Changing Ourselves to Help Animals Part 1

There is more to Animal Liberation than the obvious arguments that abound.  There is one very large key component to this evolutionary change that is very overlooked.  We are that component.  We live on a planet that is behind the times. It is backward in many ways with pockets of unrest that are unconscionable.  Fighting for animal rights and protecting these innocent beings is not a closed system.  To create a better world for all animals, we have to change ourselves.  We cannot contribute to the negative aspects of the planet and expect the rest of the world to change.  We are in this as a whole.  We don't need everyone to change, but we do need a good percentage to tip the scales.  We cannot effect the desirable peaceful outcome for animals on this planet without addressing our own behavior.  We are part of the whole energy that feeds into the mass vibration of the planet.

Animal Liberation is one of many outcomes of the energy of the Earth becoming more awakened, more peaceful, more harmonious, more cooperative, etc. We cannot have a jump to Animal Liberation/Animal Rights without addressing the whole energy of the planet. The way animals are treated is connected to how we treat each other, to how much negativity there is in this world, to how much hatred, etc.  Every part of this planet effects the quality of life here for every sentient being.  We cannot separate the fact that how we are vibrating energetically makes an impression on the entire energy of the planet.  We have become a part of this planet.  It is time to clean up our own behavior as well as protect animals and teach Animal Liberation.   There are a number of things we must do to speed up the evolutionary change of Earth.

If we are not kind to others or ourselves, we create a negative vibration.  This effects all animals. If we have hatred to certain groups of people, this effects the animals.  If we are sloppy in how we treat the earth and create toxicity, this effects the animals.  If we berate and judge each other and ourselves, this effects the animals.  The energy of the people effects the vibration of the whole entire planet.

If we are sick, negative and unhappy, we effect the animals.  We don't live in a closed system.  The energy we emit casts an impression on the vibration of this planet.   Many people, even fighting for the same causes, bash each other horrendously.  This effects the energy of the animals.  We cannot expect for the entire planet to enter into a new phase of evolution that emits a healthy vibration unless enough of us change the way we are (change our frequency).  If we create suffering for another or ourselves, we are not contributing to the whole of the planet that desperately wants to evolve to a more harmonious, peaceful existence.

Everyone has places within themselves that need healing.  Attending to our own vibration does a lot for the animals who are connected to this Earth.  When we heal our own victimhood, we help to heal it in the animals.  We take a stand for their letting go of the karma of victim when we see our lives parallel to theirs. We are not separate from them.  As we heal our lives, they heal their lives because we are connected.  The more we become happy, confident, loving people, the more the animals on the planet benefit from that energy.  When enough of us make the inner changes to create our own human revolution, the outer world also evolves.  We are connected. 

So when we go about doing what is necessary for Animal Rights and Liberation, we must include ourselves in our striving for living in a better way.  We cannot expect the world to change the way it treats its animals when we are not kind, when we do not care about paying attention to the details of decency, when we lack the integrity of being gentle, peaceful, caring, harmonious beings.

The level of change needed for Animal Liberation is equal to a complete vibration frequency change for the whole planet Earth.  Since we are part of this planet (we live here now), we cannot make this evolutionary leap unless we include ourselves in it.  Being a better person to ourselves and others will help the animals and bring us all that much more closer to living on an Evolved Planet Earth. 

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Goats

I wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Goats after "my Honey Goat" Patches passed over. I dedicated the book to him.  I just reread the book this morning after being in a funk from absorbing someone's heavy energy.  (I was like a sponge without my protection and "picked up" a friend's seriousness).  I was guided to reread this book and, miraculously, my bad mood vanished.   I learned something from my own written words.

This book contains part of what I learned from being with goats all of these years.  I needed to be reminded of something extremely important: The Need for FUN.   My friend had heavy energy.  His sense of fun was buried under years of muck and disappointments.  His energy hit me like a 18 wheeler truck: NOT FUN.   I was able to explain what had happened to him and why he was pushing me to Timbuktu.  He did not have his Fun on.

One of the things that Goats teach is to have Fun.  They are very playful.  When you play with them on their level, everything goes from black and white to spectacular color.   The adult world forgot fun in many ways.  They try to put that onto human children by creating schools that teach seriousness and dredge the fun out of the students.

My friend had forgotten to have fun.  His sense of play had been condensed to seeing movies and eating tasty food as a temporary and short-lived distraction.  His life became dry and brittle and his laughter was distilled down to the sound of a hiss, similar to a snake giving warning.  There was no heart and soul of Joy. Instead there was only the seriousness of a life that had not yet met its desires.

In come the goats.  We went to see the goats at Lolypop Farm animal rescue.  I transformed as soon as I saw the herd.  When I put my hands on their playful serenity, I was instantly restored even though we were not actually "playing" in the moment.  It is enough to be with them, to feel the love that they are. Goats are powerful.  They make people change.  They sing, "forget your troubles c'mon get happy."

