Yesterday, Learning from Dogs published a Post about Ricochet, the surfing dog.
Ricochet - follow this dog!
I was delighted to receive a ‘reply’ from this wonderful canine which is reproduced in full here.
Thank you for posting about my work. It really helps raise awareness of my causes, and I appreciate it!
Here is the latest video of me & little Ian with the brain injury. He experienced a huge milestone in this video, during the session. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iIv5t2qKL4
Indeed, I have to offer my thanks for the reply from Ricochet because my travels over the last few days made it impossible to keep the Blog posts running. This reply, turned into a Post, prevented a day being missed which, if it would have happened, would have been the first missed day since the Blog started on July 15th, 2009!
This story has spread far and wide but, nonetheless, deserves a Post on Learning from Dogs because it is the essence of what dogs offer the world – unconditional love.
To gain the trust of a dog and enter the special relationship that humans have with dogs is to understand the significance of taking people at their face value and expect nothing in return, as dogs do.
Ricochet was born as a service dog and entered into the appropriate training. But there was a hic-cup in her learning, fortuitous as it happened and …. no, that’s enough from me. Watch it yourself ….
Now take a few minutes and understand what Ricochet and Ian McFarland demonstrated to the world.
The Center for the Advancement of Steady State Economy
My post published a short while ago contained a contribution from Carla. This, in part, is what she said:
We have to try to work constructively for change. I keep urging people to check out the potential for an economy based not on constant growth, which is impossible on a finite planet, but on some sane principles of equity and sustainability.
If you go to http://www.steadystate.org and look at their position statement, you can see that people from all over the world are signing on–yes, just three or four people a day–but they are from every continent and just about every country.
Now, can you help this “go viral”?
I spent sufficiently long at the CASSE website to be comfortable that it is well worth supporting. Here are the members of the Executive Board. Here are the staff and here are their advisors. Here’s their Mission:
The mission of CASSE is to advance the steady state economy, with stabilized population and consumption, as a policy goal with widespread public support. We pursue this mission by:
educating citizens, organizations, and policy makers on the conflict between economic growth and (1) environmental protection, (2) ecological and economic sustainability, and (3) national security and international stability;
promoting the steady state economy as a desirable alternative to economic growth;
studying the means to establish a steady state economy.
Even if you don’t want to make a financial subscription to CASSE you can still register your support. Here is their Position Statement:
The CASSE position sets the record straight on the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are just three powerful examples. And how will the next generation find jobs when the planet can’t support our overgrown economy? The CASSE position calls for a desirable solution – a steady state economy with stabilized population and consumption – beginning in the wealthiest nations and not with extremist tactics. Join the likes of E. O. Wilson, Jane Goodall, and David Suzuki; fill in the information below to sign the position and support a healthy, sustainable economy.
Go for it. After all, one of the definitions of madness is to continue doing the same thing and expect a different result.
A couple of things happened today (written on the 2nd) that reminded me, once again, of the number one lesson that we can learn from dogs, that of quietly and peacefully enjoying now!
The first was a call with a close family member who has been over-stressed for months with a very sick father and juggling very demanding work pressures. R. took a couple of days off, 5 weeks ago, and immediately went down with a severe case of gastric flu, putting her to bed for 4 weeks!
Leo Babauta
See how her body demanded some ‘peace‘ as soon as it could get a wedge into her otherwise manic life!
Then later on I was trawling a few web sites and came back to Zen Habits, a beautiful Blog published by Leo Babauta. His latest Post was called simply
It’s a busy day, and you’re inundated by non-stop emails, text messages, phone calls, instant message requests, notifications, interruptions of all kinds.
The noise of the world is a dull roar that pervades every second of your life. It’s a rush of activity, a drain on your energy, a pull on your attention, until you no longer have the energy to pay attention or take action.
It’s an illness, this noise, this rush. It can literally make us sick. We become stressed, depressed, fat, burnt out, slain by the slings and arrows of technology.
The cure is simple: it’s stillness.
Now go and read the full article, not for Leo’s sake, nor for my sake. No, read it for your own sake.
