{"author":"Linda Bender","author_id":"Linda+Bender","total_quotes":22,"quotes":[{"text":"Animals suffer both emotionally and physically, but they don't suffer metaphysically. That is, they don't suffer about suffering, don't get thrown into spiritual confusion by it, or fall out of connection with the divine because of it.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":2261,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"I take it hard when an animal in my care suffers or dies. I take it even harder when the animal's suffering is the result of human exploitation or carelessness.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":19051,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"Every species embodies a solution to some environmental challenge, and some of these solutions are breathtaking in their elegance.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality","wisdom"],"id":71507,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"Many people who live with animals have noticed that their cat or dog becomes solicitous of them when they are feeling unwell. A cat who is normally aloof may come sit in the sick person's lap; a normally rambunctious dog may tone himself down when his human friend isn't up to romping or running. In some cases, the ability of animals to sense illness in a human has been lifesaving.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":99673,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"The belief that every living thing has an individual soul is called animism. (Anima, which means 'soul,' is also the root of the word 'animal.') Anthropologists have found this belief to be universal in children, though the children themselves don't think of it as a belief. It is, to them, one of the most obvious features of the world around them, and the most obvious way of interpreting what goes on in that world.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":105950,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"I believe we have this idea that bad things ought to be prevented from happening.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":140546,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"The inner encounters I have with animals—and will be teaching you to have— are exchanges of meaning.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","communication","meaning","spirituality"],"id":197478,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"It is commonplace, and true, to point out that animals are happier than people because they live entirely in the present.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":199337,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"Most of us are used to thinking that “imaginary” is the opposite of “real.” That is, when we imagine things, we are just making them up. In the spiritual life, though, there are some realities that cannot manifest unless we begin by imagining them.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["imagination","reality","spirituality"],"id":211255,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"},{"text":"I believe the happiness we feel in relation to animals is immensely significant. I believe it is absolutely central to our physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being.","author":"Linda Bender","tags":["animals","spirituality"],"id":225861,"author_id":"Linda+Bender"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":22,"pages":3,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}