Animal Reiki at BrightHaven

A few of weeks ago I got to visit a beautiful home in northern California and experience true love.

I went to Brighthaven Sanctuary.

About 20 years ago Gail and Richard Pope decided to turn their ranch, located on the fringe of Santa Rosa, CA, into a hospice for animals in need of a place to gently and quietly transition into the end of their lives while rescuing mistreated and forgotten animals in need.  They call it BrightHaven, a healing arts center for animals.  Today the Popes have a team of caring holistic vets and volunteers
that foster and mend any animal that comes to them, and the list varies:  I met a goose, some roosters, horses, a donkey, some cats and dogs, a goat, and I think there was a turtle hiding somewhere. 

The BrightHaven team focused on the individual needs of the animals in their care with different health issues, food requirements and personality traits.  I was surprised to find that the sanctuary was still a home - a very nicely decorated and comfortable home - where the cats and dogs in their care could relax and feel loved, welcome and well cared for.  The bedrooms were transformed into treatment rooms, the living room was a comfy waiting and cuddling room, and the kitchen was shared by all, including the foster pets.  Every nook, shelf, cupboard, and piece of furniture was transformed into a bed for some critter.  There were comfy plush chairs and couches in the living room, well padded wicker furniture in the sun room, fountains and swing chairs on the back patio, a nice pasture and barn for the horses outside and a big chicken coop in the back for the roosters.   There were plans for using the pool for physical rehabilitation.  Crystals and healing gems were scattered throughout the house and there was incense burning in front of the fireplace.  There was art, antiques and sculptures in every room.  I found it a creative, artistic, and pleasant place to be. 

The caring and dedicated Brighthaven team uses every healing modality available to heal and nurture their charges: Ayurveda, Reiki, T-Touch, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, flower essences and anything else you can think of.  The Pope's furniture is even Feng-Shui arranged to create an atmosphere of peaceful and stress free living.  I was amazed to see how clean it was - not even any dust on the furniture - the place was obviously lovingly cared for on a regular basis.  The human belief was that a clean home supports a healthy immune system and the animals seemed to agree, because even the dying critters looked happy and healthy.  During my weekend visit I was never bothered by a floating hair, fleas or any allergic reaction to dust and dander, and there were around 20 cats and dogs living in the house at the time!

The animals are free to roam anywhere they want.  Even the paralyzed dogs are fitted with wheels so they can travel around the garden and grounds.  The ranch is as beautiful outside as inside, lushly decorated with beautiful rose bushes and eucalyptus trees, with plenty of acreage for the horses to roam.  It's no wonder that every critter chose to stay close to" home".  Who wouldn't?

My first comment when I went through the front door was, "Wow!  I could live here - no problem!"

Which was appropriate - the Popes are ready to retire and are looking for someone who will take over for them.

At this point you may be wondering, did I fly across the country just to visit this haven?  Actually, I went there to train with Kathleen Prasad, Reiki master to the animals.

I was already a level 2 practitioner, but I wanted to extend my training to level 2 Kathleen style.  Even though I can use my Reiki training to help human clients, my focus is more on our companion animals, and Kathleen Prasad is an expert on that subject.  When my Reiki teacher and master on this coast learned of my interest, she sent me to Katleen's website, Animalreikisource.com, where I found the information about the classes she teaches.  I jumped on the chance to go out to California and work with her.

The other students and I met at BrightHaven for a weekend intensive.  Kathleen strolled in right on time at noon and introduced herself.  She was was like a nature-fairy.  She was gentle and dainty and spoke with a sweet sing-songy voice.  Our teacher radiated with love and sunshine, obviously a friend of nature and a protector of the animal world.

We spent the first day comfortably situated in the comfy living room where we learned about Kathleen's point of Reiki view, distance healing and chanting.  In the middle of the day we were treated with snacks Gail Pope style - fancy chips with gourmet dips and lavish desserts served on chinaware.  We were treated like old friends who came for a rare visit.  I already felt at home, snacking on treats and chatting with my new peeps.  The second day, after we were activated to level 2 status and practiced a little more chanting, we went outside to work with the horses.  I was treated with the trust of an old donkey.

Actually, the story is kind of sweet.  We gathered in the pasture where Kathleen assigned us to certain rescued horses and an aging donkey.  I was supposed to work on a horse, but that horse decided to go to someone else.  I decided out loud that I would travel to the donkey on the far side of the pasture and work with him, but another woman headed out that way, so I stopped moving and stood still and radiated Reiki energy just to see what would happen.  I hoped there would be a connection with a willing participant, but tried to keep any expectations in check.  I was immediately rewarded for my non-effort.

Within minutes, as if he'd heard my intention, the little white donkey started a slow stroll toward me, ignoring the woman that had come to him, and eventually stopped right next to me.  Not long after that he rested his jaw in my hand.  I was taken by surprise, but was happy to oblige.  I imagine he had a sore tooth and wanted some healing.  Together we shared Reiki energy as I tried to show him with mental images how beautiful he really was.   Obviously he was a sweet and very aware teacher.

As part of my Reiki practice is aimed toward enhancing my ability to communicate with animals, I was exhilarated by the experience. The little dude validated both of my efforts: my ability to radiate with healing energy and an ability to talk to the animals. Our twenty minute healing session went by too quickly.

After another Gail-style snack we stayed indoors and worked with the dogs and cats in the house.  Every animal responded to the healing.  When one animal was done we moved on to another, or they moved to a different student - we left it entirely up to them.  We didn't want to force ourselves on them.  By the time we finished for the day we all felt touched by the love and appreciation for the attention we paid the ailing companion animals.  They were now our friends.  It was hard to leave them.

I didn't some straight home after that weekend - I stayed in California to visit with some cousins - but I carried the magic of that weekend with me wherever I went.  I still feel it: the strength of each dog, cat, equine and bird, and the beauty of BrightHaven Sanctuary. 

I still feel the love.

Panache Desai - Extraordinary

The thing I like about Panache is that when he is sending you an energy fix, you have to drop everything and take it in.

