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

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

New Baby

I have a new baby niece- Abigail Rose, born today- March 25th at 7:15am. I am off to see her tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's good wishes- lots of love, Liz

Sir Isaac Newton and finding common ground

I was thinking about life and how many oppositions we face.  We see Democrats vs Republicans, Eastern Medicine vs Western Medicine, intellect vs intuition, the list goes on and on. In Sir Isaac Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, he says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It makes me ponder how we can somehow tone our activism accordingly. Instead of creating opposition by being adamantly against something, couldn't we look instead for common ground? By looking for common ground and not opposing forcefully, the reaction against what we believe in would become smaller and we would have more peace within ourselves and more peace in the world around us.

I recognize this is easier said than done. We all have strong beliefs that we live from and it can be hard to find compassion for those who have strong opposing beliefs, especially when those beliefs cause others pain and suffering. Finding the common ground feels like the way to peace, though, so it feels worthwhile for us to try. 

Here's a prayer to work with: "Dear God, Goddess, Divine Spirit, I honor everything that I believe in and I ask for help in opening my heart and my mind to those who believe differently than me. Please help me to find compassion in my heart for those who oppose me and for those who oppose my beliefs. Help me to honor our differences and to find and focus on what we have in common. I ask for divine light to fill me and to fill the world so that we can find peace in who we are, and so it is, Amen."

 

 

Birth

It seemed only fitting after my last blog about death to talk  a moment about birth. My brother and sister-in-law are about to have a baby and I get to go this coming week and be there with them to welcome in their new little girl. There is something very amazing and sacred about witnessing  the beginning of a new life.

When a soul or a spirit comes into form, their energy is the closest that we can come to experiencing the essence or energy of god or the divine. Their little bodies are awkward, yet their energy is powerful and pure.

I will report back to everyone on my experience.

By the way, Gracie is hanging in there and has bright eyes and a bright spirit still. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers.

Death and New Beginnings

My dog Gracie is now 14 and she is slowing down. I can feel in her a preparation to move into spirit, and she has had some episodes lately than confirm that. It is a sad time because I will miss her body and her grace- she was named appropriately- but it is also a fascinating time. I can feel that her spirit is less attached to her body and therefore I can connect with her in a way that is very comforting and very strong. Since her body is slowly shutting down, her spirit is slowly moving out of her body, and I can tangibly feel the process. She has been a great teacher for me along the way in her life, but affirming for me once again that there is so much more to us than our bodies is a precious gift. She and I are in an ending of our lives together in this form, but it is truly a new beginning for us to connect in an even deeper way than we have with her here in her beautiful body.

I know that all of you have experienced pets or humans that you have lost. We can all connect anytime with those who have passed. Some of those connections are stronger than others; some souls have a lot to process when they die and it's hard to feel their presence, some are more tangibly present with us. All we need to do to connect is to send them light and love and to realize that they are now in a new form, a larger more divine and free form. We don't want to hold them to the form that they had when they were here, but we can still connect with the divine essence of who they are.


"Dear God, Goddess, Divine Spirit, help me to connect with the essence of my friend who has passed. Please send light and love to them in their process and their movement into spirit. Whatever is the most divine connection with this soul, I ask to open to that connection. I honor the place that my friend had in my life and the place that they have in my heart and I set them free to fly with the angels. If they can connect with me in a healthy way for me and for them, I ask to feel and experience and know that connection. In deep gratitude, I honor this space of connection, and so it is, amen."

Prayer

Quite a few clients have wanted my to write out the prayer that I do at the beginning of every session. This is a transcription that is a little more useful when you use this prayer for yourself. Hope you enjoy! Love and Light, Liz

Dear God, Goddess, Divine Spirit, I give thanks to my beauty, to my light, to my truth. At this time, I allow myself to fully and completely  surrender to my divine state of light, to my divine state of truth. As I surrender to my divine state of truth, I recognize and know in every cell of my being that I am love itself. I am light. I am health; body, mind, heart, and spirit. I am abundance. I am joy. I am peace. I am bliss. Anything and everything that stands in my way of recognizing and knowing my divinity easily and gently heals, lifts, shifts and transforms so that every cell of my being and every aspect of my life aligns with a divine state of light, to a divine state of truth. I honor myself in this life, and I bless this life in a state of pure and divine love and light, and so it is, Amen

(copyright Liz Vance)