On this, the eve of the two year anniversary of my dear friend’s passing, I’m re-posting the story I wrote about her, about us, the day after she left this mortal coil.
Before you read this, please call or text that one person you’ve been meaning to reach out to. Take that time. Even if it’s been a while and you think it will be awkward, use me as an excuse– tell them Denise, your favorite blogger, told you to call.
Then, come back and read this.
I drove to Brooklyn and back, all by myself. I brought my passport, just in case they checked at the border and gave some cute stamp. But enough about me—this is about Maddie and Teddy.
Several weeks ago, Maddie developed an abscess on the bottom of her back paw. Maddie and Teddy’s mom sought immediate veterinary treatment at the incomparable Catnip and Carrots Veterinary Hospital and her foot has since healed well. Over the course of the healing, Maddie and Teddy’s mom and I got to talking about the emotional and metaphysical connections to physical changes and injury. We talked about the connection to feminine energy and the side on which Maddie developed the abscess. I told their mom to read some of my past blog entries about Reiki and rabbits. We decided a Reiki treatment was in order.
I took my pilgrimage west. Upon my arrival to their home, Maddie and Teddy promptly hid behind furniture—stranger in the house! To start our session of sharing energy, I anointed myself with Frankincense and called on our guides to support all beings and objects who are open to the energy. I started “working” on Maddie first. She “showed” me the color grey. Her third eye chakra is blocked and she has trouble believing in her own instincts so we worked together to shift that energy (and I knew it! There’s the connection to the abscessed feminine energy in her paw!). Maddie “told” me that she feels very secure and loved.
Her root chakra is very solid. She did not want any hands-on work, which is incredibly interesting when compared to the ridiculously lavish snuggle session she and I had after the Reiki was over. Maddie flopped as soon as I started working with her husbun Teddy.
Teddy doesn’t want anyone to know his “secrets” or about his past, in a silly, playful way, so much so that he ran across the room and up the stairs! Teddy is very funny, like a cartoon character in his spirit. He “showed” me the numbers 2, 3 and 2 again. His sacral chakra is low or blocked so we worked to open up that energy. Overall he has a very chill energy. He loves music and the flow of water. It is likely that he is a water sign, but tough for us to do his astrological chart since we don’t know his exact birthdate!
Together, Maddie and Teddy love being a couple and they know they are with this family forever. I am very grateful to Maddie and Teddy’s mom for allowing me to share Reiki with her furbabies. Much love!
The Catnip and Carrots waiting room is like Cheers for our rabbit rescue family. Anytime you walk through those doors and sit on those benches, you are bound to meet someone who knows your name, even if it’s just from interaction in our incredibly supportive online community.
An afternoon in July of 2014, I sat on one of those benches. Two women, a mother and a daughter, sat on an adjacent bench. In their carrier was their elderly guinea pig. From careful eavesdropping (teacher-hearing comes in handy outside of the classroom too), I learned that they take this beloved guinea pig to the vet weekly—sometimes several times in a week. Considering that most guinea pigs don’t get any medical care, I judged this family to be super pet parents. I was right.
The daughter looked at her phone and started to read an email to her mother. The email was an apology for a delayed response. I heard her mention a big rescue case in Mastic that was the excuse for the delayed response. I realized that I wrote that email. These are people that we are screening for adoption!
I’m not shy. I said, “Excuse me. That email is from me. I’m Denise.” They introduced themselves and we conducted the step in the screening process that is usually a phone interview, live in the waiting room. Each answer confirmed the judgment I already made about them—these women are part of an exceptional pet family. Home visit… adoption day… they brought their adorable Monkey Bun to “speed date” with several of our adoptable rabbits. Monkey chose Elke on July 20, 2014. Elke was renamed Ella. They never bonded—it happens. They live side-by-side in happiness now.
Ella is estimated to be around 10 years old… maybe 8… maybe 12. With age often comes some health and mobility issues. I was honored to visit Ella and Monkey this past week and share some Reiki with them. In connecting with Ella’s energy, I felt a beautiful sense of patience. Before I entered their pens, I poured several drops of Frankincense essential oil into my palms and called on our guides and angels to support and heal all who are open to the energy. I stepped into Ella’s pen first. She spent most of our session together in her cardboard hut. She has a green light surrounding her metaphysically. She “told” me that she doesn’t feel old, which put a big smile on her family’s faces in our post-session conversation. When working on Ella’s chest area and heart chakra zone, I felt a big shift, like an obstruction began to dissolve. She feels blocked physically so we “worked” on that through most of our session. She “showed” me the numbers 10 and 11 and that she prays with the family, so whoever is praying or doing some spiritual work, keep it up! Ella is working with you!
