Spring has Sprung

A week and a half ago, I was out in the yard and discovered, much to my surprise and delight, that one of my daffodils had decided to make an early appearance. Normally, daffodil bulbs don't bloom until February or March, so I was quite intrigued by the December arrival. When my friend Sue came over that week, I made her come out in the yard to see the daffodil. She commented that it was a sign of hope from the Universe. I said, "Are you sure the Universe isn't trying to tell me that it's ok to be impatient?" We had a good laugh about that, as I have been known to be a bit impatient and I liked the idea that the daffodil might be encouraging that particular trait of mine.

A week later, I noticed a second daffodil had arrived. Having ONE was a big enough surprise, but to have TWO daffodils make an early appearance made me think the Universe was trying to get my attention. I looked up the meaning of daffodils and found that they are a sign of new beginnings, rebirth and hope. They can also be a sign of faith, honesty, truth and forgiveness. I found another website that says they are the symbol of unrequited love and "you're the only one for me." I wondered what these daffodils were trying to tell me, as there were so many possibilities.

Today, on Christmas day, a THIRD daffodil sprung up. I was stunned. I have had daffodil bulbs in my yard for fifteen years and I have never had one come up in December, let alone three. I think someone is definitely trying to get a message to me, although I am not entirely sure what the message is.

The interesting thing is, my admiration of daffodils has never been a casual thing. I have been fascinated with them since I was a little girl. They were my favorite flower, from as far back as I can remember. I don't know why, I was just crazy about them. When my parents let me pick out wallpaper for my childhood bedroom, I picked out daffodil wallpaper and I even had a bright yellow comforter and canopy cover to match. You could say I was obsessed with daffodils and I always have been. Even today, while my tastes have moved away from garish wallpaper, I do still have a variety of daffodil pictures adorning my walls.

The two things I remember most from my childhood were my intense love of daffodils and german shepherds. It was as if I was born having an unquenchable thirst for both, yet all my yearning for them never panned out. Throughout my childhood, we never had daffodils in our yard (But I remember getting in big trouble once for picking some out of someone else's yard on the way home from school). And while I begged and begged for a german shepherd, my parent's response was always, "You can have one, when you have your own house."

Fifteen years ago when I bought my house, the first thing I did was plant a bunch of daffodil bulbs. Two months later, I saw Lucky on the news and knew she was supposed to be mine. A month later, I won the lottery at the SPCA and finally had the german shepherd I had always wanted.

A couple months after that, the daffodil bulbs I had planted in October finally bloomed and for the first time in my life, I had my own daffodils. It was as if my life was complete at that moment . . . my childhood dreams had been realized . . . I finally had a german shepherd and I had daffodils to boot! Unfortunately for me, Lucky had a different kind of interest in the daffodils. As soon as they bloomed, I would catch her with her mouth closed tightly over one of the daffodils in the yard. When I would say, "What are you doing?" she would freeze and pretend she didn't know I was talking to her. After a minute of being "frozen" she would gently remove her mouth from the daffodil, leaving it slobbery but not totally ruined. I always had to supervise her in the yard, reminding her to leave the daffodils alone. I don't know if she was jealous of the attention they got from me or what, but she was definitely obsessed with the daffodils, although not in the same way I was.

So, I find it extra curious that these three daffodils would show up in December this year, given that they have always held a special place in my heart, as did Lucky. Maybe it's Lucky letting me know she's still around. Even though the weather has been cold and wet, I have found myself spending a lot more time in the yard and it is hard not to smile when I see them. While I am not entirely sure what the message is that I am supposed to be getting from their early arrival, they have brought me a lot of joy the last week and a half. I suppose for tonight, that is enough of a message.

Preparing Animals for the Holidays

This time every year, I feel compelled to write a plea to animal guardians, to consider their animals during the holiday season. This is a crazy time of year, not just for us but for our animals as well. For animals who live in our homes, it can be very confusing. WE know what's going on, but they don't always understand and it can make the holidays even more stressful for them. This is especially true for animals that are new to our home, but it still applies to animals who have been with us a while and have been through a few holidays seasons.

You may experience all sorts of frustrating experiences, such as your dog deciding to "water" the christmas tree, or your cat who removes half the ornaments from the tree while you are away at work. They may unwrap gifts that have been placed under the tree, or chew through a string of lights. This behavior is typically telling you that the holidays are stressful for them too and chances are, they don't understand what all the hoopla is about.

If you think about it from their perspective, this is what they see:

- People coming and going, with no one sticking to the regular schedules and routines

- Packages being brought into the house, that they aren't supposed to get into

- Trees being dragged into the house, that get a lot of our attention, especially during the decorating process

- Lots of food being prepared in the kitchen, that they don't necessarily share get samples of

- People coming over, sometimes spending the night, often displacing them from their usual hang out spots

They often get yelled at or spoken to in a firm voice. We say things like:

- Get out of those packages, those aren't for you

- Get out of the tree, you are going to break the ornaments

- Stop drinking the water from the tree stand - you have a water bowl

- Don't you dare pee on that tree

- Go in the other room, Aunt Gertrude is allergic to dogs/cats

- You can't lay in the kitchen when I am cooking

It's all very confusing to them and they often don't end up enjoying the holiday season very much. I think the holidays could be much more enjoyable for everyone if we just talked to our animals and explained what was going on. If we can manage their expectations, they can be a part of the celebrations, instead of adding another element of stress to it.

Many people talk about how their animals behave strangely during the holidays and most of the time, I believe it is because they don't understand what is going on. Their regular routine is changed up and they often feel ill at ease because of it.

Imagine if your spouse brought home bags of "goodies" but told you that you couldn't touch them. Wouldn't that make you extra curious about what was in those bags? What if a bunch of people showed up and decided to spend the night without telling you ahead of time? Wouldn't that potentially put your nose out of joint? Especially if those people set up camp in your bedroom and you didn't know where you were supposed to sleep?

If you put yourself in your animals shoes for a moment, you can better understand how it feels from their perspective. Here are some tips:

If you are bringing a christmas tree into the house, explain to them that it is for decoration. Let them know you are making sure it has plenty of water so they don't feel the need to water it themselves. :-) Explain to them that the things hanging on the tree are not for them to play with or eat. Then make sure they know where the things are that they CAN play with and eat.

If you are going to have a house full of people, let your animals know. Tell them . . . this many people are coming and this is how long they are staying.

If you want your animal to do anything different, please let them know. If your animal is going to have to sleep somewhere where they aren't used to sleeping, tell them that and explain why. Let them know how long this new arrangement will last.

If your animal is used to having quiet time to rest in the house and you know that isn't going to be easy when you have a house full of people, tell them where they can go to be "alone" if that's what they need. Give them a specific room in the house they can go to if they need to "get away from it all."

Include them in the celebration in whatever way you can. Whether that is feeding them at the same time the rest of you all are sitting down to eat so they feel they are having a special meal too, or giving them something to unwrap when the rest of you are unwrapping your gifts, let them know they are part of what is going on too.

I believe the holidays can be happier for all of us - 2-legged and 4-legged alike, if we can set everyone's expectations for how things are going to be different for a few days or weeks. Your animals will thank you - in their own special way!

Reiki and Chemotherapy

Sometimes people think you either need to go "all western" or "all eastern" in your approach to medical care but I have seen the positive effects of using a combination of both eastern and western medicine and it makes me think they can complement each other in many cases. I don't actually think there is a right or wrong way to approach health care. I think what is probably most important is that we do what feels right to US and trust our own instincts.

Earlier this fall, I started giving reiki treatments to a dog who was going through chemotherapy. Her name is Kaya and she is an absolute sweetheart. She is a big, beautiful mix breed dog, with golden retriever, german shepherd and maybe another breed too. She had a large cancerous tumor removed from her hip and the vet recommended chemotherapy. Kaya's mom agreed to do the chemotherapy but decided she wanted to include reiki in Kaya's health regiment as well because she wanted to give Kaya the best chance at recovery. Kaya's mom and I were both hopeful that the reiki would help and at the same time, we were unsure of what it would actually do. We knew we needed to just give it a try and see what the results were.

