We always had big dogs at home, but once my dad discovered Rottweilers, he wouldn’t have any other breed. The bigger his dogs were the better he liked them and he also admired his Rotties, in particular, because of their reputation as being “bad boys” in the dog world.

“If you’re afraid, they’ll know it,” my dad always said. “With dogs you have to be calm and sure of yourself.”

I say that Rotties are smart and they know it. You have to be firm with them, because they will push you and if you’re going to have these dogs, it has to be clear that you are the boss.

Working though a major life transition feels a lot like dealing with my dad’s Rottweilers. At this crossroads, it seems that every habit, desirable and undesirable, will rise up to challenge every new pathway or goal. But I have to ask: Is it me or some habit running the show?

We believe that we are thinkers, making decisions through reasoning and conscious thought. We live in this identity, only to find our careful, rational decisions being challenged by the emotional, instinctual part of our nature, perhaps even to the extent where the unruly “animal” side of ourselves threatens to override our reasoning mind.

I never thought of using what I know about dogs as a spiritual until I saw a TV program called Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan.

So many of the things Millan says sound like they come from spiritual teachings: projecting energy consciously, maintaining focus, living in the now and practicing. He could be a teacher of meditation, yoga or many other techniques.

“I rehabilitate dogs. I train people,” says Millan.

Millan’s clients are dog owners anxious for solutions to their pets’ behavior issues. Some of the dogs are so dangerous – “red zone” cases – that the dogs would have to be put down if the behavior could not be improved. Millan teaches humans to become pack leaders in their households and practice calm, assertive energy, which creates major improvements in the dogs’ behavior.

What Millan says reminds me of The Bhagavad Gita and the discussion between Arjuna and Krishna. The Gita uses the allegory of an impending battle as the backdrop for Krishna to teach Arjuna about why it is imperative that Arjuna, the thinker, take control of the mind, the physical body and senses in order to progress spiritually.

“Maintaining an even mind in heat and cold, pleasure and pain, honor and disgrace marks the spiritually mature,” says Krishna. “Maintaining physical, mental and intellectual balance no matter how difficult the challenge leads to permanent cheerfulness, which is the sure sign of a yogi (a godly person of discipline who lives fully in the world).”

Krishna goes on to instruct Arjuna to become the thinker, to understand why he must become the leader within himself and control his emotional, instinctual side.

Millan instructs dog owners to practice the pack leader mindset with their dogs, along with exercise, discipline and affection in that order.

Bottom line: become centered in who you are. Sounds just like spiritual teachers who ask students to become grounded or focus their energy, using similar terms. Perhaps the phrase “pack leader” is just as appropriate.

It was fascinating to watch Millan rebalance the animal energies in his clients’ households and show the humans how to maintain this harmonious state. Rottweilers, says Millan, are the gladiators of the dog world, born to challenge. Two Rotties named Tiger and Roxy were only puppies, but were already heading for the red zone because their humans did not know how to control them. When the humans learned to be calm and practice with the dogs – and Tiger got the job of carrying small items – their behavior changed for the better.

Some of Millan’s human clients report that their self-esteem improves by practicing calm, assertive energy with their dogs every day.

Now I don’t have a dog to walk, but I have plenty of habits to examine and evaluate. Walking, after all, is just a habit of putting one foot in front of the other. Activities as simple as choosing what to eat, when to sleep – all are just habits awaiting direction by the reasoner within us in order to serve our conscious goals.

Of course, simple may not always be easy, but taking the leadership role within ourselves is the key to happiness once we understand it. As the warrior prince Arjuna realizes, after he decides to accept authority over his own mental, emotional and physical worlds, “Where my life seemed unbearable before, those self-created problems have dissolved... My power and joy have returned to me.”

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, whether the technique to practice is exercise, meditation, tai chi, yoga or working with dogs.

Sally Kimbel is a career changer, as well as a student and teacher of metaphysics.