Lesley’s Blog

The majority of my work is helping people whose beloved pets have passed away. We all want reassurance that we did the right thing by our animals and that they are safely on the other side. It is very unusual that I get a chance to be there for someone whose animal is in the process of dying, such was the case of my buddy Duke.

Six years ago I met Duke, an all black German Sheppard. He was adopted from a shelter by my good friends Patti and Bob. He was featured on TV as the “Pet of the Week”, the moment they saw him they knew he was their dog.  I was dog less at the time that they were to go on their annual trip west skiing, so they asked if I would stay at their house with Duke, so I did.

I had been in the house many times but not to stay overnight. Patti had told me how she sometimes felt the presence of the man who built the house and planted the flowers out front. In one section of the house I had smelt pipe tobacco knew the spirit of this man was there but since Patti never asked me to investigate I left it at that. My first night in the house I thought more about having locked all the doors, and turned off everything than I was about a spirit. I left the bedroom door open which lead down the hall and into the living room kitchen area, I didn’t know if Duke was use to getting up to walk the house.

I woke in the night feeling that someone was standing next to the bed watching me. With my eyes still closed I sent out what some may call Spiderman senses to assess what had awakened me before looking. I could hear Duke’s breathing so I knew he was asleep. This was a good sign, if it was a human Duke would be awake and on guard. Knowing that he was asleep meant that he was use to this spirit.

I opened my eyes to a faint outline of a man, and then the vision turned moving down the hallway leaving behind a whiff of tobacco smoke. He had come to check me out, to see who was in his house. After that first night he always came to visit me when I stayed at the house.

Duke and I fell into a routine; he easily picked up on my schedule when I stayed at the house. In fact Patti would tell Duke that I was coming and he would go look for me out the window. He wouldn’t bark at the sound of my car, he would just be at the door wagging waiting for me to open the door. This was remarkable since Duke barked at every car entering his driveway and the lane across from his house, Duke claimed a large territory.

Over the year we developed a close relationship, but his closest relationship was his owner Bob. He followed him around in the gardens, worried about him in the night when he wasn’t sleeping well and got very excited wagging his whole body when he would talk to him on the phone when away.

Duke was one of those dogs who always had liked to run after the ball as many times as you would throw it. He would pester you with his paw when he wanted attention and was a very efficient eater when it came to his food. So when he wasn’t interest in eating they let it go that night but when he yelped in pain when his stomach area was touched they rushed him to the vet’s office.

It was discovered that Duke had several tumors in his liver and at time a tumor would break off and bleed into his system. Along with a weakened heart there wasn’t anything that could be done. Patti and Bob decided to take him home and wait with the knowledge that he might go on like this for several months or have a heart attack and pass on.

As humans we need time to accept the fact that our beloved pet is going to pass on. This thought is hard on many owners of animals for they put their heart and love into their animal only not to live as long as a human. On the animal part there is only the now, the time of their passing is perfect and just what is suppose to happen.

As Duke’s illness progressed it was hard for him to follow Bob around outside as he worked in the garden, it was hard for him to get up to do anything. When I visited him I could see that the Duke I knew was already starting to pass over, he’s once animated face and tail did not respond to my voice. I knew that he was holding on for one member of his family to be ready to let him go. A few days after the last time I saw him they decided it was time for him to pass on.

As sad as that may seem the spirit that was Duke has not left neither the home he loved nor the couple who loved him. There house being so empty Patti and Bob decided to adopted a German Sheppard from the local shelter. They have had two Sheppard’s most of the time in their house so went to look at another Sheppard who needed a home.

When they walked into the dog kennel who should they see but one of the puppies I had here at the house, Abe. The people who were suppose to adopt Abe decided not to get a dog at this time so big footed Abe was all by himself waiting for a family. Just one look and they were in love with this puppy that they now call Oscar after a famous jazz piano play with big hands.

Good bye Duke

Life begins again.

Hello Oscar

OK, they are grown up enough to be spayed/neutered and adopted. Tuesday morning was a day of last and farewells. First everyone up and out the door to the special spot for doing their business and then breakfast. Beatrice had understood this routine so well that she would take care of her bathroom chores then sit in front of me looking up and whimper. If I didn’t pay attention she would bark, where as I would look down at her and she would wage her tail in anticipation of being feed.

