Spirit Connection

I had a dream.

I awoke a few mornings ago with vivid images of my last dream. I was seeing all life as evolving spirits. Glowing beacons of light. Some were bright; some, dull. In the dream, we were each learning from our experiences; especially the challenges. Everyone’s goal was to evolve to where they can “handle” every possible situation. We were learning to become benign observers. We learned that to empower those who appear to be in discomfort and struggling, we had only to acknowledge, witness, and hold space. Once intuitive healing was initiated, in the dream, further interventions were neither possible nor necessary. Individual and collective Karma would play itself out.

I thought about the implication of “every possible situation.” It’s what happens, and could happen, to everyone and everything. Everyone and everything includes the land and waters of ponds and oceans, their inhabitants, the planet below, the sky above, and space around.

That takes in a vast spectrum of singularly unique perspectives. The thoughts and feelings are incredibly diverse. Each of our experiences of situations moves through its own set of filters. There are the thoughts and feelings of predators and prey throughout their lifetimes: bears and salmon, salmon and minnows, birds and worms, worms and whatever worms eat, ants and elephants. The list is endless. There are the perspectives of interaction: agonists, antagonists, synergists, and disinterested spectators. This applies to people, as well as muscles and cells. All life interacts and influences. This includes trees, house plants, mold, and algae.

We got a lot of livin’ to do.

The route we take to attain full illumination must, by definition, teach us to appreciate all perspectives. The Buddhists posit that our soul bodies cycle through hundreds of thousands of lives before realizing enlightenment, or complete illumination.

Just among us humans, there are so many variations. Here is a sampling of our different points of view: gender, age, body type, personality, birth order, affluence, country, region, neighborhood, school, peers, social and political choices, family history, health, quality of continuing education, support of friends, business influences, and natural talents.

Besides people, consider all the possible variants of all the other species, genus, etc. The mouse crawling about through the maze feels confusion, frustration, resolve, intention, unsated hunger, expectation, victory, and eventually the taste of cheese, satisfaction. That’s a lot of living she’s doing.

We are all spirit guides.

When I was practicing as a Registered Nurse, we’d arrange for interested stakeholders to meet to discuss the best treatment options for patients. Optimally, but seldom, we’d assemble the entire set. Best case scenario, we’d have the primary care doc, the nurses, therapists, hospital administrators, and family. We were a group of well intentioned professional outsiders, all approaching from the outside, all seeing the patient and striving to support them from the outside.

Spirit guides are different. They work from the inside! Consider all the guides we have that offer guidance, perspective, and intuitive healing wisdom.

We have the spirits-intentions of the twelve TCM meridians. Each has a purpose, an organ system, a temperature, an odor, a taste, an element, a personality/style, and a season. There are the spirits of the five elements. These are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each has a promoting, controlling, or counteracting drive. Each is a personality type that would have a perspective, or way of reacting to a situation.

There are the spirits of the eight directions. East where the sun rises, is full with new life and expectations. West, where the sun sets, is a place for rest, contemplation, and completions. North where the cold winds of winter blow, suggests death and rest. South, with its warm summer breeze, comforts with the promise of rebirth. The last four are directly above, toward the life-giving sun, below, toward the nurturing earth, moving outward from the core, and moving inward, into the core.

We carry with us the spirits of our ancestors, our animal totems (the serious ones like eagles and bears, and the goofy joyful ones like otters and meerkats). They are all within us. They are us. We are them. The information we, as them, access is available at our request. Available at our awareness.

This is part of PetMassage™.

We are the guides. Through our hands and intentions, our personal spirits -all of them- connect, commune, and provide advice to our dogs’ spirits. All of them. They all get together in a holy, and probably raucous ceremony, to choose what is in the dog’s best interests in that moment.

That’s what we mean when we describe dogs as “integrating” our touch.

I press my hand onto a dog’s shoulder and the dog will have some sort of personal response. The response is always unique to each dog, and unique to each moment. Each time I move to the shoulder the response is a little different. The massage is the same. Something within that dog resonates with the touch connection and self-determines how the dog “processes” and “integrates” what is felt.

Sure, the process could be mechanical; like manipulating blood and lymphatic circulation, stimulating adipose and muscles tissue, stimulating neural pathways within fascia, reflexes, and chi flow. It could also be the result of our unspoken, unhearable, spiritual dialogue.

I share my presence, and become the benign observer. I have only to acknowledge, witness, and hold its space to initiate intuitive healing. My touch empowers the area that appears to be in discomfort and struggling to rediscover balance. Harmony. Our guides are busy doing what they do best.

The systems and skills of PetMassage™ provide ways for communicating with dogs at levels beyond simple palpation and response. The more you are open to the possibilities the more your dog massage shall become an efficient, effluent, and eloquent conversation.

PetMassage™ touch is the connection of body, mind, and yes, spirits. Lots and lots of spirits.