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.  :-)

A Promise Fulfilled

Many years ago, I was writing a book about my life with Lucky, detailing all the things we had learned in our years together.  Then for a variety of reasons, the book got set aside . . .  I promised Lucky before she passed away that I would finish the book but never expected almost three years to pass before I pulled it out again.

In July, one of my clients told me that Hay House Publishing was having a nonfiction writing contest and we decided it was time for me to dust off my manuscript and finally get the book done!

The last few months have been filled with writing, editing, rewriting and more editing and with the love and support of many friends I am happy to say it is now complete.  Today I submitted my book - and have breathed a huge sigh of relief!

The contest winners won't be announced until November 1st, but I know I will sleep well tonight knowing that I was able to fulfill the promise I made to my sweet girl.

Update: The plastic horse

A month or so ago, I wrote about a sweet little dog named Bijou who was unnerved by a life-size plastic horse in front of a pet store. Curiosity got the best of me, so I went to investigate the horse for myself.

While I was there, I spent time just standing next to the big plastic horse, trying to sense what may be so upsetting to Bijou. I discovered the following things:  Energetically, something did feel unsettling about the horse, although I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I noticed that when the wind blew, the horse moved ever-so-slightly and I wondered if that almost undetectable movement was what bothered her so much.

Speaking with the store manager, I learned that Bijou wasn't the only dog that had that kind of reaction to the horse, as many of their doggie customers also bark their heads off when they see the horse.

I decided to send Reiki to the plastic horse, hoping to clear any negative energy that might be attached to or around it. Then I had my friend take a picture of me with the horse.

I sent the picture to Bijou's mom and asked her if she would show it to Bijou, and tell her that I stood next to the horse and nothing bad happened to me.  :-)

A week ago, Bijou and her sister Sadie, went to the pet store and I couldn't have been more thrilled by her mom's update. Not only did I get a wonderful written update, but she also sent me the video she took of their visit, so I could see what happened.

The parking space right in front of the horse was opened, so they pulled into that slot. Bijou didn't react and neither did her sister Sadie. She looked at the horse but didn't snarl and growl at the window like she used to.  She didn't go into a frenzy as she always did.  She watched people come in and out of the store but just wagged her tail at them. Her mom was stunned and so was I when I watched the video.

So, I am happy to report that at least for Bijou and Sadie, the horse doesn't seem to be a problem anymore. This experience also adds some confirmation / validation for folks who wonder how sensitive animals are to energy and what they are able to sense that can't be "seen."

What beliefs do you want to change?

Many of the spiritual teachers that I follow have been talking a lot this year about how powerful our ability to manifest has become and how much more rapidly we can create things in our lives by what we think, feel and believe.

They say that if you want to know what the beliefs are that you hold, consciously or subconsciously, all you have to do is look at your life and see what's there.  Everything in your life is somehow connected to what you believe.  It is as if our lives are like a mirror being held up to us, showing us what we really believe.

For instance, if you notice that everything is a struggle for you, chances are you hold a believe that we are supposed to struggle in life.  If you notice that good things are happening in other people's lives, but not in your own, you may hold a belief that good things only happen to other people.  Conversely, if things come to you easily and you always have everything you need, you probably hold that belief . . . that life is easy and that you will always have everything you need.

The good news is that it is never too late to change a belief.  We can change our beliefs any time we want and we are free to believe anything we want to believe.  The energy on the planet right now is nudging us strongly in that direction . . . to take a look at our beliefs and figure out which ones are serving us and which ones are not . . . and then to change the ones that are not.

Since most of our beliefs were formed in childhood, we can often find the clues to where we formed beliefs by going back to our childhood . . . not to relive it or re-experience it . . . just to observe where we might have learned something.  From there, by showing ourselves a little kindness, acknowledging why we might have learned to believe something but also acknowledging what we want to believe instead, we can start to shift our lives. Sometimes, it's enough to just observe the belief, without having to know exactly why we formed it.  The important part is knowing if it's a belief you want to keep or a belief you want to change.

I used to hold a belief that I would always have to do everything alone, that I would never receive the support I needed from others.  That belief was reflected again and again as I struggled by myself to weather life's storms, always wondering why I had to get through it all by myself.  When I finally decided I didn't want to believe I had to do everything alone anymore, it was astounding how much things shifted in my life, how many people stepped forward, in big ways and small ways, to make sure I knew I wasn't alone.  I am grateful all the time that I finally challenged that belief, because life is so much sweeter when you can feel the support of those around you.

So, what is your life telling you about your beliefs?  and how many of those beliefs would you like to change?  You can change any belief you want and the exciting thing is that the energy has never been more powerful or more supportive to help us make those changes.

Everything Happens For A Reason

I believe that everything happens for a reason.  I also believe that while the reason may not be something we can see or understand in the moment, I always trust that it is tied to the bigger picture, part of a divinely orchestrated plan.  In moments, I feel this so intensely, I have no question that it is true and I had one of those moments this week.

