Reasons to Smile

When I was a little girl, my two most favorite things in the whole world were daffodils and German shepherds.  Every year since Lucky made her transition, I have had at least one daffodil make an early appearance between Christmas and New Years, and this year was no different.  A couple days before the new year, this daffodil popped up.  Given that the rest of my daffodils bloom in March, I consider it a little gift from Lucky each year.  The daffodil that makes an early appearance is usually in one of the pots closest to the backdoor, so every time I look outside I see it . . . and I can't help smiling and feeling a bit "lucky."

Speaking of reasons to smile, one of my best friends sent me this video clip of dog and a little child that warmed my heart. It is so precious I just have to share it.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Best Friends

And lastly, I have two very special clients named Buster and Mia.  I have written about them in past blogs, when their mom Jewel and their dad Guy made their transitions, and a few summers ago when Reiki treatments helped a tumor in Guy's abdomen go away, when the doctors were sure he needed surgery to remove it.  If you saw them, you'd be convinced they were puppies because they are so goofy and full of life.  They have big personalities that would make you smile even on the gloomiest day.  Last night, their mom sent me a photo of them, with a note that said, "Buster and Mia wanted you to see how nice they look in their new black/grey collars."  They were so excited about their new "clothes" I thought they'd appreciate it if I shared the picture with all of you.

They say that the energy right now is stronger than ever for manifesting our thoughts, so I figure why not focus our thoughts on the good stuff in life.  I hope you are finding plenty of reasons to smile as well, and that in turn, the Universe gives you even more to smile about!

Happy New Year!!

Joan Morris writes a column in the San Jose Mercury called Animal Life.  I enjoy reading it each week and I have learned a lot from the answers she gives the folks who write to her.

Today, she published her new years resolutions and they really struck a chord with me.  I may just have to copy her and make them my resolutions as well.  Definitely more fun than resolutions to lose weight! Here they are:

- I resolve to think more about how my actions affects wildlife.
- I resolve to help shelter pets find loving homes.
- I resolve to spread the word that all living things have value and should be respected.
- I resolve to never miss an opportunity to watch wildlife at work and play
- I resolve to keep learning from pets and animals, and humans too.

And on a humorous note - who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?  I had a pleasant surprise this week involving my dad.  He is rather old school and doesn't believe that animals think, let alone have the ability to communicate with people.  It used to be a bit of a challenge for me since I believe so strongly that two way communication with animals is quite possible.  Over time, I accepted that it was OK if he didn't believe in what I did and stopped letting it bother me.  :-)

So, the other day, my dad had plans that were going to keep him away from the house all day and he was worried about "the boys" being alone for over twelve hours.  He asked me if I could come over midday to get them out for some exercise and I said I would.

Much to my surprise, I got an email back from him saying, "I told the boys that you were coming over to see them and they got very excited." Did my dad really tell them?  And when they acted excited, did he realize they actually DID understand him?  I smiled to myself when I thought about the fact that maybe my dad was adjusting his beliefs a bit.

Happy New Year!  I hope 2013 is a blessed year for all of you.  May it be a year filled with peace, joy, love and laughter!

Gratitude

Along the lines of the principle that what you focus on expands, it is said that the more you focus on what you are grateful for, the more reasons you'll have to be grateful.  So, as the holiday season approaches, I thought I'd share a few things that I have gratitude for:

- For the dentist who understands that animals are capable of far more than most people give them credit for, and allows his dog to assist his young patients.  amazingdentist/dog

- For the wonderful friends I have, that make sure I see links like the one above.

- For the fact that my Christmas tree finally stopped falling over  :-)

- For the people who have noticed I had my blinker on and actually let me move into their lane.

- For the homemade toffee that was lovingly made by the sister of one of my best friends, even if it means exercise is going to have to be moved up to the top of my to-do list.  :-)

- For my friendship with Chelsea, which appears to have given me the added benefit of having the rest of the squirrel population stay out of my flower pots this fall.  I don't know what she said to them, but they all seem to be "respecting" my daffodil bulbs this year.