Breakfast time was always a sure bet that you could get five puppies to follow you and mom back into the fenced in area after their venture out. It was not always true for the other ventures outside the fenced in area. As soon as they were collared I started carrying leashes for the stragglers. More often than not Essie was the puppy that would stay by my side or under my feet to follow mom back in the fence. She always needed to be right by you or she would cry. Devin on the other hand had an independent streak a mile long. He would follow Casanova who would have to walk a further into the woods than the rest to do his business and Devin would follow. Although Casanova might turn back and follow mom if Devin didn’t distract him, Devin would purposely break off from the rest. Having a leash helped to guide him, only the first time his collar was too big and he just back out of it and ran off.

It only took me once to remember to make an adjustable loop with the leash, place it over their heads, and they would follow you anywhere. Well, it took a bit of dragging and complaining to make them understand what I wanted them to do. The hardest part was keeping 3 or 4 leashes untangled or unwound from around a bush.

Breakfast was fun, I could make five puppies sit and be quite before they ate. What control I yielded, what power I held, what am ego trip that is. I started having puppies sit and settle down every time I came to the fence. I would stand and wait until they would settle and sit before opening a gate. True be told it is hard to catch 5 puppies that are bolting out the gate the minute you open it. I also had been working with Kyra to sit and wait to enter the fenced in area or sit and look before her fear overwhelmed her. When I saw that the puppies responded quickly without a word from me I transferred that model to feeding time. It was all in their desire to reach their goal of eating. I wanted them to sit and wait and they wanted the food. If you sat staring at her and were quiet food would come.

Tuesday morning, I walked and watered Kyra and the puppies, loaded them into the car and headed to the shelter. They wanted Kyra back so that she could dry up her milk supply and be ready for spaying in the next week or so. She went into the kennels and freaked out; I felt guilty but knew she had to move on as well. The puppies had their operations and would be going to their homes the next day.

That was it, eight weeks of caring for 5 puppies and Kyra was over. I felt such joy knowing that I was of service and that now they would all grow up in loving caring homes. I will miss them but I am glad to have more free time for my own pets.

This is a puppy picture update. I’ve been busy with the opening of the campground and training puppies. Crate training 3 out of five pass the no whining test when left in the crate. Potty training well great success and much forget to hold it, what do you want they are puppies. Collars an opportunity to chew on your siblings neck or pull them around by the collar. Leash is a time to sit down and rebel or scream at the injustice of having to obey.

Abe

Bea

Casanova

Devin

Essie

We turned a corner this past week when mom, Kyra and the puppies finished being dewormed and the diarrhea dried up. Solid food is a good thing, so is having puppies follow Kyra to the wooded area set aside for dog business. We are entering into the six week phase of puppy life and more training getting them ready to be adopted. Playing with feet, flipping them on their backs and crate training.

I am so thrilled to have a working camera again, I will be sharing more pictures of the pups and their tribulations. Enjoy!

Abraham, known as Abe, he’s the big guy. My husband Bud and I call him the Dum Dee Dum puppy, happy easy going guy doing his thing.

Beatrice aka Bea also known as Busy Bea, she looks most like mom all black and her face is growing more into mom’s face. She is the most independent self assured puppy. Right now she is in the crate for the first time and I didn’t hear a whelp or whine from her. She ate first out of a bowl and discovered how to get out of the gate to be with me as I take mom out.

Casanova is my heart breaker, Cas for short. He is the boy that I almost lost when his Kyra moved the puppies after they were born and I found him freezing and dying. He is my heart breaker for the very fact that when I turned him over on his back he shared his heart marking with me and I knew this puppy was going to make it. He is the smallest of the group and he doesn’t take crap from any of his bigger siblings.

Devin sometimes called Dev, he and Abe are the biggest of the puppies and then most similar in coloring only look closely and you will see his face is all his own. He is my biggest squealer when I flip him over on his back, or he wants to right next to mom. His turn in the crate is coming up and I know I will hear the loudest piggy noises coming from him.

Essie by now you can see there is a theme to the puppy names and Essie was the hardest to find the right name to fit. Sometimes she is Es and other times she is Em. She has the most expressive eyebrows and she is also a mommy’s girl. She will stop playing, sit down and look up at you with her beautiful eyes.

And last but most important is the mother of these lovely beauties Kyra. She is very shy and fearful of new people, she has bonded well to me and will do well in a quiet home, very sweet and gentle girl.

