Michael, I think the emerging situation with cougars is a consciousness issue on many levels.
First of all, on the
informational level, a lot is happening that most people are not up to speed on yet, not conscious of at the mundane level.
And, as I pointed out with my own experience, we seem to have a
primitive intuition about big cats. Given time, I could produce a number of stories about "the-hair-on-the-back-of-my-neck-stood-up-and-I-knew-I-was-in-danger" sense people have had around cougars. Fear is very much a consciousnes issue. The book The
Gift of Fear addresses this kind of primitive instinctual reaction quite well:
your body takes over, and does the thinking for you.
Amazon.com: The Gift of Fear. Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence.: Books: Gavin De Becker
It is a
consciousness issue in the broader social sense, also, I believe, in that it is extremely polarized, which tells me that both sides are projecting on the other, and neither is seeing the whole picture.
I'm also interested in the
spiritual aspects of dealing with cougar consciousness. The Native Americans felt that all the animals were teachers, i.e., had "medicine." I'm wondering what "Cougar Medicine" might have to teach our culture, as it forcefully presents itself to us at this time.
But, as I said, I'm perfectly willing for this not to be kept on the board, if the powers that be feel that it is inappropriate.
But, if it stays up, I think one has to start at the informational level of consciousness, to catch people up with what's actually happening. That will involve a lot of stories. Then, maybe later the social and spiritual aspects could be discussed. Or not. It's up to the moderators.