I have been going to see Kaya the day after each round of chemo, which she receives every three weeks, and so far we are really pleased with how she has been doing. She is still her normal happy self and she gives me such an enthusiastic greeting when I come to see her that I feel like I am "Queen for a Day." Kaya's vet is amazed that she has had none of the normal side effects from chemo. She hasn't lost her appetite, she is not lethargic, she hasn't had any G. I. issues. She is doing exceptionally well. There was one time that her liver enzymes were out of whack, so they decided to hold off on her treatment that week. Kaya's mom had me come and give her a reiki treatment and I focused much of the session on her liver. The next week, when she got her blood work done, everything was back in balance again and she was able to resume treatment.

I know one of the reasons many people opt not to go the chemo route, is because of the side effects and their concern that their animal's quality of life will diminish too much during the treatment. That is one of the reasons it's been so exciting for me to see how much the reiki treatments are helping Kaya through her chemotherapy treatments. It makes me wonder if other animals (and people) would have an easier time going through chemo if they received some energetic support to keep their bodies in balance. After seeing the way Kaya has responded, it certainly fills me with hope that it is a possibility.

Gratitude

With Thanksgiving occurring this week, I found myself thinking a lot about what I was grateful for. Surprisingly, the day I was able to most easily tap into my gratitude was Monday, when I was at a funeral. The mother of one of my best friends from high school passed away and I went to the service they held for her. I know it may sound kind of odd that I felt gratitude on such a sad occasion but it was a very touching experience and I have been reflecting on it all week.

I haven't seen much of my old group of girlfriends in the last twenty seven years. We were all incredibly close in high school, but we slowly drifted apart in the years that followed. Our lives just seemed to take us in different directions. When I heard about Shannon's mom passing away, there was no doubt in my mind that I needed to be at the service, that I needed to be there for her.

I was a little nervous when I first walked into the church, in part because they started with a rosary and I don't know how to do one of those . . . despite my catholic upbringing. My nervousness started to dissipate when I looked around the church and I saw that almost everyone from my old gang had also made sure they were there to lend their support to Shannon on such a difficult day. Life may have taken us in different directions, but when Shannon needed us, we were all there. I slid into a pew next to one of my old friends, Wendy, and after a quiet but heartfelt hello, we sat there respectfully observing the rosary. (Wendy, who was also raised catholic, didn't know how to do a rosary either, which made me feel a little bit better).

During the service, stories were shared about Shannon's mom and there was one story in particular that really touched me because it so accurately and so beautifully described Shannon's mom. She had the biggest heart, and the thing that I always remembered about her was that her kindness occurred without any effort. It was just who she was.

This particular story was about a time their family had gone to a local restaurant for dinner. Their waitress was doing a terrible job, moving as slow as molasses, forgetting what they had ordered, bringing the wrong things to the table, etc. Most people would have been really frustrated by the bad service and would have either complained to management or become short tempered with the waitress but not Shannon's mom.

Instead, she called the waitress over to their table and said, "Honey, are you doing alright?" The waitress's eyes immediately filled with tears and Shannon's mom asked her to sit down at their table and talk to her. The waitress said she'd get in trouble if she sat down, but Shannon's mom was not deterred. She said, "Don't worry, I'll smooth things over with your manager. It looks like you could really use some support right now." Because of the genuineness of her request, the waitress sat down and proceeded to tell Shannon's mom what was going on in her life that had her so upset and distracted. I don't even remember what that part of the story was, probably because it wasn't as important to me. I just remember being in awe as I heard of the kindness Shannon's mom showed the waitress in that moment, when most people, including me, would probably have just be irritated by the bad service.

After they had talked for a while, the waitress was able to get back to work and the service they received from that point on was wonderful . . . and not just their table, but all the tables in her section. She was able to be fully present and do her job well because someone had been present for her. Someone had reached out and let her know that they cared. Even though Shannon's mom was a stranger, her concern was so genuine, it didn't matter that they had never met before.

It's something I will always remember about Shannon's mom . . . she really payed attention to people and she genuinely cared. In the years after college, I battled with my weight quite a bit (I put on the "freshman 15" each year I was in college and I had a tough time taking the weight back off). Whenever I saw Shannon's mom, she would always notice if I had lost weight, even if it was only a few pounds, and she would encourage me to keep taking care of myself. She always "saw you" and she saw you with her heart.

This week, I have been thinking about how grateful I am that there are people like Shannon's mom in this world. She had a positive impact on everyone she came in contact with. She didn't have to "try" to care, it came to her naturally and she made a difference in this world by just being who she was. She probably touched more people's lives than she ever realized and I feel grateful that my life was one of the lives that was touched by her presence.

Following the service, there was a celebration that almost everyone from the church attended. All my old friends from high school gathered together and I couldn't help but feel tremendous comfort and joy to be seeing them all again. We laughed about old times and got caught up on the present. It didn't seem to matter how many years had gone by, we were all just so happy to be together again. At one point, Cece said she felt a little guilty that we were enjoying ourselves so much on such a somber occasion, but I knew Shannon's mom would be happy that we were connecting again and having a good time. I knew she would be pleased that we were all "seeing" one another again.

The experience on Monday helped me reconnect with what is important in life. I was reminded that it's not about the quantity of time you spend with people, but the quality of your time together . . . that it doesn't take much effort to have a truly positive impact on the people you encounter, sometimes, it's as simple as being present and "seeing" them . . . that it is as important to see with your heart as it is to see with your eyes. It also reminded me that the people you don't know are just as important as the people you do know, and that no matter how much time passes, a true friend will always be that . . . a true friend.

On a final note . . . this weekend, I felt inspired to look through some old pictures. During my walk down memory lane, I came across an interesting photo from my childhood. From this picture, it seems as though my dad *did* try to teach me how to do a rosary, although I suppose I might have been too young for the lesson to stick, given that I was only fourteen months at the time.

Even though I was very sad that Shannon's mom had to leave this earth, I am grateful that I had the honor of knowing her, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be reminded of the beautiful way she carried herself in this world. She is definitely serving as a role model in my life.

Honoring Butch

About a month ago, my friend Sue called me because her dog Butch had suddenly become very ill. He wouldn't eat, he was throwing up constantly and she was really worried about him. To make matters worse, Butch had diabetes and needed daily insulin shots, but if she gave him insulin on an empty stomach, he would have a seizure, so she really needed to find a way to get him to eat, or he could die from not having insulin. She asked me if I would come and give him a Reiki treatment.

Within a couple of days of my first visit with Butch, Sue's veterinarian gave her the worst news a person could receive . . . Butch had cancer that had spread throughout his entire body (the cancer was in so many places, the ultra-sound technician stopped writing down the locations he was finding it in Butch's body) and there were no treatment options. Sue was left with the devastating truth that her sweet boy was going to die and understandably, it felt like the bottom was dropping out of her world.

She wanted to make him as comfortable as possible so we started doing reiki treatments for Butch every other day. Fortunately, the reiki seemed to increase his appetite. It was pretty much guaranteed that he would eat after he got reiki, (and if he ate, then Sue was able to give him insulin), so for that reason alone, we kept up with the frequent reiki treatments.

The thing that was really interesting was that Butch would go into such a deep state of relaxation during a reiki treatment, it was as if he was going into a trance. Sue and I had both watched the video that I posted on my blog, about the wolf who went into a deep trance during energy healing sessions and we were amazed that it seemed Butch was doing the same thing. I could feel from him how much he wanted the energy, how much he wanted to feel better. It was as if he was going into another dimension during the reiki treatments. Something kept telling me I was witnessing something that was beyond my comprehension.

