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To arrange a Tellington TTouch® or animal communication session for your pet, a Reiki session for either you or your pet, a health consult for your pet, or an angel, crystal or animal oracle card reading for you, please contact me at Donna@DonnaPoler.com.

Aug 6, 2010 11:19:12 AM

08/03/2010

You Will Miss Out on Some Wonderful Talks and Bonus Gifts if You Don’t Sign Up For Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen’s Global Tele-event ASAP: I Also Highly Recommend Purchasing All of the Tele-event’s Amazing Audios!

In my last blog post, I told you about Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen’s global tele-event and some of the wonderful enlightened speakers and guests she would be interviewing. I also told you about the many FREE bonus gifts (including audios, e-books and articles) you would receive if you signed up.

At the time I told you about Lorraine’s three-week tele-event, I had only listened to two of the calls. I have since listened to two more of the audios and one of the bonus gifts. I heard two more of her discussions live today. And with this larger sampling, l have become increasingly delighted that I purchased the MP3 recordings of these talks because all of them are SO uplifting and interesting.

Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen Discusses "Fear and Faith"

Today Lorraine gave her own talk -- an inspiring discussion on how to deal with and transform fear. She also offered a lovely meditation to imagine your life now and then to imagine all that it could be as if you were watching a movie. Her discussion was filled with many useful insights.

We ALL have fears to conquer and Lorraine understands fear very well. She provides a beautiful blueprint for putting fear in perspective and shows you some practical ways to move back into faith. I know her call will be helpful for anyone who has experienced fear. And that, I'm pretty sure, means all of us.

Is Everything All Right for You in This Moment?

One of the questions she asked on the call stood out for me. She asked listeners: "Is everything all right for you just in this moment?" Not two moments away or tomorrow, but just for this moment.

So many of us are caught up in terrible worry about the future and how our lives will turn out down the road -- worry that sometimes grips us hard in our solar plexus. Her question brings us all back to a focus on the here and now. And what if everything isn't all right in the moment? Lorraine has some words of wisdom about that too.

All might not look rosy for your future right now, but you might not have a clue about the magnificent future that is yet to be. Maybe you just can't see or imagine it yet. You may have no idea of the beautiful miracles that lie ahead. What you can see clearly, however, is this very moment -- this very moment you are reading my prose. So I want to know too: "Is everything okay for you just in this moment?" I hope it is.

Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen, host of the tele-event, gave her inspiring talk on "Fear and Faith" today.

One of the listeners, a woman named Sue, told Lorraine that she got so much out of today's call and the other calls as well that if she became rich, she would want to shower Lorraine with great abundance. She would want to share her wealth with Lorraine because Lorraine has helped her Spirit so much. Sue was just that grateful. Lorraine laughingly said, “I am open to receive.”

Are You Open to Receive?

I hope you are all “open to receive” too. By signing up for Lorraine's tele-event, you will be receiving so many blessings. Are you open to receiving? If not, maybe this is a good opportunity to shift that issue of receiving by signing up for Lorraine’s global tele-event. Just click on this link and get ready to receive:

Interview with James Twyman

Earlier today, I was listening to Lorraine's fascinating interview with the brilliant James Twyman, who didn’t even know he was scheduled to talk today. Uh-oh! That’s not easy for a host -- when a scheduled guest looks as though he may be a "no show." When Lorraine didn't hear him on the line, after a few short minutes, she called him on his cell phone.

James, who was driving and in the midst of traveling for his speaking tour, pulled over and called Lorraine right back when he found out that he had mixed the dates up for his scheduled talk. Sitting in his car, he was strong and vibrant, offering many beautiful insights and he didn't miss a beat, even though he had no idea he was scheduled to speak today. What a save for both James and Lorraine! He sounded so calm and prepared. Amazing!

The ever-resourceful James Twyman was on one of the tele-event calls today, sharing his time and insights while traveling on the road.

So why am I sharing all of this with you? Because I don’t want you to miss out on these fabulous calls. I want you to reap all of the benefits that I have by listening to these very wise speakers share their experiences and advice to help guide you and your spirit to a better life and to more abundance and joy.

Don't Miss Out on These Wonderful Talks!

I know you are all busy and that you are inundated with so much internet material. Me too! But I want to let you know that I think this tele-series is so worthwhile. Go for it! Grab it! Don’t miss out on all these wonderful talks. I can’t imagine that you won’t benefit greatly in some way from even just one of the calls.

So again, with enthusiasm and encouragement, I invite you to "Say Yes!" and register for the global tele-event called “Your Powerfull YES: Courageously Living An Inspired Life.” Lorraine will be interviewing some more inspirational speakers and teachers this week and next week.

Anita Pathik Law to Be a Guest Speaker on August 10th

On my birthday, August 10, Lorraine is scheduled to interview her dear friend and one of my spiritual teachers, Anita Pathik Law. I know that will be another wonderful call where I'm sure there will be plenty of laughter and insights galore. Lorraine and Ani (as Anita is often called) enjoy laughing together. It will also be a lovely birthday present to hear these two very wise souls gather together to share their deep wisdom.

I haven't heard them together since I took their excellent "Aligning With Destiny" class that they co-teach. Both are incredibly intuitive and insightful individually. Together they make an awesome spiritual team. And if Anita does one of her brilliant meditations, that alone will be well worth the time of listening either live or to the audio of her talk. Your soul won't want to miss that experience.

The multi-talented Rev. Anita Pathik Law is scheduled to be a guest speaker on August 10.

Each of these speakers, who were hand-picked by Lorraine, has some important insights to offer. Lorraine has put her heart and soul into this project and it shows. There have been a number of very positive attendee responses to this tele-event. Hundreds of people have already signed up to listen to these discussions and audios.

As I listened to Lorraine talk today about fear and ways to meet and conquer it, tears welled up in my eyes as my soul responded to what she was saying. It’s not too late for you to sign up to receive the blessings of these calls. Today's calls can be accessed for 72 hours. You can sign up now to listen to them and to future calls by clicking on this link:

I also encourage everyone to buy the MP3s for their audio collection. I believe these are talks that you can return to again and again for inspiration. They are all keepers. But if you can’t afford the packages Lorraine is offering, there is still time to listen to some talks for FREE. Just sign up here:

Embracing our Shadow Sides

Lorraine asked James Twyman what we can do to reach our goals. He said that “we have to embrace our shadow sides. It is there that we can unearth those parts of ourselves where we are holding back. It is only by embracing our shadow side, by going there and being willing to do the work and exploration -- where we have to step into this for real -- that we will be able to transform our lives. It takes digging in the dirt and going places that might not be comfortable." But if you do, James promises, “It will be so well worth it.”

He also mentioned his friend Debbie Ford’s books as a place to begin to explore those important dark shadow sides. Have you been exploring your shadow side or pushing it down deep inside? Are you ready to begin your own personal excavation and exploration?

How Can You NOT Sign Up?

I’ve shared just a few minutes from one of the tele-event calls. Think how many insights and enlightening gifts of wisdom you can get from all the other hours of conversations. How can you not sign up? To repeat a phrase that James used, "It will be so well worth it." Check in with your Higher Self and see if you get a nudge to click right on this link:

I hope you do. You won’t regret it. Take this time for yourself to listen to so much amazing wisdom and grace. I always love to share blessings with others. I feel privileged to share this global tele-event with you. And you'll also be getting a bunch of wonderful bonus gifts too.

If you do sign up and listen to some of the talks or buy one of the MP3 packages, let me know how you like them and if they had any effect on your way of thinking and on your life. I know your soul will thank you if you do take some time to listen to the discussions.

Here’s to moving from "fear into faith" and to manifesting great abundance and joy. I think these audios will all help with that process.

And I can help too, whether with an enlightening intuitive oracle card reading (angel, animal or crystal), a Reiki session, either in person or via distance, or by helping one of your animals through either a health consult, a Tellington TTouch session, through a remote or in-person Reiki session, or through an animal communication session. Just contact me at Donna@DonnaPoler.com.

Wishing you all many blessings and great abundance,

Donna

Donna E. Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=13016271

Aug 3, 2010 7:47:22 PM

07/31/2010

It’s still not too late to register for a great global Tele-event – Join Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen and some renowned speakers for an inspirational three-week tele-event – Just Say “YES!”

First I’d like to apologize for not getting word out about this fabulous event sooner. I had been meaning to alert my friends, colleagues and clients about this great tele-event, but I just got busy with some other stuff.

However the good news is that it’s not too late for you to hear Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen, who is a therapist, life coach, and healer, interview a number of fabulous speakers for FREE, and you can catch several replays that are going on this weekend. In addition, you can still get an array of some fabulous e-books and audios, also for FREE as your bonus gifts just for signing up for this wonderful tele-event.

Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen is hosting a three-week global tele-event.

Yesterday I listened to the replay of Lorraine’s interview with Ann Taylor. Ann gave so graciously of her time and skills as a healer. She has a special technique for healing a variety of issues, from all kinds of fears to constricting beliefs regarding money, health, trust and relationship issues, among a variety of others.

On the call, Lorraine also revealed that when she found herself facing thyroid surgery, she turned to Ann for help. And after working with her, lo and behold, Lorraine’s tumor shrank and then disappeared completely. As Lorraine said on the call, “The healing was complete.”

Ann Taylor

Ann provides some of her healing prayers for everyone on the call and explains that they work whether she’s doing one-on-one work, talking to a group of thousands or whether someone is at home listening to one of her recordings. She says that listening to her prayers on the recording is as effective as doing one-on-one work with her. And she does a number of prayers on the recording. You can listen to her for FREE in this weekend’s tele-replay.

And that’s not all. In addition to the replay of Ann’s call, this weekend, you can get access to the replay of Dr. Bernie Siegel’s discussion with Lorraine. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Siegel, or “Bernie” as he’s often called, speak on several occasions. He is always entertaining and inspirational, sharing so many moving stories of hope, faith and courage and always pointing out what’s most important in life.

Dr. Bernie Siegel

To access the replay of Lorraine’s interview with Ann Taylor, CLICK THIS LINK:

Lorraine said that people were “blown away” by this call with Ann. The response to her work was fabulous.

To access the replay of Lorraine’s interview with Dr. Bernie Siegel, CLICK THIS LINK:

http://AttendThisEvent.com/?eventid=13016334.

Lorraine and I encourage you to say “YES!” to the life you were born to live and register for this three-week, life-changing tele-event, “Your Powerfull YES: Courageously Living An Inspired Life,” with host Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen, July 27- August 12, 2010 with some incredibly influential and inspirational speakers and teachers, including: Neale Donald Walsch, James Twyman, Marci Shimoff, and Dr. Bernie Siegel, among many others. It’s not too late. You can sign up now for this FREE event by clicking on this link:

Marci Shimoff and James Twyman will be speaking, among many other inspirational guests.

Again, I apologize for not getting the news out about this event sooner, but you still have time to join the thousands of others who have already signed up and received their bonus gifts. And the good news is that you are also in time to purchase ALL the MP3 recordings for a discounted price for a few days before the price goes up next week.

And here’s another bonus – an article written by Lorraine that I’d like to share with you. I hope it whets your appetite for the inspirational flavor of what you will hear on her calls. She wants to encourage you to surrender to “YES” in your life. One of the ways you can do that is to sign up for her life-enhancing program. Here are some thoughts and questions Lorraine would like to share with you about your life and the choices that you’ve been making:

Surrendering to YES

As a society we have a low tolerance for discomfort and impatience when things move too slowly according to our expectations and time lines. We want it and we want it now. We get upset and frustrated when things don’t go our way and then we brood and become disheartened - like kids. We give up, become resigned to things remaining the same, compare our losses to the successes of others, wonder what’s wrong with us, judge our deficiencies, beat ourselves up and end up feeling like a puddle on the floor.

So what does saying YES really mean to your life?

I believe it means having the faith and courage to step into the next and highest version of who you are meant to be as spiritual beings and Creators in a physical body. And to keep expanding into your highest potential which may be beyond your imagination to conceive. It means going the distance without giving up and quitting; releasing the false illusions about who you think you are to allow the real magnificent you to more fully emerge.

Fulfilling our dreams and desires does not end with a single yes to any vision, action plan, or goal. Thinking that just because we came to a decision to do or have something that our success is assured is naive. We must say yes every second, every minute, and every hour of every day as we make choices that move us towards what we truly desire. And we must know when choosing to say “no” is the right answer, because saying “yes” will take us in the opposite direction of what we desire.

Are you aware of what your soul is calling you to become?

Have you been listening the whispers of your spirit and following your inner nudges?

What “YES” have you been resisting that is persisting?

Are the choices you have been making moving you towards or away from your desires?

Questions that may arise:

What will be I be asked to do that I may not want to do?

Life (God, Soul, The Divine) will not give you step two until you take step one. Spiritual practices such as meditation, morning pages, journaling, and walks in nature create connections for Life to speak to us through intuition, instincts, feelings… It is true that the guidance we sense or hear might seem scary, confusing …even nuts. Our ego and mind screams, “No way. It’s not safe. It’s crazy…” Our gut and instincts say, “Trust that all will be well. Go for it.”

What is guiding your decisions?

Is it the fears and illusions of your mind? Or the knowing wisdom from your soul looking beyond the limitations of your mind and beckoning you to the wonders of what’s next?

Attempting to remain stagnant is impossible because evolution and change is a constant. You are either moving forward or you are moving backward. Look at your life to see where you are.

How far do I need to s-t-r-e-t-c-h?

You want some guarantees or a preview of what is to come before deciding to take the plunge? Sorry, but Life doesn’t work that way. That’s why it’s called “taking a leap of faith.” You must stretch as far as is needed to receive what you desire. There may be periods of extreme challenge that can cause you to waver in doubt and fear.

