When the swallows leave

Easter moon rise and orbs over the herb garden

It’s been said: “that if you have swallows living on your property, you will also have bats.” Whoever penned this saying is absolutely correct, as for the past thirty-three years we’ve lived in the country, we’ve had both.

Currently we have a pair of swallows living in their mud house in our garage. I’ve had to Reiki a couple fledgelings when they’ve fallen from their nest in the past. I’m so accustomed to their presence that I feel an absolute sense of devastation when they leave.

I love watching my feathered friends swoop and dive in the air, catching insects while I have my breakfast on the veranda every morning. I particularly enjoy watching them at dusk, when the whole atmosphere takes on an almost surreal feeling when I sense something vibrant in the air. It’s absolutely weird, how one minute I know I’m watching swallows but when I look closely they’ve shape-shifted into bats, almost right before my eyes. The exact time is never evident when the swallows swoop off to their nest and their wheeling flight overhead is replaced by the bats.

My fascination with swallows goes back to my childhood. Growing up in suburban Bez Valley, my brother used to watch these migrating birds, during our Easter school break, as they congregated on the overhead wires, with much flapping of wings and twittering to each other. We used to pretend that we could interpret what they were saying. Stuff like: “Hi Joe, did you pack your toothbrush?” as each bird arrived and took their place at the end of the line, or “why are you so late?” as the stragglers fought for a perch on the wire. This went on for a while, and there seemed to be some of the birds who were in charge of the whole operation as they kept up a tirade of twittering, perhaps they were giving flight instructions for the long journey ahead.

Eventually they rose in unison, a gigantic swirling mass ascending higher and higher heavenwards.  We would watch them until they became a tiny black dot in the sky, leaving me with a deep sense of sadness. 

Some years later when I began studying French at school, I was amused with a story in my French Manual called “Le depart des Hirondelles” – (the swallow’s departure).

The author gave a vivid description of how the swallows congregated on the overhead wires, telling how some birds got a scolding for being late and how they fought for a place on the wire causing others to loose their place. It was quite funny and certainly left me with a feeling of déjà vu.

Winter is not my favourite season. And the sadness I feel when the swallows leave, heralds the end of wonderful long sunny days and warm nights, and the looming approach of cold, bleak winter days. 

But in April last year the swallow’s leave took on an even deeper meaning of devastation for me. I knew their departure was imminent as they began perching along the power lines, which they usually do a few days before they migrate. 

I’d been nursing my ailing 93 year old mother for the past couple of months and she passed away on the 4^th of April. We knew her time to leave was close, but one is never really prepared for the actual parting and the grief that accompanies it. So it was with what felt like a heavy lump of lead in my chest, that I suddenly remembered the swallows. As soon as I entered the garage, there was no sense of their presence, and I knew they too, had gone. The synchronicity these two occurrences left me wondering if they were linked in any way with the Soul’s departure, as birds are considered messengers of the Spirit World.

Just after dusk an evening or two later  I was outside, obviously having no swallows to watch, so  I watched instead the brilliant Easter moon rise and felt compelled to take  photos. I was so surprised to see a number of orbs in the photos. Considered to be spirit manifestation captured on camera – I knew they’re were messages from Spirit.

A golden orb over the garden path...
a sign from my departed mother

I’m certain the big one in the pathway is from my Mom, I felt it was her way of saying “don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”

Of course the swallows returned once more to their little mud home the following October. The seasonal wheel continues to turn and soon it will time for them to follow the sun once more.

Interesting article on orbs here.

My cat is a healer too

A portrait of my cat Inca, drawn by my daughter Colleen, animal artist at PetPawtraits

Many years ago I was intrigued to read in one of Dianne Stein’s books on Animal Reiki, that cats consider themselves to be Reiki Masters. With their disdainful air of superiority they actually feel they “own” the energy and would like to keep it for themselves.

I believe that all animals are healers, but it’s a well known fact that cats have the innate ability of sussing out the only non-animal/cat lover in a room full of people. They will make a bee line for them and rub their bodies against their legs, or heaven forbid, even jump up onto their lap. To me this is an indication that the person is in need of serious healing, probably for some imbalance in their life.

