I am looking forward to opening sacred space for the Day of the Dead Celebration for the animals on November 1.
As I gather items to create the shrine for my dearly departed companion animals I am bumping into all sorts of repressed emotions: grief, anger, confusion mixed in with love and joy. As I thumb through pictures searching from my childhood animal companions. I am seeing my younger self again. The little girl who was loved and tended by these sweet beings.  Due to circumstances I did not get to say goodbye properly to these sweet dogs.  And then I was not supported through the stages of grief from losing my best friends. Leaning into these emotions and meeting my little girl I can now allow the emotions to flow and be the parent for myself that I needed then and allow their spirit to surround me again. WIth the new perspective of being the loving parent to my younger grieving self I can know delve into the impact this pups had on my life.
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The Day of the Dead is not simply a day about mourning your loved ones and telling stories of them; it’s a day about remembering their lives and the impact they had upon you.   As well as keeping in mind that just because they’re no longer with you doesn’t mean that they’re entirely gone, because you keep them alive in your hearts and memories.

Around this time of year there is much talk about “the veils are thinning and the spiritual world is moving in close.”   What does that exactly mean- veils, thinning and why should you care?   And what does this have to do with you or your  beloved pet?  
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The best explanation I came across for the meaning of veils thinning and why is from Tess Whitehurst, a soul sister who believes like I do that “Life is Magical.”
“At Samhain/Halloween, that relentless, all-pervasive Mystery is as close as it ever gets. And now we’ve arrived at what we mean when we talk about “the veil.” You might say it’s the place where the everyday illusion of separation brushes up against the divine truth of eternity and universal interconnection. The place where form meets spirit, seen meets unseen, known meets unknown.

Why does the veil thin at Samhain? Because the days are getting shorter and the natural world is preparing to temporarily withdraw from the realm of life and growth. The harvest cycle is waning, but it’s not gone. This means Samhain is a transition: a doorway between the season of life and the season of death. Beneath this realm of constant change, there is a wide open space of eternity. A place of stillness in which the appearance of change arises. A serene openness to which we will always return, and with which we are one, even at this very moment.”

Now what does this have to do with  your beloved pet? A lot, since animals are much more energetically attuned with the earth and the spirit world.  As the veils thin the animals feel the closeness of the spirit world.  If  your beloved is elderly and ready to cross they feel the  pull and sense the ease on which to cross over back to spirit form.  Psychic abilities are enhanced at this time as well so have a conversation with your elderly pet and hear their wishes on how they want to move on so you can honor and support them.  

For your beloved pets that are in spirit now is a good time to connect with them. Honoring them and remembering them by sharing stories invites them to come closer.  Then you can tell them what's on your heart and listen with all your psychic senses for responses.   Imagine how wonderful it will be to feel their presence - the soft head nuzzle, the weight of them in your lap, the pleasant familiar sense of them. Don't trick yourself that you won't feel them.  Instead treat yourself to the mystery of life - connection and love.  The animals always come when called.

Photo by Karly Jones on Unsplash

Two things that feed and nourish my soul are ceremony and animals.  I also take delight in playing with people and animals in exploring animals communication and intuition.  Combining the three of them is heaven for me.  The past two weekends was a slice of this heaven as I  lead Salmon experiences which entailed opening sacred space for people to listen to the wisdom of the salmon as they returning home to Piper’s Creek to spawn.  The creek was wildly different each weekend.  The first weekend it was calm, clear and shallow we saw many salmon navigating their way up the creek.  The second weekend was fast, murky and high.  It was hard to see the salmon and there were not as many as the previous weekend, yet each participant got something from the salmon.
Listening to the wisdom required presence and being open and receptive while holding an intention to learn from the salmon.  Messages came in many ways such as thoughts, feelings, body sensations, knowingness, images and hearing words.  As humans, we are constantly sending and receiving messages and part of these experience was gaining understanding just how each person received messages differently thus strengthening their intuition and ability to speak with the animals.
For me after a ceremony, I have observed anything that is not in alignment with the information or messages or deep work I did during the ceremony presents itself to be dealt with.  Kind of like upgrading your wardrobe and having to get rid of all the old clothes that no longer fit or are your style.  My ceremonies also have an energetic container that offers support for three days after the ceremony with the intention of easy body integration and receiving other messages via dreams or guides.  Today when I was out of sorts I knew the teaching of the salmon of to continually return to my own deep river of inner knowing was stirring the pot of where I had not been listening to my own intuition, my own river.  I was so stuck the pull of the old story of the spaces and places I had not listened to myself and self-judgment had me spinning and flailing, I knew the salmon were offering me another teaching and I couldn’t hear it because I just felt like I was going under.  Leaning back into the container I listened for guidance on how to continue up the river and I heard “ASK FOR HELP.”
So I reached out for support from a mentor to navigate this river of life and she gently and wisely reminded me that  “Elemental awareness can give support: the light-filled sky and the water and earth below seen through the salmon’s eye.  They breathe and move and negotiate every obstacle one thing at a time because all we can be in is the present moment after all.  The salmon love to come home and they are focused on this and stay present.  They are transformed by the present moment allowing the creek to move them back when they need to rest, catching the undercurrent to move forward.  Honoring life, movement and the moment.”    This settled my nervous system and allowed me to refocus on the present moment.
The salmon continue to teach me about returning home to myself with compassion and tenderness and staying present in the moment.