There is more information now on human-dog relationship then ever before and its easier to access then ever. Most of the information is free.
Despite all this, human-dog relationship has never been in a worse predicament. For many dogs and people, the living situation is equivalent to a war zone; resulting in dogs being sent to a shelter and later executed.
Dog professionals (by that I mean dog trainers, TV personalities, authors, etc) are unable to relate certain type of information to their clients (dog owners and consumers of such information). Not because they (dog professionals) don’t want to but because they can’t. And not because they don’t know it but because they don’t see it.
Three researchers walk into a preschool. Stop me if you’ve heard this one...
Lepper, Greene and Nisbett; three renowned behavioral scientists conducted an experiment on preschoolers to see which kid would give up on what they love to do. The answer was surprising.
They identified children who choose to spend their free, unstructured play-time drawing. Then they divided those children into three groups
The Expected-Reward group - Kids knew they would receive a reward (a blue ribbon with their name on it)
The Unexpected-Reward group – Kids had no idea they would receive a reward but did.
The No-Reward group – Kids weren’t told about any rewards nor did they receive any
The kids painted, the scientists watched and rewards were given out (or not). And that was that. Or was it?
After two weeks, the scientists came back to secretly observe kids while teachers set out the paper and markers during free, unstructured play-time.
The kids who received an unexpected reward and the kids who didn’t receive any reward (groups 2 and 3) were still drawing with gusto. However, The kids who were told they would be rewarded (compensated) for their drawing efforts (kids in group 1) were now disinterested in painting since there was no incentive present.
Lesson?
Compensating someone for what they love to do is a sure-fire way of making them hate it (or at the very least they will stop doing it once the incentive is removed).
Two caveats.
We are all very motivated to perform in return for compensation, however, once a certain threshold is reached, additional compensation will not make a difference.
Only certain types of tasks land themselves nicely to incentivizing. We need to know the difference.
All mammalian behaviors can be divided into two broad categories. Algorithmic or heuristic.
Algorithmic activities are the kind that can be executed in specific, pre-defined sequence of steps. Filling out your taxes is a good example of an algorithmic activity. So is commanding your dog to sit, stay, roll over…whatever.
Heuristic activities are the kind that can’t be systematized. We can’t systematize a creation of a sculpture or a painting (and when we do, the art suffers). By the same token, it would be a mistake to try and systematize and/or incentivize a dog that is engaged in type of activities which require problem solving, flexibility, unpredictable environmental variables, and sustained self-motivation. Can you think of such environments?
Side note: For the economy buffs out there, which one of these two types of activities do you think is being outsourced to other countries with cheap(er) labor?
Bomb and drug sniffing dogs are a great example of canines engaging in heuristic type activities. Tracking, attack and protection dogs, etc. Also show dogs. While dog shows are somewhat systematized the dog still needs to be self-motivated and there is plenty of unknowables.
So how do you ensure you get sustained self-motivation from your dog? (or child, spouse, boss, subordinate…etc).
There is only one way. Make the process its own reward. How?
It starts by understanding what drives us (or the dog).
Barking (for example) is its own reward. It releases often pent-up energy and its fun (for the dog). Digging, chewing, biting, chasing, etc. Dogs engage in all of these activities without a visible incentive, and yet, dogs love it. Why?
Because dogs are just like those kids our behavioral scientists studied at the beginning of this post. Your job is to NOT stifle their desire. If you do, no amount of incentive will help.
From the dog’s perspective, click to treat a simple, single-motion, type command like sit, roll-over or similar. This is an algorithmic action. Simple, straight forward, 1,2,3 type of deal. Command, action, reward.
For more complex, heuristic behaviors, the process itself must be its own reward. Otherwise the dog (or human) will lose its drive and motivation.
I feel I’ve left many holes unplugged with this post but I will let you guys poke those and we’ll work on it together. I will leave you with this.
Here is something that came to me the other day that goes against the grain of every business and productivity expert and was inspired by the information in this post. See if you agree.
In my view, “goal setting” is fundamentally flawed. It emphasizes result over process. If you enjoy the process goals become automatic. Thoughts?
Much of our troubles with canines are caused by human lack of understanding of what drives a dog into a certain type of behavior.
But how are we suppose to know why another species, which can’t “talk” (at least not in a conventional sense which can be understood by most humans), is driven to act in ways which are not appreciated?
OK, that’s a fair point. But that point implies that humans understand what drives other humans; for that matter, that point certainly implies that an individual knows what drives and motivates our own selves. But do we?