How well you know yourself, your spiritual practices, ongoing evolution, attitude shifting tools, and circle of support are critical factors to staying strong no matter what is happening.

What if my “YES” upsets others?

It might. And in weighing all the elements of saying yes, you must also trust that the people in your life will benefit in the long run even if the short term brings some discomfort. You do not know what the people in your life have come to experience to become who they are meant to be.

Marianne Williamson’s famous quote from “A Return to Love” speaks to the very heart of each of us who fear or feel undeserving of owning our greatness:

“…Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of the Universe. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others…”

Once again, Lorraine and I ask you to say a very big “YES!” to the expansive life that is awaiting you and register for this outstanding three-week tele-event, Your Powerfull YES: Courageously Living An Inspired Life, from July 27- August 12, 2010. You are just a click away from signing up for this FREE event. Here is the link:

If you do sign up – and I hope you will take advantage of Lorraine’s wonderful offer – please let Lorraine know what you think about her discussions with guests. Did any of the talks have a significant impact on your life? Did you start to see your life differently? Did you shift your attitude or take some important steps to move forward? I’d love to hear from you too. Again, here is the link to register for access to future calls, all your bonus gifts and also to some replays:

http://healingwand.energishield.com/Shun_Shen_Tao_Healing_Wands/Future_Healing_Now.html.

Here’s to some life-changing discussions for us all. And kudos and thanks to Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cohen for putting together such a rich array of renowned and inspirational guest speakers. May all of us gain some precious insights and enlightening ideas from listening to the wisdom and wit of such a rich array of gifted authors and speakers.

Jul 31, 2010 12:54:15 PM

07/29/2010

Love, Service and Non-attachment: Can you Be Part of My Gift-Giving Challenge?

Tales from an Enchanting Spiritual Retreat with Nigel and Regina Taylor:

Blessings, Love and Deep Wisdom from Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Srimad Sai Rajarajeshwari (Amma)

I recently had the distinct pleasure of attending an extraordinary spiritual weekend retreat led by the very dynamic and brilliant Nigel Taylor who is a special devotee of both Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (lovingly referred to as Baba) and Srimad Sai Rajarajeshwari (lovingly known as Amma [not the same Amma known as the “hugging” Amma]). Nigel and his wife Regina, who did a great job of organizing the retreat, recently visited Sai Baba in his ashram in India and came back with many beautiful blessings for the group of retreat participants.

Sai Baba and Amma are known by many as “avatars,” the masculine and feminine aspects of God, who both came here, taking physical form and incarnating to help humanity, to be of sacred service and to share their great wisdom, blessings and love.

Amma Rajarajeshwari and Sai Baba from www.premahealing.com

Sacred “Lingam” and Posts about Sai Baba

Nigel showed us a small object that Sai Baba had manifested for him during his visit to India. It is something called a “lingam,” a small, smooth elliptical-shaped stone that is very sacred. A “lingam” is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, used in the worship of Lord Shiva. Nigel quotes Sai Baba as saying, “The lingam is the secret of creation. Everything starts from it and everything is subsumed in it. It is the defining principle of the entire cosmos.” And as Nigel also explains, “Put another way, it is 'THE ZERO POINT' and it activates our heart space.”

Sacred lingam created for Nigel Taylor by Sai Baba. Photo from http://www.healingwand.energishield.com.

When I went to “Google” “Sai Baba and lingams" for more information about lingams, I found a virtual sea of blog posts criticizing Sai Baba, some claiming that he was merely a “magician of illusions.” Other blog posts sharply criticized Sai Baba’s "supposed manifestation" of a lingam while the BBC was filming him, noting that the film proved he didn't actually manifest a lingam from his stomach. There are also many other detractors and assorted allegations from angry, skeptical, suspicious and disillusioned people, some of them former devotees.

My Personal Connection to Sai Baba

Sai Baba has been an important spiritual presence in my life since I first learned about him through one of my early spiritual mentors.

When I once did a guided meditation on meeting my Reiki guides, it was Sai Baba who came to me, smiling and dancing on the sands of a beach in a vision. I still trust that it is indeed Sai Baba who is one of my sacred guides.

Several years ago, a friend of my sister's had been invited to visit his ashram and came home transformed. When she heard I was interested in Sai Baba, she sent me a CD of his beautiful Gayatri mantra and some mala beads.

I have attended several wonderful seminars with Nigel and Regina and they also brought Sai Baba and his blessings firmly into my life. Nigel has known Sai Baba for most of his life and even talks in one of his books about being rescued by Sai Baba from drowning when he was just a boy -- before he ever actually met his great spiritual mentor. Their relationship (and Regina’s too) was divinely destined and intertwined, as was his and Regina’s relationship with Amma.

I was disheartened at the glut of negative blogs about Sai Baba when I came across a blog called “Potent Evidence: Who is Sai Baba?” by R.D. Awle. Here is the link to it:

http://www.saibaba-aclearview.com/contents2.html. In his blog, Awle has many beautiful pictures of Sai Baba and shares his own personal experiences. He also addresses the many voices of Sai Baba’s detractors.

Sai Baba shares some sacred blessings. Photo from www.saibaba-aclearview.com.

I am not a devotee, but Sai Baba is and has been a distinct presence in my life for quite some time. He is not the center of my spiritual world, but he is a very blessed part of it. Through Nigel, Regina and others, I have received some of his beautiful teachings and blessings.

As Awle explains, the “magic” or “the tricks” as some believe are not what is important anyway. What is most important are his magisterial teachings of love and service and that we are all divine and interconnected.

R.D. Awle quotes Sai Baba:

“I am neither Guru nor God.

I am you; you are I; that is the truth.

There is no distinction.

The appearance of differences is the delusion.

You are waves; I am the ocean.

Know this and be free, be Divine.”

Awle also quotes Sai Baba as saying:

“There is only one religion, the religion of love.

There is only one caste, the caste of humanity.

There is only one language, the language of the heart.

There is only one God, and He is omnipresent.”

Awle notes that Sai Baba crafted what he calls a “maha-affirmation” to remind us all of our own divinity:

I am God! I am God! I am not different from God!

I am the eternal undifferentiated Absolute!

Grief and anxiety cannot affect me.

I am always content. Fear cannot enter me.

I am Satchidananda! I am pure Existence, Knowledge and Bliss.

I am Omnipotent! I am all-powerful; nothing is impossible for me!

I am Omniscient! I am all-knowing;

There is nothing which is not known to me.

I am Omnipresent! I am present everywhere. I pervade this universe!

I am Krishna! I am Christ! I am Buddha!

I am Sai! I am Sai! I am Sai!

I am God! I am God! I am God!

Steeped in the Beauty of Ritual and Ceremony

The retreat was steeped in meditation and prayer. We all received sacred candles. On each candle were beautiful prayers from different religions and special prayers from both Sai Baba and Amma. The candles encircled the room we were in, each radiating a light of blessings for individual souls.

At one point we united all our candles on the floor as Nigel shared a beautiful prayer. It was a very sacred moment to see all the "flames" come together and burn so brightly. It was also a lovely symbol of the connection among all the participants -- and indeed among us all.

Sacred individual candles join together to burn brightly as prayers are softly spoken. Photo by Donna Poler.

Each participant brought pictures and objects they wished to have blessed along with a “chalice.” We placed our beautiful pictures of family, friends and most beloved animals under and around the sacred candles along with our objects to be blessed. There was a special beauty that radiated from the individual altars.

Poured into each chalice was sacred water blessed by Sai Baba. Judging by the gray residue left in my chalice when I brought it home, I am guessing that it contained some vibhuti or holy ash, which is a hallmark manifestation of Sai Baba.

Magnificent ritual and ceremony permeated the blessed weekend as we honored Source, all religions, Sai Baba and Amma for their love and light in the world and for the blessings of Mother Earth herself, also known as Gaia. We also honored the highest and best within ourselves, our ancestors and within those fellow spiritual travelers who attended the retreat.

Perhaps the biggest blessing of all was the experience itself of being surrounded in the blissful energy of so many spiritual blessings, while mingling with like-minded souls in such a divinely guided way.

Retreat participants gather for a group photo. Participants were divinely united to receive sacred blessings, learn from one another and share in the lessons of love and service. Photo by Donna Poler.

I am always amazed at how often I forget about divine timing and order and how there is no such thing as coincidence. That is, every person who was meant to be at that retreat was there and everyone there wound up meeting and working with their “perfect” partners.

Retreat participants mingle and share insights during breaks -- all is in Divine Order and Divine Timing. Photo by Donna Poler.

Friends Deborah, left, and Amber came from New York City to participate in the weekend retreat. I enjoyed a lovely discussion with them during a lunch break. Photo by Donna Poler.

Some Past Life Regressions

Teams of participants helped each other move back in time to see if we could experience a past life. I had never done very well before with these kinds of exercises. At one point in my meditation, I felt my body splashing into the ocean and noticed I was wearing flippers. I seemed to be part of some deep sea expedition. I have always loved the ocean and have a great affinity for it. I wonder if that has something to do with some past life experiences.

A dive into the ocean came up in a past life regression meditation. Photo by Donna Poler.

My meditation was cut short so I never got to explore who I might have been and what I was doing in the ocean, but the experience of hitting the cold water and what that felt like, and seeing the relatively small boat bobbing on the water nearby will stay with me in my mind’s eye. One of the women in my group found herself back in Egypt with three other security guards near the Great Pyramids.

There were a number of other beautiful meditations and healing exercises throughout the weekend and Nigel shared some of his brilliant teachings. He spoke of the Golden Age that would soon be ushered in and about the significance of the year 2012. He also read a letter from Sai Baba, sharing that he would soon be leaving his physical form, but noting that he would be reincarnating 12 years later.

Nigel Taylor answers student questions during a break. Photo by Donna Poler.

The finale of the retreat was very special as we were guided in a moving exercise that showed us the gigantic difference of how it feels when we either withhold love or give it freely and what it feels like when it is withheld from us or given to us lovingly and expansively. The exchanges in the exercise made a profound point about how much easier it is to be kind and loving and to come from a place of love than how it feels to shut down and refuse love or withhold love from someone.

I wonder as I write, is there anyone that you are withholding love from that may need your love? And most importantly, are you withholding any love from yourself? How open are you to giving and receiving love?

HeartSpace Zero Point Energy Healing Wands

Blessed by Sai Baba

Nigel and Regina also brought back from India some very special "Zero Point Energy" healing wands. In addition to having some powerful properties infused in them by a man named Grand Master David, the wands at the retreat had also been blessed by Sai Baba. Nigel brought some to sell to students.

When I arrived Sunday morning to find only two left, I knew that I would regret it if I didn't get one too. So I had a discussion with one of the participants who had been using his healing wand for a time. He enthusiastically told me that he had experienced much success with it.

His wife even told me that when her heart was in extreme palpitation, her husband gave it to her to wear. After wearing it for a few hours, she told me that her heart returned to a normal rhythm. Her husband bought one just for her so she could always have one with her.

Regina Taylor, left, speaks to a student who told me that she and her husband experienced some very positive healing benefits when they used the HeartSpace Healing Zero Point Energy Wand. Photo by Donna Poler.

I decided to buy a healing wand and have been sharing it with my mother and dog. After my dog wore it for a time (I attached it to an ace bandage that I tied around the back end of his body), he seemed to have more vibrant energy the next day.

My dog Socrates had more energy the day after I hooked the Heartspace Healing Zero Point Energy wand to an ace bandage that I tied around his back end. Photo by Donna Poler.

In the literature about the Heartspace Healing ZPE wand, it says that it works subtly. I am trusting that it is blessed with some special properties and I am grateful to have it.

During a class break, those of us who had purchased a wand began working on a woman who had some severe back pain.

Heartspace Healing Zero Point Energy Wands are used to help a student with severe back pain during a break at the spiritual retreat. Photo by Donna Poler.

For more information on the HeartSpace Healing ZPE Wands, go to:

Great Gifts of Sharing and Non-Attachment

At the end of the retreat, although I will not share exactly how it happened so as not to ruin the surprise for future retreat attendees, I was asked to pass on a gift to someone I had never met before. The gift I had was a white vanilla-scented candle that came in a pretty gift box with green ribbon. After saying my goodbyes, I headed out the hotel door.

At the door where I exited right by the pool there was always a flurry of people. I thought I might find the right person to give my gift to just outside the door. But when I walked out, there was no one there.

Divine Timing and Grace of Giving

As I continued on, I looked back and noticed a woman in her 30's with blond hair coming towards me, looking very stressed. She asked me if I knew where she could put the butts of her cigarettes if she wanted to smoke. I said I didn’t and checked in with Spirit to see if she was the right person to receive my gift. I didn’t feel any affirmative answer and decided she was not the one.

Then I spoke to her about the possibility of quitting smoking. With family members who have died of lung cancer and who also suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), I am especially saddened when I see young women who smoke.

The woman then told me that she had stopped smoking for three months, but went back to it because she was feeling so depressed. And then I checked back in with Spirit and got a big affirmation. It clearly was the person who was supposed to get my gift.

I told her that I had something for her and asked her to come with me to my car just a short walk away. She was happy to do so and seemed quite surprised. “Really?” she asked. “Yes, really.”

I handed her the gift. She nervously opened it, smelled the candle, smiled and thanked me. We hugged. I then suggested that she go back in the hotel and find Regina. I advised her to share with Regina how she had been feeling and to see if Regina and Nigel had any suggestions to help her feel better. I later learned that although exhausted, Regina spent some time with her to help her.

I felt so good about giving my gift to a woman who felt uplifted upon receiving it. I told her whenever she felt the need to smoke to also light the candle and to know that somewhere there was someone thinking about her health and well-being and sending her love and light. The candle turned out to have been a perfect gift for her.

