Image of an encaustic painting by Janet Fox titled "Run With The Tiger."
Run With The Tiger | encaustic | 12″h X 12w” (sold)

Connecting with tiger energy

Many days when waking up, I marvel and am grateful that I’m alive and present for another day. While setting my intention, I often wonder what lies ahead and how I might respond. I pray for guidance that my actions and words will be a force for healing and for making the world a better place. A while back, I read a great book about healing. Peter Levine’s “Waking the Tiger,” focuses on trauma, its impacts, and how to find healing. He presents examples of how animals in the wild naturally release the energy of a trauma after the threat has passed. As humans, though, we’ve learned to hold that intense “tiger” energy inside, where it can wreak havoc and cause pain. Levine presents ways to revisit old traumas and to safely release the buried and stuck energy. In practicing many of these techniques, I’ve come to understand difficult experiences in a new light. It can also feel really great to growl like a tiger, feel the vibration in my throat, and hear the roar come from my own voice.

Tigers in the wild

How are tigers living in the world today? According to Wikipedia, tigers are generally solitary although social animals requiring large areas of territory to support their prey. But due to conflicts with humans, including reduced habitat and poaching, they are endangered with fewer than 4,000 in the wild. This beautiful National Geographic video gives a rare look into the lives of several wild tigers in India and their cubs. It’s fascinating to observe how they relate to each other. I’m also amazed that the videographer could get close enough for filming!

A tiger as a dream symbol

Dream images often inspire my art so I researched a tiger from a Jungian perspective. A Knoji.com article about lions and tigers in dreams describes how a person’s associations to these powerful animals is important to understanding the dream’s message. Is a dream tiger ferociously chasing? Or is it soft like a stuffed toy? Is it in a cage, in an effort to keep it safely contained? Am I engaging with it or watching from afar? I imagine running with a tiger kind of spirit requires speed, cautious fearlessness, and a sort of instinctual trusting that I have the ability to stand my ground, protect myself, or flee.

About Run With The Tiger

Reflecting on those morning questions, past traumas, dreamtime images and the glimpse of real tigers inspired me to write the poem. After building it into the painting’s foundation, I fused several layers of encaustic paint, while combing into the orange, yellow, light and dark fur areas. The music line fit perfectly out of my reflections. Although life’s traumas can feel all-consuming, going through them can result in a greater appreciation and counting my blessings of what remains.

Looking as honestly as possible at something traumatic takes courage. Courage to face fear, which is perhaps what it might feel like to look a tiger in the eye. Facing down danger. Facing down death. By facing death, I can perhaps experience life more fully.

How do you perceive the tiger?

  For information about purchasing a similar artwork, contact Janet Fox.

Save

Save

Save