Humanity should respect animals.

[Monica]

So as a child, it felt like your dad was forcing you to do it. But we know that you probably programmed this experience pre-incarnatively, and your father was just carrying out your wishes at the time. Or do you have a different view of this?

No

Also, if you were feeling compassion for those animals at that age, then I think it's safe to say that was -not- your lesson. Perhaps the experience was meant to help you remember your mission?

Quite likely

But as far as lessons go, I would assume there was some remediation of love or faith intended.

Most certainly

Very often the catalyst for emotional pain, whether it be the death of the physical complex of one other-self which is loved or some other seeming loss, will simply result in the opposite, in a bitterness, an impatience, a souring. This is catalyst which has gone awry. In these cases, then, there will be additional catalyst provided to offer the unmanifested self further opportunities for discovering the self as all-sufficient Creator containing all that there is and full of joy.

Even the most unhappy of experiences, shall we say, which seem to occur in the Catalyst of the adept, seen from the viewpoint of the spirit, may, with the discrimination possible in shadow, be worked with until light equaling the light of brightest noon descends upon the adept and positive or service-to-others illumination has occurred. The service-to-self adept will satisfy itself with the shadows and, grasping the light of day, will toss back the head in grim laughter, preferring the darkness.

Good quotes!

But beyond these generalities, I of course wouldn't be able to discern any details. What is your insight on these experiences?

Well there are plenty of insights regarding my childhood in general, that I'd rather not share. But regarding the topic, the only reason I mentioned it was to illustrate my contention that many children naturally feel compassion for animals, before adults suppress it. The only difference with me is that I was one of those who didn't get it suppressed.

Do you really think those chickens were aware they had been beheaded?!
As in... they consciously contemplated their own beheaded state?

Absolutely. I was quite certain of it then, because I witnessed their deaths and looked into their eyes.

Gosh! What a confusing response to hear from your dad!

Well my father wasn't exactly the warm, reassuring type. Gems of wisdom from his lips didn't fall.

My understanding has always been that the Life (spirit) that inhabits the form (body) is eternal. Therefore, the experience of "death" is the separation of the life from the form. Ultimately, nothing is lost.

Ultimately, yes.

But that doesn't negate the reality of the moment, and the imprint it leaves on the psyche, which then carries over into future incarnations.

I remember finding a baby bird and wanting to save it...what child doesn't have that memory? That was compassion.

Ah, but we all have a propensity to project our own experience onto others. I don't think it is fair to generalize to all children. If we all popped out of the womb fully compassionate beings... then there would be no teach/learning of compassion necessary. We would already know!

True. But I thought finding a baby bird was a very common childhood experience.

I dunno if we can say for sure. All forms seek to preserve their own existence.. that is true. But self-preservation is a function of the form. The Life inhabiting the form has a different view... it understands that in order to evolve, it must periodically leave its form and seek a new one.

The Life realized that afterwards, but when it's still in the midst of physical death, it still wants to stay in the physical. (Excepting people, such as the elderly, who've made peace with death and are consciously ready to leave.)

The intelligent energy that was inhabiting the lizard-body probably understood that its form had become irreparable. I'm sure it forgave you almost immediately! But have you forgiven yourself?

There was never anything to forgive. I knew at the time that I was doing the right thing. The lizard was quite oozing with blood and guts, you see. So I never had any guilt whatsoever.

The reason I told that little story was just to share my perception of the consciousness of a lizard. I was stunned at how strong its spirit and its will to live were.

I've killed a few bugs in my life that also put up quite a fight.

Oh, yes. It could be very different. For example, I have a friend who is an American living in Peru with a Peruvian wife from the rainforest. They have a daughter together, who lives in the city, but occasionally goes back with her mom to visit family in the rainforest.

Apparently, my friend's daughter- at the age of 3- while visiting her family in the rainforest, decided she was hungry and so she went out back, grabbed a chicken, and killed it by snapping its neck. Then she casually walked back into the kitchen with it and offered it to her relatives to cook! Needless to say, everybody was shocked by her behavior.

That may have been cultural conditioning. She'd probably seen adults do it.

Sorry to hear you were so mistreated.

Yeah, my childhood really sucked. But that's ok; I'm over it now. Thanks!

I mistreated others as a kid... nothing terribly cruel, mostly unkind words and things like that. Much later on, I finally realized why I did this.

We've all done that. I did it too, to the only girl who got picked on more than me. s*** rolls downhill!

I was never prone to be cruel to animals as many children are.

Glad to hear that!

Although one time I trapped a daddy longlegs underneath a clear plastic cup, and watched as it got baked by the sun. I felt bad about that for a really long time afterwards.

Awww! Have you forgiven yourself?

Well "they" say that our level of development around age 21 is a match to whatever we have previously attained in previous incarnations.

I've never heard that. Who's 'they'?

But gosh- you were "fully awakened" at age 21? As in... you have not awakened further since then?

Oh goodness gracious no!!! I meant, I just woke up...you know...realized I was in the Matrix.

LOL! That would be pretty sad if I hadn't evolved any since then!

According to my understanding, the terms zealot, fanatic, and extremist are closely related. But not exactly the same. They sort of build upon one another.

Yes. I am guilty of a poor choice of words!

Then I wouldn't be a very good vegetarian now would I?

Depends on what your personal goals might be. Occasionally it is good to push one's boundaries and do something very "unusual" for oneself, just for the sake of the experience.

Been there done that! Remember I told you I actually went back to eating meat for a couple of years? Back when I was sick...that's how desperate I was. (It didn't help, by the way.) It was very humbling!

Now that might be a very good example of to the extent necessary.

I'm kind of surprised that topic doesn't have its own thread already! As you know, my take is that part of the genetic tinkering that went on in our past artificially increased the extent to which meat-eating was necessary for certain subpopulations.

Could be!