My Gift Challenge for You

I was thinking as I pondered the experience with the young woman that I should always have some kind of small gift in my car to give to someone I have never met before when I feel it is the right thing to do – when the divine timing is right and I am being called to do so. I purchased a few items that could serve just such a purpose. A key to this exercise is that the item has to be something I really like and would want to keep for myself.

Here’s my challenge to anyone who reads this blog post. I am asking you to either go out and buy some small gift -- something you really like – or find something you already own that’s meaningful that you would like to share. Then wrap it and give it away to someone you’ve never met before. If you give yourself a specific time limit of perhaps a few days to a week that will also help to motivate you to have the courage to do it when you meet the right person and the timing is right.

The exercise of giving these gifts is not only a way to practice love and service, but because you will be giving away something that either really means something to you or that you like well enough to keep for yourself, it is also an exercise in non-attachment, in being able to give away something you hold dear.

I would love to collect the stories of your experiences – who you are, what gift you gave, who you gave it to and what happened, if anything, as a result. How did you feel? How did the person feel? Were there any transformational experiences? Were there any surprises or disappointments? Did you learn something about yourself, about giving or about the other person?

If I get enough responses, I plan to combine the stories in a future e-book. If you’d like to be part of such an e-book, please share your stories with me by sending them to Donna@DonnaPoler.com. You can also ask the person receiving your gift to send me their stories too. The working title could be something like: “Transforming Lives One Gift at a Time” or “An Exercise in Non-Attachment: The Glorious Gift of Giving.” Or how about “Stories from the Heart: Gifts of Love and Transformation”?

It would also be wonderful for those of you who do take me up on my challenge to try to take some pictures of yourself, the gift and the person you choose to receive your gift. It would also be fabulous if you could get someone to take a picture of both of you together or you could hold the camera up and face it toward both of you.

Probably in the spontaneous way that this will happen, you can just use your cell phones to take pictures. I’m sorry that I did not think about taking a photo of the woman that I gave my gift to.

If you don’t have the time to share your stories with me for possible future publication in an e-book, please feel free to share your stories more briefly in this blog. And you are certainly welcome to do both. If you don't, however, feel like sharing what happened, that's okay too. Regardless of whether you share or not, I'd love for you to have the rich experience of participating in this kind of fun gift-giving exercise.

Wouldn’t it be exciting if on any given day you were giving away and receiving unexpected gifts and blessings? Giving my gift to this woman reminded me a little of the wonderful film, “Paying it Forward” with Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment.

Tellington TTouch Gift Exchange

In one of the NJ Tellington TTouch trainings I organized, Linda Tellington-Jones was the instructor. On the last day, she asked everyone to bring in a gift. She asked me to bring in some music to play during the gift exchange event.

Toward the end of the day, I played some music while the class of students walked around the room, with two lines of students circling around one another. When I stopped the music, whatever students wound up facing each other exchanged their gifts.

It was such a lovely exercise. Although I didn't get to participate in the exchange with students, I received a most cherished gift from Linda that day – a beautiful bracelet with jungle animals on it made in South Africa. It is a gift I love and which has deep meaning for me. Giving and receiving gifts can just be so much fun and it can create some beautiful memories to treasure always.

Students at a NJ Tellington TTouch training with Linda Tellington-Jones happily exchange gifts.

The beauty of such a blessed weekend retreat with Nigel and Regina and the wonderful souls I was graced to meet will hold a special place in my heart. I would encourage all of you to spend some time with Nigel and Regina and attend one of their retreats or seminars. You will leave with many beautiful blessings, wise spiritual teachings, and some deep reflections on and great reminders about the importance of love, service and non-attachment.

Nigel also has a wonderful collection of meditations on CD. You can go to www.nigeltaylor.com for more information about them and about upcoming events with Nigel and Regina.

Nigel shares some insights with students during a break. Photo by Donna Poler.

Remember to love and serve well and give love freely, but to hold all that you love and hold dear with a very light attachment. I personally know how that is much easier said than done. It takes a great deal of practice to develop “loving and yet very light” relationships with people and things.

Attachment and Loss

All of us have such deep and meaningful attachments, some to people, some to animals and some to both. And for some, there is a deep attachment to material things. Most of us have become very attached to all the material goods that provide comfort in our lives. People whose power goes out during heat waves get to experience first-hand what it feels like when something so important is taken away. And those of us who have watched scenes around the world ranging from tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and raging brush fires all feel deeply for those who have lost so much, as we think, "There but for the Grace of God go I."

And those same twinges of alarm strike at our hearts when we learn of yet another person who has lost his or her job, suddenly gotten sick or had something very challenging happen in his or her life. We all will be challenged in some way with whatever we are attached to and with what we hold most dear.

Most of us are also very attached to what is familiar. When the applecart of the familiar is upset, many of us also feel tremors of fear and nervous anticipation as we await the unknown, the new and what will next be ushered into our lives.

Carolyn Myss talks about certain soul contracts that we have with people before we even incarnate. I believe we also have soul contracts with animals. Sometimes when a contract is up or coming to an end, it can be a very difficult experience, especially if it involves death or divorce.

Even friendships that end can be very painful. When you find that a once important relationship with a person has so deeply changed, you know that your contract is probably coming to an end because the purpose for coming together has already been completed.

There is a popular e-mail that makes its rounds every so often that speaks to the fleeting nature of relationships as it tries to help with the aftermath of pain when someone moves on from our lives. The author is unknown and it is called "A Reason, A Season or a Lifetime":

A Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON . . . It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, and their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON . . . Because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons and things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

I'm not sure that any of us can prepare well for these life challenges when what we love so well will be taken away, move on or be lost forever. All we can hope is that we will rise to the challenge and do the best we can in any given moment.

Attending enlightening retreats can certainly help open both your heart and mind to important insights to support your soul and spirit with, as William Wordsworth has said, "truths that wake, to perish never."

In his brilliant poem "Ode: Intimations on Mortality from Recollections of Early Childhood," where the quote above comes from, Wordsworth well understood just how very vulnerable the human heart can be as he concludes his ode:

"Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, its fears,

To me the meanest flower that blows can give

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."

Wishing all of you much love and light, lots of fun for those who participate in the gift-giving challenge, and many unexpected gifts of love, service and abundance for everyone…

Blessings and Namaste,

Donna

Donna E. Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

Jul 29, 2010 1:21:28 PM

06/28/2010

Signs, Symbols and Spirit -- The Little Duck Who Delivered Some Big Messages: How does Spirit Speak to You and How Closely Are You Listening?

We are all intuitive. We each have ways of accessing some deep inner knowing. It can be a feeling in the pit of your stomach or a chill that sends shivers up your spine. It can be something that makes you feel like you are so in the flow or something that makes you stop dead in your tracks as you see proverbial red lights flashing and hear big warning bells sounding.

Spirit and your Higher Self, often serving as the messengers of these signs and signals, interact with each of us all the time. Sometimes we are distracted or have lessons to learn and we don’t get an important message quickly enough.

Those missed messages and warning signs that go unheeded can result in frustration, heartache and pain. First the Universe sends whispers about something. Then the message gets louder. If you still haven’t gotten the message, then you risk getting slammed in some not so subtle ways.

How Does Spirit Speak To You?

With practice, we all can open even more deeply to important messages. How does Spirit speak to you? Is it through nature in the beautiful sky, clouds and colorful sunsets you see?

A beautiful lake in Spring Lake, NJ. Does nature speak to your soul? Photo by Donna Poler

Is it in viewing the vast ocean or walking in gorgeous woods and forests or hiking on mountain trails?

Does the beautiful ocean, like the one here at Spring Lake, NJ, speak to your soul? Photo by Donna Poler

Is it through deep and consistent prayer and meditation? Is it through your religion or your special interactions with family, friends and community? Or is it through art, literature, poetry, books and articles you read? Or is it through certain signs, symbols, visions and dreams that keep speaking to you?

Pennies from Heaven for Harriet

I have a friend who knows that Spirit is around and helping her whenever she finds pennies on the ground, like pennies from heaven. Harriet’s angels never fail to leave her special signs that they are around. My angels sometimes leave coins for me and I often keep the ones I find in a special place and also keep some in my car for luck.

I communicate regularly with God, my angels and spirit guides through prayer and also through the use of oracle cards. These kinds of card readings give me a sense of deep reassurance as I often use several decks in a single reading. The messages pulled from each deck are almost always similar to one another or else they offer variations on a theme I should be paying attention to. They never fail to illuminate some issue or to lighten my heart with love and encouragement.

Another way Spirit communicates with me is by sending me information at least three times. I’ve become so attuned that usually by the second notice, I’m listening carefully.

A Message about Noah and His Ark

Recently, the subject of Noah and his Ark, for some reason, was brought to my attention. Someone sent me an e-mail about a remarkable man who built an exact replica of the Bible’s description of Noah’s Ark. Creationist Johan Huibers is from the Netherlands.

It was quite an interesting e-mail that had pictures of the Ark being built along with the final version that contains life-size replicas of animals like elephants and giraffes. For more information on this story, you can Google “Dutch creationist Johan Huibers” and many wesites will appear or you can go to http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/modern-day-noahs-arc-sets-sail/offbeat-news.

Dutch creationist Johan Huibers, from Schagen — about 23 miles (45 kilometers) north of Amsterdam — built a colossal Ark that’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a 3-story house, at 230 feet (70 meters) long, 31 feet (9.5 meters) wide and nearly 43 feet (13 meters) high. Huibers’s Ark is one-fifth the size of Noah’s, based on the book of Genesis, carrying farmyard animals and life-size replicas of numerous animals. Photo by Jackey Backen

Here is creationist Johan Huibers in his Ark complete with two life-size elephants. Photo by Jackey Baken

Then the next day I found myself flipping through television channels on a Saturday morning while making breakfast. I happened upon a movie I had never seen before, and what caught my attention were all the animals I saw in the movie. Animals, of course, always capture my attention. It turns out that the movie was “Evan Almighty,” a modern day fable about Noah and his Ark.

Steve Carrell plays Evan Baxter in the movie, "Evan Almighty," a modern-day fable about Noah and his Ark. Picture from http://www.rottentomatoes.com.

The Archangel Jophiel and the Golden Finch

Then I had a healing session in which I saw an angel who had a distinct yellow aura. With that yellow aura, it may have been the Archangel Jophiel who appeared. It makes sense for it to have been Jophiel not only because of the particular message that Archangel Jophiel offers, but also because Jophiel is the Archangel, who, it turns out, protected Noah’s sons.

A few hours after that healing session, I saw a beautiful yellow finch high atop an Evergreen tree in my neighbor's back yard. The finch sang and sang and stayed there singing atop that tree for almost an hour. I was able to take a picture of it. I knew it was a sign.

The beautiful yellow finch who came to sing to me. Photo by Donna Poler

Was it just a random coincidence? Perhaps. But as someone who has been traveling a very spiritual path for quite some time, I don’t think so. Indeed, I felt deeply that it was a way of reconfirming in physical form what had happened in a vision while I was in deep meditation during the healing that very same day.

The message about Noah seemed to tell me to continue on my path of working with and helping animals. And it also was about moving forward despite what some detractors or non-believers may say. In both the Bible and in the movie “Evan Almighty,” Noah had great trouble convincing others about the God-given message he was so sure of.

It was also about being in absolute faith about messages received and staying open to surrendering and trusting. And it was about remaining faithful to Spirit and to my higher calling even in the face of challenging times.

The final message that came about Noah was a relatively recent story on the news about archaeologists uncovering on Mount Ararat what they think are some remnants of the actual and historical Noah’s Ark. Of course that unearthing is subject to discussion and skepticism. For me, though, it was just another rather remarkable and timely personal message for me from Spirit.

Encounters with Animals - A Way for Spirit to Communicate

Another way that Spirit, my angels and guides speak to me is through encounters with animals. I pay close attention to the outdoor animals that cross my path. Often they are messengers, as was the little red fox that kept following the poet Lucille Clifton (see my discussion of the fox in a previous blog post about Lucille Clifton and her untimely death).

Cardinals for me are often a sign of a departed loved one letting me know he is around. They can also be a sign of Spirit’s presence. A small black and white bird that often appears when I am in challenging times is another reminder to me that Spirit is near and watching over me. I call it my Spirit Bird.

A cardinal -- another spiritual messenger -- visits my back yard. Photo by Donna Poler

Message from an Acrobatic Dragonfly

A few weeks ago, when I walked out onto my back patio one morning, I was astounded to see a very big dragonfly darting swiftly around my back yard, zooming around like one of those small jets doing some fancy tricks, as it navigated around my shoulders and the head of my dog. It stayed for what seemed like quite a long while and I was wondering if it was planning on staying indefinitely.

I wasn’t afraid of it, despite what looked like a very big stinger, because I knew it was a messenger. I enjoyed seeing it, but was glad that it wasn’t going to stay around for any great length of time. It was the first dragonfly I had ever seen in my back yard and it hasn’t returned since.

Beautiful acrobatic dragonfly

When I got back to my computer, I knew I had to look up what the metaphysical meaning of a dragonfly is. For those who may be interested in the deeper meaning, here is what Avia Venefica of www.what’s-your-sign.com says about the dragonfly totem:

“Dragonflies carry messages that deal with deeper thought - and they ask that we pay attention to our deeper thoughts and desires. Further symbolic insect meaning of dragonfly comes into play when we observe the dragonfly's mode of transportation as it skitters across the top of water surfaces.

