Help Your Animal Fulfill His Mission

My dog, Ginger, is a Reiki master.

My bird, Charlie, is an artist.

Ginger is my heart manager.  Whenever I need a good hug, Ginger lets me hold her and nuzzle her neck, even though she hates being picked up.  She's also a shoe collector.  Every so often I will find my shoes piled up at the top of the stairs.  I really have no idea why, except that it's a compulsion with her.  At least she's not chewing on them.

I found two ladies, Candy Boroditsky and Ming Chee, who are Reiki masters and animal communicators that teach and attune animals to Reiki energy, making them extra efficient healers.   Their site is called Reiki Fur Babies, and they offer training, healing, and communications with your pets even if they have crossed over.  They attuned my pup to Usui Reiki and taught her to heal herself and others, human and animal.  As I already considered Ginger a healer, I thought she'd make a perfect Reiki master.  She seems to agree and took to the training like a champ!
 
Charlie likes to push my buttons.  She does things that forces me to get out of my head and pay attention to her, things that make me yell and jump around and act like a fool - then I have to think about what I just went through because of a bird.  I've decided it's her way of clearing my emotional blocks and keeping my emotional energy body flowing healthily.  That's why I need hugs from Ginger.

Charlie loves to chew on stuff, so I gave her my junk mail to rip to shreds.  After a while I noticed that she had an eye for blank space.  I watched her think about and choose what she wanted to do with each piece of mail, and found that there was a method to her destruction.  I started to take pictures and frame her art.  Her stuff was so interesting to me, she now has a gallery:  www.ArtfulBird.com

I came to the conclusion years ago that our animals have creative spirits just as we do.  They see things from their own perspectives and love to live life with a sense of humor and purpose. We just need to step aside a little and let them explore the possibilities.  They come into our lives to enrich and improve our lives, and they each have their own special abilities that compliment our lives with them.

Mostly, though, our animals come to us to help us.

Part of our purpose as humans is to be of service, and that includes allowing our loved ones to fulfill their purpose, and that includes our pets.

I found a greeting card made from a "The New Yorker" cartoon that I now have hanging on my refrigerator that expresses this perfectly.  Two dogs are walking down the street having a conversation.  One says to the other, "It's always 'Sit,' 'Stay,' 'Heel' - never 'Think,' 'Innovate,' 'Be yourself.'"  Imagine how enriched our lives with our pets would be if we allowed them to innovate and be themselves, to fulfill their true purposes with us as they need to be fulfilled.

 It is widely believed that we come into this world with missions to complete.  We become doctors, parents, lawyers, teachers, children and animal advocates.  We find our passions and spend our lives doing what our souls demand of us.  Some of us look for our soul companions to help and complete us.  Who's to say our animals aren't here to fill that need?

Who's to say that our pets don't come into this world with their own missions?

For instance, maybe your dog is willing to take on your denser energies and they show up as tumors.   Maybe he wants to help you stay healthy.  Maybe the tumors are a visual reminder that you need to take better care of yourself.  Should you deny your dog his purpose?

Your cat curls up on top of your head while you sleep at night.   Maybe this is her way of keeping you warm.  Maybe she wants to soothe your mind and keep your anxiety dreams at bay.  Or maybe she just loves they way your hair smells, or wants to show her appreciation for being who you are.

A field mouse comes to you with a message of the heart.  Maybe he has something to relay to you that will make your life happier or more financially abundant.  Do you run away with a shriek or do you help him fulfill his mission of being a messenger?  How do you know he hasn't been waiting all of his life to tell you something?  A mouse's lifespan is pretty short.  Can you be sure he hasn't tried many lifetimes before to get a message to you and all you do is make him come back later in a different mouse body to try again?

What we need to do is change our perspectives a little to include the perspective of our pets.  There's a lot going on in those little brains that we don't know about.  Scientists are constantly discovering things about animals that astound them and change their beliefs about the animal kingdom.  Did you hear about the discovery that some rats like being tickled?  They laugh and giggle and come back for more, just like children.   This YouTube video is very enlightening, and it shows how little we know about our fellow earthlings.