Do we know what drives and motivates others and what drives and motivates our own selves?
Furthermore, if we don’t understand what drives humans are we to be trusted to figure out what motivates dogs?
For an in-depth analysis of this issue I feel I have to dip into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs once again, but I will spare you. If you would like to learn more about it, it’s here.
To somewhat simplify the point I will focus on two things.
Welcome to the second installment of the third and final branch of the Human-Dog Problem Tree
The Nature of Unbeginner's Mind (NoUM) - Part 2 of 3 (Part 1 can be found here)
Whats wrong with the army wanting to brute-force their way into your Beginner's Mind?
Nothing, except its done TO you. Its much more useful (to us) to engage in the process of our own volition. By engaging in the quest for the Beginner's Mind, we are able to apply it to things that matter to us. Conversely, when its done to us we are serving goals and agendas of other entities who's motives and intentions are unknown. To read a fascinating story of King David and Uriah the Hittite which makes this point very clear, check out this post.
Why do you want to destroy your UnBeginner's Mind? Its been serving you well so far, right? Isn't "knowing" things a good thing? Isn't taking our experience (or baggage?) with us into new situations a good thing?
It can be, but consider this. How many times have you heard a dog owner say "he (the dog) has never done that before, I dont know what came over him".
It sounds like someone went into the situation expecting an outcome that was based on some prior history of behavior. Doing this puts you at a disadvantage. Staying open, pliable, receptive and responsive to the circumstances is probably a better strategy. Dont you think?Besides, consider this.
There has never been a moment like the one you're in right now ever before in the history of the universe. And this moment will never ever repeat again. Ever.
So its stands to reason that each new moment is uhmm... new. Therefore you cant know that moment. Er go, you must stay open, pliable, receptive and responsive. You must be in the Beginner's state of mind. Of course, the dog owner example is only one example in the million examples we could pull from a single day of our lives. But I'll leave that part up to you.I hope you are now convinced that there is something to this "Beginner's Mind" business and that you might be wondering, hmmm...how do I acheive the Beginner's Mind? Glad you asked.
The good news is that you have already engaged your mind's Beginner state. Tho not by choice, but by default.When you were a kid, you started out knowing nothing (or very little). You didnt have the UnBeginner's Mind to reference. You had to approach every situation as if it was the first time since it WAS the first time.
Glad you dont have to do that anymore, right? Wrong.
Some very smart scientists have collated data and assert that humans learn (and this is where numbers start to vary) anywhere from 50% to 90% of everything we learn in our lifespan, by the age of 5. Thats not a typo, I did say "by the age of five". Our motor skills, facial recognition, the emotional bonds, language, neurological pathways which act as foundations for everything we do or think, all occur by the age of 5.
Imagine a toddler who isn't curious, who isn't exploring his/her surroundings, who isn't relating to his/her environment...you would say "something is wrong with that kid". And you'd be right. But...as adults we routinely engage in exactly that type of behaviour. Ask yourself. Is that right?
The problem is that by the time we reach adulthood our UnBeginner's Mind is fully engaged (schools play an important part in this, as do cultural norms, imposed morality, and many other societal structures designed to maintain compliance).If we are to break out of the UnBeginner Mind state we must make a willful effort towards unknowing, unlearning and shedding our assumptions which make us so comfortable and feel so familiar.
Stay tuned for Part 3 coming out as soon as I find some free time :-)
Welcome to the very beginning of the third and final branch of the Human-Dog Problem Tree
The Nature of Unbeginner's Mind (NoUM) - Part 1 of 3
Human brain only does one thing, it relates. It "tells" us how to relate to our environment, people around us (animals are people too), universe, innerverse... All we ever do is relate.
You got to learn how to relate ~Aerosmith.
The constant theme throughout the Human-Dog Problem Tree is the assertion that the way a person relates to dogs is indicative of the way that person relates to everything else. Have you noticed?
The way forward is to improve our relationship (the way we relate) with our dogs, thereby creating a model of behavior that we can mimic and use to improve our relationship with everything.
One aspect of "relating" is the Nature of the Unbeginner's Mind. Strap in, its going to be a bumpy ride.
As always, I dont want to talk in some undefinable, esoteric terms. We will tie this with a very real and tangible process we are all familiar with.
But first, what does it take to shed our UnBegginer's Mind and get to a state Buddhist practitioners refer to as the Beginner's Mind?
