tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64450684376308081172024-03-13T14:36:20.366-04:00HOOF AND HEARTBEATS: The Spring Farm CARES' Animals' ForumDawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-15813623770430157002014-12-08T12:04:00.000-05:002014-12-08T12:04:10.903-05:00The Sanctity of Horses<h3>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2cF851X5CHU/VIXV8y8Mk8I/AAAAAAAAAOM/xGfT2nDaIlc/s1600/oldhorse3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2cF851X5CHU/VIXV8y8Mk8I/AAAAAAAAAOM/xGfT2nDaIlc/s1600/oldhorse3.jpg" height="152" width="200" /></a></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p>At Spring Farm CARES we began our journey as a rescue and
retirement facility for horses. As we
were working with these magnificent animals, we realized early on that we were
not the ones doing the rescuing but indeed were the ones being rescued. Our herd once stood at 38 horses. Their hearts and hoof beats fill the farm
forever with comfort, just as an infant feels in the womb, while hearing the
steady cadence of it’s mother’s heart beat.
Today, that herd stands at 25, mostly all elderly and/or having special needs and requiring specialized care.
Through natural attrition we lowered our numbers so that we could devote
ourselves fully to their needs and care which naturally increase with age.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-akE-a6ki6cU/VIXW_fDmAWI/AAAAAAAAAOk/QAjMUAYDxQE/s1600/horses%2B005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-akE-a6ki6cU/VIXW_fDmAWI/AAAAAAAAAOk/QAjMUAYDxQE/s1600/horses%2B005.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>It has been a most humbling and amazing journey to share
their lives with them and for them to share their hearts with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horses are deeply spiritual and finely tuned
and connected to one another and to this planet as a whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are majestic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are ancient in their wisdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they give endlessly of themselves to
their human brothers and sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horses
have stood by us humans, served us in peace, fought beside us in wars, been
overused and misunderstood by us – yet they continue to partner up with
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we began working with them, we
were struck by the fate that most of them met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were used until their bodies could give no more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some were raced and shown while others were
work horses pulling carts and logs and hauling people around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some were bred until their bodies could no
longer maintain a pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then
their “useful” days were over and they were disposed of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many went for auction and on to
slaughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them weren’t even old
but their bodies had been carelessly misused, compromised, and destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They could no longer meet the needs of the
humans who used them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were at the
end of the road with nowhere to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
began to see that this wasn’t just a few horses, but thousands and thousands of
them a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hundreds of thousands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cast aways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thrown out as if they were a discarded old piece of machinery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We knew we couldn’t save them all as we had
limited resources and space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we
could help where we could and more than that, we thought we could share with
the world about the heart of the horse and the magnificent beings who have
literally changed the lives of so many humans for centuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horses have been a constant friend to humans
as humanity has progressed through so many phases of our own development and
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we humans frequently take
for granted just who they are and what they have given and continue to give to
our own development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR9jB6ynve8/VIXW52rAxII/AAAAAAAAAOc/GBdsIwKwEaY/s1600/chubby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vR9jB6ynve8/VIXW52rAxII/AAAAAAAAAOc/GBdsIwKwEaY/s1600/chubby.jpg" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What we didn’t know when we started out creating Spring Farm
CARES was how deeply they would touch our lives, honor this land, and guide us
on to who we are now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horses listen to
and understand at the deepest heart level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They have a way of touching humans and showing us, indeed reminding us,
who we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They ask the question, “Who
are you and where are you going?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
they patiently and quietly wait for an answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you stop to share a moment with them, they will share their hearts
with you and walk with you steadfastly beside you – never wavering with their
loyalty and compassion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Horses are huge –
in body – and in spirit – and in heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You can have the most difficult day in your life and go out and hug your
horse and feel the grounding energy fill your body and replace chaos with
peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have the energy of ancient
trees and the wisdom of old stones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
are mirrors to what lies deep within our own hearts and to truly know a horse
is to face all those things about ourselves that we are sometimes afraid to
look at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are healers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are teachers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are fellow travelers in life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LsjBE1kO70k/VIXX1to13XI/AAAAAAAAAOw/5ZxYfQlJ0qE/s1600/Buster%2B130616%2B(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LsjBE1kO70k/VIXX1to13XI/AAAAAAAAAOw/5ZxYfQlJ0qE/s1600/Buster%2B130616%2B(1).jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Horses are the backbone of this farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They hold the space for all else to
happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is because of them that we
are here and it is their strength that keeps us moving forward and steadies our
sometimes weary hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We owe them a
lot and are honored to have them with us to guide us and share their
wisdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Please visit all of our horses, past and present on our
website, and read their stories and be touched by their hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.springfarmcares.org/horse.htm">http://www.springfarmcares.org/horse.htm</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-33356067555438138612014-05-22T17:36:00.001-04:002014-05-22T17:36:30.881-04:00What Do Animals Teach Us about Being Better Humans?<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t know about you but some days we look around us and
wonder just what the heck mankind is doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is easy to lose hope and to feel lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We look around at the destruction of our
environment, the horrific ways many of the animals are mistreated or
disregarded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is easy to see so much
that is negative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great calamities
wrought by a changing climate, weather patterns reeking havoc all over the
world – floods, fires, mudslides, drought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We seem to live in a world of great extremes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet, the animals have been lovingly guiding us and filling
us with hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because they tell us that they see potential in the human heart that is
beyond anything we fully realize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
days when I personally lose faith and trust in humanity, my animals will
require me to look a little closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
anyone deserves the right to have lost faith in us humans, it is the animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, they haven’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They still believe in opening hearts and
trusting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They still love
unconditionally and without judgment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those of you with animals in your lives know exactly what we mean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many of us, we let animals in our hearts
far more deeply than other humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ask
people this question a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do we
let animals in so deeply?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inevitably
they answer, “Because we can trust them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They love us for who we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
don’t judge us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course those answers are all true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the animals have asked us to look even
deeper by asking us these questions – “Why not learn to love each other as we
love you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not believe in one another
as we believe in you? Why not trust each other, love each other, help each
other, believe in one another?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do
you give up on each other?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gP-B-YT6qUM/U35sxMUJOHI/AAAAAAAAAL0/wApR5gBbcZg/s1600/mack_margot09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gP-B-YT6qUM/U35sxMUJOHI/AAAAAAAAAL0/wApR5gBbcZg/s1600/mack_margot09.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The animals have never separated themselves apart from
nature, the environment, the planet, or one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They walk this earth knowing that all is
connected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is humanity that has
ostracized itself, disconnected from, and all but forgotten that we are all One
and all connected and in this together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But that can change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are
awakening to something greater than we understand or comprehend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the human heart opens and is allowed to
breathe of its true nature, we find our connection and Oneness with all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of Nature hasn’t walked away from
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked away from that Oneness
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the amazing thing is that all the rest of Nature is waiting
to welcome us back into the fold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
spite of the havoc our indifference causes and has caused, there truly is no
separation other than what humanity has perceived of itself for the past
millennia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The animals are looking to us
to reach past our own inner pain and suffering and to remember the love and the
hope and the Oneness of Life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, like
the loyal canine companion awaiting our return home, they prepare to welcome us
home with freedom and wild abandon of their hearts – celebrating that we are
all together again – whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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With all the pain we cause them, often thinking that if they
can’t speak they must not feel it, or that they do not understand or are less
than humans, even with all of that, they still find hope and a reason to bestow
their unconditional love on our hearts and try to help us find our way
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's as if they try to show us the
best of who we are so that we can one day be the best that we can be and to remember
the truth of Life – that we are all One.<o:p></o:p></div>
Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-41587849985254803422013-09-29T12:41:00.001-04:002013-09-29T12:41:57.543-04:00When Life Gives Us a Sign
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A reader submitted this question and Dawn Hayman answers.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Q</b>:
<i>Do you believe that life sends us messages through people or
things? Signs, as some people call them. I have received
many signs in order for me to prepare myself for the death of a loved one -
many messages since April. I could say one after the
other. The last one was one month ago. It was a very
clear message. I told myself: this is
it. Nothing has happened so far. What is
this? Is life playing tricks on me?</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A:</b> I fully believe
that Life, Spirit, the Universe - whatever words you want to use to describe it
– is always sending us messages.
However, we don’t always recognize when we have received an answer or
put the answer into the appropriate context. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many times, we are given information that is about our own
personal growth, but then we read it through a context of fear.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For example, you may be receiving messages
that you need to prepare for a loved one’s passing, but that passing may not be
imminent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the Universe may be
sending you the piece of growth that needs to happen within yourself so that
you can then process whatever you need to process within yourself for when that
time comes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frequently, we ask for help, and then when we get it, we run
from it. It’s the old adage “Be careful what you wish for, you may get
it.” Like a person who says to the
Universe, “I hate my job! I need to be doing something I really
like.” Soon after, the person loses
their job unexpectedly and instead of seeing that as the movement that needed
to happen to find something better, they bemoan “Everything always goes wrong
for me and I never can find happiness. I am doomed to be stuck in something I
don’t like.” When in fact, the path to
finding the better job they were asking for was just presented to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many times we see these gifts of Life or the Universe
through our own fears. It is a given
that we will face the deaths of those we love.
Our fears around that are often reflected then in how we read messages that
are given to us. If we are afraid of
what we’ll do when one of our loved ones passes, and the Universe sends us a
message through someone or something that is to convey the message that -“when
your loved one dies, you will be fine”- we may actually hear that through our
own fear and translate that to - “Your loved one is going to die soon.” In other words, our own fear is blocking us
from hearing the actual message. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have heard people say, “I never get any messages like that
given to me.” But I think that is very
unlikely. The truth is that Life
communicates to and through us constantly.
We are not alone in this world.
We have guides and helpers all along the way. And when we ask for help, they do
answer. The question really is are we
listening? Do we hear their answer? And do we hear it in a way that is not
mistranslated through our own fears and apprehensions? If we pose a question to the Universe, to
Life, to Spirit, we will be answered.
But it is also up to us then to listen for the answer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After our facility suffered a fire in 1993, the Universe was
providing us with message after message to move forward and continue on the
path. It would have been far easier to
quit at that moment. We had lost
everything. And there was no obvious,
clear path to move forward. But the
Universe kept telling us this was a chance for a new beginning. “Trust!” the universe screamed at us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember we were doing salvaging for long hours, for weeks,
shoveling through the ash of the ruins
of our building that burned to the ground, looking for anything of value to
us. There was one particular piece of
jewelry that Bonnie was hoping to find.
A gold snake pin with several stones that was given to her as a gift and
held special meaning for her. We looked
and sifted through the place where it should have been but found nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Winter was closing in and I was out working in the ruins for
the last time that season. I knew I
neither had the strength nor the energy to continue and it was time to move on.
But I couldn’t give up looking for that
pin. I sifted through one last pile and
found nothing. Disheartened, I threw the
shovel into a large pile of ash and debris and turned to walk away. I had given up. Just then, a Monarch butterfly started
fluttering around my head. Around and around
until it became a nuisance. “Pay
attention! Pay attention!” it said. I kept walking and was not at all paying
attention until it occurred to me that it was December and it was freezing cold
outside and there are no butterflies around.
The butterfly led me back to the ruins.
It fluttered back to the pile where it joined 4 other butterflies all
fluttering around and around the handle of the shovel that I had just thrown
into the pile. I pulled the shovel out
of the pile, heaped with ash, and threw the shovel full into the sieve I had
left sitting there. I heard the distinct
clink of metal. My heart raced as I ran
to the sieve and began brushing the ash away with my gloves. There, in the middle of the ash and dirt, was
a shinning gold snake pin. It looked
like a jeweler had just polished it.
There wasn’t a mark on it. The
butterflies all circled the sieve and then back around my head they circled,
singing out with joy – “Trust! Believe!
Out of the ash you will shine.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then, they simply vanished. They didn’t fly away. They were just gone. But the pin was very real in my hand. The lesson from Spirit went deep into my
heart. I was done digging in the rubble
and now it was time to move on. Time to
trust that we would rise beyond the ash, which of course, we did. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life, Spirit, the Universe, does not play tricks on us,
although it does have a great sense of humor and a love for play. But it is not deceitful. “Ask and you shall receive.” That is the very nature of Life, Spirit, the
Universe. But the listening to and
interpretation of the answers and the journey we then follow is totally up to
each one of us. That is our individual
journey and our learning experience in Life.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Listen. Trust. Believe.
It is a journey that each one of us embarks upon each in our own unique
ways. And Life, Spirit, the Universe, is
always there cheering us on. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-6586123997208431402013-02-19T16:29:00.000-05:002013-02-19T16:34:09.285-05:00Dealing with the Loss of a Pet/Loved One<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following question was submitted by a reader
looking for help with the recent loss of his beloved dog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I lost my dog and light of my life Bonnie the
night before last, I have been away at college and I didn’t get to say good-bye.
I feel so heartbroken and lost, almost like the light has gone away. She was
part of my family for nine years. I’m not sure what to ask.....but for
some reason I felt I had to send this email. Do you have any advice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">J.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear J,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pain of losing someone we love is always
difficult. But the animals have taught
me so much over the years about grief and healing. Its all about trusting our heart connections
and letting the very light that you feel is now gone from your life, back in,
to your heart. The perception that you
weren’t there when your friend passed is also hard and probably makes you feel
even more disconnected. However, there
is a powerful truth that the animals have shared with me over the years that
I’d like to share with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That truth is that our heart connections are
very real and transcend time and space.