One of my elderly clients, who has her own cat family, told me that her husband had not been feeling well from the time he got up that morning. He started getting a pain in his chest, so he went and sat down in a comfortable armchair. Immediately their cat Snowy jumped onto his lap, and rested his head against her husband’s chest. He stayed like that for an hour or so and then jumped down. Harry was amazed when he realised that the pain had gone and he actually felt much better. He is absolutely certain that Snowy was responsible for healing him that day, as he has never sat on his lap before nor has he ever done so again.

Another story I read in a book on animal healing is about the cat lover who developed a passionate love affair with a bottle of red wine after a break up of a relationship or marriage, not sure now exactly which it was now. After a while she managed to pull herself together and decided to go back to her former life of healing and helping people. She had to go for a check up to her doctor, who was aware of her addictive red wine habit, so he advised a liver check. They were both amazed and relieved that the test indicated that her liver was in a healthy state.

But sadly a short time later her cat became ill, and the vet diagnosed an incurable liver dis-ease. Needless to say she was devastated when he passed away. But she felt absolutely crushed when she realised that her cat always slept on her bed at night, curled into a ball against her stomach. She knew without a doubt that her cat had taken on the liver problem, her liver problem, and died instead of her.

My cat Inca has displayed her healing abilities to us on several occasions. One night we arrived home from supper and I started feeling rather uncomfortable in my tummy area. Being a vegetarian, I was forced to eat the limited vegetarian food on the menu, but which I’m not accustomed to eating. One of the items was bean soup, and I’m sure you know what beans can do to your stomach. I took some Tissue Salts and went to bed with my tummy making the weirdest noises. I put my hands on my stomach and started doing Reiki when Inca jumped up on the bed and settled herself on top of my hands. I didn't give it much thought at first, but then I noticed her eyes took on this look of wisdom, a sort of knowing look and I realized that she was doing her special brand of feline Reiki on me.  

Since then she’s helped my husband to heal the stress he was suffering from while working in a pressurised job by sleeping stretched out along his body at every opportunity she got. She’s also helped us to heal when we’ve had flu or a bad cold, and one night she came to sit on my tummy before my stomach even began to ache.

To me this was proof once again that animals are psychic. 

So I consider my cat Inca to be a very wise and ancient being, a healer of note. I also pick up that she was a healer in a past life, when she lived in human form... but animal reincarnation is the subject of a blog post for another time.

Bees get a buzz from Reiki too

Did you know that Reiki can help you to get uninvited garden pests and insects to vacate your home and garden?  Over the years I’ve used Reiki to get the destructive moles to leave our garden, relocate bats and ants and some other creepy crawlies.

A while ago the gardening gods blessed us with a plethora of peppadews (the brand name of the small sweet piquanté red peppers) and I decided to try my hand at pickling a batch.

I followed the recipe and soon had all the ingredients simmering in my huge stewing pot.  The pleasant aroma of the pickling spice filled the kitchen and wafted through into the rest of the house.  A bee flew through the kitchen window and made a bee line for the pot, it buzzed and hovered above and seemed quite mesmerised. Then it was joined by several more bees, all acting as if they were getting a “high” from the cooking peppers.

I wasn’t really worried by the bees as living on plot in the country we’re accustomed to their frequent visits, they don’t harm us and we don’t harm them. But I must admit that I was actually quite horrified when it felt as if the whole house was vibrating with their buzzing and I found so many more of them clinging to the dining room windows.

There were now hundreds buzzing over the pot and walking up the kitchen windows and curtains.  I was unable to stir the mixture as they were sitting on the handle of my wooden spoon, and several had committed suicide by jumping into the hot bubbling peppers.

“Ok, this is it, I’ve had enough!” I said to them, I’m going to send Reiki, I want you all to leave NOW, when I come back in here I want you all gone.”  I stood in the middle of the kitchen and drew the Reiki symbols on both the palms of my hands, and in the air above me. I then stood with my hands in the beaming position, and beamed Reiki to them. I asked the Reiki Guides and Angels to ask the bees to please leave my kitchen now. I also told the bees telepathically that I liked them and honoured them and the wonderful work they did, and the honey they produced.  I told them that I send them love and Light, and I would be very grateful if they would please leave my house now and go back to where they came from. I showed them with my mind, that I wanted them to fly back out the windows now and go back to their work in the garden.  I then went into the dining room and repeated the process.  

