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Home for the Holidays

by Rose De Dan

Panini and Truffles

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for gathering with families and loved ones, as well as a time for giving thanks for the blessings in our lives. Greeting cards often depict the holiday with images of families gathered around a table laden with delicious food. But for myself, and many of my readers, such a scene will always include at least one loved animal companion as in Jacquie Lawson’s latest heartwarming e-card, The Thanksgiving Feast.

Not everyone understands that bond, but many can become converts given the right animal partner. Over the years I have heard many stories that begin with “I never liked cats…” or “I never wanted a dog, but…” — a story that often concludes with wonderment about how much joy that particular animal brings. And it’s a magic that happens purely through the willingness of another species to offer us their trust, and to love us unconditionally. If we allow it, if we make room for it, their love can inspire us to communicate with them from the heart, and, in so doing, we become better, happier people.

Reader Gary Johnson in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, shared this photo with me of a doghouse he built for his two dachshunds. Panini (the black and tan) was a year-old on October 4th, and Truffles will be a year-old on November 29th.

Gary says, “I never quite understood your thing with pets until I got a set of dogs. I find them to be great companions and loads of fun. A set of characters to say the least. My wife had a fit when I built the doghouse. Something about ‘other things to do’ and ‘Dachshunds don’t need porches.’ The lights are solar and the sign I made.”

For someone who never had dogs before, Gary seems to be “hearing” their needs just fine. He says, “I moved the doghouse to follow the winter sunlight. They enjoy sitting on their porch watching for ninja squirrels (I think) who drop from the trees and cause mischief. The only thing they enjoy more is sitting and watching for ninja squirrels while warming their fur in a sunbeam.”

Indeed, these two charmers do not seem to have any difficulty at all in making themselves clearly understood. Gary shares, “Both have discovered the hearth by the fireplace. Neither seems to have interest in moving until spring. They are smart dogs, amazingly so at times, but they are stubborn as the day is long. Truffles has taken to staring at the fireplace and barking until it’s lit. She then proceeds to lay on the hearth until you wonder if her fur is going to burst into flames and rolls over while stretching. I should have named her Mercury after the planet closest to the sun. She is a clown.

“One day I was walking both when Panini suddenly stiffened when she spotted a cat. Truffles looked at the cat, tail wagging, thinking she found a new friend. Panini turned to Truffles and gave her an indignant bark as if to say, “You don’t wag at those.” Truff gave a half-hearted bark at the cat, but you could tell she did not mean it.”

It is said that no home is complete without a dog. Gary went for a double, adopting two. And it appears that both dogs feel that no home is complete without Gary. He says, “Since I came back from vacation in the Far East, they don’t seem to want me out of their sight. It’s like I am being stalked.”

I’d say that all parties are glad to be home, with each other, for the holidays.

Best wishes to all my readers for a happy Thanksgiving with your family, furry or otherwise!

Rose De Dan, Puma, Saqqara, Kiya, Cougar and Sand

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Think Outside the Cage
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Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is a paq’o and mesa carrier in the Peruvian Q’ero Andean Medicine Tradition. In addition she is also a Reiki Master Teacher, animal communicator, author of the acclaimed book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism, and creator of Animal and Reiki Art. As an animal shaman, she views her role as a healer as one of building bridges between people and animals, and of empowering them to reconnect with Pachamama, Mother Earth.

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Excerpt from:
Home for the Holidays

Been Raining Toadstools

by Rose De Dan

Okay, I know I live in Seattle, a place renowned for rainy weather nine months of the year, and should be used to inclement weather, but today I felt way overdue for sunshine.

Usually the rain is gentle. The heavy downpours I knew back East are relatively unknown here, but that pattern seemed to change recently when we endured what I would have called a Nor’easter, had I still been living in Massachusetts — several days of heavy rain, strong, gusty winds, hail, etc.

My dog, Puma, and I were forced to take our usual walk during one particularly heavy rainfall, and were soaked by the time we had gone two blocks. Poor Puma expressed his displeasure with the whole soggy mess by laying his ears flat against his head to keep the rain out. Halfway through our usual circuit he volunteered to cut the length of our walk in half by trying to drag me in the direction of home. We compromised by cutting the walk short by a few blocks.

We even had thunder, a very rare phenomenon here, unlike South Jersey where I grew up. So rare that while in session with a client I thought at first the sound I heard was a neighbor dragging out their garbage can. It was only when the volume and vibration continued to increase that I recognized it as an isolated peal of thunder.

The topper was the hail. One minute I am sitting on the couch, reading quietly, the next the peace is shattered by what sounds like stones hitting the windows. Winds were driving the hail sideways into the ancient glass, and the noise was so loud all the animals, even Puma, looked panicked.

The hailstorm picked up in intensity, and despite sending Reiki and positive feelings of safety and comfort to the animals, they were uneasily moving away from the windows and gathering in the center of the house, all the time casting glances at me for cues. Keeping up a running dialogue of reassurance, I eyed the windows with some concern (I joke to people that I think the original 1924 glass is only held in place only by the glazing pins), and tried to think what we would do if one of them gave way.