Learning the ways of Shamanism is learning a different way to walk in this world.  It teaches you to be you, to be true to who you are. To know that we are all part of the same energy flow, whether we are a plant, an animal, a rock or a human. The space that we hold upon this Earth is sacred, all of life is interconnected and that life is here to help us grow, to be more of who we are.

A while back I was walking Kyra past a spot where a several trailers are kept in storage. Kyra’s head perked up and I turned to see what she was looking at. There was our resident rabbit going past the trailers and into the undergrowth. I had seen this rather large rabbit this winter when walking my own dogs. Malloki came within 2 feet of touching the rabbit’s nose. With that the rabbit ran toward the trailers into Elera’s path pulling me on the very icy roadway onto my butt. This time the rabbit felt no threat and no need to run away, it stop just inside the undergrowth that still showed its brown rust color leaves of fall. The rabbit melted into this background.

I marveled at how easy it was for the rabbit to disappear while standing still. I kept Kyra moving forward so that she would not become fixated on the rabbit. I glanced ahead to see where I was going and then back to the rabbit. It had disappeared that is until an ear turned in my direction. The rabbit came into view as if it was one of those pictures that you have to find so many hidden objects.

What wonderful camouflage the rabbit has, it has the ability to merge with the world around it become one with its environment. I thought I do that in my work as a Shaman, animal communicator and a medium. I blend into the background when I work with clients. I create a space in which the spirits of the ones they love be it animal or human can connect. It is only when I speak am I visible again.

As wonderful as that may sound it is also what has held me back in putting myself out into the public eye and promoting the work that I do. Jon Katz came into my life for many reasons as do many of my friends, but it was Jon who kept encouraging me to have a website and write a blog. It was my friend Patti that read what I wrote for the website and told me I didn’t say enough about what I do. She interviewed me and together we wrote the context for the website.

Two Friday ago at Second Chance Animal Center’s annual meeting the universe gave me two very different women to look at. The first was the speaker for the event, Tracie Hotchner. I knew she had two radio shows one for dogs and the other about cats, I had heard that she wrote two books and would be selling them at the meeting. Other than that I knew nothing about her. It was fascinating to watch this women work the crowd. She had a clipboard in one hand, a smile on her face and she went around to everyone getting their email addresses so that she could send them information and promote her radio show. When she spoke she first explained the goodie bags that she had SCAC board members hand out to people as they entered the door. Inside the bag were sponsors of her in one way or another. Her topic was on nutrition and she focused on what she calls “Kitty Crack” dry food for cats. Tracie’s background is as in investigative journalism and she knows how to sell her message to a room full of people. She is very visible.

The second woman is a lady I have seen at other events I have attended although I have never been introduced to her, she calls herself “the healer in high heels”. I must say that she does wear some fancy high heel footwear. She is in fact very flamboyant in all her attire. She was brought to my attention because she makes a very bold statement, although I don’t know anything about her work.

The point of both these women for me was to illustrate different ways of walking and being in this world. I can choose to follow a similar path in promoting my work by changing my wardrobe, gathering big name sponsors or enticing people to believe as I do. For me, my choice is simply to be me and not have to stand out in the crowd unless the crowd is coming to hear me speak. I will continue to write what hope will be a published book and I will book more speaking events. Who knows perhaps I will consult the folks on that TV show “What Not to Wear” for the best advice of clothing. (smile)

A change of subject, I just bought a new camera and as soon as I figure out how to attach it to my computer, I will up loading a blog with a puppy update with pictures and names. It will not be long before these little ones and their mom will be off to their new homes.

Two weeks have gone by and I find myself so busy in the daily routine that I haven’t had time to write or I am too tired when I sit down at night to write. Even as I sit here I see my Jasper waiting on the shelve outside the kitchen window asking to come in. He sees me and there is no ignoring him. He is the one cat I can’t convince to use the cat door, I send him a picture of him going through the cat door and he sends back one of being too big. I think he just has me well trained as a doorman or doorwoman.

A recall of the last two weeks:

Two weeks ago, I went to see my good friend Tom Weakley, a fellow storyteller; give his farewell storytelling performance at Café Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY. Now there is something you didn’t know about me, I am a storyteller. I have written many children’s stories over the years and have not had the good fortune to get them published, yet. So I started telling some of my stories which are what I call nature based stories. More on that at another time, the point is that it was a late night for me and I did not do one last check on the mom and puppies when I came home.

