Creature Thoughts

GAZEHOUND’S ANIMAL COMMUNICATION NEWS

January 2010

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Keeping in touch with the animals….
and the people who love them

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“For Auld Lang Syne”

For over a week now, I’ve been mulling through ideas, wondering what my January newsletter article will be about.  This morning I woke, as did many across the globe, with a certain song ringing through my mind.  The article then just wrote itself.

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun ’till dine ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

[complete lyrics....]

So many of my thoughts of late have been about those friends and family, both human and animal, who have crossed over.  I know that this is the case with others as well, owing to the number of calls I receive asking me to help people connect with their pets who have passed.  I was saying to someone on the phone just the other day, that I think connecting with pets in the spirit world may be my favorite thing to do.  I think this is because I have said goodbye to so very many of my own animal family in the past couple years, that I can completely understand the grief … as well as that slight sense of relief, that easing, at the moment we realize that their spirits still hear our voices.

The broad seas of life and death do seem to roar between us, when a friend crosses over.  And yet the ability to lift the cup … to open the connection once again … can be such a comfort.  No, it will never be the same.  We will no longer run about the slopes with that animal friend in the same way, never feel their fur, or their soft breath upon our faces.  They do, however, hear our voices, sense our emotions, and know the love that lives forever for them in our hearts.  Although Auld Lang Syne is not necessarily meant to be a song which calls forth those from the other side, it speaks of memories, of connections, of loves gone by, and of friends who have been an important part of our lives.  It talks of celebration of those memories, of an honoring of the past.  Surely, an important part of the past lives on in the spirits of those whose journeys have taken them beyond our physical reach.

Those memories  which at first touch us with deep sorrow do mellow with time.  Those which bring tears and despair, a year down the road will bring fond smiles.  The longing never ceases … and yet it loses its sharp edge.  Rather than stab the heart, it caresses, and is further blessed by the knowledge that our beloved spirit friends joy in helping us to heal.

A spiritual teacher said to me, long, long ago, years before I began studying animal communication, when I was taking psychic development classes and learning to serve as a medium, that she felt that I would become an “animal medium”.  I think she wasn’t far from wrong.

Although I love connecting with all animals, helping their people solve problems, digging up hints as to what may be causing physical issues, or just assisting people in strengthening the bond with their pets, I think that I am most “at home” when touching the other side. Perhaps this is why, at this time of year, my thoughts … and my writings … are so filled with soft, fond memories, and thoughts of all our dear ones across the broad and roaring seas.

[So, take my] hand my trusty friend !
and give a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

Are you missing an animal friend? Do you have memories you’d like to share, or wounds that haven’t yet healed?  There are many resources that can help your heart to adjust.  While I would never promise that all the hurt will go away, I can reassure you that some sense of “a different normal” can enter your life, and you will be able to once again feel the quiet peace of connection.

There are grief support groups for those who have experienced the loss of a pet, including internet communities.  Although I do not have any specific groups to recommend from experience, I do know that a web search will bring up quite a few that appear to be beneficial.  Do you have a favorite support group?  Please visit this post on the web and leave your recommendations in the Comments area below the post for others to benefit from.

An animal communicator can often help you to reconnect with your friends who have passed.  Just knowing they hear your voice can be extremely healing.  Sometimes animals will give us concrete evidence of their presence, and at other times a simple message of their continuing love is all that is needed.

There are many books which address animal death, dying and the spirit in the afterlife.  Two that I have found particularly comforting are:

• Animals in Spirit by Penelope Smith (This book includes the reincarnation story of my own heart-dog, Kai.)
• Animals in the Afterlife by Kim Sheridan

If you have found other titles helpful, please share them on the website in the comments area, as well.

While I realize my articles of late may seem sad, in truth they are not.  Yes, I do miss my friends who have passed beyond the veil.  Writing about them, and about the connection we can maintain with them, is therapeutic.  I write not with sadness, but with a sense of peace, of comfort, and an inner knowing that “all is well”.  The calls and emails I have received recently, about pets who have passed away, tell me that there are many others who also seek such reassurance.  Thus, I’m moved to share … and to invite you all to open your minds, your hearts, and believe that, though you cannot touch them or see them with your physical eyes, your dear ones are still with you in spirit.

Blessings for the New Year to all my animal friends, here and beyond, and those marvelous humans who love them so dearly.

