17 Spiritual Lessons From The Dog Whisperer.pdf

17 Spiritual Lessons

From The Dog Whisperer AndÈ

The Tao Te Ching

Shafin de Zane

A few days ago one of my students from Florida told me about this unusual TV program

they are showing on the Discovery Channel called The Dog Whisperer! Do you know

what it’s about? If not I’ll tell you about it in just a short while but before that I want to tell

you something on a little different tangent.

600 years before Jesus’ birth, a man called Lao Tzu lived in ancient China. He was a

man around whom many mysteries and myths surround but as far as I can tell from cross

referencing history, this man worked for the imperial government as a record keeper or

librarian of sorts. According to biographies and legend, he got tired of the city life and the

continuous wars and traveled to the west to live as a hermit in at the age of 160! At the

gate of the kingdom he was recognized by a guard and the guard requested the old

master to write something that would preserve his wisdom. This is the legendary origin of

the Tao Te Ching (loosely translated as: the book of the great way). This book, in its 81

beautiful short verses, captures the essence of spirituality like no other text I have

personally encountered. Some scholars say that it is one of the wisest books ever written

and I very much agree.

The philosophy of this work focused on the following concepts: tao, wu (emptiness), wu -

wei (nondoing) and Fu (the return of all things to their origins). The goal of the Taoist

philosophy is, to become one with Tao, the great way, by aligning your self with the

universal laws and return to origins. But to achieve this, the student has to achieve

emptiness and simplicity, practice non-doing, and dedicate his life to the understanding of

the great way.

Here is the very first verse of Tao Te Ching for those of you who would like to appreciate

the beauty of this master work:

The Tao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.

The name is the mother of the ten thousand things.

Send your desires away and you will see the mystery.

Be filled with desire and you will see only the manifestation.

As these two come forth they differ in name.

Yet at their source they are the same.

This source is the mystery.

The mystery itself is the gateway to all understanding.

~Verse 1: Tao Te Ching

The reason I am mentioning Tao Te Ching right at the beginning is this. In my journeys

and adventures over the years in search of the truth, I have come to understand that

there is indeed a great way (and then eventually found Tao Te Ching and many other

similar teachings and saw the parallels of my own realizations). You can call it the

universal laws, the archetypal patterns, the natural forces or will of God.

This “great way” is simple and observable in all of nature. It is said in certain secret

traditions that there is a language of the world that is spoken by everything and everyone.

And if you understand that language, there is guidance for you directly from your Source,

or the Universe, or God on every step of your life. Unfortunately, most of the time we are

too preoccupied in our material pursuit to notice this guidance, and eventually we turn our

entire life into one great struggle.

But this guidance, or the great way, or language of the universe exists. And even if on a

small scale, I am a living example of someone who constantly follows that guidance or

pays attention to that language which shows you the right way at every turn of your life. I

am not saying this to boast, there is still a long personal journey for me before I can feel

that I have truly mastered this language, but I simply want you to know that this is the

truth. I have lived with this for years now and I would be lost if this guidance stopped

making itself known to me for some reason. That is just the fact.

Now what has all this got to do with a television show called The Dog Whisperer?

Patience my friend... If you have not already experienced my roundabout way of telling

stories, you might as well get used to it. Because I don’t think I’m changing any time soon

So here is the relevance. One of the great realizations that came upon me right from the

beginning of my own personal transformations (incidentally through my professional

practice of hypnotherapy) is this: the world outside is a reflection of your inside. People,

circumstances, animals, relationships, success, failure, work, play etc are all reflections

of your inside. All these things and their relationship with you dynamically change

according to your own personal and spiritual development. As I keep saying over and

over to all my students: when you take care of the inside, the outside automatically takes

care of itself. The great way shows its guidance through everything and everyone. And

according to how the world is treating you, you can tell quite accurately what is

happening on your inside, and vice versa.

Now here is one of the best indicators of what is happening on our inside: our dogs! They

will always react according to your inner energy patterns. If you are frustrated and angry

and have a scrambled energy pattern within you, your dog will be challenging and

undisciplined and have a restless energy within them.

We have been living with our dogs for hundreds of thousands of years now. They have

walked with us as a committed friend since we lived in caves and hunted the prehistoric

animals. They are our personal direct communication module with nature. And they know

more about us that we’d like to admit. They cannot tell us in words what they know, but

they sure do express themselves which we most times misinterpret. But one man in

California, originally from Mexico, Caesar Milan, has decoded this language and brought

us some very valuable teachings through his TV show “The Dog Whisperer”.