So what does that mean? And how
does that ease your heart? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The love and connection you had for Bonnie and
felt from her is very real. When she was
still alive and you were away at school, I’ll bet that you could still feel her
and knew she was there. You knew the
importance she was in your life and the place in the heart where she lived and
brought you so much love and joy and companionship. You also know that your feelings for her and
her feelings for you didn’t diminish one iota because you were away at
school. Distance did not interfere with
your relationship or your love for her. And
in that same way, Bonnie knew you were with her even as she left her body. She never felt separated from your heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That still holds true now, even when she is not
in a physical body. We live in a
physical world and the reality is that our bodies are used to touching and
seeing and interacting with our friends and loved ones. So when you go home, especially for the first
time, and she is not there, it will be painful.
When we cannot touch them or see them, our bodies ache for them. And that separation we feel is a physical
separation and is the basis for our grief.
There is no way around grief.
When we love someone and then they are gone from our lives physically,
we miss them and we grieve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, healing comes in when we realize and
understand that through our grief, our hearts can still find them. Our love and connection is still very much
alive. For love and heart connections
are very real energy connections.
Picture it as a beam of light connecting one heart to another. That beam is not physical but is made of
energy. And energy is the connection
between the physical and spiritual world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the thousands of consultations I have done
for people with animals in spirit, the most common message I get from those
animals is something that I find very comforting. They tell me that when we think about them,
they feel us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think about the power in that. Because it is a truth of heart connection
that is the source of healing our aching hearts. They still feel our love and we can still
feel theirs. That doesn’t mean that we
won’t still miss them. You will miss
Bonnie and all the things about her. But
from your grief, try to spend some time on your memories of joy and all the
laughter and comfort she brought to you and your family. I’ll bet you all have incredible memories
that make you all smile when you think of them.
And you all have individual moments that were special just between you
and Bonnie. Allow yourself to remember
those things. And when you do, also
allow yourself to feel the love you still have for her and acknowledge the
place she holds firmly in your heart.
Because as you do that, she will feel that from where she is in spirit,
and she will return that love to you and you WILL feel it in your heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our heart connections are real and they are
eternal. They are unaffected by time or
space. And the place that Bonnie holds
in your heart and in the life of your family is forever secure within her heart
and soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is the absolute truth. It is what thousands and thousands of animals
have taught me over many years. Grief is
a process that will ease with time and get better. Love is a connection that is forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a blessed and lucky dog Bonnie was to be so
loved and cherished by you and your family.
As I’m sure all of you have been blessed by her as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dawn Hayman</span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-91999593370867096222012-10-18T12:16:00.001-04:002012-10-18T12:16:35.392-04:00Do Animals Go to Heaven? Our Eternal Connection
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-coa2byFj2QA/UIArCVBKjII/AAAAAAAAAKE/jgcm9yngiN0/s1600/grace_margot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-coa2byFj2QA/UIArCVBKjII/AAAAAAAAAKE/jgcm9yngiN0/s320/grace_margot.jpg" width="257" /></a>One of our Facebook followers posted the following question,
which we have been asked many times before, and we felt deserved a more
thorough response. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><i>I recently had to say good- bye to my baby, Smokey (feral cat).
It was a very difficult decision and feel like maybe I made the wrong decision.
I've been struggling, wondering if I did the right thing. I miss him terribly.
Do you think animals go to heaven? I just want to know he's in a better place.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Animal Communicator and Spring Farm CARES co-founder, Dawn
Hayman answers this question from her perspective from years of experience
working with many thousands of animals both in the physical and in spirit. These animals have shared with Dawn their
thoughts, experiences, and their journeys from the physical into spirit, and
most especially their eternal relationships with the people who love them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Dawn: I think that no
matter how “prepared” we think we are when one of our beloved animal friends
leaves, it is still a very difficult process to go through. We form bonds with animals, (yes, even feral
cats) that are often closer and more profound than any we have shared with
humans in our lives. The reasons for
this are many but most especially because animals love us unconditionally and
without judgment. Because of these
traits, we tend to let them in our hearts more deeply. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It is important to know that the relationships we have with
these animals, and with humans in our lives as well, are indeed eternal. I say this not in a placating type of way or
an attempt to make you feel better. But
the truth is that any animal or human I have communicated with in Spirit always
communicates something in common. They
always tell me to tell their loved ones that they still feel them. When we think of them, they still feel
us. That heart connection or love that
we feel for them and from them, surpasses the bounds of the physical
realm. Think of it as a beam of light
connecting your heart to theirs that stays intact even after they leave their
physical bodies and go into Spirit. You
can still feel them. And they can still
feel us. As an animal communicator, I
have helped thousands of people re-connect with their friends in Spirit and it
is always some of the most rewarding work I do.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we are faced with helping an animal move on with
euthanasia it adds another layer of emotion as it is a normal process to
suddenly second-guess our decisions afterwards. But we need to know that if we approach this
decision from our hearts, that our hearts will always know the truth. Because our hearts are connected with theirs
and they are walking this path with us and you are making the decision
together. You will absolutely know when
the time is right. Its never an easy
decision, and often we find ourselves second-guessing afterwards.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In those times of doubt, and in our times of grief, it is
most helpful to allow your heart to feel the love you feel for and from your
loved one. Think about times or even
just a single moment, that makes you laugh and fill with joy for who they were
in your life. And even though you know
that memory will be overshadowed by your missing them and grieving for them
once again, keep remembering them doing something they loved to do. With a feral cat, it may be watching them lie
in their favorite place in the sun or to come up for a dish of food you put
out. As you allow that memory to fill
you and feel the joy and love you have for that being, know that they are
feeling you in that moment too. If you
do this, you will actually feel them there in your heart. You will feel the connection. And your grief will subside. We will still miss them. Still miss seeing them, touching them,
watching their bodies. But we can know
in our hearts that the relationship we have with them is always right there
where it always was and we are still connected by that sturdy thread of
love. Heart connection. Heaven is so much more than a place. Spirit is alive. Spirit is as alive as being in the
physical. And when we allow ourselves to
feel the connection, we do feel them and know they are still there and as alive
in our hearts as they were when still in body.
We feel the truth that they are indeed ok and still safe within our
hearts, and we are safely embraced within theirs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>For more information on Dawn's seminar Embracing Spirit, and for information on consultations with her, please follow this link</i>. <a href="http://www.springfarmcares.org/workshops.htm" target="_blank"> http://www.springfarmcares.org/workshops.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-74247502114733706652012-10-13T17:42:00.000-04:002012-10-13T17:42:32.298-04:00What Matters? A Lesson in Trust
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SgMmR_Yrhg8/UHneZik_5II/AAAAAAAAAJ0/FvBKGkV2f3U/s1600/White-tailed+Deer+-+spring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SgMmR_Yrhg8/UHneZik_5II/AAAAAAAAAJ0/FvBKGkV2f3U/s320/White-tailed+Deer+-+spring.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Matt Perry from the Spring Farm CARES Nature Sanctuary</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today I was out running 6 of our dogs in a big fenced-in
field. Outside the fence, on the other
side of an adjoining field, were 3 deer, a doe and her twins, now full grown
themselves. They were a fair distance
away but the dogs saw them right away and ran to the fence barking at
them. Surprisingly, the deer didn’t run
into the woods but stood and watched them.
They know us and our dogs as they see us out here every day. And they know the dogs are contained within
the fence but still, I wondered why this doe wouldn’t be teaching her kids to
be weary of people and dogs. It is now
hunting season and as I watched the 3 of them lazily graze in a field they knew
to be safe to them, I was concerned for their safety and thought to myself
about their life and what matters to them.
Do they understand its hunting season?
Do they worry about that? Or do
they just carry on and live each day? Why
are they trusting me and the dogs?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I called the dogs from the fence and we proceeded to the
opposite side of the field as far away from them as I could get so that they
could live in peace. They remained
grazing and our dogs eventually focused on other things. As I walked around the field, my awareness was
drawn back to the deer and I was surprised to see that the doe was staring
directly at me and walking towards the fence.
“Come let me meet you,” she said to me.
I turned and even though I knew this would invite the dogs to come with
me, I was mesmerized by her forwardness and obvious mission to come closer, and
like a magnet, I found myself walking towards her as she continued towards me. We both strode purposefully toward one
another. It felt like old friends,
neighbors, meeting in our yards to say hello and reminisce about this beautiful
fall day. Nothing else existed in the
world at the moment, just the deer and me, meeting at the fence line. Her two kids followed her with equal
trust. She stopped about 25 ft. short
of the fence, and I stopped about the same distance on my side. And there we all stood looking at one
another. It was then that I noticed that
the dogs were awfully quiet. I briefly
turned to find them sitting, watching, about 20 feet behind me, just
watching. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The doe was so relaxed and her trust of this situation
struck me as being wrong. What if I were
a hunter? She shouldn’t trust people
like this. But before I could warn her
of all things bad in the world, she spoke to me deep within my heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You see, I came to show you what matters to me. You asked, I’m answering. This matters.
You matter. Who you are matters
to me. It matters so much to me that I
trust my life with that knowing. Not all
humans are dangerous to me. You
certainly are not and I am certain of that or I wouldn’t have come closer and
called you to me. What am I teaching my
children you ask? I am teaching them
about what matters most in life. That
feeling another’s heart will never give you wrong information. That their feelings are their life blood and
they can trust that just as I have. I am
showing them and teaching them about the ultimate trust in relationships. You are a fine human but this is a lesson you
yourself don’t trust. You
have not been taught to trust your heart and know when its safe to do so. I wanted to show you this and tell you that I
indeed know what matters most in my life.
This moment matters. You
matter. Who you are deep inside matters
to me as I walk this field. Because you
are who you are, I can stand here safely.
We can meet across a fence that is between us but does not separate our
worlds at all. This is what
matters. Trust what your heart shows you
my friend and you will find all that matters to you is right there for you to
find. Thank you for your concern. Thank you for caring about me and I hope I
showed you today that I care about you.
We will each walk away now having known one another and we will carry
this experience forward into the next field and onward. And we will each know what matters in this
moment. May you find peace in your
heart. Your gentleness precedes you and
has touched us today on our path. You matter to me and now I matter to you.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This moment seemed to last forever but was actually very
brief. I could hear her breathe, not
snorting out of fear, but a deep breath of satisfaction. And slowly, she turned, and the 3 of them
calmly walked away. “Be safe,” I sent
her from my heart. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You too,” she replied as the three of them walked back into
the woods and continued on their way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-38241033173511308812012-04-01T18:20:00.000-04:002012-04-01T18:20:06.263-04:00Two Hearts Looking for a Miracle<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our sanctuary is full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are always full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in one day this past week, just 1 hour apart, we got called about two cats from 2 separate and unique situations that needed help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither had a chance in this world if we didn’t help, and time was running out very quickly for each of them. Both were desperate for the last opportunity for loving arms to hold them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both are elderly, somehow abandoned, strays found fighting to survive, both with health issues, and both incredibly loving. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took them both in.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpER7sFcslY/T3jRTKtJtiI/AAAAAAAAAJk/gxVi6I_mCcM/s1600/moondrop_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="221" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wpER7sFcslY/T3jRTKtJtiI/AAAAAAAAAJk/gxVi6I_mCcM/s320/moondrop_blog.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Moondrop</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Moondrop</strong> was found as a stray in January and was taken to a local shelter at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is estimated to be at least 15 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was sick, in very poor condition, with severe flea infestation and hair loss due to flea allergies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also is badly in need of a dental.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, there are not many prospects for adoptions of elderly cats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, clearly, Moondrop was not ready to die and all she wanted most in her life was a person to snuggle up with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So little to ask, and nearly impossible to find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shelter contacted us to see if we could give her a place and we agreed to help her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within moments of her arrival, she relaxed knowing she had a home again and people to snuggle with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we pick her up, she nestles in with an amazing purr and will sit like that for hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all fell in love with her instantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has an appointment with our veterinarian for a complete exam and she will get the dental treatment she needs very soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as we get her back to full health, we will try to find a special home where she can live out her days in a family all her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if not, she will stay here with us at the farm, to be loved by us.<o:p></o:p></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PHFoMuUEpwA/T3jR5bkwUxI/AAAAAAAAAJs/jiyB-IepUrE/s1600/lincoln_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PHFoMuUEpwA/T3jR5bkwUxI/AAAAAAAAAJs/jiyB-IepUrE/s320/lincoln_blog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lincoln</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Lincoln</strong> arrived the same day after he was found scrounging for food at someone’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was ravenous when they offered him food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This super friendly loving boy was also injured with abscessed sores on his neck and chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly he had been out on his own for a while and was not faring well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The elderly couple who found him had cats of their own they were caring for and couldn’t keep him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we saw that he was older, injured, and so compromised, we took him in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither of these cats had any chance of getting adopted at the shelter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rushed Lincoln to our vets on an emergency basis and we discovered that he has a number of serious health concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is FIV positive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it appears he has advanced lymphoma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was clear to all of us how hard Lincoln fought to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His wounds were cleaned and treated and they should heal nicely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we do not know how much longer Lincoln will have with us, but it was very clear he was not ready to go yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life is still worth living for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our vet feels he can still live comfortably for a while and we are giving him full care and treatment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is so incredibly happy, loving, and joyful and loves to snuggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Moondrop, he snuggles in our arms and purrs his heart out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The relief flowing from this cat is amazing to experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To know that he can feel loved, warm, and snuggled in however much time he has left is the greatest comfort we can know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His gratitude is obvious and when it’s time for him to go, we will help him if need be, and he will die surrounded by hearts who haven’t known him long but who love him for all he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was the only thing he was looking for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So simple, yet he couldn’t find it. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When we held each of these cats the day they arrived, we were stunned by the feeling of how they let down their guard and stopped having to fight to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They each knew that they were safe, that they had a place to be, and that they would know what feeling loved felt like once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They fought hard to get to this place again, searching for one more lap to curl in, one more set of arms to hold them, one more head to butt up against, one more heart to purr for, and their fights were over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No one knows how much time either of these cats will have left in their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may be weeks, it may be months, it may be years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for each of them, every single day counts as another day to be grateful that someone cared enough to open their hearts to them once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither of them deserved to die alone out on the street, sick and starving, but both of them were looking at that reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone loved them once, you can tell by the way they are and by how they see humans in their lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know what happened to them for them to end up homeless on the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But all it takes is a loving and caring heart to change their plight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing that they have now gotten their wish of loving arms to hold them before they die is both heart breaking and fulfilling to those of us who now step in as their caretakers and friends and offer them the space within our hearts to love and be loved once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-3811096284982570172012-03-04T15:09:00.000-05:002012-03-04T15:09:10.100-05:00The Story of Tucker and Dogs with Aggression<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>When Letting Go is the Only Path to Healing<br />
