nature

Chapter Seventeen: Animal Teachers

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Animals have served as incredible friends and confidants—at least in my world because of their innate ability to come from an unconditional place. I feel more at home with a dog or cat than most people. I have learned how perceptive animals are to energy and even the words we use around them. I think we underestimate their level of comprehension and assume they don’t understand anything or fully gather what takes place in our homes. My cat Obi has taught me so much about communication and how in tune these animals are to our energy.

Obi was rehomed because of aggression, and I knew it would be a long process getting him to a point where he would feel safe and comfortable. He has come a long way and seems incredibly adept at comprehension. Not only does he pick up when people feel sick or unwell and devote more of his time and attention to those in need, but he also understands certain words very clearly, especially regarding food.

I had a loved one stay with me for an extended period, and they were extremely depressed and struggling each day. Obi would get up and lay next to them for hours each day, accepting copious amounts of love and rubs when he usually can barely stand more than a few minutes of cuddles at a time. Still, he knew that he was helping and that his presence was assisting this person in need in some way.

As human beings, we take solace in the idea that animals don’t feel as deeply as we do, and they don’t understand as much as we give them credit. How upsetting it would be to realize the depth of their feelings associated with our collective mistreatment of them: through the ongoing decimation of their habitats across the globe, their ill-treatment on TV and film sets, and most recently, industrialized factory farming and all the cruelty associated with that.

Part of our experience on earth and our interactions with the animal world is realizing that they are an integral part of everything. I’m sure part of why humanity struggles as much as it does is because we’ve lost sight of what really matters regarding how we treat each other and how we respect animals as much as the earth itself. This notion was highlighted during the pandemic when many people started gardening again and spending more time at home. This was not a universal phenomenon when you factor in poverty, but for those fortunate enough to have access to green spaces, I think a lot of healing took place for those people. I think people who had so much healing occurred during those times partly because of that connection to the earth.

As I have grown spiritually, my vibration has changed, and I have become more sensitive to everything, including the foods I consume, the music I listen to, the films and TV I watch, and even the shampoos and lotions I use. It sucks, but as I realized these things, I started having nightmares about animals being slaughtered. I started learning from the universe that I needed to incorporate a more vegan diet, even to the point where sometimes I would order items with cheese, only to discover that the employee working at a restaurant neglected to add it to my meal.

It’s a privilege to be in tune with something spiritually higher than ourselves, and it makes having slight alterations that much more tolerable because it represents the idea that someone like myself might feel things profoundly and experience higher degrees of sensitivity, which is excellent for compassion and empathy. Regardless, sometimes I want cheese on my burrito, and then I’m gently reminded by the universe that, “nahhhh… you don’t need it.”

The flip side of having a propensity for high sensitivity is learning to incorporate energetic solid boundaries, which I struggle with, unfortunately, and it’s been a learning curve that I haven’t completely mastered yet. I can quickly spiral while in that state if I don’t prioritize it because having a high vibration or aura too outstretched all the time isn’t sustainable. It may feel amazing sometimes but isn’t ideal for navigating the real world properly.

I will 1000% admit that there have been times that I have been illogical, and so caught up in my spiritual side that I forget to live in the here and now. It’s equally important to be grounded as it is to be connected to the source because without connecting to the physical world, living seems like a moot experience—isn’t it? Why else would we be here if we weren’t supposed to engage in this physical reality fully? As incredible as it is to think about other potential realities or realms and what lies on the other side, we’re just wasting time here without authentic engagement with life!

I think balance can be overrated because I have this perception in my mind that everyone else’s life is perfect. I am just perpetually living in a state of slight unease and disorganization. When I think no one has their shit together 100% of the time but is good at seeming like they do, at least that’s what I’ve come to learn. I think we all assume everyone else knows what they’re doing, and then we all are just floundering around, but I’m not talking about whether you forgot to buy milk or pay your bill on time; the most important thing I’ve learned about balance pertains to a mental health crisis versus a spiritual awakening.

Spiritual balance separates streetside preachers speaking about the end of days and those who can communicate with spirit or have had intense spiritual experiences and can still live in the real world even when they have many extraordinary circumstances peppering their everyday lives.

