my animal my self

Wednesdays with the Wisdom of Dog: Mirrors to Our Souls.

Posted by Barbara Techel

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I love when this happens.

As I was doing my yoga practice today, which yes, I should be concentrating on my poses, I got lost in thinking about what I wanted to share today for this weekly dog wisdom series.

What lesson or piece of wisdom of dog did I want to share? As I glanced down at Gidget lying in her bed, I smiled. Each dog I’ve had, in some way, shape, or form has been a mirror for me—reflecting parts of myself back of issues or areas I need to work on, improve, or heal.

That was it! I’d share this message today, dogs as mirrors for us that help us to understand ourselves better.

After I was done with my yoga practice I heard my inner voice urging me to pick a Grace card.  I shuffled the deck and decided on picking a card somewhere in the middle. You’ll never believe which card I chose. Okay, maybe you will. It was mirror!  There you have it – an absolute confirmation.

That confirmation led me to the thought of a book I read a little over a year ago called, My Animal, My Self by animal communicator, Marta Williams. If you’ve not read the book, I highly recommend it. I took it down off my book shelf to revisit some of the spots I had earmarked.

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In the book Marta talks about how we are deeply and inextricably connected – that dogs (and animals) pick up on our emotions, physical, mental and spiritual levels.

I have come to deeply believe this as it has been the case for me with each one of my dogs. So much so that when something is not right with one of my dogs, I will also think about myself and what may be off balance in my own life.

I love this paragraph in Marta’s book about animals helping us on our path and stories she shares of people and their animals:

It is clear to me from these stories that the animals involved were leading their humans down the intuitive path. That this path of your heart, the path from which your inner voice speaks. It can be really hard to follow that path. It means you have to pay attention to what you truly need, not everyone else’s needs. You have to listen to your own counsel even with it is contrary to whatever everyone else is telling you. This is one of the hardest things to do in life. Is it any surprise that our animals are right there helping us learn how?

Reading and typing this just now brings tears to my eyes. Partly of joy, but partly because of agreeing, that yes, following your own path can feel so hard and sometimes lonely. But I’ve also experienced such a liberation with it too.

For that, I keep going and try to heed my own advice to others to pause often, to listen to my heart, and let it guide me. And when I falter or lose my way, I turn to the dogs in my life, who are beautiful mirrors to what my soul truly needs and wants.

How has your dog or animal friend been a mirror in your life? Leave a comment below.

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This is part of a weekly series of lessons I’ve learned from my dogs, and/or something I feel they are trying to teach us. I welcome your thoughts on any of the lessons or teachings that resonate with you.

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My Kylie, My Self: How Our Animals Mirror Us

Posted by Barbara Techel

2014-01-12 08.05.40I’m reading a fascinating book right now called, My Animal, My Self by Marta Williams. It is hard to put down. So much is resonating with me.

It is about how often times our animals are our mirrors. “Deeply and inextricably connected to us on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels, they can pick up and reflect back to us the issues and events of our lives.”

A subject not often talked about, but as I’ve been reading Marta’s book I’m seeing on an even deeper level how much my animals have been my mirror.

It’s had me thinking about my chocolate Lab, Cassie Jo who passed away from bone cancer in 2005, as well as Frankie and Joie, now gone too.

What really struck me though is thinking about Kylie being my mirror. I never looked at her in this way. I have with Cassie Jo, Frankie and Joie, but it never occurred to me that Kylie has in some ways been my mirror also.

I went back to read what I wrote about in a blog post and a recent reading I had done a few weeks ago with animal communicator, Dawn Brunke, with both Kylie and Gidget.

What prompted me to think about Kylie when reading Marta’s book was how she talked about how animals are leading their humans down an intuitive path. “That is the path of your heart, the path from which your inner voice speaks. It can be really hard to follow that path. It means you have to pay attention to what you truly need, not everyone else’s needs. You have to listen to your own counsel even when it is contrary to what everyone else is telling you. This is one of the hardest things to do in life. Is it any surprise that our animals are right there helping us learn how?”

In the reading Dawn shared that Kylie is the emotional calmer and she has held the center for a very long time. She then shared that as of recently, Kylie has really come into her own. It has been something I’ve noticed about her the last six months or so also.

As I think about myself since Joie passed away, I too, have come more into my own. Even more comfortable than before in my own skin, my own choices, my own way of seeing life, and really owning that without so much fear anymore of others’ judgment.

I can’t help but think my coming into my own even more so has helped Kylie and in turn we mirror each other.

I think back to when Kylie was 6 months old and Frankie became paralyzed. Our lives we chaotic for quite some time after that. Kylie was the gentle soul that stayed back, allowing me to take care of Frankie.

Then with my busy schedule with Frankie visiting schools and our therapy dog work, we came and went quite often, and often I’d be in a hurry. That seemed to throw Kylie off balance and if she felt in my way, she’d scamper to get out my way.

Since Frankie and Joie have been gone, we’ve all settled into a less busy household. While I loved all my work with Frankie, I find myself also enjoying this new time in my life. Kylie is most definitely reflecting that back to me as I can feel, as well as, see how much she loves our life at a bit slower pace too.

John often says with affection, “Kylie is a different dog.”

I couldn’t agree more as it warms my heart to see how much more at ease she is. As if her work of holding the center is now done and she is enjoying her “retirement” years.

How blessed I feel to have a dog who has all along had my best interest in mind and waited patiently as I found my way. Love you my sweet Kylie girl. Thank you.