“This implies that our deeper thoughts are surfacing and we must be mindful of the outcome we wish to have. The dragonfly is a reminder that when our deeper thoughts rise to the surface we must pay attention - there are lessons to be learned, and we are also reminded that what we think is directly proportionate to what we 'see on the surface.' ...In short, our thoughts (even the deeper ones that we might not be as in-touch with as we are with our conscious thoughts) are responsible for what we see in our lives - in our physical surroundings. …

“It should be noted that the Dragonfly lives a short life, and it knows it must live to the fullest with what it has. This lesson is huge for each of us. When you see a dragonfly, be aware of the gifts it has to offer by keeping its animal totem meanings in mind.”

I view animals that appear to me unexpectedly as totem animals. That is, they show up to remind me of something important or to bring me a special message or sometimes a warning from Spirit.

Big Message from a Little Duck

The latest message for me was from a beautiful little duck. A few weeks ago, I noticed that there seemed to be something I had never seen before under a rose bush at the rear center of my front yard, right near the decorative stone of my house. When I approached, I could see it was a little brown duck that was discreetly camouflaged against the stone and brown mulch. I didn’t think any more about it. That was on Friday evening.

On Saturday morning, I dashed out for a seminar and didn’t notice whether she was still there or not. When I returned Saturday evening and pulled up onto my driveway, there she was in the exact same location, as though she had never moved.

At that time I wasn’t sure if the duck was a he or a she. I then took a picture of the duck and didn’t get too close because I didn’t want to scare it in any way. The duck seemed perfectly okay with me taking the picture and never moved a feather.

The precious little duck who came to "rest" or "nest" behind the rose bush in my front yard. Photo by Donna Poler

Then when I left on Sunday morning for the second day of my seminar, I noticed that the little duck was still there. And then I became worried. What if it was sick? Who should I call?

I showed the picture to a woman at the seminar and she said that if the duck is alone, it’s probably a baby who was abandoned by its mother. I felt my stomach drop. It was incredibly hot that day. Indeed it was swelteringly hot. And what if the duck hadn’t eaten or drank any water? What if it was sick and I had neglected to get help for it? The night before, I had put out a bowl of water, but noticed it hadn’t been touched.

Emergency Call to Help the Little Duck

Since my township’s animal control officer was not around on Sunday, I decided to call my township’s local police dispatcher. I told her about the little duck that might be hurt, sick or hungry. She said she would dispatch two officers to check on it and that I should call her later in the afternoon. I felt better. At least I had tried to do something to help the duck.

When I called her later in the afternoon, she said that the officers saw the duck and reported back to her that it was fine. They said it was a mother duck that was nesting and that it was a common occurrence this time of year. Maybe it was a common occurrence for other people, but this was the first time it had ever happened on my property.

When I returned Sunday evening, she was still there, sitting stoically on what I was hoping would be her future ducklings. I shared the news with some friends about the little brown duck who came to visit my front yard and give birth to her future family.

I read on the internet that the male duck will wait at a watering site for her and that she will leave the nest once or twice a day, flying to him to get her food and water, and then quickly returning to the nest. I wonder why Mother Nature didn’t figure out a better plan for both the male and female ducks to be able to spend more time together when she’s nesting and find a nesting space closer to water so she doesn’t have to fly away twice a day and abandon her nest.

I also read that after a mother duck’s eggs hatched, which would take about 28 days from the time she first started sitting on her nest, she would have to find a safe way to lead them to the water and to the father. I was so looking forward to seeing her baby ducklings.

It seems, alas, that I did count my eggs before they hatched, so to speak, because by Monday, the adorable duck that I had named Daisy had flown her Somerset, NJ, coop.

My gardener arrived early on Monday with his big, noisy lawn mower and it may have scared her. I think she really needed a better location anyway, one more secluded and cooler than the one she had chosen in my front yard.

Perhaps she had mostly come to deliver a message to me. She was my duck totem. Spirit may have sent her to deliver a message to me.

Meaning of a Duck Totem Animal

When I looked up Duck totems, one site said this: “The Duck is symbolic of water energy (emotions) and the ability to deal powerfully with them. The Duck is also known as a helper of clairvoyance and seers. His message is to listen to emotions and feelings as the bringers of truths, as opposed to side-stepping or ignoring them as intolerable or shameful. Water energy is the carrier of intuitive messages that can be missed due to intellectual stifling.”

Those messages all seemed most appropriate for me. Here is what another site said: “Ducks are the largest and most diverse group of waterfowl. Frequently males and females are colored differently (the males having brighter plumes) and have different vocal sounds.

“They prefer being in places where they are comfortable and will return to those places. (That certainly seemed the case for awhile as the little duck kept returning to my front yard.) They have a strong sense of community and are social. Ducks remind us that we sometimes need to return to the parts of ourselves that need to feel safe and comfortable. Ducks also teach us to be graceful when handling our emotions and to drink sustenance from the waters of life.”

And finally, here is what a third site said: “Ducks are connected to feminine energies, the astral plane and emotions through their connection with water. Ducks remind us to drink deeply from the waters of life. Find comfort in your element and with those of like mind and spirit. Ducks teach you how to maneuver through the waters of life with grace and comfort. Psychologist and therapists often have Ducks as a totem, assisting them to help others move through emotional tangles.” As a healer and alternative health consultant for people and pets, it is part of my job to assist others to move through all kinds of “tangles.”

Seeking a Deeper Meaning

Caroline Myss and many other spiritual teachers often talk about seeing the bigger picture and deeper meaning of events and circumstances in our lives from a more Divine perspective. She asks us to take a step back to see some of the archetypes and sacred contracts at work in our lives and to view events that happen to us from a metaphysical point of view so we can learn lessons and gain deeper wisdom rather than taking life’s events so personally.

So here was this little brown duck who wandered onto my front yard and under my rose bush. It was a duck who became part of my family for a very short while. I was thinking about her, wondering if she was okay and whether there was anything I could do to make her more comfortable during her stay at my Somerset inn. She asked for nothing and touched nothing save for the mulch that she neatly arranged to make a comfortable space for her to rest.

I’m not sure if she was resting or nesting because she left so suddenly. On the one hand, my heart sank when I didn’t see her. And when I looked again some hours later to check on her spot, when she still hadn’t returned, I was a bit disappointed. There also was a tinge of relief because then I would no longer have to worry about how she was doing out there anymore in the heat with little protection from any potential invaders.

She reminded me of the time when my first cat used to visit our front yard and moved from front yard window boxes, which are no longer there, to the front yard bushes (closer to the front door), to our front porch and then, after a scary hurricane, into our home.

Even when she first began hanging out in the window boxes, we quickly got used to her being around and looked forward to seeing her. An animal communicator later told me that when she was hanging out in those window boxes, she was scouting around for a house that had no children and no other pets. At the time, she had certainly found the right place.

What Treasures the Little Duck Left Behind

So sweet little Daisy Duck left no eggs behind. Some grey down feathers mark the spot where she sat so earnestly, a happy gift to assure me that indeed she was not a figment of my imagination. The officers who saw her and the man I stopped on the street to show him the precious little duck who came to visit would all attest that she was indeed there.

In addition to the little feathers she left, she also touched some hearts and left behind a message from Spirit for us all: To maneuver through the waters of life with grace and comfort, kind of like the grace and comfort that Noah provided for all his animals.

And she reminded us all to nurture the parts of ourselves that need to feel safe and comfortable – as comfortable as she made herself in her little nest under my rose bush. She also reminded us to be graceful when handling our emotions, as graceful as she was in handling whatever issues she was faced with, whether nesting to bring new life into the world or resting to heal her body.

She reminded us all to drink deeply from the waters of life. And she also reminded me how quickly, suddenly and unexpectedly something new and special can enter your life, offering rich surprises.

And of course, she also reminded me just how fleeting everything is and how quickly it can all just vanish into some hot, steamy summer air. And yet the memory of that very patient and determined duck will linger on in my heart and memory. And now I hope she will live on in your heart and memory too.

I also hope wherever she is that she is doing well and that she continues to be peaceful and patient, determined and strong. I so admired her strength and patience, sitting for endless hours in her solitude, never complaining, and not even uttering a single sound.

May she be blessed with love and light. May she find the nest of her fondest dreams. And may she and her family always sail on very smooth waters. May she only find kindness from those who cross her path.

Perhaps one of my favorite poems by Lucille Clifton, “blessing the boats (at St. Mary’s)," says best what I wish for this little duck that touched my heart:

may the tide
that is entering even now
the lip of our understanding
carry you out
beyond the face of fear
may you kiss
the wind then turn from it
certain that it will
love your back may you
open your eyes to water
water waving forever
and may you in your innocence
sail through this to that

The Beautiful Ducks at Spring Lake

You will know a message is especially important when you feel it not only in your gut, but very deep within your heart and soul. I got that very kind of message the other night when I was visiting one of my very favorite places, a beautiful NJ shore town called Spring Lake.

I love photography and had my camera with me that day. Late in the afternoon, I made a point to stop by one of the lakes to take some photos. The sun was shimmering in the water and swimming in the lake was a beautiful sea of swans.

Sea of gorgeous swans in Spring Lake, NJ. Photo by Donna Poler

I began taking pictures of the swans that were swimming in a line way across from the spot where I was standing. And as I was taking some shots, I noticed that a group of ducks, seemingly coming out of nowhere, suddenly appeared out in the middle of the lake.

Five ducks appear suddenly on the lake. Photo by Donna Poler

And unlike the swans that never drew near to where I was, the ducks seemed to be heading right to where I was standing. I could literally feel them wanting to come toward me as though they were bringing yet another message from Spirit and one from themselves as well.

The ducks come right toward me in silence and serenity. Photo by Donna Poler

I had no food and they did not seem interested at all in being fed. When they got very close to where I was standing, this family of five, they just looked at me and seemed to be offering me their silent and very quiet gratitude, as though they knew of my encounter with and concern for the well-being of their feathered friend.

And then they felt so comfortable that they just began grooming themselves. I was very moved by this beautiful family of ducks and ducklings. Was it another coincidence that in this lake of elegant swans, a single family of ducks came gliding along to be by my side? Again, I don’t think so. It was another beautiful message of thanks from Spirit. I also took it as a message that wherever my little duck was, she was okay.

Two of the very relaxed ducks begin grooming themselves. Photo by Donna Poler

So I ask you again, “How does Spirit talk to you”? And I also ask, “Do you allow your imagination and heart and your intuition to let Spirit’s messages through”? And if you do let them through, how well are you listening and paying attention to those extraordinary messages?

May we all stay open and attuned to the messages that Spirit is always bringing us, however large or small or fast and fleeting those messages may be.

Blessings and love,

Donna

Donna Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

Jun 28, 2010 12:25:15 PM

06/18/2010

A Weekend of Heartwarming Stories at the Super Pet Adoption Event in Livingston, NJ: My experiences as a volunteer offering Tellington TTouch® and Reiki to Animals

I have been out of blog touch for awhile and have so MANY things to share. Since I’ve last posted, I’ve attended an acupressure class for companion animals, taken a Journey Intensive weekend workshop and organized and assisted at a Tellington TTouch training in NJ. I promise to tell you more about those interesting events in future posts.

Super Pet Adoption Event in Livingston, NJ

For this one, I want to share with you what an amazing and gratifying weekend I had volunteering my time and expertise at the June 12^th and 13^th Super Pet Adoption Event in Livingston, NJ, which was billed as the largest pet adoption event in the history of the tri-state area.

Kudos and great praise go to Best Friends Animal Society, the host of the event, and the 45 or so regional shelter and rescue organizations that attended. Many of the rescue people drove long distances and worked exhausting hours to try to find forever homes for their animals. There were estimated to be over 700 animals at the event.

Cats had their own area under one big tent and dogs were spread out over several larger tents. The organizers had good-sized kennels with enough space for the dogs to move around comfortably. The respective adoptive groups each had a table around the circumference of the area where the kennels were situated. I saw my local township’s shelter group, Second Chance for Animals (SCFA), from the Franklin Township Animal Shelter, represented under the cat tent.

My friend Thorne Delaney, a Northern NJ Tellington TTouch® practitioner who is involved in rescue work, invited me to attend the event and volunteer my Tellington TTouch® services to help animals feel less stressed in the hubbub of a strange and new environment. I had never participated in this kind of event and didn’t know quite what to expect.

On Saturday, when I arrived in the afternoon, I didn’t realize just how big an event it would be. An outdoor space across from the Livingston Mall’s Barnes and Noble book store was where it took place. The event had a great energy with so many wonderful volunteers tending to dogs and hundreds of hopeful visitors scanning cage after cage and kennel after kennel, seeking the cats and dogs of their dreams.

It was almost like a kind of carnival atmosphere, with a center ring where an announcer was featuring a series of dogs to adopt, explaining their backgrounds and parading them onstage for the public to view and assess.

When I first got there, I felt a little lost myself with so much going on, loud noises of PA systems blaring, in the heat of the afternoon with so many volunteers and people rushing around. After hooking up with Thorne, I realized that I was to become a roving volunteer and seek out where I might best do some good. I just had to be in the moment and stay flexible.

Thorne Delaney does some TTouch® work with two dogs at the event. Photo by Donna Poler

Angel Dog Rescue from Georgia – What a Heavenly Team!

Thorne first introduced me to a group of dogs from the Angel Dog Rescue Group in Georgia (http://www.angeldogrescue.com). With my strong connection to the angelic realm, it makes perfect sense that of all the rescue groups there that somehow Thorne and I would connect deepest with that group and their wonderful dogs.

Four extraordinary women, Susan Hayley, the Director, and her three co-workers, Karyl Wiegand, Carolyn and Edna, drove many long hours up from Georgia with their pack of hopeful dogs. Thorne and I asked what dogs might need some calming Tellington TTouch® body work. Susan pointed to a cage with a small beautiful black dog and a larger handsome and athletic brown dog with some adorable freckles on its muzzle. Thorne opted for the black dog and I took Duke, the brown dog.

