What Animals Can Teach Us about Spirituality Inspiring Lessons from Wild and Tame Creatures
By Diana L. Guerrero

       Respected animal behaviorist, therapist, and writer Diana L. Guerrero knows animals, and she writes in her book, What Animals Can Teach Us About Spirituality, that to be called a “real animal,” in her view and in the view of her colleagues, is a compliment.

      Alternatively, as Robert Redford says in “The Horse Whisperer,” “I treat horses with people problems.”

       However, don’t think that Diana Guerrero advocates a new spiritual fad in advocating that we humans emulate animals. We’re not supposed to live on trees, crawl on all fours, or eat just fruits and nuts. As environmentalist Michael Moore says, “Nature doesn’t want you anywhere near it.” Guerrero cites the example of a Native American author who spoke at Guerrero’s writing group, www.allianceofwriters.org:

      “As she talked about people who imitated the Native American path, she pointed out that they had no true connection with it. They simply were not Native American and, no matter how hard they tried, following that road was not appropriate.” The speaker added, “Be who you are rather than a wanna-be.”

      Alternatively, to paraphrase Aesop, don’t be a human in cat’s clothing. Observe and learn from animals, but don’t look for a quick fix. Guerrero addresses our hurry-up, instant-gratification, noise-filled busyness culture, citing the examples of several workaholics inspired to restore balance in their lives thanks to their companion animals. Guerrero also cites examples of “horses with people problems,” but she doesn’t slam Homo sapiens. Instead, she encourages the reader to be the best Homo sapien you can be. After all, as Sir Addison Silber Howell points out in the Pekinese Who Saved Civilization, there is no way, a mere human can aspire to be as divine as a dog.

      Dogs frolic and bear spiritual messages throughout Guerrero’s lively discourse. In the journey through the eightfold path of animal spirituality leading from “Loyalty of the Dog” to “Wisdom of the Owl,” the reader meets many species, from elephants to ewes, and realizes that, to quote Mufasa in “The Lion King,” “We are all one in the great circle of life.” That is spirituality straight from the lion’s mouth.