The Story of Tucker and Dogs with Aggression<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsbdD44arY0/T1PKzsC95MI/AAAAAAAAAJE/95LOaoDX3C0/s1600/tucker+9+months.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsbdD44arY0/T1PKzsC95MI/AAAAAAAAAJE/95LOaoDX3C0/s320/tucker+9+months.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I kept thinking, “This just can’t be happening.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was happening and at an alarming speed as if I couldn’t make sense of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My 20 month old Golden Retriever/Border Collie mix, Tucker, was standing in front of me with the softest eyes as the veterinarian showed us his radiographs on the monitor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“There is a foreign body obstruction in his intestine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing but surgery can fix this,” he told us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I knew surgery wasn’t an option for Tucker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our options had run out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked at me with those loving, soft eyes and spoke straight to my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s ok to let me go now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t do this anymore.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The words came out of me as if I were watching someone else say them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We have to euthanize.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The vet knew this was a possibility if what we found on the radiograph confirmed what he thought he felt on exam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He quietly nodded and prepared the space for Tucker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ten minutes later, as we held him in our arms, he was gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">My heart felt like it was going to explode with grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to run outside and scream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew Tucker was free at last from the past 18 months of hell he lived in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could feel his freedom and joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew it was the right thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But all I could feel was that I just killed my best friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A beautiful, vibrant, healthy young dog lay motionless before me on the floor and that was the only vision I could remember when I thought of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, Tucker was so much more than that and deserved to be remembered for his love and light and life, rather than for his pain and torment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a hell we walked through together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew someday that I could share his story, our story, and help others who were going through the same thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, Tucker wasn’t euthanized because of the obstruction in his intestine, we could have fixed that with surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I had to make the decision to euthanize him due to aggression that was getting worse and worse as he grew older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing we could do, and we tried many things, could set him free from the hell he lived in within himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No amount of love could heal him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No amount of money could cure him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing or no one had the answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the only relief he could get was to move on out of the body that confined his beautiful soul to a prison from which he couldn’t get free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No one can understand the kind of pain that comes from making this decision with a vibrant young animal unless you’ve been there yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If telling my story can help another, then it is worth the telling and worth the honor of my dear friend Tucker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Myth number one</strong>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aggressive dogs are mean dogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It would be so much easier to understand actually if that were the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Tucker, like other dogs suffering with aggression, was a loving, sweet, soft, and gentle soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what made this so unfair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of his issues, I became closer to him than any other dog I’ve ever had in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could read each other so subtly that it was like a dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew when he needed help and I knew exactly what he needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he knew I could hear him and that he could tell me when he was in trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was such a heart dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved other animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he was so easy to love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His sense of humor made me continually laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything had potential to bring on a moment of play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he could make us laugh, you could see him light up with joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet by his final days, more than 90% of his life was spent living with the demons that chased him inside his brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was harder for him to find his own light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was trapped in a body from which he couldn’t get out. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Myth number two:</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aggressive dogs are that way due to poor training and management.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sometimes that may be true or contribute, but it is not always the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tucker started out life just fine temperamentally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then suddenly, at 6 months old, something went very wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like someone flipped a switch and we began seeing signs of aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First it was directed toward the other dogs and generally around food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we separated him at feeding times and figured it was no big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until one day I heard him growling and turned to see what was going on, only to find that he was staring at me with his teeth fully barred and a look in his eyes that looked like he wasn’t even home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I called his name you could see him fight to come back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I called him again and he began to snap out of it and act normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I knew he wasn’t normal and something horrible was happening to my dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Myth number three:</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can love them and train them out of it.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I believed that because I loved him as much as I did, certainly we could heal whatever was going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And certainly, it must be something I was doing wrong or misunderstanding about him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one took me many months to understand and accept that this wasn’t about me at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was about something happening inside of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something that he had no control over and neither did I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never felt more desperate in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please tell me this isn’t happening to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I understood how dangerous he was getting and I understood that although he hadn’t bitten us, it was because we worked with him every minute of every day to read his every cue and know when we had to intervene and put him in a room by himself BEFORE anything happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this, I knew every subtle nuance of his body language, facial expressions, mood, and energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept saying, wow, if this were a healthy thing, we’d have an incredible connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And we did have an incredible connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We connected in a way I have never connected with any other dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it was because I was constantly on call to know where and how he was and what was happening with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only realized after he was gone how very exhausting and all-consuming that was for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Accompanying the aggression, Tucker also had an obsessive/compulsive component.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would obsessively eat rocks, and not little ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first time, at 8 months old, we thought it was a fluke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’d never even seen him play with rocks, let alone eat them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there we were having to do surgery for the removal of 6 good size stones in his stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say, we began watching him closely when he was outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But 4 months later, it happened again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time it was 3 good sized rocks stuck in his stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rushed him into surgery again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, he had a harder time recovering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had horrible drug reactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was allergic to his antibiotic and then had what we believe were horrible hallucinations on his pain meds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From this episode, he became very fly phobic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the extent that we started to not be able to get him to go outside during daylight hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks goodness this was late fall and soon the flies were gone and the snow fell and covered any rocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a reprieve and hoped by spring that he’d be better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the meantime, we tried to find medical causes for his continuing aggression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His episodes seemingly had a seizure like component to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew in advance when it was coming on and so did our other animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our cats, who loved to snuggle with Tucker, would sometimes suddenly not enter a room when they saw him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each time this happened, an aggressive episode would shortly follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching our cats became a good barometer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We tried drugs to no avail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took him for a thorough neurological exam and an MRI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was diagnosed with a probable seizure disorder in the emotional center of his brain and prognosis was very poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we would try one last course of meds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to wean him off the first med over a 2 week period, then wait 3 days, and start the new med.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the evening before we were to start the new seizure med that he began vomiting and we knew what we were facing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We rushed him to the vet knowing that if he had another obstruction, then we had reached the end of our path together. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Nothing can prepare you for that moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the realization that he didn’t have to suffer anymore gradually overtook our own loss and pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Tucker had been a wild animal, he would have found a way out of that tormented life on his own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But being kept safely in our house, the only way out was the decision we had to be brave enough to make with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to look past our own pain and allow him to find his freedom and his healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes healing doesn’t look the way we want it to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it doesn’t have the outcome that we consider to be the best option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the end, we find out that we are not the ones in charge and we cannot always make things turn out the way we think they should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Tucker, he could not find wholeness here in the body he was in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His path to wholeness was outside of this realm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It was not an easy journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a painful process to go through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I write this now 10 months after his death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a process for me to accept and understand that the pain would heal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can look at his photo now and laugh – remembering all the love and fun he brought into our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still shed tears – missing him and feeling sorry that we couldn’t have had longer together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the one thing I am most grateful for is the opportunity I had to love him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That connection – the healthiest one of all – lives on in my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I know he is now free of torment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I know his journey continues forward – renewed, healthy, and alive with new possibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For that, I will forever be grateful for every moment we shared together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if sharing his story helps someone else going through the same process, then the story is worth the telling, and is an honor to a dog with a huge heart who loved to help people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A dog who shall forever live in our hearts - whole. </span><br />
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</div>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-76001766346854369202011-11-27T17:14:00.000-05:002011-11-27T17:14:41.918-05:00Ask Amber - November 2011Here are this months questions for Amber Donkey. Thank you for your submissions!<br />
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<strong>Q</strong>: My question is about reincarnation. I know in the past you have said that it depends upon what the soul wishes to learn as to what species it comes in as, but what I wanted to know is how particular you can be about coming back. I often look at domestic animals and think that I wished somebody had warned them to NOT come back as a pet cat or dog or cow – and wonder what they imagine their lives will be like if they “plan” to come in as a cow. It seems wrong to me that souls keep coming into bodies that are only destined for lives of misery and abuse. For a cat or dog, they may have a very good life with humans, or not. For animals that humans eat, they may have a short period of peace and happiness if they are cows grazed in paddocks, but the ending to their lives is always the same. For animals born into factory farmed species, it is hell. Do they know in advance, or are there too many variables to predict? I know that for humans, much supposedly depends upon good karma whether or not you have a good life. I am not sure if this is true, but if it is, is that the same for animals? <br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> This is such a juicy question and one that I am thrilled to get a chance to take a stab at answering. However, please understand that I am answering in a very abbreviated version. Let’s start with the last part of your question first. That dealing with karma. And my first statement is that karma means different things to different people. But the way you asked it is the way most people understand karma. Live good and you reap the benefits by coming back in a good life. Do something bad and pay the consequences by coming back with a lifetime of struggle. Or some people see it as do something bad to someone and the next life you come back as the victim of the same treatment. It is not that simple. So for the sake of our conversation here, this is how I understand it to be. The soul, every soul, chooses what it wants to learn more about itself, or not. If you come into a lifetime to learn something and you do not accomplish that goal, then you will most likely choose for another opportunity to learn it again. Its not a matter of punishment but a matter of finding another way, to learn the lesson again. So if you as a soul were choosing to learn more about compassion, for example, and you end up becoming an abusive person and hurting others, and then you die. It is not that you now will come back as a victim of abuse for what you did. However, you may, in spirit, realize that you never learned compassion for yourself or others in that lifetime and you may then choose the opportunity to live a life where you are given a chance to learn that again. And you may choose to live it from a different angle, like coming in as the one being abused to learn compassion for the abuser. Do you see what I mean?<br />
