“Any day that nobody dies and you come home with your dog is a good day.”
was her reply. I had to think about that one. It seemed like a pretty radical statement. But as with many of the other life lessons I’ve learned during, of all things, dog training, I’ve come to see the wisdom in these words.

I had been disappointed and frustrated that day. Over the years, both had wanted to walk less and less. Bella seemed to have developed agoraphobia. Dasher had developed a fear of smells, construction equipment and large trucks. Neither had physical problems and both had plenty of energy. I was working on re-training them both to walk with me.

I made an effort to get them each out on the trails in the woods, where we’d walked several times before. Each refused to move more than several feet beyond the car. To make matters worse, Dasher balked at getting back into the car. Although I had no strict time schedule, I could feel my stress level rising. I even drove to the park and tried again there. The dogs weren’t having it.

I wracked my brain trying to think of a reason for this sudden change. Had there been the noise of machinery in the distance? That sometimes scared Dasher. Had some scary animal been by and left its scent? I became impatient, irritated ,and disappointed, not so much with my dogs but with myself, and my inability to make things better. But the dogs did hear about it as I mumbled and grumbled to myself. I’m sure that did nothing to bolster their confidence.

“Any day that nobody dies and you come home with your dog is a good day.”

It helped to learn that learning does not occur in a linear fashion and that my progression had been destined to meet with some roadbumps all along. Hearing from Nicole that I ought not to try so hard gave me permission to relax, and let the walks unfold in whatever way they would. Things quickly improved…but not because I relaxed. It happened because that’s the way learning happens. In other words it happened, because it happened.

Things happen all the time, and if they’re bad, sometimes we try to ascribe a reason for them. “It wasn’t meant to be.” Or, we try to turn a negative into a positive: “When a door closes, a window opens.” (If I hear that one more time, I’ll scream.) And the eternaly irritating “There must be a lesson in this.” Must there always be a reason/benefit/lesson? Must we approach everything as if we have to turn it into something other than what it is? While I don’t condemn the sentiment behind the notion of trying to help ourselves feel better, I think things just happen, and if there’s some mysterious grand plan behind it, we don’t need to know the details. And we have to deal with the things that happen honestly, rather than trying to put a positive spin on everything.

By putting a positive spin on a situation, we’re already acknowledging that the situation is “bad.”

But what if the situation just is what it is? Then you don’t have to spend time moaning about it. You don’t have to waste energy figuring out why it happened. (Dear God, there MUST be a reason for this but I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is!) And you can just accept it, gracefully deal with it, and move on. And the more you do this, the less “things” bother you. If the situation just is what it is, then all we have to do is “be”.

And that sure beats the alternative.

The Black Bear population in New Jersey was all but decimated in the 1970’s, and just when the population seems to have recovered, the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Division is calling for a hunt in reaction to recent incidents involving bears. Ironically, the human population in areas where bear are most frequently seen does coexist peacefully with them and by and large oppose the hunt. They have known for years what an in-depth study by a professor at Rutgers concludes – that is, by the single, simple act of controlling bears’ access to human garbage, bear-human encounters can be minimized.

Removing populations of animals from areas by killing them has been proven ineffective time and time again – whether it’s the hunting of bear, the net and bolt killing of deer (If you don’t know what that is, I encourage you to research it – a good number of municipalities, townships and boros in New Jersey engage in this particularly cruel method to cull the deer population.) or the capturing and euthanization of feral cats.

Feral cats are also now in the cross hairs of the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Division who seeks to change their status so that they, too, can be hunted.

The Bear Education and Resource Group has been the major voice teaching NJ about Black Bears and how to live peacefully with them. You can learn more about bears and the bear hunt on their site, as well as at the Humane Society of the United States page about New Jersey Black Bears.

Please take only a moment to let the Governor know where you stand on the Bear Hunt. Write to Governor Chris Christie, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625 , or call (609) 292-6000 (Ask for Constituent Services, do not accept transfer of your call to the Division of Fish and Wildlife) or FAX: 609 292-3454.

Read about the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife’s attempt to reclassify feral cats and hunt them (and the strong opposition to it by The New Jersey Animal Welfare Task Force, Boonton’s Health Administrator, and the Sherriff’s Association of New Jersey, among countless rescue groups who work tirelessly to provide TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release)services in this Daily Record article.

The word “humanity” is defined as “having the quality of being humane”. The word “humane” is defined as being marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for human beings or animals. Compassion and sympathy, of course, cannot co-exist with cruelty and brutality, but take a moment of consideration – to study the facts, to make an educated decision, and to get involved, in any capacity. Or take the easy way out. The choice (and the future of humanity) is entirely up to you.

