Reclaiming Dominion

We have dominion over this - the rocks, the grasses, the stump and the tiny seedling bringing forth new life.

When you see the word dominion, I want you to think of a benevolent king in every true sense of the word. He rules his country by the grace of his people. He is given dominion over his kingdom and all the people in it. The welfare of those people and the operation of that kingdom, to the best interests of the people living there, is an enormous responsibility. Do not ever take dominion out of that context. … The planet is your home, your kingdom and your responsibility. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Humanity – June, 2009)

I heard many stories this past weekend during an animal communication workshop that touched my heart deeply. Each in its own way reflects how we relate to our animal companions: we either aim to dominate and control or we embrace the benevolence of dominion and partner with them.

One story that particularly moved me was about how service dogs are trained (real service dogs not those who wear a vest purchased on Amazon and have little or no training … that's a story for another day). I learned that there are only three service dog training programs in the U.S. that use positive reinforcement methods. All of the others use prong collars and other methods to establish 'obedience'.

I learned about positive reinforcement training of animals from Cool Hand Luke and his amazing foster human. He reminded me daily that teaching him what behavior was desired and rewarding that behavior created partnership. It felt like what I think of as dominion. I was the leader of our pack from a benevolent, caring place not from command, control, and obey or else. To this day, I'm known as 'the treat lady' by all the canines whose paths I've crossed.

It saddens me that our culture embraces domination, control over by whatever means necessary rather than the benevolent dominion intended for our administration and care of the planet.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Mahatma Gandhi

We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. Immanuel Kant

Of course, we do this not just with animals, but with one another, indeed with all of nature. We abandon dominion for what we believe is the safety and protection of domination. We power over rather than partnering with.

Even dictionaries don't recognize this important distinction. They consider dominion and domination to be synonyms. I think it's time we shift and embrace a different context consistent with and restoring the love and care that, I believe, God (the Universe, Source) intended when we humans were created.

I'm not a student of history or a biblical scholar, but in observing how we operate on and administer the planet, it seems that somewhere along the way, we lost the benevolence of dominion and turned toward domination, control, competition, winners and losers. We forgot that we are not separate from one another or any of the aspects of nature that we exist in.

It's time to remember. It's time for a new understanding and to restore benevolence to our dominion. In embracing dominion we know that separation is an illusion. We are not separate from one another no matter our cultural or geographic roots. We are not separate from the animal companions in our care and in service to us or from those that roam the wild, fly in the sky, and swim rivers, lakes and seas.

We are not separate from the plants in our homes, the flowers and trees in our yards, or from those grasses and trees that grow on the plains, in the mountains and the valleys from sea to shining sea. All is in our care. And, we are in the care of one another. That is the free will of dominion that we were given. Learning to do so with the benevolence of a monarch is perhaps our greatest challenge and opportunity to fulfill. Not solely for ourselves individually (that's the path of domination), but for the whole of which we are each an integral part.

Dominion, partnership, care … CHLS on the ridge waiting for his human.

Participant AND Observer: YOU!

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

When you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night, you are in some kind of an event. Every one of those events produces some kind of information in bits and pieces. It is to your advantage to become an observer and a participant. At first that is a real juggling act, but you will find the wisdom you search for as you practice participating and observing. … To willingly accept living in the world with the energy expended and the returns received is very important. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: In Search of Wisdom  – September, 2010)

We live in search of wisdom. Yep. The purpose of life is this: adding to and building upon the wisdom that we brought into this life in this body at this time. There you have it. Now you can breathe. The mystery of all mysteries is solved. No more searching for the purpose of life. Whew!

Yet, within that mystery of mysteries, are the questions that rise on our unique and individual quest: WHAT am I here to learn? HOW will I learn it?  At the same time we explore these questions, the body’s survival depends on our participation in life – money, careers/jobs, relationships, home, health, mobility, community, recreation, creative outlets, etc.  And, our body couldn’t care less about wisdom (learning is not its job – survival is!).  

The body’s job is to participate in these activities of life. It does so, mostly willingly, when we feed it, rest it, and give our body the care that it needs. The body is like a car – it requires fuel and needs its systems to be well maintained so that it can function properly.

Your body is the vehicle consciousness uses to get you around town from one event to another.

Gregge Tiffen

And, that takes us to engaging consciousness, as the observer. Knowledge, learning and the wisdom that’s distilled from our participation requires that we observe as well as participate. The awareness that comes from observation supports us to adjust, adapt, and learn. We carry that learning forward as we’re guided to the next event.

When we participate rotely, without observation and awareness, we don’t learn. We may even put ourselves and others at risk. Who among us hasn’t suddenly found ourselves at our destination and not remembered stopping at the stop signs along the way? Yet that very awareness is an act of observing (and hopefully a reminder to be more mindful of our drive next time).

As the participant in an event, we engage in ‘doing’ the event. As the observer, we bring awareness and our ‘being’ to that event. With practice we can expand our capacity to observe concurrent with participating. Call it awareness, mindfulness – whatever you choose – it is through observation that we learn. And our learning puts us at choice.  

