Space is our only frontier

Space is our only frontier

The one who owns and controls the space is the leader. This goes for leading board meetings, giving presentations, performing in theater, playing music, holding your audience’s attention while ice skating, and controlling the high ground in the military.
 
When we describe space we are usually referring to the spatial area around us. This is the area that includes the contents of the room, the yard, the field, the lake or ocean, the breadth and depth of the sky and the surrounds of our planet.
 
Understanding space and how to own space is an important part of interacting with dogs. Effective use of your space is essential when training them, understanding their behaviors, playing with them, feeding them, and especially, massaging them.
 
When we talk about space, there is outer space and there is inner space.
 
Outer space is out there. Inner space is in here.
 
Outer space in canine massage is the room where you and your dog are interacting. The space is small and, for the most part, manageable. You decide where the massage will take place. You decide what the temperature and air flow will be. You choose the sounds that will be in the background. You control the influences of distracting dogs and people. You adjust the lighting to your comfort. You clear the area of clutter. You determine if the area needs to be smudged and cleanse the spaces to your personal specs, on and around your table. You have control over this space.
 
There is of course the outer space that you cannot control: Sun spots, movements of planets in relation to each other, from the perspective of earth, earthquakes, floods, weather, and politics. Except for their influences on you, they have little impact on your canine massage. So, you are still in control of the outer space. You are the leader.
 
Inner space is in here.
 
Inner space is the universe of thoughts in your head. This is a space that can be most difficult to organize and control. This is not isolated to those of us providing the intensely intentional work of dog massage. It is the greatest challenge in other venues, as well.
 
Golfers know that golf is a game of inches. Every one of us who plays the game has either heard or recited the famous Bobby Jones quote, “Golf is a game that is played on a five-inch course – the distance between your ears.” The superstar golf pro, Ben Crenshaw famously complained, “I’m about five inches from being an outstanding golfer. That’s the distance my left ear is from my right.” [Ref: http://www.quotegarden.com/golf.html]
 
In the last couple of newsletters, I talked about Feng Shui. [Ref: http://petmassage.com/?p=3483  andhttp://petmassage.com/?p=3483]There is the spatial organizing process for out there, which is easy. And, there is the spatial organizing process for the “in here,” which is more challenging.

Space is our only frontier 

The in here (inner) dialogue is very busy. During every moment of your canine massage, you are thinking about what is best for the dog. You are monitoring how the dog is responding to your touch. There are a hundred “what ifs” swirling about your actions. They determine what you are doing and the control of your hands. The influence of your thoughts are directing, restraining, distracting, tempering, encouraging and/or allowing. The “what ifs” project into the future. It is like playing chess. If I do this, then that may happen. Or maybe not. Perhaps that will happen: or that. The possibilities boggle the mind.
 
In the canine massage session, you just have to choose which ones to follow and disregard the others. You cannot quiet your inner back seat drivers. We’ll call them your inner guides. Everything we do is predicated on lessons we have learned. We can never quiet the voices entirely. If we did, we would not be capable of administering a dog massage or anything else (except putting). Total Zen immersion while you are focused and tasking, is not possible. The dialogue will always be there.
 
So how do you become leader of your theater of inner dialogue? The first step is to pay attention. Be present with your thoughts. Be aware that you are thinking. Be aware of what you are thinking. It is the thought that sneaks up on you and takes over that is the most insidious. So when you notice that you are thinking about something unrelated to the task at hand, identify it. Simply acknowledging it, takes its power away. Then, you retake control. You are the leader. It is your choice to play it out or to let it go.
 
We cannot be in two places at one time. We want to be there for our dogs; and we are constantly being pulled into our thoughts. This is our reality. That said, we must be gentle and lenient with ourselves. With training, we have intuitively learned to be present when we are most needed; and to the degree that our dogs can handle.
 
And now you have taken control. You’ve become the leader for the spaces out there and in here. Next, think about the space in there: the spaces in the dog. Your massage works directly on the spaces between the hairs of the coat. Your touch stimulates the spaces around the nerves and glands in the skin. Your massage changes dynamic pressures within these spaces, so that movement of internal fluids can be enhanced. The deeper your pressure the more it stimulates and releases restrictions of the spaces within the muscle fascia and the spaces around the organs.
 
When I was a teenager I was fortunate to have a conversation with the great jazz drummer, Gene Krupa, in his club in Manhattan. I told him that I really got into his playing, and he told me to “listen for the spaces between the drumbeats. That’s where the message is.” Pretty heady stuff to lay on a 15 year old! That comment made Krupa my first Zen master. Space.
 
Dr. Deepak Chopra describes the spaces between thoughts with great reverence. He defines the space as “the gap.” The gap is “the space between the thought that is pure consciousness, pure silence, and pure peace. When we meditate,” he teaches, “we use an object of attention, such as our breath, an image, or a mantra, which allows our mind to relax in this silent stream of awareness.” [http://www.chopra.com/ccl/7-myths-of-medication#sthash.OGNqgyz5.dpuf] Space.
 
In canine massage, the dog is our image, our breath is the modulator and source of our strength. Our space “in here” is where we discover our intuitive guidance systems. 
 
RIP Leonard Nimoy, our guide to the complementary rational and emotional frontiers of space. “Live long and prosper.”