You have no choice.  Panache Desai is a siren of clearing energy, a force of the divine who's calling to you.  His voice is warm and smooth, his demeanor is polite and patient, and his message is universal and true:  "Our potential is infinite..."  Panache is on a mission to help everyone he can recognize their true potential to live the life they were born to live.

When he talks, you listen.  First he'll ask you to sit quietly with your palms open on your lap and take a deep breath.  Then he asks you to stay open and receive.  After a a while you'll feel his energy boost wrap around you like a comfy blanket then warmth and love flows through you.  If you have a question, he'll explain his point of view of your problem then send you some healing energy, quickly and lovingly.  How you receive his help depends on how open you are to his vibrational energy and his words.  How you feel it depends on your vibrational state at the moment, and you may not feel anything at all.  Chances are, though, you will.

I've taken part of one of his 21 Days of Presence and Vibrational Increase programs. I tried to multitask while listening to the teleseminars, but I couldn't.  I'd feel whatever a caller reported feeling - because Panache always asked how they were feeling after an energy boost - be it a warm sensation in their legs, a tingling in their stomach, or tears after an emotional breakthrough.  Every time I tried to take notes I'd start to zone out and stop typing.  My hands and arms would relax on my lap, my eyes would cross, my mouth would hang open and I'd start drooling - just kidding, but not.  I couldn't resist his siren powers.

I found it enlightening and relaxing, and I want to do it again.  In fact, I think I will.

Panache Desai stresses the importance of non-conformity.  We were never meant to be the same - we are divine beings that should stop judging ourselves and connect to our own unique expression.

"We've been conditioned to conform and to fit in, but we were created to reform and redefine what it is to be human.  We do that by being ourselves."  He believes we all need to revel in our own personalities and be authentic.  We need to embrace our lives as individuals and share our gifts with each other.  This is how we make the world a better place to live.

Here is a video from Healing With The Masters that will give you a taste of Panache Desai:

Panache was born and raised in London, and now lives in America with his wife, Jan, and their twin daughters.  He looks like an ordinary handsome Eastern Indian man, but when he talks he proves to be more than ordinary.  He expresses a modern point of view about spirituality and wants to simplify our connection to the divine. 

Do you thing I'm gushing too much?  Maybe.  He does have his critics, and I ignored him for a couple of years after hearing of him, but I've experienced his energy now and I can't complain.

When he tells us he loves us I believe him. 

Love, after all, is what makes the world go round.

 

Very Interesting!

I finally became a level 2 Reiki practitioner!

 Actually I've been one for a few weeks, now. 

I had two whole months to practice at level one before the new attunement, and I really needed it. I have to admit, though, I haven't been practicing much on other people, just on myself and a few animals here and there.  This short journey has been pretty interesting so far, especially after my advancement to the second level.

It seems the more I practice, the more energy movement I feel.  And the more I feel, the more I attract.  I'm meeting all sorts of interesting energy healers, including dogs, cats and birds.

The other day I thought it would be different to practice some Reiki while sitting outside on the porch.  I usually do it in my basement rec room, 40 minutes or so practicing the hand placement and feeling the flow, but the weather was so nice I had to go out and be with Mama Nature.  I got quiet and invited any critter in the neighborhood to join me for some healing energy.  After about 10 minutes of sitting still with my hands in my lap I looked up and noticed I had attracted a flock of migrating black birds.  I watched them fly toward me in groups of two or three at a time from distant trees in the neighborhood to roost in the trees above and around me.  I thought it a profound and grand experience until one pooped on me.

Back to the basement I went.

A month ago I had another practitioner work on me and I could feel her energy boost through me like a strong electric flow, occasionally making my legs jitter with excitement.  I was thrilled that I was able to feel it.  Years ago I'd tried a Reiki treatment and felt nothing, so I never continued with more.  I finally had proof that Reiki was real, and now I was ready to try more.

I worked with a visiting dog in a hotel room who's energy was so strong he made my dizzy brain see the carpet swim like an optical illusion.  I think heard a buzzing sound.  Even though he preferred to sleep through it in the next room, I left that night pretty high. I never knew a dog could give me a no contact high.

Hummingbirds snuck up on me to say hello.  One startled me so much I jumped, which startled him, so he pooped and flew away as fast as he flew toward me.  It never occurred to me that hummingbirds poop like regular birds, but of course they do.   I'm so naive.

I've been getting lots of love from cats.  Some of them talk to me as if I can understand what they are talking about.  Of course I pretend I do - what else can you do when a critter needs a sympathetic ear?

I've been practicing my level 2 symbols and long distance healing.  I found a Reiki for Dummies book and watched a number of You Tube videos and learned more.  I got a couple of energy tuneups from Panache Desai that left me feeling pretty good and ready for more, so I bought into a 21 day long tuneup.  I'm getting ready to buy my tickets to California to work with Kathleen Prasad for a weekend in November. 

What I find really interesting is the timing of it all.  I've been exploring energy healing for decades and had to search everywhere for teachers and healers, eventually traveling to Sedona, Arizona to find them.  I learned about all sorts of great New Age healing methods but never really could tell if I was able to do it or if it really worked.  I eventually lost interest and moved on to other things, like writing and on line marketing.  I did manage to collect some great crystals and minerals, but mostly because they are pretty. 

Along came 2012 and New Earth change theories.  People came out of the woodwork to talk about what they've also been doing for decades and they wanted to share, thank goodness.  I dived headlong back into the stuff and now I can feel the energy like crazy, thanks to Mahendra Trevedi and his transmissions.  Maybe I had cleared enough of my energy blocks to start feeling things, or maybe the planet is really changing it's frequency and helping things along, but I wish I could've reached this level years ago.   It's a good thing I plan to live a good 30 plus more years - it gives me time to get good at this stuff.  

I still can't tell if I'm accomplishing anything with it but now that I can feel it I can have faith that it's doing good things for me. 

At least that's what everybody is telling me.

