May 24, 2021
One of our tribe members has been breeding Mastiffs for 30 years and one of the dogs was returned because he was biting and being aggressive. I’ve never had to ‘train’ a dog before. In fact, animals are naturally attracted to me. Drove me crazy for most of my life, but now I’m starting to appreciate it as I now acknowledge what it means to me and them. But dealing with aggression is something I’ve not had to do, so I wanted to learn as much as I could to help this dog.
Within a pack, there are the alphas and they demand obedience from the others in the pack. What I found out though, is that the signs and ways of showing the dominance of the alphas and the submission of the others is often subtle but always present. Ensuring that the humans are the alphas requires work and awareness. If we have dogs in our families, it is dangerous to have them be the alpha. People and dogs get hurt when that happens. So I’m now on a huge learning curve to learn about these subtle signs and the techniques to ensure the humans are alpha within the pack.
Dogs will fight to establish who the alpha is and if the dog lays down and exposes their belly or neck, that is a sign of submission to the alpha. I’ve now learned how to train a dog to be submissive to humans without resorting to fighting, violence or bloodshed. It is interesting and astounding to witness a peaceful and gentle, yet firm approach to training.
Spirit moves in mysterious ways as this whole experience has brought something to my attention. The modern social structures that people have between one another follows this same model as a pack. However, we are not pack animals, our nature is tribal. The feudal system has a number of alphas that rule the pack and demands that everyone else be obedient, just as dogs do within their packs. That obedience is often re-enforced through threats, intimidation or even violence, much as dogs do. Submission to the alpha is mandatory if one belongs to the pack.
If we tried this within a tribe, it would cause all kinds of problems. If we don’t approach our tribes differently, we will end up with big problems, resentment, conflict and chaos. Feelings get hurt and we fail to establish the profoundly intimate relationships we required for tribal life. I get the sense that this is a key point to be aware of if trying to build tribes. I’ve seen people use pack behaviours of intimidation and other passive / aggressive behaviours to manipulate the tribe. That does not work. I left tribes as a result of this pack behaviour.
But I am also experiencing being in a tribe where those behaviours don’t cut it and to be frank, I resonate with this approach much better. Tribal life is about honour, peace, consensus, freedom, gifting, receiving, gratitude, caring and building profoundly intimate relationships on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. We cannot do that using pack methodologies. We must learn the tribal methods in order for this to work. I’ve witnessed this unfolding here in natural ways, but also through meaningful and conscious efforts as well. As I experience and explore these ideas, I will share more.
As I spend time in my healing journey, I also find that I am willing to give of my time and efforts to others without expectation of payment or return. My needs are met and I have plenty of time to help others. I want to do this work. It feels important to me. Then I noticed a shift within myself. I’m able to work the whole day again. I’ve not been able to work a full day since at least 2017, when I got very ill. Healing for me is not just the emotional aspects, but has to involve all four parts of me. Bringing them all into balance is what I need for good health and now that I am in an environment that supports that type of Christ Level Consciousness, I’m able to find my way back to that level of health. My environment is just as important to my health as my own body, mind, feelings and spirit.
I’ve not contemplated how important my environment is to my own health before. Sure, I was aware of how important food, water and shelter is, but not the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual environment. Being around people who ‘get it’ AND are on similar journeys towards being good stewards and working on building healthy tribe is a huge part of the environment upon which I am now seeing. In the past, I really struggled finding people who ‘sees’ what I see and work towards this holistic way of life. It is not about ownership or control, it is about relationships and stewardship. I’ve spoken about these principles for years and now have an opportunity to work with others who sees tribal life in similar ways as I do. Bringing the ‘city’ or the colonial ways into this environment does NOT work.
My healing is progressing so quickly that I’m shocked at how well I’m doing. My lump on the back of my neck is shrinking too, which is a profound sign for me. My strength and memory is returning and I now have the energy to do more. My independence is returning and for that I am grateful as I now have the strength and stamina to work on my inter-independent relationships.