The next morning, when I went out to feed the mom and puppies, I found one puppy dead. Having dealt with the death of little ones before I know not to play the could have, should have done more game in my head. I simply allowed the sorrow that I felt in losing this new life sweep over me. I quietly went about cleaning the room. Mom- Kyra had been having diarrhea and there was a mess to clean up. I was bent over with a tear in my eye cleaning poop when I saw the littlest puppy standing expectantly next to me waging his tail. I heard the voice in my head say “He is still here, he is going to surviving.” And with that I scooped him up and held him close letting go of the sorrow and thanked him for being here with me.

As Echart Tolle says in his book A New Earth Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.”

Being of service to this mother dog and her puppies has given me an opportunity to see and experience life on a different level and understanding. Like now, it is time to feed the puppies, let mom out of the kennel and hope that I don’t have poop to clean up.

One hour and twenty minutes later I’m back at my computer writing this piece. My time in taking care of mom and puppies has increased over the weeks since I wrote. Mom has had constant diarrhea and is getting worn out from nursing puppies. Teeth and toenails gave her a rash all over her belly, her ribs began to show and if I wasn’t watchful dehydration would set in. The nice thing about the maturity ward is that three of the cages are actually dog cages. So by putting the door on the largest one she has time away from demanding puppies. Kyra gets walked every morning around the campground for a ¾ of a mile walk and obedience training. She is a very gentle dog with a nose that wants to explore every hole in and under trees. She is also a dog that does her business only on leaves and then she goes around and round to find the right spot. Once she finds it she changes her mind and goes round again. I walk her outside 4-5 times a day, for how else would I be able to teach puppies to use only the litter box for their business if mom has diarrhea. The puppies are getting the hang of eating out of a bowl and using the box, sometimes. I still mop up puppy pee pee puddles daily.

This past week with the nice weather I have introduced the puppies and Kyra to an outside pen that they can run around in and soak up the sunshine. Kyra is still very fearful of other people and outside noises. I have her sit next to me when someone comes. I will be working energetically now that she is getting close to her motherhood time being over and waiting a new home. I will not make a guess as to what type of healing work I will be doing on her that will be up to my power animals and spirit guides.

Deworming puppies, the vet tech came twice this past week to check on Kyra and give out meds for worms. Now I have dewormed cats, dogs, kittens but I have never seen so many critters come out of such little bodies as these puppies. I know it sounds gross. I think it amazes me as I can also see and feel the energy differences on the puppies as well as Kyra as the medication does its stuff.

Over the past weeks, I have had to make sure my feet were not in the peep path of puppies that were crawling all over them. Now, I have to guard my heels and toes from curious mouths as they believe I am one giant play toy put here on this Earth for their pleasure. The vet tech also told me it was time to cradle them like babies on their backs, play with their feet, feel their ears and open their mouths. The two biggest puppies sound like squealing piggies carrying on and on. I have to hold on till they give in and relax or they will not be able to be adopted to a family with children. That started Tuesday and yesterday the biggest puppy just looked up at me as if to say “Not this again.” Then he let out one BIG sigh. Success!

I started writing this morning at 6:30 AM and now am finishing up at 4:55 PM just in time to feed all my gang again. No, it didn’t take me all day to write this entry in fact I went on a road trip today since I finally decided on what new digital camera I wanted to purchase. Yeah! I will be adding photos again to my blog. When my other camera died, I just hadn’t found time to replace it not wanting just any digital camera. Only the store I went to didn’t have the one I wanted in stock so it is coming this week from another store. I’m so excited to be able to soon share Kyra and her puppies with you.

Besides my two human children, my experience with newborns has been mostly with kittens and their mothers. Many years ago I took a shop apron that the hardware store sold and sewed a large pocket in the front of it. I did this so that I could hold motherless kittens close for long periods of time when they needed comfort and warmth. I would place a kitten on my lap feed it, stimulate the other end, clean it up and lay it in the pocket for a nap. I certainly don’t need to do this with the puppies but I do need the apron. Every time I pick up a puppy to check it out or cuddle with it Kyra decides that it’s the perfect time to stimulate it and clean it up. Of course the puppies do their part by relaxing in my hands and letting go of their bowels. So far I have been spared, although it could be only a matter of time before one of them associates my comfort as a time to let loose. Yuck!