Even if it isn't, it's still a wild ride.  And I plan to continue.

I Like Ann (Ann Taylor)

Ann Taylor is an internationally known energy healer with a not-so-unique method of healing that works wonders.

She prays for you.

Ann works powerfully with prayer to facilitate changes in your subconscious beliefs from those that hinder your happiness and personal growth to those that can change your life in a very positive way.  She asks God to heal you on a genetic, cellular, mental, spiritual and past life level to be able to do the things that should be simple, but aren't.  Her work eliminates belief systems that no longer serve you and imprints ones that do. 

When you sign up for her 21 Days of Healing program, she sets aside time every day for 21 days or more to focus on your healing.  People love her, and I can see why.

She also has recorded healing prayers in her pleasant sing-song voice available for you to listen to over and over again.  Repetition is important - studies have proven that the more you do something the more it becomes ingrained in your subconscious until it permanently changes you in ways you may never become aware of on a conscious level.  You can download the audios or buy her CDs to listen to as often as you want, and the more you listen to them, the more profound the changes. 

With Ann's audio recordings you can:

Be programmed to be optimistic.
Be empowered to manifest money.
Know that you deserve love.
Know that your mother, your father and your friends think you are wonderful.
Have the passion necessary to create the life of your dreams.
Know that you deserve to have a happy life.
Believe in miracles.
Be empowered to have the wisdom to make good decisions.
Be imprinted on a DNA level that you're worthy of love and respect. 
And more.

Pick your favorites, or listen to them all.  I enjoy listening to the ones that strike my fancy on any given day.  The audios seem to cheer me up; it could be the messages or her voice.  Or both.

I've gone through 3 rounds of Ann Taylor's 21 Days of Healing so far.  I started out on the first round looking for miracle changes, but realized that what was really happening was much more subtle.  I saw that what I needed was a cheerleader; someone whispering positive messages in my ear to make me a better person - the ones I can hear and the ones I can't.  Time is on my side so I can keep the healing working for me long after my 21 days are up, and even though I haven't become a millionaire with no personal problems I don't really care anymore.  The changes are more perceptual than physical; less stress and a better outlook means a better life.  Her prayers seem to be working.

All I had to do is pay for a package and tell her who I am.  She does all the work remotely from her home - I just needed to trust in her abilities.  I wondered at first if Ann was keeping her end of the bargain, praying for us every day, until one day I got a message in my email from her apologizing for being sick and unable to do the healing work the day before.  She promised to make up the day at the end of the program.   I wondered if it was necessary to apologize for something I, or we as there were over 700 other participants at the time, would never really know was actually being done.  She could've easily just skipped over a day or two without our knowledge, but Ann was way too honest for that.

It's easy to admire her cheerfulness, kindness and generosity.  She seems to really enjoy what she does.  I liked her before, but after that email, I liked her even more.  In fact it's impossible to not like her. 

To learn more about Ann Taylor and her process and her audio recordings, check out her website at  www.InnerHealing.com.  

Ann's never tired of doing good.

Reiki is Pretty Cool

I've always wanted to have healing hands.

In the 90's I trained with Barbara Brennan, a former NASA physicist turned energy healer, author, and founder of holistic healing schools in Europe and the USA.  It was very enlightening - I found out that even though I had the power, I disliked hanging over people.  Which also ruled out massage therapy as an occupation. 


So I thought it would be nice to be an animal healer.  I studied Telling Touch, a massage system developed by Linda Tellington to heal emotional and physical disharmony in horses.  She later evolved her system into healing all animals and people, and to this day I'll use it on dogs and cats, just to see if it works.  I think it does.  Still, I have to hang over animals for an extended amount of time to massage, feel for tense and hot spots, and use different massage techniques for different problems.  I realized I didn't have the patience for it.

So, I tried animal communication.  I studied with Penelope Smith and other communicators for a while, only to find that I wasn't very good at it.  Still, I have the bug and I keep trying.  The problem, I think, is that I need to sit down every day for some time to meditate,
reach out, talk to and listen to other people's pets.  Who has time for that?  I do have to say I've had  some pretty neat experiences over the years; with cats talking to me, squirrels and insects staring me down, dolphins giving me bubble baths, and birds sending me intuitive experiences.  I know what it feels like to lay an egg and why birds make little sighing noises when they fly.  I once had an experience with a cat who spent a good 15 minutes licking the palms of my hands.  I had no idea why at the time, but I now conclude it was because she knew my secret and was helping me by cleaning the chakras in my hands.  I guess she was telling me I was meant to do more than just talk to animals.

I recently discovered Reiki (pronounced Ray-kee).  Actually, I've known about it for years, even had a Reiki healing massage once about 10 years ago, but I never considered becoming a practitioner - until now.  I found out that people were using it on companion animals as well as on people in need of some energy healing.  When I found out I didn't need a lot of specialized training, just be attuned by a Reiki Master, I thought, great!  I get to sit still for 20 minutes or more, have the animals come to me or not, and we heal each other.  I also get to improve my communication skills at the same time, a positive side effect of regular Reiki practice.

Reiki is a Japanese energy healing system that creates stress relief and relaxation, founded by Mikao Usui.  He perfected a way to heal a person's personal energy field, thus healing their body, by channeling the life energy of the universe through his hands to the patient.   Reiki is thought to be an energy that knows where to go; you don't have to be aware of what needs to be healed.  Reiki uses your intuition to guide it to the right places, combines with the energy of the patient, and heals without any effort from practitioner or patient.  In fact, it is supposed to be an energetic give and take that helps both people.  The more you practice Reiki with someone else, the more in tune with cosmic energy you get.

As it has been a popular form of healing for people since 1922, it's only recently become a way to heal animals.  I'm all for it and I want to do it!  So, last week I attended a class and was attuned to level 1 Reiki.  I can now work on people and pets to heal with my hands.

