I must start by telling you about a fabulous evening I enjoyed just last week. A driving club (horses and carriages that is – not cars!) invited me along to talk to them about “what I do.” Very brave of them I thought – since not one of them had ever met me before. They had, however, read one of my leaflets at a local equestrian store and spoken to me on the phone to book me and to decide what they could put in their newsletter to entice an audience. I simply said that I would cover healing, animal communication, and TTeam (Tellington Touch) work and would get everyone to “‘have a go.” All in two hours? Yikes! Oh, and could they ask people to bring along photos of their animals in case I found time to do some readings too.

The truth is I never actually know what I will talk about or do until I get there. I have tried countless times to organize myself beforehand with notes, lists of bullet points, time schedules, etc. – but each time I’ve tried this approach it hasn’t worked. People and animals arrive, I take one glance at my notes to remind myself what comes first, and my mind goes a complete blank. Not a nice feeling. Why do I think this is? Because my talks and workshops are inspired by the people and animals present. They are channelled to suit those present – not from some entity in another dimension, but from that part of me that can’t be controlled, organized, and scheduled – my Spirit.

So, with logical me safely tucked away for the night, I arrive to a packed room complete with a number of self-confessed sceptics – the majority of whom had brought along photos wondering what on earth I was going to do with them! A blow-by-blow account of the whole evening is not necessary here, suffice to say it was a resounding success and 99% of the sceptics delighted me by saying they doubted no more! What I would like to tell you more about though are the three doggies who came along – and why.

Now I am sure that you are familiar with the concept that our world (family, friends, acquaintances – everything!) as we see it, is, broadly speaking, a mirror of what is going on inside of us. Simply speaking, if we are angry we seem to attract angry people, and so on and so forth. Many people say that our animals are mirrors of ourselves, too, and I certainly see no reason why they should be left out of the above equation. Indeed I am often urging people to address their own issues in order to help heal their animals. However, I also urge people not to get too hung up on this theory – because if you are not careful it almost strips the animals (and people) of their own identity and purpose. Life is an intricate web of mirrors reflecting back and forth in all directions – not just one.

So – what has all this got to do with those three doggies? Well, all three had chronic skin conditions which vets had been unable to help. Two of them had even tried well-respected complementary therapists with an equal lack of success. None of their people had terrible skin conditions either – making a strict mirroring theory a little sketchy, but we’ll get back to that later (sorry to keep you hanging on!). Unfortunately by the time I got around to meeting the three of them the evening had already overrun by an hour or so, and we had a few hours driving ahead of us so could only manage a few minutes with each.

The first dog I communicated with was an aged wire-haired dachshund. Devoted to her person – and vice-versa – her life seemed outwardly idyllic, except for dreadful sores on her tummy that never clear up. As I began to give her some healing I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of rejection. This was very obviously nothing to do with her present person, so I asked her to tell me a bit about why she felt that way.

Born and brought up in the house of a very caring breeder, she had spent her early years as one of many dachshunds. There had been no ill-treatment, but her individual needs had been overlooked. Her canine and human friends had often pushed her to the back of the pack – and being of a basically timid nature had done nothing to alter this and get herself noticed. She was the “underdog.”

Afraid of loud noises and large groups she had had to learn to “live with” her fears rather than having any help to overcome them. Whereas many dogs become quite verbose in demonstrating their needs, she kept quiet and was therefore seen as being “ok.” She internalized her feelings and soon became unaware of what it was that was bothering her, she just knew she felt alone, rejected, and afraid.

Now – with her new owner (of some years) – she has done what so many dogs do. She has taken on the responsibility of being the top dog. She trails her person around the housekeeping a close eye on her at all times. Just like a mother dog looking out for her pup – not, as we humans often misinterpret, like a baby following mum around. So once again she has taken on a role and suppressed her feelings – which she still feels but no longer knows why. But emotions cannot ever be ignored; they will always surface. In her case, she still keeps them slightly hidden – on her tummy. You have to look closely to find them – even her body is adopting a position of timidity – her sores don’t shout out at you.

This little doggie needs to learn to be herself. And I feel her owner has more than enough love and understanding to create the nurturing environment in which that can be made possible.

My next canine friend was an adorable English Bull Terrier – and what a story she came with! Her people had literally “found her” abandoned and in a dreadful state. The amazing bit is that she is the image of their old dog who passed to spirit some years ago – another rescue whom they had also found in almost the same spot! Again, outwardly a very happy and contented dog – except for her very obvious and very sore skin condition – and her odour.

