Tiger Touch

I love the people at Tiger Touch. Their basic driving idea is that if the animals of the world are going to survive, people have to learn to live with them, not separate from them. This is a beautiful way of restating what I said a few days ago, because it implies an action plan. Click on the Tiger Touch link above for their statement of principles, and here are a few extra words from John Williamson of Tiger Touch:

I believe that the cultural move toward the awareness required for validating life's inter-dependence can be hastened and supported by the charismatic animals who, given the chance, can show us the way through their choice to bond with people. What we are all fighting for is the abandonment of the artificial schism which now separates "man" from "animal." And I could go on and on in this vein.

I'll also contend that inter-species communication is the key to understanding inter-species bonding. Our Directors and consultants have researched along these lines, approaching the issues with their science and their hearts. Much has been contributed by our own cats, wild wolves, bear, and, not surprisingly, children.

Enough has been accomplished to demonstrate true, effective cross-species communication and that has been mind blowing in itself. The goal now is to take the universal inter-species language which is emerging and reduce it to a set of teachable protocols.

Germane to our research is a study by Steven Reiss, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University. He spent five years developing and testing a new theory of human motivation. The result of his research is published in the book "Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires That Motivate Our Action and Define Our Personalities". Reiss has found that 16 basic desires guide nearly all meaningful behavior. The desires are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility. This study illuminates much of what Tiger Touch has concluded from our own research with respect to the cats.

Humans and animals motivated by the same desires. And this is supported by scholarly scientific research. Why isn't Tiger Touch better known?