animal guides

When a Book Hits Home. Soul Healing with Our Animal Companions.

I really can’t say enough good about this book I recently finished! I loved it so much that I did a video book review for it which I share below.

But as I wrote for a review on Amazon also, Soul Healing with Our Animal Companions – The Hidden Keys to a Deeper Animal-Human Connection by Tammy Billups, is a beautiful book on how animals sense our energy and emotional wounds and often reflect that back to us – all in an effort to help us heal – and then how it often helps our animal friends heal too.

Because animals don’t speak our language, Tammy identifies through her work and book, five core emotional wounds that our animals can experience – and then how this is often reflected in their behaviors, actions, and physical issues – and to add to this – these are emotional wounds we as humans experience also.

Having recently gone through my own deep emotional healing with my dog Gidget who was the most profound reflection of what I needed to heal, I can attest to so much of what Tammy shares in her book.

I easily identified two core emotional wounds through her book that my dog worked diligently to help me heal, and I’m happy to say I did the inner work to do just that. But what was the most profound proof for me of my healing was that I was able to be witness to a beautiful and calm shift in Gidget as she healed too.

My favorite paragraph in the book is this one:

“A (human) congested energy field can affect all aspects of one’s emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Consequently, this knowledge can significantly influence the choices you make about your animals’ care. Knowing how sensitive they are to your emotions is also motivation for you to do your own energetic housekeeping.”

This, to me, is one of the keys to the book. When I was in my own dark night of the soul and realized I needed support and then began to heal, I wanted to do my work not only for myself but for Gidget too. I wanted her to live out the remaining of her life with more harmony and peace.

While I wish I’d had Tammy’s book when I was going through such a difficult time the last few years, reading her book now is just more validation and confirmation of what I experienced.

After reading Tammy’s book and having had to say goodbye to Gidget in May of 2019 I can say that I believe what Tammy shares in her book needs to be read by everyone who shares their life with a pet.

And I wholeheartedly concur with the last line on the back cover and that our “pets higher purpose is to help people understand themselves.”

Tammy’s book has been such a gift and another layer of confirmation for me and what I experienced in my healing journey which is what I’ll be sharing in my upcoming memoir, I’m Fine Just the Way I Am.

This is the video review and in it, I share more passages from the book that really hit home for me.

XO,

Barbara

Raccoon and Fox Guide Us on Our Ever Evolving Healing Journey

From The Enchanted Map oracle deck by Colette Baron-Reid

And here we gooooo…into the last week of September!

I have an oracle reading for you to kick off the week and one I think is packed with lots of good stuff.

As I’ve begun production for my lastest memoir – which is about how animals helped me on my healing journey of working through a childhood wound – what I came to understand is that we are always healing on some level. It’s why I believe we are here on the is earth – to continue to evolve.

The world around us, which includes the vast cosmos, is here to guide us – providing us clues, signs, and messages along our journey.

So I asked the cards: What is it we most need to know as we each continue on our healing journey’s?

The card I pulled: “Heal the Ouch.”

I love that the card I pulled has two animals represented on it — because not all the cards in this deck have animals on them— and wasn’t I just sharing how animals helped me on my healing journey?

Looking at the card I first noticed the flower the raccoon is holding. This speaks to me that being in touch with nature is of great benefit as we continue to take steps on our healing journey. A walk in nature can be so soothing to a soul that is working through a challenge.

The raccoon reaching out to comfort the fox speaks to me of being on the recipient end when you are on your healing journey. To be open to asking for support and then receiving that help with grace and gratitude.

The raccoon is nocturnal and a reminder that when we are working on healing wounds the importance of going inward and spending time in silence. This is where the answers to how we move forward can then find their way to the surface to guide us.

Raccoons also wash their food in water before they eat it. I see water as symbolic to our emotions and the importance of feeling all our emotions so we can cleanse them and live with more peace within.

Raccoons are also curious by nature inviting us to invite curiosity on our healing journey instead of always living in fear. The fact that it looks like they wear a mask is another invitation to begin to look at why we wear certain masks and how we can begin to take steps to reveal more of who we are.

Fox is a creature we only see in the dawn and dusk and they too are also nocturnal. I see this as speaking to getting more comfortable with the space “in-between” and also trying not to worry so much about what is ahead – but trusting in the unknown.

Lastly, turning to the guidebook the line, “forgiveness is the healer of the soul” jumped out at me. It’s about forgiveness not only of other’s and the role they may have played in our wounding, but also forgiveness of ourselves for those times we thought we “should’ve or could’ve” and instead, begin to be gentle and kind toward ourselves as we continue to walk our path of healing.

And as always, if I can be of support to you and an area of your life you may be feeling stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. In my one-to-one oracle reading and guidance sessions (link below to learn more), I always pull an animal card at the end of the reading as your personal guide to help you move forward so you don’t feel alone. I’m always inspired by the animals that present themselves!

Enjoy your week!

XO,

Barbara

Click here to learn more and book a private oracle reading with me.

Embracing the Feminine with Cat as Our Animal Ally

I can hardly believe it’s the last week of August. While I do enjoy summer, fall is my favorite. As I came here to post this oracle reading and animal message I couldn’t help but think how perfect Yin and Cat is as we move into fall -a more contemplative time as we begin to move inward and slow down…so just had to add this insight as part of the recorded reading.

Click here to listen.

Have a beautiful week!

XO,

Barbara

Book a private reading. To learn more click on the banner.