After about ten minutes I went back into the kitchen and thankfully the majority of them, apart from a few stragglers, had all buzzed off.

I sent Reiki in thanks and also expressed my gratitude to the Reiki Guides and Angels for their help. I don’t know what I would have done to get the bees to go, if I did not have Reiki and the power of telepathic communication to assist me.

I’m sorry!

Murphy, the Incorrigible

 “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” goes the famous line from the 1970’s movie ‘Love Story.’ Well I’m afraid to say that living with Murphy, I’m continually having to say ‘I’m sorry’ to the unfortunate animals he sends to the Spiritworld.

Much to my dismay, a few months ago, Murphy started stalking and hunting the wild animals that visit our plot. I occasionally found a few dead birds or a pile of feathers on the lawn.  I sat him down and told him telepathically and verbally,  that he must stop killing the wild birds and I sent him pictures of him sitting on the lawn while the birds walked around him unscathed.   

He seemed to have got the message regarding the birds, but I absolutely horrified to find a beautiful nag aapie lying on the lawn a few days later. “I’m sorry” I told the lifeless form as I beamed Reiki to it, asking for his soul go to the Light.

I looked at Murphy, he knew he was in trouble again but he seemed confused, “ you said no birds” was his telepathic reply. I again told him that he was to leave all the wild life alone.

Tess, the Border Collie

A few days later Tess and Murphy came to walk the labyrinth with me. The dogs gave chase as a wild rabbit burst out of the bushes. I yelled at them to stop. Murphy caught up with it, and took bit a chunk out of its rump. I shouted again and he stopped and came back to me. Tess then took up the chase. The rabbit managed to get away, but in its haste it ran into the gate at the top of the driveway, in an attempt to get through the bars. As I got to the gate the rabbit just managed to get through the bars and collapsed on the other side of the gate. It lifted its head and stared at me for a few seconds, and then slowly lowered his head and died. It was so upset, I just kept repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” I beamed Reiki and asked for his soul to go to the Light. This time both dogs got a scolding.

While watering the garden one day, I heard the guinea fowl's cry of alarm at the bottom of the garden. I put the hosepipe down on the ground and ran to investigate. I saw an apparition staggering through the trees, it had a yellow body, and 4 legs, but it seemed faceless. As I approached I realised it was Murphy with a guinea fowl in his mouth, the wings completely covered his face. I told him to drop it. He did and the poor bird managed to fly over the privet hedge to safety.

Everything was fine for a few weeks, Tess and Murphy behaved themselves, but I kept a watchful eye on Murphy each time he so much as looked in the direction of the birds pecking on the lawn. He still chased them as they flew overhead, especially the hadedas, but thankfully he stopped catching them… or so I thought!

One Sunday I was cooking at the stove, when I turned around and was surprised to see a dying guinea fowl in Tess’s bed. The culprit sat in his own bed, with his front paws crossed in front of him. His body language seemed to say “ don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with it, it’s not in my bed and look my paws are crossed.”

Now in retrospect, I think he may have been saying “look, I brought lunch!”

Snake speak

Cape Cobra http://capesnakerescue.co.za

I was in the veggie garden sending Reiki to the newly germinated plants when I heard Tess and Murphy barking hysterically. I noted that it was not their usual bark and psychically I heard “snake.” I dashed over to the furrow and saw the dogs had cornered a huge Cape Cobra.

I was worried about the dogs getting bitten (see earlier post about Maxi’s snakebite)

The reptile had its head raised with the hood up, ready to strike. I called the dogs off and asked them to keep their distance and told them to stop barking as the racket was upsetting the snake. Thankfully they did.

I focused on the snake and beamed Reiki to it for a few minutes, then I took my focus to my heart chakra and I sent love and light to it, by visualising a beautiful pink light flowing from my heart to it. The results were instantaneous, I visibly saw the snake relax before my eyes. I continued to hold my hands up in the beaming position, with my palms facing outwards towards it and felt my hands getting hotter and hotter.

