We have many books here that will get one thinking about what is right and good
in our world.
The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading
Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy —
and Why They Matter
The Souls of Animals
Angel Dogs: Divine Messengers of Love
Angel Dogs with a Mission: Divine Messengers
in Service to All Life
The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading
Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy —
and Why They Matter
Based on award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff’s years of experience
studying patterns of social communication in a wide range of species,
this important 2007 publication shows that numerous animals have rich emotional
lives. Animal emotions not only teach us about love, empathy, and
compassion, argues Bekoff, but they require us to radically rethink our
current relationship of domination and abuse of animals.
Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy,
grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific
research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and
experience with animals have long implied. Bekoff also explores the
evolution of emotions and points to new scientific discoveries of brain
structures shared by humans and animals that are important in processing
emotions. He goes on to emphasize their role in establishing
evolutionary continuity among diverse species and presents new findings
of non-invasive neurological research and detailed behavioral studies.
Filled with Bekoff’s light humor and touching stories, The Emotional
Lives of Animals is a clarion call for reassessing both how we view
animals and how we treat them. |
Dr. Marc Bekoff is simply amazing, and his books never disappoint.
To get a
flavor of what he is all about, please read and download
the following articles
Any dog owner knows that her own pet has feelings, but what evidence exists
beyond the anecdotal, and what does this evidence teach us? Bekoff,
professor emeritus of biology at the University of Colorado, pores through
decades of animal research—behavioral, neurochemical, psychological and
environmental—to answer that question, compelling readers to accept both the
existence and significance of animal emotions.
Seated in the most primitive
structures of the brain (pleasure receptors, for example, are biologically
correlative in all mammals), emotions have a long evolutionary history.
Indeed, as vertebrates became more complex, they developed ever more complex
emotional and social lives, "setting rules" that permit group living-a far
better survival strategy than going solo.
Along the way, Bekoff forces the
reader to re-examine the nature of human beings; our species could not have
persevered through the past 100,000 years without the evolution of strong
and cohesive social relationships cemented with emotions, a conclusion
contrary to contemporary pop sociology notions that prioritize individualism
and competition.
He also explores, painfully but honestly, the abuse animals
regularly withstand in factory farms, research centers and elsewhere, and
calls on fellow scientists to practice their discipline with "heart."
Demonstrating the far-reaching implications for readers' relationships with
any number of living beings, Bekoff's book is profound, thought-provoking
and even touching.
For several years ethologist and author Bekoff (Minding Animals 2002;
Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, 2005) studied communication in wild
and domestic animals and gradually became convinced that humans are not the
only animals that experience emotions. Here, Bekoff examines the concept of
emotion in the lives of nonhumans, the evolutionary advantages of emotions,
and the neurological basis for emotions.
The final sections focus on
how to conduct scientifically rigorous research while addressing scientific
rigidity on the subject of animal emotions, and the ethics of how we live
our lives with animals. A readable book equally charming and challenging.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
"As a boy studying Buddhism in Tibet, I was taught the importance of a caring
attitude toward others. Such a practice of nonviolence applies to all sentient
beings — any living thing that has a mind. Where there is a mind, there are
feelings such as pain, pleasure, and joy. No sentient beings want pain; instead,
all want happiness. Since we all share these feelings at some basic level, as
rational human beings we have an obligation to contribute in whatever way we can
to the happiness of other species and try our best to relieve their fears and
sufferings. I firmly believe that the more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater our own sense of well-being becomes. Therefore, I welcome Marc Bekoff’s book, The Emotional Lives of Animals."
|
Price $15.00 each (soft cover book).
TOP
The Souls of Animals
Why do elephants bury their dead? What makes birds sing and cranes dance?
Do animals appreciate art? Do they know the difference between right and wrong?
Do they experience awe and wonder? In this 2007 revised second edition of his
celebrated book, Reverend Gary Kowalski combines heartwarming stories with solid
science to show that other creatures are not insensitive objects devoid of
feeling and intellect but thinking, sentient beings with an inward, spiritual
life. |
Gary Kowalski grapples with the big spiritual questions around our relationship
with animals — whether they have souls, self-consciousness, awareness of death,
a capacity for recognizing beauty and creating art. Ultimately, he asks, what do
we lose in a world without animals, and what does that mean for our ongoing
relationships with the creatures with whom we share our world? Souls of
Animals addresses these and a variety of related topics in beautifully
written vignettes. Kowalski explores how animals play, their sense of altruism,
their selfless ability to love.