Sometimes it’s simple: I observe that I’m not enjoying or benefiting from an event. I draw that conclusion from observing that noticing some form of physical discomfort or that I’m antsy or not paying attention, etc. From that awareness, I can choose whether or not to continue, and perhaps shift my perspective. Absent observation, I complete the event, end up in a cranky mood or exhausted, and wonder why I feel so bad.

From participating in and observing our experiences we learn, we adapt, we grow. Wisdom from the knowledge gained in the events and experiences of life is what we are here to attain. It is all we take with us when we leave this vehicle behind, continue our journey in the unseen realm, and carry with us wherever we go into infinity and beyond. What could be a more awesome return on your energy investment than THAT? 

What will you practice observing as you participate this week?

First hints of fall - the leaves they are a changing on this hazy fall morning.

The Will to Choose

Early morning moon over the San Luis Valley

… will is developed out of the analytical process through which you begin to understand what you want to do with your consciousness at any given point in your experience. Gregge Tiffen (The Language of a Mystic: Awareness – July, 2009)

Will I or will I not? Do I want to? Or, not? Such is the seesaw I’ve ridden this week over what I assess should be a simple decision.

I’ve made far bigger and seemingly more consequential decisions in my life with much less vacillation and much more clarity. What was stopping me? Or better asked: how was I stopping myself?

In the back and forth of my pros and cons, I’d missed a step, an important, perhaps the important question: What do I want to do with my consciousness?  Above and beyond ‘do I want to?’ ‘do I need to?’ ‘what is the cost?’ questions, I wasn’t analyzing the choice from the perspective of my consciousness, the potential to learn and grow.

I wasn’t considering the bigger picture of flow and opportunity that is ongoing in the pure nature of consciousness. I’d forgotten to apply a fundamental truth: consciousness doesn’t discern right or wrong in our choices, it only moves to the next sequential step.

When I framed the decision in terms of how I wanted to engage my consciousness, I began to feel a shift, lightness, accompanied by a willingness to look more deeply. I had a sense of opportunity and possibility. After steering myself away from attaching to a particular outcome, I took a deeper dive. I wanted to know what was in the way of making this choice, of exercising my will and moving on, letting the chips fall where they may whatever my decision.

On that dive I found a couple of related emotions: fear and sadness. I feared that what I might discover by participating would evoke sadness. At the same time, I feared that if I didn’t participate, I would miss an opportunity to discover something new about myself, about life. Or worse, that I would put myself out of sync with the flow of energy.

I was clear that saying ‘yes’ was the path I wanted to choose, but I hesitated … not vacillating all the way back to ‘no’ but honoring a niggle of doubt that wanted to be heard. Another dive revealed that I wanted a guarantee about the outcome. What? That one again! I thought THAT was conquered. Where have you gone curiosity? Re-enter please!

And, so my answer is YES!  I’m trusting that my indecision was just a part of the path to evoking divine timing and not a delay that upsets an unfolding cycle.  Consciousness and will exercised and engaged. Curiosity restored. Onward!

Cool Hand Luke loves being out early as the sun peeks over the peaks!

Passion, Consciousness, Life

In the Woods with Cool Hand Luke

Little children listen to consciousness before the age of five, and they are passionate about a lot of things. They have not developed the personality of restrictions. We need to make this a way of life, not just something that comes around every twenty or thirty years. Gregge Tiffen (The Journey Continues: Sex, Lies, and Assumptions – June, 2010)

 Yesterday morning a curious stream of consciousness emerged when pen met paper during my journaling time.

Activism starts in the heart

Nothing to prove

Only conviction to express

With art.

Art.

The art of living

Full out

Not busy

Engaged

As your unique

Expression of the divine.

Wisdom.

Live wisely.

Only you know the meaning

To you, for you, of YOU

Revealing herself

In events

Around every corner

Opportunities to awaken.

Be present

Gifting self

Gifting others

Your gifts to life.

 Hmm, I thought as the stream ended. I smiled. Although I was curious about its meaning for me now, I set my journal aside and headed out for my early morning walk with Cool Hand Luke.  I had a vague sense that the stream might be intended for this week’s post, but no clarity until this morning when I picked up one of Gregge’s booklets in search of inspiration and direction.

 It opened not to page 1, but to the page that began with the quote above. The page ended with this additional wisdom from Gregge: Consciousness recognizes Life not society. It recognizes that knowledge is not hidden under rocks, but is right there in front of you. All you have to do is to see It, study It, and learn from It. I’d found meaning along with inspiration and direction.

 Ah, living a life guided by consciousness and passion, not by the world’s standards and demands. How do we do that? We wake up. We break free of the ‘personality of restrictions’ that those standards and demands try to impose. We discover our values and live in alignment with them. We examine our beliefs and let go of those formed by limitation, replacing them with an understanding that we live in an abundant Universe. We make choices and practice ways of being that are aligned with our beliefs and values.  We experiment. We observe. We experiment again.

 And, as we do these things, our faith deepens. We live more at ease; artful, perhaps. We discover the many faces of passion from quietly hugging a tree or enjoying a stream’s gentle burbling to marching on the front lines of change for causes our heart cares about. We hear consciousness speak quietly above the roar of the crowd. We embrace life with passionate abandon and put the ‘personality of restrictions’ in its proper place as a vague, shadowy relic of where we’ve been on this journey of life. We live! 

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver

Burbling Cottonwood Creek