Lets take a look not at how we do it, but how is it done to us. Military will provide a good example.
If you've ever joined a military, or at least watched a movie about it, this process will ring a bell.Step 1. Shave everyone's head Step 2. Give everyone the same uniforms Step 3. Break down the mind's resistance to instruction by means of physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation (getting up at 5am is sleep deprivation in my book)What is the net effect of steps 1 and 2? It serves to strip recruits of their ego. Call this "ego" individuality, uniqueness, personality, what have you, I will call it ego.
And what about step 3? The Beginner's Mind is open, pliable, accepting, unresisting...sleep deprivation makes us more amenable as does physical exhaustion, have you noticed?Side note: Military systems will never openly admit to this. Instead, other "rational" explanations are given. Shaving heads prevents lice spreading, uniforms make everyone feel like they are part of the same "team", basic training (physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation) serve to war-proof a soldier. All reasonable explanations but NOT the real reason why military systems do it. They do it because they need your mind to be in the Beginner's state.
This paves the way for the Drill Sargent (or whoever) to bark instructions while we blindly obey with little desire or motivation to resist. This later translate into blind order execution due to conditioning (yes, same kind of conditioning humans do on dogs, humans also do on humans). Creating the Auschwitz effect of "I was just following orders". But I digress.
Also, notice the similarity between what the army does and what Buddhist monks do. When joining the Buddhist ranks they will...Step 1. Shave everyone's head Step 2. Give everyone the same uniforms (flowing orange robes instead of army fatigues) Step 3. Break down the mind's resistance to instruction by means of mindful and deliberate edification process.I bet you didnt think army systems and Buddhist monks have much in common, did you?
Both aspire to reach the Beginner's Mind. In the first case, its done to you, in the second its something you engage in deliberately and willingly.
I hope you are convinced enough by now to consider that since both army and monks want to achieve it, it must be a worth while pursuit. So lets continue our quest for the Beginner's Mind, shall we?
This feels so incomplete, but for the sake of brevity I decided to break it up into multiple posts.
If you're a dog person, then you are probably aware of all different ways in which dogs help us humans. Specifically, there is a group of dogs who deserve a special mention. I'm talking of course, about Service Dogs.
Seeing-eye dog would be a perfect example; there are also tracking dogs who help find people in rubbles, drug-sniffing dogs working with police departments, even dogs who are able to sniff out dust-mites working with exterminators.
Incredible? Yes. Possible? Absolutly. Here is how.
Of course, there are countless other ways in which dogs help us, but I think you get my point. We owe a great debt of gratitude to this amazing animal.
Lets turn our focus now to humans.
What is it that we do for dogs and how does that reflect on us? That will be the focus of this article.
Since "New Thought" (now commonly known as Positive Thinking) replaced the oppressive shackels of Calvinistic doom and gloom few hundred years ago; there has been a steady momentum building (in the western world) towards happiness, pink butterflies and all-things positive. Positive thinking (in its worst form) has permeated religious institutions (think non-denominational corporatized mega churches), corporate culture (think motivational speakers, team building exercises, and similar nonsense.), and even the economy.
How else would you explain so many people signing up for ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) thinking -no doubt positively- that interest rates will go down over the next 30 years.
To really beat a dead horse; books and DVDs like The Secret, The Power of Positive Thinking, Law of Attraction and countless others have not only reached best-selling status but have gained prominence in scientific circles over the last few decades.
The big idea behind "positive thinking" is that in order for you to be happy you must think positively.
All you have to do then is ask the universe to send you a pony (or a low interest rate, pink cadilac, or whatever) and the universe -your personal fountain of fortune- delivers.
What does "positive thinking" have to do with dogs?
I want to focus on the "happy" part of the positive-thinking equation.
We do all this positive stuff to be happy. In fact, I will argue that there has never, ever been any other industry other than happiness.
If you buy that new flat-screen, you will be happy.
If you can get a bigger house, you will be happy.
If you can get that promotion, you will be happy, etc, etc, etc.
In our never-ending pursuit of happiness we've overlooked something obvious.
We are happiest when we can do something for others.
Think about it. All these material things give us temporary elation which dissipates with the next commercial for a newer, shinier toy.
On the other hand, things we do for our kids, parents, friends and neighbors, and the universe in general are in fact quite selfish. Why? Because they ultimately make US feel good about ourselves.
Its easy not to notice this. You really have to pause and pay attention. And I hope that you will if you haven't already. So again you might ask, what does this have to do with dogs?
