Call for responsibility

Your dog just reacts to the environment it is living in and the signals it is given. A dog speaks dog, not human. It is driven by instincts. We are also driven by our instincts for the most part but we can self-reflect. Meaning we can be conscious of our actions. When we are unconscious we react and are on auto-pilot so to speak. When we are conscious & awake to our experience we have a chance to respond. Mostly we tend to externalize our experience and react in an unconscious way to a situation. That is not taking responsibility for what is happening, eg. blaming your dog for a certain behavior.

If I have learned one thing in the many years of my inner and outer journey it is that my experience is entirely up to me. I am the only one who is responsible for my feelings, emotions and thoughts, and hence my experience of what is happening. It is my choice, and mine alone, how I respond to my present moment experience. It is me who decides (consciously or unconsciously) if I respond in a calm, compassionate, curious, open, relaxed way or if I respond in irritated, closed, frightened, angry, tense way. Or in short if I am accepting or rejecting what is happening. Now this is obviously easier with a good experience and way more difficult with a supposedly bad experience. But each time, each moment, it is my choice, my responsibility! And since I am more and more choosing to act from a calm, embracing, trusting place I have so much more ease, connection, laughter and joy in my life! A true blessing, of my own making.

What I suggest is that you join me and that we start with your dog. If you embrace interacting with your dog from a calm, confident, consistent and clear place you will give your dog what it needs automatically – which is appropriate leadership and thus structure.  So that your dog can asses our world through you. So it is easy for your pooch to relax by entrusting you with all the decision making incl. all the responsibility. By practicing with your dog to be calm & clear on a daily basis you will inevitably cultivate a more and more relaxed and confident space within yourself.

And I can guarantee you that this attitude, this way of being, will overflow into other areas of your life – bringing you more connection, ease and joy. A LOT is possible – and this is an understatement. But this can only happen if we learn to take full responsibility. Which is is exactly why we don’t take on fixing other peoples dogs for them. It is about empowering dog owners to the job and to do it well!

It should be obvious by now that it does not solve anything to blame your dog for a certain behavior. Sure, you can do it, but this is NOT taking responsibility. In the same way complaining about the weather, politicians, colleagues, our partner etc. or making them wrong is making them responsible for what you experience. In this way we are creating our own misery and suffering, but it is entirely up to each one of us how we feel or deal with things! What is needed is courage and determination to stand up and take responsibility! So lets start at home, with your dog! You will never look back!

If you are courageous you might want to share a way or situation where you did / are not taking responsibility.