What I like most is that I have a choice.  I can hang over people to heal specific areas of their bodies, or I can just sit still, let the Reiki energy flow through me, and let it go where it wants.  In fact, that's the best way to work with animals.  You start an energy flow from a short distance, either sitting or standing, and let the animal come to you.  Reiki is ideal for use with animals because it is gentle, noninvasive and doesn't require physical contact.  They might try to get close to your hands, come to the edge of your personal energy field, or just lay down and take a nap.  It depends on their comfort level.

I'm ready to be attuned to level 2, and I want to go to California to work with Kathleen Prasad, a well known animal healer and communicator who specializes in using Reiki for animals.  She's a self taught expert on Reiki for animals and has taught people from all over the world to become Reiki healers for the animal world. She believes that working with animals in a positive way will create a positive shift on the planet that will heal us all.

Reiki will also be good for my new business, coaching people to define and refine their passions, talents, and interests and create businesses they love from the things that they love.  I call it Lemonade Thoughts.  When I get attuned to level 2, I'll be able to do long distance treatments.  That means that even though we only communicate through telephone sessions, I can still work with my client's energy from home. Cool, huh?

Just another vibration raising activity for me.  Maybe some healing, intuition growth and a successful passion quest too.  I really feel I'm on a good path here.  With the help of Reiki I hope to finally get going on a new and exciting way of life.  Whatever happens, I know it will be beneficial for all.

I'm Trying to Be The Change

Suzanne Evans, bless her heart, is a wild woman.

And she's wearing me out.

Who is she, you might ask?  Well, she's the owner and founder of Suzanne Evans Coaching, LLC.   Determined to be all that she could be, she started with a secretarial job to build a business that  surpassed the seven-figure mark in just over three years. Today, she supports, coaches, and teaches over 30,000 women enrolled in her wealth and business building programs.  She has a huge coaching and money making team, and she's all about showing everybody else how to do it.

This weekend she hosted her 4th Be The Change Event,  a conference that gathered 900 plus business owners and entrepreneurs to teach them how to make the most of their businesses.  Because I'm training as a Profit From Your Passions career coach, I was invited to come.

Even though I haven't actually started my new business yet, I thought, why not?  I'd never heard of her before my coaching course, but Suzanne seemed determined to get everybody to come to Orlando.  I instinctively knew I could learn something while spending a little time in a nice hotel - maybe get a little sun and a swim at the pool.  I also knew these conferences could wear one out if you're not prepared for an intensive schedule so I came ready for bear - but I wasn't prepared for Suzanne's energy and drive.

Her event has gotten so popular she was able to get enough sponsors, big and small, to create an almost one million dollar 4 day weekend, and she filled every minute of it with activities.  It's now Saturday and I'm worn out.  So far today we covered email sequencing, product offers and having your own events.  We listened to an Infusionsoft spokesman (Infusionsoft is a marketing software company that Suzanne speaks highly of and is a big part of the sponsorship of the event) and broke for lunch.  There's much more to come after lunch.

I arrived on Wednesday so that I could take my time registering for the event and exploring the Peabody Hotel, famous for it's twice daily duck walk through the lobby.  In the 1930's the general manager of the original Peabody Hotel decided to let ducks live in the fountain. It became a popular attraction for tourists, and ever since then they've let farm raised ducks lounge in the fountain by day and sleep off their hard work in the arboretum at night.  Every morning and evening the ducks are led to and from the fountain with musical fanfare as if they were the royal family.  People love to watch the duck parade and line up along the red carpet to take pictures.  Today I was one of them.

I finally got to see the royal ducks arrive this morning, but Thursday morning, because I had a little time before the first event session, I got to go swimming with a pair of ducklings in the pool on the recreation level.  It was almost as fun as swimming with the dolphins - something I did years ago in the Bahamas and want to do again.  I glided through the water so not to scare the little tykes away, and together we swam up and down the length of the pool until I ran out of energy.

After that, though, my time to lay back and enjoy life came to an end.

The first thing we did that afternoon once we finished settling down in the giant conference room was stand to the Star Spangled Banner.  A high school marching band filed down the isles, playing very well I might add, followed by a troupe of cheerleaders waving flags and marching to the music.

Then an announcer read the names of all of the sponsors, speakers and coaches that were contributing to the event as they filed onto the stage as if they were the team football stars.  Finally Suzanne Evans came on with great fanfare - "And Now, The SENSATIONAL Suzanne Evans!"

She has a big personality and a Minnie Mouse voice, perfect for an Orlando conference.  Smart and exuberant, she also cussed like a sailor.  I found her entertaining as well as informative.  She proved to be a pretty good teacher and through the course of the rest of the weekend I learned a great deal from her.

There were two big video screens on either side of the main stage, which branched out into the room in three directions, runway style.  Suzanne used every inch of it as she walked around talking and motivating us.  She welcomed us to the game of business. The music flared as the marching band

played it's way out of the conference room with somersaulting cheerleaders trailing behind.

She talked through the afternoon, introduced other speakers who just happened to be part of her coaching staff, had a DJ in the back of the room playing very loud dance music during the breaks, and had us working through a series of workbooks she left under our chairs.  Suzanne announced, "I'm definitely not the smartest person in the room, but I'm definitely the most awesome person in the room!"  She was alluding to the amount of teamwork it took to help her create her successful business with her leadership.  She said she had to turn away 25 sponsors to the event because they didn't represent what she wanted to portray as a business woman and announced that she didn't care if we didn't like her.  She just hoped to help us grow our businesses exponentially.

"The way you do anything is the way you do everything," is Suzanne Evan's motto, which apparently means she does everything over the top.  She warned us that we need to pay attention to what we do in our private lives because it reflects how we will be with our businesses.

She topped the evening with a guest speaker and a book signing.  Bert Jacobs, the older brother of the "Life is Good" empire, came to lecture us on optimism, and even though he confessed he was not a professional speaker he was pretty damn inspiring.  He slipped off his shoes, threw a few autographed frisbees into the audience, and talked us into loving him and his company.  At the end of the evening he mentioned that he and his brother started a publishing company and sold us a book.  He got us with their children's charities - they didn't know what else to do with all the money they were making ("Life Is Good" was worth $100 million in 2010) so they decided to help children in need. He mentioned that 1/2 the proceeds for the book went to the kids.  We ran to the desk in the back of the room and bought all the books he brought.