My own book reminded me of this need for play and fun.  I was guided to reread it and I am glad I listened to my inner guidance.   Balance is really important.  Everything is dependent on balance. Don't forget to be like the goats and take time to play, to have fun, to find the absurdity in the environment around you and laugh at it.    

Dealing with the Loss of an Animal Companion Part 3

When the loss of an animal companion brings severe sorrow and anguish, we have the option of dealing with it from a spiritual perspective.  Death is not something that can be easily dealt with from a purely physical, earth plane, practical perspective because it is opposite of all of that.   The parting of a soul from a body is spiritual in nature.  We must try to see it from a spiritual stand point.  But, we don't usually have the language for that.  For example "spiritual stand point" - there is no "standing" in a spiritual realm.  Floating might come to mind.  But, that is nothing that we are familiar with.  We think "float" and we are in a body of water, not in the ethers, not on a dimensional plane whose existence is beyond the physical.  In short, we forgot what it was like to die.  

We want to hear the call of our animal companion, feel their physical presence, kiss them, hug them. We want to take care of their physical needs.  But they are no longer on the physical plane of existence.  Yet, they are not gone.  They exist still.  They are alive, but in a state that can feel far away from us.  One way of dealing with loss is to embark on a journey to connect with the spiritual realms. Let's get metaphysical.  

Rocky came to me in a dream.  The dream state is between worlds, this earth plane world and the etheric realm.  They can visit us there because our minds have less resistance.  We are not consumed with the material, physical world while we sleep.  (A sleepless night occurs when our minds are too occupied with the earth plane realm.) It is possible that we ask their soul to come to us in the dream state, to visit and give us a message.  My goat Rocky kissed the head of his companion goat Sunshine, my other son, in the dream.  The message was clear for me to understand.  He was telling me to take care of Sunshine and to allow Sunshine to take care of me.  He showed me with that one image a way to cope with my loss.  Give love and receive love from at least one being who is still remaining on the earth.  

I realized that no matter how hard it is to live without my brilliant, fun, loving, amazing goat Rocky, that if I have at least one other being to love and be loved by, then I can live here.   I raised Sunshine. He is easy to love and fluent in English.  He is also grieving over the loss of his companion, Rocky. Goats form such tight bonds.  They have very deep feelings and their grief can last for a long time. Sunshine keeps me grounded on the earth dimensional plane.  But, I must also allow myself to connect with the higher realms so that I can still feel connected with Rocky.  

Keep open to receiving dreams from your departed loved ones.  That is an easy medium for them to visit.  It is between worlds.  Stay tuned for more blogs on communicating with those that have passed over to the higher dimensions.     

Dealing with the Loss of an Animal Companion Part 2

We're flattened and hollowed out.  We're dried up, yet full of torrential tears.  Our animal companion is no longer physically on this Earth.  What do we do with the energy of grief that could beat us down and create neuro-chemicals of depression that could possibly lead to other illnesses?  We can allow ourselves to grieve for a time, but we must not become chemically addicted to the neuro-chemistry of sadness. If it becomes a habitual feeling,  it can be even more challenging to get up again.

We must do something, eventually, with our grief so that we are not wallowing in a mucky pond that is too small to go swimming and yet too cold and stagnant to soak.  People often create a legacy for their own human children or for other people that have touched them deeply, but have passed over.  When losing an animal companion feels unbearable, we must create a legacy for them.  A legacy is something we create to benefit others that is influenced by the life of the person or animal that passed.  If we focus on creating our animal companion's legacy, then we are focusing the energy of grief into something productive and helpful that will live after them.

When Rocky passed (I am still in the beginning stages of grief where even writing that feels like an impossibility), I knew I had to create a legacy in his honor so that his magnificence would not just effect me only.  He was an amazing goat.  His intelligence, compassion, affection, playfulness, wisdom and confidence surpassed that of most beings.  I am privileged to have had him in my life. Rocky, Sunshine and I were a herd.  A herd is very tight knit. Once you are part of a herd, you are in. You belong.  There is no looking back.  You are part of something that is larger than the sum of its parts.  The herd membership is like a secret code that lets you into an amazing world.  You no longer just sit with goats and interact with them.  Being part of the herd means that now even one glance from a goat's eyes has a deeper meaning and feeling.  It means you are connected.  Your identity becomes wrapped up in the herd mentality.  I can only describe it as having a sense of BELONGING that makes that word pale in comparison to how it really feels.

Losing Rocky is not just losing the best part of what I considered my life, it is also losing an identity. My sense of self was wrapped around my connection to him.  He somehow made the world a better place for me.  I was obsessed with him.  His love for me and my love for him defined my life.  What choice do I have but to create a legacy?

When you lose an animal companion that touches your soul deeply, creating a legacy for them can be the best thing you can possibly do.  Rocky's Legacy is to help save other animals.  He was a lucky goat.  Most goats in the area I live are eaten.  Many goats are killed and abused in the dairy industry. Even young goats are used as food.  The most popular meat in the world is goat meat.  But, these are one of the smartest, affectionate amazing beings.  Rocky's Legacy is to promote the awareness of the value of animals and influence people not to eat them or use them for human gain.  We share this planet with animals.  We can honor and respect them, doing whatever we can to improve their lives. Rocky's Legacy is to promote veganism and animal rights.  His name will live after him.  Though he left this world, this mission will live on.  One amazing goat will effect many animals.

