Healing day at the shelter for Peaches

I went to the shelter today to help out. I was able to offer Reiki to the cats in a group healing. I called in my healing guides and asked for protection and to balance any energy that is stuck or blocked. I can always tell when the energy starts changing all the cats start getting quiet and it feels more peaceful. I was chanting the OM and walked the room. I had been talking to a friend about holding a prayer circle, once a week at the shelter to continue to build a protective wall of peace and tranquility for the shelter.

There was a dog named Peaches that had adopted out and then just recently come back to the shelter. She looked like a shepherd and bisenji mix-Because of the shape of her body and curling tail. She has the sweetest expression in her eyes. I could feel she had suffered some trauma but still had a trusting nature.

My friend, Kristin, had spent time with Peaches (although I keep hearing the name Eva) and said she seemed a little aggitated when she first met her, then after a bit, she started to relax. Kristin had asked me if I would like to spend some time with Peaches to see if I could get her to relax some more. Peaches and I were in one of the outdoor runs. I could tell when Kristin was leaving Peaches started to get a little anxious. I sat down and let her explore her surroundings. As I sat, and she was roaming, I started talking to her, I told her that even though I may have a stronger energy that some animals are unsure of, when you get used to it, you will see I am an ok human.

Since I am still learning about canine energy, I like to take it slow, but not to the point where he or she sense my acquiescence as fear. So when I saw signs of Peaches, feeling me out, going up to me and slightly brushing along side of me, I knew she was getting calmer. I kept talking to her and then went up and started petting her and then I started tapping on the EFT/Acupressure points down her spine. Before long I saw her walk up to me and then lay down beside me while I was sitting down. When I got up to stretch my legs she followed me.

Then I sat down in another place and she moved with me and layed down relaxed. I brought my Ipod with me and I started singing with a song called “you are loved” by Josh Groban. I feel like this is the theme song for every shelter and rescue group because it talks about being the voice for all the animals on the planet-that we are here to be the voice when they can't speak and we will be the guiding light when they feel lost. She loved the music. I knew she would. Animals respond to music. I also sang a song to her about how beautiful she is. It is a James Blunt song, but I changed the words and put her name in the chorus. It didn't take long for her to get comfortable and find another place to lay down and relax. Kristin came back and Peaches was happy to see her, but I felt that Peaches is getting a sense that humans can be kind of fun.

You cats stop that right now!

I was in my computer room, the one I share with Reggie our 2 year old lop bunny and as I was checking email I heard this thundrous voice of David yelling "you cats stop that!" Oski and Fiona were going at it, playing a little too rough and they can sound like a herd of buffalo running through the house. Typical kids rough housing without regard to the books, magazines and TV remote on the coffee table, if it is in the way as they sprinting through the house it may end up on the floor. Sometimes a glass of water will end up there too if we forget.

As I am hearing this verbal command from David I have to smile a bit, because we talk to the Cats as if they were human kids. They listen to our loud voices and respond. It's been a long time raising and living with multi-species kids that I started realizing that they do listen to what we say and will honor the boundaries of the house and the humans who share it with them. It astonishes me how well they do understand and respond. And it is a good thing, because these beings in the home could do major damage if they didn't honor our boundaries. We would have no furniture intact, they could rip the upolstery to shreds in one fell swoop or take down the drapes with a single swipe. But they understand us. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they will still try to scratch on the sofa, but they stop as soon as we say "stop that, what are you doing?

Sometimes I only have to give them the "mommy" look and it stops. And yes, they do have scratching posts in various rooms in the house that they like and some cardboard cat scratchers to sharpen their claws and it's fine. We have such a happy household. It is peaceful and quiet and most of the time you will hear the classical station playing in the background. All the 4-leggeds in the house including the rabbits enjoy it. If you were in our home, you would hear things like "Oski, what are you thinking, you know the rules of the house". "Are you sure you are hungry now?" A phrase Tachi, our 15 year old minature panther will look at me questioning "what do you think", "Fiona, stop that Kitten-mew voice", Reggie, be safe when you are on the coffee table and I will guide down" I can use the point and tap method to guide him to safety. Oski just came up to me on the dining room table where I am writing this blog and I ask him to give me a kiss and he presents the top of his head so I can kiss it. Maybe not the exact words, but he understands i want to share affection with him. Yes, we have a great household and a wonderfully tranquil environment. How many other pet parents talk to their four-legged kids as if they understand every word? I don't think it is that rare. Having 4-legged kids is after all the new American Family.

