Butterflies are the perfect symbol for transformation, metamorphosing through their four stages from egg, to larvae, to pupa to adult, emerging as a beautiful butterfly. Through the years the animal kingdom has shown me how transformations can happen in the most interesting and unsuspecting ways.
For example, one of my own kitty family members--- whose name is actually Butterfly---has taught me the power of transformation. Butterfly is a lovely petite tortoiseshell who loved to sit on top of an open door for hours as a young kitten. She lived up to her name, always flying to great heights. Before she was a year old she developed a large, open wound on her throat from constant scratching. Since we live a holistic life, we tried many nontoxic and homeopathic ways to determine the cause and to heal her. All my cats eat a raw food diet, so that was not the issue. Nothing worked for long, and it was a mystery. During this time, I did my best to separate myself from a concerned person to an animal communicator, forcing myself to remain open to her wishes. This helped in some ways and in others there was still a mystery and she started to find snug secure places to be because she was so uncomfortable in her own skin that when she was out in the open, she scratched all over her body and her throat would get very raw. We had stopped all medications and homeopathic remedies long ago (I just kept it clean and applied a very diluted lavender tincture which she liked) when she asked me to stop trying to heal her and accept her as her wonderful self…to look at her as being whole and not unwell. That in itself was an important lesson because if we keep looking at what we think is wrong we hold that vibration around that being and that is of no help. It is not that we should stop seeking ways to help but rather to remember to look at what is going right not just what we think is going wrong. This provides a totally different energy.
Then when she was about 7 years old a most interesting thing happened. I decided to go on a 30 day detox diet. I lost a little bit of weight but more importantly my nervous system just seemed calmer…just an overall feeling. Towards the end of it I noticed something else. Butterfly was out walking about and her neck was healed. She was social and happy acting as well…she has this wonderful sounding trill that just makes me feel happy. What connection could there possibly have been with my taking care of myself and with Butterfly having such a quick transformation? She later told me that she was holding healing energy for me while I was working through my own life challenges. As soon as I made a conscious decision to take care of myself, she knew she did not have to help me on the same level any more. There I was thinking I was helping her! This little 7 pounds of furry, trilling joy is still having fun, adventuring and helping me with readings as my other kitty family members are. They are always showing unique perspectives on how to assist humans and animals to live more harmoniously with each other.
I learned many things from Butterfly through this process and one is that it is important to take responsibility for your own energy. If you are not taking care of yourself then what are you offering for energy? It is not that I had negative energy, but it was just time for me to evolve to a higher vibration, and Butterfly coached me through it.
She taught me that being true to oneself is the way you will be given wings to fly, even though at times it may all look like a mess. We must never give up hope, for there is always a chance. Instead, we must be sure that we have not limited ourselves because we can’t envision the outcome. It is a constant learning process, and I have been my own blockage many times…yet have been given the opportunity again and again to try one more time.
I would like to share something that I have come across time and time again while working with people and their animal companions. It is about being heard and acknowledged. I have seen many animals blossom just from being heard. I have gone to many homes and we talk about saying please and thank you instead of giving commands…..the energy and transformation, my friends, is amazing. It is the intention that matters and when the intention is, “I see you, I respect you, you are my friend,” that is what you get in return.
Several years ago I was being shown in my mind’s eye something different than what I had seen before. I started seeing words around body parts. When inspecting the words I would find that they were in the positive and present tense. I meditated on how I was supposed to use this information and I was led to use them the same way Dr. Masaru Emoto worked with water. He did some amazing work on how the molecules in water would react from using positive words/thoughts and also what would happen with negative words/thoughts. The molecules stick together with positivity, looking like beautiful snowflakes; with negativity, however, the molecules will not stick together and end up as blobs. I was thinking about how much water we, the animals, and Earth contain. Could this really be a tool we can use and is this how to use these words that I see? The answer was yes.
When I am doing readings I often give the list of words I see and ask that people use them as if they were saying an affirmation to themselves. I feel this helps because it can help heal something in us as well as the animal, and it is meant to be a team effort. It works beautifully and the results have been both positive physical, as well as behavioral changes. One of my favorite examples of this method is a beautiful dog named Nelson who had a very hard start in life.
After being severely abused, he found his way into the life of a wonderful woman who made it her mission to help give him everything beautiful he deserved. That included surgery to help repair his damaged leg. Even after the surgery there was still a concern that his leg may still need to be amputated. Nelson needed to use that leg in order to keep it or the rest of his body would suffer from the imbalance. Nelson’s person and I met up and we discussed different options and listened to what Nelson had to say. I went on to tell her about the words I saw around Nelson’s damaged leg. I gave them to her to say in a list starting with the words “I am.” I told her that I felt she should say them several times a day. The beautiful conclusion to this is that in one month with this action being the only different thing done, Nelson had a visit with his veterinarian and he said “I don’t know what you have been doing but Nelson has grown enough muscle around his ankle that he can keep his leg.” This is exciting on so many levels! First of all for Nelson, who gets to keep his leg, but also for his person to see first hand the power of intention in practice. It is exciting for all of us if we really think about it. Thoughts, words, and intentions….powerful tools that we are all equipped with. How well do we use them?
In a meditation I had many years ago I had these words come to me: “Intention is the key, use it with reverence.” They are the words on my business cards, brochures, and in my heart.
My wish is that you find something in this article to give you hope and a sense of empowerment knowing you have everything you require to transform in any way you wish to. The animal kingdom is always showing us possibilities and are willing to share their loving wisdom with us. I give a heartfelt thank you to the animal kingdom ….Namaste