This is the example I will use to differentiate why a mentally ill person asks me why they might need medication versus someone else who hears voices in their head but makes a living communicating with those who are no longer physically here. It’s a fine line sometimes, and it can be straightforward to lose ourselves in spirituality. And being grounded and realizing the importance of living here can sometimes prevent many issues from becoming exacerbated.

Some of us, whose light might shine differently than others, sometimes stick out like a sore thumb and might provoke others by their mere presence alone. They have added barriers to deal with because they are so misunderstood and might feel heightened emotions around loneliness because they are so different and deeply felt. Their path in life is unique, and as a result, they feel more isolated because others find it harder to relate to them.

About ten years ago, I was driving close to my current home. I was at a busy intersection, and my glasses were broken so that I couldn’t see well. I glanced up at the left hydro pole, where I noticed a bird with red tail feathers being watched by a crow. This all occurred while I waited for the light to turn green, and suddenly, the crow started attacking this unusual-looking bird.

I could barely see, but I quickly realized that I was looking at an African Gray Parrot, and parrots are not native to Nova Scotia, Canada—contrary to popular belief! So, I immediately yelled, “Oh my God! That’s a parrot! That’s an African Gray, “we need to pull over the car.” It had flown into a nearby tree, and we coaxed it down by calling to it. Eventually, it flew down and landed on the arm of my friend.

We were freaking out trying to figure out what to do with this parrot, and we decided to take it to a nearby Animal Hospital. We brought the bird in, and the staff notified us that the bird was female and looked like she had been out a few days but otherwise was in good condition. I went home, and my friend told her brother what happened, who had seen a lost parrot poster on his walk home from school. She contacted the family, who broke down on the phone, having thought they had lost their bird forever, and we helped save a tiny life that day.

My “moral of the story moment” from that encounter was that the crows noticed that this African Gray seemed out of place, and they were quick to judge this bird and attack it. It’s like people whose inner light shines a little differently. Just in the same way that unique thinkers and quirky personalities annoy some people—African Grey stood out to the crows.

Maybe it serves as an excellent reminder to me that perhaps that’s why someone like myself got bullied so relentlessly growing up, and sometimes the odd ones get separated from the rest because something within us stands out to other people—even on an energetic level. The crows seemed to know immediately that this bird was different and felt threatened. Much like these “judgey” crows, I think we humans still have a lot to learn. It’s misguided of us to assume we know it all, and sometimes, our most outstanding teachers are the most helpless and require more gentleness to help teach us so much about our humanity.

Chapter Sixteen – Minimizing Our Spiritual Footprint

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I might not be considered the most logical person, especially in how I move through the world and make my decisions, but I trust what I know, and I know spirit. The first time this idea became a concrete reality was when I was nine years old, and my grade four teacher assigned me the yellow spotted salamander as my topic of study for a rudimentary science project. Even then, Ms. Nobel was extremely calm and way ahead of her time. I remember her collecting compost back in the mid-90s, and instilled the importance of recycling and being kind to the earth at an early age; I appreciated my time in her classroom.

I had never seen a salamander before I was given this project topic, but excitedly, I thought I would find one. I was always exploring the woods alone with my cat Sam. So, one afternoon, I went out into the woods and purposely looked for one. I went to my favourite area, closer to my neighbor’s house, and went to a clearing.

I had been out for a while looking but eventually gave up my search, and I had just passed by one of the ponds when I decided to turn back around and head home for the day. Only about 30 seconds had passed, but when I turned around and looked down, I noticed a yellow spotted salamander on a rock partially submerged. It looked as though it had been placed there for me. I was startled, and I remember staring at it because I was shocked and confused. How had it appeared so quickly—as if someone had left it there as a gift?

I rushed home and forced my mom to come back with me into the woods because I wasn’t sure if it was dead, and I didn’t want to move it alone, but I still brought it home regardless, even though it had died, and it decomposed in the bathroom for a few days before I gave it a proper burial in the garden underneath a plum tree.

It was one of those moments that always stuck out to me and still does. The concept, “ask so you shall receive,” hit home and was one of those things that I never really understood and maybe don’t fully understand even today. I knew something was at spiritually significant work, and it felt like pure magic in the most absolute sense. Many years later, I connected a lot to hawk medicine because I felt drawn to that animal’s wisdom, and I requested a feather from the universe from an animal itself.