Angel Dog Rescue Director Susan Hayley with an affectionate dog on the left and Missy on the right, who attended the Super Adoption Event.

Karyl Wiegand of Angel Dog Rescue, Inc. Photo by Donna Poler

After Susan took the VERY strong Duke for a brief walk to work off some of his energy, a short while later, under the shade of the Angel Dog Rescue tent, I began to do some TTouch® work on Duke who had a sweet and lovely disposition.

A young dog, he very easily let me do a number of relaxing touches all over his body, including some mouth work that has a particularly positive effect on behavior and emotion. Touch-by-touch, the tension started to leave his body, his breathing got easier and he was gently panting as I worked to further calm and relax him. Susan came back to find a much calmer dog.

Bridget and Oreo - A Fabulous Match

I walked around and met so many wonderful people and volunteers, all with such big hearts. I met a couple who brought their gorgeous Golden Retriever to the event. Together the family was helping their daughter Bridget pick out her very own dog.

She selected a dog named Baldo, who has since been appropriately re-named Oreo. He was a dog who was found roaming the streets of Puerto Rico. Bridget’s mom, Jen, wanted to gift her daughter with this new dog and is hoping that it will all work out. Seeing the two of them together and seeing the light in both their eyes, it seemed that everything indeed would work out just fine. Just check out the picture of them below. Don’t they seem like they were made for each other?

Bridget and Oreo - Perfect Together Photo by Donna Poler

When I walked back to the Angel Dog Rescue area, I was in time to see a mother and son, probably in his early teens, interested in adopting my boy Duke (I felt as though he was my boy for that afternoon). The mother was a little concerned about how Duke would react with a cat. No problem. Susan called over a dog trainer who took the trio to an area where Duke could be tested to see how he would react to a cat.

They returned shortly after to fill out adoption papers. I was so happy for Duke and for his new family to get such a sweet honey of a dog. And the handsome black dog that Thorne worked on – he was adopted too!

The professionalism of the event was so admirable. The event organizers not only had plenty of volunteers and dog trainers to answer questions, but they also had a veterinarian on hand as well. She was called over when a couple with a young baby was interested in adopting another one of the Angel Dog rescue dogs, a handsome Pointer named Baxter, who had a slight limp. She assessed Baxter as having some arthritis in his elbow. The husband seemed to really like Baxter, but I don’t think that connection ultimately worked out.

A picture of oh so sweet Baxter back home in Georgia.

I also got to work on a lovely hound mix named Tina from the Purrs N Pups Animal Rescue Team, Inc., who loved TTouch® and calmed down considerably shortly after I began working with her. I was also able to teach one of the volunteers from the organization some calming touches. Here is the link for this rescue group: http://www.purrsnpups.org/.

Isn't Tina, who is with Purrs N Pups Animal Rescue Group, adorable?

When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, I did some TTouch® work on a beautiful puppy named Antoinette who had just arrived a few hours earlier from the South. She was also part of the Purrs N Pups Animal Rescue Team. A beautiful black and white Pit Bull mix, she was awaiting the arrival of her new family. Her brother is also up for adoption for anyone who might be interested. She was very sweet and enjoyed the TTouch® work.

A Surprise Adoption!

Back at the Angel Dog Rescue Group table, I saw Thorne doing some writing. When I asked what she was doing, she casually said, “Filling out some adoption papers.” I asked who she was adopting and learned that Thorne, with her very big heart, was adopting one of the two blind dogs who were part of the Angel Dog Rescue group.

A beautiful boy, his name is Mikey. She brought tears to my eyes at the generosity of her spirit. She has two special needs dogs and recently lost one of her dogs, her beloved Frankie. Having already been guardian to a blind dog in the past, Thorne is the perfect guardian for Mikey. I’m sure he will be offering as much love right back to Thorne and her family of dogs and cats (and a horse too!). What a beautiful blessing for them all.

Mikey has a new loving home with Thorne and her family of dogs.

TTouch® to the Rescue on a Stormy Day

The overcast sky kept the area cooler for part of the day. But eventually the rains did come and Sunday turned into a very wet and stormy day. Thorne and I found ourselves in several kennel cages, helping to calm some dogs who were very fearful of thunder and probably sensitive to barometric pressure shifts. Luckily I brought a TTouch® wrap to help dogs who are stressed feel much calmer.

The TTouch® wrap, which consists of ordinary non-adhesive ace bandages that you can buy at your local pharmacy, works wonders on calming the nervous system. It brings awareness to the body and the sensation of the wrap on the body, almost like getting a gentle hug, helps both animals and people calm down and feel better. (If you want to learn more about the very positive effects that TTouch® wraps have on animals, please feel free to e-mail me at Donna@DonnaPoler.com and I'll send you some information on it.)

I use a TTouch® wrap on my dog Socrates almost every day. The wrap always calms him. A few years ago, he was even lying comfortably on my bathroom floor in his wrap, sleeping peacefully, while we were waiting out a tornado watch.

Socrates models his TTouch® wrap. Photo by Donna Poler

I started working with Missy (http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/11619913), an adorable eight-year-old Terrier mix, who was very nervous. The wrap and my TTouch® work really helped to calm her.

Missy, a Terrier mix, stays close by me, Anna and Patch during the storm. I had to leave her kennel to work with Anna who was even more frightened. Photo by Donna Poler

While working on her, I noticed an emotional meltdown happening in the next kennel, as Anna (http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/13671975), a beautiful and very scared Pointer mix, was in fear mode and shaking throughout her body. She was in a cage with the very handsome Patch (http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/13673028), who seemed to be handling the storm a lot better than Anna.

Anna, above, was very fearful of the thunderstorm and Patch, below, begins to relax after some Tellington TTouch® work. Photos by Donna Poler

I went from Missy’s kennel to Anna and Patch’s adjoining kennel. I put a wrap on Anna and she went into the safety of her crate that her very caring rescue person, Karyl, had brought over for her. So Anna, Patch and I were all huddled together at the back corner of the kennel as I did some TTouch® body work on both of them. Missy also joined us, putting her back right up to fence (see picture above), just inches away from us. I offered her some reassurance through the kennel fence too.

Patch curled up in a beautiful relaxed ball of fur. Anna became more relaxed with the wrap and the TTouch® and Reiki work, but was still very tense about the storm. And the rain poured down harder, making an even more intense noise on the roof of the tent. Thorne was working to help calm some other dogs.

Karyl Wiegand of Angel Dog Rescue, Inc., works with Freckles during the thunderstorm. Photo by Donna Poler

Anna and Patch Calm Down

Somewhere during the course of events, Anna came out of her crate and Patch managed to climb in. Karyl told me that Patch is also fearful and that the two of them often huddle and cuddle together in the Vari-kennel crate.

It actually was a good thing that Anna came out because then I was able to work on her whole body. When I tried to call her to come closer to me, and clapped my hands very gently, I saw that she flinched. It seemed likely that human hands in her past had served to hurt her rather than help her. I was very careful not to alarm her in any way after that by any sudden movements with my hands.

After a time, Anna really began to calm down. And what I began to see as she slowly transformed was a dog who at first was too scared to face whatever was happening (the storm, thunder and general commotion of events) to a dog who was standing in balance on all fours taking in the scene of what was going on around her. It was very gratifying.

Anna feels much better after some TTouches and after wearing her TTouch® wrap. Photo by Donna Poler

I was humbled by the extraordinary efforts of all involved, including Tammy Habeer who organized all the volunteers, and all the dedicated rescue workers taking such awesome care of their animals, being so devoted to their well being and to finding the right homes for them.

Carolyn and Freckles, an English Setter Mix, of the Angel Dog Rescue Group. Photo by Donna Poler

Luke, of the Angel Dog Rescue Group, chills out at the event. Photo by Donna Poler

I spoke to Melissa Tiska of ARF, Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (http://www.arfhamptons.org), as she was walking a magnificent Bloodhound who had been surrendered to their facility in Wainscott, NY. Melissa and the other team members of ARF had traveled all the way from the Eastern end of Long Island to be there to help their animals.

Gratitude

For me, the event evoked so much gratitude. I was so grateful to meet so many wonderful people and dogs; grateful to Thorne for inviting me and for her special adoption; grateful for the wonderful women of the Angel Dog Rescue group and their amazing hearts; grateful for the beauty and courage of all the animals waiting for their forever homes; grateful to all the wonderful people and families, many who traveled great distances to seek out their next best friends.

I was also grateful to Best Friends for putting together such a wonderful event and for all the groups, shelters and organizations who participated. I was grateful to the many volunteers who worked so hard to make it a memorable and successful event.

And I was grateful that I could be a part of it and bring the beauty and gentle kindness of TTouch® and Reiki work to the event. And I was so grateful to have worked with such wonderful animals who were so gracious and accepting of my help and the affection and help of so many others. For more information on the benefits of Tellington TTouch®, go to http://www.ttouch.com and to learn more about the benefits of Reiki, go to http://www.reiki.org.

You can go to the Best Friends event page to see the list of shelters and rescue groups who participated (http://www.bestfriends.org/events/nysuper_adopt.htm). I would also encourage everyone to check out the Angel Dog Rescue Group’s website (http://www.angeldogrescue.com) and their listing on PetFinder to see if any of their dogs look like they might be your next best friends (http://www.angeldogrescue.com/available-pets).

With love and light and prayers for adoptions for all the animals who attended the event and all those in shelters everywhere waiting for their forever homes,

Donna

Donna Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

Jun 18, 2010 11:02:57 AM

04/04/2010

Are You Living Your Life with Passion and Purpose? Do You Know What You Were Born to Do? If Not, What Happens to Your Spirit and Soul?

Passion and purpose – those are two things that most of us would like to have in our lives. Both get to the heart of why we even decided to incarnate here. We all came here with a purpose – a purpose that lies deep in our hearts and souls. Many spiritual teachers believe that our purpose was divinely encoded into us, into the very essence of who we are. But what happens along the way as “life” unfolds may cloud or eclipse who we are, why we have incarnated and what those passions are.

We come here knowing who we are, what our strengths and talents are and the activities and endeavors that quite literally make our hearts sing. And they are probably the same passions that gripped us very early on – the very things that our parents, teachers and friends told us we were so good at. We just had a certain knack. Those passions were reflected in our choices of how we spent our time and also had a distinct impact on our grades and choices for extracurricular activities.

Knowing and Nurturing Your Gifts Early in Life

Often, when actors talk about their childhoods, they sometimes say they were the children of actors and that acting has just been a big part of their lives and who they are. For those actors who didn’t have parents in the business, they can show videos of themselves acting, singing and dancing early on. You see those kinds of videos on American Idol, when some of the singers show that they were practically singing before they could even talk. Or you see the very small child with a microphone belting out a tune.

Or in the recent Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, there were often tapes of athletes on their skates or sleds at a very young age. I’m sure Sean White had some kind of board that he was playing around with when he was very young. It just is who they are. They are among the lucky ones who knew what their passions were early on and had parents or coaches who nurtured and supported their gifts.

Then, of course, there are the parents who seem to dictate what a child’s passion and purpose is like Venus and Serena Williams’ father, Andre Agassi’s father and Tiger Woods’ father, among many other parents driven to coach, manage and direct their children to succeed in a specific area.

The television show “60 Minutes” recently profiled the winning set of mirror-image twins, Mike and Bob Bryan, who are currently at the top of their game in tennis competing together in doubles tournaments. It was their father who orchestrated it all from a very early age and he drove them very hard to succeed. It was his dream for them to succeed wildly in the sport and now it is their dream too.

It is interesting how so many of these child prodigies, whether they really liked tennis or golf, had those sports eventually become their passion – even Andre Agassi. As adults they chose it. The truth is that you probably can’t really excel at something – at least not for the long haul -- if you don’t love to do it regardless of whether you chose it or it was chosen for you. Either way, it seems to have been part of a Divine plan for lessons to be learned and talents and passions to be honored, nurtured and shared.

How Do You Know What Your Passion and Purpose Is in Life?

We all have some things that we are really good at and some that we just love to do. You can tell when something is your passion when you always find the time to do it, and when you do, you don’t notice the time passing by. In fact, you’re amazed that so much time has passed.

Early on, I loved to read and teach. My mother tells me I was teaching children to read back when I was only four years old and in nursery school. And being a Leo, I always had a love of drama and the performing arts. I can recall writing and putting on skits back in my third grade class. And throughout my life, I took many acting classes and always felt as though I had come home in each class that I attended. It never felt like work, but always like great fun.

Throughout my school years, I always excelled in English. It was a High School English teacher who first took a serious interest in my talent and nurtured it. In college, I began my studies with a major in Speech and Theater, but fairly early on, at the encouragement of some professors, I shifted to become an English major. It was clear that writing and teaching were where Spirit was directing me back then. Later in my life, it became clear that working with animals, doing healing work with people and their pets and becoming a spiritual teacher were all part of my purpose.

I recall once in a talk that he gave, noted author and inspirational speaker Dr. Bernie Siegel told a story about how he was working on a painting and the doctor’s office called to ask if his wife was there. He told them she wasn't in and to call back a few hours later. When the phone rang again, he was miffed because the office was calling again so soon. He noted that he told her to call much later. The receptionist said that her previous call had been five hours before. He just hadn’t realized that so much time had passed because he was lost in his art and passion -- just the way that time has passed for me as I have been engaged in writing this post.

Sometimes you don’t have to earn a living through your passion and purpose. For some, certain activities are just a way to express who they are and they can be a way to spread joy and healing. For some, their passions that are hobbies can eventually turn into a way of making a living. That has happened for so many people, especially in these times of downsizing and economic stress. Some people who were let go from their jobs finally had time to do what they enjoyed most, and like magic, new businesses were born and new products and services were created.

