Welcome All Creeds, All Breeds, No Dogmas Allowed.

That’s the message you’ll see at the Dog Chapel on Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

The visionary was Stephen Huneck, an artist whose carvings grace the chapel along with stained glass windows with pictures of dogs. The church features a winged labrador on the steeple and the four pews are held up by life-sized carvings of seated dogs.

Messages of love abound and envelope visitors to the chapel offering inspiration for all, whether celebrating the joy of the bond between human and canine or grieving the loss of a beloved dog companion.

The 150 acre mountain-top farm is rich with wildlife and invites visitors to run free, play, swim and explore. It’s always open to the public. Special events are hosted at the Stephen Huneck Gallery on Dog Mountain at various times of the year. For more information, check out their website at dogmt(dot)com.

Dylan (Photo by Diane Lewis, pet photographer)

This is the final post telling Dylan’s story, as told by my client Donna G. Enjoy! Please leave a comment and share what you think.

Chapter 3

“I don’t believe, I know.” Carl Jung

In September, six months after Dylan passed over, I was in Cleveland on a business trip. The afternoon I arrived in Cleveland was a beautiful fall day. I drove down to a park by Lake Erie and watched the sunset. I sat on a picnic table and took photos of the lighthouse off shore. The light was golden and lovely, and I enjoyed my time there.

The next morning I was getting ready for my business meeting, thinking about what I should say about this or that problem. As I was brushing my teeth, it was as if someone put a photograph in front of my eyes. In the photo I was sitting on the picnic table, looking out at the lighthouse. But it took my breath away when I realized there in the lush green grass of fall, looking peaceful and happy, was my sweet, sweet Dylan! He was looking at me with his wonderful kind eyes. It was one of those moments a person never forgets! There, in a hotel room in Cleveland, Dylan let me know that he was with me, ever with me.

I have to admit there was a part of me that thought maybe I should see a doctor! I know what grief can do to the human mind, and I had been in the throes of immeasurable grief for a long time. I decided to contact an animal communicator who had connected with Dylan when he was sick to ask how he was tolerating the chemotherapy treatments. I told her about the heart on the back door, the photo that flashed before my eyes, and that how sometimes I felt Dylan’s presence around me. I also told her I missed him so much that I wondered if I had imagined these things so I could bear the grief I was feeling. Her response was just what I needed:

Maggie - photo courtesy of Donna

This is the second of three posts telling the story of Dylan’s Hearts, as told by my client Donna G. Please leave a comment with your thoughts, feedback and sharings. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

“When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the soul laughs for what it has found.” Rumi

It would be easy to write pages and pages describing the heart wrenching grief I felt on the loss of Dylan. So many other stories on the web and in print do a wonderful and much needed job of documenting the grieving process and the indescribable pain that losing our animal companions can cause. If you are reading this, you already know this. I want to concentrate instead on what can happen when we look beyond the grief and find miracles at every turn!

Dylan passed over on March 18, 2011. By the end of May, at the urging of family and friends and in an effort to try to find some positive energy in our household, I rescued a 3-month old golden retriever whom I named Maggie. Maggie had been abandoned, along with the rest of her littermates, and had been in a foster home for about 2 months. Except for her love of putting everything possible in her mouth, Maggie has been a great puppy. She quickly fulfilled my goal of bringing some positive energy into the household! There were times I could have sworn that Dylan whispered in her ear and told her what kind of funny, crazy tricks she could do to make me laugh. Many of her antics were very much like Dylan’s, and she does make me smile.

About a month after Maggie came into our family, the first tangible and documented message from Dylan arrived.  

Photo courtesy of Donna

This is the story of Dylan’s Hearts, as told by my client, Donna G. This is the first of three posts. Please feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts and feedback. Enjoy!

Introduction

The Sufis believe when your heart is broken or your soul is wounded, your soul sends a light out into the universe. Somewhere, another soul sees the light and comes to help you. The wound is the place where the light enters.

And so it was with Dylan and me. He answered the call and immediately the fog of my life lifted. It had been there so long that I thought it belonged there, was meant to be there. I was almost comfortable with the sadness that was always close by.

By the time I was 27 years old, both of my parents and all grandparents had passed away. I have a brother who is married with children of his own. I have numerous cousins that I am close to and who have meant the world to me through the years. As the years passed, their lives grew fuller with their own children, and they moved further and further away from the reality of my life. I turned my attention to my work and became successful in my career. I was into my fifties when Dylan came into my life, wondering if I was ever going to be “Number One” to anyone. Dylan changed all of that the moment we met.

My love for Dylan is immense, just as my grief was when he passed away after just six short years here on this earth. With Rain’s help, I have come to know not only what a great gift he was while he walked beside me, but what a much greater gift he is as he helps me with my “whole hearted healing” that he is directing from the spiritual world.

This document is not for looking back, but for sharing facts that I know to be true to help everyone who knows the pain of losing a beloved animal companion, or anyone on their own journey trying to understand the things that cannot be proven.