The first couple of weeks were pretty rocky . . . even though Butch was eating more, and was more stable because of the insulin, other strange things were occurring, like the day his back end went out on him while they were out for a walk and some days he had trouble standing up for more than a minute or so. It seemed that every day, there was something different going on, so Sue and I checked in with each other every day to talk about how he was doing. I continued to go over there every other day to give him reiki treatments. We just wanted to give him as much love and support as we could.

After about two weeks, when Sue called to give me an update, she sounded more upbeat. She said "Butch is doing really well. I am interested to see what you think when you come over here tonight." I wasn't sure what to expect but I was completely blown away when I got to her house. Butch greeted me at the door, his tail wagging so much his whole back end wagged and he was sturdier on his feet than he had been in weeks. I couldn't believe my eyes. He was acting like a dog who had never been sick a day in his life.

They invited me to stay for dinner and Butch joined us in the dining room. He ate everything that was offered to him, and when Sue's boyfriend Steve got out some blue cheese for his salad, Butch barked at him to let him know he'd like some blue cheese too. :-) And a little while later, Butch barked as Steve again, as if to say, "I'd like some more please!" (Steve wasn't about to say no, so back to the refrigerator he went) :-) I couldn't explain what we were witnessing, I didn't know what it meant. I just kept telling Sue and Steve to consider it a gift and to enjoy every moment of it.

For the next couple weeks, enjoy it they did! Butch was back to his old self, doing all the things that made them smile, like standing up in the car and sticking his head out the window, barking at passing trucks, eating everything they offered him with gusto, (even regular old dog food), protecting the yard from squirrels, etc. He even resumed one of behaviors that Sue treasured most . . . when she gave him a special treat, he would go out in the backyard and bury it. It was something he had done all his life and the ring of dirt on Butch's nose when he came back in the house always made her smile. Butch hadn't buried anything in a while, but now, he was doing it again and it was bringing her tremendous joy. They went for walks and car rides, they hung out in the backyard and listened to jazz music, they embraced the opportunity they were being given to be together as a happy family.

Last Monday, the miracle we had been witnessing came to an end. Butch was lethargic that morning and he wasn't interested in eating. By Tuesday, his back end was getting weak again. I went that night to give him a reiki treatment and as usual, he went into the deep trance and pulled a ton of energy. Afterwards, he told me that he wasn't sure he was going to be able to pull through but he wanted to try. He said he'd know by the next day if he was going to be able to do it.

When Sue and I talked the next morning, she said he was worse. She stayed home from work because she could feel Butch telling her not to leave the house. I went there that afternoon and she was right, he was getting ready to make his transition. I helped Sue and Butch talk through everything. We explained to him that a vet could come and help him if he needed help and he was ok with that, if need be. I fought back tears as I shared all the things Butch wanted Sue to know . . . that he was sorry that he couldn't fight it anymore . . . how deeply he loved her, etc.

For a while, we just sat there on the floor with him as we talked about what a beautiful gift Butch had been in her life . . . the joy he brought her (she called him her Joy Bug), the way he cared for her and protected her. Several years ago, when Sue had her own battle with cancer, Butch was there by her side to help her through it. She was often bedridden for days after a chemo treatment and Butch would lay there with her, his head resting in the crook of her neck for hours at a time, making sure she knew he was there for her.

The whole time we were talking, Butch kept looking at Sue, with a look of love and adoration that could take your breath away. I could feel how he was savoring the time he had left with the woman he loved most in the world, his mom.

Then all of the sudden, he began to stretch and as he arched his back slightly, I could tell that he was about to go. Sue and I each had a hand on his heart, as she told him how much she loved him. His heartbeat grew faint and then stopped. Just as I was thinking, "Oh god, where is Steve" we heard the door open, and Steve walked into the house. Suddenly, Butch gasped for air and his heart started beating again. We called to Steve and he was able to join us on the floor and say good bye to Butch, before his heart slowed down again and then stopped. I had never witnessed anything like it before . . . clearly Butch couldn't go without seeing Steve one more time.

It was such a deeply moving experience for me. To be there, to witness the depth of his love for his mom and dad, to see how important it was to him that he see his dad one more time, to watch him make his transition . . . it was truly an honor to be there. And at the same time, my heart ached so deeply for Sue and Steve, because I knew what dark days lay ahead for them, as the waves of grief washed over them and they tried to adjust to life without their Joy Bug.

I wish I could explain what happened, during those days where Butch seemed 100% healthy and so full of life. In our conversation before he made his transition, Butch did ask his mom to focus on those fun days, instead of how he was on his last day, so maybe it was part of his plan . . . to make sure his mom and dad had joyful memories to hold on to. For me, I felt like I witnessed a miracle, even if it only lasted a short time, it was still a miracle to me.

My Roommates Are Gone

A few weeks back, I wrote about the fact that I discovered I had a bee hive in the wall of my home, and that I had decided I was just going to enjoy my new roommates for a while. I wasn't in a hurry, because the hive was behind the shower wall in my guest bathroom and everyone I talked to said the shower surround would probably have to be torn out to get to the hive. That was a very unsettling and very expensive proposition. Remodeling the bathroom was not in my budget so I decided to just enjoy the bees . . . but my plan was thwarted a few weeks ago, when word got out in the neighborhood rat community that I had honey in my walls. The rats have one heck of a communication system because in a matter of days, it seems that every rat in San Jose was running through the walls of my house.

I spent hours on the phone, trying to find someone to patch up the rat-access points. I had a real sense of urgency now, not only because I did not want to have rats in my house, but I didn't want anything to happen to the bees, but everyone told me I needed to get the bees and honey out of there first. I turned my attention to finding a bee person and I was shocked by how many people wanted to kill the bees, claiming it was the only way to do it.

I was so thankful when I got in touch with Braulio Medina, from Smiling Bee. I knew immediately that he was the person I was going to work with. He is a 3rd generation bee keeper, who has a real love and respect for bees. Not only does he know everything there is to know about bees but he also really cares about his customers. He spent almost two hours here, trying to assess the size of the hive and figure out how he could remove it, without forcing me to re-model the shower in my guest bathroom. I got such a good feeling from him and I knew the bees and I would be in good hands.

He's been here all weekend, saving the bees and trying to remove all the honeycomb, while attempting to do all that work without making a hole in any of my walls. It's been a fascinating experience for me and I have learned a lot about bees in the last few days. Did you know that worker bees only live an average of 35-40 days . . . while a Queen can live up to five years? Braulio kind of reminds me of Cesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer). He has a calm confidence about him when he's working with the bees and the bees respond accordingly. He was kind enough to educate me about what he was doing along the way. At one point yesterday, he had me come out to see the honeycomb he had pulled out. When I asked him if that was all of it, he told me that it was only ONE QUARTER of the honeycomb. I was shocked. Those bees have been BUSY. He asked if I wanted to stay there while he found the Queen, so I could see what she looked like, but after about ten minutes of standing there, with a hundred bees flying all around us, I started to lose my "calm confidence" and decided that it would be ok if I didn't see the Queen in person, and I went back inside the house. :-)

Later, Braulio asked me if I would like to try some of the honey. I of course said, "Yes!" It was the best honey I have ever tasted. Sweet and pure. It made the store bought honey in my cupboard seem incredibly inferior. It blows me away that bees can create something so amazing, all on their own. He gave me several pieces of honeycomb and I took a picture. When he came back today to try to reach an area he couldn't access yesterday, he found even more honeycomb back there, so now it's looking like the big section of honeycomb I saw and photographed yesterday was only ONE-FIFTH of what was up there in my wall. He was so sweet, he gave me even more honeycomb today.

While it was fun having the bees around, I know they are better off where Braulio has relocated them. (They will eventually get to go to his almond farm.) I joked around with him yesterday, asking if he would ensure they got the best home, with the best accommodations. He assured me they would. :-)

One final interesting tidbit . . . when I asked him how long it would take for the bees to make that much honey, he said "About a year." It was a year ago that Lucky passed away and interestingly enough, Lucky loved eating bees. She ate hundred of them in the years we were together, so I find it oddly poetic that bees set up house in my wall about the same time she left me. I don't know if the bees just didn't want me to be lonely, or if they were getting even with me for letting her eat so many bees over the years. Not that I had much choice, she could find and eat a bee before I even noticed one was around. She was quick!