When the Student is Ready the Teacher Appears

I love that saying and it is so true. Since I have been on my true path with spirit, I have been directed to talk to the right people or be in the right place at the right time. I know that not everyone may agree with me or think I am being airy-fairy or woo-woo, but for me this a reality and I have been living a much fuller life-full of magic, happy surprises, an abundance of laughter and vibrating joy.

I have been taking a lot of classes the past few months. Classes in Chakra balancing, Meditation and grounding techniques and have been actively using the healing modality of Reiki which means Life force. It is an energy work that is very subtle-some people feel it as a relaxing sensation that is very peaceful, but a Reiki practitioner can move any stuck energy in the body so if there is any dis-ease or discomfort, the Reiki will move it so balance can take place and also along with the inner work, an aspect in your outer life will also improve. I have used it to protect myself energetically when I have had problem customers who want to project their bad energy on me, with these techniques, I have learned to send the energy back to them like light bouncing back and they either stop or leave because they don't like their own energy.

So on Thanksgiving, I was writing in my journal about the benefits of Reiki and contemplating how I wanted to use it--all of a sudden I felt a rush of cool energy surrounding my arms and my face and I knew there was spirit trying to get my attention. I also got a headache which is telling me that there was too much psychic energy coming at me. I told the spirit to stop and he did pull his energy back. That same day I had invited my friend, who is also psychic, to dinner. while we were waiting for the food to be done I asked her to see if she could find out who and why he is contacting me.

Almost instantly, she said that there is actually a group of guides who are here to help me and Alan is the contact guide who is going to teach me about using herbs to get in balance so I can do my Reiki work. I was excited. When I decided to revisit my Reiki teachings I realized that Reiki was part of the work I am to do spiritually. I allowed Alan to come to me in a subtle way to give me direction. I wondered why I suddenly liked being in our vegetable garden and would get euphoric when I was out there. Alan loved all plant life and it gave him energy being here. I always felt there was something special about our garden.

Part of the changes that Alan is guiding me is I am drinking more tea, particularly white Jasmine that has a lot of things for immunity and balance. I am more active. I love being outdoors more than I used to. I am taking a lot more walks and taking my Nikon camera to record any thing that catches my interest. As a result I am also losing weight just by choosing different foods and adding additional activity.

As I have been switching from Coffee to drinking green tea, Rose tea and white Jasmine tea, I have been hearing my guidance more closely and it feels good to be that connected. Which brings me to my latest discovery. My true calling. I am to be a Reiki practitioner for Animals and Plant life. It came very clear-this message-"you love working with animals, why not specialize in Reiki for animals? I don't know why I didn't think of this before. I do feel a real affinity with animals. Even though I am human, I feel a close connection with animals.

I seem to hear the energy of the birds who live in our neighborhood and take seeds and twigs from our garden for their nests and feeding their families. They are starting to recognize me as an OK human. I even had a humming bird flying outside my kitchen window trying to get my attention! They are so small, but one morning something told me to look out the window and there was his little body facing me, fluttering its wings as if to say "good morning". I did my little wave I make when I am acknowledging another being and when it got my attention, it flew away.

So when I got the message I said to David "I just decided to specialize in treating animals with Reiki. I don't know why I didn't think of this before." The next day I was corresponding to my Reiki Master who did the certification for my Reiki and I mentioned that I have decided to work with animals and Reiki. She emailed me back and asked me if I had gotten the animal attunement to work with animals?! I didn't even know such a thing had existed. I asked her if she knew someone who could do the Attunement on me and it so happened she knew the perfect person. So I am getting the Attunement tomorrow.

It is truly a blessing that when I am in alignment with my authentic self, the information and resources I need to move me toward my goal just appear. Of course I know the Law of Attraction works for me too and so all this synchronicity just continues to flow together. So if you need my services for Animal Reiki drop me a line. I am here to help.

Our Happy Family--Life With Oski

For the first 5 years of Oski’s life, he might have thought his real name was “Oski-No” because everytime we turned around we had to tell oski to stop what he was doing. NO jumping on the bookcase….leave that cup alone, off that counter now….leave your sister alone…Oski no…Oski no…Oski no!

Oski had a way of looking at the world that didn’t agree with the humans and other beings in the house. Our animal communicator, Cathy says, that Oski looks through the world with rose colored glasses. He thinks its logical to jump on the counter, after all that is where the food is, why can’t he help himself? What difference does it make whether it is in his bowl or not, it will just dirty the bowl and then we will have to wash it? Besides we were going to give it to him anyway, he is really doing us a favor by helping himself.

