Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Ask Amber Donkey - June 2010




The following questions have been submitted by readers for Amber Donkey to answer.

1. Where I live there is nature all around me. I have acres of land to offer the wild animals and domesticated animals. They can come and go as they please. For the past few years in the spring/summer I feed the humming birds and in the winter/spring I feed the birds/deer/turkeys. This means other wild animals are coming to our land. Example coyotes, black bears, snakes, many kinds of birds/woodpeckers and mice/squirrels to name a few. My husband tells me I am playing with mother nature. The saying at our house is no one eats anyone else. We never touch any of the wild animals. I am strictly feeding them through the tough time of the season. I have asked the animals myself and they say they come since they know they are safe on our land . Am I playing with mother nature since I am calling these animals to a place they might not normally travel for food and safety? I do not want to harm or hinder the circle of life.

Amber: It seems to me that there is no problem with this as long as you understand that an open door is an open door. And as long as you understand that the circle of Life is just that – a circle. So a feeding station brings predator and prey. Those looking for food from your feeding station, and those looking for food – meaning who are at your feeding station. That is no different than any other feeding station in nature. A pond offers a place for bugs to hatch. Fish eat the bugs, birds eat the fish, something eats the bird, and on up the chain it goes. If you put seed out for example, the mice will come eat the seed, and you can be sure that something will come to eat the mice. The question then really is, can you accept that circle of life, or will you try to control who eats who? The animals understand this chain of life. So they do not look at your feeding station as a safe place nor do they see it as a dangerous place. They simply see it for what it is, a feeding station. Just like a field of grass is a feeding station or a crop of corn, or a pond. They do not look to you to change the course of nature, just because you put food out for them.


2. Any tips on how to handle all the new energy coming onto the planet at this time? How are you animals doing it? What can we humans do to integrate it more easily?

Amber: There certainly is a lot of energy swirling around right now isn’t there? It’s a time of great shifting and as anything changes, if there is going to be chaos, and there always is, then it is strongest closest to the shift. Uneasiness and anxiety seem to peak just as the forces reach their strongest to move and shift any energy. But energy that has been stuck for a long time, requires even a bigger force to shift it, and that is exactly what is happening now. Resistance adds strength to chaos while acceptance brings peace. Finding that balance is what this journey is all about. We animals are doing all we can to add to the peace side of the equation. Many humans are feeling overwhelmed with the chaos/resistance aspect. How we try to help is to just keep everyone in tune with their hearts. Its really quite simple. The heart is the path of least resistance. The mind is the path to most anxiety. We just try to stay connected and hold everyone around us to the earth as much as we can. We all have different ways of doing that of course.
3. How do you work with the trees, flowers and other plants?

Amber: First and foremost, I am alive because of them! But I do know you meant something deeper than that. But because I live off of their nourishment to survive, I have a deep and profound respect for plants, flowers, and trees and all they offer. Many of these fine species hold energy of this earth that is ancient. Their ancient wisdom is there like a vast library of knowledge and understanding for all of us to be nourished from. Plants and trees and rocks are the place keepers of the Earth. What does that mean? Well, it means, that they hold the history and the understanding of the original concept of life and all of the changes, shifts, deepening in understanding, and everything that the Earth herself has seen, felt, and known. All of that are held deep within roots and seed pods and beads of nectar. And all of it reaches out to all of life so that all of us remember who we are and the Earth who sustains us. When I admire them then, when I savor their smells, or when I taste of their fruit, I am mindful of the eons of love and guidance that the Earth put into each blade of grass, and each petal of every flower, and every cell in every tree and rock, so that I too may live among them. And you?


4. I have 4 rescue dogs. One came from a horrific Missouri puppy mill and was the most traumatized animal I have ever seen. In the 3 years I've had him, he has come from flinching every time I touched him to occasionally seeking me out. He even loves treats now and wags his tail. Would you suggest anything that I might be able to do to let him know that he is safe with me and that he won't be hurt any more?


Amber: I happen to live with several rescue dogs myself and consider myself to be a friend to dogs. I like dogs. I understand them, and I have learned a lot about them. Dogs live very closely with people and work very much at the heart level with them. But that is not to say that they also don’t have their own choices and decisions and difficulties just like everyone else. At Spring Farm, we see many animals who first come here as scared, shaken, and traumatized. But the first thing you need to know is that they do understand that they are safe once out of that situation. But just like with you or me, they still need to process their memories and their fears and their worries. You cannot just hug them and tell them its ok now. They have to learn this, remember this truth, and then trust it. That is a process that all beings go through. It is how we learn and move forward on our spiritual paths. Love them, hug them, and most importantly, let them grow. Your dog went through a very difficult time, but it does not define him as to who he is. It is simply where he’s been.