Create a Legacy for your loved one.  The more they effected your life, the larger the legacy.  In this way, you channel the energy of grief, of loss, into a meaningful gift for the planet.  It is my belief that our loved ones would want to help the planet, would want their life here to have meant something on a larger scale.

Rocky's Legacy is, at this time, composed of two parts.  One is a short story I wrote called Cornelius the Goat that awaits illustration and will soon be on Kindle.  It teaches others to value animals. The other part is a play I wrote called Barnyard Karma told from the point of view of farm animals that are trying to avoid slaughter day.  It is a docudramedy: part documentary, part drama, mostly comedy.  It helps to raise awareness for animal liberation.  It is needing funding to be able to be performed for free in many locals.

Creating such a Legacy is a good way of handling the loss of a loved one.  If you allow the life they had to live after them, you are helping the planet.  You are also helping yourself.  When you give your life a grand purpose, to save animals from being eaten and abused, you help the environment as well.

Create a Legacy for your animal companion.  This is a healthy way of dealing with the suffering that accompanies loss.  

Dealing with the Loss of an Animal Companion

I use the phrase Animal Companion and not pet because I am referring to my experience of my loss of Rocky, my goat.  He was my companion because I respected him as an equal.  Although I took care of him, he also took care of me.  He was extremely intelligent and found a way to communicate with me.  He understood all of the English I spoke, even full phrases.  He played with me, cuddled with me, made me laugh and gave me unconditional love.  He surprised and delighted me for years. He caused elation in my life by his very presence.  He got very sick and died earlier than I ever expected.

How do I cope with such a loss?  This is an epic experience in my life.  It is not just a major life occurrence, it marks a huge change for me. 

For those of us that are at a loss of  how to handle our loss, we must be patient with ourselves.  We know that grief has many stages and we pass through each one and loop around and repeat some of them again.  Grief takes the time it takes. Everyone processes emotions in different ways that last for various amounts of time.  You are not alone in your suffering and yet your process of healing is vastly unique and your own.  Pick and choose the ways that feel right to you.  Ride the grief out as best as you can knowing that the agony will eventually pass.  We don't have to know when the pain passes, we just know that eventually we will be able to also feel joy again.   Such is life.  Allow yourself the time and gentleness to go about your own process in your own unique way.  This is your grief, your feelings of deep and lasting change.  Allow this change to Change you. 

Grief has the potential to Change us.  I write that with a capital "C" because the change can be profound.  In my book, Piece of Planet or Planet of Peace: A Journey through Letting Go Told in Prose and Poetry, I write about a phrase I coined after my Soulmate passed over prompting me to take a Trust Walk without any money.  That phrase is: Use Change to combat change.  If we have a huge change in our life, we can create an even larger Change so that we can expand and grow in grand ways.  I know this, but I am currently not at that stage of grief yet.  Knowing this, however, is helpful.  I know deep inside of myself that I will travel this road of grief and let it crack me open to a new version of myself.  This knowing is very helpful.  I tuck it away for the future.  For now, I allow myself to feel.

It is important not to push the stages of grief.  Don't be in any hurry to feel better.  Allow yourself to just be real.  Crying allows the toxins to rid the body.  If you feel tired, rest.  If you feel like being alone, then isolate for a time, but not for forever.  This too shall pass.  When my Soulmate Ted passed over at the early age of 24, many years ago, I used that phrase often.  This too shall pass.  When I was in agony I knew that feeling would pass.  When I felt elated, I knew that feeling would pass also.  I couldn't hold onto any feeling because they would pass.  I had to Surrender and let go, allowing human feelings and thoughts to be like a river passing through, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Eventually everything passes through like a brook, like a stream, like a river. It all empties into a vast ocean where we can no longer find the thoughts that were once attached.  Grief is like this. It is stormy. It is quiet. It is torrential. It comes in drips or sometimes freezes until it has to eventually thaw. 

I know deep inside my life will never be the same. I will have to become larger than the feeling of devastation.  In the meantime, I allow myself to be sloppy with grief.  I allow it to wash over me or to stand still until I catch up with it.  I allow myself to be in a fog or to glide like a cloud with no mind. I allow myself to scream his name, calling to bring back what I cannot.  Grief is messy. It pushes and pulls us until we eventually come up for air and find Acceptance. 

Don't suppress it.  Don't pretend to be on a spiritual path that is only positive and does not allow sorrow.  Don't try to force yourself into just feeling thankful for the time you were blessed by your Loved One.  Being human means we have many feelings.  It is important not to get stuck in the muck and mire.  Have those feelings, but don't hold on to any one of them.  Let them come and go.  They will visit again; leave the door open.