Listening to the winds I suddenly had an idea. In the course of my shamanic training we had been told that a practitioner can work with weather. Now it is my understanding that it is usually an altomesayoq that can do that, a higher level than I am, but an experience I had very early in my training made me feel that it could not hurt to make a request. There was no time to reach for rattle and Florida Water, I simply turned to each of the four directions, and very simply asked the winds to be gentle with us, and thinking of all the birds, animals and plants enduring the onslaught, added a request on their behalf. As soon as I finished speaking, the hail stopped. Completely.

I imagine that my request simply coincided with the natural cessation of the hailstorm, but I was not taking any chances. It would be impolite not to say “thank you” no matter what the reason for the end of the storm. This time, with rattle in hand, proper offerings of Florida Water and deep gratitude from my heart, I gave thanks to all four directions, all four winds.

And today I gave thanks for the appearance of the Sun, feeling the warmth on my face, watching my cats basking, I felt my spirits lift in response. Sometimes I guess you just need a reminder that the elements of nature are truly powerful, humbling and miraculous in their splendor.

P.S. This past week may not have been fit weather for woman nor beast, but it has been great for the fungi family. Toadstools have been popping up all over the place. The image appearing with this article is one that sprang out of the ground alongside the city street on which I live. In the background you can see the store lights reflected in the puddle underneath a parked car.

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Think Outside the Cage
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Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is a paq’o and mesa carrier in the Peruvian Q’ero Andean Medicine Tradition. In addition she is also a Reiki Master Teacher, animal communicator, author of the acclaimed book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism, and creator of Animal and Reiki Art. As an animal shaman, she views her role as a healer as one of building bridges between people and animals, and of empowering them to reconnect with Pachamama, Mother Earth.

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Original post:
Been Raining Toadstools

First-Time Book Reading Jitters

by Rose De Dan

I will be appearing at SoulFood Books in Redmond, WA this Thursday, May 8 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. reading excerpts from my new book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism and answering questions from the audience, of which hopefully there will be at least a few!

As a first-time author new to the book reading circuit I thought I should research my role online and perhaps pick up some tips on how to make a decent presentation and not bore my audience.

One article entitled “Tools of the Trade: Readings” by Charlie Stross made me smile with Rule #1: “The audience is not your enemy.” It had never occurred to me to think of them that way, but the author went on to make a good point—we are not performance artists. Writers are unaccustomed to creating in public, writing is a very slow and private undertaking which would bore most people silly to watch take place. A reading of your book (especially mine, which chronicles the amusing, and hopefully sometimes inspiring progress of my adventures in healing with animals and people) is an airing of your innermost thoughts in a venue where the audience can SEE you and make observations about you not just your work. Great, never that comfortable with public speaking to begin with, Charlie has now made me more nervous than ever!

So, how to turn my angst into a source of strength? Charlie continues with the information that “to start with, people who turn up to your reading with be either friends, fans, or the randomly curious, in descending order of probability.” Hmm, while not a native of this area having emigrated here in 1999 from the East coast, I have called the Alki neighborhood of West Seattle home for seven years. If I think of everyone from this geographic region as my neighbor that should help (note to self, I will clear the popular Seattleite reference to Redmond as “the Evil East side” from my mental storage compartments). So, I now have my plan of action, in my mind every person in the audience will be a friend or potential friend.

Now, on to the program, what do I read? An hour does not seem like a long time until you are the only person speaking. Although my years of teaching Reiki and shamanic classes to captive students has given me some ability to hold the attention of my audience at least until that last cup of Seattle coffee necessitates a bathroom break, I can’t rely on the same techniques, this event is not for paying students invested in learning a healing modality, this event is free to a more general audience. After deliberation I decide that I should choose an eclectic mix, something for everyone: humor, suspense, pathos (sometimes all in the same story!), with perhaps a strong leaning toward animal lovers (not a difficult choice considering the book contents).

So far I plan on including a reading of “Two Dogs,” a true story of two lost dogs that found their home again through an emotional appeal to me and the kind efforts of two elderly neighbors. For me it was an early experience of the validity of animal communication before it became a part of my professional life. Then perhaps a segue into my move here from Massachusetts entitled “As the Stomach Churns,” a comic chronicle of the madcap adventures of moving with animals. To honor my connection and appreciation of the beauty and wildlife still present in the city, specifically in Alki, I think I might read “At the Edge of Two Worlds,” a story of my first encounters with seal pups on the beaches of Alki and the use of Reiki for babysitting. Still a toss-up whether to stick to the humorous with “Guns and Mesas,” a recounting of what happens when a shaman encounters a security check at the airport and the shamanic wedding blessing that the guests at my youngest sister’s wedding will never forget (and I can include the use of props which should qualify for performance art), or to get serious with “The House That Love Built,” a story of my father’s death and my revelations about his life which coincided with the events of 9-11. I am leaning toward getting a bit serious in light of the situation in Tibet as well as other hot spots around the world, but perhaps there will be time for both.

In any case, no matter what I read, I will actively use what I have learned from my healing and teaching practice: I will send Reiki to the situation so that I will remain calm and that my words may be heard as I intend, and that the listener will receive whatever they need. This means that I must let go of attachment to outcome and simply be present and available. I will do my best, and set my intention toward welcoming many new friends and neighbors (Eastside and Westside) to my first book reading event, SoulFood Books, here I come!