- For the fact that Barry Manilow is still performing, so that my family could go see him and feel close to my mom for the night, as he sang the songs that were a soundtrack to our childhood.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.  My wish for all of you is that you are surrounded by those you love and that you are given many opportunities to feel grateful.

Happy Holidays!!!

Corgi Update

In my last post, I wrote about a sweet little Corgi, named Corgi, who captured my heart. She had been terribly abused in a previous home and her new guardian wanted to do anything she could to help her.  Fortunately, Corgi was incredibly receptive to the Reiki treatment and she was ready to release much of the pain and sadness that she held in her body.  I mentioned that I was anxiously awaiting an update from her guardian and much to my delight, the news was even better than I had hoped for.

Corgi's mom reported that it almost feels like she has a new dog.  She said that Corgi seems happier, smiles more frequently and is more animated in her movements than she has been in all the time she's been with her.  On top of that, Corgi is actually attempting to play a little bit every day.  Since the day her mom brought her home, she hadn't been interested in playing at all, but now suddenly, she wants to play a little bit every day.

I was so thrilled to hear how much progress Corgi made from just one Reiki session, I couldn't stop smiling after reading the email from her mom.  On this week when our minds are on giving thanks, I can't help but think about how grateful I feel to know that Corgi is now living a life that is closer to how she was always meant to live.

I believe all of us, humans and animals, are meant to live lives that are filled with love, joy, peace, and happiness - and sometimes, if we can let go of enough of the pain and sadness from the past - we have more space in our lives for all that love, joy, peace and happiness.

A very special girl

When I went to meet a new client recently, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I knew from her guardian that she had been severely abused in a previous home and that she was afraid of almost everything.  While I had asked her guardian to tell her that I was coming and explain why, since that helps animals be more comfortable with me, I still wasn't sure how she would respond to me.

When I walked into the house and first met this precious little Corgi, she stood behind her guardian's legs.  I thought it would help her feel more comfortable if I sat down on the floor, so I attempted to do that as quickly as possible.  Much to my surprise, my rear-end had barely made contact with the floor before this sweet little girl had launched herself into my lap.  Her guardian stood there with her mouth hanging open, as she and I stared at each other with a certain amount of disbelief.  I think we both expected it to be a much longer process to help her get comfortable with the idea of me being there, let alone giving her a Reiki treatment.

Corgi showed us, that in spite of what she had been through before, she was ready to trust me, a virtual stranger.  Immediately, I was flooded with thoughts, feelings and images of her previous life, but even as the tears streamed down my face in response to what I was picking up, I knew she was ready and willing to let it go.  For an hour, she laid in my lap, soaking up the energy and allowing all the sadness she held from her previous experiences to flow out of her body.  She gave me lots of information about what had happened before and how she felt about things that were happening now in her life.  I shared all of that information with her guardian as I was picking it up.  I think we were both surprised at how forthcoming this sweet little dog was, as we knew there was a chance she would be too fearful to really open up to me.

After the Reiki treatment, her guardian and I both noticed that she seemed lighter, happier and even more playful.  A noticeable shift had definitely taken place.

I don't know yet if that was all Corgi needed, or if she'll require any additional treatments.  I am anxiously awaiting another update from her guardian to tell me how Corgi has been progressing.  In the meantime, I am still in awe that this sweet little girl trusted me enough to open up to what I had to offer.  As I told her guardian, I believe a big part of that was how much she trusts and loves her guardian, and because her guardian told her it was safe to communicate with me and be open to me, she was able to do it.

 I have a feeling I will be writing about her again - she definitely grabbed ahold of my heart and reaffirmed for me the belief that none of us should have to continue to hold on to the pain and trauma from our past.

Compassion

I was listening to Jo Dunning, one of my favorite spiritual teachers, the other day and she said something that really grabbed my attention.

She was talking about the experiences in our lives that either seem to stay, no matter what we try to do to move past them, or experiences that keep occurring over and over again.  She said that if we can move past judgment, and instead move to loving acceptance of something we don't like, then we can "complete the lesson" and move on.

