve the quality of their own energy by asking humans not to touch them, or requesting to be given space. When these requests were not heard, or ignored, issues arose as the dog became more insular or expressive of their own needs.
Humans can take it very personally when another animal is indifferent towards them or rejects their affection, especially humans who love being around animals. An assumption of ‘I love them, surely they love me’ can be made, and any affection will be expressed in a human-familiar way. Humans can consider it a negative character assessment if their expressions of affection are not reciprocated by companion animals. No other species do this. Unfortunately for the animal who may not have responded as per the human’s expectations, this can lead to heightened focus on them by the human who is determined to bring them onto the same page. The human often encroaches further into the other animal’s energetic space to get a wag of a tail, purr, or another sign they are a ‘good person’, the situation then escalates.
Some companion animals will compromise, sacrificing their autonomy to appease the human. They have shown how they ‘give away’ part of their own energetic strength in doing this. Some dogs, like Archie, strive to preserve their own beautiful dynamic energy, for various reasons, and so ask others to not encroach into it. Archie expressed this need via a communication and his human family not only honour his wishes but also relays it to others on his behalf.
Humans need to remember to honour Autonomy. Other species do, without question or judgement.
The Animal Realm want to remind the Human species that one being embracing autonomy does not make them a threat, or lessen who someone else is. It gives each of us an opportunity to learn and embrace who we are. It allows every being to be who they truly are. Boundaries are clear, energetic and physical. We grow strong in ourselves, evolving in the strength of each other.
Remembering others do not automatically know me, so therefore I do not automatically know others, gives distance to allow each other space. It removes us from an energetic bundle, and chaos. It gives each individual room to breathe, assess, and affirm who they are. It gives you space to realise who you are, and to be you.
We really need to remember: Any unwelcome or automatic encroachment into another’s energetic space, especially to alter their autonomy is violation. Whether that’s through physical presence, restricting or limiting freedom of choice, control, conditional behaviours, etc. They are all disrespectful, unthoughtful acts, from a place of unawareness. Many of us have enabled this, often unintentionally. Through bringing more awareness to this, with the guidance of other species, we learn and adjust our behaviours.
Next time you are with an animal, whether you are familiar with them or not, consider how you enter, or don’t enter their space. Try to greet them in love with no expectation, through mutual agreement and an awareness of how you are feeling. Are you going in for the hug because you feel down and need it. Are you going in for the hug to share a moment of unconditional love with your companion? If the first, be aware of that and ask permission. Don’t ‘energy dump’ and then leave. You will be taking from your companion and lowering their beautiful vibration.
If an animal in your life is disinterested or needing their own space, allow that. It is always good to check in and see if there is an issue that needs to be addressed but if your companion is simply wanting some space try to be aware of persisting with entering their space. Reassure them you are there for them, but when they are ready. We do not need an animal to be with us, on our terms, to reassure us. That is only for our self.
If you have an animal who is wanting space because they are unwell, again allow them that space to self-regulate. Our ability to self-heal, when given space and support, is phenomenal. Other species are more aware of this ability but humans can, through fear, try to speed up or enhance the healing process.
Unconditional support, with minimal energetic interference from others, expectation, or emotional demands, is a major step in allowing an animal companion, and anyone else, to thrive with full autonomy.
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