Practising Relaxation

One of the most important things I have to do when I visit a dog on a consultation is change the way the human is thinking. Whether the human is suffering from depression, anxiety, frustration or anger, I help to change their emotions from unbalanced to balanced.  Without this the dog will not change.

The techniques I teach work on anyone, regardless of whether they have a dog or not.  My Sister, Marie, is a classic example. She doesnʼt have a dog, but she has taken my teachings on board and her life has changed dramatically. Marie now wakes up each day and looks forward to life in a way that is a joy to witness. 

So whether you have a dog or not, you may be worrying about certain situations on a daily basis. It could be money worries, job worries, relationship worries. Whatever it is, why not come with me on a journey of balance. If your sceptical, fine, but just give me seven days to convince you that you can achieve balance. I was raised on a council estate in South London and grew up in and around violence, so I am living proof that no matter what your background, this will work. In order for it to work you need to give it a try. You need to actually do it. What have you got to lose? Nothing. So lets go!

I mentioned in one of my recent articles how we should follow the wisdom of a dog.  There are four steps. They are big steps, but ones that will give you peace and joy.

The first is to let go of your ego. Your ego is so damaging, not just to yourself but to others around you. Itʼs the ʻIm right and your wrongʼ mentality. Itʼs the thinking that you have to out do people. It makes you feel that it is you against the rest of the world.  Let it go! It is the main cause of misery in humans. 

The second step is forgiveness. By not forgiving this just does one thing and one thing only to you. It makes you a bitter human being. Furthermore it bolsters your ego. The last thing your ego wants you to do is forgive.

Third, live in the moment. Donʼt sit there thinking of the past or the future. Donʼt hold on to things that have hurt you in the past and definitely donʼt look to the future with uncertainty or fear. Life is a holiday and who knows whether you have twenty minutes, twenty hours, twenty days, or twenty years left. 

The fourth step is important. It is just as important as the others but it is the glue that holds it all together. Itʼs the foundation of what will keep you on the road which only people filled with peace and joy walk. Itʼs called calm. You have to be calm. But calm is an emotion you canʼt just wake up one day and promise you will be. You have to work at it and nurture it. 

How you do that is simple. Every morning and every evening you give yourself ten minutes of relaxation. By relaxation, I donʼt mean reading a book or viewing your favourite TV show. What I am asking you to do is so simple that most humans have great difficulty doing it. I am asking you to STOP THINKING.   To shut the mind down, as you would a computer and close your eyes twice each day, with no interruptions, such as mobile phones, radios or human chitter chatter.   Just sit there in silence with no worries or anxieties. Think of nothing.

At first you will find that thoughts invade your mind, but you will also notice the more you do it the less the thoughts arrive. Also donʼt try too hard at stopping any thoughts from entering your mind. The harder you try to stop any thoughts, the more there will be, so just relax. If thoughts arise just imagine them as waves under a peaceful still ocean. 

What you will then find is that by practicing this relaxation technique twice a day, you will not want to have your new found peace broken by ego. You also wonʼt want it broken by disagreements so will find yourself forgiving more. By living in the moment and not the past or the future, well that one is just addictive! Finally by practicing your twenty minutes of calm each day, you will find that this erases the knot or tight sensation in your solar plexus and is replaced by a calm feeling of content.

Your twenty minutes of relaxation each day can be sitting in silence or can also be a guided meditation, which you can obtain on CDʼS or through the internet. You will find yourself not losing your temper or getting frustrated as you maybe once did. This positive aspect will happen because you are now storing calm. You must remember that the mind was always designed to be ʻswitched offʼ at times, but few humans ever do this. 

Sometimes, when I look into a dogs eyes I know that they are witnessing and trying to digest the same craziness I try to on a daily basis and that craziness is this.  Humans are concerned with the way they look, so they go to a gym to get a better physique, or they are concerned with their hairstyle so they go to a salon and get their hair cut or coloured. They are concerned with the clothes they buy, so they go shopping for the latest fashions. They want the better car, and get it they will. They want the ʻideal partnerʼ so they go in search of them as a hunter would itʼs prey. But how many humans look after or nurture the most important thing about them? Their mind.  

As you will know by now, my teachers are not human. My teachers are dogs. They have taught me all I write on these pages.

When I visit clients houses and turn their dogs emotions from aggression to calm, the client sometimes shower me with high levels of praise.  That praise should not be aimed at me. It should be aimed at dogs.

Because I am just practicing what they taught me. I am just the messenger.