so... i kind of have this fear of insects
spiders, bugs, grasshoppers, etc.

if they enter my house
sometimes i put it in a container and try to get it outside

other times, i just don't bother and kill it

and other times, i say to them " please go ... escape while you have the chance.." and i turn away ... out of sight ... out of mind

okay, so i guess i could just be a "good" person and not accure bad energy
by either releasing it outdoors or letting them roam ( though i've gotten bit a lot before)

and also , when i am near them, i get frightened ( sometimes a lot... sometimes somewhere in between) so that is why it is not always easy for me to approach them and put them in a container... because my fears get amplified

okay, so the question is

why am i so afraid of them?

how do i get rid of this fear?

how do i just happily usher them outdoors

instead of all this primal fear and loathing creep up inside of me

i think that disliking insects intensely might be some form of prejudice

kind of like humans have racism and discrimination

i like dolphins and whales

i dislike insects

why would i like one species and not like another?

what is the reason for this?

i do not like this about myself... at all

i wish to get rid of all forms of hatred within myself

and i can barely approach a bug

any advise?

does anyone else struggle with having some sort of loathing or instant fear for some animal species

and you don't know what to do about it

except to try to capture and release ( with lots of fear)

i want to capture and release with no fear

maybe even with respect

but i just see these spiders

and some of them have some look "weird"

and i don't know if they will bite me and kill me or something


and i resent the heck out of them sometimes

and the thought of them crawling all over me

gives me the heebie jeebies

uggggh.... i wanna take a pill

and wake up the next morning

and i see spiders

and calmly and respectfully approach and release them

maybe even make friends ( though that is a real stretch of my imagination)

anyhow

being vegan means not killing animals too

how to release them

without killing them in my heart ( with dislike or fear)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2014 12:56AM by la_veronique.

What an awesome topic you raise!


You are not alone when it comes to your dislike for insects and spiders. Most everyone shares that sentiment, however, there is in my opinion, much more to the picture than the average person ever considers when they encounter an insect or spider. To me, their lives are as important to them as mine is to me. A huge respect to you for seeing it for what it is and wanting to achieve a higher plane despite your innate fears.

I am not personally disturbed by bugs being in my house though my wife doesn't share my feelings. I pick them up, put them outside and tell them they are lucky it's me. If I see someone about to stomp on an insect or spider, I try to intervene before the execution and take the bug to a safer place. Even venomous insects get a free pass with me. But, I don't offer that courtesy to either mosquitos or flies. I just don't like them.

In order to overcome your fear, I'd suggest you stand back and watch them as they go about their lives. You'll see they're very busy; they mind their own business and really are quite self-contained. They don't look for trouble and even poisonous insects tend to mind their own business as long as you don't threaten them.

I like to pet the bees on the back of their abdomen to show people that you can actually touch them in a non-threatening way and they will not sting you. In the many times I've done it, I've never been stung, not even by bumble bees. But, it's a very gentle stroking of the fur on their backs. They can tell my touch is not aggressive. I like to believe that it's a bonding kind of thing. At least it is for me, probably not so much for them.

You ask what you can do to overcome this fear. Like SM said, don't be hard on yourself. It takes some getting use to but I would suggest this - just step back from them and watch them from a bit of a distance. Your fascination for them may grow. Later, you may decide to make friends.

I like to offer them a chance to crawl on my body. Most often, they prefer not to. They don't want any trouble and want to go another way but if you keep offering your hand to crawl on, they may eventually go for it. I like to make friends with them and I feel a certain camaraderie in being able to interact with them.

O.K., so maybe that's all a bit extra and you just don't want to get that close to them. You only want to respect their lives while redirecting them. Maybe touching them is too freaky for your liking. There's nothing wrong with that.

If that were me, I would find a piece of paper and encourage them to crawl onto it. Once their on the paper, I'd shake them into a jar and put the jar outdoors.

Kudos to you for caring!