There is one, super secret way of making ourselves feel happy. Become a Service Human to your dog.
Work to understand your dog's needs and dedicate yourself to meeting those needs. I must quickly qualify that statement.
It is important to understand that our dogs DO NOT need us for things we think they do.
They dont need us to provide them with shelter and food. They are perfectly capable of providing that for themselves.
What they DO NEED is for us to love them enough to make a commitment for life (average life span for a dog is about 14 years).
They DO NEED us to show them compassion when they do something wrong (I really should say that a dog never does anything wrong, we just perceive it as wrong).
And they DO NEED us to work harder at understanding them.
To that end, what they really need from us is to respect their dogginess, provide them with ample activities, purpose, the right kind of leadership, companionship, the right kind of mental and physical stimulation, and so on.
Keep in mind. Your dog cant go and roam or otherwise meet its real needs on his own. You have to go with him.
After you start noticing how good it feels to be in service of another, you might extend your services to the universe at large. Our dog can be our guide and teacher to get us there.
"I got to get mine, Jack" decade is over. Having "things" beyond basic necessities doesn't make us proportionately happier. But there is one thing that does. Being in service of others. Start with your dog, and work your way up to the universe. Cheers.
If you’ve read the Human-Dog Problem Tree series, you might have noticed that my focus is on figuring out WHY aren’t humans following certain instructions we know we ought to follow. One such instruction is the focus on being a pack leader to your dog.
While the word “leader” has a different meaning to different people (click here to read the blog on Alpha types), my focus will be on being a leader to one’s own self. After all, if we can’t be a leader to ourselves, what chance do we have being a leader to a dog or a group of people.
Certain people simply do not see themselves as leaders of anything or anyone. This is dangerous. We should all endeavor to be leaders; leaders of ourselves, leaders of our community, leaders of our profession, leaders of the universe.
The word “leader” in this context is defined as follows.
Leader; a facilitator of positive experience.
These internal leadership principles are way beyond the scope of this post, and I hope to explore them with you at a later time, but for now, my immediate goal is to convince you to BE a leader and show you what happens when you don’t heed the call to leadership.
To that end, I will re-tell an old story of a man who was decidedly a follower. Perhaps by seeing the way followers fair through the eyes of time, it will help us see the value of taking control of ourselves.
David and Uriah
Most are familiar with the story of David and Goliath. Few are familiar with the story of David and Uriah.
Uriah the Hittite was, by all accounts, the kind of guy most would admire. He was strong, brave, loyal to a fault, committed, dedicated, a family man, a warrior and a long time soldier in King David’s army.
Uriah was a member of David’s “mighty men” brigade. A kind of personal guard consisting of 38 men entrusted with carrying out orders and actions of the outmost importance. In fact, Uriah and David were so close that Uriah’s quarters were near David’s king-quarters.
Something interesting happened in king’s quarters while Uriah was carrying out those actions of the outmost importance in the battlefield.
David spotted and took a liking to Bathsheba, who, as it turns out, was Uriah’s wife.
David and Bathsheba copulated which resulted in Bathsheba pregnancy. No matter, David always had a plan.
In an attempt to cover-up the adultery and pregnancy David had sent for Uriah to come back and “be” with his wife, hoping they would lay down together which would in effect be convincing enough that Uriah was the father of Bathsheba’s child.
Uriah decided to stay true to the code of honor shared by the mighty men who abstain from sex before battle. Out of solidarity with his fellow soldiers, Uriah refused to lay down with his wife and instead chose to guard David’s quarters until further orders were issued.
Realizing that his plan is not going to work, David hatched another one.
David decided to send Uriah back to the battlefield with a sealed letter carrying orders for Joab, a long time commander of David’s troops. Unbeknownst to Uriah, letter had instructed Joab to put Uriah in the line of fire and order other men to retreat effectively leaving Uriah in enemy’s hands. Joab carried out the orders without question and a great man was dead as a result.
Back to Now
I don’t mean to get all biblical on your ass, but I hope this story convinces you to become a leader. First to yourself, then to your dog, then to your family, community and the rest of the universe.
The leadership principles that we practice while “leading” ourselves, are the same leadership principles that we practice when leading our dog, are the same leadership principles we practice when leading humans.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Leave a comment so I know you were here and please share this post with your friends and family.
