animal spirits

Little Dog. Big Spirit.

Posted by Barbara Techel

Little Dog. Big Spirit.

The gray lines above Gidget’s eyelids I’ve noticed lately have become so much more distinct. While she has always had the coloring of gray and black with a bit of red, making her a dappled doxie, I always wondered as she aged if she’d show more gray.

As far as I know, she turned twelve in April. Since I adopted her, and often in those cases, you can’t always know for sure an age, but in the big picture it really does not matter.

The thing is with Gidg, like young people I’ve met over the years who I’ve felt were wise beyond their years, such is the case with Gidget. Early on, almost five years ago, when I brought her home, I began to sense this very wise part of her, calling her my Buddah dog.

Little did I know the deep and true teaching she would bring with her, which I continue to work on expressing through the memoir I’m working on.

What I can say for now is I “see” more and more the truly enlightened being she is – which is really more about a felt sense for me that continues to increase daily, resulting in an expanding and enriching relationship we now share.

This little dog, with a big spirit, I feel has walked this earth before. Perhaps in human form as a Buddah or a Great Master. And what an honor it is that she found her way here to spend this leg of her journey with me.

XO,

Barbara

Through the Eyes of Gidget: It’s An Inside Job

Posted by Barbara Techel
Through the Eyes of Gidget: It's An Inside Job
Gidget

I continue to make progress on my new memoir. Yay! So far, about 15,000 words written. I’ll share the title with you soon! I’m still contemplating a sub-title.

So often lately, it’s been such a joy to really see Gidget as the wise soul she is. Though it really is a feeling and something I feel on a deeper level than I did before. I continue to grapple with words for this as there does not seem to be adequate words to express the transformation within me that has occurred.

It happened again this morning as I walked onto the deck, to see Gidget lying here, and captured this photo. While yes, she is adorable (in my humble opinion), it is so much more than that. There is this deep respect for her as this sentient being with a purpose just as valuable as the purpose of you and me. The fact that she has walked beside me through the depths of my soul working through some pretty tough pain, speaks to the extent of love animals have for us. There are times when it feels so very palpable, like it did in this moment and getting this picture.

Gidget’s vital teaching for me, to really understand that I too, am a wise soul, and that it’s perfectly fine to own this. It took deep, personal work on my part, letting go of a past story, and a time of incubating in integration, to get to this new space of understanding. But truly, it’s an inside job to finding more peace and happiness for one’s life is what I believe.

Through the eyes of Gidget (and no, this isn’t the title of my book, as someone else gets that solely as her own 🙂 ), and understanding she was serving as a loving mirror for me, that I was able to peel back another crucial layer of truth. Shedding that layer has me not only seeing Gidget in a deeper scope of love for who she is, but also the reflection I now see of myself when I look in the mirror. And one that I am worthy and I’m…. well… oops…almost revealed the title. Stay tuned!  🙂

Speaking of this being an inside job to happiness…Dr. Joe Dispenza explains it beautifully in this short talk. Very worth the listen.

Happy Sunday!

XO,

Barbara

Kangaroo’s Poignant Message about Guilt We Feel with Our Pets

Posted by Barbara Techel
 
Recently I talked with someone who was struggling with the guilt of having to put their pet to sleep. Then just this morning, I talked with someone whose older pet just had surgery for a ruptured disk in her neck. And the difficulty is that the pet owner needs to go away for a week in the next few days and the guilt has him full of worry.
 
Guilt can be such a tricky thing and can weigh on us like a ton of bricks. I completely understand this having been through it so often myself in various ways with my own pets.
 
After talking with my friend whose pet is coming home today, but then he must leave out of town soon, I’m happy to say I was able to provide him some comfort and be a reflection for him that he has covered all bases in making sure his dog will be in the best care while he is away.
 
After I got off the call I kept thinking about this more and wondering why it is we have such a difficult time with feeling guilty.
 
So I decided to turn to the Power Animal Wisdom Oracle card deck, as I often do, when I ponder my own challenging questions. It’s my hope that by sharing this and what the card that revealed itself had to say that it will help others facing this feeling of guilt that can oftentimes consume us.
 
So I asked this question: What do pet owners need to know about feeling guilty? The card I got was Kangaroo, which is about gratitude and being grateful for all you are blessed with.
 
Reading into this message further, thinking about my friend feeling guilty for having to leave his dog after surgery, Kangaroo confirms that gratitude, not guilt, will help us to ease our worries, which more than often those worries never come true.
 
Kangaroo reminds my friend how blessed he is to have someone he trusts, who his dog has stayed with many times before, and who has taken care of dogs before after surgery, and who will be looking after his dog. How blessed he is to have this person in his life.
 
Regarding having to put a pet to sleep – one of the most difficult, heartbreaking decisions we face when having a pet, is that we will likely have to say goodbye to them for their time here on earth is so much shorter than our own.
 
Kangaroo’s message of gratitude is so fitting for this because she is reminding us how very blessed we were to have had that love and joy in our life from out pets. We can’t have one without the other. This is the reality of loving a pet.
 
I truly believe with every fiber of my being, and the many teachings I’ve received from my own pets, that our animal friends don’t want us to carry this heavy burden of guilt. As I shared with my friend today, and something I’ve come to understand, is that he can still connect with his dog even when he will be away from her.
 
I shared with him that he just needs to talk to her in his mind, and she will feel that connection and love. She already knows he loves her and she does not want him to feel guilty.
 
Guilt causes worry and worry won’t change anything. And we worry because it feels like then we are in control and if we are control we feel like it assures us of a desired outcome. The reality though is that we aren’t in control. But we can be grateful for all that we are blessed with and give thanks for that -that is a choice that we always have.
 
Thank you for sharing and subscribing to my blog updates.