Live and let live!!!!!

hi sproutman

<<Get the connection and get enlightenment and develop it strongly. All your fears will go, you will get the bugs, take them outside and gently put them on the ground with lots of dignity and respect for the bugs.>>

good point
there is a sense of disconnection with insects/bugs
i do think its an inside job
thanks for the encouragement

raw4ever

i really appreciate the great insights and advice
and neat to see bugs from another point of view

i am actually fascinated by the way that bees behave
they are so incredibly intelligent in so many ways
i admire them

but i also don't want to get anywhere near them ( due to being stung before)
but it is true
if you match their frequency
to a benevolent vibration
i am sure they will cause no harm

but its tricky
cuz they can read me
and i do not exactly radiate "confidence" around them lol

as far as the other insects go

just watching spiders? well.. depends ... i'm not sure i can observe a hairy tarantula for more than 5 seconds ( even if it is in its little "aquarium"
not easy .. at all

but maybe i'll meditate on their spirit
and how they do go about their business ( as you pointed out)

and just try to let them complete their business ( just outside of my house)

the paper trick

yeah, that is what i used in the past

have them crawl on paper ...

then funnel the paper

drop into jar

and then place jar on the ground

then run the heck indoors lol

once again

an inside job

gave me lots to think about

thank you

i want to change

This is a wonderful topic indeed

I am not afraid of all the insects, just of fleas. I just can't tolerate fleas, especially because I've been bitten by fleas so many times that those bites were just poisoning my body, I had red itchy bumps on my skin for months, my eyes were swollen, my lips were swollen from those toxins, my nose was all congested and I could hardly breathe. Very annoying. So when I see a flea on my clothes or in my bed I just panic and I feel it's so grose. It's so tiny yet so evil. I even imagine the flea drinking my blood and leaving its poison in me. Yuck! I do kill fleas when I see them, that is when I get to catch them, because they are so fast jumping up and down...

With mosquitos is another thing, I don't mind them anymore, I just use the electric anti-mosquito device with those laminated pills and I'm fine. They don't die from it, they just get quiet and stay still in some corner.

I don't mind flies either, they are quite annoying sometimes when they bug me and keep wanting to land on me for some reason, or just want to enter my eye, but I'm ok with them.

I'm ok with any insect, as long as it doesn't bite me.

I recently told some vegan friends that I am no longer an ethical vegan when it comes to insects like fleas and mosquitos, and one of them told me that I shouldn't feel guilty, and that I should take measures when it comes to my health and my safety.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

The fear is driven by biology, it is there for self-preservation.

Changing connections in the body that trigger may be possible to some extent. Perhaps.

I am not scared of spiders. I wonder whether this has got something to do with the fact that I was fascinated by insects and all living creatures since a little kid. Maybe I got used to them?

Perhaps you could observe them? Study them? Check out this amazing, very intelligent spider who is capable of problem solving:
portia


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

Btw...I do save insects and other small creatures when they are in danger, like when I find cute green worms in my cauliflower and I take them outside in some garden, or saving snails that are crawling in the middle of the road after a rain, or saving flies that fall in the sink and get their wings wet and can't fly, so I take them outside in the sun to dry their wings. I once saved the flies trapped on the sticky sheets (fly-catching sticky sheets) that my husband's parents were using to get rid of the flies. Those sticky sheets full of trapped but still living flies looked like torture devices to me, so sickening. So I was un-sticking the flies off the sticky sheets and releasing them outside...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

Read the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. About the transformation of a seaman into one who sees the splendid beauty of all life.

[www.bartleby.com]

ela 123, rawgosia and brome

thanks for all the great insights

yep, rawgosia, i do think it is a survival instinct as some spiders are known to bite in a lethal manner ( like the brown recluse)
or black widow etc.

so you do have a point

but for me, i would like to have intelligence ( protect myself from poisonous biting insects) minus the rabid fear lol

maybe hypnosis will work

i might see that video you posted
if i can summon up the courage... someday

brome... read the the ancient mariner poem
high school... i think

never forgot it

thank you

Raise some pet butterflys. Google: pet butterflys - for a bunch of options.

I read in Natural History magazine about raising a rare species of tropical butterfly in Florida. You watch the creepy caterpillars devour the food plants. Then magical butterflys emerge! These left every morning to forage and then returned at 4pm. They would come down the street and turn left at the stop sign and then into the back yard.

