The soul of an octopus
I always loved books! I love great stories that take me into the realm of the Magical, the Extraordinary, the Unknown . . . because the beauty of it is, that if I can see it, think it, imagine it . . . it becomes real! Heck, it IS real! Thoughts are energy. Everything is Source energy. Everything has a soul. Yes, believe it or not: of all beings, even an octopus has a soul as New York Times bestselling author Sy Montgomery revealed in a fascinating and scientifically well researched book, that bridges the gap between us humans and an almost alien species living in the mysterious depths of our seas. Just as those who only see a roasted duck when they see an Egyptian goose may think twice after reading “The Immortal Life of Piu Piu”, even you may want to rethink your order of calamari and change certain views after immersing yourself in The Soul of an Octopus!
What Hippocrates said about the soul
The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different. ~ Hippocrates
If we think about wisdom – and especially strong quotes about animals and the animal soul (and by far not only there . . .), we don’t get away from the old Greeks. I know. And if you thought that ‘all that soul, consciousness, reincarnation and other woo-woo stuff’ originated in the New Age era, think twice! We’re actually standing on the shoulders of giants, we just need to study the ancient texts, beginning with the legendary Orpheus.
The Greek physician, Hippocrates (460 – 370 BC) may sound familiar to us as ‘The Father of Western Medicine’ and in connection with the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ that at least Western medical graduates must take (as per my knowledge…) to honour certain ethics and morals in their medical practice. But what astonishes me is how ‘modern’ he – and others like Plato and Pythagoras as I mentioned in my earlier article – were at their time. BC that is!
Seen from today’s perspective, he was not only instrumental in separating the discipline of medicine from religion (. . . as well as from superstition), but he often advised lifestyle changes in terms of diet and exercise. The human engine hasn’t changed! It needs good water, fuel and oil . . . and it must be regularly run so it does not rust.
Lizards of Noordhoek
Even before I sat down to actually write ‘Animal Souls’ article number 2, I was intrigued by the fact that I was drawn to connect the above quote with my photo of a lizard . . . almost a dragon . . . scurrying along in a ray of light between heavy boulders in my garden in Noordhoek, South Africa?
Of course, a lizard plays an important role in the story of Piu Piu in teaching her a painful yet important first lesson to help her survive in the wild, but then I stumbled upon the legend of Hippocrates’ daughter, who was transformed into a hundred-foot long dragon by the Greek goddess, Diana, and banned into an old castle. Her only chance to turn back into a woman was that a knight kissed her . . . which was a tricky thing with a murderous dragon in the way! Does this remind you of another . . . more recent story? I’ve got to check some recent photos . . . I may have another interesting addition . . . I just got the idea!
But again we have a transformation from human being into an animal . . . which is a fascinating occurrence in many cultures. Something we’ll dive into another day!
Funny, somehow this Animal Souls series feels like my ‘Good Morning from Noordhoek’ series long ago – do you remember still?
Anyways, we had heavy rains in Cape Town . . . winter is here!
Bianca Gubalke 