New Directions and Change...

This past week or so has been eventful for me. I've had two migraines, which stinks. I was able to get over them fairly quickly, which is excellent. I think I've figured out the regimen that works for me to get rid of my migraines when they happen. Hopefully they won't happen that often. Two in a week is fairly unusual for me since I know and can generally avoid my primary triggers (certain foods, hormonal changes, some bug bites). I think these were triggered by bug bites.

Anyway... Personally and spiritually this has been a big week for me. I had a brainstorm that is pretty momentous for me. I have been struggling for a long time with how to work with my two seemingly disparate passions, dog training/animals and Tarot/spirituality stuff. I had an idea this week that brings things together in a way I'd never thought of before. I'm actually quite excited about this, more so than I've been in a long time. I had the idea to do Tarot and healing work for our pets and animal companions, including shamanic communication and healing and healing with crystals and stones. Many years ago, I had planned on going to veterinary school. I was, and still am, very passionate about animals. My life took a different turn when I had chronic illness issues come up. No vet school for me. Since then I have become very frustrated with conventional veterinary and human medicine. Oh, it has it's place, absolutely. But there's so much that it doesn't do, so many perspectives that just don't make sense. Since becoming sick and since having pets on my own, I have been lead in directions I might not ever have been lead if I wasn't dealing with chronic illness. I have become very aware of holistic and alternative healing modalities. I've changed and grown into new spiritual perspectives. What if this is part of the purpose of my chronic illness? What if I would have gone to vet school and been dissatisfied? With my experiences with veterinary technician training, horseback riding, dog training, as well as owning a wide variety of critters over the years and working with many others, I feel that I could be a great help with utilizing alternative healing for pets.

So I am looking into working with Tarot, shamanic communication and healing, and energetic healing with crystals and stones for helping pets and animal companions. I truly believe in these modalities, though they are not a substitute for conventional medicine. I believe they can be of great use alongside conventional medicine in healing. I'm an evidence based person with a degree in Biology. The science based, rational side of me is rolling its eyes at the spiritual side of me right now. But I have personal experience with these modalities helping people and pets. I know others who have experience with these modalities helping their pets and animal companions. I've had personal experiences that serve as evidence for me that these modalities are valid and work. While the placebo affect can be argued for their effectiveness in humans, there is no placebo affect in animals. Something either works or doesn't with our pets and animal companions.

I saw our failing guinea pig revitalize and gain back lost weight with Reiki. I watched this guinea pig who was absolutely terrified of being handled come from the far back corner of her cage to sit under the Reiki practitioner's hand placed on the top of the cage to receive treatment. I watched as this sweet piggie regained vitality for several weeks after the Reiki treatment before deteriorating again. We went through this 3 times with Reiki helping her each time before she finally passed away due to old age.

A friend had an animal communicator pinpoint the exact spot on her horse's hoof under which was the cause of an intermittent and recurring lameness that the farrier and vet had failed to pinpoint. This allowed for direct veterinary and farrier treatment which eliminated the issue and the lameness.

And quite a few other stories all similar... While some may still discount these stories, they have validated my personal experiences and belief in alternative healing modalities.

So this is the direction I'll be pursuing. I'm not sure how to go about this or how to talk about these services without sounding like a nut. I'm just trusting that this is the path I'm supposed to follow for now. I'm trusting that I'll be lead to the resources I need for doing this.

If you have stories about how holistic/alternative treatments helped your pets and animal companions, please share them in the comments below. If you'd like to learn more about how these modalities might help your animal companions, please email me. Please understand that these modalities are NOT a substitute for qualified veterinary care. I will NOT give diagnoses and I STRONGLY recommend first seeing a qualified veterinarian to have your pet's health issue diagnosed and treated by appropriate medical means before and while pursuing alternative treatment modalities.