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Part of my point here is that we, the observers, of an animal or human’s life, cannot pass judgment as to why they chose to experience whatever they did, because you do not know what that soul is setting out to learn, understand in another way, or experience for itself. It is hard for us to watch someone suffering and to think that they chose that for themselves. Yet, I tell you that each of us has a journey and that journey is set by us alone. As I was in donkey form, I could say to you, why would anyone choose to come back as a human? I wish I could warn them not to. Its too complex and dense. But you see, every form of life offers a unique and incredibly beautiful opportunity for a soul to express its true beauty and to learn and feel and experience what it has chosen to learn. <br />
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Why would a soul choose to come back as a factory farm cow? I don’t know. Maybe they are just looking for a short physical time on this planet. Maybe they are hoping to change how things are. Maybe they weren’t aware of what they were choosing because they are still trying to experience all sorts of things to then choose what they want to focus on. But none of us watching will ever understand it, and none of us can judge it from where we stand. Because we don’t know what they know. <br />
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Living is not a simple matter. It is complex, multidimensional, multi-tiered, and is unique to each and every soul. There are no absolutes. There are infinite possibilities. As a living being in the physical, you only feel you have access to one of those dimensions. But in spirit, you have unlimited access to the whole picture. There is no easy answer to this question. You will never find comfort or complete understanding of another’s life or their life path. Your focus instead should be on yours. And your life should not be focused on whether you will be punished for what you do or don’t do. It is far more complex than that. And far more compassionate. I hope this helps with your question or at the very least, gives you another way to think about it.<br />
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<strong>Q</strong>: I would love to find out more about all these earth changes that you have been addressing in several of your posts over the last year. You talked about the sensitivity of certain animals and humans to the earth changes – especially when you were asked about earthquakes and how animals experienced this. I am wondering about those sensitive animals – including humans – that are quite sensitive to energy, and notice this. I find that these energy changes to the earth can be quite difficult to deal with – ie extreme tiredness, feeling out of sorts, etc. How do the sensitive animals deal with the after effects of these energy changes to mother earth? <br />
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<strong>Amber</strong>: Indeed, the many changes that are occurring on the planet energetically and physically, and emotionally are going to be tugging at everyone. The most sensitive will feel it first, just like any energy or change. But trust me when I say that there is nothing living on the planet that will not be affected by these changes. And I also have to say that not all change is bad. Its just change. And change is often not easy to deal with. You are feeling massive energy shifts as both you, the planet, and all of her inhabitants, go through a major shift. The easiest way to go with any change is to go with the flow and to not try to fight it. So by doing what you can to stay balanced and healthy, you then will fare better. When you feel tired and drained, then rest and recharge, instead of fighting through and trying to pretend it isn’t there. The earth is responding herself to the changes energetically affecting her. Weather patterns are an example of this as is climate change. As with all change, you can try to deny its existence and pretend its not there, but in the end, it will still affect you. Adapting to the changing energy is the smoother ride.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-77313378387062332402011-09-03T17:42:00.000-04:002011-09-03T17:42:38.970-04:00Ask Amber - September 2011<strong>Q</strong>: <em>My questions to you are regarding the earthquake felt along the east coast on August 23, 2011. I know non-human animals are very sensitive in being able to feel the earthquake coming ahead of time. Some humans felt the earth shaking during the earthquake and aftershock and other humans in the same location didn't. Does this mean the frequency of the earthquake was the same frequency of the humans who didn't feel it? Is there any meaning to the sensitivity of the humans who felt it versus the humans who didn't feel it? Did the non-human animals at Spring Farm feel the earthquake coming that day? Which animals were the most in tune with the earthquake coming? Were they able to communicate a warning to the humans there that day? </em><br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> The answer to this question is not actually all that difficult. For any being, human or animal, there are various degrees of sensitivity or awareness. Sometimes its as simple as how much we are paying attention and to what degree we allow information to come into our senses. And other times it is based on just how aware we each are in the first place. All of us have the ability for acute awareness and connection to the environment around us. And that awareness includes earth shifts, energy patterns, weather patterns etc. It is all based on how we receive and process energy. In general, animals are more sensitive to energy because we do not allow ourselves to believe that we are not sensitive. Humans, by and large, have bought in to a mass belief that they are more cerebral and less sensitive to the subtle energy patterns around them. And you often are what you believe. Just as you can’t think your way through an emotion, you can’t think your way through feeling energy either. You feel it, you become aware of it, and you process that information. For animals, our survival in the world depends on our being able to process that information very quickly so that we can move accordingly. Because of that, we are more tuned in to subtle changes in energy. But that does not mean that humans aren’t. It just means that humans aren’t as aware of it.<br />
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Some animals felt the earthquake and some didn’t. Some felt it in advance of when humans felt it and some didn’t. Same holds true for humans. It depends on how much you were listening. And if you were listening, did you pay attention to what you heard/felt or did you ignore it? If an animal senses a sharp shift in energy, they generally will try to move away from that source of energy to a place that feels more quiet and peaceful. Out in the wild, that works. We move. Domestic animals cannot have that liberty, so many times we just seem agitated to you or out of sorts. Many humans also feel agitated and out of sorts during these events or for days or hours leading up to them. Some feel the energy and move out of an area, feeling strongly compelled to do so. Others feel it and do nothing. And still others don’t even feel it. <br />
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The simple answer is that it is a matter of awareness and awareness of your awareness. And then it’s a matter of action and what action you take with your action. It all comes from feeling and what feeling you feel free to feel. And that is the truth of it. <br />
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Note from Dawn: We are not aware of any of the animals here sensing the earthquake or giving us any sort of communication about the earthquake. None of us felt the earthquake here. This is not true however for Hurricane Irene. Many of the animals here sensed it was going to be a big storm and told us they felt it was going to impact our area greatly, which it did. <br />
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Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-72700403941958542232011-06-25T17:08:00.000-04:002011-06-25T17:08:54.817-04:00Ask Amber - June 2011 Part 2Since we had 2 more questions submitted this month for Amber Donkey, we decided to add another edition of Ask Amber for the month. We hope you enjoy them!<br />
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<strong>Q:</strong> Dear Amber, I am so happy to know that you still are with us, even when we miss your body and your greeting! Your answers always provide me with deep insights and often some good advice. Thank you for that!<br />
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I would like you to tell us more about your life in spirit - what do you do, besides your blog; what are you exploring and learning about (if it is not too indiscreet to ask).<br />
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When asking you this, I really feel like a child, like "tell me about heaven mum, I want to know." I've just a week ago been on Dawn’s workshop which was great. And it fuelled my wish to learn more - a strange situation because I know that I "already know", as all beings do, but have forgotten - as all (?) humans do...<br />
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In that sense, I hope you will answer.<br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> I most happily will reply to your question! As to what I am now doing, it is hard to describe that to you exactly because I am doing things on multiple levels. You may say that I am multi-tasking. I am doing work within the spirit realm on my own continued spiritual growth and path. For this, I cannot describe it to you in any terms that would make sense to you. I still maintain a focus with teaching on the physical realm as well because this is what I chose to do. I love working within the framework of the physical realm and one day I will again return to take up residence again. Please do not ask when, where, what form, etc because I do not have answers to these questions and when I do, it will be my private decision. It is fair to say that I love to share from my heart and teach what I know. I am in clear pursuit then of adding as much new information and knowledge as I can. You may say that I am taking classes now and that would be an accurate statement. I am back in school. <br />
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As for what I’m exploring, it would be most appropriate to tell you that I am exploring more of who I am and how to represent that for myself. I am trying to become the best expression of my soul. This is an ongoing endeavor and learning experience. There is so much I’m doing. So much I’m experiencing. My soul is filled with happiness and delight. <br />
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And don’t be too hard on yourself for not remembering things about the spirit realm when you are in the physical realm. This is the nature of how the physical realm works and exactly WHY you chose to be there to experience the things you are. The physical realm offers you a space, or classroom if you think of it that way, to pursue great learning for your soul. There is much resistance in the physical realm due to the always constant presence of opposing forces. But this resistance is not an impediment to your learning. It is, in fact, the opportunity given to you to learn and experience things. Resistance offers you a mirror to see yourself better. The path of least resistance is not necessarily the most fulfilling or fruitful. <br />
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<strong>Q</strong>: I have a question about free will. I am currently studying with a spiritual school I consider to be very evolved in its teachings: it is a multi-faith school, there is no discrimination of any sort, it does not encourage celibacy or any other sort of self-denial or repression...BUT the teachers continually say that we humans are the only beings on Earth lucky enough to have free will, and therefore become co-creators with the Divine.<br />
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I do not understand this continual assertion - from my point of view, other beings are simply not as interested in interfering with each other as we humans are. <br />
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I wonder if perhaps I don't understand what free will really is. My gut feeling about this though is that it is just our poor self esteem causing us to find distinctions between ourselves and other creatures. <br />
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Would you mind sharing your opinion on this please?<br />
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Thank you.<br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> I will share my opinion with you on this topic. The human need to hide is what fuels this sort of teaching. I know that it appears that it is the human need to be superior that makes them teach that humans are on the top of the chain of life and all else beneath them is inferior. But, it is my opinion from spending many lifetimes in loving relationships with humans, that it is not arrogance that causes them to feel they are different than all the others. It is fear. <br />
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Humans are the one species that has forgotten their connection to all of life. Instead, you have all talked yourselves into being different and not a part of the rest of it all. This dismisses you then from your responsibility and knowledge that you indeed are divine co-creators. Because if you as a species acknowledged that you are co-creating life, then you’d have to be more responsible. Instead, you can be victims to all else around you. You are a victim to the planets and the stars and their movements. You are victims to the weather systems and “natural disasters.” If you were to see that you are a part of creating all of that with your very thoughts and actions, then you’d have to do something to bring it into balance. Its far easier then to set yourself apart from all the others and that is what the human species has done. <br />
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You act as if humans invented free will and are so superior because you have it. Well, then I hope you are watching closely as to what you are creating. Because it is your higher intelligence that you think sets you apart. You think that humans are far superior because you can communicate at high levels. This is true. But you do not listen at all. Not to us, not to nature, not to spirit, and most of all, not to each other. That is something that the rest of nature remembers. Everything else feels emotions just as you do. We all create. We all have free will. But for you to admit that means that you need to live to a higher level of compassion. The true beauty of the human species is its ability to live within their hearts and to live from love and compassion. But the human species is only just starting to find that. When it is something that becomes more prevalent the world will change dramatically for the better because all will truly be creating from the divine energy of Life.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-15261144104758161042011-06-03T16:05:00.001-04:002011-06-05T10:34:34.158-04:00Ask Amber Donkey - June 2011<strong>Q</strong>: <em>In my family we had quite a number of experiences that animal friends, mostly dogs, that passed into Spirit did return for another lifetime with us. Several times only a few months or even only weeks had gone by from the time of passing to the time of reincarnation. It seems that animals reincarnate after much shorter periods in Spirit than do humans, and also that some species of animals reincarnate sooner than other species. Could you share your insights as to whether this is indeed the case, and, if so, what influences the length of time a soul might be in Spirit before it reincarnates. </em><em>Thank you for your wisdom.</em><br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> What a magnificent question. It is great to experience the joy of reuniting with a dear friend when they return isn’t it? It is such a testament to the eternal relationship of heart connections. Before I answer this question though, I must first say that not all souls come back and not all of them will come back with you in this lifetime. Not all of you choose to travel in the same circles. To better understand this, just look at your lifetime now and think about the friends you have had and continue to have. You have friends or people who came into your life and have had profound impacts on you and your development and who then moved on different ways from you, eventually maybe even breaking all contact physically. Yet, their impact is still just as profound and your love for them and theirs for you is very real. And you have yet other friends who are new to you in your life toward whom you feel like you have known and loved them your whole life. You have friends who you’ve kept over the years and some who have even moved miles away but who still remain close to you. There are all kinds of connections. The same applies to those connections once one moves into Spirit. We can look at these connections over lifetimes instead of the span of one life and the same principles hold true. There is no one size fits all definition then for reincarnation or “how it works.”<br />
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Your question, however, is about the differences between humans coming back and animals coming back. Technically, if you want to put this into “how to” technicalities, there is no difference. However, in its application there is a basic difference. There is no hierarchy of life forms. One does not start out as a worm for example and then work ones way up through lifetimes until one gets the honor to be a human. That is not how Life works. A soul chooses a form based on what it wants to focus on and experience. The human experience offers a multi-level approach. It is a complex existence where many different aspects can be worked out in one single lifetime. That sounds wonderful and if multitasking is your thing, then being human has distinct advantages. However, with those advantages comes a whole lot of distractions and ways in which to forget why you are even here in the first place. Many humans spend lots of time just trying to figure out who they are and why they are here. That is not a negative thing. For any soul, the main goal of incarnating is to learn and experience itself. The human existence then offers enormous opportunity by having to really hold on to who you are and what you are about. It is not superior, however, to the animals or plants or trees, or any other life form. There is much to be learned. A soul is also larger than can fit in any one form and often is in more than one form during any given period. <br />
