12-07-2017, 11:55 AM
@Silverwolf: "...if searching brings you peace then search away" Yeah, I second that. But oftentimes, people are too focused on finding something at the end of the path while the true element of growth actually is the experience of walking that path. When finding a "reason" becomes obsessive and accepting that there is no single "reason" becomes taboo, the whole process of searching becomes toxic. I also wouldn´t say that I "chose" to act on my urges ´cause when I stood with the mare I had a sexual encounter with, I hasn´t felt like "Hmmm, should I? Or shouldn´t I?" To me, all my actions leading towards this moment like becoming a memeber of a riding club more felt like destiny has set a path for me and forcing me down this path regardless of what I was thinking of it. Or, as Goethe said : "Halb zog es ihn, halb sank er hin..." (One half of him was irresistable drawn into it, the other half was him submitting to it). But, as you said, everyone has a different perspective and results may vary largely here. @cynolove: Therapeutical benefits from animals aren´t an opinion, they´re scientifically proven and common knowledge among therapeuts. I too experienced a tremendous boost from being around horses as a teenager. I became more self confident, more approachable than I was before, more involved in social interaction ´cause you cannot avoid running into other people in a public boarding stable/riding school. I´d even say that signing in to this riding school has largely shaped me as a social being. Before that, I was what you´d call a loner, not because I was socially awkward and lacked social skills, but because I was completely uninterested in humans at all. . I surely had my fears of being discovered as a practicing zoo in my life, but it never piled up to a bona fide general anxiety. I guess what predominantly saved me from developing such is my experience as a pothead ´cause I never seen another subgroup of people that gives less shit on "legality" than stoners do...at least if they´re the habitual 24/7 stoners, not some wannabe teenagers turning pale whenever they see a police car heading in their direction. [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/wink.png[/img]/emoticons/[email protected] 2x" title=";)" width="20" /> I often wonder whether all these anxious folks have "I fuck animals!" tattooed on their foreheads; as I said before, most "zoos" running into problems with authority have contributed a rather vast portion to raise the attention towards them themselves. Most of those "anxious zoos" make one basic mistake when thinking that the way out of their anxiety is talking when in reality it´s the direct opposite. Yeah, you all have to learn how to shut up on a pro level, that´s the way out. You all have to overcome your ego, the little man sitting in your heads, whispering "You HAVE to tell EVERYBODY!" in your ears. You might know the Kantian phrase of "Sapere aude!" that roughly translates to "Be confident enough to use your mind!", but I believe that in zoophilia, "Tacere aude!" ("Be confident enough in yourself to stay silent!") would be the most beneficial advice. I don´t know how the world will be in 50, 100 or 200 years, but now, learning to cherish silence as an ally would help our community tremendously. "Zoo anxiety" levels would lower significantly by simply adapting this; the time isn´t right just yet and as hard as it may seem for some (why though? Honestly, why is it so important that everyone knows what makes your noodle hard?), it is the better choice to not try and push zoophilia into the public. Many problems in our community are self made, I guess...but the first step to solving a problem is to become aware of the problem...so, what is it you all expect from "zoo advocacy" in public? Do you really believe all the ones who reject any sexual contact between humans and animals will all of a sudden bump their palms onto their foreheads, saying "Oh gosh, of course you should be allowed to pump away at any quadruped!" and "Hell, I´ll immediately call my representant in congress and insist that he makes fucking animals legal tomorrow!"? I made my peace with society and the fact that my orientation now is deemed "illegal" since the German law was installed in 2013. I just have no reason to be anxious because I know how much you have to screw up to actually be prosecuted for "zoophilia". I have calculated the risk and accepted it as a part of my orientation, my life (not a friggin´ ´lifestyle`) and my reality. I don´t want a safe space, I prefer actual life, even if it gets a little rough on me. That´s part of living anyway. And one thing I can assure to all of you anxious people as a zoo who´s practicing his orientation for nearly 30 years now: It isn´t so bad! You CAN live it, there is no FBI unit waiting at your door , ready to break and enter at any moment. Just pay attention on whom you give incriminating info about you and learn to subdue that little man in your head that keeps you thinking you have to "come out" to anyone in order to be able of living a good life. Yes, people may reject you for your orientation and you even may have to endure some hard times in your life, but you don´t overcome your fear of ghosts by leaving the lights on in your entire house. Confront yourself with your fears, learn to rationalise them, learn to calculate the ACTUAL risks involved...fear actually IS good, nature gave you this feeling for a reason. Fear keeps you alert and focused, embrace it and cherish it as a possibility to train your awareness of your surroundings, your friends and family and how they might think about zoophilia...don´t try to avoid it solely for the reason of shaping reality into a safe space. And let me assure you that living a "zoo life" is absolutely possible without ever being caught or exposed if you obey a few safety rules. No one will look at you and say "This guy´s an animal fucker!", no one has "I fuck animals!" tattooed on their foreheads. Just learn to live with the dangers involved, know them and do your best to avoid them. Stay away from publishing "zoo" stuff yourselves, don´t give in to your "little man" in your heads bugging you to tell everyone about your special interests and you all will be good. And even IF you are caught in an incriminating situation, you might just be surprised by how little repercussions it sometimes can have: my best friend, also a zoo and my ex roommate once was caught with his head under his cow´s tail by the owner of the farm his cow is standing at. The owner approached him, simply saying "Well, I can´t understand what you´re doing, but I saw enough to know you would never ever hurt her"....and walked away, leaving behind my friend who was still full of adrenaline from the rush of being spotted red handed. Help and support will sometimes come from the most unexpected directions....true love will conquer and prevail.