Raise meal worms to make close friends with the birds. Birds love meal worms so much. Start by putting some out on your feeder early in the morning. Move closer in each morning. Soon they'll be eating out of your hand. Making friends with the wild birds will be so cool it will trump any reservations about the creepiness of the meal worms.

"Birds love meal worms so much. Start by putting some out on your feeder early in the morning. Move closer in each morning. Soon they'll be eating out of your hand."

Wouldn't gathering worms for birds to eat be counter-productive to the point of this thread since you'd still be aiding the death of a living being?

Of much greater import than the life of a meal worm is the fate of nature itself. The native birds have been devastated by the onslaught of modern civilization. If they can be helped with some supplementary feeding of meal worms than it is a big plus for nature, the Earth, and good in general. The fate of most insects in a balanced nature is bird food anyway. So it's very natural and ethical.

great advise brome
metamorphosis chrysalis
fascinating

Think of beautiful butterflies, moths, and perhaps beetles. There is actually a jumping spider that has incredibly colorful and beautiful markings. That spider is also mainly vegetarian.

Sometimes when I see a close up photo of some moths the scales look like fur, so soft and cuddly looking.

My 3 lb chihuahua sleeps behind my butt under the blankets and two days ago I awoke to find bug bites on my thighs. It was fleas. I frigggin hate fleas. I wash lana and I put this thing called diacetemous earth on her, to get rid of pests, but it works maybe one day or two and then I see her getting fleas again. My whole house in ikea panel floors, I paid 1000$ plus wages- I insisted I hate fleas. I found a tick on Bella the other french bulldog and it was grey swollen with blood and disgusting.

I paid 75 dollars for mattress cover that is supposed to be anti bed bug.

I spray my whole house with cedar hydrosol we make ourselves. Reminds me I have to spray the car.

Its my weapon. If you look on youtube , if you drop one drop of cedar oil in a cage all the bugs frantically try clawing their way out. Bugs do not like it. You can try that. Cedar trees are everywhere just get an oil still.

It doesnt kill the pests but they go away.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2014 03:25PM by coconutcream.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Quote

There are four major reasons why happiness may be feared by various people and cultures: "believing that being happy will provoke bad things to happen; that happiness will make you a worse person; that expressing happiness is bad for you and others; and that pursuing happiness is bad for you and others".[3] For example, "some people—in Western and Eastern cultures—are wary of happiness because they believe that bad things, such as unhappiness, suffering, and death, tend to happen to happy people."[4]

These findings "call into question the notion that happiness is the ultimate goal, a belief echoed in any number of articles and self-help publications about whether certain choices are likely to make you happy".[5] Also, "in cultures that believe worldly happiness to be associated with sin, shallowness, and moral decline will actually feel less satisfied when their lives are (by other standards) going well",[6] so, beliefs such as "fear of happiness" have important implications for measuring happiness across cultures, and ranking nations on happiness scores.

I know that if they see me happy and smiling at work, they give me a bigger load If your spouse see you happy, they may ask you for a bigger favor, etc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/2014 01:53AM by Panchito.

panchito

your "happiness" thing came out of the blue
which comment was it in relation to?
i searched but still not sure

as far as you saying

<<I know that if they see me happy and smiling at work, they give me a bigger load winking smiley If your spouse see you happy, they may ask you for a bigger favor, etc.>>

one CAN always "happily" refuse the extra work load or say "no" to being asked a bigger favor

and therefore, remain even happier

la_veronique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> anyhow
>
> being vegan means not killing animals too


Want to be a "good" Vegan, support Life; be Pro-Life/Anti-Abortion.

Lois. I am pro life. I am. But somehow I have to be pro choice too. Because even though we think women should keep their babies, there is a thing called free will, and they are going to do it anyways, by us being pro life, that supports future laws that would put women who kill their fetuses in jail, more hanger abortions, poisonings, and where do you draw the line. I hear ya.

I have experiences in both these areas. I can say now, that if I kept my other babies I would have been a different woman. Better, for sure, but I DID NOT KNOW THAT BACK THEN. but well, its made me who I am and now, mother in my 40s, with brand new babies.. I appreciate my kids so much that I chose to have with a man who was on board too to be a father.