A client of mine told me about an experience she had that was still upsetting to her.  She had recently witnessed someone getting hit by a car.  She rushed to the man's side to see if there was anything she could do for him, but he died before help arrived.  She said he was losing blood too fast and there wasn't anything she could do to stop it.

She felt sad that she wasn't able to do anything and she wondered . . . if everything happens for a reason, why was she there?  She asked me what I thought.

My mind and heart were immediately flooded with thoughts and emotions and images.  I told her I was sensing very strongly that she was supposed to be there, because the man needed to experience her kindness and compassion before he left this world.  He needed to feel the love of her generous heart and know that he wasn't alone . . . that her purpose in that moment was to be there, so that in his last moments on earth he knew that someone cared.  I told her it wasn't about saving his life, but about giving him the gift of love and compassion in that moment.

She got goosebumps when I told her that and it brought tears to her eyes.  I could feel her letting go of the judgement she placed on herself for not having been able to do more for him and she considered that maybe she did do exactly what she was meant to do.

Something similar happened to another client of mine a month or two ago.  She was out running an errand when she witnessed a dog getting get by a car.  She immediately pulled over and rushed to see if she could help.  A young boy had placed the dog on the open tailed gate of his truck and at first the dog looked lifeless, but then she saw him moving.  She had recently become a Reiki practitioner, and while she hadn't worked on anyone but her own animals, she decided to try giving the dog Reiki.  She said the scene was chaotic. A young girl, the dog's guardian, came out of the house.  My client quickly assessed that it was her brother who had picked the dog up and placed him on the tailgate.  Then the driver of the car who hit the dog came back, apologizing profusely for what had happened.  My client told me that the brother appeared to be in shock.  He kept wringing his hands and running his hands through his hair, unable to do anything else.  His sister was on her cell phone frantically trying to find an emergency vet that was opened on a Sunday.

My client continued to give the dog Reiki while she assessed the situation. She didn't mention that was what she was doing.  It probably just appeared that she was making sure the dog didn't fall off the tailgate.  Her mind was calm and she was thinking through next steps. She thought that if they were going to transport the dog to an emergency vet, they would need to try to keep the dog as still as possible. She asked the boy if they had a pet carrier, he said no. She asked if he had a box they could put the dog in and he said no.  She could feel how helpless he felt.  She suggested he get a towel or a blanket that they could wrap around him.  He dutifully went to get a blanket and he seemed relieved to have something to do.  She admitted she was surprised at how calm she remained through the whole thing, as she helped them sort through their next steps, never once getting flustered.

She helped them get themselves and the dog into the car and they left to find the emergency clinic. Later that day, she went back by their house to see how the dog was.  They told her that he died from massive internal bleeding.  She felt sad and like my other client, she wondered why she had come upon the scene when she felt she hadn't really helped.  She wondered why she had tried to give the dog Reiki, when it didn't help save the dog's life.  She wondered what the purpose of her being there was, when in her mind, her presence hadn't made a difference.

I could sense right away that her purpose was to be a calm and loving presence, not just for the dog, but for the humans as well. I could feel how her presence helped the brother and sister stay calm and how her gentle guidance helped them tremendously when they were feeling so afraid and overwhelmed. I told her that Reiki can bring an animal great peace, which was probably exactly what the little dog needed at that time.  I could see how her presence helped everyone, even the man who had hit the dog, since she was able to corroborate his account of what happened and probably put his mind at ease.

She was in the right place at the right time to help all of them in ways she hadn't realized she helped them.  As with my other client, her gift was being able to share her love and compassion at a time when it was really needed.

The Plastic Horse

I got an email from one of my clients that made me laugh out loud and every time I think about what she wrote, it makes me laugh again, so I have decided that I need to share it with all of you.

There is a local pet store that has a life size plastic horse in front of their building and this horse is giving her some problems. Every time they go to the pet store, her dog Bijou becomes absolutely unhinged when she sees the horse.

My client told me that she has done what any good mom would do . . . she has talked to Bijou, she has consoled Bijou, she has taken Bijou up to the horse to show her that it is plastic.  She has done everything she can think of to lessen her sweet little girl's reaction to the horse, but none of her efforts have made a difference.  Bijou still becomes unhinged when she sees the plastic horse.

On her last trip to the store, she said to Bijou, "I'm going to share with Maureen that you freak out over the plastic horse and see what she has to say." Bijou looked at her with a slight head tilt and then the words that instantly came into her head were, "She'll stay away from the horse if she knows what's good for her."

I am not sure if I should heed Bijou's advice and stay away from this particular pet store, or if I should go over there and see how I feel around the horse.  :-)  Right now, I am just tickled by what Bijou said.

It's a wonderful reminder that animals are thinking, feeling beings, with an enormous amount of personality.  How fortunate we are to be able to share our lives with them.