AN UPDATE

Whew, I’ve had a busy posting day! For those of you who follow my personal life as well as my writing life, I wanted to let you know about some happenings here in my own private Indiana. It seems that the fates have a lot of medical meanderings in store for Carter and me this year. Carter will be having two serious surgeries (neck/back and abdomin) in the next few months, so we’re pretty busy right now with doctor visits and testing (this following a recent fainting spell of mine that was of no medical consequence but kept me busy with tests for the following two weeks—sheesh!).

My postings may be—and have been!—a bit sporadic for a time. I’m sorry about this, as connecting in this way with you all has great meaning for me and I look forward to both sharing with, and hearing from, you. Thanks so much for your patience and prayers!

 

ANIMAL READINGS

I’ve not offered animal readings in the past. Rarely, I would undertake a reading or two, but mostly, I sent these requests on to other communicators. I’ve been made aware that it’s time for me to offer this service to a broader readership. For now, I’m focusing on helping people connect with animal companions who have crossed over. If you are interested in a communication of this kind, please write me and I can share more fully how I do this work. If my process feels good to you, I’m happy to work with you and your beloved animal friend.

 

FEBRUARY 2010-DOG LUV PART I

Mazel

Snow drapes the forest, the hen house, and my little pond. At the beginning of this month, a tiny puff of air whispered, “spring” in my ear, but some stiff winds and the clattering of occasional sleet storms have quieted that voice.

Still, down at Button’s Cabin, the first daffodil shoots are poking like slender green candles up from the snow. I tell myself, “Soon I’ll be digging in the garden!”

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, so I’ve been thinking about love. Not the hearts and candy and card love, but the real thing, and so I want to write about Hannah and Mazel Tov—our dogs. I want to share with you some good old dog love, because it occurs to me that I’ve never talked about Hannah and Mazel but in the vaguest terms, and dog love—for those of us who experience it—is certainly not about vagaries.

 

DEXTER AND THE BIG SLEEP

Dexter

I’ve always been bats about bats. Long before I spent a week under the spell of a little brown bat Mirella had proudly carried in, I read about bats and looked bug-eyed at pictures of them.  The phrase I most uttered while under the enchantment of bats was “W…wow!”

Long after “Bat Masterson” had crept out of my life (flying off into the upper reaches of my Oregon barn), I would giggle uncontrollably just to think of him. Little brown bats are exactly that—little. My torn-wing charge needed to be fed with a surgical irrigating syringe. A bigger dropper than that and I’d have quickly drowned him. The only way I could guide the syringe to the pin-prick hole that he claimed for a mouth was to use a magnifying glass.

 

ENERGY MEDICINE FOR OUR ANIMALS

Last year, I spent a short but never-to-be-forgotten time in Maine, giving a presentation at a True North conference. This health-minded organization is steered by a group of the most fascinating, dedicated, compassionate, and funny men and women doctors, nurses, and creative health practitioners it has ever been my privilege to spend time with. While I was there, I was in the care of Cynthia Atkinson, a wise, gifted energy medicine woman who kept me under her mothering wing the whole time I was there, helping me to feel instantly at home in this cl0se group of “strangers.”

Of course, I’ve kept in touch with “Sister Cynthia” ever since, and just post-New Year, I got this email from her

Cynthia---Medicine Woman (a title I bestowed...)

“Hi my friend! How are you and please tell me what you’ve been up to. I am so excited to tell you about a new service I am offering that might be of interest to you.

As you may remember, I’ve been doing energy work with people for over 16 years and informally working with animals for almost as many years. Recently, I have officially expanded my practice to include our 4 legged friends. I have some great stories about how helpful the energy work has been for dogs, cats, and horses whether the complaint is physical or behavioral. And, the work can be done totally by distance if necessary.