Her story? She told me she had spent much of her early life either chained-up or in a cage (small dog pen with a concrete base). She had had little or no contact with other dogs and was thoroughly frustrated – even angry. She had no outlet for her feelings; she spent so much time alone. Over time she had seemingly “switched off,” but inwardly she was seething. Her anger had turned into depression and apathy – as can often be the case. As I scanned her body I became aware that her liver was not functioning as well as it could and that the resultant toxic build-up was probably partly the cause of her body odour – and her “angry,” irritated skin.

She is so happy in her new home – but has to release the “caged in” feelings from the past. I immediately felt that homeopathy would help her and recommended a qualified veterinary homeopath – a route her people are going to follow up. Though this dog’s skin problems were startlingly apparent when she was found – it is worth noting that sometimes such conditions do not surface until the animal finds itself in a new happy and safe environment. Within such a comfort zone their bodies then seem able to finally let go – and deal with things. It is the same with us humans, too. How often have you felt fine before taking a vacation – to only then come down with some bug or other? As uncomfortable as this may be it can actually be a healing process and a signal to take note of!

I have to apologize to the third dog and his people because by the time I got round to them they were ready to leave. He was such a contented Labrador, but they were at their wits end with his problem. He had a terribly sore nose that had become slightly disfigured as he had literally rubbed bits away. All I could tell them very quickly was that as I stroked him I clearly heard the words “coal tar.” Now whether that means he has had his nose on some tar and it triggered an allergy, I really couldn’t say. They have my number and I do hope to hear from them – so will let you know if anything transpires.

So – back to my mirror. Ah – now there’s a clue: ‘MY’ mirror! Healing is very often a two-way process and that certainly applied in the case of my meeting these three dogs. For a few weeks now I have been suffering badly with eczema and whatever the doctors do helps for a few days, then makes it worse! My body has clearly been telling me it will NOT respond to orthodox chemical treatments, because they do not get to the root of the matter. These three dogs reminded me to go inwards and deal with the real issues. They mirrored some of my suppressed feelings and helped me understand them. And for that I thank them.

Should you then look to your animal to find out more about yourself? Certainly, it can sometimes help, but do retain an open mind. What you may be able to do is to make your animal’s life happier and more relaxed if you can maybe spot behaviours that are triggered by you! This is a huge subject and one that really warrants an article all to itself – so I will save this for another time.

Be Your Animal

I would like to wind up this month with an exercise for you to try – an exercise that may help you to better understand your animal and create a greater bond between you. You don’t have to use your own animal for this purpose; you could link with a wild animal or one belonging to a friend. The animal does not have to be present either – you just need to select and picture them in your mind!

Sitting comfortably, I want you to first take a few slow deep breaths. Then, imagine roots growing down from the base of your spine and the soles of your feet, down deep into the earth. Feel these roots make their way through all the different layers of soil, stone, and rock, deep, deep down into the very centre of mother earth – where there resides a huge pulsating crystal. Wrap your roots firmly around this crystal and then slowly begin to draw energy back up through your roots, through the layers of earth, back into the soles of your feet and the base of your spine, through your body to your heart centre. Feel that connection to mother earth and her energy filling your heart.

Now you are ready to receive energy from the universe. Take your awareness to the top of your head – your crown chakra. Slowly open that chakra to form a funnel and allow energy from the heavens to pour in through the top of your head. Feel the energy flow through your head, down into your neck, through your shoulders, and into your heart centre. Feel it mix and link with the energy from mother earth. Feel your connection with heaven and earth.

Now I want you to call to your mind the image of your chosen animal and affirm your desire to experience being this animal for a while. Picture the animal in front of you. Now, as if changing from one outfit to another, I want you (the Spirit) to step out of your human skin and into that of the animal. Spend a while leaving all your humanness behind, experience for a moment the freedom this brings, and then slowly and carefully slip into your new animal outfit. You are perfectly safe and can swap back at any time – just with a thought.

Now – how does that feel? How do you now move? Go on try it! And what does it feel like to have that coat? Has your hearing or vision changed? How does the world look through those eyes? What do you experience emotionally? Explore, explore, explore for a while……………………………………..be that animal.

When you are ready to be human again, simply swap outfits – thanking your animal friend for this experience. Don’t rush the process. Once back into your human skin spend a moment re-acquainting with your body – wriggle your toes and fingers, gently stretch your neck and your back, roll your shoulders, and take some deep breaths. Then slowly open your eyes and bring all your senses back into the room around you.

I hope you enjoyed that and learned a little about being your chosen animal!