Within days of my request, I found a hawk that had just been struck along the highway. I got out of the car to move it off the road, and I felt a lot of sadness when I found this beautiful bird lying on the road. I left the bird’s feathers intact and prayed for its journey home to the spirit world, but I just felt indirectly responsible for requesting a piece of an animal. I didn’t consider the ramifications of how that feather might come to me.

That was coupled by a wave of sadness regarding my humanness, and the implications of what being a human means for the animal world and every habitat around the globe. I felt this beautiful creature didn’t belong here—it should still be soaring majestically, living a full life. The whole situation felt like a lesson in being mindful of how we speak our requests to the universe and how I should have worded my request differently. In the same way that I had not been clear in my wish for a salamander, the same was true for my request for a feather. As a child, I didn’t specify that I wanted to find one alive and well.

When I found the dead hawk along the side of a highway, I became more aware of how that process works, and I realized that I should always include in my prayers that no harm should come to others as a result of my request, whether it be an animal or a human. Then, when we speak our prayers to that universal source and put our requests to the universe, the best practice always involves best-case scenarios and envisioning the highest good for all.

For centuries, our ancestors and humans here before us relied heavily on animals for nourishment. Animals sometimes sacrifice themselves to help feed humans in our physical reality. I think they knew that we needed them in that way, and they would offer themselves to keep us alive because they knew it was for the greater good.

Fortunately, I choose to be a vegetarian in this lifetime, and I try as often as possible to refrain from consuming anything from an animal. I’m fortunate enough that I don’t require an animal to sacrifice its life to sustain mine, and had I been thinking about my request for a feather and if I had taken a step back and considered how that might impact the animal itself, I never would have requested it in the first place.

My goal is to bring forth as much positivity as I can. I want to create as many harm-reduction behaviors as possible and have the highest yield of good energy that I can put into the world. I like to use the example of working within the framework of a scientific model. If we think about ecological footprints and how we impact the world around us, we can see that concept as a continuum. Let’s look at ourselves objectively and from a spiritual perspective. We can transfer that concept to our physical reality and our impact on our environment and the planet. But also look at the emotional footprints we leave behind and those ramifications through our thoughts, words, and actions.

In general terms, we all underestimate the power of our thoughts. Those thoughts reverberate outside of ourselves, creating the dialogue we hear inside our minds that continually shapes our realities and impacts how others treat us. Specifically, this can stem from negative self-talk patterns that shape how we see ourselves, which inevitably affects how others treat us. Often, we learn how we’re supposed to view ourselves by how others treat us, but the goal is to negate or unlearn those patterns to break free of cycles that create harm within ourselves.

It can be a complicated process when we have heard descriptions spoken through the voices of others that do not reflect how we truly feel about ourselves, but that’s part of why we are here. Growth doesn’t happen without pressure from external forces; you can’t advance through the school of life without being challenged along the way. So, once we do this and finally see ourselves as the divine beings that we are, we can help shed ourselves of the weight of inherited trauma untruths about who we are and how we should live, and ultimately help others through dark times. When we can fully live authentically and love ourselves unconditionally, we create a gentleness within ourselves and how we interact with the rest of the world.

It works both ways because even our thoughts about others can impact those around us. There have been times in my life when I’ve interacted with others who didn’t match my vibe, and I’m sure my body language revealed much more than my words did in those instances. Because vibes don’t lie, and even those tiny interactions have meaning and significance and can influence everything around us.

I’m not saying you need to be best friends with everyone because that’s not how it works. Still, in moments of frustration or disagreement, it’s helpful to stop for a moment, take a few soothing breaths, allow your mind to calm itself, and remove that chatter that can distract and make us far more self-involved than we sometimes wish to be.

Ultimately, suppose you’re constantly thinking ill will of others or saying awful things inside your mind; even if you’re talking about yourself, it will carry over to other aspects of your life— regardless of whether you think it does. It will always come back to your relationship with yourself; everything else is just a reflection of your inner world. So, my advice is to be mindful of how you speak to yourself and examine the sources from which your definition of who you are was defined. That way, we can be gentler with ourselves and, by proxy, the world around us.