I heard a story recently, and wanted to share it with you. It 
goes something like this: 


Once upon a time...

The chief was sitting at the edge of the village, obviously deep 
in thought. He sat there for hours and hours, seemingly unmoving. 
The tribe was beginning to get worried and restless, but nobody 
wanted to disturb him. An elder eventually got up his courage 
and walked over. "Chief," he asked, "what's going on? You look so 
troubled!" The chief just sat there, and the elder thought that 
he had not heard. Finally the chief spoke. 


And he said: 

"You know, it's like there are two dogs fighting inside of me 
all the time - a white dog and a black dog. The black dog is 
mean and angry. The white dog is good and kind. And the black 
dog is constantly fighting the white dog." 

The elder looked at the chief and said quietly, "Chief, so which 
dog wins?" The chief sat quietly for a moment, and then replied: 
"the one I feed the most." 


The black dog 

All of us have some version of that story going on inside us all 
the time, on some level. Our "black dog self" is mean, irritable,
and angry. It is driven by fear, and has us look at the world 
through the lens of shortage, struggle, and judgment. This is 
how we are when we're feeling small, anxious, and spiritually 
disconnected. 

We act from this place when we honk at someone in traffic, 
worry constantly about money, snap at our families, friends, or 
coworkers, or respond in a way that is defensive, irritable, or 
anxious. Unfortunately, it is all too common for many of us to 
choose to relate with the world from this part of ourselves. 


And the white dog 

Yet we, each of us, also have another part of ourselves, at our 
core, underneath the loud yappings of the "black dog self". This 
is, to continue with the metaphor, our "white dog self", and it 
is guided by love and kindness. This is the part of us that 
longs to live with purpose and to have an impact on the world. 
It is our authentic self, our essence. Our creativity lives 
here, as do our intuition, faith, and sense of connection and 
compassion. 

There's a sense of ease and joy in our life when we approach 
things from this "white dog self". We are honoring this part of 
us when we indulge our creativity, do something nice for someone 
else, act from a place of compassion, or sit in quiet meditation.
The more we learn to recognize, honor, and use this part of 
ourselves, the more joy and fulfillment we'll feel in our daily 
lives. 


It's feeding time

There's a lot of wisdom in the chief's answer. "Feeding the 
dogs" is a metaphor for how we direct our thoughts, what we 
choose to focus on. Have you ever found yourself re-hashing an 
angry conversation in your head? Or dwelling on a mishap? Yup, 
that's feeding the "black dog". 

And what about times when you felt at ease, said "hi" to and 
smiled at people on the street, connected with a vision of where 
you want to be, or sat in quiet meditation to clear the clutter 
out of your head? Those are some possible ways to feed the 
"white dog". 


You have the power 

The best part of this story, the "happily ever after" bit, is 
that you have complete choice of which of these aspects of your 
self you want to bring to the forefront. They are both a part of 
you, and you get to decide, moment by moment, how you want to 
react, and where you want to direct your thoughts and energy. 


Plant the Seeds:

Now it's your turn. Take a couple of minutes and try these 
exercises. Really. Try it now. You never know - hey, what's 
next...? 

1. Take a minute and connect with your "black dog self" - the 
   one that's fearful and irritable. See what it feels like - 
   what are the sensations in your body? What are the messages 
   you're telling yourself - and projecting into the world - 
   when you're in this state? Write these down. 

2. Now, shake off that black dog, and connect with your "white 
   dog self" - that kind, loving place. Breathe into it - what 
   are the sensations in your body from this place? 

3. In your daily life, what proportion of the time do you live 
   from each of these parts of yourself? Start noticing. Play a 
   game with yourself - carry a little card in your wallet, and 
   make two columns on it. Each time you notice you're acting 
   from "black dog self", place a check in the "black dog" 
   column. Ditto for "white dog". Soon you'll gain a richer 
   awareness of your automatic responses, and be able to more 
   actively choose how you react. 

4. What does "feeding the dog" mean to you? How do you feed your 
   black and white dog selves? 

5. Think about a recent situation where you acted from your 
   "black dog self" - a fight, altercation, or other unpleasant 
   situation. Really put yourself back there, into how you were 
   feeling at that time. Now ask yourself - what could be 
   different in that situation if you chose instead to come 
   from love and kindness? 


As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, and 
insights. Drop me a line at mailto:in@heyWhatsNext.com . 


© 2004 Inna Nirenburg