Sometimes he jumps on the counter so we can really see him more clearly. And if we don’t know he is there, he will knock something off so he makes sure we see him. He knows we will always come running. Sure we may yell at him, but it got the job done. He always tries to make things as efficient as possible.

From Oski’s viewpoint, it is perfectly logical why he does what he does. So our job as his pet parents have been for the past 6 years is to teach him the rules of the house. It has been a rocky, chaotic journey but one that has been rewarding at the same time. We have learned patience, acceptance and developed a broader sense of humor. And Oski has learned to be more patient not as impulsive.

Oski is also a very stubborn young cat who is very smart and like most beings with a high IQ, he gets bored very easily and then will try to direct his energy in what ever is in the way. He really loves to chase things. He loves things that have fast movement and moves a long way. One of his favorite toys are plastic bag twist ties. We renamed them “Twisty-tie toys” for Oski’s benefit. If he starts prowling around the house, I know he is bored and needs something to do. I’ll ask him if he wants to play with his twisty tie toy and he stops what he is doing (even if he is trying to wrestle with one of his sisters) and will stand at attention waiting to see what direction I am going to slide the toy on the floor. Because we have more hardwood floors and linoleum than carpet, when I throw it, I can make it slide quite a distance and it makes a sound he loves, it makes him more motivated to run after it, pounce and capture it.

Sometimes he will pick it up with his claws and bat it around some more or sometimes he will pounce on it and then stop and look at me to say “do it again, Mommy!” so I will pick it up and move it to different rooms in the house. One of his favorite places is throwing it on the bed. He has the added challenge of trying to find it on the bed. Sometimes it goes underneath the covers. On few occasions, he will pick it up and carry it in his mouth and then drop it and play with it on his own.

As Cathy says he is all boy, he is very rambunctious and loud when he jumps off of things. It is as if to say he is here. Being that he was the runt of the litter he had to really make sure every one knew that fact. Sometimes he terrorizes the girls in the house. He can play a little too rough and there are times we have to intervene, but if at all possible we let them work it out. Because Oski is impulsive and a boundary taker, the girls do their best to show their displeasure. Moon, our 6 year old black short hair cat that has the face of an Egyptian goddess, will hiss at him. Sometimes it works, other times he is relentless and then we have to scoop him up and give him a time out in our bedroom, where he will take a nap.

Fiona, the baby of the family, has her own way. She is half the size of Oski. She is a very fluffy cat with a fur collar, very elegant, very dainty. But looks are deceiving. Most of the time, when Oski starts to become too much, she will run after him and with a single look, Oski seems to stop, in some cases she has been known to wrestle with him and throw him over and he stops. For her size, she is a very determined being in her own right. I admire her sense of self, her calm. She has this wide eyed look that seems to have an innocence-a trusting nature.

But even with all his boisterous behavior, there is another side to him. He loves to be cradled like a baby and loves the affection. When I get up in the morning, he will greet me in a certain cadence that says “Hi, mommy, I’m so glad you are up.” Then he will put his front paws up so I will pick him up. He purrs in a soothing, content rhythm and I will carry him around kissing him on the cheek or the head, telling him how wonderful he is. I love this ritual. I am very blessed that Oski and I have such a close relationship. He is a momma’s boy.

Teaching him the rules of the house has been a long, ongoing work in progress. He has been a slow learner. I believe that part of the challenge for Oski is that he seems to be easily distracted, so unless I have his total awareness, getting him to respond to my requests can take a few attempts. The way we got him to respond is teaching him to sit through the method of the clicker and treats. The clicker is a device that makes a very distinct noise, so distinct that most animals, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, ect., will take notice. This method of training has been very effective for a lot of 4-legged kids.

Once we got his attention, we would say “sit down”. We would put a little pressure on his hind end to give him the idea to sit. Eventually he started sitting. And we would reward him by giving him a treat. Over time, he would sit even if he didn’t get a treat, we would give him a lot of praise. Oski is a pleaser so telling him what a good job he did worked too. Now when he is acting out and I say “Oski, sit down”, once I have his attention, he sits very politely. This has been a eye opening and wondrous journey. We have enjoyed every minute of being with Oski, teaching him the rules of the house and see how much he has grown and matured in the almost 7 years he has shared his life with us. There may have been times, where we felt, he would never get it, other times amazed at the progress he makes. And through all our experiences, it has been so worth it.