And with no apologies to those regular readers of Learning from Dogs, who will have seen this picture before, look deep into this face below.
A Guest Post from Daniela Caride. Daniela writes the Blog The Daily Tail
Something about being a dog dazzles me. Maybe it’s the freedom. Dogs don’t care what others think of them. They do whatever pleases them most without guilt or worries.
This morning, it became so clear to me. My walk around Fresh Pond Reservation in Cambridge didn’t feel very pleasant. I was worried about my mother’s persistent headache.
Today promised to be the hottest day of the summer, and the heat was not helping my mood. It was only 9 a.m., and I was already convinced something had changed in our constellation, and the sun was about to barbeque the Earth.
But my dogs, Frieda, Geppetto and Lola, were oblivious to anything going on outside Fresh Pond. They trotted happily to the doggie pond awaiting them less than a mile away, stopping only to sniff around and greet other dogs.
At the pond, they refreshed themselves in the water, not minding that the water gets dirtier as the summer wears on. They love that stinky pond, from the day the ice starts cracking and we can finally see our reflections in the moving water, to the beginning of winter when the water turns into ice again.
We completed our lap and approached my car, parked in front of a huge grassy area, where dogs are not allowed. One
Dog days!
of the landscaping employees was testing the park’s brand new lawn sprinklers. He turned them on and watched as half a dozen sprinklers soaked the grass.
Geppetto ran toward the spinning sprinklers, ignoring leash laws, of course. He was dying for a sip. The water flowed so strong that Geppetto had to close his eyes when trying to get the spray into his mouth again and again.
Frieda and Lola followed him, first exploring the artificial rain until they felt comfortable enough to play beneath it. Soon they were romping under the sun without feeling the effects of the boiling heat.
I watched the beauty of that canine dance with envy. My dogs were free, living the moment, unfettered of any concern. Then I asked myself why we humans don’t act more like them, especially in situations like this, in which no harm would be done.
Geppetto and Daniela
First, I went into one of the sprinklers, wetting my hair and face. Then another sprinkler surprised me, showering me head to toe with a refreshing jet. I raised my arms to let the water reach the rest of my body.
Park regulars watched their dogs and me from careful distance, not wanting to get wet. I didn’t care any more. I felt whole.
Although I have only seen a trailer for this film, I watched the interviews and excerpts Paul has linked in this article and found them very moving.
In these days of uncertainty and fear it is heartening to see and read about a relationship founded on unconditional love.
It signifies to me that it is the quality of our relationships that makes the difference in life, not material possessions – and then how we go about finding more examples of these in our everyday lives.
Jon Lavin
This is all about Trust
The prompt for writing this particular Post was the other evening Jean and I watched the film The Soloist. I’ll come on to that later.
Before I do, I want to look at another aspect of learning from dogs; that is the question of trust. We have so much to learn from dogs with regard to trust.
Because dogs spend so much of their time living in the present, just being a dog in the ‘now’ moment as it were, they seem to be able to read another dog very quickly. Dogs don’t have ‘hidden agendas’.
You see we humans can be (and should be) as happy in the present as dogs are. But so often our fears, worries and concerns for the future hinder our ability to experience the present, to enjoy the NOW.
Look at the faces of others around you when you have a moment. (Or, indeed look at your own right now in the mirror.) Do you see a face serenely happy unencumbered with the past or the future? Rarely is my guess.
That’s why a dog can read another dog in micro-seconds and know everything about that other animal. There are no secrets – what you see is what you get.
Look at this picture.
Pharaoh and Poppy
This is Poppy (8 lbs/3.5 kg) picking up food droppings from Pharaoh (90 lbs/40 kg). In fact, within seconds of taking this picture, Poppy had pushed between Pharaoh’s front legs and put her face in the dish and started eating Pharaoh’s food, at which point Pharaoh went over the Poppy’s dish and started eating from there. (NB. Anyone that has dogs in their home will know how possessive they can be at feeding time.)