To Dream “The Impossible Dream”

My friend Karen Arbel from Israel has a passion for singing and belongs to two choirs. It makes her heart sing to be part of those choirs that uplift the hearts of audiences who hear these groups perform. To hear her and her choir sing “The Impossible Dream,” go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qZEgpqmy1w.

My friends Kathy and Elaine love to volunteer their time doing rescue work for dogs, Kathy, in NJ, for her Cardigan Corgi rescue group and Elaine, in TX, for the Norcal Boxer rescue group. Helping dogs makes their hearts sing.

Kathy recently began fostering a do named Kipper, who is a Cardigan Corgi and Terrier mix. As it turns out, her good deeds have paid off not only for Kipper, but for her entire family. I was so delighted for Kathy who fought so hard to get Kipper into a good home and even took a long drive to get him when his last home didn't work out. And four homes later it was her own home that he was meant to go to after all. It seems that Kipper finally found his true purpose in life (after visiting temporarily with four different families) – and that is to be with Kathy and her family. :-)

Meet Kipper -- the newest member of the Hall family.

To see a video of Kipper and his Cardigan Corgi brother Quincy playing together, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX24JlZWG7k.

Animals Also Come Encoded with their Divine Passions and Purposes

Our companion animals also come encoded with some very important passions and purposes. Most of them come to help teach us lessons and to help us heal. They also come to show us extraordinary levels of love and acceptance. My two cats who have crossed and my dog Socrates have each imparted very special gifts to me and the three of them will live in my heart forever. They all have been great teachers and friends.

Some dogs come with extra special passions and purposes. Ricochet Fridono is that special kind of dog. She has been featured in the news and on You Tube.

As a puppy, Ricochet, now an almost two-year-old Golden Retriever, was trained to be a service dog and was quite good at it. There are some videos on You Tube showing her talents of opening doors and refrigerators and turning lights on and off, among other services she so ably performed. Her guardian Judy Fridono worked hard to help Ricochet become the best service dog she could be. And Ricochet seemed to enjoy it and succeed admirably at all she learned.

But Judy, who lives in Escondido, CA, was soon to find out that it really wasn’t Ricochet’s true purpose. She learned that whenever Ricochet met a squirrel or bird that she just couldn’t resist chasing the animal no matter how hard Judy tried to let Ricochet know that it wasn’t acceptable behavior for a service dog.

So, as they say in the world of Tellington TTouch®, Judy met Ricochet just "where she was" and didn't try to push her to be something she wasn't meant to be. Judy honored Ricochet for who she is and what her "encoded" strengths are. In doing so, she allowed Ricochet to blossom into who she was truly meant to be and who she was meant to inspire and help.

Judy had an ingenious alternative plan. She began seeing how Ricochet liked being on a surf board and started out training her in a little back yard pool. Ricochet certainly rose to the occasion and performed beautifully on the board, shifting easily from a service dog to a “surfice” dog. Judy had found a new area of expertise for Ricochet that made both of them happy. She took the next steps to see where Ricochet could be of “surfice” and she quickly got some clear answers.

In a divinely orchestrated plan, the Universe stepped in to connect Ricochet with the boy she was meant to help. Together, Judy and Ricochet began raising money for Patrick Ivison, a 15-year-old who was run over by a car when he was only a year old.

They exceeded their financial goals when Ricochet competed in the inaugural Surf City Surf Dog Contest in Huntington Beach, CA, coming in second in the large dog finals, bringing her summer surfing and fundraising total in 2009 to more than $8,200.

Ricochet surfs with quadriplegic teen Patrick Ivison - Copyright (c) Diane Edmonds

Together Judy and Ricochet are achieving more than would have been possible or imaginable had Ricochet been pushed into something that she was never meant to be or had she not been allowed other creative outlets for her amazing abilities.

It's so wonderful when beings, human or animal, are honored for who they truly are and their gifts are allowed to flourish. Her passion and the fun she has surfing have become her very important purpose.

Here is the link where you can watch a video about Ricochet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGODurRfVv4. If you have time, also check out the You Tube video interview with Judy that appears right after the poignant video of Ricochet.

And here is a link to read a heartwarming Associated Press story about her work with Patrick: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=206490.

Ricochet has become a true inspiration to so many and she and Judy will continue to help other children like Patrick. How wonderful that the funds they raised helped Patrick get his own service dog named Kona who is a Golden Labrador Retriever.

What Happens When You Don't Live Your Life's Passion?

Isobel Teaches Us All About Passion and Purpose

What happens when you are not following your passion and purpose? How does that affect you and your life? According to Anita Pathik Law, minister, healer, shaman, coach, hypnotherapist and lyricist (http://www.powerofmyway.com), you eventually get sick or depressed when you are not fulfilling your “encoded” purpose for being here or when you are not given the opportunity to do the work you love or if you don't find creative outlets to express your passions and purpose.

That’s what happened to the Sled Dog Isobel who was written about in newspapers and featured in a special segment on NBC during the Winter Olympics in Van Couver, Canada.

Here is what CBC News in Manitoba, wrote about Isobel and her amazing story:

Isobel, a nine-year-old husky cross, lost her sight five years ago, but not her spirit. Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press

“The nine-year-old Siberian husky-malamute cross is set to retire in January. What makes her well-deserved rest remarkable is that she has been running for the past five years completely blind. ‘She lost her vision but not her spirit,’ said owner Gerald Azure. Everything seemed fine with Isobel until one day five years ago, when she staggered to a halt in the middle of a sled run.

“Veterinarians in Winnipeg told Azure and his wife, Jenafor Ollander, that Isobel's retinas had detached, possibly the result of a virus. The doctors said Isobel would not be able to work as a sled dog any longer. Back in Churchill, Ollander kept Isobel indoors, figuring she would be happier and safer there. Instead, Isobel went into a funk. She stopped eating and drinking.

Isobel, front left, runs lead on a sled near Churchill, Man., in 2007. Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press

“When Ollander and Azure brought one of Isobel's former sled mates home, she perked right up. ‘She was depressed and missed her pack,’ Ollander said. Azure said the couple was reluctant to put a blind dog back on the team, but Isobel responded with enthusiasm.

" ‘The first couple of steps she stumbled a little bit, and after that it was straight on down the trail and she never looked back,’ Azure said. Isobel's mood and appetite also picked up again. ‘Since that day, she has been running as well as she ever did before losing her sight,’ Azure said, noting that Isobel relies on the other dogs, human vocal commands, and her other senses to avoid obstacles.

“She has often been put up front with another dog for races and has helped beat other dog teams in head-to-head competitions. ‘She's pretty much blind to the whole situation — she doesn't know she's blind anymore,’ said Ollander.”

When Isobel was living her purpose and her passions, all her handicaps fell away. When she was racing with her pack and in her "zone," she was a very happy girl. To read more about Isobel, you can go to: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/11/25/mb-sled-dog-isobel-churchill-manitoba.html.

How Do You Find Your Passion and Purpose?

For a good part of my life, I was searching to find what my passion and purpose in life was. Writing and teaching have always been a part of it. When I began doing my healing and spiritual work, along with the work I do with animals, I felt I had found my special passion and purpose. It all came in its own Divine timing, as each of our destinies is unfolding day-by-day, and as Spirit is always guiding us to where we are supposed to go, what we are supposed to be doing and who we are supposed to be doing it with. We just need to stay open to those messages and intuitions.

I thank my dog Socrates, who has taught me so much. I also feel blessed to have Reiki and Tellington TTouch® in my life, as well as my intuitive skills and gifts that serve me in both my animal communication and oracle card reading work.

Socrates and St. Francis

For those of you searching for your true passion and purpose, pay attention to what you love to do and then try to do more of it. There are many authors who can serve as guides, such as Rick Jarow, Barbara Sher, Sonia Choquette, Julia Cameron, SARK, and Martha Beck.

For those who are renaissance souls and have too many interests, you can go to Margaret Lobenstine’s website for some guidance and information, www.renaissancesouls.com. And for those of you who may be experiencing a kind of mid-life crisis or feel that you haven't yet bloomed into who you were meant to be, you can check out the website of my friend and colleague, Tomar Levine, at http://www.yourtimetobloom.com. Meditation and prayer, of course, can also help with finding answers and so much more.

Awakening to Purpose Class - Going Deep Within

And for others, there is a wonderful class that just started and that it is still not too late to register for called Awakening to Purpose, taught by my friend and spiritual teacher, Anita Pathik Law. Anita brings a wealth of wisdom to the process of uncovering your Divine purpose.

Rev. Anita Pathik Law

A great group from around the world has already registered for this class and participated in the first introductory call. It's still not too late to join and jump right in. Come join us for discovery and fun. In a safe place, you can trust to go deep within to find out what your Divine encoded purpose is for you at this time in your life.

I am taking the class to explore my purpose on a deeper level. I plan to be teaching this class or a class similar to it in the future. Helping others find their passion and purpose in life is also another one of my passions. For more information on this class and how to register for it, go to http://www.awakeningtopurpose.com.

If you take the time to listen to Karen and her choir sing their beautiful song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qZEgpqmy1w, think about your own passion and purpose. In that song, Don Quixote knew his purpose. Perhaps right now your dream and life's purpose may seem like an “impossible dream” to uncover and truly live.

But remember that you have so many ways to begin awakening your dreams and to start following your intuitions that have been nudging you back to do some things that make your heart sing. It could be singing, dancing, drawing, writing, painting, exercising, doing yoga or working with children. Or it could be hiking or helping to build homes for the needy or working with non-profit organizations and people in need or volunteering your time to a cause you love. Or maybe it's to take a trip around the world or write that memoir that you've always wanted to do.

To help you on your journey, you can also choose to join Anita, me and others in our international classroom of discovery. Just go to http://www.awakeningtopurpose.com for more information.

I hope you are honoring your strengths and who you really are. And if you have pets, I hope you are honoring them in ways that truly respect who they are.

May all your wonderful strengths lead you to your passion and purpose in life. Don’t let others push you into being something that you were not meant to be. Just think about Ricochet and her life story.

And let your body and heart serve as a barometer for revealing how well aligned you are with your passion and purpose. Just remember Isobel's inspiring story. And then may your passion and purpose ultimately serve not only you, but others in the world, spreading lots of healing, love, light and joy.

Blessings and love,

Donna

Donna Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

Apr 4, 2010 6:14:30 PM

03/18/2010

The Ho ‘Opononpono Self-I-dentity Philosophy of Healing and the Subconscious: Freedom from the Past and Petitioning the Divine to “Make it Right”

In an interview I recently did on Catherine VanWetter's "Inspirations of the Heart Radio" blogtalkradio show, I began by talking about forgiveness because that was what I had been guided to do. I had been getting many messages about love and forgiveness, coming from many different directions. It seems that so much transformation and growth comes from it – from not only forgiving others, but also from forgiving yourself.

A friend recently sent me information on an upcoming seminar in Philadelphia on the Ho ‘oponopono Self I-dentity philosophy and method of healing. It is a philosophy I admire and find very intriguing. And at the heart of it is also love and forgiveness.

It was first created by Kahuna Lapa'au Morrnah Nalamaku Simeona, who has since passed and was designated a Living Treasure of Hawaii in 1983. She taught Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len her special healing philosophy and technique.

I first learned about this amazing method of healing through an e-mail written by Joe Vitale, entrepreneur, internet marketing guru, featured speaker in The Secret, and writer and author. Following that fateful e-mail, he later wrote a wonderful book about Dr. Hew Len and Ho ‘oponopono called Zero Limits, which is one of my favorite books.

Dr. Hew Len, who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Iowa, has been practicing the updated Ho' oponopono method of healing since November 1982. A former staff psychologist in the forensic unit for the criminally mentally ill at Hawaii State Hospital for several years, he has taught the Ho'oponopono philosophy of healing around the world and at the United Nations several times.

Emotions, Memories, Stress and the Subconscious

When journalist Deborah King interviewed both Morrnah and Dr. Hew Len while Morrnah was still alive, Morrnah told her that Ho ‘oponopono means “to make something right.” When asked how the system of healing works, Morrnah explained: "We are the sum total of our experiences, which is to say that we are burdened by our pasts. When we experience stress or fear in our lives, if we would look carefully, we would find that the cause is actually a memory. It is the emotions which are tied to these memories which affect us now. The subconscious associates an action or person in the present with something that happened in the past. When this occurs, emotions are activated and stress is produced."

I was struck again at how much the subconscious and our past can block the way for future progress in our lives. It is as though we are being mechanically run by unseen computers that have so much control over our thoughts and actions as old thoughts and patterns keep dictating our choices. Most of us are not even aware of the dramatic power that the subconscious and old memories have over our lives.

Morrnah continues, "The main purpose of this process is to discover the Divinity within oneself. The Ho'oponopono is a profound gift which allows one to develop a working relationship with the Divinity within and learn to ask that in each moment, our errors in thought, word, deed or action be cleansed. The process is essentially about freedom, complete freedom from the past." She is also talking about freedom from negative and old outdated subconscious thoughts.

Morrnah believed that “every memory of every experience, since the first moment of our creation, eons ago, is recorded as a thought form which is stored in the etheric realm.” She explained to King that “this incredible recorder/computer is also known as the subconscious, unihipili or child aspect within us. The inner child is very real and comprises one part of the Self.

“The other aspects are the mother, also known as the uhane or rational mind and the father, the superconscious or Spiritual aspect. The three comprise the inner family, which, in partnership with The Divine Creator, makes up one's Self I-Dentity. Every human being in creation, every plant, atom and molecule has these three selves and yet each blueprint is completely different.”

