Wanna Be Dog

                                                                         

                                  Wanna be Dog 

                                                          “Dog is Love.”

                           

                                                             

I’ll admit it, I’ve wanted to be a dog for some time now. I believe inter-species understanding and communication is among the most important areas to help our species to evolve and survive. The reason for this is because we are mostly inept at being what we are, namely human.

The rest of nature is pretty much completely at ease and magnificent in being what they are, dogs are consummate examples. To be a dog is to be (sounds like Shakespeare), for they are completely at ease and unpretentious in their being. This is one of the main reasons dogs are so therapeutic to be around; which is they are so relaxed in who they are that it is very calming to be around them.

                                                           Symbiotic History

                                       

Humans and dogs have a long history of interdependent, symbiotic relationship. Approximately 13-14 thousand years ago certain wolves came closer to humans in a quest to extend their potential food source. Also certain humans took chances in allowing certain wolves to come closer, eventually offering them food. This eventuated in domestication and evolution of wolves into our modern versions of domesticated dog. Our interspecies mammalian synergy was a win-win from the beginning (although surely there were some bad days in which wolves killed humans or vice versa), still, dogs and humans were made for each other!

Wolves and dogs are pack animals with very hierarchical dominance and submission roles, sound familiar? Dogs and wolves are very loyal, ambitious, territorial, independent, smart, and feel and express emotions constantly, sound familiar?

Semi-domesticated wolves were able to keep watch for predators, help early humans hunt, defend territory, and eventually play and provide some emotional currency which is essential for mammalian well-being.

This give and take symbiosis is the stuff of ecological niches that have a mutuality of win-win, and makes both parties stronger, smarter, and better all the way round. So our relationship with dogs is an example of what we’re capable of in terms of healthy relationships. Unfortunately, we don’t do so well with our own species, but our relationships with dogs can certainly serve as a reference for loving and getting along.

                                                    Knowing Another

                                  

                “The difficult task of knowing another’s soul is not for young gentlemen, whose consciousness is chiefly made up of their own wishes.”

                                        (from the Book Middlemarch)

One of the recurrent themes in my writing is the idea of knowing another. This quote sums up nicely the difficulty, as well as the chief obstacle of knowing another, which is our own ego. Dogs are good examples of almost ego-less beings, they certainly have their boundaries, pride, and dignity, but generally, they don’t have the pretense that the human ego does and hence are so very much themselves, which makes them so lovable and attractive to us.

When you give the time and energy to really know another, whether it’s a dog, a person, a tree, a book, etc., you are literally experiencing ecstasy, which is to be outside yourself.

My own journey has been a journey of self-discovery through compensating for my lack of a sense of self. Because I didn’t have a strong sense of self, I explored and took on other perspectives from a very early age. I developed a vivid imagination as a child, threw myself into books, movies, fantasy of all kinds, took on an entertaining, heroic, intellectual, athletic, comedic role, and of course, I had my dogs.

One time I was tripping on mushrooms, and my black lab Sophie ‘knew’ I was in a different state. She approached me inquisitively and playfully, and I felt she was pulling me down and into her world, so I followed her down on all fours, face to face, being at her level, and entering how she thought, felt, and moved as a dog. She was delighted and a little taken aback by how open and willing I was to enter her world, but she quickly made the best of it as if her best canine friend had suddenly shown up ready for play!

We played chase, hide ‘n seek, tug of war, and pretend fighting, all with a reckless abandon that engendered the trust and encouragement of the other.

Play is the operative word here, for that is the predominant mode I would describe, as well as a loving connection. But when you’re truly, spontaneously playing with another, you automatically have a loving connection.

I felt truly part of a pack, even though we were only two, I could imagine belonging and being held in a larger pack. We both gave ourselves over to the other, over to the play, over to the spontaneity of the moment, and it was blissful! I felt Sophie was excited and honored to have me as a guest in her world and that she felt seen and contacted.

                                                          Therapy

            

                      

The word therapy comes from the Greek therapos which means “to care for.” So dogs, are naturally therapeutic because if there’s one thing they care about its caring! Dogs care about food, play, love, going for a walk, a ride, and chasing squirrels. They are present at the moment they are about to jump in water, get a treat, or fetch, and they are completely alive in their caring.

Dogs are attentive and present in the moment, and this, by definition, is caring. Caring is not figuring out what to do or say, or how many times I fluff your pillow, caring is being open and willing to hear, see, touch, and make contact with a person place or thing, and see it for what it is, and to respond appropriately. Buddhist’s define this asright action, right thought, right meditation, etc. 

Unfortunately, people trained in the caring, “helping” professions, like psychotherapy, are conditioned to believe that caring means; thinking, problem solving, analyzing, talking, doing, and efforting. All this does, a lot of time, is get in the way. People like Carl Rogers, and Rollo May wrote a lot about things like unconditional positive regard and the person-hood of the therapist being the most therapeutic.

For people that are able to communicate with animals and nature, they know there’s a whole lot more to contacting another than talking or thinking. Animal whisperers of all kinds talk about non-verbal communication.

“Animals communicate regularly through telepathy.  It is the most basic form of communication, an ability we are all born with.  As humans, we learn to rely on verbal communication and our telepathic skills are pushed aside and become rusty.  Like a muscle, unless used regularly, these skills become weak and inefficient.  Humans, given the proper mindset and training, have the ability to communicate telepathically with all species.”

                           

Being therapeutic is about learning to pay attention to the right cues. When we were early on in our evolution, not paying attention to the right cues could mean death, but as we became more and more ‘civilized’ we have essentially lost the ability to attend to the most basic kinds of cues both internally and externally. These cues include things like; knowing when we’re hungry, full, tired, horny, threatened, safe, connected, and understood.

There are constant cues given and received between and among all species, but humans have learned to not pay attention to relevant cues and to pay attention to all the wrong cues, like text messages and tweets.

                                                                                                               

                               

Dogs are able to attend to human cues that we are becoming alienated from, so they can attend to human emotion, fear, loneliness, depression, and anxiety, they can even smell disease!

                                     

Our beloved Cocker Spaniel Joey (R.I.P.), was a therapy dog who was my wing man during psychotherapy sessions. He would sit on the couch with the client and put his paw on their shoulder when they would cry, or look at me in a poignant moment to provide reassurance, humor, and comfort.

He brought the raw, vulnerable, and exquisite sense of being alive to the sessions, and no matter how difficult and tense people’s suffering was, he offered a simple, kind, and loving presence. I would definitely say he was more therapeutic than I was, but we were really a team.

I also took him to my team meetings at the office, and he sat in his own chair (sometimes on my lap), as a bonafide member of a 12 person/dog team. He helped break up the monotony and seriousness of the humans and would go under the table to remind us of important things like sniffing crotches, or begging for food. 

                                                         

       

                                             Dog Nature/Buddha Nature

In Buddhism, we are taught that everything has Buddha nature, which is the idea that the fundamental, essential quality of pure being is Buddha like, meaning it is enlightened, awake, transcendent and joyous.

Dogs embody Buddha nature, and we can learn from them if we are open. To allow yourself to see deeply into the eyes of a dog is to see the face of God, to see and feel the face of love. You can tell that they also see you, so there is a mutual recognition, and it is mysterious, because it is a completely different species, and yet there you both are in oneness! 

This is the meaning of the word Namaste, I recognize God within you, and I couldn’t recognize it if I weren’t the same divinity!