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But back to your question. Do animals reincarnate quicker? Let’s put aside the time aspect of this because, in human terms, faster is usually seen as better, and that is not actually the case here. But, yes, animals can have a quicker turn around time and here is why. Animals live shorter lives, and they are much more focused on what they are trying to learn. They have fewer distractions. When they move into spirit, they are able to process what they’ve experienced more precisely and quickly. So while a human lifetime takes longer to live, has more to process, and takes longer to assimilate all the aspects in spirit, the human lifetime actually can accomplish a lot quickly. However, it is also more complex. Usually, a soul lives both as human and animal to focus on different aspects of things under different circumstances. One route is neither better nor worse than the other. This same principle holds true when comparing one species of animal to another. <br />
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These are broad generalizations because sometimes the animal experience can be quite complex and sometimes a human experience can be more simple with less to process as well. Each life, each soul, each experience is unique unto itself. You may observe the life of a bug, for example, who lives for only a week and ends its life colliding with your car window and wonder what on earth that bug could have learned of value. But that bug experienced things you will never experience in 100 years of being a human. And I don’t refer to its ending on your window. And yet you will experience things being human that the bug could not learn or experience in 1000 lifetimes as that bug. <br />
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You can have a moment in your life of a chance encounter with another human that can take you an entire lifetime to process and understand and a long time in spirit to assimilate. You can also have eternal relationships that go on for many lifetimes, as many as you choose, where you help one another both in physical and in spirit to process experiences. That same is true for animal existences as well as humans. <br />
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Neither experience is better than the other. It simply is a matter on what the soul decides to focus on and under what conditions it likes to learn best. I, for one, find the human existence far too distracting to learn well. I was quite happy being a donkey. But, yet, I love to share with my human friends, and we can help one another with our experiences and form bonds and heart connections that sustain us both. That is the miracle of Being. Whether you are a physical being, a being in Spirit, or even a light being, it is all a joyous and amazing journey.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-34403465813060379242011-05-22T17:49:00.000-04:002011-05-22T17:49:34.530-04:00Ask Amber - May 2011<strong>Dawn’s note:</strong> I apologize for the long delay in posts. We have been extremely busy with animal needs on the farm. The following question was submitted weeks ago and while Amber has been ready and willing to answer, the human component was absent! However, I find this now timely in light of the predictions, by one group, of the world ending May 21st and here we are on May 22nd, still here. I heard just today on a major news network that the next doomsday prediction was for the world to end on December 21, 2012 according to the Maya prophecy. I want to note here that this is misinformation. The Maya prophecy does not say the world will end in 2012. They however do talk about a very important calendar cycle ending and a new one beginning. The date for the end of that calendar cycle happens to translate to December 21, 2012 on the Gregorian calendar. The planet has gone through many of these cycles. This one is a cycle out of darkness and into light. But this doesn’t just suddenly happen on one day. This is happening now and we are in that shift. It is from this understanding that Amber has agreed to answer this question. <br />
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<strong>Question:</strong> <em> I would like to have you talk about, from the animals’ perspective, what will be occurring at the end of 2012 and beyond. How are the animals preparing? Will it be different for animals in the wild versus animals that live in close proximity to humans?</em><br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> I appreciate how this question was asked by the person sending it in. But I want to address a wider human audience at the same time. It is almost comical that people are going around screaming about the end of the universe and the end of the planet. It is comical because if you really believe this or fear it or worry about it, then why are you not doing something about it? Its like having a terrible infection in your lungs where you can’t get air and you fear dying of suffocation, but then you keep smoking cigarettes. If you care about the health of life and the planet, and if you care about what happens, then be a part of the healing. And you do that exactly the same way you would if you yourself were ill or diseased. If you feel dis-ease then address it. Live healthier. Love more freely. Forgive what you dared not forgive. Trust in divine energy. And live from your heart. It sounds so simple but in actuality it is not or else you’d all be doing it. But I tell you, it is that simple. <br />
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Now on to your question of what the animals are doing to prepare. The animals feel earth changes way before you do. We are generally the first ones to notice subtle changes because we live far more in tune to the earth and our environment. In that respect, the wild animals have a much clearer channel to that than the ones living with humans. But we are not all preparing for a single day to come that will change life as we know it. This is about shifting and the energy is shifting already. The chaos you see and feel around you that seems to be intensifying is indeed the human response to this shift. It doesn’t mean it is a bad shift or that horrible disasters are coming. Yes, weather is shifting. Yes, humans are changing a lot of natural things to respond unnaturally. But humans also hold the key to changing that. They are not victims to this change, they are actively creating it. That is the part that we find frustrating. All that really needs to happen is that you need to understand that you are indeed the creators of your world, just as we animals are as well. If you want to create destruction and chaos you can choose to go against the natural balance of things, or, you can remain asleep and you will find the same result. But if you choose to wake up and realize the harmony that is around you and start creating from that harmony, you will find yourself in a much different world faster than you can ever dream. How do I know this? Because it is the way of the universe. It is the guiding force of life. It just is.<br />
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So what happens if humans don’t change this and don’t find the harmony? That is something I do not have specific answers to. However, you can look at the history of this planet to see what has happened before during these epic shifts to see that great changes can be difficult or they can be easier. It all depends on how the mass energy carries it. Right now, humans hold that mass energy on this planet. You hold the balance. How do you make humanity see this? You don’t. Your job is not to change humanity. Humanity is made up of individual humans and like any chain in the environment; the strength of the whole is made up of the combined strength of each link. You are a link, each of you, a vital link in the chain of life. You need only work on yourselves to be the healthiest most loving link you can be. It is, dear friends, the piece of information we know. What are the animals doing to prepare? We are each staying with our own understanding of our own light and helping you to see yours. And with each new heart that opens, with each new light that shines, we rejoice for life and we focus on the light and not the darkness or the fear of what could happen. We focus on what light we know is there and we do all we can to help it grow, within each of us, and within each of you. Life will not end. It’s a matter of who wants to participate in the balance, light, and love of it and who does not. That choice is up to each of you.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-42114845279507237242011-03-03T21:05:00.000-05:002011-03-03T21:05:37.087-05:00The Passing of a Great One - Amber DonkeyFrom Dawn:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-khaOwUTZ4Lo/TXBHA058KqI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/ywRDbLV4LoU/s1600/amber_memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-khaOwUTZ4Lo/TXBHA058KqI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/ywRDbLV4LoU/s320/amber_memorial.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>It is with sadness that I announce that Amber Donkey has left this physical experience and has returned to spirit today. She lived an exquisite life and died of old age. She was close to 50 years old. It is also with great joy that I announce that she has informed me that her blog and communications will continue. She will continue to take questions in her Ask Amber format, and she will continue to share her experiences with us all. For a complete memorial to her, please see the<a href="http://www.springfarmcares.org/memorials.htm"><span style="color: #4c1130;"> memorial page on our website</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;">.</span> <br />
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Her first communication is one that I am most honored to share. For those of you who have taken my workshop, Embracing Spirit, you will completely understand the honor I had in being invited by Amber to escort her over into spirit. For those of you new to this topic, I can only sum up in a sentence or two the work that I have been doing for many years, indeed most of my life. I have been given the honor of walking with many beings, human and animal, as they have left their bodies and moved from physical to spirit. I am frequently “called” to help in this passing. But in Amber’s case I was invited to walk with her as a friend, not because she needed help, but because she wanted to share this with me. And I was told that this experience would be mine to share with all of her readers so that you could know where she went and what she saw when she got there. This will be the start of a new conversation. For many it will be the first time for you to experience this. This is a trip I have made thousands of times. It is a realm I am used to operating in, but always am in awe of the wonder of it all. Amber’s body began slowly shutting down over the past 10 days and we began to understand and get used to the fact that she would be leaving. We all cried. We held her close. We did all the things she loved most in the world to do. We tried to just stay present with her through our sadness. And typical to Amber, she supported us the entire time. She spoke to us about her time with us and her love for us. And when the time came for her to move on, we were able to assist her to make her physical passing easier for her. She thanks Dr. Leigh Lain for being here and being fully present with her and with Margot and I when she left. And right up to the end, she treated us to her humor, her love, her wisdom, and she held us in her heart as deeply as we hold her in ours. We have 11 yrs. of memories to cherish. <br />
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And now, I’d like to share with all of you the experience that Amber had upon leaving her body and crossing through the portal into spirit. As I am allowed to do for very short periods of time, I was allowed to enter the portal with her into the spirit realm, and she let me see who met her and experience her passing, before I was told I had to return. Amber knew I understood the rules of not staying more than I could and we understood in advance that we would not say good-bye as our journey together is not over and continues onward.<br />
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Upon crossing over into spirit, she was met by 6 donkeys. As I stood beside her and she saw them coming, I could feel her excitement. And she spoke to me through this whole process. “Ah, here they come!” she told me. “These are the girls as I call them. They meet me each and every time I cross from physical into spirit. They are my guides and fellow teachers. They always appear to me in whatever form I am in at the time. I am a donkey now, so they arrive as donkeys. If I had been a goat, they would appear to me as goats.” <br />
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All the time this was going on, I was filled by the incredible light, warmth, and love of spirit. And it was like I could literally share in each feeling that Amber was experiencing. It was as if her heart was open now to the space we were standing in and not contained in a body. All of her feelings were right there being shared with me. She was filled with such love and the full sense of returning home. I also understood instantly that these 6 donkeys were grandmother elders and that Amber was one of them. They were coming to welcome her back with them from a life well lived, and a job well done. The energy was vibrant and filled with a celebratory laughter. <br />
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And then, just as the six donkeys came closer to greet her, the form of a man appeared wearing a large sombrero and dressed all in bright gold. He radiated joy. Amber spoke to me about him. “Ah, good, you get to meet Maestro! I want you to be assured we are cared for here too. Maestro is incredible.” As he walked closer to us with a sense of excitement, he looked over towards Amber and said, “There you are old girl. Welcome back again!” I knew our time was growing short as I was not allowed to stay on this side for long. And admittedly I started to feel my own sadness of parting with such a dear friend. Amber sensed this immediately and flowed her love for me and all of us at the farm to me, flooding me with this incredible light energy that permeated every cell of my body. She turned and looked me in the eyes one last long piercing moment. A look that went straight to my heart and soul. “We always remember one another. Never forget that. You are with me in my heart as always and I will return to work with you again. You are a great friend. Take care of everyone in our barn, let them know I’m ok. Let our readers know all of this and teach what I share with you to teach. I must go now. See me off and then return to the physical realm where I need you to be so that I can reach you.” <br />
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With that, she walked forward and the six donkeys took up formation as if they had done this many, many times. One donkey went in front of Amber, one walked behind her, and there were two each on either side. She was totally enfolded in a huge circle of donkeys. And just as they began walking off with Amber in the center of their group, Maestro ran to the front and assumed his position. He stood before the donkeys and bowed his head to them. And then he turned facing deep into the spirit realm and the donkeys followed him in formation. And then, he stopped, and without turning around, he lifted his right arm high into the air and said, “Ladies, let the music begin!” And in unison, all seven donkeys let go a long, loud, beautiful bray that literally vibrated every cell in my body. As they walked off together, Amber turned one last time to look at me and said, “And now you know why we call him Maestro!” With her steps becoming lighter and lighter and more and more graceful, I watched her shed the limitations of a time worn body as she began her journey back into spirit. <br />
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To be continued……<br />
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<a href="http://www.springfarmcares.org/workshops.htm"><span style="color: #4c1130;">For more information on the work Dawn does and her seminar Embracing Spirit, please go to our website.</span></a><span style="color: #4c1130;"> </span><br />
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</span>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-17838313234700495652011-01-16T10:02:00.000-05:002011-01-16T10:02:33.891-05:00Ask Amber Donkey - January 2011 <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TTMD0UskRSI/AAAAAAAAAII/tkehE5oL3Ds/s1600/man_joey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" n4="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TTMD0UskRSI/AAAAAAAAAII/tkehE5oL3Ds/s320/man_joey.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: The Courier-Mail<br />
Photographed by: Nick De Villiers</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"><strong>Editors Note: </strong> <span style="font-family: inherit;">This</span> month's question comes from one of our readers in Australia regarding the devastating floods affecting their area. There has been catastrophic devastation and great loss of human and animal life. She also forwarded this photo that really says it all. This man saw this joey up to his eyes in water when, without giving another thought, he swam out to save him. This photo was taken as he brought him back on dry land. The joey survived. Many folks feel he was foolish to have risked his life for a kangaroo. But his young son asked him to do something, and without hesitation he did. He says he was raised to care for life and if someone is in need, you help. Below is the question, sent in by someone living in this area and trying to make sense of what this tragedy means, followed by Amber Donkey's response.</div><br />
<strong>Question: </strong><br />
<br />
Dear Amber,<br />
<br />
I live in Australia where we are currently experiencing our worst floods in recorded history.<br />
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The human death toll is rising, but there are also countless animals, both domestic and wild, that have lost their lives in the surging flood waters. One very distressing example is the stud farm where 80 thoroughbred horses drowned, much to the distress of their carers who were perched on the roofs of the buildings watching it unfold below them.<br />
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Did these animals know what was about to happen to them? <br />
Did they put themselves through this to teach us humans anything?<br />
Was their suffering mercifully short?<br />
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I have found all this to be extremely upsetting, and would appreciate your time and answer.<br />
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<strong>Amber Donkey:</strong> First I call upon all who hear this to join me. We all must send our prayers and thoughts to all of earth’s beings experiencing this crisis. The more of us who do so, the faster all can heal and recover. This is a simple and basic truth that is understood by all living beings. It requires a deep faith that your thoughts matter. That your heart contains an energy that expedites healing no matter where it is needed in relationship to your physical location. There is such power in your intentions and thoughts. Let’s harness that power now.<br />