While there are numerous internal factors related to this, the focus of the NoME branch is on external factors. The internal factors will be covered in the NoUM (Nature of Unbegginer's Mind) branch of the Human-Dog Problem Tree. A quick rundown of external factors goes like this.
School/Education
Corporate Culture
Media
Social unrest, and much much more.
As always, I promise to take a very pragmatic approach to these issues. While there are thousands of examples, we will focus on principles of the matter and use concrete examples as case studies. Please dont think that the problem ends with the example. These issues are systemic.
Strap in, lets get started.
There is a difference between knowledge and intelligence. If you have copious amounts of knowledge you may make for a great contestant on Jeopardy. However, this doesn't make you inteligent. To become intelligent a person would have to willfully apply their knowledge towards a concrete and practical outcome. Donald Trump is intelligent, his lawyer is knowledgeable. Furthermore, the IQ test is insufficient AND ineffective at measuring one's intelligence, especially if we make a distinction between knowledge and intelligence. Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University (impressed yet?) talks about mutiple intelligences. For example, a rocket scientist -who would no doubt do well on a standardized IQ test- would be considered (by some) more intelligent than an auto mechanic. However, if we leave the scientist stranded in a middle of nowhere with his car refusing to start how do you think he will fare? The auto-mechanic would be more "intelligent" in this situation.
So we can conclude that one part of "intelligence" is contextual. Car-engine trouble, call a rocket scientist? I dont think so. Stupid is as stupid does the saying goes.
Back to school.
Our entire (Western) school system (which is based on the ancient Prussian system by way of Germany) was fundamentally designed NOT to produce intelligent or knowlegable people, rather, it was designed to produce good soldiers and obedient citizens. In the last few decades this system has been modified to churn-out "knowledge workers" without loosing its original function. Think back. How much knowledge have you actually carried out of your school years that you use in everyday life? If you are anything like me, the answer is very little. Some basic math, basic reading and writing, and we may be hard-pressed to come up with anything else.The skills that we DID learn and DID carry into our adult-life are skills that were inherent in the nature of the system and were acquired quite unintentionally. For example...The most useful skill we get to learn that IS relevant in adult life is the social-interaction skill set. The other one is PE. Those who become jocks are sometimes lucky enough to have a paid scholarship to a college and acquire skills that they might take into their professional careers of football and basketball players and such. The third useful skill we recieved and never got to use was shop class. Try and find a shop class at your local highschool these days. Unfortunately, there is a long list of undesired and useless (to us that is) "skills" that are also acquired during our school years. Here are few examples.
Reverence for authority. Not to be confused with respect which should be given to every thing and every one. I'm talking about unquestioning deference to those in position of authority. In school, they are called teachers; in adulthood, they are called cops, government officials, managers, CEOs, etc. The real denger here is the acceptance of the status-quo at your own detriment.
Respect of the System. As adults, we engage in many big systems (banking, insurance, corporations, health care, religion, etc). In order for those systems to exist, they need the members of the system to remain subservient to the system itself. This skill is learned in school. We could even call it Pavlovian conditioning of sorts.
Ability to Endure Torture. For some, school is torture. For most, by the time they graduate college, they never want to hear the word "school", learning, education, or see anything that even remotely resembles classroom. This is a perfect situation for the system since once you graduate you are no longer in school therefore the training cant reach you. The hope here is that you have been sufficiently processed that you will NOT seek out additional education. This is why the school system doesn't teach us how to learn.
The trail has been left for those who decide to follow it.
College graduation ceremony is called a "Commencement Ceremony". The word "commencement" means "beginning". Beginning of what? The beginning of your real education. Unfortunately, sufficient number of people has been sufficiently beaten-down and turned-off by education that they will gladly stay away from any kind of learning for the rest of their life. In come dogs.
Most people dont have the ability to relate to dogs in a way that meets the dog's needs due to nature of modern lifestyle. They dont have the disposition necessary to train them and are averse to learning due to no fault of their own. They are unable to adjust for attenuation problems inherent in Nature of Knowledge Exchange (NoKE, first branch of Human-Dog Problem Tree) since they were never tought to do this in school. Net result of this is that dogs wind up in shelters all across US only to be euthanized. Why? Because we are averse to learning. Learning about dogs, their needs, human-dog relationship, training methods, etc. and then trying them out, implementing what you've learned, etc. can be used as spring board to all other kinds of learning. This is because dog training is ideal in structure for learning any and every other tangible skill. Not to mention fun, which is what learning should be.