Maybe our mission is to help our animals do what they came to do.  Maybe it's a grand cycle of acceptance and understanding that can save the planet and all of it's earthlings that we are misinterpreting as an intelligence competition.  Maybe the way to a life filled with love and joy is to encourage our pets to be all that they can be as they share their gifts with us.

Help a critter out - let him carry out his life purpose!

P.S.  I wrote a book about my previous heart manager, Junior, aka: Master Stinkpot.  Sold on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, you can get a free preview at www.MasterStinkpot.com.

Let the Love Flow

Can opening the flow of love to your pet help you avoid heart disease?

Yes. But there is a catch.

When the heart chakra is open, energy constantly flows in causing it to expand.  When energy flows out, it constricts, exactly as the physical heart does.  A consistent cycle keeps the flow even and moving freely, allowing a healthy energy exchange.  When you block the flow in either direction you risk constricting the energy and creating disease.

Many times we try to hold in the energy because we are afraid if we give too much away we will never get it back.  We become hoarders of love.  Conversely, we can feel compelled to give, give, give but not allow the flow to return. For whatever reason, a lack of love during our childhood, feelings of guilt, or a traumatic event, we have a need to protect ourselves and reject love from others.  Either scenario causes a blockage of energy, and as the energy body affects the physical body, heart disease can set in. 

Heart Disease is the result of an imbalance in the heart center.  The heart center is the focal point of all of the energy systems in the entire body, so when the heart fails, so does the rest of your body.   One in four people die as the result of heart disease, which means that one in four people have an imbalance in the heart center.

Have you noticed that when you are around puppies or kittens or any kind of baby animal, you feel better?  You start to smile, feel energetic, a lightness of being and just plain joyful.  Most of us want to pick up that puppy and cuddle with it, play with it, giggle with it.  That is because his heart center is flowing strong and healthy.  It expands to fill the room and takes you with it.  That puppy's love shines so brightly your heart synchronizes with the energy flow of that little animal.  He throws love at you, you accept and throw love back.  It's instinctual.  It's natural.  It's right.

So here's the catch:  you need to keep that open, even flow of love going.

The puppy knows that, and that's why he is entrapping you with his energy.  He wants to come home with you and shower you with love.  He wants you to shower him back with love.  That little heart guru wants to make sure you live a healthy and happy life.

All of our animals want that.  You don't have to bring puppies and kittens home with you every time you meet them.  All you need to do is love the one you're with, as the song goes, and let her love you back.  Accept it in any form your animal wants to share with you and don't reject her gifts.  Learn to recognize what those gifts are and receive them without judgement.  Show your appreciation with your own gift - a hug, a treat, a romp in the yard.  That is what unconditional love is all about; an even exchange of love energy, an even exchange of heart health.

Let the love flow for the heart health of both of you. 

Soul Mate or Soul Challenge?

It's easy to rave about your animal companions when they are loving, easy to live with, happy, emotionally and physically balanced, perfectly healthy, and seem to be the perfect pet.


But what about those companions we bring home that create challenges?  What if you bring home a new family member and he has emotional issues that cause him to chew on everything, pee on your favorite furniture, dig up your yard, attack your ankles or seem to hate you so much he wants to make your life miserable?  What if the health of your little cutie pie took a dive and forced you to make decisions you really didn't want to make?

Here's a radical thought:  Maybe you brought home the perfect animal that you needed in that moment.  Even if you now feel you've made a horrible mistake, consider the possibility that you actually didn't - maybe your animal chose you because he knew he was the perfect catalyst for you to grow as a human being?  Your higher self, your soul, already knew what you needed and you attracted the perfect soul challenge with your pet problems.  Now it is up to you to open up to the bigger picture.  Let your teacher teach!

As humans we can sometimes find growth painful, but growth is necessary.  Our animals seem to know this and can teach us how to rise above our pain, or at least go with the flow of it.  All we have to do is pay attention to the lessons they are trying to teach us.  They understand what we truly need and find ways to move us along our path of evolution.  They create problems that we need to solve.  They mirror our issues and beliefs to show us what we refuse to see.  They nudge us along one way or another to wake us up.  In their own special ways our animal companions work hard to get us to grow, and sometimes it takes us time to step out of the painful picture, reflect and figure out what they did for us, especially if our relationship was a tumultuous one.