It caught my attention because I have often wondered why something continued to occur over and over again in my life and in the lives of some of my clients.  For me, I always assumed I wasn't getting the "lesson" I was supposed to get and would often wrack my brain trying to figure out what I was supposed to be learning.

Jo said the key was to find a way to stop judging and blaming and look at the situation with compassion, because when we judge something we're saying, "I don't have compassion for that."  Each time we judge something (whether in ourselves or another person), it comes back to us to experience it again so we can develop compassion for it.  When we are able to get to the point where we have compassion for an experience, then it is free to move on and the lesson is complete.

Within hours of listening to Jo speak about this, I got together with a friend who was telling me about something she has been trying to overcome for years, with little success.  When I shared what I had just learned from Jo, we were able to quickly see that she had continued to judge herself for the very experience she kept having.  We laughed about the possibility that it really could be that easy to complete a learning, because so many of us are stuck in the belief that it requires hard work and a lot of struggle.  She agreed to try having more compassion for herself and less judgment, and she promised to keep me posted on what she noticed in the coming weeks.

One of the other things Jo said was to pay attention to what we think about before we fall asleep at night.  She said that our thoughts are "downloaded," to use a computer phrase, while we sleep.   If we are focusing on the things we don't like in our lives or the frustrations of the day that we experienced, our thoughts continue to stay on that track while we sleep, and then we manifest more experiences that are frustrating and unwanted.  She said it can be as easy as just focusing on things that you love (whether it's a child or a pet or a pleasant experience you had) before you fall asleep at night.  Then those loving, positive thoughts will be the things that get "downloaded" while you sleep.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if shifting the experiences we have here on earth could be that easy?  Give it a try and let me know what happens.   I would love to hear!

Chester? Oops!

Last fall, I wrote a few times about my new squirrel friend who was hanging out in the yard with me almost every day.  Almost immediately after I named him Chester, he stopped coming around and I was bummed.  When I shared my disappointment with a good friend of mine, he suggested that maybe Chester was a girl and that she was offended I had given her a boys name.  We had a good laugh about it but sure enough, this spring, Chester started coming around again, and it was very clear that not only was Chester a girl, but she was also a new mom.  I changed her name to Chelsea and she seems much happier with that.  :-)

We have developed quite a friendship and I'll admit, I am crazy about her.  I never thought I'd fall in love with a squirrel but she has really wormed her way into my heart.  She plays the equivalent of "hide and seek" with me, although she's the only one who does the hiding. When I am sitting in the backyard, she often sneaks down onto the patio and hides behind one of the flower pots near me.  She'll pop her head up and look at me, and when I say, "I can see you!" she'll duck down behind the pot again.  She'll do it three or four times and once she's sure she's got me laughing, she'll scurry off.

Last week, she extended the game further.  A noise caught my attention and when I looked up at the roof of the first story, I saw her sitting in the rain gutter.  I said, "Hi Chelsea" and she ducked down into the rain gutter so that I couldn't see her.  I could hear her moving, so I said, "I can hear you!" and just then she popped up out of the gutter again, about a foot down from where she had been.  She stared at me for a minute (and I swear, she was smiling), then she ducked down again and made her way a little father along the rain gutter.  I said, "I can hear you!" and once again she popped up and looked at me.  She did this across the entire rain gutter and then disappeared over the roof.

There was another day this summer when she really blew me away.  I was walking into the house when I saw her moving along the fence really slowly.  She looked like she was having trouble walking so I stopped and asked her if she was OK. She stopped and just stared at me so I said, "Do you need some Reiki?"  She looked me straight in the eye and then laid down on the fence, with her arms and legs hanging down on either side.  I was so stunned I just stood there with my jaw hanging opened for a minute but then my brain clicked back into gear and I realized she had just answered me.  I sent her Reiki from where I stood and after about fifteen minutes, she got up and walked away.  The next day when she came by for a visit, she had a noticeable "pep in her step" and it warmed my heart.

I'm hoping that any day I'll have a new german shepherd and at this point, my only concern is whether he'll get along with Chelsea.  :-)