What's important to me though, is that the bees have been saved and thanks to Braulio's determination and care, I don't have any major wall repairs to contend with. Now if I can just make sure all the neighborhood rats know the "restaurant in my wall" has been closed, I'll be in good shape!

The Two Sides of Animals

Many animal communicators talk about the different sides of an animal they communicate with and they often refer to those two sides as the "personality" and the "soul." I tend to think of it more as communicating with the young part of an animal vs. their older/wiser self. Regardless, you don't have to be an animal communicator to experience these two parts of your animal. Your animal may be operating from their older/wiser self when they are trying to help you learn something they have come into your life to teach you, and they may be operating from their younger self when they act goofy, attack the toilet paper roll in the bathroom or steal food off the counter.

I had an experience recently where I got to witness the young side of an animal, and it had me laughing for days. I had gone to see Leo after he had major knee surgery, hoping the reiki would help speed up the healing process. Leo is a very happy, very active dog, who was not thrilled that his movement needed to be limited for so many weeks, so while doing reiki on his leg, his mom and I were talking about her challenge of keeping him inactive, when the last thing Leo wanted to do was sit still.

She and I were brainstorming ways she could mentally stimulate him, while still keeping him relatively quiet. I suggested taking him for car rides, so he could at least have an outing and see/smell things as they drove around. His mom told me that car rides weren't an option because Leo got too wound up and excited when they were getting into the car and that he would insist on excitedly jumping in, even when she was trying to get him to slowly, calmly get into the car. She thought it was too big of a risk.

Not one to be deterred, I began talking to Leo about it, explaining to him that if he could be more calm when they got into the car, his mom might be more willing to take him out for rides, when all of the sudden he got really fidgety. He had been laying there, very calmly receiving reiki but as soon as I started asking him if he could share in the responsibility of ensuring he didn't overdo it and injure his healing leg, he began licking his paws, trying to lick the area where his stitches were, turning his head away repeatedly, refusing to look at me. His mom and I were humored by his reaction and when we changed the subject, he became very calm again and layed down to enjoy his reiki treatment.

A few minutes later, I tried talking about it again and immediately, Leo started the same behavior . . . fidgeting, licking, refusing to look at me. Clearly, he did not want to hear what I was saying. What I was picking up from him was the equivalent of a child putting their hands over their ears and saying, "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

Since Leo didn't want to talk about the car rides, his mom and I went back to talking about other ways she could give him mental stimulation during these weeks of forced rest. I asked her if she would consider reading to him, as I have seen the positive effects of reading to animals before. She said she was opened to giving it a try.

The next week, I went back to see Leo again and his mom informed me that Leo did not enjoy being read to. I was surprised so I asked her what she read to him and she replied, "Muffin Mouse's New House." I could immediately sense what Leo was feeling . . . the book was WAY too juvenile for him. I teased his mom about it and explained to her that Leo would be more interested in a book that was a little deeper, a little more mature. (I felt I was communicating with his older/wiser self at this point). We had a really good laugh about "Muffin Mouse's New House" and she told him she'd find a better book to read to him.

The next week, I got an email from Leo's mom, telling me that she had read some of Wayne Dyer's "The Power Of Intention," to Leo and that he had a much better reaction. She said that he seemed very interested the whole time she was reading and interestingly enough, the chapter was about physical healing. Clearly, Leo felt he could get more out of "The Power of Intention" than he could out of "Muffin Mouse's New House."

That same week, they had to go to the vet to get his stitches out. Leo's mom reported that for the first time, Leo was a perfect angel getting in and out of the car, moving as slowly and as carefully as she had asked him too. Even though Leo didn't want to hear what we were saying about the car all those weeks earlier, he obviously had listened. Now his mom is much more comfortable taking him in the car, since he has shown he can share in the responsibility of ensuring he doesn't damage his leg before it fully heals.

So, keep in mind that your animals have these two sides as well . . . their "wise self" and their "young self" . . . and regardless of which side they are operating from, they are always trying to communicate something to you.

Earth Fire Institute

I was recently introduced to an amazing organization called The Earth Fire Institute (http://earthfireinstitute.org/) by one of my clients. They are a wildlife sanctuary in Idaho and they provide a home for animals who are no longer capable of living in the wild. Everything about this organization resonates with me. They are living out one of my dreams . . . and as a way of living vicariously through their experiences, I have spent hours delving into all the content on their website.

There is a section where you can read stories about all the animals who live there. (Go to the "Meet the Animals" tab). The stories will make you smile, make you cry and touch your heart.

The sanctuary is also a home to many wolves, bears, cougars, buffalo, etc. If you have an interest in learning more about wild animals and how their lives can be positively impacted when they are treated with kindness and respect, you will thoroughly enjoy every page of this website.

I poured over the stories about the wolves, as I have always had a special fondness for wolves, and I was so moved by the love, respect and tender care they are receiving at Earth Fire, it made me want to pack a suitcase and fly up there.

There is a video on the site that touched me very deeply. It shows one of the wolves, Apricot, who has a neurological disorder, allow someone to do energy healing treatments on her. Prior to trying energy healing, the only other option they were given for treatment was to give Apricot dangerous drugs to relieve her pain. To see how receptive this wolf was to energy healing, to see how much she allowed herself to trust the healer and surrender to the process was awe inspiring.

http://earthfireinstitute.org/2010/04/energy-healing-wolf/

I hope that you will take an opportunity to check out their website and learn more about the amazing work these folks are doing up there. It will give you a new perspective how incredibly wise and magical wild animals really are and what kind of relationship is possible when we allow ourselves to embrace the truth about the depth of animals ability to think and feel.

The joy of vacuuming

October 15th was the one year anniversary of Lucky's passing, so last weekend, I decided to cajole myself into doing a couple things I hadn't been able to do in the past year . . . clean out her toy basket and vacuum the stairs.

I wasn't as successful as I hoped I'd be in the first activity. I dumped all her toys on the floor, figuring I would throw out all the ones that were worn out or torn up but I wasn't finding much I was willing to part with. I didn't cry or feel sad and it wasn't that I couldn't part with the toys because of some deep emotional attachment to them. I had this odd calmness come over me as I went through the exercise. I kept getting a feeling there was a good chance Lucky would come back to me some day and I was sure she'd enjoy being reunited with her most favorite toys. If you don't believe in reincarnation, you might think that I am deep in denial, but since I do believe animals come back to spend another lifetime with their previous guardians, it didn't feel out of the realm of possibilities. As I went through her toy basket, I kept getting a strong "knowing" that she would be back.

After going through all of her toys, only about 10-12 of them ended up in the garbage. The remaining toys (over 50 or more) ended up back in the basket. So, one task down (even if I barely got a "C" for my effort) and it was onto the next . . . vacuuming the stairs.

You may be thinking it's rather strange that I haven't been able to vacuum the stairs since Lucky passed away, but it's because it was Lucky's most favorite house cleaning chore and never in my life had I seen a dog so filled with glee at the sight of a hand-held vacuum cleaner. The second I pulled the hand-vac out of the hall closet, Lucky would grab a tennis ball and immediately run to the top of the stairs and wait for the "Stair game" to begin. Even when I hadn't planned on vacuuming the stairs, (i.e. when I had pulled out the hand-vac to clean some cobwebs or something else), I would end up vacuuming the stairs because her joy was so contagious and I couldn't bring myself to tell her, "No, we're not going to vacuum the stairs today." (Especially since she would run to the top of the stairs as soon as I pulled out the hand-vac and she wouldn't budge from that spot until the "game" began).