As I look back and consider what each of my animal companions did for me, I find that each teacher had a specific goal for me.

My first pet, a hamster named Peaches, showed me I could be a nurturing and loving parent.  

My first dog, Herbert, through his health and emotional problems, led me to the New Age path of holistic healing and personal energy growth, animal communication, and crystal energies, which led me to acknowledge my spiritual teachers, the heart and soul of mother Gaia and her gifts, and more.  Now I am here, a Reiki practitioner and animal ambassador.

Through his stoic ways and dirty looks during my immature hissy fits, my second dog, Walter, showed me I needed to get over myself and let life happen.  Because he got sick early in his life, he let me adopt my spiritual soul mate and writing catalyst, Junior, AKA Master Stinkpot.  That is a story in itself, and I've even written a book about it.

Each bird I adopted came with his/her heart lessons.  Bebe opened my heart to almost explode with love.  Pierre taught me patience and trust.  Charlie, who is still with me, is teaching me to accept that nothing is permanent, it's time to let go of my stuff, because she can chew up everything I try to hold on to and spit it out all over the floor, whether I like it or not.  And let me tell you, for the last ten years I've been chasing her around the house trying hard to keep her from doing just that. 

My dog Jolene comforted me and showed me how to be a strong female.  My present dog, Ginger, is taking on my deep seeded fears and is helping me recognize and transmute them.  Her love and support means a great deal to me.

I happened to get an email newsletter from Val Heart today that echoes this soul challenge sentiment.  Val is a world renowned animal psychic/healer that teaches animal communication and energy healing techniques for our animal companions.  She talks about how she likes to work with the human as well as the animal companion to be a better healer for both.  

Val says, "You may be amazed to discover the phenomenon of the Human Animal BodyMind Connection and how your pet mirrors you.  Many aspects of animal behavior, health and well-being is in fact a reflection of your purpose together.  

 

To solve HEALTH issues, it’s important for me to start with you.  Until you are able to shift, adopt change, heal, grow and evolve, your animal will continue to serve you by showing and acting out your wounds, stressors and issues."

Does your dog have a knee problem?  Check your own body out.  Do you have arthritis in your knee?  Dig deeper - are you feeling a lack of support somewhere in your life?

Does your cat have asthma? Check your environment out.  Is there an allergen affecting your own breathing?  Dig deeper - are you expressing yourself enough? Are you harboring a fear of being heard in your lungs?

When your dog digs up the kitchen floor consider this: is he trying to get to China or find a buried treasure, or is he sending you the message that you need to dig deep, check out your health, and fix your diet?

During the last couple of years of his life, my Walter grew tumors all over his body, inside and out.  I took that as a sign that I had a lot of low frequency issues and he was carrying them around for me, relieving me of the weight of my problems until I could find the strength to tackle them, one by one.  I still feel some guilt about it, but Walter chose to do it, and I know adding the weight of guilt to my pile was the last thing he wanted to do.  Walter died in the early 90's, but the image of him carrying around my stuff still spurs me on to clear my energy body, layer by layer, and the deeper I dig the clearer I get, raising my frequency a tad every time I recognize an issue and send it off to heal. 

That's what our animals do for us. 

In other words, they challenge us to grow into our true selves on purpose.  To heal the pet we need to look to ourselves and see what our problems are - not try so hard to solve the problems our pets are having, but look harder at how we are contributing to the problems through our own issues.  The more we don't get it, the harder they work to get us to. 

So, here's your challenge, accept it or not:  get past the anger, frustration, worry, and the urge to take your troublesome pet to the pound, and figure out what your lesson is.  It could be something as simple as letting someone else help you, or thinking outside of the box, or changing one little thing that will improve both of your lives.  Maybe you are being directed to a path that will change your life forever.  Meet your challenge, whatever it is, and you both will evolve.

My bird, My Trainer

I was working away in the kitchen, power packing my lunch, making breakfast, feeding the dog, washing the dishes, taking my vitamins.  My head was working diligently to keep track of everything I was trying to accomplish in the limited time I had before I headed out to work, and because I was mentally organizing my day, my voice had retreated inward and became loud thoughts that drowned out everything that was trying to enter my ears.