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There are tragedies that happen on this planet every day. There is no such thing as a small tragedy for those experiencing them. But to the observer, some seem larger than others. In reality, it is merely your perspective that defines that. An occurrence that takes the life of one horse may not seem tragic to you, yet it could be an enormous tragedy to all who knew that horse. Humans tend to measure tragedies by numbers affected. But this is not about numbers. This is about feelings and lives. With that understanding I shall answer your questions the best I can. <br />
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Did the animals know what was about to happen to them? It is fair to say that certainly some of them did. Animals tend to pay attention more to the subtle whispers of nature and the earth. Did they know they were to die? We can’t know that. But it is with certainty that I can tell you that whatever trauma they experienced, they were given a chance to experience that however they needed to. This won’t make sense to many of you but it is the truth of life and death. Many of you have experienced traumas in your life such as accidents that you may have had. Many of you have the experience of almost watching it in slow motion as if you were outside of yourselves. And some of you experience it as though every second is happening with great purpose and awareness. We all choose to experience these things as suits us and our growth. Would someone choose then to experience great suffering? Yes, for reasons only known to them, they can do that. But we cannot know how these beings, human and animal, experienced it. Each one was individually decided by each individual. We can however send them our loving thoughts for whatever guidance they can use along their way. <br />
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Did they put themselves through this to teach us humans anything? The answer to this is again that they could have chosen that but most likely not on the larger scale. The time near and of death is sacred to each being. What they do or don’t do is completely up to them on their soul’s path. Animals do not exist to teach humans to be better humans. If we do that in the course of our lives, then that is a wonderful thing. Some of us choose to teach and offer wisdom we’ve learned over lifetimes. Whatever our roles, all of us live the lives we do with one ultimate goal, to further the growth of our own souls. Whether animal, human, plant, tree or stone, this is a universal truth.<br />
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As we witness these great disasters then, of either man made or natural causes, it is important to look within our own hearts for the love we hold for animals, humanity, the planet and to embrace that love with all of our life force and send it outward to the world. This is what we can do to help. We can look out and see that lives were lost, lives were destroyed, and feel hopeless. Or we can look and see that some lives moved on into spirit, others changed, and understand that we can send our love to those going through those transitions and know it will find them and comfort them. I am in no way minimizing these losses. But I also know that how I view them matters. It matters to those going through these hardships whether they are surrounded by helpless feelings or ones of love and hope. <br />
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To our Australian friends, human and animal alike, we send our heartfelt intentions for the flood waters to subside and for life to once again know a sunny day. We send them strength to heal through their losses. We send them love to comfort them in their grief. And we understand that what we send does help the healing. We are all on this planet together. None of us is alone. All of us can reach out and touch another.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-37524988220641623002010-11-12T15:34:00.000-05:002010-11-12T15:34:49.387-05:00The Importance of Friends <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TN2kE9Y3GkI/AAAAAAAAAIA/4PBTGtsP55k/s1600/Blackjack+and+Smiley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TN2kE9Y3GkI/AAAAAAAAAIA/4PBTGtsP55k/s400/Blackjack+and+Smiley.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack meets new friend Smiley</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We recently took in a horse named Blackjack, or Jack, as he prefers to be called. Jack is 35 yrs old and came to us when his person could no longer care for him. Jack has lived alone for the past 5 years since his other horse friend died. Jack has had quite a history and has always been very loved. But now he just needed a place to spend the rest of his days. He clearly has life left to live. He is very thin right now but we expect he can put on some weight with the new diet we have him on, specifically to meet his senior needs. The first night Jack was here, we could feel a sense of relief and peace from him. I asked him what he liked best about Spring Farm so far. He said, “I am enjoying listening to the horses breathing.” </div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
It was such a profound statement. Such a simple thing, yet a pleasure he hadn’t known for a long time. Obviously being alone was the hardest thing for Jack. There are so many things we take for granted in our lives. Yet when they are missing, it can mean a world of difference to us. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Relationships are so important to our animal friends. They do not like to live alone. They do cherish their friends. And many times humans interfere with that process tremendously without even realizing or paying attention to their feelings and heart connections. This happens in the horse world a lot. As horses are moved from one barn to another, they lose contact with horse friends who are important to them. Frequently, we humans don’t even notice. But many times they miss their friends so much that they get depressed, can’t concentrate, and mourn their loss.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>For Jack, the thing we could give him that made his life brighter, was the sound of the other horses breathing. In other words, we gave him the opportunity for friendship. As important to our animal friends as food, water, and shelter is companionship.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-44926660840663613262010-09-12T18:27:00.005-04:002010-09-12T20:34:19.323-04:00ASK AMBER - September 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TI1OLViJmdI/AAAAAAAAAH4/8FhcXWYq07c/s1600/amber+donkey+retire+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TI1OLViJmdI/AAAAAAAAAH4/8FhcXWYq07c/s320/amber+donkey+retire+011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong>From Dawn:</strong> I am sorry it has taken so long to get to these questions. We have been very busy on the farm and Amber has been hard at work doing meet and greets with visitors this summer. To catch up, I have included 4 question and answers in this issue. As always, thank you to all of you who have submitted questions for Amber. And from the depth of my heart, I thank my friend Amber Donkey for her wisdom, honesty, and direct way of answering these questions. <br />
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<strong>1. Q</strong>: We always talk about humans who abandon animals but we seldom talk about our animals who abandon us. I was living in the country with three cats, Macou, Sophie, and Fimousse. Last May I moved to the city. It was not to Macou’s satisfaction, so he left. He crossed the swamp and walked to a farm nearby and decided to stay there. I know this because I can communicate with animals so I communicated with him. Now here is my point of view. He abandoned me. He left me. I love him. I miss his tenderness, the nearness of him, he is full of love. And I don’t have that any more. Tell me, how do I emotionally deal with his loss?<br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> First let me say that I do feel sad for your loss. I, too, have lost friends and have felt sad. Feeling sad when we miss someone is natural and normal and is one of our emotions. I think it a blessing to be able to say that I loved someone enough to miss them when they are no longer with me. But your question also begs for a deeper answer. Because you say it directly in your statement when you write “here is my point of view.” It is important to really understand that your feeling abandoned truly is YOUR point of view. But it may not be your cat friend’s point of view at all. I cannot speak for your cat or analyze his actions, but I can speak in the generalities of life. Our intentions truly set the tone for all of our actions. This is so important for all of us to remember. The intentions behind any action by anyone, really is at the base of what that action represents. So was your cat sitting there with you one day and suddenly look over at you and think to himself, “I intend to abandon her now and leave her so that she misses me.” I can guarantee you that if you look into your heart, you know the truth is that he didn’t set out to hurt or abandon you. Now, the fact is that he left. His intention may have been that he needed to find a piece of himself that was missing. It could be that he couldn’t deal with the city life and needed to be out on the earth. Or it could be that something deep inside him told him that he needed to find something for his own growth. Or it could even be that the two of you had given each other what you met up to give one another and that chapter was complete. It could be many other reasons as well. But from your perspective, he left. It was YOU then who felt abandoned. But he did not abandon you. So, how do you emotionally deal with his loss? Hold him in your heart. Hold his love for you and your love for him right there in your heart. Because no matter how long you were together, or if you may or may not even see each other again in this lifetime, you will know that your heart connection is totally real. You see, it is an illusion that he abandoned you. He connected hearts with you and that he never ceased doing. I’ll bet you anything that if you look inside your own heart, you will feel him, and know that what I say is true. And if you embrace his love, you will feel him within you, where he never ceased to be. And you can be grateful for the gifts you gave to one another. You both were enhanced by your love you shared. Your souls grew, each in their own way. That is cause for celebration. He didn’t leave you. He just moved into another situation where he was drawn to move. Miss him, that is fine. But find the blessing he brought to you and that you gave to him. And when you do that, he will feel you with him again too, and neither of you will be lost from the other. <br />
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<strong>2. Q:</strong> How do animals feel about killing one another, be it in a fit of rage, or for dominance, or food? Several months ago, a situation arose with one of my German Shepherds. She attacked the others without reason (or a reason that I could see). I had a decision that either I would allow her to kill another Shepherd (who is much older) or kill her. I chose to kill her. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, send her love, and wish she was still here. I took another life and I really have trouble coming to terms with that. <br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> I am going to start this answer by referring to the above question and a statement I made in there. It is important to remember that our intentions truly set the tones for all of our actions. This is critical to this discussion. Life is sacred. And death is a part of Life. The intentions of those taking the life of another, for any reason, is what matters. It matters to the soul of the one taking the life, as much as to the one whose moving from physical into spiritual. This includes the most heinous of deaths, the most tragic of accidents, euthanasia of otherwise healthy animals, the euthanasia of the ill, or the killing of another for food. All of these involve different intentions or motives. But where the one making that decision to take a life is, in their own heart, changes the whole process. If you think that you or anyone else is making that decision alone, you are sadly mistaken. You are never totally in charge of taking another’s life even when it looks like that is not true. It is fully a participation of the being who is leaving as well as the one who is staying. There is a relationship between the two entities whether long term or brief. In the case of your dog, you made that most difficult decision out of a long term relationship. From that context, your dog fully participated with you in that decision. She understood that you sent her onward, not from anger or hatred, but out of love. You did not make that decision alone. It may not make sense to you to see it that way. But if you were to connect with your dog friend in spirit, I will bet that you’d find that she understands exactly why she needed to move on at that moment. I encourage you to explore that for yourself so that you can find peace with that. Because I can tell you that she has found the peace that she needed. <br />
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I have answered the meat eating question in other previous columns but I will just say that when a predator animal takes the life of a prey animal, they do so out of total respect for, and in relationship to that life they are taking. They remain present with the spirit who leaves and understand that they are in relationship with them for the sustenance of their own lives. If humans would eat this way, they’d find a whole new relationship with their food and animals would not suffer at their hands in the process. Suffering comes when one is out of relationship and forgets the sanctity of life. <br />
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Your dog would not ask you to hold on to guilt for her passing. She instead would invite you to see where she is now on her journey and to understand that your relationship helped her to move onward.<br />
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<strong>3. Q:</strong> In your July answer, you point out that most humans are closed off from their hearts. I know I am closed off from my heart as well and I am desperately in search of a way back to my heart. Could you please tell me how I can find it?<br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> My friend, your heart is totally safe and accessible to you. You simply need to believe that this is true. The only thing blocking any of you from your hearts is that you don’t listen to what your heart is telling you. You do hear it just fine. You just question what it is telling you. You look to logic to make sense of what your spirit speaks to you through your own heart. Why do most animals not have that problem? Because we have had no one telling us that we shouldn’t trust our hearts. No one came in to our lives and told us that we should not listen. It is the way of all nature to listen to our hearts. Each living thing is born able and with the knowledge to listen to their inner voice. But humans are taught early on, and then spread it from generation to generation, that your inner voice is not to be trusted. It is based not on any experience but just because someone told you that. Listen within to your inner yearnings. Just take something simple and trust it. You will see how easy it becomes. It is only difficult because you believe it will be. You see, I believe you can do it. Why? Because I see human after human reach deeper within themselves when they come to visit our farm. They find that heart within themselves because we surround them in the knowledge that their heart is alive and well and speaking to them. Surround yourself with the belief that you can hear your heart and you will hear it, and the more you listen, the more you will hear. The more you hear, the more you will follow it. The more you follow your heart, the more you will believe in your path. And you will find the lighted path before you that your heart has prepared for you from your own soul. I believe in your heart even when you don’t. <br />
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<strong>4. Q:</strong> I for a long time have felt a connection with animals, but as an ever doubting human (you animals are so lucky that you seem to understand more of the world than we) I tend to not always trust my feelings and connections and write them off as just my imagination. So with the connections, I’ve tried to ask my dog to do something simple, like lick my hand or to walk forward if she really understands me, but I don’t always get a response from her. Why is this? Is this stuff really just all in my head? <br />
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<strong>Amber:</strong> Oh you silly humans! (And I say that lovingly.) First of all, let me say that we animals are not in awe that you humans can hear us. We know you can hear us just fine but that you usually are not listening. You are the ones that seem to think its an anomaly or a miracle that you can hear us. So let’s assume a scenario where a human enters your environment who for some reason is convinced you can’t understand them when they speak. They say to you, “Do you understand me? Can you hear me?” And you answer that you do understand them and hear them. But they just cannot believe that would be true so they try something else to be sure. They say to you, “Ok, if you hear me now, raise your right hand.” Now you may at this point decide to go along with this person and you raise your right hand. But now this doubting person thinks it was a coincidence that you moved your right hand, so they try again. “Ok, if you hear me now, turn around in a circle.” But now you’ve had it with this game. This person is just not getting it. So you may decide to just walk away out of frustration. <br />
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Your animals feel the same way! Some of them will humor you and play this game, others won’t even play the game. Try to ask them something more meaningful and pretend you hear them. If it feels like it is your imagination, so what? Don’t worry what it feels like. Just follow it and see where it takes you. But if you keep doubting everything they tell you, they will stop telling you. You would do the same. <br />