By "de-sacrilizing" animals, he argues, we make
ourselves less human. The book contains thoughtful ideas for rituals and
ceremonies, spiritual guidance, and readings and poems to use for solace in case
a pet dies. “If we are to keep our family homestead — Earth — safe for coming
generations,” writes Kowalski, “we must awaken to a new respect for the family
of life."
Gary Kowalski currently serves as minister to the First Unitarian
Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont.
He holds degrees from Harvard College and
Harvard Divinity School. He has written on behalf of animals for many years,
with the best of his sermons published in 1989 by Harper & Row, Best Sermons.
Reverend Kowalski has
written several books, including Goodbye Friend:
Healing Wisdom For Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Pet,
The
Bible According To Noah: Theology As If Animals Mattered,
Science and the Search for G-d, and
Revolutionary Spirits: The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers.
Tom Regan, author of
The Case for Animal Rights: “Gary Kowalski’s voice is one that empowers us to say in
public what we have thought in private — that animals love their
companions, know grief and joy, and play and create. They are truly
our brothers and sisters in fur, feather, and fun.”
Dr. Michael W. Fox, Vice President, the Humane Society of the
United States and author of
The Boundless Circle: Caring for Creatures and Creation: “This is an important book because it is so revealing of the animal
soul that touches ours when we are open and receptive. In the
process, our own souls are enriched.”
|
Price $14.
TOP
Angel Dogs: Divine Messengers of Love
You already know dogs are healers and loving companions, but did you
know they also serve as matchmakers, prisoner rehabilitation
specialists, life savers, hospital welcoming committees, parent trainers, advice
columnists, and also afterlife ambassadors?
The 60 true stories in Angel Dogs
celebrate the deep and ancient connection between people and dogs and will
inspire you to live up to the divine example of our canine companions. |
With a well-earned reputation as man's — as well as woman's — best
friend, dogs have an uncanny ability to sense exactly what their human
friends need. Gathered from thousands of stories Allen and Linda
Anderson have received, as well as their own experiences, Angel Dogs
demonstrates that dogs are not only faithful companions but also
spiritual guides.
Stories include the four-legged speech therapist who
helped a scared boy find his voice; the dog who came “special delivery”
through the mail at just the right moment in a family’s life; the dog
who helped guard Air Force One; dogs from the canine corps; and, service
dogs.
Some of the stories
involve dogs returning after death to communicate with their owners. Fred Wickert, for example, doesn't seem like the woo-woo type: a Vietnam vet,
he'd had a long career in the air force when he fell asleep one night while
guarding Air Force One and believes his late cocker spaniel, Freckles, came
to him in the hangar and wakened him before he was discovered sleeping on
duty.
Most of the stories included here involve dogs in this life rather
than the next, but are based on the belief that dogs are spiritual
creatures.
- Collie Zeke woke Diana Johnson at 3:30 a.m. to let her know her
premature baby had stopped breathing, saving her life.
- Bill Mann tells of
the deep, spiritual bond between his father and Aussie, who would break his
chain to follow him on walks after Mann's father showed the dog kindness one
day.
- An empathic dog took on his friend’s pain even though they were miles
away from each other.
|
The book also details new scientific findings on
how dogs can save lives, sniff out cancerous tumors, and warn epileptics
of impending seizures.
Each story is followed by a short meditation that
helps readers focus on the messages of love that dogs bring to their
lives.
At each chapter's end there is also an “advice column”
written by the Andersons’ dog, Taylor. She answers the questions you’ve
always wanted to know about dogs!
Doreen Virtue, author of
Angel Medicine and
Healing with the Angels:
"The Andersons have done it again! Angel Dogs is a healing and
heart-opening book. Highly recommended."
Christine Davis, author of
For
Every Dog An Angel and
For Every Cat an Angel: "If the love of your life has a wagging tail and drools a little,
then this book is for you. Four paws up for this lovely collection
of inspiring stories."
|
|