The background noise in my house consisted of some blues playing from my stereo, my dog growling at someone on the street, a car warming up in the cold morning, the outside birds fighting over the birdseed I'd just put out, and my indoor bird chattering away incoherently and, I presumed, happily in her cage.  I had tuned it all out to concentrate on my tasks, letting my inner narration get louder and louder until it drowned out the world.

Then I heard a distinct voice admonish me, "Answer me!"

I had to stop what I was doing to process it.  The cheery sounds my bird, Charlie, had been making in the other room just, I presumed, to entertain herself was actually an attempt to get my attention.  She had been trying to get me to socialize with her, and when I ignored her vocal attempts she pushed at my subconscious.  It worked.  To be clear - Charlie didn't actually say real words, she just created sounds that matched the vowels then poked at my brain to make it sound like real words.  Clever little bird.

I felt compelled to  answer her.  "I'm so sorry, I'm so busy, but I know you're there!  I'll be with you in a second."

On a normal morning I'd have had her out with me in the kitchen while I was working, which would've turned into a game of chasing her around the house to keep her from chewing on my furniture, but this morning my time was limited and I was in a hurry so I'd left her secure in her cage, waiting for her breakfast.  She was patient for a while, but I could tell she was getting irritated with me.  Charlie has a pretty short patience fuse, and she hates it when I retreat into my head, leaving her out of the conversation.

The calling out had sparked a recollection of my father trying to break the hypnotic hold the television had on me when I was a kid.  He'd call my name over and over until he was finally forced to create a totally unfamiliar sound to snap me out of my imagination.  For some reason calling me Dodie worked almost every time.  I applaud my father for realizing I wasn't ignoring him on purpose; I was actually lost in worlds of cartoons, stories, and talented acting.

I made sure I stayed present to Charlie's tweets and chatter from then on, returning her social interaction attempts by whistling and chattering back until I could join her in the living room with our breakfasts.  Charlie enjoys eating with friends.  She also enjoys being part of a conversation, especially when I'm on the phone or talking with my neighbors.  Her two cents matter to her.  This incident made me wonder if she could hear my inner voice chattering away.  Did she do what she did to join in?  Or was the fact I was ignoring her irritating her more?

It is astounding how we learn to tune out the outside world when we get interested in something.  Our brains take over our eardrums and turn down the volume of life to limit the distractions.  This happens more now in my adult life when I'm reading.  If the book is good enough to grab my full attention, the world outside my brain ceases to exist.  Children tune out their parents, husbands tune out their wives - an extension of learning to tune out their mothers - and even dogs will tune out their people when they focus on something new and exciting.

I have to hand it to Charlie for figuring out how to get my attention.

Birds are highly social animals.  Their flock mentality creates ample opportunities to live an emotionally rich life; in the wild they live in a complex social environment.  Like human children, birds are curious, creative, sensitive, energetic beings.  Parrots need to feel accepted, protected and secure in their environment, and important as part of the family.  When you bring a bird home, you become responsible for their mental and emotional well being.  It's all too easy to hide them in the corner of the room and forget about them as members of the family. 

Unless you have a bird like Charlie.

Even though I do my best to give her free range time and quality time with me every day, Charlie has no qualms about letting me know when I've disappointed or disrespected her.  She's trained me to worry about pleasing her, if I've overstepped her boundaries, or give her less attention than she feels she deserves.  If Charlie wants a bath, she gets a bath.  She yells at me and throws her dishes around the cage to get my attention when I get busy elsewhere.  If she wants to chew on something, I better give her something to chew on or she'll pick something irreplaceable to destroy.  She's even guilted me into letting her out of her cage at regular intervals by holding on to her bowels until I do.  I get images of an exploding bird in my head after 18 hours of cage time, something that happens when I have an irregular work schedule, and I feel bad when I have to keep her locked up until I'm ready.  And I have to be ready.

I'm literally hen-pecked into submission.  I have the scars to prove it.

And now I have proof she can talk to me.  It's only a matter of time before she learns how to cuss at me.

