Lessons from the Wise Ones- the Furry Sages.
My dear and wise friend Nina always says: Dogs hold the Key to the Universe. I completely agree with her. The articles you find in Zen From the Den are submitted to Paws4Bliss by canine zen-masters and wet nosed meditation experts alike. Read on and find where our furry friends can lead us if we are willing to listen and follow in their tracks.
Release Your Inner Bark
The article for this month's newsletter has been submitted by Coco , Sangavasini's canine companion. Coco would like to share some insights with you.
“Hello everyone, my name is Coco. Sangavasini has asked me if I can write something for the newsletter, and I am very happy to do that. She asked me something really weird. She asked: “If you could talk, what would you say?”. I was not sure why she said that. What do you mean, if I could talk? I always talk, it is just that sometimes people don't really listen. So I have to talk louder, that's all. When we go to the dog park, people often think that I am angry but I am not- I just LOVE to talk! I am so happy that we are in the park that I want everybody to know. I know that sometimes people are a bit scared to say what they want. My advise is: whatever it is that your heart wants to sing about, unleash and let it out! No matter how many times you've been told not to. Let the world hear your voice! Just allow your inner bark to be heard. In whatever way that ‘inner bark' wants to come out: singing, dancing, poetry, music, painting, or whatever else – just enjoy your expression. Know that you have something beautiful to offer to the world which the world would be deprived of if you keep quiet. You are unique, and so is your expression!”
Thank you for your wisdom, Coco! Coco's wisdom is reflected by a beautiful poem by Chief Dan George:
If you talk to the animals
They will talk with you
And you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them,
You will not know them,
And what you do now know
You will fear.
What one fears one destroys.
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Making a Difference One Step at the Time
This section of the newsletter was inspired during a walk with Coco out in nature. I looked at the footprints she had left on the ground. “This is all she leaves behind”, I thought. Looking around at the trash on the ground I noticed the ‘footprints’ that humans had left. I was wondering how we can reduce these artificial foot prints so we only leave ones like Coco did. As I was picking up the trash I realized that taking pawsitive action is part of this. In Footprints you will find ways of how we can make a difference in the world through taking action with awareness. As Einstein said so beautifully: “A problem can never be solved with the same mind that created it in the first place”. The awareness part plays an equally important role as the action part – unconscious behavior like judgement is just part of the problem and will not solve it. We have to apply both: action and awareness and take responsibility to find creative solutions. You make a difference, whether you believe it or not. Let us all make it a pawsitive difference!
We all live in on planet Earth. We can increase our impact through joined efforts. Let’s join hands in creating a civilization of peace through community.
Following is an article about an experience that I had last year in the fall. Enjoy!
Life is…A Walk in the Park
Being out in nature is a huge source of inspiration for me. Walking my dog Coco each day in and around the Bragg Creek area is such a gift and wondrous adventure. Sometimes it might take a little while, but soon enough my whole being is drawn into nature's immovable silence. It is a silent place in myself that I'm being drawn into. This gentle, peaceful, unconditional silence that is always there, like a beloved patiently waiting for my busy mind to rest and for me to come home. Silent and yet so full of life, vibrant, a pool of inspiration where infinite creativity springs from. A place where everything is so clear, where even the biggest challenges are perceived as opportunities for growth and expansion verses them being a problem. Yesterday early morning I was walking through the fall scenery, bathing in dazzling colors and scents, and experienced an inspirational walk.
As I walked along the road towards the park, I saw a styrofoam container with remnants of food in it, lying on the ground. As I saw this my ‘inner re-cyclist' started to fume, while in the mean time Coco ran up to it and started to lick up the food that was in there. Immediately I saw how the same styrofoam container caused two opposite reactions in both me and Coco: me being resistant to what was in the moment, and Coco taking the opportunity to have a great experience. Both of us were not aware of our reactions in that moment – we both were simply in the flow of it until I had my “aha” moment and became the observer. I started laughing and realized how the same experience can either be a problem or an opportunity, depending on how we experience it. That we, as human beings, have a choice once we become aware of it.