With their eyes and ears open the puppies are making new discoveries. At first it looked like they were just trying to get use to the fact that they could see something by way of focusing and readjusting their vision. With the vision I am told comes the opening of the ears and the new sounds to be made. The first 2 ½ weeks of life I heard grunting, groaning and if mom sat on they squealing like a little piggy. Hence I affectionately call them “stinky little piglets”. You never quite know if the wet mark on them is from mom’s tongue or something else. Puppies seem as surprised as you do when they let out a bark for the first time and the throaty growl sound seem to happen by accident. It must be fun for the puppy for they are trying out the growl sound over and over again.

The most heart wrenching sound is to hear a puppy in distress. They live in the bottom part of a plastic dog crate with no gate on it. Mom commandeered it as a good place to cradle puppies from the moment I placed it in there even though I thought I could be use it as a litter box. Kyra likes that all the puppies stay put and she can get away to another spot. It seems that once puppies have their eyes and ears open they soon discover they have mobility. Not very steady, in fact the larger pups look like they are doing the breast stroke and the smaller ones know they have feet under their bodies only they don’t know where to put them once they start moving forward.  Recently one of the larger puppies managed to make it over the crate door lip and halfway down the side of the crate then stopped. I don’t know if the puppy tried to find its way back into the crate I just know that it started crying like it was dying. I hear it from the house and went out to investigate. I carefully opened the door to find mom hanging out in her special spot very nonchalantly looking at me. I looked down behind the door there was the source of the distressing cry.  I scooped up the puppy holding it to my heart and rubbing its body, I sat down next to mom before placing the puppy back into the crate she reached out to lick the puppy’s genitals and as I leaned forward to lay it next to the others it totally relaxed leaving a mess all over the other five wide awake concerned puppies.

These puppies learn fast, I start talking the minute I open the door to where they are staying and now that they can hear me they in turn start talking. This morning six noisy puppies greeted me by crawling over the dog crate lip and several did their business as mom jumped here and there on clean up. Most of the pack found their way back into the dog crate, litter training has begun. I clean up mom’s nighttime mess, feed her, tend to puppies and then walk mom. Kyra has built trust and a bond with me. I can see that she has had some training and has lost her fear that I am going to hit her. I in turn clean her energy field feeling her become lighter with each session and more self confident in her own skin.

Winter has not let go of its hold here in Vermont yet, yesterday I awoke to the glistening of snow flakes as they covered the ground and fell from the sky. During the spring equinox I gathered the sprays of evergreen boughs that I decorated with dried oranges, lemons and cranberries and burned them in a ritual of thanks for the winter and welcome to the spring. I am still waiting for Mother Nature’s signs of spring to arrive.

Check out my website for up coming workshops in April and if you are interested in hosting a workshop in your area email me at lnase20@moonspinnerstearoomshamanichealing.com

I started writing this update the beginning of the week, got interrupted and just got back to it today. The first four paragraphs is what I wrote last time.

I find that with healing work, that there is sometimes a fine line between knowing when to actually do something such as clearing energy from someone’s energy field and when to just be with someone holding space which means sitting and being still. This mother dog has needed me to be with her, to speak in a soft reassuring way to her, to understand her needs and not to enforce mine. To let her nature rule her action, to let her instinct guide her.

Giving birth to six puppies is enough of a stressful event for any dog. Add in the fact that the dog was a stray who had not eaten well enough to support her medium frame body not to mention the pups she was carrying, more stress. Her body image is one of her head down and her body low to the ground. When lying down with the puppies she is curled up tight making hard for them to find the nipples but find them they do. For the first three days she wouldn’t eat, and then she only ate if I fed her. This weekend I sat on the floor with a bowl of can food and she came to me to eat. This morning was the first time I could get up from the floor while she ate without her being afraid and check on the puppies. We are making progress.

When I ask an animal its name I hear it in my head. Owners have a good laugh when I tell them about a silly name that their pet believes is their name. It is usually a nickname that they use with their pet. With this mother dog I wasn’t hearing anything just feeling fear, so I tried different names on her hoping she would like one. When I called her Kyra her head came up and her tail started waging, I knew I had the right name when she responded every time. Kyra means “Lady” and she is a gentle as a genteel lady would be just very shy.