Our Master Healers, Our Pets

When I wake up in the mornings, my dog hears me stir from her bed downstairs and rushes up to greet me, bouncing off the side of my bed and begging me for a little attention.  The second I hang my legs over the edge of my bed, she rubs her body up and down the bottom of my feet, activating my chakra points and grounding me to nature.  At the same time she gets a little body massage.

When I come home from work she whines and wiggles until I put my bag down and kneel for a tongue facial.  She then runs around the house like a mad Tasmanian devil dog to express her happiness about my homecoming.  I have a heck of a time getting her to calm down enough to get a leash on her for a walk.

When I sit on the couch she jumps up and leans against me, looks up at me with total adoration, and nibbles on my chin. Soon she ends up taking charge of my lap, covering every inch with her body and tucking her head under my arm.  I don't have the heart to move for a while, even when my bladder starts to fill to capacity, because she is so comfortable and happy.

I think the truth is that she makes me happy, too, with these little acts of love.  Her joyous expressions of having me in her world open my heart, whether I want it to or not, to the possibilities of attracting even more love.  Then, while my heart is so open to receive, my heart stays open to paying it forward to other beings in my world.

Her gift of love is making it possible for me to spread the love.  In her own little way she is acting as a master healer of hearts.  My little dog is saving the world by loving me.

When we live in the vibration of love, our bodies resonate at a high frequency of compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, respect, generosity, joy and peace.  We want to reach out and touch people to allow them to bask in the same vibration.  We find ourselves caring about how we live our lives, how we treat ourselves and other animals, how we can affect change in the world.  We become antennas to attract the higher frequencies that are circulating around the planet, bringing in life changing opportunities, people who also vibrate at that frequency, and spiritual helpers who want to keep the love momentum going.

Living in the vibration of love connects us with all life, all that there is, spirit, mind and body.  We
become complete as a being, harmonized and balanced and in tune with the universe.  We recognize our true value as planetary caretakers and begin to heal our own damaged hearts.

We start to glow with the frequency of love.  Abundance and joy becomes a way of life.  We heal effortlessly by allowing the people around us share our glow.  We become change agents.

Our animal companions work on a subtle level to start this chain reaction.  They come into our homes, find an opening in our hearts and begin the magic, then they depend on us to pass the magic on.  The stay with us as long as they can to keep us vibrating in this frequency, then, if we allow it, another steps in to keep the magic going.

Our animals are our master healers.  It is we who are their students and patients.  It is our learning curve that blocks the flow.

Now is the perfect time to let our animal companions open our hearts and minds to the possibilities.  Set aside any misconceptions you have grown up with and let your companion do his work.

Let your master healer heal you, and the rest will follow.

Another Kind of Food Chain

Imagine:

You are a parent of the best children in the world.  You want to make them happy, give them the best you can, show them how much you love them.

Until one day one of them asks you for a dog.

You panic a little.  A dog?  One more mouth to feed, one more expense you can't afford, something else you have no time for?  Forget it kid.

He insists.  Get me a dog, pleeeeese?  I'll take care of it.  I'll walk it, feed it, clean up after it, love it to death.  Please can I have a dog?

No.  I don't even like dogs.   All they do is chew on the furniture I'm still paying for and kill the grass that I work so hard on.  And I know you.  Give it a week and you'll find something else you just have to have and you'll forget about it.  No way.

Please?  Please, please, pleeeeese?


Eventually you give in, or your spouse does, or some meddling relative does, sneaking a puppy in the house when you weren't looking.  

Dammit.  You better make sure I don't have to do anything for this dog!


But, just like you predicted, after naming the puppy a cute name, enjoying the newness of responsibility and a fun plaything for a few months, schoolwork, soccer practice and music lessons fill every extra second in your children's life and the poor dog takes a backseat to their attention span.

Now what?

Now you have a decision to make.  Should you find the puppy a new home, risking the kids hating you for a month or two, or should you keep it and resent it for becoming just one more problem to worry about for the next twelve years?  

Maybe you should just take a little time to explore why this dog is here in the first place.  Dig a little deeper.  Make friends with your new family member.  Watch him, play with him, train him.  You might find yourself falling in love.  You might recognize the real reason this dog showed up in your life - and it might be you.  Ask him why he worked so hard to come live with you - because maybe he was the one who needed to be with you and your family, and your child was channeling for him.  Your child just happened to be in the perfect state of open heart and mind to allow the puppy speak to you in a language you'd understand.