It is clear that I cant cover all facets of modern life and the way in which it affects our relationship with dogs in a single post. I will do one more example in a future post, but will let you guys choose which one.
Corporate culture
Media
Social Unrest
Conclusion. Things are bad right now. As a global society we are suffering both physically and psychically. The only way out of it (that I see) is willful, purposeful and self directed edification process (I call it "edification" to mentally distinguish it from processed learning which happens in our educational system).
The opposite of "knowledge" is not ignorance, the opposite of knowledge is fear.
Related Posts:
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
I've decided to present this portion of the Human-Dog Problem Tree using concrete examples of modern life which are working against our biological nature, and then present a way in which dogs can help us get past it. Unfortunately, there are thousands of these examples and it would be impossible to list them all; so we will focus on the principles of the matter and use concrete examples as case-studies. Lets get started.
Problem: We are made to run but we either dont or suffer greatly when we do. Solution: Education, unlearning and dogs. Many people will find this hard to believe but humans are made to run. Evolution has designed us to be incredible runners. Would you be surprised if I told you that from a running standpoint, humans have a better, more sound design then the fastest land animal? Without googling it, what is the fastest land animal? Also, without googling it, what does "google" mean? Dogs are pretty fast, they are certainly faster then humans, and make for a good example of what I'm talking about.
Sidenote: Greyhounds are the fastest dog breed. Without google, can you guess how fast they are?
Four-legged animals are designed to run short and fast. This is true of dogs as well as pumas, tigers, bears, etc.
They are fast because they have four legs. They can only run short distances because their breathing is hard-wired to their stride. When a dog extends his front and hind legs he is able to breath-in
As he contracts his body (brings his front and hind legs close together) he is breathing out because there is less space in his torso due to compression of the rib cage and internal organs.
The expansion and contraction of the lungs therefore is tightly tied into the running tempo. All four legged animals breath-in when legs are extended, and breath-out when their legs are close together. This means that faster they run, faster they must inhale/exhale with their lungs. Breathing fast and deep is fine for a short amount of time, however, it cant be done for more then a minute or so (this varies from animal to animal, but in relative terms it is correct).Contrast that with the human body design. We walk/run on two legs which makes us slower. However, this also means that our breathing is independent of our stride. Our stride and speed DOES NOT dictate the speed at which our lungs expand and contract. We are able to control the EPMs (Exhale per Minute) regardless of the running tempo. So when I say that humans are made to run, what I mean is that humans are made to engage in a particular kind of running. The long distance, 3-5mph type. Lets examine this. Our lungs and stomach "breathe" independently of our stride. This means that if we can maintain a certain tempo in a way that it will not deplete our energy reserves and fatigue our muscles (slow, 3-5 mph running fits the bill) we can control how fast (or slow in this case) we breathe which then allows us to replenish our muscles with oxygen and allow blood to work through our system. Our body is designed to do exactly that. Why?It goes back to 90 percenters. Humans have spend 90% of their existence as hunters/gatherers which means they engaged in slow, long distance running just to survive. Er go, our biology evolved to turn us into slow, long distance running machines. To drive a point home, lets wake up somewhere in Africa about 60 thousand years ago. What are we going to do today? We are going to perhaps eat something (assuming there is leftover food from yesterday's hunt...no refrigerators 60 thousand years ago, correct?), drink water, pick up our spear and be on our way. We might track game using our senses, but we will most likely rely on our dogs to help us root-out prey. Over time, this hunting activity has become integral part of both human and dog DNA. To learn more about this process, read http://dogandogs.com/everything-you-know-about-dog-training-is-wro-5Just imagine a mind set you must engage in. There are no guarantees that we will find something, and if we do that we will catch it. This means that we will hunt for as long as necessary (all day) and we must cover vast distances. How do we do this? Slow pace (3-5 mph). Anything faster and we would tire too quickly. Plus, we might miss something (failure to track) if we rush. I say all this to get you to picture a scene from this ancient time when dog and man were spending all day together in slow run across vast distances. This is the picture that's still in your dog's mind. This is the picture thats part of our DNA. My thesis is based on this premise. The premise that humans are designed to exist in a certain way; failure to respect our natural predispositions will result in all manner of problems; modern day ailments (diabetes, heart problems, obesity, etc) as well as mental issues ( panic attacks and anxiety, various social disorders, etc). Living in alignment with our predispositions means living in harmony with your surroundings. How come we dont run anymore? And furthermore, how come when we do, it hurts? I'm talking about various foot and knee problems humans suffer when we engage in any kind of running. Here is why. Of course, for those that dont run, its simply because humans are wired to conserve energy, and these days its all too easy to conserve energy (cars, buses, motorcycles, segways, the list goes on). Some however like to run, or have tried running, but find it painful. Why?Nike. The worst thing to happen to running since bear traps and sink holes. Nike is a company that has done something few companies have managed to do. They've managed to create their own market where there wasn't one. They've managed to give people something people didnt know they needed. Sony has done the same thing with Walkman.