The game consisted of me starting at the bottom of the stairs and her laying at the top of the stairs. She would spit the tennis ball out of her mouth, watching it bounce down the steps until it got to me. It was then up to me to grab the tennnis ball (while still vacuuming the step) and throw it back up to her. She would catch the ball and then promptly spit the ball out of her mouth again, watching it bounce down the steps until it reached me. The game continued until the gap between us was only one step.

It sounds like a easy and maybe even boring game, but there were all sorts of challenges that made the game even more fun, like if I missed the ball, or lost my balance while trying to grab the ball, or when I threw the ball up to her and it bounced off her teeth and came flying back towards me, or if it was just a bad throw that ricocheted off the wall instead of landing in her mouth. All these "challenges" added joy to the game for Lucky and her eyes would sparkle with delight. There are only thirteen steps to the second floor, but sometimes the "Stair game" would last a half an hour or longer. I'm pretty sure I had the cleanest stairs in the world in all the years Lucky was with me.

Even in the last part of Lucky's life, when her back end was weak and she couldn't go up the stairs anymore, we would still play the "Stair game." I remember one day towards the end of her life, I wanted to vacuum the dog hair off the stairs before company arrived and I was just going to do it quickly, by myself . . . but the look on her face when I pulled out the hand-vac told me that it was no time to start a new tradition. I helped her to the top of the stairs and handed her a tennis ball, then went to the bottom of the stairs to begin vacuuming. The twinkle in her eyes and the sheer joy on her face confirmed for me that the game was still one of her most favorite things, and even though she needed my help at the start and the end of the game, it didn't take away from the experience. She happily dropped the ball, watched it bounce down the steps towards me and the game was on!!

So, last weekend when I set out to finally vacuum the stairs, I was afraid it would be too hard to do it without her, which is why my stairs have gone un-vacuumed all year. Much to my delight, I actually enjoyed it. I had a moment of sadness when I first started, but mostly it just made me smile, as I thought about the hundreds of times Lucky convinced me we needed to "clean house" and how she managed to help me find enjoyment in a task that I used to dread.

I'm happy to say I think I am going to be able to vacuum the stairs now without any trouble, and even though a lot of people may think I am a little crazy, I'll be hanging onto Lucky's toys for a while longer, so if she comes back, she'll be able to play with them again.

New Beginnings

This week, I was contacted by one of my former clients, who I hadn't seen much of since her precious Natalie passed away last December. She and her husband decided it was time for them to get another dog, so a few weeks ago, they adopted a dog from a rescue organization. Their new dog, Shasta, was exhibiting a lot of anxiety and she had already earned the nickname "Velcro" because of the way she "attached herself" to them. She asked me if I could come and do a session with them.

She told me that Shasta looked like a cross between Lucky and Natalie and that it warmed her heart that Shasta looked like a combination of our two girls. Natalie was an aussie, so I was anxious to see what an ausie/shepherd would look like. When I got to their house yesterday, I understood what she was talking about. Shasta is definitely an aussie . . . in body style and fur, her tail . . . . she was all aussie . . . but she was black and tan in coloring, just like a shepherd and she had shepherd ears that stood up, instead of a normal aussie ear that flops down. She grabbed my heart immediately, not just because of how much she looked like Natalie and Lucky, but because she had the most incredibly soulful eyes.

My clients were concerned about her anxiety and having never had a rescue dog before, they were also worried about how to correct the unwanted behaviors she was exhibiting, as the last thing they wanted to do was cause anymore stress for a dog who had been through so much in her first 3-4 years.

Fortunately, Shasta was incredibly receptive to the energy and she immediately laid down and started to soak it up, while I talked with her mom and dad about their concerns and questions. She even fell asleep for a while, which shocked her parents, as they hadn't seen her that relaxed since she came to live with them two weeks ago.

As is very common with rescue dogs, they have a fear of being given up, especially if they have changed homes more than once and they can experience a lot of anxiety. Shasta spent the first few years of her life living with a woman who worked all the time and she spent almost every day alone in the backyard. Eventually, she figured out how to get out of the yard and would wait on the porch for her guardian to come home and while it didn't concern her guardian, it concerned the postal worker who came to the house every day. Lets just say, Shasta didn't make him feel welcome, and her guardian was forced to give her up. She went to the shelter, then to a rescue group, was adopted out, and then returned, then back in a foster home. She was experiencing a lot of fear that she wouldn't get to stay in this new home very long either, which was why she was being "velcro girl." We talked to her about how she was never going to have to change homes again, that this was her forever home. I could feel that a lot of her anxiety was tied to this fear, so I knew it was important to assure her that she wasn't going to have to change homes again.

I realized that Shasta didn't have as advanced of a vocabulary as most dogs her age, probably because she spent so much time alone in her first three years. (Since animals learn our language from being around us, just like babies, they need to be exposed to hearing people talk if they are going to learn the language). I talked to her guardians about keeping the communication simple for a while, until she has a chance to expand her vocabulary. It made sense to them, as they knew she was really smart and had shown she could learn some things quickly, but sometimes, she didn't seem to understand them at all. They realized that when she didn't understand them, they were probably using too many words and talking too fast.

We discussed the delicate balance of correcting behavior in an animal that is already fearful. It is something that is very important to be aware of when you have adopted a rescue animal. If you come on too strong, you can make the animals behavior worse, but if you are too soft, you can end up with a situation that is equally out of control. Between my experience with Lucky, as well as the years I volunteered for the German Shepherd Rescue organization, I learned just how important it is to find that balance.

One of the key ingredients to me is redirection. If an animal is doing something you don't want them to do (i.e. chewing on one of your shoes), it is not helpful to just yell at the dog for chewing the shoe, nor is it helpful to just ignore your now destroyed loafer. You need to show them what they CAN chew on. Sure, tell them "no" as you take the shoe away, but then you need to help them understand what IS acceptable to chew on. Animals learn incredibly fast when you use redirection as a method of training.

Anyway, back to Shasta. She soaked up a ton of energy and her parents said she looked like a different dog by the end of the treatment. She was so calm and relaxed. They all walked me to the gate together and when her dad opened the gate, he asked her to sit. She sat immediately but then a couple seconds later, she got up and started exploring the front yard. Her dad called her back and she immediately responded. He asked her to sit and she did. However, two seconds later, she was up exploring the front yard again.

I smiled at her dad and said, "Do you mind a little feedback?" and he said, "Absolutely, I'm open" so I pointed out that he wasn't telling her how LONG she had to sit, which was why she came to him and sat each time, but only for a second or two. We all had a good laugh and her dad said he'd start working on a release command so that she could learn that she needed to sit until he said it was OK to go. He tried it before I walked away and Shasta sat and stayed while I walked down the driveway and to my car. (Talk about a quick learner!)

As I drove away from their house, I knew everything was going to be OK. I smiled as I thought about what a beautiful new beginning it was for all of them. For my clients who were welcoming a new family member into their home and hearts and for Shasta, who was going to learn that she was now truly "home." I have a feeling they are all going to live happily ever after.

Am I ready for another dog?

A few weeks ago, during the heat wave, a friend of mine called and asked if I would babysit her dog for a few hours that evening. It was too hot for him to be in the car and she didn't have enough time to drive him back home. I, of course, said, "Yes!" It has been a while since I had a dog to hang out with in the house, and the fact that he was a german shepherd made the opportunity that much sweeter.

Bear is a rescue, whom my friend has only had for about 6 weeks, so she's still getting to know him. One thing she does know is that, in spite of all he had been through before he came to live with her, he has bonded with her and subsequently, has a little trouble being away from her. I was sure he would be fine in my capable hands . . . that is until she left, and then I started to wonder.

The second she pulled away from my house, he started to get really anxious. He paced around the front door, then ran into the backyard to see if there was a way out, then came back inside the house and whined and paced at the front door some more. I tried coaxing him away from the door, but he wouldn't budge.

This is one of those times where it's tough being an empathic person, because I literally felt every ounce of his anxiety in my own body. I tried to talk to him and assure him that his mom would be back in a few hours, I tried distracting him with treats, I tried everything I could think of and still, the anxiety hadn't lessened.

I decided that maybe a walk would be helpful, so he (and I) could work some of the anxiety out of our bodies. I put the leash on him and we had a nice walk around the neighborhood. When we got back to the house, I offered him some water (and I decided it was a good thing that I hadn't been able to part with Lucky's bowls yet). He drank some water and seemed OK for a minute, but then went back to the front door. He laid down in the entry way and pressed his nose against the door. He was a little calmer, which was a good thing, but he still was feeling anxiety about his mom's return.

After a little while, I decided maybe another walk was in order because I didn't think it would be good for him to spend the rest of the evening with his nose pressed against the door. He happily got up, and let me put the leash on him and he seemed pleased to be out walking again. We cruised around the neighborhood for a while and when I could feel an improvement in his anxiety level, we headed back to my house.

This time, after offering him some water, I was able to get him to lay down on the floor in the family room. I considered that a major accomplishment. :-) I put my hands on him and started to give him some Reiki, to see if the energy could help calm him further. Within a few minutes, I was flooded with emotion, as he showed me what had happened to him in his previous 6 years. When I say he "showed me" - it's not like they were clear pictures and specific instances. It's as if you are watching a movie at such a high speed that you can't actually see any of the images . . . but what I could feel were his emotions . . . the fear, the sadness, the loneliness, the despair. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I apologized to him for what he had been through and told him how sorry I was that he hadn't been treated the way he should have been. I told him that I knew his new mom really well and that I was certain he would never experience anything but love and kindness in her care.

When his mom returned to pick him up, he was over the moon. He kissed her and kissed her and laid at her feet and rolled over on his back and made all sorts of sweet sounds. He clearly knew she was a very special person and that he was very lucky to have found her. It was such a precious thing to witness.

As for me, I was really glad I got a chance to have a dog in the house, even if it was just for a short while. I loved spending time with him, it warmed my heart to have a german shepherd in the house again, however, I was clear that it wasn't time for me to have a dog myself. People keep asking me when I am going to get another dog and I keep saying I don't know. What I do know is that it just isn't time yet.

This week, as I approach the anniversary of Lucky's passing, I can feel little waves of grief cropping up, like this morning, when I woke up and remembered what the last Sunday of our life together was like. That was the morning that her arms gave out and I could sense that the end was near. As I laid there in bed, I remembered how I cancelled my appointments that day because I thought she was going to make her transition that evening. I remembered camping out on the floor with her, telling her all the things I wanted her to know before she left and how at peace we both were, even though I couldn't stop crying.

I thought about how she hung on for 4 more days after that, making sure I had learned all the lessons she had come to teach me. Regardless of whatever sadness may be creeping in this week, I know that what I feel most strongly is gratitude. Gratitude for having had the chance to spend 14 years of my life with my precious girl.

Someday, I know I'll be ready to have another dog, but for now, I am content to relish in the memories of the dog I had . . . the dog who loved me, valued me, inspired me and protected me more than anyone else ever had . . . the dog who changed my life in ways I didn't realized my life needed to be changed. This week, I will be cherishing the memories of our final days together and remembering all the things I learned during our 14 years together.

An Opossum encounter

Earlier this week, I was on a really long call with my insurance company. To make the frustrating call more tolerable, I decided to sit in the backyard, and get a little sun while we were trying to sort out the current paperwork fiasco that I have been dealing with.

While I was sitting there, I heard a strange noise above my head on the top of the fence and when I looked up I saw an opossum struggling to walk along the fence. I had a feeling he may fall off the fence and land on me, so I stood up to get out of the way. When I looked up at him, I saw that this poor little guy was in really bad shape. His head was all bloody and he was barely able to walk, he was so shaky. It broke my heart to see the condition he was in and I wanted nothing more than to help him.

If I hadn't been trying for months to resolve this insurance problem, I would have hung up the phone and just focused on the opossum, but I knew I needed to stay on the phone, since I was finally talking to someone who might be able to help me. I tried whispering to him, telling him not to be afraid, that I wouldn't hurt him, etc. but I couldn't stop him from leaving. He slowly turned around, almost falling off the fence and made his way back from the direction he came.

The rest of the call, I couldn't stop thinking about him. When I finally got off the phone, I went outside and looked for him. I checked all the bushes surrounding the back side of my house, but he was nowhere to be seen. I went back inside, feeling as though I had somehow let him down. For the rest of the afternoon and evening, I thought about him. I kept getting the image of his little face in my head, with the blood all over his forehead, and it was making me feel really sad.

That night when I got into bed, he was still on my mind. I decided to try to send him some Reiki. At first, I was nervous about it, not knowing if I would even be able to connect with him to send him energy. I was also worried that maybe he had already passed away and I wasn't sure I wanted to know that. I decided to give it a try anyway because I decided it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. As soon as I started sending energy to him, my hands started to throb. I don't know if I have ever sent Reiki to someone (human or animal) where my felt the energy that intensely. He was pulling energy so hard, I was sure that he was in real need of help.

I sent him Reiki for about 45 minutes and then I guess I fell asleep. When I was woken up by the garbage trucks at the shopping center behind me at 6:30am, I couldn't fall back asleep so I decided to try and send him some more energy. Much to my delight, I was able to connect with him again and happy when he pulled more energy, although not nearly as intensely as the night before. At least it let me know he was still alive, that he had made it through the night and that made me feel a lot better.

I am not sure how much he could understand of what I said to him, because I don't have a lot of experience communicating with wild animals, but I kept talking to him as if he understood. I told him I really hoped he was ok and that he could heal from whatever had happened to him. I told him that I would love to see him again and asked if he would come by sometime and let me see that he was alright.

I have no idea if I will ever see him again. I really hope I do because it would be wonderful to see him in better shape than the last time I saw him and have a more pleasant image to hold in my brain. Even if I don't see him again, I feel good knowing that I was able to do something. It is also nice to get some additional confirmation that all beings (human or animal) are receptive to energy. It seems as though it is a universal language that is understood by all souls.

My new roommates

Sometime this summer, I went upstairs to clean the guest bathroom, because I was having some company that night. While I was up there, I kept hearing this strange sound. It sounded kind of like water sprinklers. I peeked out the window to make sure the sprinklers weren't actually on and when I confirmed they weren't, I checked all the water sources in the bathroom, to make sure there weren't any leaks. I came up empty and promptly forgot about it.

About three weeks later, I was having company again, so I went back up to the guest bath to clean it. As soon as I got in there, I heard that strange sound again. It still sounded like sprinklers were on and I wondered if maybe I had a water leak in the wall somewhere. I got on the computer to check my recent water bills, to see if there had been any increase and there wasn't. I was stumped so I made a mental note to ask one of my friends to listen and see if they could identify the sound.

Given that I have a lot going on in my life, I once again forgot about the sound. That was, until a few weeks ago, when I was out on the side of the house doing some yard work. I happened to look up and saw a ton of bees flying around. I watched them a little more closely and realized they were flying in and out of the wall of my house, up on the second story. It took me a minute or two to put it all together. They were flying into the part of the house that is right where my guest bathroom is. Finally, the noise I had been hearing up there made sense. It wasn't sprinklers I was hearing, it was BEES! And now I knew why I had been finding so many bees in the house this summer. They were obviously trying to make their way to the hive and didn't realize the "approved access point" was outside, not inside my house.

I got on the internet and started researching bee hives in walls. I knew I needed to find someone who could come and retrieve the bees and as I was learning from my research, I was also going to need to find someone to repair the large hole in the wall that they were going to need to make to get the honeycomb out. I found a local guy who called himself the "Bee Guy" and gave him a call. He informed me that he would kill the bees and then he had a guy who could cut open the wall, remove the honeycomb and then repair the wall. That was not going to be an option for me. There was no way I was going to let someone kill the bees, especially when the bee population is as compromised as it is right now.

I kept searching, kept reading, kept making calls and sending emails. I finally found a guy, who also called himself a "Bee guy," who assured me the bees could be removed safely. He sounded more like a real Bee Guy to me. We emailed back and forth a few times, as I attempted to gather as much information as I could. Apparently, if I wait until mid-winter, it will be cheaper to remove the bees, because most of them will have moved on by then, but if I wait that long, the honeycomb could get even larger, which means the hole they'd need to make in my wall will be even larger and it will probably cost more to repair the wall afterwards. I couldn't get a definitive answer about costs, or how large the hole would need to be and on some level, I was starting to become mentally paralyzed from all the information I was collecting. I let the whole issue slide to the bottom of my to-do list, as other things took precedent.

The other morning, I got up and found a bee, barely alive, laying on the rug by the back door. I felt so bad that I hadn't noticed him in the house before I went to bed and I wanted to try to help him. I scooped him up with a piece of paper and brought him into the backyard. He was barely moving and it made me sad. I decided to try and give him Reiki. I had never given Reiki to a bee before, but I figured it was worth a try. I sat down on the ground, cupped my hands over him and started to send him Reiki. I felt a little silly, sitting there on the ground in my PJ's, trying to heal the bee, but at the same time, it just felt like the right thing to do. After about 5 minutes, he started to move around a little bit and I was excited. I decided to go back inside and make my coffee and resume my morning routine.

After I drank some coffee and looked at the paper, I went in the backyard to check on my bee friend again. He hadn't moved from where he was, and he looked like maybe he was going to make it after all. Not one to be deterred, I sat down on the ground, cupped my hands over him again and sent him some more Reiki. After about 5 minutes, he started to move around again, this time, with much more enthusiasm. I was delighted. I got a piece of paper, gently scooped him up and placed him on one of the flowers in my yard. He seemed to like that and became even more animated. I knew my little friend was going to be ok.

Smiling, I went back into the house, feeling happy to know that Reiki works on bees too, and feeling less concerned about the bee hive in my wall. I still don't know what I am going to do. I know I'll eventually need to get a real Bee Guy to come and save the remaining bees, and deal with the honeycomb and wall repair, but for the time being, I have decided to just think of the bees as my new roommates.

Henry

One of my precious animal clients is getting ready to make his transition, and as usual, it brings up a mixture of emotions . . . sadness that he is leaving, empathy for his family and amazement at the beauty and wisdom of animals, especially at this stage of their process.

Henry is a precious boy, a dalmatian who is reaching the end of his beautiful life. I have had the honor of working with him over the last year, been touched to witness his depth of spirit and his love for his family, especially his mom.

Henry has a little human brother, and one of the things that always touched me was how Henry liked to do everything his brother did. Many of Henry's request had to do with sharing experiences with him, such as wanting to join them when they read stories at bedtime or having bites of whatever food his mom was feeding his brother. This summer when they were trying to decide on where they would go for some day trips, Henry told me that he wanted to witness some of his little brother's "firsts" . . . to be there to witness the first time his brother went to certain places or saw certain things. He was so precious, I would often tear up when I would pass along his messages, because they touched my heart so much.

I have been seeing more of Henry lately, as he gets ready to make his transition, both from a healing standing point, giving him reiki treatments to ensure he is comfortable, and as a communicator, helping to ensure the lines of communication are opened between he and his mom. He expressed a desire to go on his own, when he was ready (because he felt he still had some things to do here) and his mom was committed to honoring that.

In the last month or so, she was feeling concerned about an upcoming week long business trip that she had to take this month. We talked to Henry about it a lot. At first, he thought he would probably pass before she left for her trip, but as it got closer to her departure date, he felt that he needed to stay until she returned, because he hadn't finished what he had come here to do. We agreed that I would go see Henry while she was gone, to give him a reiki treatment and keep the lines of communication opened.

When I arrived at their house this past week, I sat down on the floor next to Henry and put my hands on him. I was initially shocked to feel how cold his body was, but I have learned over the years that when the body is starting to shut down, the body temperature goes down and it is usually a sign that an animal is getting close to making their transition.

I talked to Henry about that and asked him if he was OK with going soon, and he told me that he really wanted to stay a little longer, he really wanted to see his mom again. I talked to him about how many more days that would be (how many more sunsets and how many more sunrises until she returned) and he told me he wanted to try to make it until then. At that point, I could feel him begin to soak up the energy, the energy was literally pumping through my hands. He was determined to pull as much energy as he could, to make it until the weekend.

At one point, Henry told me that he needed me to pass along a message for his mom, just in case he didn't make it until she returned. I sat there, tears streaming down my face, as he told me of the love and respect that he has for his mom, how he would always be watching over her, always making sure she was ok. It is hard to describe sometimes, the deep soul-touching communication I am privileged to receive and pass on, the way it resonates in my body as "truth" and the way it touches me so deeply. It is impossible not to feel overwhelmed with emotion and to be in awe of the depth these spiritual creatures have. I promised him that I would pass his message along, even though I hoped he would be able to deliver it himself when his mom returned.

I was pleased to find that Henry's body temperature had gone back up by the end of the treatment. I knew there was a good chance he would still be here on the weekend when his mom returned. It's hard to explain how moved I was by his love, devotion and determination. As promised, I sent an email to his mom when I got back home. She called me that night from Boston to tell me she received my email, and to also tell me that she wrote Henry a love letter after reading my email. The love between them is so beautiful, so deep, so pure . . .

Henry's mom arrived home on Saturday, and Henry was able to achieve his goal of still being here when she returned. They have had a sweet weekend, getting the opportunity to be together, to share their love and devotion to one another, as they get ready for this next step in their journey together. His mom told me how they have all come together as a family, to share their love with Henry, each spending tender moments with their special boy. I know Henry's heart is full and that he will feel at peace when he makes his transition.

For me, I feel blessed to have known this sweet boy and his wonderful family, grateful that I was able to witness the depth of their love for one another and to see once again, how profound and spiritual our relationships with animals can be. In honor of Henry's mom, I offer some lyrics from a subdudes song called Carved in Stone, as they seem fitting at this time. I can imagine them being the perfect message to Henry.

Hold on tight to the things you always taught us
Speak out loud about faith, hope, love and trust
Carry on and have yourself a lovely ride
Think of me when you finally reach the other side

Lula is back home!!!

This week, I am finally able to say what I have been wanting to say for weeks . . . Lula is back home with her family again!!! This is the sweet little dog who was stolen from her home during a burglary in the beginning of August, that I wrote about in a previous blog. Her parents never gave up hope and never stopped looking for her and fortunately, their perseverance paid off!

Earlier this week, they got a call from someone who saw one of the thousands of fliers they posted all over the Bay Area . . . this person recognized her, as the dog she purchased at the San Jose Flea market several weeks ago, not knowing she was a stolen dog who already had a home. Fortunately, this person had a conscience and knew it was best to return Lula to her real family.

Aside from some pretty matted fur and some weight gain, Lula was in good shape upon her return and her grateful family has been making up for lost time this week, showering her with all the love they weren't able to give her for all those weeks she was gone.

If you want to see the story done about Lula's reunion with her family, check out the following link to Channel 5's coverage:

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=68772@kpix.dayport.com

I am just so happy that Lula is back home with her family again. It was a very long, frustrating, heart wrenching ordeal for them all and one that I would never wish on anyone. I hope the police find the people who burglarized their house (and countless other homes in their neighborhood) and stole their precious dog and I hope they are brought to justice.

In the meantime, I know I will sleep well, knowing Lula is finally back home where she belongs.

Trusting the Energy

I have always been an analytical person by nature, someone who likes to understand why things happen. I'm also the kind of person who has always found comfort in knowing that A + B = C, and that if you do X, the result will be Y. I like for things to be predictable and for things to make sense.

So when I first started exploring Reiki, it was a challenge for me to wrap my mind around all that I didn't know or understand about healing energy. I had trouble with the fact that couldn't always predict results and that you could never make any promises about what the energy would do.

Since the energy can heal on any level (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual), it may go to an area you didn't realize you needed help in. Since the energy will heal whatever most needs to be healed, you could give yourself reiki on your knee because it hurt, but if your kidneys needed more support at that moment, the energy might go there instead, even if you don't realize there was anything wrong with your kidneys. You could feel discouraged that your knee still hurt, not realizing that the energy went to where your body needed it the most at that moment.

In order to become a reiki practitioner, I was forced to really explore and embrace the ideas of faith and trust. I had to learn to trust the energy, I had to trust that it would do what it was meant to do. I can certainly set an intention for the energy, yet I have learned that I need to also hold the belief that the energy will do what is in the highest good. It's been a process, over all these years, to really let go and be in trust . . . to have faith that the energy is doing what that person or animal needs it to do and to let go of my need to predict the outcome.

Over the years, I have allowed myself to be opened to any possibility, to suspend any expectations and just see what happens . . . and I have been fortunate enough to witness the amazing and unexplainable results that can occur.

Last winter, I had a client whose cat was having a lot of health issues, so she took him to the vet. They discovered that his heart was enlarged and the vet gave the client a long list of possible causes . . . none of them good. She wanted to give energy healing a try, so she arranged for her cat to have a series of reiki treatments before deciding on any course of action.

Her cat was very receptive to the energy and I was hopeful that it would help, but I also knew there were no guarantees. Much to my clients and my delight, when she took him back to the vet a few months later, they did an ultrasound and found that his heart had returned to it's normal size.

This summer, another one of my clients took her dog in to have a couple fatty tumors removed. She expected it to be a fairly routine operation but her vet discovered other issues when they took xrays. They saw a large mass down by his bladder, that they assumed might be a cyst. They said that since it was so large and so close to other organs, it would be too dangerous to operate so they suggested she start him on chemo and radiation right away.

She wasn't ready to go that route, so we decided to give Reiki a try and see what it could do. He had weekly treatments for 5-6 weeks and then last week she took him back in to have more xrays done. We were both feeling nervous and a little anxious before the appointment, wondering what the results were going to be. We both knew there was a possibility that the mass was going to be unchanged, and yet, we both held onto the hope that the energy was able to make a difference. When they looked at the new xrays, the cyst was so small, it was barely visible. My client and I were beyond excited!

There is still a small part of me that wishes I could predict what was going to happen each time someone comes to me fore a Reiki treatment, because it is still in my nature to be comforted when A + B = C and X always results in Y.

Yet, I also love the fact that I don't have to know it all . . . that there are forces out there that I may not ever be able to fully comprehend, but can still trust. I can just have faith that the energy will do what it is meant to do, that it will always do what is in the highest good.

And still, I relish in the moments where there is some 'proof' that the energy did something miraculous!

Another visit from the other side

I had hoped my next blog entry would be an update on Lula's joyous and safe return to her family. Unfortunately, it has not happened yet. Please keep Lula and her family in your thoughts and sent out a wish or a prayer that they are reunited soon!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of getting another 'sign' that Lucky is still with me. The subdudes were back in town, doing a show north of Marin in a little place called Rancho Nicasio. Lucky and I had been there before to see the subdudes and we had a wonderful time. I was looking forward to going back there again.

I called my brother to see if he wanted to go with me and he was game. I was really excited about seeing my favorite band again, but it was mixed with a little sadness that the last time I saw them in concert was the day after Lucky passed away, last October, and it made me really miss her.

The day of the concert, Lucky was on my mind a lot. I couldn't stop wishing she was going to the show with me, and I so clearly remembered the mental/emotional space I was in the last time I saw the subdudes, that it made my heart ache a little bit. I felt a little low energy as I drove up to San Francisco to pick up my brother. I tried to distract myself by listened to the subdudes music, really loud in the car and it seemed to work, as I was in a pretty good mood by the time I got to my brother's place.

We decided my brother would drive my car from the city up to the venue, so once we loaded up the car, I handed him the keys and jumped in the passenger seat. We were driving away from his place when I looked down at my cell phone in the center console and there, resting on top of my cell phone was a single Lucky hair.

I know the hair wasn't there before, because I had used my phone to call my brother a few minutes earlier when I was exciting the freeway. Besides that, my car is virtually free of all dog hair, as a result of the amount of times it has been in the shop since my car accident last April. (The guys at the dealer are kind enough to wash my car and vacuum it each time it is in for service, and with the number of times it has been back in the shop, I'm pretty sure my car has been vacuumed more times in the last 5 months than it was in the previous 5 years).

It made me smile in that deep, all the way from your toes to the top of your head, sort of way and I pointed it out to my brother. I said, "Look! Lucky is letting us know she's here and going to the subdudes show with us." My brother and I don't share the same spiritual beliefs, so he smiled at me in one of those "Isn't that cute, how my sister imagines things to make herself feel better" sort of ways. I didn't mind though. I knew Lucky was letting me know that she WAS there and it made me even more excited to go to the show (even if my brother thought I was a little crazy.)

We had a fabulous time at the show. It was so good to see the guys again, and we lucked out with some fabulous weather, which was perfect for an afternoon outdoor venue. The band played so many of my favorite songs, I didn't stop dancing or smiling the whole time they were playing. My heart felt full every time I thought about Lucky giving me a sign of her presence.

I haven't seen a Lucky hair in the car since that day, which confirms for me that she really was making her presence known, on that particular day, when she was so heavy on my mind and I was missing her so much.

I hope all of you who have an animal on the other side, are seeing signs that they are still around you as well.

Help Reunite Lula with her family

A week ago today, something terrible happened to a lovely couple in Castro Valley. Their home was broken into and not only did the thieves steal computers, cameras and jewelry, they also stole their precious Lula. They are worried sick about her and have been doing everything humanly possible to find her.

They have put fliers up everywhere, posted an ad on Craig's list, visited every local vet office and shelter. They were able to get a story about Lula on Channel 2, and get some radio time on the radio station "The Bone." They have tirelessly combed the streets, followed up on every lead . . . and still Lula has not been found.

Lula is a precious little girl, not quite two years old, only 5 1/2 pounds and a bishon/papillon mix. According to her mom, she is a little girl with a big personality. She's independent and feisty and yet she is still a big cuddle bug. Understandably, her mom and dad are beside themselves with worry and will continue to do everything they can to get her back home again. Her dog sibling, Sailor misses her as well, and he really wants her to come back home.

I'm dedicating my blog this week to Lula in the hopes that you may be able to lend your support. You may be thinking that there isn't anything you can do, but there are several ways you might be able to help:

1. If you happen to live in Castro Valley or the surrounding area, you can keep an eye out for Lula.

2. If you have a little extra money, you can donate to the reward fund that has been set up to help get Lula home. Some wonderful people put a website together to help raise money to make the reward more enticing, in the hopes that whoever has Lula will be inspired to return her to her family. You can go to www.helpfindlula.com to find more information about what is being done to help get Lula home.

3. You can hold the intention that Lula will be reunited with her family very soon. I personally believe that intentions are extremely powerful and that the more people who hold a particular intention, the more energy the intention holds.

As an animal communicator, I have to admit, I have been semi-frustrated that I haven't been able to do more. I have been able to connect with Lula, and I have let her know what's going on, reminded her of how much her mom and dad love her and how hard they are working to find her and bring her back home. I was able to get a vision of the house she is being kept in, but the vision didn't include a street name or a house address. So, while I know what the house looks like, I have no idea where it is. I also got the sense that the house was close to a bakery, but so far, Lula's parents (and their wonderfully supportive friends) haven't been able to find a house that matches the house in my vision. They have combed the neighborhoods near bakeries, but still nothing.

I know all of you who read my blog are animal lovers with big hearts, so I know you understand what a terrible ordeal this is for Lula's mom and dad. Please hold the intention that Lula will be reunited with them soon. This sweet little girl deserves to be back home with her family who loves her so much.