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<strong>That's it from the mailbag for this month!</strong>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-6317150566694930382010-07-11T17:53:00.005-04:002010-07-11T18:01:51.153-04:00Do Animals Have Souls - A Question for Amber DonkeyA reader submitted question for Amber Donkey.<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Q:</strong> Hello Dear Amber - I have been puzzling over something for quite some time now.<br />Do animals have souls and do you have a concept of a creator? Thank you for<br />your words of wisdom.<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> My dear friend, what a fantastic question you have asked. I hope you are ready for my answer because I could just answer this in one word – YES. However, I could also answer it with this question – WHY DO YOU NEED TO ASK?<br />So lets take a walk together now into this vast question.<br /><br />You see, there isn’t an animal or tree or plant that would ever even think this question, let alone pose it. This is a human constriction showing itself to you. Humans have ordained that they are the experts on souls and who has them and what happens to them. Some humans have even made themselves the regulators of souls. And they tell other humans where souls will go and which souls are eligible to move forward, which are destined to live in limbo, and those poor unfortunate souls who fall from grace forever into darkness. <br /><br />Let me be brave enough to venture into these deep waters and tell you that humans know precious little about souls. Because any of you who could look into the eyes of anyone else, animal or human, and not feel a soul, is living a lie. The problem becomes what your definition of a soul is I guess. So let me tell you my definition for this conversation. A soul is the core essence of any being. It is the ultimate source of our energy. There is not any being, including the grandest of humans, whose soul could even completely fit in one form/body/experience. Your heart is the direct connection to your soul. The same is true for my heart and my soul. There is no hierarchy of souls. I know that is inconceivable, but all souls are created equal. Yet, what each soul chooses to do or focus on, then becomes that soul’s quest to experience its mission to the fullest. Some souls are older, some younger. Some have more experience than others. Some are quieter. Some are louder. But none of them are greater than any other and all of them know that. All of them understand that they are all a part of the creator - of All That Is and All That Ever Will Be. All of them are a work in progress. And all of them understand the universal language of love. For it is love that is the language of the soul. This is not just a lovely statement, it is the ultimate universal truth. <br /><br />Now a soul can inhabit many forms at one time. A soul could be expressing itself as an entire school of fish for example. It could be a human while at the same time a piece of its energy is also being a dog. The energy of the soul is vast and you and I are just a piece of its expression. But each and every piece is loved and experienced equally by the soul. The soul’s key mission is to define itself. In other words, that is also your mission and mine and every other life form. You are here to learn as much as you can and to move forward on your soul’s journey. You are your soul, but you are much bigger than you can comprehend. The human experience though is interesting for all of us to participate in. To be an animal who is either thought of to be inferior or worse, to have no soul at all, affords me an opportunity to more clearly define for myself who I am. There are millions of animals on this planet right now who experience great suffering at the hands of humans who are ignorant of the fact that we do have souls. But I assure you that it is those humans who are also suffering in the darkness as to who they really are and to the beauty and light that they carry deeply hidden within them. It is their journey and their struggle to wake up and walk into the light. <br /><br />It is actually all of our journeys. Each of us enlightens our own souls and that of one another. Each interaction we have with one another affects not just ourselves but everyone. What you do to one, you do to all. None of us lives in a vacuum. We live in an environment of constantly flowing energy. Literally every moment of which is an opportunity to grow. <br /><br />Do animals have souls? I could also answer that with another question. Do humans have hearts? Because humans are more closed off from their hearts than any other life form on the planet. They have great intellect and mental capabilities that separates them from all other life forms. And that is indeed exactly what it does – it keeps them separate from all else. Connect to your hearts, look in our eyes, and ask yourself if we have souls. The answer will fill your heart with a profound truth. It will be a truth about me, all other animals, but mostly – it will be a truth about yourself. If you look at all life around you, you will understand that there is nothing that does not have a connection to higher source. And you will find that the connection to that higher source is right within your heart. <br /><br />From my soul to yours, I thank you for asking the question that many of our readers have wondered but not asked, and many have found but not shared, and many who have hidden to not ask the question at all. To all of you then I ask, what are you afraid of to know that all animals have souls; all animals have emotions; all animals have thoughts? Why does this thought challenge you so much? That is the question you need to be asking next – not of me, but of yourselves.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-67082021009821833812010-06-15T16:10:00.004-04:002010-06-15T16:18:28.375-04:00Ask Amber Donkey - June 2010<p align="right"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TBff4ElXGxI/AAAAAAAAAHo/fvQ_iocvqrQ/s1600/amber310.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483097225742981906" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/TBff4ElXGxI/AAAAAAAAAHo/fvQ_iocvqrQ/s320/amber310.jpg" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><div>The following questions have been submitted by readers for Amber Donkey to answer.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> 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.<br /><br /><br />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?<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> 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.<br />3. How do you work with the trees, flowers and other plants?<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> 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?<br /><br /><br />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?<br /><br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> 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. </div>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-17613987678917757952010-03-22T16:08:00.006-04:002010-03-22T16:20:36.829-04:00The Animals' Turn to Ask Amber Donkey<strong>Amber Donkey</strong>: I have noticed that, when we opened up the blog for questions, people always ask about animal behavior. Mostly they wanted to know how or why animals could be forgiving. I think we should do this differently. Let’s try asking some of our animal residents if they want to ask questions about human behavior. I will pick a few of my friends on the farm here and ask if they would like to pose a question or two.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S6fO46hHrfI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Ei4KMje7fxo/s1600-h/oct09+007.jpg"><strong><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451553351131442674" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S6fO46hHrfI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Ei4KMje7fxo/s200/oct09+007.jpg" /></strong></a><strong>Onyx</strong> (female pygmy goat): I have wondered why people seem so confused about things. They don’t seem to be able to be clear with what they are feeling and sometimes just don’t make any sense at all. They don’t seem to listen well to each other I think. Is there anything we can do?<br /><br /><strong>Amber</strong>: My little friend, you are very astute. Its really not that they cannot hear, because they for sure can. But they fail to really listen to each other. They seem to get lost in their seeming intelligence. They have great intellect but very little experience at expressing their true emotions. They think it amazing that we can be forgiving, because they fail to forgive one another. They find it hard to believe that we can live without judgment, because they can’t find that peace for themselves.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S6fPTBzc39I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/NJ84lGWUa2s/s1600-h/jeremy+nov09+(4).jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451553799763976146" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S6fPTBzc39I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/NJ84lGWUa2s/s200/jeremy+nov09+(4).jpg" /></a><strong>Jeremy </strong>(Arabian horse gelding): Yes, Amber, and they seem so burdened with anger and misgivings at times. They always seem to be looking for who is out to get them or to get someone else first. And when they get angry, why do they stay angry for so long? I have never understood that.<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> Humans are complex creatures. They have only been on the planet for a short time, yet have had such a major impact. But don’t think that is all negative now. There are very many positive things that humans have brought with them. The problem is that they try to conquer everything around them instead of participating with all around them. They started to see themselves as separate and unequal. They don’t really know how to deal with that, even now, after all these millennia. We donkeys have been with humans for a very long time. We have carried their burdens and I mean that in many different ways. But they do not see us as brethren. They see us as subordinates. In their confusion about who they are and how they fit in with the rest of nature, they deny themselves their understanding of their own emotions. They focus on their brains but very little on their hearts. Humans have great capacity for love and peace. They are brilliant in their emotions. Yet when they don’t use it or focus on their heart connections, they then get off balance. They even start killing one another, not to mention us. They become seemingly disconnected from Life.<br /><br /><strong><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S6fPuQMRGrI/AAAAAAAAAHY/8Ift7bS9Asg/s1600-h/shawnee+nov09.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451554267482626738" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S6fPuQMRGrI/AAAAAAAAAHY/8Ift7bS9Asg/s200/shawnee+nov09.jpg" /></a>Shawnee </strong>(Quarter Horse paint gelding): How can we help them? I love humans. To see them this way is painful.<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> The answer is very simple. If we just keep being who we are and keep loving them for who they are, then maybe, just maybe, they will get it. They are intelligent creatures. And they have tremendous capacity to love. It is why animals befriended them so many eons ago. We saw in them the potential to be one with us. In fact, they used to enjoy such relationships with us. There was a time that they understood their connection to the trees and grass. They felt deep affinity to the animals. And they listened to the moon and stars and the sun and earth. But then they thought about it too much and questioned who they were. They set out to find themselves, only to lose themselves in the process. We can help them most by just loving them.<br /><br /><strong>Onyx:</strong> But when we do that, they don’t seem to hear us or trust us.<br /><br /><strong>Amber:</strong> I know. It is why they keep asking me over and over again how animals can be forgiving. It is because they haven’t learned to yet forgive themselves and move on.<br /><br /><strong>Jeremy:</strong> Do you think they will now ask us more questions?<strong><br /><br />Amber:</strong> We shall see. They’ve been very quiet lately.<br /><p> </p>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-24656089153095700112010-02-20T14:21:00.002-05:002010-02-20T14:28:40.650-05:00The Flow of Joy – Memorial to TangeneSometimes there are things that happen in life that just don’t seem to make sense. Sometimes I think things happen that are not ours to understand. This is one such story. We are sad to announce that Tangene, the duck Wizard (see the post below) passed away very unexpectedly. We were all devastated by the loss of such a magnificent being.<br /><br />I was just getting to write a blog update that he was doing incredibly well. He had surgery on his leg last week and it was very successful. A pin was put in and it was thought that he’d heal well. However, there were complications that occurred between his initial exam at Cornell and his appointment with the exotic animal vet who later did the leg surgery. We do not know if these complications led to his death or not, but they certainly made his healing a bit more of a challenge. But Tangene stuck it out and chose to make a run for it to live. He was a trooper and we were all celebrating the success of his surgery and how well he looked and acted right up until his passing. <br /><br />Yesterday morning, the staff who cared for his every need, came in as usual to clean up his rehab pen and get him situated for the morning. He was his normal cheerful self. And when they set him back in the pen, he gave a healthy flap of his wings, which ducks so often do. It is a joyful flapping almost announcing their joy of life. And as Tangene did that, he suddenly just fell over on his side and was gone. It was a shock to us all and seemingly to Tangene as well.<br /><br />My conversation with Tangene after he left was so similar to all the ones I had with him when he was alive. He was direct and to the point. <br /><br /><strong>Dawn:</strong> Tangene, we are so sorry. What happened?<br /><br /><strong>Tangene:</strong> I had no idea I was going to die today. It was such a surprise. But you must see that I am still the wizard I was before. I just shifted energy places. I was flapping away and just filled with joy and suddenly I just decided to flow with that joy and out I flew. Up, up, up and away above the farm. I just filled myself with the love of the farm and my friends, human and animal alike, and I went deeper and deeper and higher and higher into the joy. That’s when I realized that I had disconnected from my body. That body suddenly just seemed like a heavy lump laying on the ground. The body I now inhabit is so much lighter. I just moved with the energy. That is all. Flap flap flap. The sound of a happy duck. That is who I now am. I am still me, just in another form. Don’t lose sight of that.<br /><br />All of us will miss this most amazing duck being in our physical world. Of course, he will live on in our hearts. The Indian Runner duck who taught us all that life is worth whatever you make it.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-40173246054285307372010-02-07T14:51:00.019-05:002010-02-07T17:53:53.927-05:00What Value has a Life?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S28jaqEJyAI/AAAAAAAAAHA/8O0au6jxWe4/s1600-h/tangene.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435602216134756354" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/S28jaqEJyAI/AAAAAAAAAHA/8O0au6jxWe4/s400/tangene.jpg" /></a>Tangene is a male Indian Runner duck. When he came to the farm in 2007, we thought he was a female and one of our staff chose the name that has stuck with him ever since. At first glance, Tangene may seem like the most unlucky of ducks. He has had several major injuries in his lifetime. Yet, Tangene, sees life differently. He arrived at the farm with a severely broken wing that had to be amputated. We nursed him through that and he did great. He didn't fly anyway, so, as he later told us, it didn't really impact him. Then, one year later, we found him limping around the barn. We do not know what happened but somehow he broke his ankle. Luckily, a splint applied to the joint was all that was needed and he fully recovered from that injury as well, with not even a limp to show for it. Then, yesterday, life took a sudden turn for Tangene when he was stepped on by one of our horses. Our vet just happened to be on site and determined the leg was indeed broken.<br /><br />It being a Saturday, we could not find a veterinarian who works on exotic animals to look at him. In fact, no one was available until Tuesday. We couldn't let him sit there with a broken leg without any help. We were suddenly faced with two choices - euthanasia or a 4 hour round trip to Cornell University to get him some help. We knew this was going to be a very expensive trip. As we weighed the situation over, Tangene sat wrapped in a towel on the lap of one of our barn staff. Everyone loved Tangene, and we were all huddled around him, knowing this injury could be fatal for him if we couldn't get the appropriate help.<br /><br />Tangene looked at me cautiously, his life resting squarely in the next decision we would make. He looked up at me and said, "Well, if you are asking me to weigh in here, I say we fix it. Just put a stick on it, wrap it, and let me heal." Of course, it wasn't that simple. But it was clear he was not voting for euthanasia. We called Cornell.<br /><br />On the two hour drive, Tangene and I had a conversation about his life and about Life in general. I explained to him that we were trying to help him and how I honestly didn't know if the doctors could do anything for him.<br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Tangene</strong>: Its just my leg. I'm fine everywhere else. They will just fix it and I'll have to go through rehab again. Oh, rehab, how that gets so boring. But I can do it. We've done it before you know. You will help me and I'll just move along until I can walk again. </div><div></div><br /><div><strong>Dawn:</strong> But I need you to understand that the vets may tell me they can't fix this. And we could be faced with you not being able to survive. I'm not sure what they will say.</div><div></div><br /><div><strong>Tangene:</strong> Well it seems obvious to me that I need you to properly represent me then. Seems like you are the one to set the tone here. I'm not just a duck you know. I'm me. Let me tell you about my life. I am a wizard of sorts. I hold a space in the barn for everyone. I am wise.</div><div></div><br /><div><strong>Dawn:</strong> I'm not questioning your intelligence here, but look at you. You are missing a wing, a toe, and now this major leg injury. You are one very expensive duck!</div><br /><div></div><div><strong>Tangene:</strong> No, I am one very lucky duck that I am with people who don't question the value of a life. When you take me to these doctors then, you need to tell them about me. You just need to ask them to help me. Then we'll do the rest. I think, after all, that this is my call, not yours. All you need to do is show them who I am and they will act appropriately. I am not dying today. </div><br /><div></div><div>Admittedly, this trip was hanging heavy on me. It was clear how Tangene felt, but the reality was that if this leg could not be saved, the only option left was euthanasia. He was so sure about all this. I didn't want to disappoint him.</div><br /><div></div><div>When we got to Cornell, they gave me the usual talk about the estimate for treating something like this and was I aware of how much money could go into this. Tangene looked at me from the carrier. His life was momentarily in my hands. "I need to explain our philosophy at our sanctuary." I told the vet. "If an animal is with us in our care, then we believe that we are responsible for their care. If something can be done to save this leg and his life, then we need to do that. He is a wonderful duck." The vet looked at me and smiled and looked in the crate at Tangene and said, "well you lucky duck, let's take a look at you then." </div><div></div><br /><div>Tangene looked up at me and said, "Thank you. You see, they see me for who I am, a lucky duck." </div><div></div><br /><div>As it turned out, the leg was broken in two places, but they think he may have a chance to heal. They stabilized the leg, gave him pain killers, and sent him home with us to have our avian vet look at him in a few days to see if surgery is needed. Still groggy from anesthesia, I loaded Tangene back in the car for the drive home. There was just a quiet stillness in the car. Then about half way home, he gently clucked from the crate.</div><br /><div></div><div><strong>Tangene:</strong> I am a lucky duck indeed. The value of my life isn't in a vet bill. It is in the heart that you just stood up for. It is in the bravery we showed together today. It is in the love for my friends back at the farm. It is for the vet who will think about me at the end of her day and realize that we just taught her about the value of a life, and that she helped save mine, and that it meant something to you. She saw your smile when she told you it might just be able to heal. She knew it meant something. She knew I meant something. She knew I am loved. And she knew she was now a part of my life. That is the value of a life. My life has touched so many more than you know. This was a good day. </div><br /><div></div><div>I couldn't resist one more question for him. "So what is this about you being a wizard?"</div><div></div><br /><div>He clucked from the back of the car. "Its funny isn't it? Oh well, we'll figure it all out someday."