So if I may tap into your wisdom, my question for you is: do you have suggestions for getting the word out about this service?…”

 

ANIMALS AND THE AFTERLIFE

SOME MONTHS AGO, THE EDGAR CAYCE FOUNDATION CONTACTED ME ABOUT COMING AND DOING A PRESENTATION FOR THEM. GOODNESS, TIME FLIES! MARCH WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT! I’D LOVE TO SEE YOU THERE. Use this link for much more information: www.edgarcayce.org/conferences March 5-7, 2010
Afterlife for ALL Life: Reconnecting with Beloved Family, Friends, and Pets NEW! Hear messages from the other side with spirit medium Rev. Anne Gehman, (featured in The Priest and the Medium); explore the journey of the soul with Lynn Sparrow Christy and Tina Erwin; investigate the possibility of souls for animals  with Animals as Guides for the Soul author Susan Chernak McElroy; and examine spiritual communication with pets with animal communicator Marta Williams.
		Fees & Registration

 

WOOD, SMOKE, SWEAT

Bread dough rises on our new woodstove insert

The thermometer this morning humg at a frigid 4 degrees. For the first time this winter, our pond was entirely frozen over but for a Polaroid-sized square of open water beneath the “waterfalls” we crafted last summer out of an old rusted wastebasket, and an older copper coal bucket.

Christmas, the rooster, kept his still-juvenile crows to himself today, maybe to conserve energy. The hens muttered quietly to themselves, careful not to shatter the air with their clucks. On such mornings, I am awed once again by the strength of the animals who can face such cold nights with little more than the feathers and furs on their backs.

 

KITTY BLESSINGS FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Darter shows off her new Christmas attire

As Christmas recedes into the background, and the new year looms front and center, I find that cats brought me my Christmas this year.

Firstly, Bengal found his forever home on Christmas Eve! A women who works at the senior center my mom attends has been mercilessly pestered by her young son to bring Bengal home. It seems that the young fellow had a loving bond with Bengal, and played with him when his mom was working at the center.

 

THE LOVE

This is a perfect time of the year to share with you a book project I’ve been involved in. THE LOVE is finally a reality, and I am so very proud to be included in this very special gathering of stories! I’m posting a link where you can read about this work, and hopefully be inspired to purchase a copy and start the New Year with a profound journey into the heart of love and compassion. Enjoy! http://theoracleinstitute.org/love

 

HAD I BEEN A MOTHER…

…I believe I would have liked to have been like Haviva, a kindred spirit from Israel. Here is something she sent me last week that I wanted to share with you all. Especially those of you who have a soft spot in your heart for bovines…

SALVATION FROM THE COWS

By Haviva Ner-David

Just a fifteen-minute drive from our new home, Kibbutz Hannaton, lies Tel Yodfat, where Yosef ben Matityahu (also known as Josephus Flavius) and his rebellers held out under siege during the Great Rebellion of the Second Temple period, and Har Atzmon, where they were defeated in a bloody battle in 70 C.E. The timing of our hike (the fifth day of Chanukkah) made the history of the site all the more relevant.

 

OKAY, I THINK I FIXED THE HOUND…TRY THAT LINK AGAIN…

And thanks to all of you who wrote me and said, “it doesn’t work…” !

 

MONKEY AROUND WITH THE HOUND

Here is a note I got from D.B. You will love this…

O.k.,

Those of you who really know me…this is soooo F—– AWESOME! (pardon my french)!

Merry Christmas!  We should all get along so well!

Hugs,

D.B.

And… for those of you who really know me, you will find it hard to believe that this is NOT video of me with my dog…really :>)

http://www.truveo.com/id/1234581161

 

DECEMBER MUSING 2009

December arrived with an arctic blast. And I don’t mean a nippy puff. Hard cold old poured into our area for the first time this fall, blocking up all the ponds and rivulets with thick ice and sending strong, frigid winds booming along the ridges and down into the hollows. In the forest, trees clacked together like bighorn sheep in rut, and snow fell alongside hundreds of branches, limbs, and twigs set loose by the winds.