10:30 that night he was still autographing the books for us.

The rest of the weekend was much the same.  Suzanne talked, her coaches coached, and we went on breaks with our heads spinning.  Friday night we were entertained by a family of Russian acrobats.  Tonight we're recognizing and giving awards to the members of her 10k club - people who payed to learn from her coaches and were able to earn $10 thousand dollars or more in a week.  Some of them earned 6 and 7 figure yearly incomes under her tutelage.  They're to be given awards and a champagne party later.  I may not be able to make it to the party.

All day we are fed lots and lots of information and somehow we're supposed to retain all of it.  We go to bed exhausted, but our brains are so busy we can't sleep.  I suspect that what Suzanne is doing is wearing us down so that we won't be able to resist her sales pitch on Sunday.  She is a smart woman with a plan. 

Next year Suzanne Evans plans to take over a whole hotel in sunny Las Vegas for her next Be the Change event and fill the whole thing with potential clients.  I wouldn't be surprised if she were to hire the Cirque du Soleil to demonstrate how teamwork works.  I don't think I'll be making that show, but I'm glad I came to this one.  Every business owner should experience Suzanne and her energetic business style at least once, if only to witness a master in action.

I'm so glad I took some time to enjoy the ducks.  They know how to live - gliding through life on a calm pool of warm chlorinated water without a thought about how to conduct business.

Oy, My Feet.

I had visions of filling up my free time walking a dog or two or pet sitting on the weekends and making a little extra money.  I found out something really important.

The dog walking business is not all it's cracked up to be.

You have to keep to schedules, walk for hours every day in good and bad weather, clean up after your dogs after every walk, stay cheery for the human parents, clean up messes if there are accidents in the house, dodge traffic, other dogs and unfriendly neighbors.

It's important to be trustworthy because everybody counts on you being there when you promised.  You need a back-up system in case something happens to you.  There's a lot of paperwork and key shuffling when you have several customers. You are needed day and night - there's morning walks, afternoon walks, bedtime walks, and in-between pee breaks.  You have to get out of bed early in the morning, go to someone else's house to walk and feed their dogs.  Then you have to stay up at night to go to someones else's house to walk their dog before bedtime.  Their bedtime - not yours.

You should know how to deal with difficult dogs.  You should be strong enough to handle difficult dogs.  You need to be patient with difficult dogs.

You really should be knowledgeable in doggy CPR, healthcare, and training.  

Like human children, every dog has their own issue and preference.  They might have health issues.  They might have personality problems.  They have fears, anxieties, weight problems, allergies, and favorite foods.  Some are food gobblers and will eat anything that fits in their mouths.  Some nibble and can spend all day eating a bowl of food.   Some like you.  Some don't.

Things get a lot more complicated if you offer other services. Grooming, over-night sitting, specialty treats, taxi services and weekly bed and breakfast services can add to your business, but make you seriously indispensable.  You end up working 16 hours a day and can never take a day off.

You need a good pair of walking shoes.  And hair resistant clothes.  And you can't worry about your own hair.  And you need a lot of poop-scoop bags. 

When I decided I wanted to try the business and supplement my income, I didn't realize how demanding tho job really was.  I was hoping to spend my days playing with other people's dogs and meeting interesting people, maybe lose a little weight with a few walks a day.

It's really hard work!

If you're considering supplementing your income with a little dog walking, I recommend working for someone else for a while first.  You may make only ten dollars an hour, but you'll get a good taste of what it takes to run a successful business.  You might decide, like I have, that you should try to be happy with a dog of your own and find another business that easier on the social life.

I'm still walking dogs, but it's become a way to explore a different avenue of pet care - Reiki.  I can become a Reiki practitioner and have access to some potential patients. It's my next new interest, and as you can tell from my previous posts that I have a lot of new interests.

Reiki promises to be the next big thing in pet care.  It's a Japanese healing technique that practitioners use to transfer universal energy through their palms to induce stress reduction and relaxation.  Even though it was developed for us humans, Reiki allows for self-healing and a state of equilibrium that works as well, maybe even better, for animals as it does for people. 

Yes, our pets get stressed.  And like with us, stress leads to health issues and emotional problems.  The difference between us and our pets is that our pets are more open to the energy flow of their environment.  Their ability to block or ignore environmental stressful situations is nothing like our

ability.  It's almost non-existent.  It makes them more susceptible to health disrupting negativity.  Reiki, which is as beneficial to the practitioner as the client, attracts a positive "life force" energy flow to help us heal ourselves. 

It's been a popular practice since the 1920's and I've known about it for years.  I can't believe it's taken me so long to decide to do it.  Even though my primary reason for learning it is to help animals,  I hope to make a daily practice that I can use to help me with my other new business, becoming a creative career counselor.

A whole new set of blogs to come.

Anyhoo,  if anyone out there is thinking dog walking may be a fun new career, think some more.  Be prepared for the hard work and dedication you're going to need.

Remember that those dogs are going to become dependent on you.  So will their parents.  Be ready.

And have a good pair of shoes.

Mark Romero, Musician Extraordinaire

We are energy.  We are magnificent expressions of a field of energy that is unlimited in it's potential - so says Mark Romero.

markromeromusic

With all of our modern technologies, our man-made chemicals, modified food, microwave signals, EMF producing products and more, we have interrupted our connection to that field of energy.  It's causing stress, compromising our health and well-being, and blocking our focus, intuition, and creativity.  The things we use every day are weakening us physically and mentally.  We've put ourselves into a state of disharmony because of our environment.

The good news is you can heal these connections with the right energy and audio frequencies.

Mark Romero

This is where Mark Romero comes in.  He has learned how to combine his natural healing ability with a little guitar playing to shift, energize and optimize your connection to the higher frequencies that can help you live a healthier, happier, and more productive life.

