There is an aspect of my work that is harder to share because death is a topic we often shy away from talking about. But, today I want to bring light to this area of my work because it is important, and I want you to know about it. Back when the only work I did with companion animals was massage, I started noticing that people specifically called on me for hands on work with their dying dogs. After a few times, I sat with this and explored what this meant for me. I realized that I could offer both the humans and the 4-legged making the transition something different. And the first experience I was honored to have supporting a dog during his transition, was so powerful and felt so right, that I knew this was something to follow. The first dog I supported at his actual passing was Gunnar, a much loved and kind fellow. I will never forget that his first response to me checking in with him was to make sure I helped his people since they needed me more than he did. Love at the core and love in its core.
When I’m working with extremely ill or dying animals, I’m there as support for the energetic structure of their beings during the transition out of this physical plane. What does this look like? Each session is unique because each being is unique, but the general outline of the session looks like this. I announce myself and ask permission to be present. I ask if there’s anything specific she or he wants or needs from me. I ask if there is anything she or he wants or needs to share with her or his human(s). As you can see these are pretty open questions and thus, the difference in the sessions has to do with the responses. Afterwards, I write up notes of the dog or cat’s response to me and what images or messages or other beings showed up during the session and email this all to the human(s). I strive to always be open to magic, yet I continue to be amazed by the power of these experiences and the bright lights that shine at the inner core of our companion animals no matter their presence in the physical plane or not.
With the terminally ill companion animals, the work is often more supportive of clearing any stuck connections allowing the critter and the human to have clarity around the actual transition, and there is often work to relieve any pain during this time, too.
It’s almost been a year since I said good-bye to Dixie, my Australian Shepherd. And while I miss her presence by my side, the experience I had as she breathed her last breath at the vet’s office was so profound and powerful that it is what I am aware of more than missing her. She was my sister and teacher, and my work with the heart to heart connections between beings might not even be my work if not for her. As I sat with her head in one hand, the other hand resting on her side, I felt her fill my heart. She left her old, falling apart physical body behind, and once freed from it her energetic self was stronger and I could feel our connection, our merging, from and within the heart space. This is one of those times when words are too limiting to convey the experience, but in the simplest of terms, I felt her move, from a separate being connected to my heart, straight into my heart as her full residence fully as one with me.
While I love words, I also love the aspect of my work that is beyond words. Part of the experience on my end working with both humans and their companion animals that is so rewarding and amazing, is creating and holding the space for the awareness of this communication beyond words and allowing it to occur and be received. This piece of supporting beings in their transition out of the physical plane is closely related to this powerful space of that which is beyond words. I find that the humans who request this work from me feel the power, too. I am the conduit of the information and the human who reads it finds resonance.
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A big thank you for your continued support: reading these newsletters, working with me, and sharing the newsletters and your experiences working with me with other people. I always love to hear from you, whether it’s your response to a newsletter or what’s going on in your world. Thanks for staying in touch!
Know you are light, and shine!
~Namaste