Thursday, April 15, 2010

Grace

This is a blog about my sweet dog Gracie who passed away Easter Sunday- 4/4/2010... 

I had a vision before I met Gracie that I would have a dog who would help me with my treatments and who was a true healer. When I met her, she was a scrappy wild dog from the reservation, with giant bat ears and vim and vigor and independence. I had no idea that this was the dog that I had envisioned. She and I bonded immediately, though, and she would wrap her legs around me and hold on like she was hugging me and not let go. She was a treat. 

Little did I know that that little scrappy Gracie was an angel in disguise as a dog. She came to me magically on April Fools day, and left me gracefully 14 years later on the 4th of April. I had her almost exactly 14 years.

Her life was filled with light and inspiration and a calmness that felt so soothing and balancing to me and to everyone she met. As she grew up, she turned into that dog I had seen. Wisdom and grace were apparent immediately and she truly lived up to her name.

She was such a gift to my readings and to my Reiki treatments. Sometimes she would get so insistent with me to help someone and she would bark when energy was shifting and healing and she would sit on people where they hurt to give them comfort and energy. In groups, she would always go over to the person who needed her and love on them.She was everyone's best friend and taught everyone the meaning of true compassion.



Grace shared pure love with everyone she met. She wouldn't let me pass another dog or person without saying hello to them and giving them a kiss. She had cat friends that she adored. (Maybe more than they adored her.) She loved all of my clients with a pure heart, even the one's who weren't dog people and didn't like her just because she was a dog. She didn't judge, she just loved.

Gracie overcame so many obstacles and taught me so much about being present in the moment and how not to fear life but to jump right in and live. She got bit by a rattlesnake when she was 2 years old. I was living up in Placitas and she chased something off our front porch. When she came back, she acted super weird and had a mark above her eye. We lived near a horse stable, and I thought she had gotten kicked by a horse. I started giving her Reiki and I got super nauseous and passed out. I woke up a half an hour later and her face had puffed up like a balloon. She helped me to see how powerful Reiki was, because it helped her to live through the snake bite. We got to the hospital and they gave her the anti-venom and she lived.

At 6 years old, Gracie got Addison's Disease, which is a very hard disease to diagnose. It is an auto-immune disease where the adrenal glands don't function. She would shiver and shake for seemingly no reason and had symptoms that resembled a bladder infection. I was taking her to an alternative vet, and then had to rush her into the hospital on New Years Eve because she had turned green- literally green. Divinely, I went to a vet that specialized in Addison's Disease and they were able to diagnose her and save her life. I am sure she had only a couple of hours to live. In maintaining her Addison's, we used a combination of Eastern and Western Medicine and it really helped me appreciate and know the strengths and weakness of both kinds of treatments. She had Addison's Disease all of her life and needed monthly shots, but she never acted lost or upset with her illness. She had bad days, and scary moments, but never showed any signs of giving up on life or giving up on any adventure she could find.

At 8, Gracie and I were hiking in the mountains and I had her off-leash. (I know, I know. :)) It was a snowy day, and we always liked going out to the quiet and solitude of snow. I was hiking an arroyo and I turned around and saw her chasing a coyote and a very large coyote was chasing her. I screamed at her to come to me, which usually didn't work, but she must have felt the panic in my voice and the coyote on her tail. She turned, and I prayed that big coyote would leave her, but he didn't and he kept chasing her down the arroyo. I started running towards them, knowing it might be stupid, but also knowing I would never forgive myself if I didn't try and save her. I had to face my fear, even though her life and my own were running through my mind. The coyote took out her back legs and she tumbled down the arroyo at my feet. I yelled "Get Back!" to the coyote and magically it did- not far, but enough for me to pull Gracie to me. I made myself look big by puffing up my jacket and then the whole pack started howling- they were surrounding us and I hadn't known! I almost peed my pants! I dragged Gracie out, still making myself look big and we made it out alive. She only had a tear in her leg where the coyote had taken her down. Whew! Gracie trusted me to get her out of that situation and didn't get aggressive or challenge those coyotes in any way. She gave me pure love and respect.

As Gracie got older, the adventures became more tame and more internal. Her Addison's Disease challenged her and I stayed in tune with her body and her signals when she needed new medicine and adjustments to her treatment. We talked naturally without talking and we knew each other's needs.

When it was time for Gracie to go to spirit, she handled it with as much grace as a dog who loved life could. I could tell she would fight to the last breath, and I needed to help her to go. She was throwing up and was in pain and she was dying. A dog has to suffer a little at the end- enough to let us know that it is time, but I told the divine- "I get it, you don't need to show me by having her suffer anymore, I will help her to pass." As soon as I said this out loud, her throwing up stopped and she rested. I would have a moment where I would think- "oh, she's ok," and she would start to get urp-y and uncomfortable again. I would say, "I get it," and she would be peaceful again. I got a true message that it was time, and all doubt was gone.
Her favorite and amazing vets who were like family to her came to the house on Easter morning, which they wouldn't have done for any other dog, I'm sure, and helped me to help her go to spirit. She got the royal treatment that she deserved and went peacefully. At first, I could feel her spirit adjusting to it's new formless form, but once her body was cremated I felt her with me larger than life and filled with the same grace that she always had.

There is a surrealness and a sadness with the fact that I have lost her body and her physical presence, but her spirit is so amazing and we are so connected that I feel her with me always. My heart feels more open and receptive to life than it ever has. I have Gracie with me once again telling me to live- to be open to life and to face my fears and to live. I know her message in life and in spirit is to live fully, to love unconditionally for all that we are and all that we are not, to be present and open to every moment, and to be a true friend. She lived her life this way and was and is a true healer to all of us.

This was written in honor of and in gratitude to my best friend Gracie with much love to all of you for your prayers, love, and support for both of us.

I am in the process of creating a doggie blog in honor of Gracie for all of us to share fun/funny and inspirational dog stories and pictures. If anyone wants to participate, let me know. 

Blessings,
Liz

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Crazy energy in the air

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but there is some crazy energy in the air, energy that scrambles the mind and the senses. We all need to focus on being grounded as this energy moves across the planet. "I am grounded, body, mind, heart, and spirit," is a good affirmation right now.

This crazy energy is the winds of change. Huge transformation is entering in more and more every day. We feel it in our own lives and we see it in the news from around the world. Will this change be positive? Of course, ultimately the world will naturally come into divine balance and open to more love and more peace. The key is to stay focused on love and peace within ourselves and not to get lost in the craziness of this healing planet. "I am love, I am peace," would be a good simple mantra to keep on your mind.

Many blessings to you all! Love and Light, Liz