How could I resist heading into the forest, both dogs at my side and Darter the cat chasing along behind? The thought occurred to me that I could be seriously clonked by a falling branch, or smooshed by a crashing tree, but for some odd reason my instant response was, “How thrilling would THAT be?!”

I started piling on clothes: a vest, boots, a scarf and hat, a handkerchief because my nose always runs when it’s cold out, a jacket, and gloves. Around my feet, the dogs spun in giddy circles, mouthing out little yap-moans of ecstasy.

 

BENGAL

Bengal, as you can see from the photos, is a beauty.  I know him only from photos, but I hear about him through the stories my mother tells me. Mom is an animal lover. I got part of my passion for animals from her, and the other half from Dad. Dad was the official enjoyer of the animals in our family life, and Mom was the caretaker. Old habits die slowly. Some never do. Dad is long gone, and Mom is still the animal helper at the ripe old age of 87.

She used to care for a small tribe of timid feral cats outside her Novato, California, home, getting them all neutered and spayed after she found good homes for their babies. The cats were fed and cared for first, as were all the animals in our household, all her life. They lived in the creek out her back door, and she and her neighbor fixed them up a place in a garden shed. She cared for them until the day she left the area, and then her neighbor took over. I believe at least some members of that small tribe are still there by that creek, where Mom said goodbye to them a decade ago.

 

ELK DANCING

One of our book circle members sent this great little video of a very young and joyous elk. If winter starts getting you down, just watch this. Great soul food!—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bripBEXtKGo

 

ARE HUMANS THE ONLY SPECIES TO CREATE ART?

In the following link, yours truly weighs in on this topic. Of course, I’m biased!—http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=516185912780&oid=152481524316&ref=share

 

GOODNESS, DID I LIKE THIS!

I suspect this child speaks for many of us. Such grace in one so young. I hope she becomes president someday: http://current.com/items/90981878_the-girl-who-silenced-the-world-for-5-minutes.htm

 

GRIEF AND GRATITUDE, LEAVES AND RAIN

Leaves are falling now in a deluge. In the windless days, they dip down like feathers shaken off from some great, molting firebird. The forest floor is a fantastical mosaic of flame colors as autumn burns away the greens of summer in an inferno of golden, red, and orange. I’ve been wondering whether I could gather the leaves inside and decoupage them onto my kitchen counter, and marvel at them each day, all year long.

 

A PROPOSITION

My good friend Genviev had a great idea the other day, so I’m passing it on to you for your input. This may be a way for all of us to participate in generating more income in these challenging times. See what you think!

The Spirit Wolf Press Proposition

In light of the financial and economic difficulties so many of us have
been facing lately, Susan and I have been discussing the idea of
offering each interested member of the community gathered on her
site the possibility of becoming an official distributor of our Spirit Wolf
Press collections.

Distributors would be able to generate high profit margins on every
card they sell.  This system would allow those interested to distribute
the collections directly in their area and generate profit margins
equaling those traditionally allocated to commercial distributors.  Our
intention is to enable each of us to regain control over our individual
financial stability, while reaching for our dreams, supporting each
other by sharing the fruits of our labor and working together to
promote the respect and protection of animal spirits and their sacred
habitats.

 

“PATIENCE”—CARTER SPEAKS

My wise man of the woods...

Carter has an unusual way of expressing himself, which I find delightful and provokative. He is a quiet man who thinks a lot. I was telling him pretty much what I posted to all of you last time in my autumn reflection. He wandered downstairs to his computer, and wrote this for me, and I liked it and thought I would share it with you. So, here it is, unedited: Carter speaks!

“Patience. The idea arose in our morning conversation today. Waiting, I think is another word for it. Word’s thesaurus gives “endurance, staying power, tolerance, lack of complaint, persistence, fortitude, serenity” as alternative words.  But none of them capture, for me, the feeling of patience. But, I think tolerant, serene persistence does. Carlos Castaneda’s Juan Metus had much to say about waiting and patience. For don Juan the key was impeccable intent. Impeccability and intent were prevalent in all of his teachings the core of which is “Personal Power”.