</div><div></div>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-91756843731232104992009-12-19T17:40:00.014-05:002009-12-19T18:33:01.502-05:00Dare To DreamW<em>hen your reality seems less than what you want it to be,<br />When fatigue seems to seep down deep within your bones,<br />When you think that its time to give up –<br />Dare to dream.<br /><br />When the world seems darker than the day before,<br />When the path isn’t so clearly marked,<br />When the obstacles are all you can see –<br />Dare to dream.<br /><br />It is the dream that becomes the reality you seek.<br />It will replenish your soul, and bring clarity to your heart.<br />And nothing will get in your way to following your path.<br />Dare to dream! The time is now.<br /><br />Deeteza, Arabian mare<br /></em><br /><strong>From Dawn</strong>:<br /><br />Over the years, I have been accused of being overly optimistic or a dreamer. I truly have a belief that humanity can and will rise above itself and our image of ourselves. We are bigger than who we think we are. That is true for each one of us. I have watched countless animals over the years aspire to overcome obstacles that they came into life with or that were dealt to them by the hands of careless humans. And I have had a front row seat to miracle after miracle. Follow our <a href="http://www.springfarmcares.org/miracles.htm">website page on Miracles </a>to read first hand about some of these amazing beings. The miracles are coming more and more frequently now. Just when we think an animal has come in and set the bar for miracles on this <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/Sy1Y-oeAy-I/AAAAAAAAAGY/wwvHSzOXMu4/s1600-h/grace+10+09+001.jpg"></a>farm, another one comes and raises the bar higher. There’s Ramone, a cat with a broken spine and 90% impaired spinal cord, who came to us totally paralyzed in his back end and bowel and bladder incontinent, who now runs and leaps and climbs 6 ft. high cat trees, is totally continent, and is making great use of the 10% of his spinal cord he has left. And Mack, a 5 yr. old Border Collie with a broken spine at his tail causing total bowel and bladder incontinence when he first came here, and who now is regaining control again. And then there’s Rachel, a cat who was found collapsed on the side of a highway, so emaciated we didn’t think she’d survive, but she proved us all wrong, defied all odds, even when her liver was shutting down. This is something that cats frequently cannot overcome. But now she is the picture of health and as happy as can be.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/Sy1ZuX1Y3cI/AAAAAAAAAGw/oMxZVCVrtZk/s1600-h/grace+10+09+001.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417084580003372482" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/Sy1ZuX1Y3cI/AAAAAAAAAGw/oMxZVCVrtZk/s400/grace+10+09+001.jpg" /></a>But this story is about Grace. For the full story of how Grace came in to our lives, please see the website about <a href="http://www.springfarmcares.org/miracles.htm#grace">Tucker and Grace</a>. Grace came to us with her brother Tucker at just 4 and a half weeks old. Not even able to eat on her own without help, we soon noticed that she had something very wrong with her. She couldn’t walk well, would fall over, and was very uncoordinated in general. We found out that she had a problem with her cerebellum. This was an irreversible birth defect and potentially could get worse until she would die. Now, at 6 months old, we are happy to say that Grace is not only still with us, but has dramatically improved in her coordination. Although still not normal, she can live a normal lifestyle. This is a story about how Grace dared to dream and how that dream became her reality.<br /><br />Ever since Grace was old enough to go up the hill with our 9 dogs for their daily run, she would watch our Border Collie, Shayna, run and she’d say to me.... "Someday, I'm going to run like that with her."<br /><br />I'd always feel a lump in my throat when she said that. She couldn't even walk more than 3 steps without falling over, let alone run. But almost every day she would say that to me when she watched Shayna take off and run like the wind. Shayna is one of the fastest dogs I've ever seen. She is incredible to watch. It brings tears to my eyes some days to watch her do a loop around the whole fenced in field where we let them run twice a day. There is no one who can catch her, or keep up with her.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, I saw something amazing. Grace just idolizes Shayna. She is her hero. And I caught an interaction with Shayna that stunned me. As Shayna bolted out the gate and ran into the field, she slowed way down, turned her head over her shoulder toward Grace and said, "Ok, kid, if you're going to run like the wind you've got to start learning."<br /><br />Grace leaped in the air for joy and bounded after Shayna. There was no way she came close to keeping up. But Shayna circled back and got her going again. I couldn't believe my eyes. Shayna understood totally what Grace's dream was and she started to help her. Every morning for the past few weeks, she has done the same thing with Grace. And every morning I quietly tell Shayna what a magnificent being she is and how much I admire and love her for what she is doing.<br /><br />Grace gets faster each day. She never falls over anymore. She can do sharp turns, leap in the air, etc and not fall down. Her run is not like the other dogs. She looks like a large cat running full out, legs extended to their max. She is gorgeous when she runs. And the joy that fills her being comes bouncing out in a bold, joyous bark as she runs. Yesterday morning Grace was ready to go at the gate, standing next to Shayna for the big take off and run. Usually, she makes it about half way through the loop that Shayna does. But I'd noticed the past few days that her stamina was incredibly improving. Shayna tore out of the gate as I opened it. And like always, she looked over her shoulder to be sure she was just slow enough to lead Grace on but not slow enough for her to catch up. But not far out of the gate, Tucker crossed Grace's path and she bumped into him and fell. Shayna saw it and immediately came running back and circled around Grace in a loop.<br /><br />"Come on kid, get up and let’s go!" she chided her.<br /><br />Grace, undeterred, jumped to her feet and took off into the fastest most incredible run I've ever seen. Shayna noticed and gunned it. Grace was right behind her as Shayna started her big loop. About half way through, I couldn't believe my eyes when Grace was still going strong, and then, tears started from my eyes when I watched the most gracious gesture of all.<br /><br />Shayna knew that Grace was tiring, so she slowed up a bit and continued at a pace that Grace could handle. Grace was right behind her at her heels, giving it all she had, and she completed the whole loop with Shayna. Shayna brought her up to me and stopped. Grace came to a halt, looked up at me with the most phenomenal look of joy on her face.<br /><br />"I did it!!!! I flew just like Shayna."<br /><br />Shayna walked over to her and said, "You did great kid, see!"<br /><br />Grace leaped into Shayna’s space and licked and licked her entire face. And uncharacteristically Shayna let her do it. Then Shayna looked at me with a look of total joy and contentment.<br /><br />These dogs totally understood what just happened. They totally got it. And I witnessed the strength, brilliance, and heart of the Border collie right before me. Every step of that run was calculated and planned to help another being achieve something she wanted so badly in her life. The shift in Grace that day was enormous. There is nothing this dog can't do and she knows that now. It was like I watched her find her heart and her purpose right before my teary eyes.<br /><br />The dog who couldn't walk, couldn't eat normally, and was so uncoordinated, understood that she could dream. When she couldn’t make her body move in order to run, she did it in her mind and in her dreams; until with a little help from her friend, she achieved what we all thought would be the impossible. She was now flying like the wind, totally coordinated and in control of her body.<br /><br />Dare to dream!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/Sy1aG8s7tcI/AAAAAAAAAG4/Gh1Dpqj790w/s1600-h/grace+with+ball.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417085002216879554" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qsghmUp-MKs/Sy1aG8s7tcI/AAAAAAAAAG4/Gh1Dpqj790w/s400/grace+with+ball.jpg" /></a>Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-22164605011932644742009-11-26T11:51:00.003-05:002009-11-26T12:09:48.460-05:00Thanksgiving Messages from the AnimalsEach year it is a tradition here to ask several of the animals what they are most thankful for. We humans do the same, and invite any of our animals who want to chime in to share what they would like to share. Here are this years quotes. We hope you all enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.<br /><br />The question posed to each animal was: <strong>What are you thankful for?</strong><br /><br /><strong>Amber Donkey:</strong> The sun. I am thankful for the sun because it warms my joints, fills my heart, and makes me dance with joy. The other fine thing about the sun is you can be sure it will be there each day. Even on days when dreariness prevails, you can know that above those clouds of despair, is the sun. If you doubt that, just ask the birds to fly high enough for you and let you know what they see. Above all clouds is blue sky warmed by the sun.<br /><br /><strong>Mack:</strong> (Border Collie, recovering from a broken spine at his tail and bowel and bladder incontinence.) I have so much to be grateful for that I would not be able to list it all. The people who love me are valued by me beyond all else in my life. Second to that would be the wind. I love the wind. It brings great news and reassures me of my place on the earth. The wind is my friend. My toys. I am grateful for all toys, mostly because attached to them is usually a human friend ready to laugh with me as I play with them. Over the past year, I have found many treasures, and healed several things. The one that is most meaningful to me is my tail. I have not been able to wag it for many months. But now, it is starting to move when I want it to. I want my human friends to understand that I am happy. And I am most happy when they share with me the parts of them I love most, so that we can dance together in laughter. And my hope is that they will hear this. <br /><br /><strong>Merlin:</strong> (African Grey Parrot) – My friends and the ability to remember them and feel them even after they are gone. I most miss my friend Phoebe duck. She and I shared many thanksgiving messages together. We both understood life in similar terms. Neither of us could fly in the wild, both of us started from and egg, and we love the humans who care for us. Phoebe lived to be very old. Although she is not here this year, I am grateful that she is still my friend.<br /><br /><strong>Barak:</strong> (semi-feral cat badly injured when brought to us and now fully, miraculously recovered) I am thankful for the help I received to know a body filled with life again. I am grateful to be offered a different life now with so much more to learn and grow.<br /><br /><strong>Jeremy:</strong> (Arab gelding, mid 20’s) I am very grateful to know love and feel peace. I love my barn, the space I am given to be a horse on the earth, and my friends. I miss my friends who have left before, but I am blessed to know they are still here and to feel them in my heart, AND in my barn. And I am grateful to an old donkey lady (Amber Donkey) who has breathed her wisdom into our herd. She may be loud, but at least she has wise things to say.<br /><br /><strong>Ducati: </strong>(rabbit) I am grateful for my life and the ability to share that with those who need me. I just love to share all of who I am. I am not complicated. Life need not be so. Just live it. That’s what I say. Live and give. The rest just hops into place.<br /><br /><strong>Dinah:</strong> (36 year old Quarter Horse mare) These days I am happy to discover each morning that I am breathing! Life is precious. I am grateful and thankful for each second. And that is the truth. I am also grateful to all who help me get up when I’m down and to know I don’t have to worry about that. My friend Chops has stood by me for years and I am grateful for her strength and caring. She is a gentle soul.<br /><br /><strong>Addie:</strong> (Quarter horse mare – mid 20’s, new here this year) I am grateful to be asked this question! I am particularly thankful for my entire life. I love my new herd and for the people who are new to me as well as the ones who have looked after me my entire life. I am very blessed. For this I am thankful. Oh, and my peppermints. I am eternally grateful for peppermints, just had to add that.<br /><br /><strong>Sage:</strong> (goat abandoned with 2 female kids and a young male goat and brought to the farm this year.) I am thankful for a home. I am most grateful to know safety. It was hard to believe at first, but now I understand it. We have a home. We never had one of those before.<br /><br /><strong>Grace:</strong> (Border collie/golden retriever mix, 5 months old, born with brain abnormality) This is an easy question. I am grateful for my brother Tucker who brought me here. I have leaned on him when I couldn’t stand. Eaten with him when I didn’t know how to do it. Played with him when I felt joy. And beat him up when he needed it. He brought me to my home where I know love like I couldn’t have dreamed of. They have given me certain footsteps when I couldn’t find them. They have given me direction when I couldn’t find it. They fed me when I didn’t know how to eat. And now, they have given me the chance to think and to grow soundly. They love me for how I am. They allow me to bark with joy when I have to. And they love to see me run as fast as the wind. Just like Tucker told me they would. Life has turned out to be something I want to live and for which I am very grateful.Dawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6445068437630808117.post-53906767979123490422009-11-08T19:31:00.003-05:002009-11-08T19:40:40.839-05:00Ask Amber - November 2009Once again I have to apologize for the delay in a post. Things are very busy on the farm and those of you on our mailing list, should be getting a newsletter in the next 2-4 weeks. It is at the printers now. In the meantime, here are two questions submitted from a supporter in Denmark.<br />Dawn<br /><br />Dear Amber,<br />I was very happy to read on the website that you have moved to the smaller stable where it is warmer in the winter. And I was even happier to learn that you enjoy being with new friends and still keep in touch with your old friends.<br /><br />Your blog means a lot to me. Thank you for your patience with us humans. I feel there is so much to learn and understand about how you animals look at and understand the world. Lately, I have become quite interested in understanding how everyone (human) is conditioned – socially, biologically, culturally – all these conditionings influences our way of thinking and perceiving the world. And I understand that – in relation to you animals – my thinking is conditioned by being human. But I find this last point hard to explain to other humans, as many don’t acknowledge that there is only one consciousness – which manifests in both animals, humans, plants and everything. So all your answers are very precious to me, as they help me to broaden my understanding, and break up my conditioned way of thinking.<br /><br />I hope you will help me with these two questions.<br /><br />1. I live with my 4 cats on the countryside. They are all very good hunters, and I understand that it is their nature to hunt, even though they are fed by me with plenty of food. However, when they “play” with mice, frogs, and birds, I always wonder if they really don’t care about how the mouse, the frog, or bird feels. Don’t they care about the fear, or pain of a fellow creature? I must admit that my ability to communicate fails at that point because I get very involved emotionally. I would like to understand my cats, and I would like them to stop playing with their prey and causing more fear and pain.<br /><br /><strong>Amber Donkey:</strong> This is a very interesting question. First, let me tell you that the answer lies within your very question. Just as you said above, there are many factors that come into play and influence our way of thinking and perceiving the world. That is not just true for humans, it is also true for animals. Animals also can become separated or more distanced from their nature. In fact, the more we are around the energy of humans and the culture and social structure of humans, the more affected we are by that. That is not a negative statement about humans now either. It is just a statement of fact. You could say, the more domesticated we become, the further from our natural instincts we get. So your cats have all the instincts to hunt but they don’t need to for their survival so their actions become tainted or skewed. They are not deliberately torturing the prey animal. But they are also not wholly honoring their relationship either. You see? Its not totally balanced as it would be if they were in the wild and they were hunting for food. In the wild state, they would remember the quick release of their prey is important. But when their lives don’t depend on hunting, and food is handed to them, they lose that part of the relationship, just like humans. There is no easy way to work around that. It is their state of current awareness and relationship. Their intention isn’t to harm or torture, it is to play. They have been numbed in a way to the emotions of their prey. It is no different for humans and their food. Or humans who watch a lot of violence and then seem indifferent to violence when they see it for real. <br /><br /><br /><br />2. I often tell other people about Spring Farm CARES, about you and Dawn and everyone else I’ve met or heard of on the farm. Some humans become very inspired; some find it hard to believe what I tell them. When I told a friend that you animals are very well informed about what is going on in the world, she wondered, “what does a horse (or donkey, or any other animal) do with this information? They don’t take action, they don’t vote, they are dependent on our actions and decisions. So why should they know about what is going on in the world?”<br /><br />Anne<br /><br /><strong>Amber Donkey:</strong> Now there is a very human response. Imagine how it would be if we animals asked, “what does a human do with the information we give them? What do they do with all the information that nature provides them? They don’t seem to take action and just keep making the same choices over and over again, even when it is obvious it doesn’t work? <br /><br />You see, Anne, it just depends on what side of the coin you are looking at. By the way, I have often told other animals about Spring Farm and the humans here and they have found it hard to believe at first too! But I digress. <br /><br />The truth is that all living beings strive to find out what is happening in the world around us. Because we understand that what affects one, affects all. What is happening thousands of miles away from this farm, can and does, affect this farm. Humans think they have the monopoly on communication. They just have a piece of communication technology. But where you rely on technology, we animals understand it is simply about listening. We don’t require technology to communicate. You don’t either, but you have forgotten that. Its ok. Eventually your technology will come back around full circle and catch you up to what you already knew how to do anyway, if you hadn’t separated yourselves out of nature.<br /><br />I thank you for your wonderful questions! <br />AmberDawn Hayman/Spring Farm CAREShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01851523183038674193noreply@blogger.com0