Journeying with Animals – An intimate workshop at my home

Saturday, June 16, 2012 from 10am to 4pm, $90; a light vegetarian lunch and herbal teas will be provided.

Shamanic Journeying allows us to more deeply explore our spiritual communion with animals by enabling us to…

…relax and travel into realms that honor the Spirit of all Life

…open up to the wisdom and healing available to us

…receive messages and teachings from the Masters – the animals themselves

…increase our awareness and consciousness of other species

…and enjoy the beauty and bliss of communing with the animals in a deep and soulful manner.

Gathering together in a small group, I will guide you through the Shamanic Journeying process. Everyone will have an opportunity to connect with a Power Animal and much more. There will be ample time for journaling and sharing your experiences.

This workshop is ideal for those who treasure the path of interspecies communication and wish to explore Shamanic Journeying as a resource to help broaden and deepen their experience with animals.

Space is limited so please contact me prior to registering for the workshop to ensure availability: (828) 337-4686 or rain@rainhummingbird.com. Thank you.

Directions and additional information will be provided after registration.

At this time of year which is full of renewal and new beginnings, I wanted to share this touching and inspiring story from one of my clients. Please enjoy Lyna and Gizi’s story.

Heartfelt Lessons From My Cat

About 10 months after I moved into my cottage across from the Blue Ridge Parkway; I was walking from my back door to my workshop, when this young Tortoiseshell cat came out of nowhere, jumped into my arms and started licking me all over.

Wow- how unusual! My own 4 spoiled fur kids don’t even do that.

Needless to say, Gizi became my outdoor cat. I built a mudroom off my back door so she’d have shelter, yet could come and go as she pleased.

Well almost.

You see, all my cats through the years have stayed inside so I would always know they were safe. So when Gizi came in for her evening meal, I would lock her cat door so she’d be in for the night where the raccoons, foxes and other night wanderers couldn’t harm her.

But Gizi had other plans. She stopped coming home in the evenings and I was forced to go to bed and ”trust” that she knew what she was doing.

About a week later, I was surprised to see her back in her room, asking for her evening meal.

“Gotcha tonight” I exclaimed as I bent down to lock the cat door.

Incredible—the lock was broken—had Gizi found a way to do this?

I began to realize that this little cat had come to me to teach me, not only to trust, but to let go of control.

It’s been 8 years since Gizi became a part of my life and the bond we have is amazing. She sends me pictures of where she is when she is accidentally locked up or stuck somewhere, and has even come to me in the dreamtime, when she was missing for 4 days. Gizi has been a warrior that protects her property from other animals and has left me gifts of rodents she’s killed.

Seven months ago Gizi was shot and had to have her leg amputated.

I can’t imagine living without a leg- how will she handle this?

To my surprise, she found her balance pretty quickly and as she got stronger, she not only ran around the house, but I saw her throw her toy up in the air and jump on her 3 legs to catch it!

Very entertaining!

This amazing, beautiful creature has taught me to get balance in my life and to learn to adapt to whatever life throws my way. Although no longer a warrior, Gizi is doing just that as she is enjoying her new role as Princess of the house.

This is an inspiring, feel good video of humans helping free a humpback whale that was entangled in a fishing net. Absolutely lovely human-animal connection here. Hope you enjoy this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBYPlcSD490&feature=share

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:

A free flight for a furry friend that needs a new home. Wow! That’s love in action.

Rescue organizations nationally help save the lives of abandoned and homeless animals from being euthanized at shelters. Often, these groups have very limited resources and relocating an animal interstate, to a qualified family waiting to adopt them, is very expensive.  However, through the generosity of pilots who volunteer their services, innocent dogs and cats get a second chance.

To learn more about these free services, visit these websites: PilotsNPaws.org,  AnimalRescueFlights.org, CanineRescueFlights.org, and SafeAndSoundPets.com.

Dr. Willie - Therapy Dog

You’ve heard of public service announcements. Well these are public upliftment spots. Little Pearls, a series of 30 second to 3 minute videos, that inspire connection, understanding and compassion by opening hearts and minds is made possible by the generosity of  Linda McLean. I recently met Linda; she’s delightful and I hope you’ll visit her website to see Dr. Willie’s 30 second spot and many others. I picked the one on Dr. Willie, the therapy dog, simply because he’s sooooo cute! http://littlepearls.org/drwillie.html There is also a Spirit Dog video and several human inspirational spots too. Check out www.littlepearls.org for all offerings… and if it moves you, pass on the love to friends.

This is a sweet reverse perspective of animal rescue. You might want to grab a tissue.

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY.
 Author: Janine Allen CPDT
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor
peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her
need instantly and knew I had to help her.
I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so
she wouldn’t be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view
from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.
I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t
been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers
get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t
feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look
forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life.