Later on in the walk I paused to look at a beautiful tree. The leaves were painted various dazzling fall colors and were all in different stages of being let go of. Some of them were slowly falling down, carried by the gentle breeze until they softly landed on the forest floor. Some of the leaves that were still attached to the tree were yellow mixed with brown and green. I realized that us human beings are like these leaves: all in a certain stage of experiencing life (or life experiencing itself as leaves in different stages, depending on how we look at it J ), yet all part of the same tree. When we experience ourselves as individual leaves we don't feel or know that we are part of the same tree. Even when it comes to spirituality, us human beings tend to compare ourselves with others, checking in where we are at in our spiritual growth. We might think things like: I am more advanced then he is, but she is way ahead of me. And…oh my God, that person still has a long ways to go! Simply by looking at the tree I watched how even though we are part of the whole, we do have an individual experience until we realize our oneness in our beingness (not just as a concept).
Life is such an incredible journey. When we are caught up in resistance, judgment and comparison we miss out on the beauty and spontaneity of the flow of life. When we notice the judgment and resistance, we are in the flow and start to live life to the fullest. From here we can turn any challenge from a problem into an opportunity for expansion and growth. It is our choice. Enjoy each moment. Life's a journey, not a destination.
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In the Spotlight: Cynthia and Rascal
Sharing the bliss by sharing your tails
The tail for this newsletter is shared by Cynthia. I am so thankful that she has shared this beautiful story about the lessons her dog Rascal has taught her. So touching and I am sure that like me, many of you will recognise what Cynthia expresses. Thank you for sharing, Cynthia!
“For many years I worked for the Catholic Church. I occasionally scheduled a particular priest from India as a speaker, as his specialty was meditation, and he always began by saying it was necessary to observe without forming an opinion. Kinda Zen-like. I, for one, could never do it – if I observed that the night was dark, I always had an opinion about the darkness.
Then along came Rascal (the Scientific Puppy, for you old-timers). Rascal, with his myriad of physical deformities, who never once let them slow him down. Rascal obviously observed his physical deformities (“My 4 legs are 4 different lengths.”), but he NEVER formed an opinion about that. He never babied himself or watched from the sidelines while the other dogs did something. He frequently was the leader in the group – usually on those endeavors which involved getting into trouble. And he died – hit by a car – as he lived: with a smile on his face.
As the years go on since he went to the bridge (we are just days past the 6th anniversary), I have more and more difficulty remembering how to live like Rascal. Here at Ground Zero of the automotive holocaust, it is hard to observe without forming an opinion…an opinion which then determines my mood. Rascal would wake up in the morning, stretch, and get on with his Rascal Day – eating, sleeping, playing, and just BEING. Because what Rascal “knew” – that I struggle with – is that all else was out of his control, so why waste emotional energy on it.
Ah Rascal! How I miss you and your wisdom!!!!!
Cynthia and Manley”
Do you have an inspiring story like this one that you would like to share in this newsletter? We at Paws4Bliss would love to hear from you! Please e-mail your story to unleash@paws4bliss.com
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Book of the Month
Guardians of Being
By Eckhart Tolle
This wonderfully unique collaboration brings together two masters of their fields, joining original words by spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle with delightful illustrations by Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the acclaimed comic strip MUTTS. Every heartwarming page provokes thought, insight, and smiling reverence for all beings and each moment.
More than a collection of witty and charming drawings, the marriage of Patrick McDonnell's art and Eckhart Tolle's words conveys a profound love of nature, of animals, of humans, of all life-forms. Guardians of Being celebrates and reminds us of not only the oneness of all life but also the wonder and joy to be found in the present moment, amid the beauty we sometimes forget to notice all around us.
Click here to purchase "Guardians of Being" from The Divine Mine online store.
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CD of the Month
Through a Dog's Ear: Music to Calm Your Canine Companion
By Joshua Leeds
If your dog whimpers during a thunderstorm, freaks out when meeting new people, or barks when you leave him at home, now you have a tool to help — without resorting to sedatives. Music to Calm Your Canine Companion is the first CD in a new series of music clinically demonstrated to deeply relax dogs. Based on pioneering research into how the canine nervous system responds to sound, psychoacoustic expert Joshua Leeds and concert pianist Lisa Spector have created music that is twice as effective as conventional classical selections for reduction of canine anxiety behaviors. Research conducted with 150 dogs showed that the psychoacoustically designed classical piano arrangements on this CD induced calmness in 70 percent of dogs in shelters or kennels and 85 percent of dogs in households. Through a Dog’s Ear brings you gentle and timeless music that you can enjoy with your furry companion — and, most important, will help your “best friend” live a happier and healthier life.
Click here to purchase "Through a Dog's Ear" from The Divine Mine online store.
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