Self-Alignment: What Game Are You Playing?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past 2 years, it’s that life is a game, and the rules don’t matter (unless you think they do). We’re all adults, and we can make up our own rules as we go along.
What game are you playing with your S/self? (Yes I spelled that correctly)….
We all have two versions of our selves: the player and the avatar. Picture this: You’re on the couch playing a video game (big Self), and you’re controlling your avatar on the screen (little self). Your big Self is the “real you,” while the avatar on the screen is the “human you” that’s operating based on the instructions that you’re giving your self.
The question is, what instructions are you giving your self? Whose instructions are they really? (Read: where did you first hear those instructions?) Was it your parents? Peers? Teachers? Co-workers?
How true are those instructions for you specifically? Do they fit 100%, or do you have to bend your self to make them fit your perspective?
News flash: all of those instructions aren’t quiiite correct for you, as they come from others’ perspectives, which are based on their conditioning and experiences.
Who Is Your S/self?
Back to S/self for a minute. Another way to think about this is that your Self is the “still small voice” — the strong, quiet type that doesn’t say much (aka Source). Your self is also known as your ego (and/or your identity), which is often a LOT louder than your Self.
There are different tools that we can use to bring our ego in line with our Source — meditation, breathwork, etc. The tool itself doesn’t matter — what matters is that we reassure our ego that it’s okay, that you’re not going to die (ego death), and bring it in line with our Source. Once we bring our two selves into alignment, we can REALLY begin to make magic in the world.
For the record, this won’t happen overnight. Personally, it’s taken me two years to begin unraveling almost 40 years of conditioning, and I’m still learning how to play my own game.
Self-Alignment & Dogs
How does this tie into dogs? Glad you asked. By bringing my S/self into alignment, I’m able to observe my S/self as I interact with other beings in the world — be they human, canine, equine, avian, et al. As I interact with my dogs now, I’m doing so from a place of awareness and not automation. When I had Desmo, I was running on pure programming, most of which was not mine. I gave him the best life I could with the knowledge that I had at the time, but a lot of the time, I was reacting to circumstances and not responding. I assumed that other trainers, veterinarians, and bloggers knew better than I did, and didn’t understand that they were running their program just as I was running mine. Now, I can see the different perspectives that they’re bringing to the table, and adjust my responses accordingly.
I’m also managing my energy a lot more consciously now, whereas before I was more anxious, scattered, and running on autopilot (read: programming). As a result, I’m a lot less stressed, and so are my dogs. This results in better mental, physical, and spiritual health for everyone.
So far, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what I’ve learned over the past two years. There’s lots more to come, and I’m excited to share it with you!
If you’d like to start your own journey down the rabbit hole with a guide, let me know. I’m taking on a small handful of beta clients, and I’d love to see if we’re a fit.