MINI SERIES - Part 1 of 3: What is Consent?
What is consent?
I would like to invite you to explore with me through a new 3-part series the powerful questions of:
- What is consent?
- How can we interact with this concept with ourselves?
- How do we interact with this concept in connection with other beings (human and nonhuman)?
Much of my own healing path has somehow been linked to exploring concepts and feelings around the word consent. In today’s world, we throw this word around as if it is only a human concept. Oftentimes, I also hear it as it is a simple yes or no type of reply from another person. However, I have found that there is no simple black and white answer to anything when it comes to “consent”.
In my own journey with claiming my own voice, exploring what is willingness, and how to mix those needs with the desires to be in connection with myself and others, this concept was the one I needed to heal and grow in order to truly embody. Through gaining a felt sense of what real consent feels like in my body, I have then been able to bring into action the offering for true consent with all beings that I interact with – humans and nonhumans.
In this series, I offer a framework for you to dive into these questions in interactive reflective activities and guided healing practices. The reflective activities I share are designed to help you explore, heal, and grow your own relationship with the concepts of consent and ultimately sentience. Also, my hope is that through this series, you will be able to bring these concepts into action within your own self and allow them to shift and inform your relationships and interactions with ALL beings.
Disclaimer ☺ I have been sharing bit and pieces of these concepts at different lectures and talks I have been asked to do others in the past 5 years in regards to animal welfare. However, this series is a raw first-time attempt to break ground on sharing publicly the exploration I have been on within myself and with those I walk through life. The concepts I’m bringing forward are a work in progress and a launching place for what I’m sure will eventually have more finesse in my teachings. I was moved into action on sharing these concepts more in-depth now based on a recent social media post that offered a statement that horses cannot give consent. So while all my words might not be the best at articulating my thoughts, I believe this topic is WAY too valuable for all of us to sit and wait for my perfectionist to be okay with it so here goes!
Part 1 – Starting with Self
Exploring, sensing, and feeling the different ways you have interacted with the constructs and frequencies that exist in a continuum of:
- Consent
- Compliance
- And submission
Where to next?
Join me for parts 2 and 3 that will be coming out over the next few weeks.
Part 2 – Expanding to Explore these same frequencies and concepts within your relationship to other beings, humans, and nonhumans.
Part 3 – Bringing values and concepts into motion. How do we allow this awareness to inform our interactions with others so that we can match our values of sentience and consent?
Thank you for joining me in this guided journey of exploring the concepts of consent and sentience. While the catalyst that launched me into creating this series was a question around how we put human constructs on animals, it is SO much more than that.
Consent and sentience are all about how we value and honor ourselves, ourselves in relationship to others, and others in relationship to ourselves. I believe we are at a critical point as a human race as a whole. We have TONS of healing and growth to do around these concepts.
I look forward to jumping in and exploring with you and I’m grateful you are allowing your heart to guide you deeper!