Merlin, Feb. 2011

My sweet, beloved cat Merlin crossed over to the spiritual realm yesterday.

Merlin had only shown signs of being sick over the past few weeks. He was about 13. He had slowed down somewhat in the past year or so. But, all in all, he was his big, handsome, adorable self. And then two days ago, an ultrasound showed cancer in several organs. We took him home that night. Yesterday, he was very clear in communicating that he was ready to leave his body and our vet came to our home to assist him. Merlin passed easily and peacefully, with dignity, and in a ceremonial way that was honoring of him.  

Merlin was a Buddah; a Zen kitty; a Yogi master; calm, peaceful, serene. He adored being a cat; he loved being in his body and he was a skilled and avid hunter. Merlin would sometimes position his body in the most unusual cat-yoga positions and ‘meditate’. He was gentle, kind, patient and loving to everyone. On the rare occassion when someone who was not a ‘cat person’ would visit, they fell in love with Merlin. Everyone loved Merlin. He was the embodiment of grace and compassion; a true teacher in every sense of the word. I have many stories and teachings from Merlin that I will write about in the coming weeks and months to share his medicine and wisdom with you.

For today, I share some of my favorite photos of Merlin and my gratitude for the opportunity to have been blessed to live with such an enlightened being for 12 years.

Mitch

Here’s a sweet one minute video from the folks at Little Pearls, tiny films that open hearts and minds.

I love the last line: “When your heart is broken, let it break open…. to even more love.”

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pycMJ5iKv5c&feature=player_detailpage

A friend of mine, a medicine woman who lives very close to the land, phoned last night to tell me she had received a message regarding the animals that were recently slaughtered in Ohio. She was to do some work on her land to assist them in crossing over peacefully. And I was to do something to assist them as well, though what exactly was not specified. Before going to sleep, I asked to be shown what it was that I should do. Although I had vivid dreams, none felt particularly related to the animals. So, this morning we did a journey on the phone.  This is the message that came through from the Spirits of the Animals:

Their message to me: “It does not serve you, nor the people, to shut out the news of this occurence because it is too painful for you to feel. Feel the pain and wake up some more….  and share our message with the people.”

Their message to everyone: “What is done to one is done to all. We are not the only ones who have been treated in this way. Every moment of every day creatures are treated disrespectfully and dishonorably. What is done to one is done to all. What has been done to us has been done to all. The trees weep, the stones bleed and humans suffer. The purpose of this madness that has happened to us has occured to wake the people up, to help them recover from their amnesiatic state. What is done to one is done to all.”

Imagine that your relative, your sister, your brother, your child had been the one killed. What the animals are reminding us of  is that this is exactly what is happening. We are all connected. There is no separation. We are all One. And our relative IS the one being killed. We are related to all animals, all life. Their words, “what is done to one is done to all,” are a sharp blade of truth slicing through the unconsciousness that is so prevalent in our culture. There is a belief among many in our culture that there is a hierarchy, and humans are at the top of it and that they have the ‘right’ to have dominion over another. This is an ego-centered perspective that is untrue. We are not separate from any other being; we are all One.  What is done to one is done to all.

As we become more conscious, we heal ourselves and others. Living our lives with the awareness that we are all connected and that every thought, action and reaction affects everything and everyone is a choice. We can choose to live consciously, in a state of compassion and love towards ourselves and all others, or not. It is a choice we make. Today, I am deeply reminded of this truth. I choose to share this message with you and to awaken a little more this day.

I received this in an email from a friend. I have no idea who the original author of the story is nor who the kind soul is in the dead letter office of the US postal service. However, this sure is a sweet story and I wanted to share it with you. I hope it warms your heart.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy

Here’s a story about learning compassion for all animals from a child’s perspective. This was written by an unknown author. The photo is courtesy of Jon Read http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilikefish/207861606/:

My toddler son witnessed a violent attack upon a bat by some other children. He was extremely upset and wept uncontrollably. As I held and comforted him, I initially mistook his compassion for fear, assuming he was too young to experience such feelings. It was during a quiet dialogue with the tiny boy on my lap that the empathy for animals I had suppressed for many years resurfaced. The conversation went like this:

Precious Patches

This is Bonnie’s story, a beautiful testament of the love of an animal companion and a reflection of the personal growth that can come about from a loss  I hope you enjoy this inspiring and heartfelt story. Many thanks to Bonnie for sharing her experience with us.

“On the threshold of a dream… out of death shall come life…”(The Moody Blues).  This is the best way to describe the passing of my precious Patches, my 16 year old calico cat.  She had been failing for months, but I had promised her that she would not have to tolerate a vet, unless she chose it. I had a session with Rain on Monday evening. It was at that time I was told Patches was almost ready to go, but first I had some work that I needed to do. My guides stepped in to help, giving me suggestions of what I could do. I decided to take a couple of days off from work. What unfolded was incredible and has been life altering for me.