"Please, can I come live with you? I promise there's a perfectly good reason for me to be in your life."

Before you know it, your best friend is the dog that the puppy grew up into.


Imagine:

You're surfing the internet one day and come across some videos of cute parrots.  You've never had any interest in birds before, don't even feed the ones that gather in your yard every morning.  They poop all over the place, attract mites and make a lot of noise.  You've always considered birds a nuisance, but on this peculiar day you find yourself attracted to the ones in the videos and don't notice the bug that's now planted in the back of your brain.

It's just a passing fancy, you decide.  You'd never bring a bird home, so forget about it.  And you do, for a while.

Then the back of your mind starts to tickle.  You buy a bird feeder, hang it in your yard and fill it with seed.  You start to enjoy the morning birdsong and learn to identify the birds by their calls.  You buy a book about birds, or two, or three.  You start planning your afternoon relaxation time outside, lounging on your lawn chair in the shade while watching the birds come and go, play with each other, and argue over whatever they argue about.  You actually look forward to it. 

You talk to the guy that hangs out with his parrot downtown to learn what he enjoys about his feathered friend.  You start to envy other parrot owners and donate money to bird rescues.  You find yourself hanging out with the parakeets at the pet store up the street. You whistle and coo at them, finding them quite entertaining.   I suppose I could try it, you decide.  I can start with a small bird, a canary or something.  See if I can effectively take care of it.  See if I like it.

So you pick a parakeet, buy a cage and fill it with toys, invest in premium food and perches, and move your furniture around to make room by the window.  You name your bird something cute and eventually don't mind cleaning the cage every other day.  At first the bird is wary of you and bites you when you get too close, but because you've explored training styles and learn to calm your pounding heart, your panic subsides and soon you've taught the parakeet to trust you.  Soon your bird bonds with you, hangs out with you where ever you go in the house and cheers when you come home from work.  You realize you are hooked.  You even think about bringing home another one.

Now is the time to wonder why - why, when you've spent the first half of your life barely noticing the bird world, do you find yourself craving the company of your bird?

Why, indeed.

These stories and more like them are happening all over the world.  Pet ownership is skyrocketing.  In 2015 over eighty million people in the U.S. had pets and spent over sixty billion dollars on them.  Scientists have finally admitted that animals are empathetic, conscious beings and pet parents are laughing at them for taking so long to figure that out.  Over and over again I hear stories about people and their soul partners, their grief over losing them too soon, the memories that changed their lives, and their need to be reconnected with their true loves.  These stories are usually about their companion animals! 

The animal kingdom has figured out a way to get into our hearts and guide us into a better world.  They come into our homes and change us in a direct and purposeful way.

They work with our higher selves, who whisper in our ears until we finally give in and bring our animal companions home, then they work on our hearts.  They come to us to heal our various wounds, teach us lessons we need to learn and grow as human beings, befriend us to raise our self esteem, stand by us when we feel alone.  Like us humans, animals come into this world with a purpose, and unlike us, our animal companions never forget the importance of their purpose. 

We are in charge of this planet.  Our mother earth is craving a change, a vibratory growth, an evolutionary advancement, and we need to facilitate that growth or risk killing the planet. 

To do this we need to advance as well, and the animal kingdom figured out how to assist that advancement.  They work to expand our hearts, bathe us in love and acceptance, gently coax us into changing our perspective until we become better humans despite ourselves.  As our companions channel love into our hearts we channel love into our homes and into the earth.  As we expand into a higher vibration of being, we become a stronger support system for planetary growth.

It's a different kind of food chain.  The small hearts feed the bigger hearts until we all join together to feed the biggest heart of all - the heart of Gaia.  Love is the ultimate source of energy for us all. 

So, even if you end up with a dog you didn't want in the first place, take a little time to thank him for showing up anyway, then let him into your heart.  Let him do his job, fulfill his purpose.  Let him do his work on you and see where it leads you.  Reflect on the animals that had come into your life before this one and take note of the direction your life went after them.  It might take a little time to add two and two together, but I guarantee there are connections to be made. 

Let your animals guide you into a better world.