Inner educators – voices who request a change in our behaviour or awareness – habitually use the good old Jackal to communicate with us. The efficiency is near zero, tragically. We can bring Giraffe ears to this inner communication and this can contribute greatly to our inner growth and health.
In this example Marshall tells how a “should” was translated into a “I would have liked”
Time codes
- 00:00 A participant shares “I believe I am unable to learn something new.”
- 00:26 Marshall explains that this is an inner jackal.
- Inner jackals are fast as the speed of light.
- Inner jackals also can be hard to become aware of. Giraffes love certain feelings – such as guilt or depression – because they betray that inner jackals are present inside of us. We can only put Giraffe ears to something that we are aware of. Guilt or depression thus help us to become aware.
- 02:04 We learn to listen to internal judgments in terms of the feelings and needs they communicate.
- 02:48 Story of a woman, who had an inner jackal in relation to her divorce. Marshall helps her to translate her inner jackal into Giraffe, into feelings and needs.
- 03:14 She says: “I was blaming the husband, but now I see the divorce was really my fault!”
- 04:16 Translate ‘should’ into ‘I would have liked’ – Shift in energy happens
- 04:36 Giraffe translation of the ‘should’: I feel sad. I would have like to know then, what I know now. Such connection with the life in us motivates us. It can enable us to mourn or it can motivate us to search for different strategies to fulfill the need.
For different section from this workshop – see here.
Notes
I would add anger and shame to the feelings that can help us to detect inner jackals. Self-hate or self-shaming are just as habitual inside of us, as they are outside of us. So a jackal might say: “You are stupid and you will never learn anything.” And that could sound quite angry.
Or it could be a guilt internal jackal. such as: “It was my fault, that the party did not turn out well.” Or an depression internal jackal, such as: “Nothing makes sense anymore. Why should I even start anything, it is useless.”
Political Example – A “Should” on “Obeying in Advance” (to the Wishes of a Dictator)
In this short clip historian Timothy Snyder reacts to the decision of the Washington Post not to endorse one or the other presidential candidate. Apprently was done on request by the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos – who is also the owner of much of Amazon and more. A wealthy American. Timothy uses the Jackal “should” many times over. I feel moved and very different, when I replace the ‘should’ by ‘I like to’ or ‘I would like to’
Transcript
This is Timothy Snyder. It’s the 25th of October, 2024. I’m in Oklahoma City.
I’m thinking today about the first lesson of On Tyranny, which is: ‘Do not obey in advance.’ The reason why that’s the first lesson is that for me, it’s the first thing that we should be remembering, the first thing we should be learning from the horrors of the 20th century, that each of us does have some responsibility. And perhaps the wealthy and the powerful maybe just a tiny bit more.
The reason why this is the lesson of the 20th century, the reason why it’s the first lesson on tyranny, is this: Those who work on the Nazi period, the period of the Nazi takeover, know that much of Hitler’s rise to power had to do with people making adjustments in 1933, 1934. People anticipating what he would want from them and then going halfway.
A very similar lesson was drawn by the anti-communist dissidents of the 1970s who realized that every little thing that we do has consequences for those around us. They counseled as well not to obey in advance, but to instead live as if we were free.
I have all this in mind, of course, because of these decisions by newspapers owned by very wealthy Americans not to endorse a presidential candidate. I gotta say, this strikes me as ignoring the essential thing that we were supposed to have learned from the 20th century which is, in circumstances like these: do not obey in advance.
If what you do is based on your anticipation, as it so obviously is, that an authoritarian might be about to come to power, then what you are doing is making it more likely that that authoritarian will come to power. And since you have already made concessions before he came to power, you’re preparing yourself for making more concessions after he comes to power.
And what’s worse: if you’re in a position of wealth and power yourself, you’re discouraging all the other people who are less wealthy and less powerful.
And aside from being politically wrong and morally outrageous, this is just simply unfair, because it puts the burden on taking action to those who are less fortunate than you. It puts them in the position of having to be more courageous than you.
And of course, what it really means when someone who’s wealthy and powerful makes adjustments, obeys in advance, what it really means is that they think, well, I’m going to be fine. When democracy dies in darkness, I’m going to enjoy the shadows. That’s what it really means.
So for all these reasons, this is outrageous. I hope these decisions will be changed.
And regardless of that, I hope that the rest of us will keep in mind that we ought not to be obeying in advance. What we do always matters. What we do in the next few days matters a great deal. And the fact that people are obeying in advance is just a sign of how great the threat really is.
So let’s all do what we can.
Again, Tim Snyder, 25 October 2024, Oklahoma City.
Translation – Hearing T. Snyder with Giraffe Ears
I guess Timothy Snyder reacts to the decision by the Washington Post to not endorse a presidential candidate – this would be his observation. And – on a deeper level – he also reacts to an internal interpretation, where he compares what he observes in the present to historic behaviour of rich and powerful people in the beginning years of German Nazi rule.
Key jackal: "Seeing the horrors of the 20th century, we should be learning from the past that we are responsible for our actions."
Translate: "Seeing the horrors of the 20th century, I would like for us to learn from the past that we are responsible for our actions."
I feel open and connected to the longing for learning from the past, where actions did not contribute or serve life – when I replace the “should”. How is it for you?
Another translation
Hearing with giraffe ears: “When seeing the horrors of authoritarian rule under Hitler and Stalin, I would like for all of us to stand together for the values of freedom and democracy and to show this in our actions. It greatly matters, I believe, if the Washington Post would endorse Kamala Harris for president.
By making adjustments in 1933-34 to please Hitler even before he came to power, the rich and powerful helped Hitler into power. They fulfilled Hitler’s requests, as they imagined them to be, obeying to these in advance. I see the same happening here, when Jeff Bezos directs his newspaper, the Washington Post, to not endorse a presidential candidate. I would like Jeff Bezos and the Washington Post to endorse Kamala Harris. Such an action would fulfill my needs for integrity, hope and learning.