Sony had released Walkman without any market research and it was a huge gamble for Sony. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that this was a great move. Sony has made a mountain of money selling their Walkman before others got into the game and before new technology (iPod for example) replaced it. This is an example of a company that has managed to create a market where there wasn't one. Back to Nike. Nike invented jogging as a hobby and a pass-time for the masses. They also just happened to have invented a shoe to go with it. Everyone started jogging in the 70s and 80s (tho i believe a concerted effort begen in the 50s), and this has persisted to this day. The shoe of choice for most is still Nike. But why is it Nike's fault that our feet, knees and back hurt after running? When sneaker companies advertise their wares, the focus is always on the softness of the sneaker and the "cushion" of the heel, have you noticed? The fact that they are "bragging" about the thickness and the softness of the heel implies something, doesn't it? It implies that when you use this device (sneaker) to run, you are supposed to use your heel when landing on your foot. This of course is contrary to our biology and the way we are designed. If you were running barefoot, would you land on your heel? Try exaggerating the running motion and land ONLY on your heel, see how stupid it feels. Humans are NOT designed to run on their heels and when we do, our entire skeletal structure suffers because of it. Heel and knee problems are pretty standard, but I wouldn't be surprised if some future study finds that many back injuries are caused by improper landing and poorly-designed sneaker (which is ALL sneakers by the way).
This is a clear example of modern lifestyle and consumerism working against our biology.
So HOW do you run correctly? The good news is you already know how to run correctly. Chances are, if you were to take off your sneakers and run barefoot (or wearing rudimentary protection on your soles, think moccasins for example), more then likely, your running posture, stride, and landing would be on the money. And yes, we can recreate this while wearing sneakers even. 4 steps to running correctly and avoiding long term injury (same as posture required for correct execution of any workout type exercise. Read more at http://dogandogs.com/everything-you-know-about-dog-training-is-wro-4)
Overall posture. Place your elbow on the table, make a fist and point your knuckles towards the ceiling. This will give you a visual representation of the alignment your spine, neck and head must be in while running. No leaning forward nor back, no hanging your head and looking at the ground, etc. Push down on your knuckles (this emulates gravity pushing down on your spine). Notice how stable this vertically aligned configuration really is. Now miss-align your wrist (imitating a head looking down) and notice how weak this makes you. This configuration is extremely powerful and stable if aligned properly; if not, it is equally weak and easy to compromise.
Breathe. Slow, not shallow-not deep, purposeful, meaningful breaths using both your lungs and your stomach chamber for air distribution is the way to do it.
Landing pads. DO NOT land on your heels. Nevermind the soft sneaker design and latest space age polymer. All of this is nonsense. If you were barefoot you would land on the ball of your foot or slightly to the side. This is how you should land while wearing sneakers no matter the softness.
Smile. This may sound silly or simplistic bit it may be the most important factor of all. SMILE. We all know that the way we feel is expressed in the way we look. When we are sad, we frown. When we are happy, we smile, etc. Due to Feedback Loop (I talk about this in another one of my posts http://dogandogs.com/dogs-can-sense-your-fear-but-how) we smile and make ourselves happy. Try it, it works. By the same token, if we frown, we can make ourselves feel sad. The importance of smiling while running is to enjoy this ancient activity. If we enjoy it, we will do it more often and our dog will thank us.
Finally, runners often experience something called a runner's high. It is this amazing feeling that makes you think you can go on forever. I cant help but think that this is a genetic memory of our past letting us know that we are engaging in the right kind of activities. Food for thought.
I know this post is running long but its the only way to connect these seemingly disparate factors. To help summarize, here are the important points.
We are genetically predisposed to conserve energy. This is why most people dont run and opt for cars, bikes, trains and what not.
Those of us who do run, often experience foot, knee and back problems
The reason we suffer these physical ailments is because of the features of modern existence. In our case, this is expressed in the form of a sneaker which subtly but emphatically tells you to run incorrectly (on your heels)
We must unlearn. We must detect and eradicate these types of indoctrination techniques perpetrated by the culture of consumerism.