The Dog Whisperer is a show where Caesar rehabilitates some of the most impossible

type of dogs. The dogs that are sometimes so disturbed that they are flagged as “red

zone dog” meaning they can actually kill another dog or seriously harm a human being if

they get the opportunity. Caesar rehabilitates those kind of dogs and shows over and

over that nearly EVERY dog can be the perfect dog that you want them to be: disciplined,

friendly, fun loving, social and able to follow basic instructions. But YOU have to be the

leader to lead them to it.

Here are some of the lessons I have learnt from watching The Dog Whisperer about

leadership, energy and relationship with our dogs (and children). Please understand

these are a combination of my own interpretations of Caesars actions and words and

NOT specifically what he says or does. Also a lot of what is given below is literal as well

as metaphorical. See if you can find the hidden meanings within them:

Your dog’s behavior is a reflection of you. They are our mirrors.

Your dog doesn’t care how much money you make or what car your drive or how

you look like. They care if you are a balanced individual or not and how happy

and contented you are. They can’t tell you with words but they reflect your inner

being just like a mirror. They feel your energy, not your external personality.

Mother nature does not rule by fear and anger but calm assertiveness.

Harnessing calm assertive energy will not only improve your relationship with

your dogs, it will improve YOU and your relationship to the world.

Never fight against Mother Nature. Allow Mother Nature to help you rather than

dis-empower you.

Every dog can be a great dog (unless it has a neurological problem which is very

few). It can be fun, playful, obedient and able to follow basic commands. But it

needs to be lead. And your dog needs to be lead by YOU. Remember, just because

you and your dog share unconditional love, does not mean you have a balanced

dog.

To be a leader you need to be calm and assertive. You also need to make

decisions for the well being of the whole pack (or group or family) and lead them

accordingly. You need to go above your personal interests and decide what is best

for the pack. Dogs get frustrated when you are unable to lead and start

challenging you.

Dogs are social creatures, just like human beings. And they are naturally meant

to be social, playful, seek to be in packs like human families or groups of other

dogs, follow the leadership of the pack leader. If they are hostile, or unfriendly, or

hates other dogs, it is because the dog is either scared, or frustrated, or lacks

confidence.

Take note of your household: who is the leader? You, your dogs, or your

children? Is it truly a happy balanced family where everyone knows their duties,

boundaries and roles? Or is everyday another battle with your dogs and children

where they do whatever they like with total disregard to others? If that is the case,

understand that it does not have to be that way. (Your young children, by the way,

also follow the same patterns as dogs as they too are more sensitive to energy and

less with logic and social norms.)

Remember: your dog DOES NOT want to serve the role of the leader. It has been

biologically programmed over thousands of years to follow human beings. (Your

children does not want to be the leader of the house either. They want to enjoy

your guidance and protection and love and affection. They want YOU to guide

them towards what is the best for them and not the other way round. And if you

fail to perform that duty, they become frustrated and express that frustration in

many different ways.)

To live a healthy and balanced lifestyle dogs need exercise, discipline and

affection. In that order!

Discipline does not mean bossing over your dog. It means taking responsibility

and educating the living being that is in your life. It does not "kill" its spirit or

make it less playful, discipline only allows your dog to enjoy a balanced lifestyle.

Think about it, what would you rather have? A undisciplined playful dog who is

unable to participate in social situations (jumps over people, intimidates others,

picks fight, or isn’t able to stay still)? Or would you rather have a disciplined dog

who is not only playful at appropriate times but is able to accompany you in most

social situations as well? It is your DUTY to discipline your dog so it knows its

limitations and boundaries. The dog appreciates that because it allows him

greater freedom in the long run. (Do you see the parallels with your children?)

Love-love-love does not work. You have to give discipline and boundaries also.

Freedom doesn’t mean you need a big open area, freedom is a mental thing.

Dogs live in the present. They don’t think about the past, or worry about the

future. They forgive you quickly and love you unconditionally. When you

communicate with your dogs (or little children), over everything else be

CONSISTENT and CONGRUENT. If you don’t clearly understand what those

words mean, do your research, they will do you great good in life. When you

communicate anything, keep it simple and precise. Do NOT send mixed messages.

If you tell your dog not to chew the carpet, NEVER let him chew the carpet or

ignore his mischief just because he’s so damn cute. Be consistent. If he has done

something bad and you are disciplining him, do NOT immediately follow up with

love and baby talk. I know he has big brown sad eyes which makes you want to

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: