Saturday, June 12, 2010

Learning from our animals

A couple weeks ago, I was having dinner with an old boyfriend of mine. We haven't been in touch much in the last 15+ years, so there was a lot to catch up on. As we talked, I kept noticing this puzzled look on his face when I would speak about the work I do now, and what I believe about animals. It made me laugh when I realized why he was so confused.

He knew me back in the early 90's, when I was working in the corporate world and had not yet reacquainted myself with my intuitive abilities or studied energy healing, therefore, the things I am doing now are quite foreign to him. On top of that, he is now a biology professor, so in many ways, he can't quite wrap his mind around the things that I believe, because he is used to having a lot of "proof" and a lot of scientific evidence to support his beliefs.

Through out dinner, he would occasionally ask me questions about his dog and when I would answer, he would look at me with confusion and mild disbelief. Such as, when he asked me what I sensed about his dog Oscar, and I said that I felt he was insecure at times and seemed unsure in moments that he was loved. He seemed surprised that I knew that, but admitted that he felt that too.

Then he asked what he could do about it. I told him it would help if he could give Oscar reassurance, let him know that he is loved, that he will always be loved. He stared at me blankly for a few minutes and then said, "But how do I do that?" and I said, "You just tell him that" and he said, "But he's a dog, he won't understand what I am saying."

He was very serious, so I gently explained to him that animals learn our language the same way babies learn our language . . . . by hearing it. I told him that the more exposure babies have to people talking, the more words they pick up, and that animals are no different. He sat there, staring at me, trying to wrap his mind around what I had just said.

While I was explaining this to him, Oscar came and sat next to me, and kept looking up at me with appreciation. My friend asked, "What is he telling you?" and I said, "He's really happy that I am educating you about this, because he wants you to know that he can understand everything you say." There was dead silence for a while, as Oscar continued to wag his tail and lean into me.

After a while, my friend said, "You said before that animals come into our lives for a reason, so what is the reason Oscar came into in my life?" I told him that animals often help us learn by mirroring the same things that we need to learn, and that by helping them, we discover we can help ourselves too. He looked really puzzled, so I gave him a few examples, such as by finding ways to help Lucky heal from her emotional wounds, I found I too could heal my own emotional wounds, or a client of mine whose dog was anxious all the time and when she found ways to help ease her dog's anxiety, she realized that she too was anxious all the time and used the same things to help herself be less anxious.

He still looked really puzzled, so I said, "Do you see any of yourself in Oscar?" and he said, "Well, we were just talking about how Oscar is insecure sometimes and worries that he isn't always loved" and then he was silent. I waited for a while, and then I said, "Is that something you see in yourself?" and I saw all the color go out of his face and he looked really uncomfortable. After a few more minutes he said, "I guess I have a lot to think about."

I didn't want to make him anymore uncomfortable, so I decided to change the subject. I said, "You said earlier you were thinking of repainting a couple of rooms, do you want to show me the colors you are considering?" and it was obvious by how quickly he jumped up and grabbed the paint samples that he was really relieved we had moved on to a different topic. :-)

My hope is that some day, both he and Oscar will no longer feel any insecurity and that they will both know, every minute of every day, that they are loved. After all, isn't that what we all deserve?


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