ANIMALS AND SPIRITUALITY: How our connections to animals enhance our lives
This week included both World Animal Day and St. Francis Day where many churches host events called Blessing of the Animals and let pets into the pughs or courtyards for a blessing ceremony.
St. Francis was a friar from Assisi, Italy now known as the Patron Saint of Animals because he loved all creatures and preached the message that animals were as much God's creatures as the human race and should therefore be protected. I may be Jewish – and we’ve just had our new year and Yom Kippur, but every year I also take my dog to church for the Blessing of the Animals if I can.
I’m spiritual and secular, and I’m open to receiving any and all high vibration energy and healing for my dog and myself.
In South Africa, I visited a small village’s medicine man, and in South Dakota, the wise elders of Standing Rock reservation where I volunteered once. I’ve attended Buddhist ceremonies with Buddhist friends and synagogue with family. I’ve had tea in the desert with Bedouin hosts and been welcomed on a mountain top by Druze people in Israel. I’ve done journeying with shamans and been guided through past life regressions. I’ve studied mediumship and have a close friend who is a talented medium. I’ve got a medical intuitive for myself and my dog and I’ve been stopped on the street by psychics who knew things about me that blew my mind. I got certified in Reiki and animal communication. I studied EFT, Scalar wave, chakra balancing, Kabbalah and more. I meditate and spend time in nature. These are all steps in my personal spiritual journey. I’ve been open and remained curious. Maybe you have similar interests or maybe you define spirituality differently.
One thing I can say from my experience and in celebration of World Animal Day is that animals are why I believe in a higher power, something out there bigger than any of us, universal energy or what some call God. My experiences with my dog, other dogs and cats plus with animals in the wild and at sanctuaries have been among the most spiritual moments of my life. Add to that my meditations with animals, energy healing and animal communication. Nothing can top connecting with animals. I still think of the whales I’ve seen in places like Alaska and call on them as spirit guides. I’ll never forget the dolphins who escorted our boat to the Channel Islands. The lions, elephants, giraffes, and rhinos took my breath away in Africa. Our park ranger put a chameleon in my hand as it changed colors. That same park ranger taught me to recognize different bird calls and backed up a mile in our Jeep so as not to destroy a spider’s web that he knew had been a full day’s work. One of the best laughs I ever had was from a leap frog hanging out near us in Florida. Another good time was having dinner on a California dock with sea otters and sea lions while the otters were also having dinner – diving for clams and opening them with their rocks. One of my most memorable birthdays was at an animal sanctuary with a pig named Sister Mary Frances, other pigs, cows, sheep and chickens. I was lucky enough to live near horses, alpacas, sheep, and goats for a few years during which time I felt compelled to send healing to the horses who kept coming over for more when my dog and I would walk by. I was also attacked by a swan once when I was a teenager, so not every experience with animals was blissful, but that was likely my fault or bad timing. We need to respect nature and all its creatures more than we do. What are a few things you can do this week to protect animals? Maybe you update your dog’s microchip and ID tag address. Maybe you donate to Animal Legal Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund or your local animal shelter. Maybe you vow to get your single-use plastic use closer to zero. Maybe you eat less animal products or buy a cork bag instead of leather. There are so many ways to help.
In October and November of 2016, I launched a passion project with two friends to celebrate animal rescue and kindness. We intended to work on many related projects, but life got in the way and one moved back to Iceland. Being Rescued was our first project and we were proud of it. We interviewed dog parents about their dogs and kindness, professionally photographed them with their dogs, and promoted adoption and the specific rescue groups who helped these particular dogs. The project was one way everyone involved could spotlight animal protection and show gratitude for the rescuers and the dogs. You can still see the portraits on Instagram @beingforallkind though the website with interviews is no longer up. Since my own dog Django was adopted from a rescue organization after being pulled from a kill shelter, we included his story, our story. It was exactly six years ago when we published this project. I’d like to share Django’s project contribution with you here.
BEING RESCUED
KINDNESS IS DOING RIGHT BY ALL ANIMALS.
Zannah & Django AKA Little Champ, Djangsters, Southern Gentleman
The rescuers knew Django was abandoned at (likely tied up outside) a kill shelter in North Carolina with no ID. He was about a year old and someone had given him some care and training yet that someone wound up abandoning him outside a center that would euthanize him within days (a typical over-populated kill shelter) if he wasn’t claimed or adopted. Couldn’t people at least leave their dogs’ ID tags on and health records so they’d have a fighting chance at being rescued? Perhaps a note indicating the dog’s name, good temperament and health, and that they just couldn’t afford the care or find someone else capable. Well thankfully, a number of rescuers based up north regularly go down south to kill shelters to save as many dogs as they can transport and foster. So I was the fortunate one able to adopt a Southern Gentleman. There is no experience more humbling, life-affirming and rewarding than this connection and perhaps parenthood in general. I love my dog infinitely, eternally and with all my might. He’s the reason I get up in the morning and the last one I think of before I go to sleep. Django inspired me to make a sea change on my path, and together, I hope we do right by all animals and help save more who are homeless and abused. Our profound connection turned me into an advocate for animals. I volunteer, donate, and support a variety of causes for animals and I consume far fewer animal products (both diet and otherwise). A story about his name... I prepared myself for dog parenthood for a couple of years. One fine morning years ago, I woke up thinking I’d soon adopt a dog and I’d name him Django. I knew it from Gypsy Jazz musician Django Reinhardt. The name just came to me as I woke up, but I later learned his name in Romani means “I awaken.” And my Django was also a bit of a nomad before we found each other.
Special talents?
Django can detect chemotherapy and possibly disease itself.
He can transform from a dog to a teddy bear to a seal pup in an instant.
He can also expand hearts.
Django, like most animals, has pure intentions, authenticity and tremendous sensitivity to feelings. He has also bravely protected me late at night on the street and nursed me back to health when I needed his TLC.
For anyone thinking to expand the family with a dog, I can attest to the utter fulfillment these precious pups bring. When we rescue them from shelters, streets, and bad situations, they rescue us right back. Django, may you always be happy, healthy, and safe by my side.
Rescue Group: Sindee’s Strays (via petfinder.com)
And there you have it – some of my spiritual connections with animals that can and do enhance life. Because I’m grateful, I do something everyday to celebrate and protect animals, not just my own beloved dog. I’ve always been an animal lover, but as my dog’s name suggests, it was through Django that I had a spiritual awakening.