I hopped over to Monkey Bun’s pen next. He’s much more curious than Ella is so we did more hands-on work together. He “showed” me the number 3. We worked to soften his heart chakra. He “told” me that he knows he’s a little boy but he’s NOT the baby of the family! He is solid and healthy. His solar plexus chakra is very guarded (common in prey animals) and he “shared” a turtle shell energy with me, a hard exterior for protection. Where Ella is blocked physically, Monkey is guarded or blocked emotionally. They are in great balance of each other. Although they never officially bonded, there’s a lot of love in that bunny room, just like there’s a lot of love in that entire house.
From our chance meeting in the waiting room at the vet’s office… Ella’s adopter has become one of our most dependable volunteers, which is not surprising. They are a family of compassion and dedication. They show that in the way they cared for their ailing guinea pig, the way they opened their home to Ella, who was a bit older when they adopted her, and the continued care every animal (and person, from what I gather) in that family receives. It is my true honor to share Reiki with Ella and Monkey and to be around such a wonderful family. Much love.
Sunday morning. I’ve been out as a morning person for quite some time now. Even the word morning sends a tingle through me. Know thyself and embrace those strengths.
Just before these manicured fingers began to dance across the keyboard, I was listening to a podcast recorded by my teacher Gabrielle Bernstein, available through her Miracle Membership program. The podcast was on in the background as I was organizing some of the piles of work on my desk and my conscious mind heard my teacher say the phrase “vortex of appreciation.” I put down the pile, paused the podcast and began writing to you. As per usual, these love letters come from divine inspiration—rarely do I have a plan.
Now, I have an idea for you. Close those beautiful eyes. Visualize yourself in a cup, a beautiful container large enough for you to feel comfortable and cozy enough for you to feel safe… surrounding you, cushioning you, pouring all over you are the things you love and appreciate… the people, places, things and ideas for which you feel gratitude… the elements of your day that light you up. Sit there. Soak it in. Splash around in it. Pick it up and toss it like some glittery confetti. Feel the appreciation surrounding you. Bask in it.
Flutter those beautiful eyes back open. Do you feel that? That glow of everything you love all around you? You can access that feeling anytime and anywhere. It is within you.
What’s in my cup? (And no, I don’t know where the cup idea came from. I heard Gabby say “vortex of appreciation” and I got a visual of myself in what I can best describe as a stemless wine glass. We just roll with these things). My cup overfloweth with you, dear readers, with my furbabies, with my family and my famOILy, with abundance, with mornings and sunshine, with beautiful things. If your cup feels empty or if it has sprung a leak, I’m down to pour some of mine into yours or you can even dive into my vortex— plenty of space in my cup for you. Plenty of gratitude to share.
So take a moment to feel it, emotionalize with the vortex of appreciation. And anytime today you feel yourself slipping out of appreciation and gratitude, know that you can visualize and dive back in. Some days, I stay there with ease and other days I have to dive back in many, many times. Big smiles. Much love.
On the last Monday in March, I paid a special visit to a special little boy. Quick backstory: Cameron was rescued with four other rabbits right before Halloween. He was adopted shortly after the New Year and returned right before Valentine’s Day. We don’t get many returns (thankfully). Cameron had fallen ill and his adopters decided to return him. Volunteers rushed to get him back into our care. Cameron developed neurological “issues”—could be genetic, could be a result of trauma sustained when he was trying to survive post-abandonment/pre-rescue. His adopters gave up on him. His foster family never will.
Cameron has been making great strides. He’s a bit wobbly at times. He needs an enclosure specially designed for his mobility needs. Other than that, he is a perfectly happy and hoppy boy. I was delighted to have the opportunity to share Reiki with him.
He had a lot to “say” compared to most of my clients. He “told” me that the “rolling” his body experienced when he first showed symptoms of illness really scared him. When working on his throat chakra, he “showed” me that he was weeping happy, grateful tears for being safe. He asked about Lil’ B, a bun with whom he was rescued. He showed me the number four—well, he was rescued with four others. He lives with four humans. In Angel Numbers, four means “the angels are with you. They send you the number 4 to reassure you that they’ve heard your prayers and are helping you.” I quite like that number for Cameron and his foster family.
He’s a young soul. He’s on his first pass through this mortal coil and he really trusts people now because of his foster family. Being a young soul, he can let go of his abandonment (twice now, that we know of) easier than others can. No resentment present in that furry little body! Cameron knows he’s “different” but feels confident and secure, which he confirmed by licking his paw. Throughout most of our session together, he stayed flopped under his bench. When I was working on his spine, however, he came toward me then ran away quickly to show he’s strong. He started eating immediately after to confirm that physical and emotional strength.
Cameron feel clenched in his hips and lower body. I told his foster family to give him some gentle hip massages. He told me that he likes to be around one person at a time, rather than a crowd. His favorite color is blue (which his foster mom guessed correctly in our post-session conversation). As I closed our session, Cameron stood up very strongly, like Mountain Pose in yoga, to show me that he feels very loved and safe.
It was a honor to work with Cameron and I am grateful to his foster family for welcoming me and Reiki in their loving home. Cameron is looking for a forever home, preferably with an experienced family who knows that different is so very beautiful.
You can follow Cameron’s foster family’s blog here.
I am no longer allowing this missing piece translate to missing peace. I am telling a new story. You are the first to hear about it. Grateful to you for “listening” today.
I’ve been holding back from truly stepping into a component of this work and of my personal development because there is a piece to my story that I’m not ready or maybe not willing to tell. I struggle with the idea of telling my story without telling that story. Can I be authentic and leave out a big piece? My answer to that was no. I’ve held back so much because I didn’t think I could share my light fully without sharing that piece. And I do not want to share that piece. I’m not going to share that piece. There’s no secret link embedded here. I’m not going to do a big reveal at the end of this entry. These types of thoughts and the struggle arriving here has robbed me of some peace and have stunted my healing. Thus, I’ve felt stunted in sharing healing. It’s cyclical.
As I sat down to write to you today (or do I write this to me and you just peek over my shoulder?) I opened to a page in my notes from the Spirit Junkie Master Class that I attended last June. On that pink page I wrote, “Be not afraid— be empowered.” Gabrielle taught us how our inner guides are begging use to release our resistance. I’m sure hearing that six months ago, I interpreted that as a call to reveal my missing piece. Now, I see it as permission to release the expectation of telling it all, the expectation of being as transparent as many others seem to be. Gabrielle taught us to step into the darkness so we can dive into the light. I am. I am finding my peace privately. I can do that and still share healing publicly. Today I give myself that permission.
Gabrielle imparted on us, her Spirit Junkie disciples, that we look at our stories from a place of power. My missing piece deals a lot with shame and guilt. I will find the power. You all help to lift me up. Forever grateful. Big stuff coming… Much love.
This isn’t about rabbits or Reiki.
A year ago, we said goodbye—well, sort of. I said I would see you later that week. I said we would talk more then (and I silently promised to turn my damn phone off at our next visit—no pointless distractions). I walked out of your front door, it was a Saturday, fully intending to be back maybe on Wednesday, silently promising myself that I would not let the week go by without making time for a visit. Just like this year, last August was zooming by. About an hour after I left, you died.
I wonder a lot. You know my brain is always going, barreling perhaps. We only knew each other for a touch over two years. Why was I the second-to-last person to see you in your earthly form? Do you know how much you changed my life in a span of two years? Can you fathom just how much you taught me?
If you didn’t leave this dimension when you did, would we still be friends? Or would I have said something, done something, been something that you didn’t want to be around? Would we be on the phone right now on this super-cloudy day? Or would I be sitting here, telling myself that I better make time for you before my long vacation ends?
Ours is one of those friendships that didn’t seem likely but just makes so much darn sense. 16 years apart in age, vastly different families and upbringings. You, tiny in stature, secure in purpose. Me, average in size, barreling toward my purpose—you helped me find it. It’s all your fault, that I’m finally living my dreams.
We bought the house I told you about, but you know that already. We live so close to you now. We actually have space to have people come inside the house! I’m getting better every day. You helped guide me on this path. I hear your voice in my head. I see you in yoga classes still—remember the lady whose pants were inside-out?! I love how the same things annoyed us.
You were supposed to teach me to sew. But let’s be serious, I wouldn’t do my own sewing anyway. Did I teach you anything? Is there anything you didn’t get to tell me? Well, besides the messages that you are flooding me with now… shout out to my Spirit Junkies and other spiritual running buddies who have helped me further develop my gifts over the past year. I “hear” so clearly now.
Your babies are doing great. MM clipped their nails on Saturday. Your garden is gorgeous. Your world misses you. You are screaming in my left ear right now—I hear you, love!! I will keep living the dream for us both.