I am happy to report that the littlest puppy that I brought back to life at the time of birth is doing well. I am amazed at the size difference of these puppies; the largest two are a good seven to eight inches long with broad shoulders. The smallest two are only four to five inches long with well proportioned bodies. Kyra took the littlest puppy with the heart and although she has never growled at me she made it quite clear that was her puppy and she would take care of it. He is finding his way under, around and through the puppy pile to nurse.

Week two update:

Everyone is thriving and growing. Kyra in confidence and appetite, the puppies in length and girth. Kyra tested positive for Lyme disease, the antibiotic started working and I could see that she was feeling better. She greets me in the morning and evening getting out of the topless dog crate where she cares for her puppies. Her appetite has now taken off to the point where the other morning she asked for the whole can of dog food. Since she eats all her dry food at night she gets two cans of food a day.

Kyra has gotten use to my picking up the puppies and I have gotten use to taking advantage of a better shot at cleaning them up. I never realized how much puppies can change in color, born black some with white markings. Next brown appeared on their butts, paws, and eyebrows. On closer inspection the brown on the legs appear to have some silver emerging. Other than knowing that I have three girls and three boys I guess I will have to wait and see what they look like or who their daddy was. I love listening to the grunts and groans they make as they nurse and they squeal like little piggies when mom sits on them. Friday, I noticed eyes were starting to open and with that their ears are on.

The rest of my week I helped with the passing away of two wonderful animals. This involved helping one owner deal with the sudden illness of her cat and his death. The other owner had the difficult decision of putting their dog down. I will write more on this in another blog page.

Sometimes you never know what you going to get when you’re pray is to be of service. I believe in living your life’s purpose. Part of that belief is to be open and available to serve spirit in whatever form that takes. When you open yourself up you also have to trust.

I had been feeling like I had been in my house too much lately and was planning to spend Saturday at some Albany, NY museums. Visiting history, art or natural museum is like an artist holiday, a way to recharge my senses. Friday afternoon, I received a phone call from Second Change Animal Center where I serve on the board. The animal coordinator Pat said “This is an unusual request.” I’m intrigued. “I know you usually do pregnant cats in the maturity ward (a special building build especially for that on my land) but I have a very shy, very pregnant black dog who is too nervous to be at the shelter and she is going into labor. Will you take her?”  So much for an artist holiday, I grinned now that is being called into service.

Within an hour she arrived, belly low to the ground, mammary glands swollen and scared to bits. She wouldn’t walk on the leash; she had to be dragged in to the large shed that has been outfitted for cats with one of the seven cages large enough for a dog to use as a den. She didn’t have a name but she was as gentle as could be. I was given a fast run down on how she was a stray that a man had tied up in his barn and he thought she was pregnant. Pregnant, when she got to the shelter she was in labor.

There were things that they could test her for and the other stuff would have to wait until the puppies were born. One of the last pieces of information was she is not eating and her stool didn’t look good. I was going to have my work cut out for me.  Most of Friday afternoon into Saturday was spent with me on the edge of the large quilts laid down for birthing just talking to her and petting her head. She would lift her head a little and wage her tail. I also got her to eat a few bites of food from my hand.

Saturday it rained hard by night time the wind picked up and the temperatures fell into the teens. I knew the puppies were coming that night. Sure enough, on my 9 o’clock check she had giving birth to the first with no problems. At midnight while she was working on her third baby I was working on keeping my eyes open. Exhausting hit me when the third puppy arrived and I saw that she didn’t need me to stand watch when she was tending to the business of being a mother.

Next morning I struggled with the door to the shed as it was frozen, opened it with a bang and saw that she had moved the puppies from where she had giving birth. The spot she had chosen was the other side of the door next to a crack that allowed the icy winds to blow in. My heart sank as I notice that she left one puppy behind. Sadly I stepped over to the puppy preparing to dispose of the body only I heard a sound. A small pitiful puppy sound came out of this puppy. Quickly I grabbed a small fleece blanket wrapped up the puppy and held it to my heart. I looked around to see if the mother was alright and went into the house.

I had already stoked the woodstove in the living room I moved toward it massaging the puppy’s body from head to tail. I placed the puppy under the stove with my hands still massaging. The only puppies I ever raise was my Mastiff Malloki and her two litter mates even so they were a week old and that was five years ago. I let instinct take over.