If I did this abortion thing before, it was because of parental pressure, my grandfather was a minister, and the father was..well..some dumb kid who didnt even want to be my boyfriend, already had sex with my best friend, and I was still living at home watching mtv all day. It would have made my life so much better back then and now, but I chose to abort out of terror and fear. I had no one in my life back then. Self hatred and confusion, puberty and punk rock..Just had parents who didn't care and were ashamed. I cried so much for the choice I had to make. Had nightmares and visions of lost souls somewhere looking for me. But I did wind up having kids later on in my life, and they were wanted. Very much. They were wanted. We had visions and dreams I was pregnant before I was and the whole thing was magic.

We do not know how other people live or their circumstances. But yeah. I am am pro life and pro choice. Some people are pro choice and anti life, some are pro life and anti choice. Girls need support I think in both areas.

I am not about to send the police to these girls homes because they had abortions. Thats what these political agendas end up, where the government doesnt belong. YOu mess with free will and it backfires.

I hope you all respect my opinion. That I am pro life and pro choice. It has to be up to every individual to make that decision. And there can't just be one option. I have gotten wicked attacked on GITMR for this stance. Friends on Facebook some of them actually criticize me for having kids in this overpopulation fear propaganda.

There has to be a line. Has to. Otherwise the government will be in our bedrooms, handing out kids condoms at schools...all up in our business. Its a family business decision. Its private. You may even come across a situation.

What do you think? Tell me what you think about this controversial and heated subject?

As a raw vegan I would never have another abortion. No. Never. But that is my choice. I cant mess with the free will of another who hurt a being that doesnt exist yet, on its own, and lives inside of them. I just cant go there..I can support the person and listen. Tell my story or even just lead by example.

I know plenty of young moms too, who are so in love now. So happy. So on the right track.

Have you guys heard of the woman who publicly had abortion on youtube and said it was like having an orgasm. There you go. We are all different. That is why we are here on this planet. To explore.

I say DONT HURT OTHERS AND DONT TAKE THEIR STUFF. I do. But where is the line drawn.

Is eating placenta vegan? YOu know those placenta parties? Ew. Where mothers who just gave birth have parties and they make placenta spaghetti or something. Thats nasty. But these women see it as something different. Or what about breast milk ice cream is that vegan.

Sorry if I talk too much.

"Confession" Parallells

Thank you for sharing your experience, coconutcream. It sounds like you've been through a lot when you were young, you're an emotional woman who loves her family, and you're blessed to be a mother now.

We all made mistakes in the past, but that's what we were supposed to experience, so all we can do is repent, forgive ourselves, and tell those we offended that we're sorry. A lot of us did 'bad' things to ourselves and others and later we regret it. It's like we're young and stupid. I messed myself up a lot, also.

In my 20's, I had a friend who told me she was going to get an abortion, and I just felt like it was sad, but I never thought about what it really meant on another level. I can understand young people thinking it's fine, just something you do.

What I can't understand is how a woman who has already had a baby or babies, and nursed a baby - mommy and baby locking eyes while she nurses - just remembering how heavenly it is - can 'believe in' abortion, and not realize that it's a life inside her and it's part of her. "Mommy" is the greatest word in the English language.

Projecting into the future, maybe humanity will sort of have 'a lightbulb going off in our head' moment -like the 100th monkey thing - where we realize the atrocity we committed by killing babies in our wombs.

When I think of Pro-Life and Pro-Abortion, though, the legal governmental ramifications never enter my mind. I just think of what I believe is the 'right' thing to do.

Learn from the past,
Live in the present,
Dream about the future.

There's a Third Position (which I hold): I don't give a hoot if abortion is 100% legal or if it is 100% illegal. It doesn't change the basic character of the population as a whole, which is in a state of advanced degeneration. We are past the point of no return. Whether abortion is legal or illegal has ceased to be relevant.

Things are getting out of hand. What does veganism has to do with abortion?
Now we are into debating when the fetus life begins.

Let's take a step further and say every month that a woman could conceive and does not was a waste of life.

Taking contraceptive is not being vegan?

Life is every where, we walk on it we eat it, we are it.

To all the so called pro lifers, there are millions of children on this planet that have no food, no shelter,
yet your concerns are on those who are not born yet.

Your fight is on them being born, but keeping life is not important.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2014 09:11AM by RawPracticalist.