Conscious Strategies LLC

Tag: reflections

  • Reflections on Disengaging

    Me and the Dood: Learning to leave it

    My main mini squeeze Koda teaches me a lot about disengaging. In yoga speak, we call it Pratyahara. That’s another way of describing an ability to turn inwards and away from distractions perceived by all our senses. Not by sleeping though, so don’t get excited that you’ve nailed the skill…

    (“withdrawal”)…the ability to “switch off” and produce a state of extreme inward-mindedness at will

    The Shambala Encyclopedia of Yoga – Georg Feuerstein, PH.D.

    If you’re having a hard time visualizing such Zen, you can think of it another way. A turtle pulling head and limbs in. A puppy napping under a tight space. It’s the type of concentration that takes some discipline because you’re inviting focus and quiet despite incoming stimulus. You may notice the various tugs at your awareness, but you remain steady.

    Yeah, I know. Sign me up.

    Anyway, today’s lesson unfolded as I watched Koda learn from her trainer, Dylan. We’re in puppy 3 classes and he was teaching the command “leave it”. She’s a rockstar pupil…

    Learning to Leave It

    When you tell your (city vs suburb) dog to leave it, he said, you’re speaking to a blanket emotion. The dog might want to chew on garbage in the street, a dead mouse, a discarded heroin needle, or just pull to meet another dog.

    Disengaging with distractions to live from a deeper place

    The leaving it analogy strikes me as an important lesson. I can only speak for myself, but I feel way less reactive and drawn into the soap opera of life when I can disengage. Leave it so speak. It makes me live from a deeper place. That said, it isn’t about checking out, rather touching base with a quiet and uncluttered (head) space. If you meditate, that’s the idea…

    Live from a deeper place

    Does Koda leave it? She does but not without unyielding practice. Me? I can leave it too, but not without unyielding practice. Need a little reward? Follow @KodaHazWax for some smiles and let us know how it goes.

  • The Art of the Thank You: Grati-dood

    Koda is teaching me a lot about gratitude and the art of the thank you. Even though she can’t speak human, her idea of saying thank you is usually to lick an eye, ear, hand or calf.

    There’s a sweetness to doing something that makes your puppy happy. It truly makes me feel good to receive her grateful affection. I know also when she growls at me that she’s pissed off, so trust me, the dood can communicate.

    Expressing gratitude

    Thank you For…

    I recently did two nice deeds for different humans who I barely know and did not receive a TY, thank you, thanks or #muchappreciated. This got me thinking about the words and why they matter to me.

    In my own upbringing, my mother always insisted on a thank you call and or thank you note. “I’m calling to say thank you for” or, “thanks so much for your thoughtful…”. The idea of thanking for a gift, gesture or good wish was intrinsic. Yet even the simplest words could express this. The lack of a thank you was bad manners and let’s just say, Mom did not go for this attitude at all.

    I don’t do kind deeds to get a thank you in return, don’t get me wrong. My operating system runs on friendliness and the hope of attracting positive, supportive energy and then, to pay it forward. Manners are also behaviors I’ve learned, and I know not everyone has this type of input.

    On paying forward, today I asked someone in Center City if she could pull up so I could park behind her. She did, and I thanked her so much.

    After my brief errand, I got the chance to say thanks again. We exchanged stories about men, big cars, small parking spaces and both smiled. I took this encounter as a reward. In my mind, this young lady did me a HUGE service and I wanted her to know. I also wanted the Universe to know that none of this went unnoticed.

    On exchanging smiles. A smile conveys lots of things, including gratitude. The effect of smiling on the body is a release of endorphins which counter act stress. The smile/thankyou combo is like a big yummy sandwich that is filling and has ingredients that drip down your cheek.

    A smile conveys gratitude and happiness

    How Gratitude Helps

    Moments like the ones I’m referring to don’t change anything per se. But they do add meaning to nurture my heart and soul. It’s the same kind of healing I get by giving the pup a belly rub and having her lick my face for five minutes afterword.

    These experiences help me manage stress as well. The gratitude behind a thank you in any form also nurtures my health and wellbeing. As a result, I’d go as far as saying that learning the art of the thank you invites joy. Try it for yourself and let us know.

    Need a dose of happy? Follow @KodaHazWax