As the body warmed I brought it out to see what this little one was, male or female. I turned it over, defiantly male. My energy field was open wide as I worked on this guy as my eyes lifted to see the white marking on the sea of black fur I caught my breath. On the chest just of center was a perfect white shaped heart. I knew he was a keeper. Not in the human terms of now he was my puppy but that he was going to make it.

I did have to convince mother dog that the place she chose to move to was too cold and damp. I set clean linen back into the original place that she gave birth, quickly moved all six puppies into that dry warm spot. She heard them cry and carry on but didn’t move, she just couldn’t hear me talking to her. She is a shy girl who needs to build trust before she can move forward. Sounds like something we humans need as well.

She moved and all six puppies are doing well, she is a very diligent mother who watches every move I make. I know that I hadn’t come in early that morning to check on the mother and puppies that little one wouldn’t have survived. I also know that he is not out of the woods yet. I’ll continue to let you know how they all progress. I’ll post a picture when you can actually make out something more than black blob.

Check out my website for up coming workshops in April and if you are interested in hosting a workshop in your area email me at lnase20@moonspinnerstearoomshamanichealing.com

Yesterday, was a one of those beautiful sunny just warm enough to get the sap flowing tease of a day that says spring is on its way. Even though we still have a good deal of snow to stomp through the dogs and I took a longer walk than the weather has allowed lately. There are muddy, gushy areas where the sun had been shining brightly and warming up the ground below to melt the snow. Then you find those spots where the sunshine hasn’t penetrated so snow covers the ice that lurks just underneath the surface. If you breathe in the air slowly and deeply it fills your lungs as well as your soul.

Two weekends ago, I woke up on Saturday in pain, I knew my back was out and I need to see my chiropractor only he was away on vacation. I called the office which had an emergency number that didn’t respond to my call, everyone was taking a “winter break” Monday morning I did get an appointment to straighten me out so to say and for that day it worked. The next morning was another matter; it was too painful to attend my exercise class so I did yoga at home. It felt good doing it, only stopping hurt worst than before The chiropractor that saw me on Monday said keep doing gentle stretches and call me on Thursday if you need another appointment. I thought OK its muscle I can still do my daily routine.

No way I kept doubling over in pain when the muscle would grab in the middle of my back. I used a moist heating pad to loosen in up and called my massage therapist. The best she could do was Thursday.

I am one of those people who has a high threshold for pain. I breathe and relax my way gently through the pain. After doing so the dogs and I went for a walk. I wanted to think about why I had created this experience in my life and what was I going to do about it. On that walk I realized that I was not getting enough breath. Every step I took brought pain that made me double over trying to catch my breath. The most pain free time during that week was actually when I went into deep meditation, into the stillness of the moment. My daughter was alarmed when I told her that Advil was my friend. She said “Mom, are you sure you are alright? You never take Advil!”

At my massage I was ready to release what I held deep in my muscles. As she worked on my back between the shoulder blades she said “You have a rib head out!” I suddenly had one of those Ah Ha!! moments that brought into focus all the pieces of why I was having this physical pain and couldn’t breath deeply.

Even though the massage was helpful to the muscles the problem of the rib head still existed. I saw the chiropractor again. It took the whole session to get the rib head back in place his comment was “It is very deep and very stubborn.” I thought he was talking about me.

It took me a whole week to resolve my issues and be in alignment again. My massage therapist said she got an image of a bowl of oranges and there were so many oranges that the container couldn’t hold them all. Perhaps I was looking at my problem the wrong way. In my life I thought I need to finish up one aspect of work before I could put all of my energy into expanding my spiritual work. When what I really need is a bigger container to hold all aspects of my work since they are all connected to who and what I do in this life.

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my regular chiropractor a very smart knowledgeable man when it comes to chiropractics and nutrition. I related my week of pain when he was away on vacation. He checked me out made a few adjustments and as he was doing so said that I still had some ribs out. As I stood up he said “Walk around and take a deep breath.” I had an overwhelming dizzy sensation as I filled up my lungs to a great capacity than I had been able to do.

I ask Great Spirit to please, please help me to see and understand the changes in my life I need to make in order to do the work of spirit. I ask that these changes be quickly and effortlessly. As I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out.