Welcome!

LIMA beings is a community that draws on expertise in learning and behavior with non-human animals to enrich how we navigate our human relationships. We aim to provide a supportive environment for thoughtful conversations about the complexity, nuance, and emotional weight of the challenges we face in our work and in our daily interactions with all beings. 

It is a space for exploration and growth, recognizing that everyone—our dogs and other family members, our clients, colleagues, neighbors, and even (especially) ourselves—will sometimes frustrate or disappoint us. Through compassionate, honest—and often hilarious—conversation, we learn, reflect on and practice interactions with others in ways that uphold our values and ethical standards. We draw on insights from various wisdom traditions and scientific disciplines to guide us as we explore the intersection of animal training and behavior with everyday interactions and relationships.

About LIMA


Core Values

  • Vulnerability

    Reflecting on how we communicate & interact with the wide variety of people we encounter takes practice, self-reflection and diligence. It’s a given that we’re going to make mistakes as we strive to shape our behavior to meet our aspirations. LIMA beings embrace vulnerability – we support each other’s efforts & celebrate our successive approximations of the world we long to see.

  • Growth

    Amidst so much divisiveness, discord & despair, we yearn for a kinder world. We believe that curiosity & compassion, manifested in the countless small behavior choices each of us make every day, can be learned. The environment in which these behaviors occur exert enormous control over our choices. LIMA beings focus more on influencing our internal and external conditions, and less on controlling or coercing others.

  • Kinship

    In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., we “are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” In our divided world, this call to connectedness & interdependence is more evident than ever. We urgently need to foster caring communities in which the needs of everyone are valued. LIMA beings work to fade the line dividing “us” and “them” -- because, when we take a wider perspective, there is only us.

Join Our Community

It isn’t easy to live in this world as a LIMA being, and having a community of exploration and support can make all the difference. Members who subscribe to the community receive a monthly recorded conversation between the founders, and then participate in a monthly live Zoom call to further explore the topic together.
CHECK OUT THE COMMUNITY

Get Access to Free Resources!

Intrigued but not ready to join our membership? Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, in which we share resources including books and articles, podcasts, meditations and poetry that enrich and expand on our conversations. Newsletter subscribers will also receive our "Meditation Guide for Dog Lovers", as well as invitations to our free open houses, which are Zoom conversations we hold a few times a year for those who want to sample the LIMA beings experience.

Built with Kit

The ABC's of Everything Course

If you’re curious about LIMA beings and want to check out how the concepts of Antecedents, Behaviors and Consequences might inform our relationships with the humans in our lives, we encourage you to check out our "ABCs of Everything" course. In three 90-minute sessions the founders explore how we might apply these basic—but complicated—principles of behavior in our daily lives.
CHECK OUT THE COURSE

Check Out Our Merch!

Check out our awesome merchandise from tees to mugs to totes! Cultivate the conditions for compassion by spreading the word of kindness.
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