Look Within To Find Answers and Clear Out Old, Non-serving Thoughts, Beliefs and Memories

Mornnah and Dr. Hew Len explain: “If you are experiencing upset or imbalance, the place to look is inside yourself, not outside at the object you perceive as causing your problem. Every stress, imbalance or illness can be corrected just by working on yourself.” There are special methods in Ho ‘oponopono for clearing old thoughts and memories within the subconscious through love, forgiveness and praying to the Divine Creator for help and forgiveness.

Here is one of Morrnah’s Prayers for Healing:

Morrnah’s Prayer for Healing

“Divine Creator, Father, Mother, Son as One… If I, my family, relatives and ancestors have offended You, Your family, relatives and loved ones in thoughts, words, deeds and actions from the beginning of our creation to the present, we ask for Your forgiveness. Let this cleanse, purify, release and cut off all the negative memories, blocks, energies and vibrations, and transmute these unwanted energies into pure light. And it is done.”

I am again reminded how important it is to pay attention to our subconscious, to explore, excavate and illuminate what is going on there. And then we need to clear and reprogram its content. For many, healing of the subconscious can begin with hypnotic meditations. In Ho ‘oponopono, those engaged in the practice are taught to clear and cleanse their subconscious thoughts through a series of techniques and prayers, praying to the Divine Creator and setting an intention and attitude of love and forgiveness to pave the way for healing to happen.

Author and Internet Marketing Guru Joe Vitale and The Ho ‘oponopono Philosophy of Healing

In his book Zero Limits, Joe Vitale writes about Dr. Hew Len and the Ho ‘oponopono method of healing and clearing. Known for his huge success on the internet and as one of the keynote speakers in the movie The Secret, Vitale has hosted seminars with Dr. Hew Len and uses this method in his own life. Vitale was the one who first brought this method of healing to my attention through his mesmerizing e-mail that went “viral.” In it, he talked about the man who helped an entire ward of criminals in a hospital for the mentally ill heal through prayers for himself without even seeing any of his patients.

Here is how Deborah King describes Dr. Hew Len’s amazing success with inmates: “He has had profound results by using this process with the most dangerous, violently ‘mentally ill’ criminals in Hawaii. Yet he never talks to them. In fact, he never even sees them. He writes down their names and then just works on himself. He cleanses his judgments, beliefs, attitudes and asks the Divinity what he can do for the person. As those attachments and memories are cleansed, the patient improves.”

The philosophy of Ho ‘oponopono that Vitale writes about so eloquently in Zero Limits at its most simple and basic is this: “I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.”

New Twist on Healer-Client Relationship

In an interview with Cat Saunders, Dr. Hew Len also talks about how important it is to work on yourself. Everything comes back to you. He even says that for healers and therapists, when clients and patients come to them, they need to wonder not how they can help the person who is in need of healing, but rather what they have done to cause this person to show up in their life and what they can do to help this person through healing something within themselves. That is certainly a very different twist on typical ways of looking at the healer/therapist – client/patient relationship.

Here is what Dr. Hew Len says about it in that interview: “Manipulation happens when I (as a therapist) come from the idea that you are ill and I am going to work on you. On the other hand, it's not manipulation if I realize that you are coming to me to give me a chance to look at what's going on in me. There's a big difference.

”If therapy is about your belief that you're there to save the other person, heal the other person, or direct the other person, then the information you bring will come out of the intellect, the conscious mind. But the intellect has no real understanding of problems and how to approach them. The intellect is so picayunish is its way of solving problems! It doesn't realize that when a problem is solved by transmutation -- by using Ho'oponopono or related processes -- then the problem and everything related to it is solved, even at microscopic levels and back to the beginning of time.”

So when someone comes to Dr. Hew Len with a problem, here is what he does: “I say to the Divinity: ‘Please, whatever is going on in me that I have caused this pain in [this person], tell me how I can rectify it’.” It all amazingly comes back to him, this most enlightened man, who acknowledges he will indefinitely apply whatever information he has been given, working on himself, until the person’s pain is gone or until the person asks him to stop clearing and working on the issue.

He explains, “It's not so much the effect that is important as the getting to the problem. That's the key.” Getting to the root of the problem is often getting to understand and clear old subconscious patterns and thoughts that have clogged our physical and mental systems for a very long time. Those old thoughts and memories have also created an almost impenetrable barrier that does not allow us to release old memories or to let in some new inspired thoughts.

To learn more about the Ho ‘oponopono method of healing, go to http://www.hooponopono.org. For those interested in attending a weekend class with Dr. Hew Len in Philadelphia at the end of March, you can contact Michelle Raab at michelleraab@verizon.net.

According to Morrnah, Dr. Hew Len, Joe Vitale, Dr. Daniel Amen, Anita Pathik Law and many other enlightened healers, working on repatterning or clearing your subconscious thoughts either through prayer or hypnosis is crucial for getting your life moving back on the right track to become aligned with your conscious desires for health, wealth and success.

Minister and healer Anita Pathik Law is currently offering some of her wonderful hypnotic meditations at a substantial discount in her “12 for 12” program. To learn more about her fabulous offer, please go to www.powerofmyway.com/shareabundance.html. You and your conscious mind will be glad you did. ;-) I think your subconscious will eventually be very happy about the decision as well.

Anita’s melodic voice, divinely inspired meditations and array of subjects from cultivating energy and health to attracting money and abundance will offer you hours of healing for your subconscious and for your soul. Anita, whose passion and life purpose is to build bridges of higher consciousness and understanding, feels such a direct connection to Spirit and it comes through in all her meditations. Her talented husband, Brent Law, a minister, musician and composer, provides accompanying music on her audios and videos. To hear some of Brent’s music, go to http://phoenixrecordingstudio.com.

And before your subconscious talks you out of it, click on Anita’s link, go to www.powerofmyway.com/shareabundance.html, listen to some samples of her meditations and see if you don’t feel more relaxed after listening to just an excerpt of even just one of her meditations. You can also check out her inspirational new You Tube Video, “God Knows the Sound of Your Voice,” at http://powerofourway.blogs.com/power_of_our_way_blog/2010/03/god-knows-the-sound-of-your-voice.html.

Imagine how much more wonderful you will feel if you treat yourself to Anita’s brilliantly inspired set of meditations. Almost every day, I take time to meditate with one of Anita’s recorded meditations. When I do, I feel I am giving my spirit a great gift. And while I am relaxing and connecting with Spirit, I am also working on transforming my subconscious thoughts. I hope you join me in this daily practice.

If you do take Anita up on her great offer and begin listening to her meditations every day, let me know how you like them and whether they are having any effects on you mentally, physically and spiritually. When you begin to transform your subconscious thoughts, you will be happily surprised when you also start to notice other positive transformations showing up in your life.

I love you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. Namaste.

Wishing you love, light, forgiveness and great healing,

Donna

Donna Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

Mar 18, 2010 12:03:18 PM

03/16/2010

Are You Ready to Begin Clearing and Changing Your Powerful Subconscious Thoughts that are Running the Show of Your Conscious Life?

Subconscious Thoughts and Emotions Are Running the Conscious Show of Your Life – How Do You Like What They Are Doing?

Do you think your conscious mind is in control of your thoughts, emotions and actions? If you do, think again.

Have you ever wondered why you really want to do something, but never seem to make time for it? Do you also wonder why you keep gravitating back to the familiar, whether in relationships or other areas of your life, which might not be what is best for you or your spirit? Do you ever feel like your life is not the one your conscious mind had imagined and no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to make the necessary changes to move forward? Does it feel like your life sometimes is stuck in molasses or mud and you are just trying to trudge through it?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then your smug subconscious is probably feeling very gratified that it is doing its job so well of holding you back, keeping you cycling in familiar patterns and doing what it thinks it does best -- protecting you from yourself and from anything else it believes is not in your best interest.

I recently wrote about the extraordinary poet Lucille Clifton who died on February 13, 2010 (see March 3, 2010 blog post - http://donnapoler.typepad.com/blog/2010/03/blessing-the-boats-and-blessing-lucille-clifton-a-great-poet-has-shuffled-off-her-mortal-coil-leaving-behind-he-5.html). Her magnificent voice and spirit left us too soon. I’m sure she still had many songs left to sing, many hearts to touch and many more poems that could have yet graced our world. But, alas, it was her time to go.

Lucille Clifton – Photo from http://www.poets.org

Clifton had been battling illness through a good portion of her life. Through her poetry, we know that she had suffered great abuse and trauma at the hands of her own father and that she had strong guilt and remorse for some of her actions in life. She also suffered great losses in her life, the loss of her husband and two children. Clifton had worlds of emotions and thoughts from her lifetime of experiences to process.

Each one of us has had childhood trials and traumas to some greater or lesser degree. Those experiences go deep into our hearts, minds and souls. Perhaps most importantly, those thoughts and experiences have all been sucked into the vortex of our subconscious that just can’t seem to get enough material to churn around in the depths of our minds. The subconscious is insatiable and loves to take control of our thoughts and patterns of behavior. Our thoughts wind up controlling our actions. And our actions help create the picture or “show” of our lives.

One of the most insidious aspects of the subconscious is that although submerged, it is the unseen power that fuels all your thoughts and actions, that pushes you forward or holds you back. And its great power can act as a centrifugal force, holding you hostage unless you know how to break those often limiting, invisible bonds that have you and your life literally tied up in knots. If you are unable to either clear or change the content of your subconscious and let inspiration in or reprogram it, then you are destined to repeat behaviors and actions over and over again that you probably wish had never manifested in the first place.

Your conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg. What lies beneath – your subconscious – is very powerful. It can also help shipwreck your life if you don’t clear out the old thoughts and memories, and reprogram it to set it on the right course for health and abundance.

While driving your car, you’re not paying attention to what’s happening under the hood, how the oil is or isn’t flowing, how weak or strong your battery is, how clean your air filter is or how well your transmission and engine are doing. Unless you’re someone with expert skills in fixing cars, you let your mechanic take care of all those issues. You just open your car door, put your key in the ignition, put your seatbelt on, put your foot on the brake, click the transmission into drive gear, step on the gas pedal and go.

What's happening under the hood of your car? And what's happening under the hood of your subconscious mind?

When you drive, you are looking ahead at the road and not thinking about what’s going on underneath the hood of your car. You are trusting that all is well – that is until you get a red light on your dashboard or your car breaks down in some way.

It is similar with the way our subconscious operates. Most of the time, we don’t know it’s there, so we don’t even realize that there is something to fix. We think we are in control of our actions and decisions. We don’t even know that we are in need of a tune-up or overhaul to help our lives run more smoothly – that is until we get the same kind of flashing red light that shows up in the way of serious problems or deep unhappiness within our lives that has no easy remedy. The mechanics we then go to are therapists, doctors and healers.

When we are all making decisions and taking action, we believe that our conscious mind has control, because in our conscious state, we are not aware of all the information that our subconscious is continually feeding us. And when your subconscious is flooding you with thoughts, then there is not much room for Divine inspirations and brilliant co-creations to flow through.

If you have ever really wanted to do something, but somehow never made the time or effort to do it, it probably has something to do with what your subconscious mind wants or doesn’t want you to do. If you are stuck in the same patterns year after year despite wanting to make some significant changes, then your subconscious clearly has a strong hold on your thoughts and emotions.

The subconscious, in directing and sometimes dictating your thoughts and actions, believes it is protecting you from your worst nightmares. It also is like a grand computer in the way it reads information very literally.

For instance, it might be protecting you from success, because being successful would be too demanding and take up too much of your time. Or if you succeeded, then you’d have to worry about maintaining that success or topping it. Or success might threaten your relatives and friends, so your subconscious wants you to play it small to make sure you don’t rock any boats or offend anyone. It wants to maintain the status quo and what is familiar – and it thinks it is for your own good.

If your subconscious gets its way, then it will be very hard to make any strides and move forward in your life to places that your conscious mind would like to go. And if your subconscious mind, which sometimes holds your body hostage too, is playing some old negative tapes, memories and emotions relentlessly, then it is also contributing to the illness of both your body and mind. That illness will manifest in a variety of chronic diseases and mentally you might be grappling with depression or other forms of mental illness.

Deep Emotions Held in the Subconscious Mind and in the Body - Illness Made Manifest

Through her strong poetic voice, Clifton purged deep emotions and long-stored feelings. In some ways, the truth helped set her free. She shone a stark, bright light on many dark hidden secrets in her life. And in doing so, she helped others.

However, because she suffered through illnesses like cancer and kidney disease, I can’t help but wonder if she was still holding on to some deep anger and resentment in her body and within her subconscious mind that she had not really been able to fully process and come to terms with. Perhaps after all those years of introspection, she still had not worked deeply enough on forgiveness. She might not have learned how to release or to reprogram some of her old subconscious thoughts and emotions, creating some healthier ways of thinking and being.

Perhaps, despite her great gifts and poetic achievements, the subconscious tapes that swirled around within her brilliant mind may have been playing some very unpleasant tunes about difficult remembrances of times past and the messages that were fed to her about herself very early on. And then there were the unspeakable violations of her body and soul by trusted parents, one committing the deeds and the other incapable of stopping them.

Louise Hay and others note the strong connection between thoughts and emotions that keep going round in the mind and the illnesses that eventually manifest if old thoughts and subconscious tapes cannot be cleared and released to make a welcome space for some new, more positive ways of thinking. Your thoughts, especially subconscious ones, become your destiny.

In her book, You Can Heal Your Life, Hay has a listing of the corresponding physical and emotional connections between illnesses and the thoughts that may have helped create them. For cancer, she says the feelings that help create it are “Deep hurt. Longstanding resentment. Deep secret or grief eating away at the self. Carrying hatreds. “What’s the use?” The affirmation she recommends is “I lovingly forgive and release all of the past. I choose to fill my world with joy. I love and approve of myself.”