FYI NOTES and NEWS

Holiday Special on Gift Certificates is Over

Although the holiday special for gift certificates has ended, you can always find our regular offers on the Rates and Services page of the website.  In addition, I will be adding paypal links to that page to make purchasing more convenient.

Don’t forget, also, that gift certificates do have an expiration date. If you’ve given them as gifts, or have them tucked safely away at home, check those dates and be sure to redeem them before they expire. I’ll continue to post this reminder in each issue of “Creature Thoughts”.

New Newsletter Format

It’s here!  From now on, or at least for as long as it works out well, Creature Thoughts will distribute through the “MailChimp” newsletter service.  Please be sure your “allowed senders” file, however your ISP/email services chooses to implement it, includes my email address of allcreatures@gazehound.com.

Website Features

Challenge Games

Our fifth Challenge Game, “Dream a Little Dream” is online!  Have you played yet?  Remember that it will be replaced by the next game mid-month.  Visit the site by the link above, and join us in a new intuitive experience!

Some Recent Rambles

• New Creature Thoughts List Server
• KnitWit: Sockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
• A Quiet Christmas Eve
• Challenge Game #5: Dream a Little Dream
• Vibration

Polls

I have added a Poll feature in the left sidebar of the website.  The polls will change monthly. Feel free to stop by and add your vote!

Testimonials

Have I helped you with your animal friends in a way that you’d like to share with others?  You are welcome to visit the Testimonials Page, and leave a “Reply”!  I’d love to see your pets featured on the site!

And Other Stuff, too!

Don’t forget that you can always keep up with changes and info on rates, policies, and “other fun stuff” on my website, including the archives of Creature Thoughts.

Additional Web Address! In case it’s easier to remember, we have a second domain name:  AnimalCommunicator-NY.com.  Visiting that address will automatically redirect visitors to the regular website, and hopefully, it will be easier for people to write down and share.

Off-Site

E-News List

It has become more important than ever, that all of my clients are subscribed to my e-news list. Thus, whenever anyone inquires about information, or sets up an appointment, they will receive both an invitation to the list and a separate note from me letting them know they’ve been invited. I strongly encourage all my clients to stay in touch, by remaining subscribed to this list. And please feel free to forward this newsletter issue to any friends, family, and acquaintances whom you feel might be interested in joining us.

As noted above, come January 2010, I have changed servers for my e-news list.   Please feel free to email me right away and I’ll try to help remedy any problems that might crop up.

Free Help For Our Animal Friends at NELR

Northeast Llama Rescue and Barnyard Sanctuary and New York Wildlife Rescue (an IRS 501(c)(3) charity) accept Paypal donations through their website at http://www.redmaplefarm.net. I’ve dedicated much time and love in the past several years toward helping to build a safe place for our wild friends in need, and our livestock rescues, and am extending the offer to all of you to aid in their care as well. And now, we have a totally painless (and free) way for anyone to support the animals at NYWRC/NELR. If you sign up to shop online through iGive.com, at no cost to you, every purchase you make through the iGive gateway will earn a donation for the animals.

To sign up to shop through iGive for NYWRC:

http://www.igive.com/NYWildlifeRescueCenter

And even if you don’t sign up (but why would anyone not sign up since it’s free and painless?), you can still earn money with each internet search you do simply by logging in to the iGive search engine rather than Google or whichever other search engine you normally use:

http://www.isearchigive.com/NYWildlifeRescueCenter

I set the above link as my homepage in my browser to remind me to search through iGive and earn pennies for the animals each time I search. iGive’s usual one cent per search is doubled through the month of December, too, so get using it now while we can earn the big bucks!

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Gayle Nastasi (of Gazehound’s Animal Communication) is a professional animal communication consultant and writer, who hopes her connection to the animal world can serve as a way to help her fellow humans enrich their relationships with their animal companions. By better knowing our non-human friends, we ensure a kinder future for our world and we learn what it means to be a unique and essential part of all that is. Permission is given to forward this article to anyone you feel might enjoy it, as long as it is understood that copyrights are held by Gayle Nastasi, and the author’s name, and links to her website(s) are left intact. If this publication has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to Gazehound’s free monthly e-newsletter, “Creature Thoughts”, just visit the newsletter link below.

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Related posts:

1. Creature Thoughts, April 2010
2. Creature Thoughts: July 2010
3. Creature Thoughts: February 2010