This, I know.

Every once in a while I am reminded of my curious place in our science-based culture, and self-doubt creeps in. My massage/bodywork practice is eerily “complementary” and “alternative.” It is very difficult to measure. I work with living, evolving, developing uniquely arcane physical and behavioral attributes and conditions. And, because each life and history is unique with its own set of variables, it is not only impossible to duplicate, duplication is irrelevant. What is important is that massage, PetMassage_TM is powerfully effective in helping to reshape the lives and times of all the dogs and people I massage.

A good and wise friend who shall go unnamed, but who’s initials are MaryKay, told me over a glass wine last weekend, that whenever she begins to doubt herself; when she questions what she believes, how her life has value, and whether prayers and thoughts have effects, she reminds herself of three things that she knows for sure.

1. We are all energy.

2. Everything is connected.

3. We are not alone.

I thought about my practice beginning way back in 1982 working with horses. I recalled my numerous experiences experimenting with controlled and observant body language. In my practice, I’ve learned to see the way dogs respond to my controlled heart rate. I’ve entrained and seen the dogs responding to my breath. I’ve felt in my heart how dogs complete connections at various pressure depths on their bodies. I’ve used pendulums and documented the different kinds of energetic and behavioral responses at various levels (chakras) away from dog and people bodies.

I’ve enjoyed listening to animals as they share their images and memories. These were validated owner- specific stories and images I’ve felt and received from dogs while working with them.

I’ve seen dogs relax, dogs soften, and dogs slip into trance-like states and fall over. I’ve seen how dogs reboot and refresh. I’ve witnessed spontaneous changes in canine behavior. I’ve felt the warmth of affection and the energy of gratitude. I’ve seen the dogs responding to my levels of presence. It is all a big energy share!

1: We are all energy. When we talk about the condition of someone’s or something’s quality of life, we often use the phrase, body, mind and spirit. Each of these aspects of life-condition is a reflection of the quality of energy flow. Does the energy flow smoothly and easily? Is the energy restricted? Is the energy impeded?

Health is achieved when the three elements of body, mind, and spirit are in balance. Balance will improve health and enhance quality of life. This applies to the physical body. This applies to the mind. This applies to the spirit.

If the body is weak, the mind and spirit suffer. If the spirit is void, the body and mind suffer, and when the mind is not focused, the body and spirit are lost.

We know through experience that the above is true. We have even trained ourselves to be able to influence how we feel by shifting our filters. We can choose the energy of our world view and the type of experience we have.

We can redirect our minds. We can consciously make the shift from negativity and uncertainty to positivity and assuredness. We have learned to play mind-games with ourselves. We know that if we fake it till we make it, when we do fake it, the body follows. For example, when we are feeling overwhelmed, we can reestablish a sense of control when we redirect our thoughts to accomplishing and then completing one small task at a time. Another example is if we are sad, we can put on a happy face. Our bodies will read from the muscle memory feedback loop that we are happy. Our bodies then produce the hormone chemicals that support the happiness emotion and soon we are indeed (structurally) happier.

Let’s visualize a flower growing in your garden. The stem is strong, straight and tall; and the nutrients flow up to the flower head easily. Bloom! If the stem is bent in the middle; some of the nutrients can still move past the restriction. But barely, and aw, fading fleur.

Visualize a dog receiving a PetMassage_TM. The dog is experiencing and processing his session in his body, his mind, and his spirit. His body experiences and processes the touch. His mind is aware of and assimilating the experiences of his body responses. His spirit oversees and integrates whatever is happening into his full life and genomic experience.

Think about the rush of the movement of blood through the blood vessels. The muscles, with fresh abundant circulation, soften and release tension (spasms and continuous flexion). With the reduced stress-based discomfort, the mind relaxes. And there is a noticeable corrective blip on the spirit graph showing the quality of life for the dog’s entire existence, beginning several generations back and extending several generations into the future.

2. Everything is connected.

There is a cycle of life beautifully and poetically described in the Five Elements theory. This theory can be used to describe the workings, movements, and the functional relationship between different elements and phenomena in nature. Chinese five elements theory refers to the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In the example of the flower with its stemmification variations, we now see that this is more than just its relationship between the flower and its source for nutrition. Of course the first thing we think of is the relationship with the ground. There are also relationships with wood, with water, with air, and with fire.

The Cycles

 

The Wu Xing (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: Wǔ Xíng) is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs. It includes the Five Elements, Five Phases, the Five Agents, the Five Movements, Five Processes, and the Five Steps/Stages. If you are interested in learning more about the Five Elements, et al, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing

Basic five elements characteristics and classifications from http://www.orientalmedicine.com/five-element

Last week I shared the stories of how our attitudes and intentions with words and names, even when unintentional, can have powerful influences on people, dogs and horses. The week before, I described the amazing and profound connections that I had with all the dogs I PetMassaged at the May 9-K-9 event at the Toledo Museum of Art. Every one of the 75 dogs who got sessions shared a few precious minutes of his/her life with me and had a uniquely personal experience; one that would slightly reconfigure their –and my – world view…body, mind, and spirit. At the very least (or most), each of these dogs’ life experiences now includes the spirit energy blip of a PetMassage_TM from Jonathan Rudinger.

We are all connected. In past blogs, we’ve discussed how devastating it is for dogs when we withdraw our presence/connection. It is the equivalent of psychically/emotionally abandoning them. We’ve discussed how dogs, when they sense your absence, act out to reengage with you. We’ve discussed how this applies to all relationships. We’ve discussed how powerful and healthy—health-giving— being connected is for us and our animals.

We are all connected. Connection is a need, a necessity, as important as water, air, food, shelter, and massage. This extends to everything from molecules to the movements of galaxies.

3. We are not alone.

Recently I wondered if prayer or sending positive energy really has an effect.

Prayer and the sending of energy: What does this mean? What is being sent? How does it get there? How is it received? What if no one’s home? Does the UPS guy leave it on the doorstep? Does someone have to sign for it?

The energy that I realize while I am in the PetMassage_TM process, is non-measurable, non-detectable; and, I see/sense it. The images I see are as soft glows, shadows, retrograde beams, or peripheral auras. I feel the edges of the boundaries of the energy bundles with the auras of my palms or chest.

The energy that I realize is apparently outside time and space. It knows no limitations, no boundaries. It moves at the speed of thought, to wherever it is intended. I can touch this screen. I can touch the sun. I can narrow the focus. I can open it to include a lake or the sky, or a population.

My touch does not heal. It does not mend. It does not fix. Its message is love, intention, and support. It is pure presence. It is connection. Wherever it is directed and whoever receives it, is simply and honestly, not alone. For those who send their thoughts to me, thank you. I may not sense your presence on a conscious level; and, I know that the little blip it makes on my spirit log is real and truly powerful.