For kidney disease, Hay notes the emotional issues are “Criticism, disappointment, failure. Shame. Reacting like a child.” The affirmation for kidney disease is “Divine right action is always taking place in my life. Only good comes from each experience. It is safe to grow up.”

A Way to Clear Old Thought Patterns and Reprogram Your Subconscious for Renewed Health, Wealth and Abundance

When my spiritual teacher and friend, Anita Pathik Law, www.powerofmyway.com, first became a coach, she noticed that her clients were having a difficult time shifting to more positive ways of thinking and acting. She knew she had to find a way to loosen the tight hold that the subconscious had over her clients’ lives.

Anita Pathik Law, Minister, Theta and Shamanic Healer, Hypnotherapist, Coach, Blogtalkradio Host, Teacher and Co-Founder of The Power of Our Way community

In addition to being a minister, healer, and teacher, she also became certified as a hypnotherapist. Through her various guided hypnotic meditations, Anita uses her beautiful voice and deep spiritual wisdom to help people heal and shift into new ways of thinking to improve their health, enabling them to open new doors for all manner of abundance in their lives.

When Anita speaks either as a guest, host or seminar leader, or when she is teaching one of her teleseminars or classes, she will sometimes address the lack of progress reported by people who do affirmations or for those who follow the advice of The Secret and “The Law of Attraction,” who achieve no positive results. The Secret, she maintains, leaves out a number of important variables, such as Divine Timing, Divine Order, and Soul Contracts, among other Divine laws.

Anita also maintains that The Secret completely ignores the deep hold that old subconscious tapes have on a person’s thoughts and life. So even if someone consciously wants to move forward and release old negative patterns, often they are unknowingly held hostage by old subconscious thoughts and patterns that have had a stranglehold on their minds and lives for years.

Dr. Daniel Amen Uses Hypnosis to Help Shift the Subconscious to Facilitate Positive Changes in Health and Diet

I was recently listening to Dr. Daniel Amen on PBS. He is the author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and his latest book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body. He was discussing ways to help people change their eating habits and become healthier. He spoke about something he calls “ANTS” or automatic negative thoughts. They infiltrate thoughts regularly. Dr. Amen noted how most of them are just not true.

Dr. Amen recognizes that telling people what they need to do to become healthier and the habits they need to shift can’t be realized just at the conscious level. That’s why he includes in his program hypnotic tapes specifically geared to address thoughts at the subconscious level. To learn more about Dr. Amen, his books and his program, go to http://www.amenclinics.com.

Hypnotic Meditations for Reprogramming the Subconscious and Providing a Gateway Connection to the Divine

Through her hypnotic meditations, Anita Pathik Law also works on clearing her clients’ and listeners’ old subconscious programs, thoughts and emotions. Her meditations are deeply soothing and many of her clients have reported significant breakthroughs in their health after using them, especially her “Cultivating Energy” daytime meditation. Within her meditations, Anita, a gifted healer, brings through many special healing energies and what for many feels like a distinct connection and channel to the Divine.

Anita Pathik Law, minister, healer and teacher in her sacred space.

I have been a student and client of Anita’s for over a year and have been using her amazing meditations since I enrolled in my first class with her. Having listened to an array of meditations done by a variety of gifted people, for me there is no one whose voice quite compares with Anita’s. There is a softness and sweet melody in it that seems to reflect her special soul as a healer and teacher and as someone on a deeply spiritual path.

Because of all the feedback she’s gotten from clients and listeners about her gorgeous voice, she has come to recognize it as one of her many gifts in her healer’s medicine bag. Wise and steeped in many traditions, including Hindu and Christian, and traveling a highly evolved and spiritual path in the Lakota tradition, Anita never seems to be doing her meditations alone. Indeed, it seems that the hand of the Divine is involved as well as she channels her magnificent thoughts of love and light and transports people into the heightened realms of love, compassion and healing.

For those interested in learning more about how Anita’s skills as a healer and hypnotherapist can help you clear some old subconscious thoughts and reprogram them to help you move forward, check out http://www.powerofmyway.com/shareabundance.html.

Anita currently has a special offer to share 12 months of her hypnosis audios in 12 weeks at a substantially reduced cost. Her decision to do this came as a result of numerous requests by her hypnotic manifestation students and her clients to make the wonderful MP3 audios available more quickly. For more information about Anita’s special offer, what tapes are being offered and how you can benefit from them, go to http://www.powerofmyway.com/shareabundance.html.

I wonder if Lucille Clifton ever cleaned up her subconscious tapes and whether she ever moved into the realm of compassion, empathy and forgiveness, most especially for herself as well as for others who disappointed her and those who hurt her so deeply. That kind of forgiveness, as Dr. Wayne Dyer has attested after he finally forgave his father -- the alcoholic father who abandoned him and his family when he was just a boy -- can be restorative to both the body and soul.

If you’re hesitating about clicking on to Anita’s offer, it may just be your subconscious mind that is telling you to skip it and move on. It thinks it is protecting you from making a purchase or maybe from moving forward. This time you can override your subconscious doubts, click on the link and take a look at how much Anita is offering for a considerably reduced price.

Her audios have been my constant companions. My day would not feel the same without hearing her melodious voice and what I believe to be her connection to the Divine. Just check out her beautiful new video, "God Knows the Sound of your Voice" at http://powerofourway.blogs.com/power_of_our_way_blog/2010/03/god-knows-the-sound-of-your-voice.html.

Thank your subconscious for trying to help you, but let it know that you are heading for Anita’s website at http://www.powerofmyway.com/shareabundance.html to see some exciting new possibilities for both your subconscious and conscious minds. In doing so, you will also pave a pathway for the much brighter future you will have when you begin to clear out some old thought patterns so you can move forward to be more in step with your conscious desires for health, wealth and all manner of abundance.

Wishing you blessings and love, peace and prosperity,

Donna

Donna Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkPNa4DBFHI

To arrange a Tellington TTouch® or animal communication session for your pet, a Reiki session or distance Reiki session for either you or your pet, a health consult for your pet, or an angel, crystal or animal oracle card reading for you, please contact me at Donna@DonnaPoler.com.

Mar 16, 2010 10:16:36 AM

03/11/2010

Donna Poler’s Tellington TTouch® Talk on Catherine VanWetter’s Blogtalkradio show “Inspirations of the Heart Radio”: Listen to the replay and take a journey with your pet

I had a wonderful time on Catherine VanWetter’s blogtalkradio show, “Inspirations of the Heart Radio.” Catherine is such a kind and gracious host and made me feel so welcome. The show aired on March 10, 2010. You can get an MP3 download of our discussion and my meditation for you and your pet on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inspirationsoftheheart.

We talked about dogs and cats and moving (Catherine is in the midst of a big move and her cats are not thrilled about it, but they are adjusting), the wonders of Tellington TTouch® and Linda Tellington-Jones and how some of the principles of Tellington TTouch® can help people feel better and move forward too. We talked about shelter animals and a special TTouch® program for animal shelters started by Mary Bruce and Peggy Marks of Tavi and Friends, http://www.taviandfriends.org.

We also talked about David Hawkins and about the vibrations associated with love and healing. We talked about Steve Irwin’s untimely death and about my dog Socrates, my extraordinary teacher, and how I came to give him his name.

Here’s what one listener, Karen Arbel, wrote about my appearance on the show: "You were just great, Donna. So flowing, so warm and real, and so intelligent, and so very loving and healing in every way."

Message of Self-love, Compassion and Forgiveness

Most of all, the message I wanted to share with listeners – the message that Spirit was asking me to voice – was about self-love, compassion and forgiveness. One listener said my message about self-love and forgiveness was the precise message he needed to hear that day.

For those of us in Anita Pathik Law’s “Awakening the Healer Within” class, we all know how essential it is to be forgiving, compassionate and loving, especially towards ourselves, for any healing to take place. As Anita often says, “There can be no healing absent of love.”Check out Anita's wonderful new You Tube Video, "God Knows the Sound of Your Voice" at http://powerofourway.blogs.com/power_of_our_way_blog/2010/03/god-knows-the-sound-of-your-voice-movie-and-a-meditation.html.

You will even see a picture of me and Socrates flashing by. It is a beautiful and brilliant video and the message again is that you are so loved -- unconditionally and eternally.

Have you ever thought that God would know the sound of your distinct voice and know the exact contours of your face and the entire brilliant tapestry of all that is going on in your life and all that was and all that will be? Anita, with her gorgeous pictures and heartfelt words, reignites a more intimate connection with the Divine for everyone, bringing her powerful message home to all the hearts and souls clicking on her You Tube video.

All your prayers are heard and so are all your thoughts. That's why your intentions and thoughts are so important and play such a big part in what you manifest into physical form and how quickly you can do it.

As an animal communicator, I am able to telepathically communicate with animals. It is much easier to communicate with pets other than my own dog because I am too close to my own dog and can't be sure whether what I am getting is from me or from Socrates.

God is Always Everywhere

I recently asked him a question and the answer that came back in a flash was brilliant and didn't seem to be something I would have thought of to say in quite that way.

Last week, I did some deep prayer and healing work on Socrates in the morning. Later in the day, I smiled and said, "I did some very special prayers today to help you feel better." Then I asked him, "So tell me, did God visit you today and help you feel better?"

Here was his response: "You're so silly mom. How could God visit me when God is always here with me and you? God is everywhere and never leaves. God doesn't have to visit anyone because God is with everyone all the time." God knows Socrates' voice and his beautiful face and heart. And it seems Socrates knows all about God too.

Socrates sniffs some lavender in the garden. He knows that God is always everywhere and that God knows the sound of his voice and his special English Springer Spaniel Woo Woo song.

On Catherine’s show, I encouraged everyone to be as loving, kind and compassionate to themselves as they are to their pets. I asked listeners to treat themselves with that same kind of love and kindness, for they are all, as Joel Osteen would say, “children of a most high God.” And so are we all. Your pets love you and know that you deserve the same kind of love and compassion that you so freely and so effortlessly give to them.

I also did a meditation on Catherine's show, a journey for listeners and their pets to go on together. For those who didn’t have a pet, I encouraged them to think of an animal that they love or have loved. They could also meditate with a pet who has already crossed. Or they could even travel in spirit with one of their power animals. If you listen to the meditation, whatever animal or pet you choose to accompany you on your journey, the unconditional love will be there for you.

Here's what one listener said about the impact the meditation had on her: "I was in the shower, listening and doing your meditation as best I could under the circumstances, and suddenly I was crying from my whole being because I was thinking about my Maine Coon cat, Leo. We had to euthanize him, and I was asking him to forgive me if he became ill because of anything I did.

"With tears streaming down my face, I was praying that he forgives me for having to separate from him when I did. Perhaps he would have lived longer had I taken him to live with me and cared for him myself .....your voice, your words, your meditation were all very healing for me.....I am trying to remember at each moment of doubt that all is in Divine Order."

I shared with the listener that her beautiful cat Leo loves her completely and forgives all. Indeed he knows that there really is nothing to forgive because his guardian had to make important choices and she made them from a place of love. She also made those choices very selflessly, thinking of what was best for her family and for her children. Everything regarding Leo is indeed in Divine Order. The quality of time that he spent here was just perfect. It was not the quantity and that's what he wanted her to know.

At the end of my discussion with Catherine, I wanted people to feel very good about themselves and about shifting forward in positive ways. And I wanted to leave them with good feelings. So I selected three You Tube videos, one that would make listeners smile and want to head out for the beach and two that would touch their hearts in very different ways. Here are the links:

LINK TO WALKING ON SUNSHINE YOU TUBE VIDEO:

Here are some wonderful dogs having fun at the beach. Don’t you want to join them?

LINK TO TRANSFORMATION OF ALF YOU TUBE VIDEO:

Here is a link to a video on You Tube, showing just how beautifully TTouch can help an animal regain his "balance." The video is about the "TTouch transformation" of one of Michael Vick's former dogs involved in Vick's Florida dog fighting ring:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-NwcklYDCVMo. . The practitioner is one of the top-level TTouch instructors, Kathy Cascade, www.spiritdog.com. You can also find a number of other TTouch videos on You Tube.

LINK TO CAROLYN SCOTT AND ROOKIE DANCING TO "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT" FROM "GREASE" :

And here is a link to one of my all-time favorite You Tube videos of Carolyn Scott doing some canine freestyle dancing with her amazing dog Rookie, who has since passed. For all who see this video, he will live in their hearts forever. What a dream team they were! I bet wherever Rookie is, he is still dancing his amazing joyful dance and making everyone in heaven smile and cry.

http:///www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqbVbPvlDoM

I hope you get the opportunity to listen to my talk, hear some of my healing thoughts and go on a meditative journey with your pet. I also hope you take the time to watch Anita Pathik Law’s new video. And I hope you have fun watching the videos mentioned above. You might want to have some tissues nearby for the two that will touch your heart.

Thanks again, Catherine, for inviting me to be a guest on your radio show. Those interested in learning more about Catherine VanWetter, who will soon be going on a 10-day silent retreat, and who is based in Eugene, OR, can go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inspirationsoftheheart. Her radio show, Inspirations of the Heart, airs on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and 11 a.m. Pacific Time.

Remember to be kind, caring and loving not only to your pet, but also to yourself. :-)

Blessings and love,

Donna

Donna Poler, M.A.

Alternative Health Consultant for People and their Pets

Certified Tellington TTouch® Practitioner

Certified Reiki Master

Animal Communicator

Angel Energy Lightworker

Intuitive Oracle Card Reader

Writer and Author of forthcoming E-book, “100 Plus Tips for Maintaining a Happy and Healthy Dog”

E-mail - Donna@DonnaPoler.com