Essential oils are also beneficial for pets – I’ll be exploring that further here in my blog. I have launched a new site offering essential oils and other aromatherapy essentials. Please feel free to explore the products and contact me with any questions you have.

Until next time, I wish you calm!

Each time I thought I might be close to finished, there was something else that wasn’t quite right. I’d work some more on it and walk away, but when I returned I could see that something else needed to be done.

The hours and everything else around me disappears when I paint. Saul Bellow said, “Art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos. A stillness which characterizes prayer, too, and the eye of the storm…an arrest of attention in the midst of distraction.”

So, she’s still not finished, but I’m going to let her rest awhile. I’ll be starting on two other paintings today – it’s nice to have more than one going at a time. I can’t think of a better way to spend this very cold February day.

A new field called Comparative Oncology has emerged and it brings together canine oncologists, medical oncologists, the pharmaceutical industry and academic research facilities who are looking at how information about canine cancer can shed light on human cancer, as well as looking for new treatment and compassionate care for both.

Surprisingly, in the document I read, cancer prevention is a relatively new concept, unlike the one of prevention of heart disease that’s been around for decades.

Cancer prevention for both humans and dogs (and other species) is relatively simple.

1. Eat/feed a species-appropriate diet that includes whole, fresh foods.
2. Reduce exposure to toxins, including commercial pesticides and household cleaners. (They reside in brand name products you’ve come to know and trust through years of brand identidy created in the golden age of advertising.)
3. Reduce stress. Your stress trickles down to those around you, be they human or animal. Yoga, meditation, Reiki, exercise, knitting, reading – any of these enjoyable pursuits can extend your life, and the life of your pet. (well not the knitting or reading part so much except by extension.)

Take a look at the Organic Consumer Association website for tips on finding real eco-friendly (not just what the label says) and safe cleaning products.

Did you channel that energy from my knee into the ground?
Whose energy was I feeling?
Will you tell me information about the energy you sense during my treatment?
Can you make my headache go away?

For me as a practitioner, it’s best to keep things as simple as possible. I describe Reiki as a subtle vibrational practice that promotes systemic balance through light touch. For newcomers, that’s enough. When people get into it more deeply, they want to know more.

The most important thing, I think, is to make it very clear that I am not “doing” anything. Rather, I am “being” in a certain space. Rather than “channeling” energy, I am the channel for it.

A “channel” according to my very well worn desk copy of Funk & Wagnall’s Standard College Dictionary is:the course through which anything moves or passes. Being a channel is a somewhat passive activity.

“Channeling” is described as: to direct through a channel. Channeling is an active pursuit.

There’s a clear difference.

Because I am in a meditative state of being (one that aspires to non-duality), I am letting whatever happens happen. Because I am not “doing” I do not call myself, as many do, a healer. I am merely being in a state that allows the universal energy (that exists within everything and without which nothing would exist) to awaken in the recipient for whatever healing is needed. The recipient starts to heal from within.

Some refer to this energy as having an intelligence of its own, as it heals what is needed, despite what the practitioner or the recipient may expect. But the notion of energy having intelligence, as if it’s a living, breathing thing can be confusing. I like to think of the body as also having intelligence, and taking the energy to heal whatever needs to be healed.

So to answer some of the questions I got yesterday:

No, I did not channel the energy into the floor. The energy goes where it will.

The energy is just energy. I may or may not feel sensations as a practitioner, and the recipient may or may not feel sensations as a recipient. We like to feel something as evidence that something is going on, but it’s not important.

No, I don’t tell information about my experience with the energy. Everyone experiences it differently. Just because I may feel a surge of energy in one place or another doesn’t mean another practitioner will feel the same thing. If I make up a reason (”what’s up with that knee?”) the recipient may start to worry unnecessarily. I’m not all-knowing. There are, however, practitioners of different disciplines, like intuitive medicine, who do this. I do not.

It was a great day and I was happy that so many customers left feeling relaxed and satisfied.

As the clock struck 5:45 and all of the practitioners were supposed to be packing up, a woman who had been patiently waiting asked if she could get a treatment. I told her I was sorry, but we had strict orders to stop all treatments by 5:50 and there wasn’t time. But the woman persisted. She had worked the event too, as a cellist. Her head hurt and her hands were sore. I just couldn’t deny her request. I asked her to sit and relax. She had never had a Reiki treatment before but she had received treatments from other practitioners who work with energy so I knew I could get right into it without worrying about explanations.

We ignored the noise around us and I spent as much time as I could with her. I knew it wouldn’t take long to pack up and I continued until just about six o’clock. When I finished, I touched her shoulder lightly and told her that whenever she was ready, she could open her eyes. I apologized that I didn’t have more time and that I hoped I had helped her at least a little bit.