Our Happy Family. Part 1-Fiona The Fearless

I have a great multi-species family. It consists of 5 felines, one house rabbit and one human husband. All the Fourlegged kids as I call them are rescues and yet they all co-exist very well. I am not saying that from time to time they don't squabble or may hiss and snarl at each other, but they know when to stop or they listen to me (who I believe they think of me as the "alpha cat"). Even the Cats in the house respect Rex, our 6 year old rabbit. It can be challenging at times but I feel that if you communicate with your Fourleggeds on a regular basis, any challenges can be neutralized or stopped. I titled this blog "The Paw Stops Here" as a take off on the expression--"The Buck Stops Here". We can no longer give into the belief that animals are beings with no consciousness, thoughts or feelings. It is our responsibility and privilege to care and nurture our Fourlegged with love, respect, companionship if we want a close relationship. And you don't abandon a family member because they are not the perfect cookie-cutter image you have of a specific being. You work with them and get outside guidance if necessary. I want to write our experiences of the great relationship my husband, David and I share with our multi-species family. We really love being together and "sharing space" a term I heard (your are correct, telepathically I heard this) from my first Fourlegged kid, Oscar--a beautifully marked brown tabby who had a presence of a old soul. People who didn't like cats loved him.

Because cats do like to have their own territory whether it is inside sitting on their favorite couch or sunbathing in the garden, like our Emma, they want to claim a place that is theirs, a sanctuary for them to be quiet and meditate or dream when they are napping. But if they have a trusted companion they will allow a friend to stay and nap with them in their special place. They may not sit or curl up next to each other, but they will be in the same close vacinity.

First, let me introduce you to the members in our household and then in the days to come, I will share the wonderfully amazing (to me) things that happen in our household every day. I can give you examples of cats, who are supposed to be independent, unresponsive beings who come when we call them. Who show us how they communicate their feelings to us in different ways. How we have gotten them to honor the boundaries in the house and how they honor each other, even a cat who was born outside and even though she prefers to stay outdoors will come into the house and though I have seen her be agressive with other outside cats is a perfect lady with the other 4-leggeds who live in the house, including Rex our bunny.

The Fourleggeds range from 2 to 10 years. Because they are all rescues, We only know of their approximate ages. The Babycat of the family is Fiona (the Fearless) who is two years old. Fiona came to live with us when we found her yowling up a storm underneath our front porch when she was aprox. two months old. She was so tiny, we thought she was a month old, but after a trip to the vet, it was determined that she was twice her age, she was just tiny. I call her Fiona the Fearless, because even though she was so tiny, when my husband David picked her up she didn't have a problem coming right into the house. Fiona is a Fluffy black cat with expressive round citrine colored eyes, small in stature, with a tuft of white fur in her chest area. I believe the white patch is a way of letting us know that one of our elder cats, Cleo who died a day earlier, had led Fiona to our house as a way to help us cope with our grief. Fiona is very dainty and feminine, fluffy with a very bushy tale that almost resembles a quill pen. She is very regal looking. But don't let the "fru-fru" look fool you, she loves to pounce on two of the other cats and she loves to play hunt. When she was younger, she loved using my husbands socks as her prey. She would carry her "prey" in her mouth through the house and then drop it and try to tear it a part with her teeth and claws. She will still occasionally find a lone sock and make the Prey call that she captured and show the other cats what a good hunter she is. Because she is so fast in reflexes and the graceful turns she makes when she is play hunting I believe she would be a good hunter if we let her go outside. She is independent like all cats are, but when ever I need to find out where she is all I have to do is call out "Where is my Fiona the Fearless" and she will saunter out where ever she is in the house. She learns quickly what the rules are and is pretty good at following the boundaries, but when it comes to food, she is quick to be first in line to receive treats and then it is every cat for herself. Although I will say if I need her to sit to get her treat as a way of not stealing the other cats treats, she will sit if I ask her to and keep talking to her to keep her focus. We do have a routine in the morning where she will call me through the bathroom door so I will let her in and then I sit down so she can sit in my lap. She likes me to inspect her ears, tail, her fur and her feet to make sure she is ready to start her day. She also likes it when I kiss the top of her head. I place 3 short kisses at a time. I wait a couple of seconds and then she moves her head back to tell me she wants me to give her some more kisses. It is such a cute ritual, but It makes me feel as if we are sharing some quality Kitty-Mommy time. I feel Fiona, like the other members in the family, really know we love them and respect who they are. They in turn do their best to follow the rules of the house. Next up: Oski the cat who is a cross between Bart Simpson and Dennis the Menace. Until then "keep your eyes on the prize and keep reaching with your paws!