Animals Read Energy

Recently after a nice long walk on the beach, I sat down in the sand to soak up some sun and enjoy watching some surfers.  I was enjoying the peacefulness of it all when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dog running towards me at a pretty fast pace.  When he got to me, he skidded to a stop and then proceeded to kiss my entire face as he wiggled and wagged all around me.  When his guardians finally caught up to him, they said, "You know, he can spot a dog lover from a mile away." We all laughed and then they continued on their way.   Not more than ten or fifteen minutes later, again I saw a dog running full steam ahead in my direction and when she got to me, I got yet another face cleaning.  The even funnier part was that when her guardians finally caught up to her, they said, "Rosie can spot a dog lover from a mile away."

I sat there thinking about how cool it was that these dogs could sense from such a far distance that I would be totally ok with the exuberant greeting I received . . . and I smiled as I thought of countless examples where dogs read the energy of the people around them and even cooler was that, through their behavior, they tried to communicate what they were sensing.

Many years ago, I had a client who ran a business out of her home.  One day, her dog Leon growled at the man she was meeting with, which was totally out of character for Leon.  She put him in his crate to make sure everyone stayed safe, but Leon continued to bark and growl the entire time the man was there.  After completing a large design project for the man, he skipped town and never paid her a penny.  She realized that Leon probably sensed something in the man's character and was trying to let her know.  From that day forward, she always paid attention to how Leon responded when they were meeting a new client and she never regretted it.

I had another client whose dog, who normally loved everyone, began exhibiting new and concerning behaviors when she started dating someone new.  Her dog, Ginger, would attack this guy's feet, whether he was walking in the door or just sitting on the couch.  Ginger also started ripping up whatever paper she could get her mouth on when he was there.  At first, my client thought Ginger was just jealous but soon she discovered that this new guy wasn't who he had presented himself to be and was actually quite deceitful.  Clearly, Ginger was sensing something in his energy.  The next guy my client dated ended up being a really nice guy who never received anything but love from Ginger.

Have your animals ever reacted oddly to a person they just met?  Either positive or negatively?  Whenever animals exhibit behavior that is out of character for them, I believe we should pay attention to what they might be trying to tell us.  After all, they are much more skilled than most of when it comes to reading energy.

Be Kind To Yourself

Last week, a gentleman scheduled a session with me for he and his dog, because he was very concerned about his dog's health issues.  When the appointment started though, his dog was goofing around, running around the room, trying to get one of us to play with her.  She didn't seem interested in the appointment at all and appeared to just want to have a little fun.  I could sense that her guardian was the one who needed some support and sure enough, a few minutes later he stopped and said, "Well, it looks like I'm the one who really needed the appointment, is it OK if we focus on me?"  I was really pleased that he was willing to look out for himself and his own needs and we spent the rest of the session helping him find some balance.

It's something that I see so often . . . guardians who will do anything for their animals (whether it's helping them get rest, or exercise, or better food, or medical assistance - eastern or western) and yet won't often do those same things for themselves.  They would do anything to ensure that their pet was healthy and happy and felt safe and yet they won't give themselves that same care and concern.  (Note: I see this play out with parents and their 2-legged children as well)

So, why is that? Why are we willing to take better care of our pets than ourselves?  Is it because we don't believe we deserve it?  Do we think their health and well-being is more important than ours?  Do we think our job is to take care of them? but not to take care of ourselves?  Do we feel it's selfish to take care of ourselves?

I believe we ALL deserve to be healthy, happy and to feel safe and well cared for - us and our "children."  I also believe that being kind to ourselves opens the door for us to more easily be kind to others.  When we "fill our cup" so to speak, we have more to give.

So my questions to you this week are:  Where are you doing more for your "child" than you are doing for yourself?  What can you do to bring things into balance?  Where do YOU need to be kinder to yourself?  I don't think you will regret showing yourself a little kindness.  :-)