The woman smiled broadly and asked for my card. I’d received many kind words and hugs throughout the day, but for some reason, helping this hard working woman was most gratifying to me. My answer to the final question about this woman’s headache was: I don’t know.

But I’m glad to report that her headache did go away!

I didn’t stop to think how ridiculous this was, until one day when I said it out loud.

I defend myself, though. Feeling first hand the power of Reiki as a new student, it was easy to accept everything my teacher told me. Some of the concepts I sort of “got”, and others I could accept as having their basis in some ancient mystical belief. My teacher did encourage questions – but the information as I heard it was so vague and incomplete, I couldn’t formulate what it was I had to ask.

And so here’s the thing. Reiki is not an ancient mystical practice. It was developed in the first half of the 20th century by a Buddhist monk and martial artist. The practice started out with only one of its elements, the precepts, or guidelines for living, and developed from there in a very logical and organic way to incorporate the other four elements: Breathing techniques or meditations, Symbols and Mantras, Attunements, and Hand positions, or hands on healing – the element most closely associated with Reiki today.

So if you go back to the start, to the precepts, the cornerstone upon which Reiki is founded, you will see that one the precepts is this: Do not worry. If you do not need to worry, then why do you need protection?

And if you understand a key component of Buddhist thought which is also inherent in Reiki called non-duality, you realize there is no separation between you…and anything else. If there is no separation, no “other” then what is it that you need protection from?

You don’t need to draw symbols for protection. You don’t need to create imaginary bubbles. You don’t have to avoid standing near a clients’ feet because you’ll be in the direct path of that person’s negative energy. That’s just plain silly! You don’t need to create danger where there is none.

I don’t believe in superstition. I don’t believe it has a place in Reiki, nor does it serve the Reiki community. Reiki is a spiritual practice that helps one strengthen their own energy (or ki, or chi as it’s referred to in many eastern practices) that promotes healing through meditation and allows one to reach his or her own true potential. No hocus-pocus!

Animals too can become ungrounded for a variety of reasons. Many dogs are so busy charging forward through life that they are virtually unaware that they have a hind end. This may sound strange, but many an agility or herding competitor has come to observe this when trying to teach dogs to move in ways different from what they are used to.

Small dogs (as well as other animals, like bunnies) are not always as comfortable as we’d like to think when we, following our instinct driven by a desire to comfort infants and toddlers, pick them up. They literally feel up in the air when they lose the physical connection to earth.

The mind-body connection is important for humans and animals and while the causes may vary wildly, we are all susceptible to getting out of balance in one way or another.

As a person who makes her living walking dogs and caring for animals, I find myself devoid of human contact for much of the day, and not having any sort of analytical task at hand (other than navigating the intricacies of animal behavior and driving both of which for me have become pretty much second nature) I find myself with plenty of time for thinking. This is both a luxury and a potential danger. Living in one’s head too much throws one off balance.

Meditation is always helpful. To calm the mind helps relax the body. When both are working in unison, one functions better.

I’m a firm believer in chiropractic. Ask anyone who’s had a great treatment how they feel afterward – not only physically, but mentally and spiritually.

In addition, I’ve added several other tools to my head-in-the-clouds-fighting arsenal. I’ve visited a homeopath in town who was able to recommend a variety of things (homeopathic and herbal remedies and flower essences) specifically to help ground me. I’ve learned that no matter what the body/mind/spirit issue is that there’s a homeopathic app for it.

I’ve taken up ice skating. Having to think about how I move (when I haven’t moved in such a way in a very long time) is challenging on a mind-body level, again integrating the mind with the body, rather than letting my thoughts carry my head farther and farther away from my body and my being. There’s a real joy and sense of accomplishment at how much more quickly I’ve picked up on moves like lifting one foot off the ice while balancing on the other than I ever thought I’d achieve in such a short time.

I’ve returned to my artistic roots with a fervor – this time using a new medium, pastel. Combining my art background with my fascination with the animals around me not only helps me improve the coordination between eye and hand, but also the connection between thinking and doing. Learning to use a new medium is helpful in breaking real ties with the past.

As for animals, well, we could invest in some art lessons for them, but we can also use hands-on therapies like massage and Reiki to increase their body-mind-spirit awareness, and use flower essences and homeopathic remedies to help them achieve a better holistic sense of self.

Sometimes by looking closely enough, you can identify what the real issues are that hold you and your beloved pet companions back, and come up with creative strategies to combat them.
Quite often, they involve very little investment in money and don’t require external helpers like medication. We are born with the tools we need to navigate life. Sometimes, though, we just need to dig deep enough to find them.