And he's pretty good!

Mark's music can raise your frequency above the frequencies of these energy blockers so that you no longer receive the lower frequency signals.  You bypass the unwanted signals and tune into the higher frequencies that reduce stress and benefit your health and life.  Your connection to the universe strengthens to allow you to heal your environment.  The music also cancels out the static that interferes with your thought patterns and is good for meditations and healing modalities like Reiki or a good massage.

I bought a set of his CD's and downloaded some MP3's.  I want to reduce my stress and nurture my creativity while listening to a nice tune.  Since I need to listen to Mark's music regularly I was happy that I liked his stuff - acoustic guitar with Latin, jazz, and classical rhythm.  While waiting for arrival of the CD's in the mail I found I could create a relaxed and happier atmosphere with the MP3's.  So far my favorite CD is "Beyond the Wall." 

The goal is to align with my highest good without effort; to attract and do things that transmit a high frequency because my frequency has shifted to the higher vibration.  The thing I like best about it is that I can play the CD's in my car and raise my vibration during rush hour.

It would be nice to make my trip to work a more enjoyable one.  I can't wait.

You can listen to some of his music on his website, markromeromusic.com.

He also partners with his wife, Dr. Lara Romero, in some guided meditation CD's to help you create positive shifts in your way of life.  Lara's smooth and calm voice guides you to relax and become receptive to Mark's energy boosts.  They make a great team.

Not to mention a cute couple.

Mark's motto is, "Change your energy, change your life!"

I agree wholeheartedly. 

Life Optimization Training

I passed my test!

I've been certified by Joe Rubino's Center for Personal Reinvention to be a life optimization coach.

Dr. Joe Rubino has a great program for self esteem elevation for adults and children, and I couldn't resist the chance to learn and grow.  Not to mention it was very affordable.

"Become a Certified Life Optimization Coach and Learn the Skills that Changes Lives!"

That's what I'm talking about.  Learning skills that changes lives.

Joe Rubino is the CEO of The Center for Personal Reinvention, a company that provides life-changing and success-enhancing books, audio programs, courses, and personal and business coaching to champion people to be their very best. He is an internationally acclaimed personal development trainer, a transformational success coach and best selling author of 9 books and 2 Audio sets on topics ranging from how to restore self-esteem, achieve business success, and maximize joy and fulfillment in life and productivity in business.

Joe's on a mission to impact the lives of 20 million people, so he created a system to teach people how to teach people to create a successful life. He even created a system for becoming a self-esteem coach for kids. 

I signed up, watched his videos, listened to his audios, read his transcripts and took his test.  Now I have a certificate to prove I learned something.  Just another step toward my bigger goal: becoming qualified to give advice to people.

Now I'm studying with Valerie Young to be a career coach. 

One of my biggest complaints has always been that I've lived a lot of years, accumulated tons of life experience, learned many skills and can do many things, yet I still don't know what to do when I grow up.  I have a job in television because it's where I was led to in my early twenties, and it seems I'm good at it so that's where I've stayed.  It's not necessarily where I want to be, especially since all of the fun has been squeezed out of the profession by money hungry corporate executives, yet I don't have any idea where I really do want to be.  I've found I'm not alone in this dilemma. 

This is where Valerie Young and her Profiting From Your Passions program comes in.  She specializes in helping people think outside the box and hone in to creating a career from what you are passionate about.  I thought this was such a great idea that I wanted to be a part of it.  I want to be a career coach, too.

So now I'm training with her system to be part of her coaching team.  I've just started the classes; I've committed to 3 days a week for the next two months in webinar training and I'm psyched to see what we'll do with the system.  I'd love to be able to help other people move on with their lives with a proven method, even if it's not mine.  Valerie's web site is www.changingcourse.com; her motto is, "Live life on purpose, work at what you love, follow your own road."  Words that rang true for me.

I'll let you know how it goes.  Maybe I'll learn something valuable to pass on to you guys.  This could be a start of a whole new and interesting year. 

Not to mention learning a whole lot of new things to write about.

Love Your Letters!

I saw a kind and gentle young lady on The Jeff Probst Show the other day, and she impressed me.  So much so I decided to check out her website and maybe join her cause.  Then I went to her blog site to find out more about this amazing person and read this:

"Hi.  My name is Hannah Brencher. I am 24 years old but I harbor a soul that is old & thick like the hands of Navajo grandmothers that swoop upward by the fire at night." She's in the business of broken hearts - her words.

Wow.

Hannah's cause is love letters.  That's right.  She likes writing love letters.  To strangers.  

She began writing them in 2010, when she moved to New York.  Feeling lonely and depressed, Hannah decided to pour out her feelings in letters and left them all over the city.  Addressed to no one in particular, she believed that every letter was meant for someone, and it was up to them to pick it up and read it.  It didn't take long for Hannah to realize what valuable gifts she was giving to these people, people she never met, and New York paid her generosity back by asking for more.  

So she started The World Needs More Love Letters and recruited her friends to help her write more love letters.  Soon she was getting requests from all over the world for her letters.  People everywhere need love, and love reading about how much they are loved, even when total strangers tell them they are loved.

Love is love.  And it makes the world go round.

I've always enjoyed giving people things.  Giving on the sly is especially invigorating; I'll leave a coin on the sidewalk where I know children like to play.  I'll smile at passersby when walking around town.  I'll crack open walnuts and leave them out for squirrels, or hang grapes out in the bushes for the birds.  I love to buy things for the neighbors and leave them on their porches.  Just to confuse them. 

The best gift I've found is greeting people when they walk in the door as if they were cute little puppies.  "Richard!" I squeal with a smile on my face. "Diana!" People love it because it makes them feel welcome and appreciated.  No matter how bad they feel before you greet them like that, they always walk away with a smile on their own face.  You should try it, it's great!

When Hannah told Jeff Probst that she started a web site because of the rising popularity of love-letter writing, my inner giver became intrigued and I decided to try this letter writing gig, so I looked into her site, www.moreloveletters.com to learn more. Then I signed up to receive love letter alerts, and checked out her starter kit to find out what I needed to do.  

