self healing

Great Reminder Today From Goose. Plus Trusting in the Positive Even When We don’t Always See or Hear About It.

Posted by Barbara Techel
Not my photo. From Canva.com I wish I knew who to credit!

I watched as the goose gracefully stepped into the pond. The west wind was brisk and stung my face, and it was unusually cold for this time of year at 27 degrees. I marveled at the ease of how the goose went into the water with the frigid air all around.

I’d not walked the past two mornings as the winds were raw and whipping around 30 mph. I wasn’t too keen about stepping out today either even though it wasn’t quite as windy, yet I was also yearning to get some fresh air.

As I watched that graceful goose not concerned at all about the colder-than-usual elements, I realized my shoulders were hunched up around my ears. What good was that doing me? As if it were protecting me from the chilly winds. It wasn’t!

So I took my cue from Goose and dropped my shoulders back to where they belonged and immediately felt a shift in the ease of my walk as it also became more enjoyable – instead of fighting against what was.

Ain’t life funny like that sometimes? How often do we fight against that which we can’t change? And then we suffer. That Goose, thank you, just helped shift my perspective and I was grateful.

About halfway on my two-mile route, I met up with Larry a retired man I often see in the morning and who walks five miles most days.

He began to tell me about the fact that he and a friend had just checked the gauge that is kept along the Onion river about a mile or so out of town. It’s a gauge that automatically tracks the ground temperature at three different points during the day – 365 days a year. Each year, Larry then puts this information in a spreadsheet and shares it with an organization that tracks this.

Recently updating the spreadsheet and comparing it to past years, Larry shared that the ground temperature had gone up 2 degrees. According to him, this is quite unusual and he shared that this spoke to global warming.

He also shared with me that he has helped to restore the Onion river. When a new stream comes in he does what he can to protect that new life by putting logs beside and around it. How one person is doing what may seem to some like a seemingly little thing, but it is actually helping to make a positive impact on preserving nature. I was so touched by this.

These little acts of kindness often get unnoticed and are swallowed by so much negative news in the world. But yet, it is there. So I just wanted to share it with you too if you are feeling overwhelmed with all that continues to unfold in the world. There are good and exciting things happening too even though we may not always see or hear them!

It also reminded me of a summit I recently watched – called the Collective Trauma Summit hosted by Thomas Huebl- with some of the most excellent speakers! It was one of the best summits featuring people doing some extraordinary work in the world with much out-of-the-box thinking we don’t always hear about either. It also stretched my perspective on trauma and global warming.

In short, though it does require a deep dive and keeping one’s mind open, many of the speakers talked about how our world is so polarized and divided more than ever. And so much of this is due to the fact we are carrying trauma and burdens from our ancestral lineage.

There is anger, unresolved issues, and trauma that we are each carrying in our own way and we are each being called to heal individually in order to help shift the collective, which includes our ancestral lineage. I do believe in this. And it begins with each of us doing our inner work to resolve and heal those things we’ve been hurt and/or traumatized by.

So what does this have to do with global warming? Mother Earth feels that angst we are carrying. It also makes sense to me that when we are angry, depressed, feeling anxious, etc. that not only do we not treat ourselves well, but we also are often doing this, and often subconsciously, to the earth. When we feel better, we want to do and be better not only for ourselves but for the planet too.

Just food for thought I felt called to pass on today.

XO

Barb

Book a private reading and healing session with me here.

Or for a private reading and healing session for you and your pet here.

 

    

Shadow Animals – How Animals We Fear Can Help Us Heal, Transform, and Awaken: Book Review and Honoring Our Shadow and the Animals Guiding Us.

Posted by Barbara Techel
“Shadow Animals” by Dawn Baumann Brunke & my collaged card honoring Spider and her teaching and healing for me.

The song, “Me and My Shadow” popped into my mind and continued on an endless loop the morning after I finished reading the book, “Shadow Animals.” 

In part the lyrics are:

“Me and my shadow
Strollin’ down the avenue
Me and my shadow
Not a soul to tell our troubles to.”

In this new thought-provoking and timely book, “Shadow Animals” by Dawn Brunke, the line “not a soul to tell our troubles to” brought forth a whole new meaning and expanded my love yet again for the animal world for all the wisdom and guidance they’ve provided me over the years.

It has been a deeply rewarding experience to have healed aspects of my shadow self because of the gentle, caring, and at times, loving persistence of the Animal Kingdom – especially those animals I held some fear about.

So it was an honor to be asked to take part in the chapter on arachnophobia and test a series of questions that Dawn developed that would help uncover clues about my angst about Spider. What it revealed and the insight that bubbled to the surface ushered in a welcome layer of healing!

As we continue to move through these challenging times of divisiveness and fear, it has become clear that the ones we really need to tell our troubles to are ourselves. That which triggers us and causes us pain or angst is an opportunity to go within and heal those shadow aspects of ourselves. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!

And the animals – especially those we fear– called shadow animals – are the ones who can expand us in profound ways. They are here and waiting to walk lovingly beside us and inspire and encourage us to do the inner work to heal individually so that we may heal on a collective level also.