We must seek to understand and educate ourselves beyond whats presented to us by the indoctrination tools like media, popular culture, and even by whats considered common and accepted knowledge.
We must keep the promise we made to our dogs when they opted to help us in our hunt and engage in the ancient activity of dog and man running side by side
In the beginning of this post I stated that it would do the following.
Present a problem: We are made to run but we either dont or suffer greatly when we do. And offer a solution: Education, unlearning and dogs. I hope I've accomplished exactly that. In the next post, we will talk about some very real and practical ways in which dogs can help us evolve-forward.
I came across this song and decided to try to answer 2 out of three questions posed in this song.
What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart? How can a man like me remain in the light?
And I'm going to let you guys answer the last one. If life is really as short as they say, then why is the night so long?
Can there really be an answer to such questions? Who knows such things, but life is all about failing forward and if the choice is
Not trying and failing or
Trying and maybe succeeding
Then I say we give it a whirl.
Q. What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart?
A. Re-frame it.
Once I was sitting next to a teacher, much like the one in this song, and he told me about his "wellness knee".
When he was a young man, he severely injured his knee in a car accident and had to get several operations just to be able to walk again. His knee was shattered and it took months of recovery just to be able to walk again. He did recover, but never fully. His knee was never at 100% again.
Now that he was a man of certain age, his bad knee was a barometer of sorts. He called it his wellness knee. If he was eating right, getting enough sleep, exercising, meditating, and generally speaking taking good care of himself, his knee would be fine. If however, he was slacking-off in one of these areas, his knee would start to hurt. His bad knee was an indicator of how well he was living. It was his wellness knee.
I thought that was a brilliant way to re-frame a negative and turn it into a positive.
Can this method be used to glue the pieces of a broken heart back together? I think so.
Whenever it happened to me, I wrote a song about it. My broken heart became a treasure trove of inspiration. In fact, I’m pretty sure that the artist who wrote this song started in a similar predicament.
There are 3 occasions that I remember having a non-romantic pain from a broken heart. Those may not be as intense and can serve as a training ground of sorts. The three times I remember was when Freddie Mercury died, the second when Frank Zappa died and third and very recent when Daddy (Cesar Millan’s pit bull) died.
I remember having a distinct case of a slightly bruised, cracking at the seams, damn-near broken heart. In these instances I always had a tendency to remove myself from the feelings and observe them at a distance. Later, I’ve learned that in Buddhism, this is known as Observer/Observed. A kind of out-of-body experience that with little bit of practice, anyone can use to take them selves out of a situation (even if you are in the middle of it) and take on a bird’s eye view.
It doesn’t matter if you are observing your feelings and noticing how the pain makes you feel alive; or if you are observing a business meeting and noticing the entire picture, the details, taking in everyone’s posture, the mood, etc.
Final word on reframing. Humans define themselves though suffering, it’s been said. If you can take something bad and turn it into a wellness knee, then you know what to do with a broken heart.
Q. How can a man like me remain in the light?
A. Its not the darkness, it’s the opportunity.
I struggled with this one, as I imagine many of us do. You see, when I was a young man living in Bosnia, Serbian armies had invaded my country. I’ve lost my father in that war, many of my close friends had perished, and I became a refugee living in tenement camps until eventually I landed in the good ol’ US of A. For many years, I’ve carried resentment and pain towards Serbs.
Until one day I heard His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak about a young boy who was forced to flee his land narrowly escaping his prosecutors who did their best to track him down and kill him, for this young boy was the spiritual leader of a nation. That boy of course, was Dalai Lama himself.
At that time, Dalai Lama was forced to take on the burden of a displaced and destroyed nation, assume both spiritual and political leadership while in exile, all the while practicing love, compassion and understanding.
So how do you show compassion to your persecutors? This is what he said and I paraphrase.
I realized, he said, that Chinese were a challenge and an obstacle I needed to deal with, but I didn’t feel resentment, hatred nor need for revenge. Instead, I saw it as an opportunity to practice forgiveness.
An opportunity to practice forgiveness.
I kinda took on faith that it was the right thing to do and it turned out that it was. The act of forgiveness is ultimately self-serving because it takes the burden away from us. The burden that we would otherwise take with us in all future situations.
Your turn.
Q. If life is really as short as they say, then why is the night so long?