It seems I'm better at giving things than writing love prose.  Practice makes perfect, though, so I'm going to gather my stationery and write.  This is fantastic - I get to use my pretty stationery - another good reason to write love letters!  

Hannah Brencher is changing the world one letter at a time, and I want to be a part of that.  Who knows, this might be my next favorite hobby!

My Brain Deserves Sugar

Sometimes I'll stop mid stride and stare into space.

I'm not having a stroke or a seizure, I didn't fall asleep or lose my mind - I just started thinking.

My brain has a tendency to work overtime.  I can be drying off after a shower, looking at apples in the grocery store, walking in the park or sitting here writing, and my motor skills come to a halt while my brain scans, files, accesses, and organizes information.  It's a real problem when I'm driving.  I have to stay in the moment while on the road or my foot relaxes from the accelerator and my car will slow down to a crawl before I notice that other drivers are getting irritated with me.

The mornings are the worst.  I get to thinking about my day, which turns into reevaluating the day before, and leads into thinking about new possibilities, then I wander down life is beautiful lane.  Before I know it I find myself standing naked in the bathroom holding my towel and staring at my bathtub and 10 minutes have disappeared.  Usually I'll wake up in the morning, look at the clock, decide to get up, turn over to stretch, start thinking about my next step - and when I blink a half an hour goes by.   Because this happens regularly, I have to give myself lots of extra prep time in the mornings so that I can get to work on time.

I'm a sugar addict.  I admit it.  I love my sugar.  I don't necessarily like sweet things - in fact if something is too sweet or is sugary without flavor, I won't want to eat or drink it; but I'm definitely a cookie, cake, and chocolate covered nut monster.  Because of my weight battle I try not to eat too much of it, but I have to sweeten my tea and cereal in the mornings and have a cookie for lunch if I want to stay in a good mood all day.

When I had my Access Bars run, I learned that this may not be a bad thing.  Apparently people who think a lot need sugar to keep the brain running smoothly.  Apparently when you crave sugar or salt you're supposed to listen to your body and go for it.  Sugar feeds the brain.  Salt helps your electromagnetic energy flow smoothly.

At least this is what they told me.

Even though I was glad to hear being a sugar addict wasn't all bad, I wondered about it for a while and decided to look into it.  It turns out that moderation and fiber is the key.  A high fructose diet (soda, pre-packaged baked goods, candy) is really bad for you in many ways, but a little fructose (fruit, vegetables) balanced with the right amount of fiber is good for you. 

Your brain, however, needs glucose, a sugar formed from eating carbohydrates.  You can still eat too much glucose, but the right food with the good carbs and fiber is what your brain needs most.  I can do a whole article about this, but think fruit, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. 

Mental activity requires a lot of fuel, and glucose travels through your bloodstream to fuel our brain power.  The key is to eat the right foods that have glucose and try not to eat too much, because too much can hinder your brain activity.

Sugar, the kind we make sweets from and sprinkle in our coffee, is sucrose and is made from sugar beets or sugar cane.  Sucrose, a carbohydrate, is also found in fruit, and is okay in moderation if eaten with a balanced diet.  You might think that because we use beets and sugarcane, nature's bounty, table sugar is good for you, but by the time we process the sugar crystals from nature's bounty we've completely stripped any food value from the sweetener.

You could use turbinado sugar, a less refined sugar from sugar cane.  Some say it's healthier than white sugar, but I like it because it adds a nice flavor to my tea and coffee.  It would be better to just eat beets and chew on the sugar cane.

So the tidbit I got about eating sugar for my brain was partially true - I just have to get it from a diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

The tidbit about salt - well here's what I found out:  Your body relies on electrolytes, which comes from sodium, potassium and chloride, and table salt is sodium chloride.  A Journal of the American Medical Association study showed people with the highest levels of sodium in their bodies lived longer than people with the lowest levels.  Too little sodium and your body and brain function suffers.  The planet is covered with salt - there is salt in everything, and the way we mine the salt from underground mines and sea water keeps it in it's natural state.  We don't have to process all of it's benefits out like we do with sugar.

When I thought about it, I realized that I've spent a lot of my life trying to keep my salt intake low - maybe that's my problem.  Maybe I'm  eating the wrong junk food.  I need to stay away from the brownies and eat my potato chips - and learn to like chewing on sugar cane. 

So even though my brain deserves sugar, I'm better off with salt.

I still have to have my cookie for lunch.

Go Pee in the Rain

Over the years, with all of my dogs, I developed a habit of getting up in the middle of the night to let them out to relieve themselves.  I figured that as long as I'm up because my own bladder has a call, I might as well take the extra step for the dogs.  I think they appreciated it, especially since I rewarded them with a treat when they came back to the house. 

I slept better afterwards knowing we were all more comfortable.  It also meant that I could take my time getting out of bed in the morning, and I hate rushing around after a good night's sleep.

I now have a puppy and I'm house and crate-training her.  She's doing pretty well with going outside to pee, but she refuses to go out in the rain and sometimes when it's dark outside, both of which happens a lot here in D.C. in the winter.  Even if I pick her up and carry her out to the yard, tell her to go pee and wait in the rain for something to happen, she'll refuse to do anything except find something to chew on.  Whether it's day or night, if she feels uncomfortable she looks around nervously, picks up a stick or a leaf and heads back to the house.  The result, of course, is that her bladder fills up and she ends up piddling on my carpet.

So now we have a plan.  If she relieves herself outside, she gets lots of positive validation and lots of free time in the house.  If she doesn't, she goes straight back to her crate.

Nine times out of ten, she refuses to pee.  Out of fear of the unfamiliar she'd rather stay in her crate and suffer with her full bladder.