Immediately when Pharaoh met Poppy, when he and I ended up in Mexico in 2008, they instantly trusted each other. This is a beta level (second in status to the alpha, i.e. dominant) pure bred German Shepherd bonding with a Yorkie mix female dog that was found, hairless and starving, on a Mexican construction site – rescued by Jean after almost certainly being thrown out after she had made some Mexican a few pesos from selling her puppies.
Here’s another picture of these two:
Total trust!Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr in The Soloist
Now to the film. It wasn’t a blockbuster and didn’t get rave reviews but if viewed from the simple perspective of trust and friendship it delivers a powerful message that is beautifully compelling.
There’s an official trailer on YouTube here but the better review is this extract from the 60 Minutes programme below.
You need to watch this film to see how trust is built up, and out of that trust comes a wonderful friendship. But you will get a taste of the sheer beauty of this true story by this 12 minute YouTube video. Try and put aside these few minutes so you can watch this without interruption.
And here’s a link to another extract from the 60 Minutes programme concentrating on Mr Ayers playing his heart out.
If you want to read the column in the LA Times that Steve Lopez wrote in December 2004 about Mr Ayer’s Christmas present, just click here.
Finally, the film closes with these words from the actor who portrays Mr Lopez. Please read them to yourself, aloud if you can.
Points West by Steve Lopez
A year ago I met a man who was down on his luck and thought that I might be able to help him. I don’t know that I have. Yes, my friend Mr. Ayers now sleeps inside. He has a key, he has a bed, but his mental state and his well-being are as precarious now as they were the day we met.
There are people who tell me that I helped him, mental health experts who say that the simple act of being someone’s friend can change the brain chemistry, improve his functioning in the world.
I can’t speak for Mr Ayers in that regard, maybe our friendship has helped him, but maybe not.
I can however speak for myself. I can tell you that by witnessing Mr Ayers’ courage, his finality, his faith in the power of his art, I’ve earned the dignity of being loyal to something you believe in, holding on to him. Above all else, I believe him, without question that it will carry you home.
And now recall that when you were reading those words, you were totally and completely living in the present. Keep that feeling of grace close to you forever.
By living in the present, you offer yourself as a friend to the world.
The above is a popular catchphrase. It suggests that how we view something now is the product of all our experiences to date. It might apply to a book, play, TV programme or life itself.
But the truth may be very different, how we view the present moment may be more to do with shutting off all those previous experiences and just accepting the present as if we have been blind, dumb and deaf until this perfect moment of now.
That’s why what we have to learn from dogs is so important even though that ‘lesson’ may be just this single, very, very important aspect. Living in the now!
Here’s what is written on our Home Page post:
Dogs have so much to teach us. To an extent that’s difficult for humans to contemplate, they live in the present. Dogs just are!
They make the best of each moment uncluttered by the sorts of complex fears and feelings that we humans have.
Living in the present is not easy. Trust me, I’m only starting to practice this myself and maintaining a few seconds is a challenge!
But try it. Just let everything in your mind be replaced, just for a few moments, by NOW. That’s the sound of your breath woven into the sound of everything going on around you. Let all of those sounds just be a part of your awareness.
Be aware of touch. Feel what you are sitting on standing on. Feel the messages your fingers and hands are sending to your nervous system. Feel the bench, chair, ground or whatever is connecting your body in a physical sense to the world around you.
Hold a rock, a plant, a branch, anything real and be totally aware of the texture and feel of that object.
Smell the aromas entering your nose – just be aware of them.
And see with your eyes. Really see. See through your eyes with the innocence of eyes first opened.
Just hold this place of divine grace for a few moments.
You have just experienced true peace and your world will never be quite the same again.
In a recent article I discussed the fear of the unknown, linked to the down-turn, redundancies, etc.
Per Kurowski, a great supporter of this Blog, posed the following question.
Great advice… but how do we remove the fear of what is known?
A simple, and slightly flipant answer would be,
“Develop a different relationship with it.”
What I’m saying is that when we are facing the known, and I’m assuming that it’s something unpleasant, our choices are limited. It’s going to happen, so the only thing we can do is change the way we view it.
This brings us back full circle to developing a different relationship with it.
