Fascination with Sloths Segues Into Mindfulness Meditation

By Lois Putnam

It’s a fact that the sloth is so adored zoos are having a hard time finding enough of them for all of the would-be onlookers. It seems many are all agog over sloths.  Zoo keepers have found that some zoo patrons are so in awe of the sloth that they break down into tears when they first see a live one.

Indeed, poachers too are having a field day supplying these wanted mammals to their customers.
https://wsimag.com/culture/19651-sloth-onslaught
https://www.wsj.com/articles/zoos-are-clambering-to-give-the-people-what-they-want-more-sloths-1503070126

A quick read about sloths informs one that these amazing creatures of the rain forest have been created to be ever so slow to move, and prefer to sleep hours on end every day.  Not only do they move slowly, eat slowly, but they do almost everything upside down happily hanging from their high perch. To many this serene slow-to-move mammal mirrors the mindfulness techniques of being still, peaceful, and letting the world pass by.

So popular are sloths you’ll find book stores offering a variety of items pertaining to them: journals, stickers, stationery, tee-shirts, Christmas cards, stuffed sloths, throws, book bags, jewelry, calendars, and the list goes on.  Even Hollywood got in on the sloth obsession with Sid the Sloth in “Ice Age,” and the slow sloth employees of the DMV in “Zootopia.”

Noticing this sloth fascination I wondered could it be these animals are used for meditation?  Just a bit of research and yes, I found this special animal that God made to be very slow, and unique in its ways is being turned right side up to assume a meditative sitting position to lure kids and adults alike into meditation.

Who could miss the Budda-like sloths with closed eyes sitting in a lotus-cross-legged position atop a book store shelf?  I could not!.  How clever!  Just arrange the long sloth legs cross wise, and the toed claw “fingers” into mudras and you have meditating sloths. The enemy, the devil, knows exactly how to take an animal such as a sloth and literally turn it into something opposite of what God intended as Isaiah 5:20 warns. Click here to continue reading.

Related Information:

Mandala Color Books: Relaxing Fun or a Tool for New Age Meditation?