Dawn writes: “Shadow animals are unique teachers that can help us find and better understand the lost and wounded pieces of ourselves of which we are not fully aware. Some hold clues to repressed memories of trauma or abuse.  Some are guides, helping us to explore the puzzling or guarded aspects of our psyche.”

Reading this book I found myself reaching for my Post-it™ note tabs over and over again, marking many passages that resonated, deeply moved me, or invited me to contemplate further. One such paragraph is from the chapter intriguingly titled, “Nightmare.”

Dawn says, “To consciously meet our nightmare invokes a deepened relationship between Shadow and self. What we find when we face our fears is often surprising. For beyond the face of fear we encounter a deeper presence. There, in the dark mirror, we see ourselves. Previously misunderstood aspects of who we are gaze back at us, no longer cloaked by fear but illuminated with wonder.”

The chapter goes on to share a short, but emotional dream Dawn had about a neglected and abused pony. I was moved to tears as I recognized once again that part of me that had suffered abuse as a young child. 

She encourages us to ask these questions: “What is battered, damaged, abandoned, sick, or starved for attention within my self? What small, sad being is at last acknowledged as we open our arms to hold and love it? With care and attention, what might it become?”

While exploring the deeper recesses of our psyche is not always easy, it’s that deeper presence that Dawn speaks to that is the reward and once experienced changes us in a profound way. 

From sharing the well-researched mythology and folklore and the origins of how many animals came to be deemed as “bad or evil,” plus meditations and simple, but powerful exercises, Dawn eloquently shows us how we can not only heal our wounds –  a.ka. our shadow – but how we can also awaken and expand in the truth and bring back into the light the brilliant teachings of the Animal Kingdom.

And so Dawn’s new book, “Shadow Animals,” and the many years she has devoted to the extensive work and understanding of the animal world, I see as an exquisite gift and a wake-up call to our world at this crucial juncture.

The first step then is acknowledging we each have work to do. Then get yourself a copy of this book, take notes, do the exercises, and open yourself to the treasure that acknowledging our shadow is a way to deepen into a more peaceful place within. Most of all, welcome in the animals and share your fears and unhealed stories with them. They are waiting with the utmost love to guide us home to the heart of who we truly are.

So as I wind my way back to the lyrics that looped through my mind, I see “Me and My Shadow” along with the deeply insightful wisdom shared in Dawn’s brilliant new book, “Shadow Animals” as an invitation. An invitation to not fear our shadow, but instead befriend it, acknowledge it, integrate it, and dance in the wonder of it.

For the well-being of humans, animals, and the planet, I highly recommend this book as a way forward to living with more love and compassion not only for ourselves but for all beings.

xxx

You can read more and pre-order here.
You can also read chapter excerpts on Dawn’s website here.
 
AND to read an excerpt of the Spider chapter, visit Wisdom Magazine here. 
 
XO
Barb
 
    

Animal Wisdom for October

Posted by Barbara Techel
Sandhill Crane family visiting our backyard a few weeks ago. plus Sandhill Crane card from my upcoming Animal Reflections Healing Oracle.

This month I’m heeding my own advice and that of Sandhill Crane and have decided to not record a general animal wisdom oracle reading for October.

Instead, I hope Sandhill Crane will serve as just the guide you need until next time.

While the world continues to shake with uncertainty which can feel unsettling to our own beingness, I share Sandhill Crane’s message with you:

Sandhill Crane, with Butterfly delicately balanced upon its beak, invites you to engage in the enchanting and exquisite dance of life.

While it’s most magical to see a Sandhill Crane flying high above, they spend most of their time on the ground. Sandhill Crane asks whether you are lost too much in thought and need to spend some time grounded. It reminds you that balance is required in order to move through your days with grace, focus, and clarity.

As a mother, Sandhill Crane is quite protective of her young; however, she only rears them for their first year of life, after which they are left to thrive on their own.

If you find yourself feeling uncertain or rattled about your future, it’s time to partake of Sandhill Crane’s medicine and nurture the part of you unsure about stepping out into the world on your own.

Sandhill Crane is known to call out loudly to forewarn others that it is near. As you devote time to finding your center again, her presence is reminding you to let those around you know this is what you are doing and its importance. This keeps the lines of communication open while also serving to honor and respect your need for alone time.

The call of Sandhill Crane is beckoning you back to the ancient wisdom that lies inside you but may have been forgotten. That tuning inward, listening deeply, and finding joy in transformational moments is what guides you to stay in balance.

As you acknowledge inner conflicts and learn to release them, you will find yourself dancing through life, and with others, with joy and wonder.

Transformation can feel scary as we step into unknown territories.  But this is a reminder to keep ourselves in balance – whatever that looks like for each of us individually – while also actively remembering what is good and positive in our lives.

And most importantly, staying in tune with what feels true in our hearts.

Wishing you all the best for the month of October!

P.S. Update on my Animal Reflections Healing Oracle deck! The final edits are now complete and the booklet has gone into the design phase!

XO

Barb