Let’s take the word, ‘fear’.
“All fear is an illusion, walk right through“. I heard Dr David Hawkins say on a CD. Granted, a great trick if you can do it!
Here’s another description of fear: Fear= False Evidence Appearing Real
Fear is generally future-based. We tend to use the past as a learning reference to inform us of what to be afraid of in the future. So human beings live their lives trying to predict and prepare for the future, limited by their past experiences.
Unfortunately, the only way to work with fear of the known is to live in the present! [Just like dogs! Ed.]
Our whole society is geared up to look into the future. We are forever worrying about or planning something for the future.
To begin focussing on the present, try this.
Simply, to start off, become aware of the breath and sensations in the body. This will slowly start to remind us to be present, or embodied, in our own body.
Fear
Problems, fear and spiral thinking, often at 3 or 4 in the morning, are generated in the mind.
Thoughts occur randomly, although we call them, “Our thoughts”, and refer to, “Our mind”.
By dropping out of the thought processes into awareness of the breath and body, the noise stops, even if only for a moment.
So very few people in the world will have even the slightest inkling what these words mean.
If more of us got used to coming out of the mind before making an important decision, and simply sat with the question for a while, the answer would probably present itself.
This will probably raise more questions than it answers but that’s not a bad thing.
I’m not sure exactly what the political leanings are of the Learning From Dogs readership — I would hope that a variety of viewpoints are represented — but I know that often communitarian philosophies are held in contempt in libertarian or free market circles because of their association with historical attempts at socialism and communism.
Regardless, I’d love to hear your thoughts, as it’s a philosophy I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. I write:
…I have to admit that one of the key flaws I see in communitarian political philosophies is not so much the non-cohesive nature of the doctrines themselves, but rather the level at which they are prescribed. If communitarianism was only applied at the local level, could it really survive without an element of voluntarism? I feel that capitalist leaning nation-states are begging the question in saying that ideologies like socialism don’t work, because they are assuming that they must be applied at the nation-state level.
This involves the idea that the strictness of economic laws tends to lessen as they move further away from large-scale application, so anti-communitarian claims like the lack of an adequate price mechanism and lack of adequate information tends to become less of a problem for local communities because the nature of economic communication changes as the distance between actors closes. It also involves the idea put forth by such philosophers as David Hume that human beings are naturally sociable creatures, and a communitarian system at the local level would be able to use this sociability to its advantage.
Wake Forest University has an interesting program at our fitness center where students can be trained by certified personal trainers at an extremely discounted rate. I have been doing this program for several months with a trainer named Antonina Whaples. Aside from being a full time student at the university, “Nina,” as her friends call her, has just launched her career as a a figure competitor. The whole process has exposed to me a side of the fitness world that I was not even really aware existed, but have found to be quite interesting.
Fitness world
Antonina recently competed in the National Physique Committee North Carolina State Championships, where she placed fifth — a very impressive feat for a first time competitor. However, the real story is not just the competition itself, but also the work that went in to prepare for such an event. Antonina’s diet, workouts, and lifestyle were all completely centered around this competition; it was dedication like I have rarely seen. Antonina talked about this in an April 12 interview with the blog Promoting Real Women:
My trainers Jill Coleman (diet), and Kimberley Coronel (weight training) were essential to my process. The quality of my diet came out on stage and I trust Jill 100%. I never cheated on her plan and I was super pleased with my results. I know that this next show I will come in even leaner and fuller. I wouldn’t be where I am at all without the creative genius of Kim. She has built my body rep by rep and is my rock. I am proud to say that she is both my trainer and friend, and one of my greatest inspirations. One of the biggest things that mattered to me show day was making her proud!
Antonina (Don't try this at home! Ed.)
Before the show, Nina also did a photoshoot. The pictures are really creative, and the fact that one of her majors is studio art really comes out. My personal favorite is the photo featuring black leather boots and a chainsaw as the accessories of choice.
There’s a saying among Antonina’s friends that she is “intense.” And if anyone has ever embodied the word “intense,” it certainly is Antonina Whaples.
Learning from Dogs 