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.