I eventually realized that this was a good representation of what a lot of us humans do.  Instead of embracing new and unfamiliar experiences, we tend to retreat back into our boxes.  If we don't get the right encouragement or the right training when we're young we never learn to get past our fears and gain the courage to reap our rewards.  We have deep rooted belief systems that keep us from stepping out of our comfort zones.

It's hard to feel safe when facing the unknown.  We are wired to protect ourselves, even when it means living with pain because it's a condition we are already familiar with.  We already know how to deal with our pain.  We don't know if we can handle an unfamiliar experience.

I don't like to conquer my fears; it's more helpful to me to try to break through my fears.  I think of each fear as a door with an invisible deflector shield and a hard-to-step-over threshold that takes extra effort to cross.  The trick is to change my perspective.  The door can look pretty scary at first - overwhelming, repelling, and unfriendly - but if I can look at it as interesting, inviting and beautiful, the door becomes an entrance to a new adventure or at least an interesting opportunity.  Sometimes crossing that scary threshold takes a bit more psychological effort, but it's usually worth it.

 It's hard to get past our fears, but it can be done.  We need to adopt a mindset that invites us to trust our intuition and our ability to deal with anything that comes our way.  It helps to have a support system, something or someone that will back you up and cheer you on when you need to open a new door, but ultimately it's up to you.  You are the one who's exploring new territory, so you are the one who has to handle whatever shows up when you open that door.

My puppy may prefer to wait for those sunny, clear-weather days to squat in the yard, but I know with the right encouragement, en-courage-ment, I can help her get over her fear of wet grass and cold raindrops and empty her bladder.  I'm banking on her desire to get over her setbacks and live a fearless life of passion and joy, a life every puppy should live.

It's also a life every human should live.  Somehow we lost track of our ability to embrace our growth process.  For some reason we've used fear to achieve a feeling of safety and comfort.

Ask yourself what you really have to be afraid of.  I encourage you to open your door to relieve your pain and go pee in the rain.  You might learn to like it.

Run Your Access Bars

Have you found yourself bogged down with negative feelings, reacting badly to whatever buttons people around you are unconsciously pushing, or thinking things that are not healthy and uplifting?  Have you ever wondered why things seem to go bad when they should be going good - and probably actually are good when seen from someone else's point of view?  When you get up in the morning, do you look forward to your day, or do you anticipate struggling through to get to the end of it?

Gary Douglas discovered a way to lighten your load and is having fun sharing with the world.  He created Access Consciousness, a method of clearing your energy and healing your emotional wounds.

Think of your mind as a computer.  The memory of your computer can get clogged with unnecessary information and unwanted downloaded programs.  It slows down, does stuff you don't want it to do,  overheats and freezes up, and finally crashes from over-exhaustion.

All you had to do to avoid that crash is defragment and clear it's cookie and history cache.  It needs a regular tune up and maybe a memory boost to keep up with all of the new information you want to load into it.  Regular maintenance can make your computer live longer and work to it's full potential.

Think of your brain and body memory the same way.  You've lived lots of years and accumulated all sorts of information, soaked up your parent's memories and their parent's memories, and unconsciously held on to old emotions and reactions that no longer serve your present living situations.  You want to take in more and grow and change into the person you want but everything new gets pushed away because you have all of the old stuff claiming it's space.

You need to do for yourself what you'd do for your computer to keep it running smoothly and efficiently.  You need to defrag yourself.

This is where Access Consciousness come in.

Your head has 32 points of energy that connect through and around it to create  a grid of sorts that stores all of the information that you've accumulated.  When you connect these points, or "have your bars run," the information can be released or cleared, helping you let go of old emotions, unclog energetic blockages, or release anything interfering with who you want to be.   There's no judgement, no counseling, no need for even having to figure out what really needs to be "fixed".  All you need to do is connect these points with your fingers and let the energy flow. 

As you clear these bars on a regular basis, you begin to open the channels to recieve without guilt or obligation.  You basically stop blocking your ability to "go with the flow" and recieve what ever it is you need unconditionally.  Add the clearing statement to any negative thoughts you have, and you create a clear energy flow ready to download new and more positive energy into your body and space.

The clearing statement sounds a bit silly, but once you know what the acronyms stand for it becomes a logical way to state it. You identify a thought or belief that might be holding you back and decide to let it go, then say, "Right and wrong, good and bad, POD and POC, all 9, shorts, boys and beyonds."  If you want to find out what it means, go to Accessconsciousness.com to read all about it.

http://www.thriveforlifecoaching.com

Last month I met with Rhonda Burns, an Access Bars facilitator in my area, to see if I could clear my energy and free it up for all that I'm doing for myself these days.  I've been doing so much energy work lately I should be living a much improved or at least a different kind of life, but in reality my life is just the same as it was this time last year.  I wondered if I was unconsciously holding myself back.  When I found out about Access Bars I looked up the Access Consciousness website, found Rhonda, and made an appointment with her.

She described the process as a relaxing head message that took about an hour to complete.  Upbeat and vivacious, Rhonda made me feel comfortable in her home as I relaxed on her message table.  She said a few clearing statements and started to move my energy around through my feet and hands, and the rest of the hour was spent connecting energy points on my head to free up my flow.  By the end of the hour my brain was free-floating and I felt pretty happy.  I felt a little like I had just enjoyed a couple of margaritas, without the tequila hangover.

About a week ago I tried it again, this time in a class environment where Rhonda taught me and four other people how to do it ourselves.  We took turns clearing each others bars and went home feeling pretty good.  I've done this kind of energy work before, so I could tell this was a good healing method to share with others. 

The mantra of Access Consciousness is, "All of life comes to me with ease and joy and glory!"  When you get up in the morning repeat it to yourself.  When things are going bad or getting difficult, say it: "All of life come to me with ease and joy and glory!"  I think it'll make you feel better - make your perspective shift towards an easier and more joyful way.  I like saying out loud when my puppy poops under my desk or chews up my slippers. 

"All of life comes to me with ease and joy and glory!"

Sometimes it does, and now that I've defragged myself things should come to me pretty easily and joyfully, and even with glory.  At least I've lightened up my load.