Large Fierce Mammal

“And does this mean the end of all Mankind? I sincerely doubt it, because a state of balance and harmony is not found by living in a continuous state of discord with Nature. In our work with troubled Dogs, Mrs. LFM and I must seek to restore and cultivate the Way of the Wild as it sincerely expresses itself in that so familiar and yet so misunderstood of animals. Wild is not the same as unpredictable or dangerous. Far from it. Wild is purity of spirit and perfection of action, in harmony with the Nature of things, and the nature of every thing, free from conscious thought and attendant paralyzing indecision. This is not to imply that all in Dogs and Men is or should be a matter of instinct. Rather we need Nature to nurture as training proceeds. Wild is a return to first principles from which training can begin on a foundation that is known and understood.

“The Way of the Wild, then, is the ultimate in predictability. If the Way of the Wild is suppressed, denied, or otherwise forced into hiding, trouble follows. That too is predictable….” ~ Worldly Wisdom Wednesday ~ The Way of the Wild

In my lifelong (so far) study of Nature, the Way of the Wild has revealed itself to me in a gradual process that progressed at exactly the same speed as my understanding. Because all Ways spring from the Way of the Wild, they are connected, and I discovered this many years ago when I found what was, at the time, a startling similarity of decidedly Natural principles between what most would consider two unrelated Arts – the Art of Living with Dogs, and the Practice of Martial Arts. For the latter, most particularly as expressed in the writings of Miyamoto Musashi. This should have come as no surprise, and indeed no longer does for me, because all Ways are based on reality. The REAL Reality of Nature, not the one you want, need, or would prefer, because in  Nature sweetie, it’s not about you.

“There’s facts about dogs, and then there’s opinions about them. The dogs have the facts, and the humans have the opinions. If you want the facts about the dog, always get them straight from the dog. If you want opinions, get them from humans.” ~ J. Allen Boone

The as yet, and in some cases permanently, unenlightened speak of living with Dogs almost exclusively from a foundation of “dominance” and “submission”. They think of Martial Arts strictly in terms of self-defense, fighting, action movies, and grossly misunderstood concepts they have no interest in getting to know better like “yin-yang” and “Zen”.

“Do nothing which is of no use.” ~ Miyamoto Musashi

What came to light for me was how similar in conclusion was the thinking of those who gained enlightenment through their dedication to understanding what Musashi called “the Spirit of the Thing”.  For those whose dedication to the study of their Art had permitted the Spirit of the Thing to reveal itself to the necessary degree, common ground was revealed in what they spoke and wrote about it.

“May I be blunt?

“Telling people how to train a dog SOLELY by teaching a ‘method’ is straight up shallow. A fulfilling relationship with our dogs cannot be achieved exclusively through applying ‘scientific principles’, clicker training, or punishment based training.

“Through heartfelt interaction lies the path to a fulfilling relationship. And having a great relationship with our dogs is synonymous with having a dog that ‘gets you’, listens to you and respects you.

“Understand this, and you understand 90% of dog training.” ~ Zak George

The further one gets down The Path, the more “systems” created as guides toward enlightenment reveal themselves as impediments to growth. Consider …

“I will not pick out any particular “ism” to poke fun at or for that matter to celebrate as functional. Living a sedentary life is more in line with sanity than the fear that causes us to look for something that may not be there. And if it is, then it would have probably revealed itself by this time…. This leads us to the idea of “magic.” Most magic is illusion based on the sensory understanding of things that we assume can or cannot be and then becomes philosophical diversion or rather distraction from being at true inner peace with oneself. I have come to not enjoy witchcraft in any form of ritual to pervade my essence. They all presume to open a path to enlightenment that is a complete waste of time to pursue…. You want to be enlightened and be able to do “parlor tricks? POOF! You’re enlightened and can now do “parlor tricks,” such as of walking on fiery coals, breaking sweats in the middle of a frozen pond, putting your hand through ten boards, etc. I am sure you get the idea. The same applies to wanting someone dead and making someone dead: two completely different things. I like to use the life and death paradigm as it puts things in direct perspective.

“Are we having fun yet? The idea here is that humans, in their utter lack of ability to come to terms with the tragedy of their own inconsequence will always make up things in the attempt of thinking that they actually understand anything. This is also based on misunderstanding our own intellects caused by egotistical thinking. Dybbuks, golems, zombies, etal, are simply devices we use to try to explain what does not have to be explained. Ki, c’hi, soul, are devices we use to attain levels of consciousness we believe will empower us to perform amazing feats. Secret codes, mantras, mandalas, butterflies, peppermints, or whatever anyone would presume to be the “answer” are silly. The reality is that the attitude of living in joy and freedom is overlooked for lack of sensibility and thinking, or worse, believing that someone else knows the answers to the questions that have no answers. As Buddha no doubt said, ‘Ain’t no thing. Stop playing with your petunias.'” ~ Hanshi Stephen Kaufman in an excerpt from his Understanding the Motivation of the Universe

Master at Arms James Keating is widely known as Master of the heretofore lost, and because of his work now lively and vibrant, Art of the Bowie knife. Jim has an extensive Martial Arts schooling and experience going back to his youth, and teaches a wide variety of combative methods through his Combat Technologies (Comtech) organization. Jim and I correspond regularly, and when in the past few weeks he made reference on his MAAJAK World e-zine to the mastery of “movement” as opposed to that of the styles and techniques of any particular “art”, it caught my attention. So I wrote him to make inquiries, and among other things he said this about the Naturally fundamental act of MOVEMENT as the vital point in what he teaches, and Life in general:

“… in some ways it relates to darn near everything. Dance, sports, daily functions and more…. The greater the range of motion one has the more things come forth. Athleticism and experience figure into the mix, each man decides for his abilities/needs. Thus, each student I turn out appears different from the rest, why? Because he really is different – motion study allows perfect targeting for that individual’s goals and body type to be met. Styles and systems often are mere stamp mills producing clones of dubious worth – in such the individual suffers, the style flourishes.”

Even a cursory examination will highlight how each Truth quoted here, regardless of the Art that gave it birth, strips away everything that is not Wild in Man’s interaction with the World. Think on this as it applies to your own life and studies, until next time.