I noticed its beautiful eyes and I sensed a feeling of complete surprise. I told the snake telepathically that he was safe and that he would not be harmed. I continued to send Reiki while the snake just stared back at me, seemingly relaxed, as its hood was down. I got this feeling of being connected to something ancient and wise. I cannot adequately find words to describe this feeling, but I felt a deep sense of humility wash over me and I felt honoured by its presence. The cobra’s eyes were locked with mine, they seemed so intent, as if he was looking deep into my soul.

I quickly phone my husband Owen at the office, (which thankfully is nearby) for help. When he arrived he got the “slang-stock” which we’ve used for many years to catch snakes so that we can release them safely away from our home.

Alertness snapped back into the Cobra when Owen placed the noose over its head, but it was not having any of this and it managed to slip out and disappear under the rocks along the bank of the furrow. I decided that I would connect with it again later and ask it to leave our garden and go to the vacant property next door.

To be on the safe side, I kept the dogs indoors for the rest of the afternoon and when I connected with the snake again I found that it had already left.

I pondered over the whole thing, and felt that it was almost as if he’d just popped in for a visit, perhaps with a message for me, so I consulted Ted Andrew’s book AnimalWise. Ted says that: “when a cobra appears we can expect an awakening and heightening of our own intuitive vision that will enable us to make swift decisions and take quick actions that will benefit us tremendously. Now is not a time for hesitation. We should keep our senses alert because the likelihood of unexpected opportunities is about to take place. Opportunities to strike in business are very near and we should be ready. And from the cobra we can learn to read the inner soul of any person.”

I felt so deeply honoured to have had a soul to soul communication with this amazing being.

Murphy and me

If you’ve read the book or seen the movie Marlie and Me you will be familiar with the antics of the hyperactive and totally over the top Labrador called Marley. He was such a handful and I felt that the only reason the author continued to share a life of destruction with this animal was because of the deep bond of love which existed between them.

Murphy, a Labrador-cross, is our latest furry family member and I’m convinced that he’s related to Marlie in some way. They could be distant cousins, they’re both yellow in colour and both have the same destructive nature.

When Murphy first joined us, he was a law unto himself. No matter how many times we scolded him for something, he would do the same thing once our backs were turned. He chews everything he can lay his yellow paws on. We’ve lost a number of our socks as he snatches them from the laundry basket and shreds them into tiny pieces. The other day I found my mint green dressing gown lying in a crumpled heap under the wash line. It was covered in brown paw marks with gaping holes instead of buttons. There was no sign of them, so no prizes for guessing where they ended up. 

My gardener stopped me in the garden one day, poop-scoop in hand and frowning deeply “What type of dog is Murphy?” he asked.  I looked at him puzzled and asked what he meant. “Well you should see all the strange things he eats, he’s not like any of the other dogs. When I go around with the poop-scoop I see bits of wood, plastic, rags all kinds of stuff -  even bird seed. This bit of information led me to change from bird feeding tables to tree feeders, so bird seed is no longer part of his diet.

What can I say?  He’s eaten my flower pots along with their plants, the cushions from the garden furniture, flower bulbs, tree seed pods, bamboo, firewood, my garden ornaments and the dog beds.  I felt sorry for Tess when I saw her staring at the remaining fragments of her bed on the kitchen floor. So I spent a day making smart new beds for both of them. I used strong material and sewed the covers double, of course it made no difference, the corners are already in tatters.

I was so angry when I came home to find my beautiful garden Buddha statute – which usually sits peacefully in the lotus position beneath the trees – standing on its head in the middle of the lawn. I still can’t believe that he managed to carry it there.

Murphy is now just over a year old and he seems to be calming down. I've noticed some subtle changes in him, though he still chases the cat. Inca has no problem in leaving long scratches on his face or giving him a bloody nose, but he keeps going back for more.

He enjoys our fetch-the-rope sessions and now waits patiently until I give the “Ok now you can eat your food ”command at meal times. He also lies quietly when I do TTouch and Reiki on him these days. When he was younger he used to wriggle like an eel and wouldn’t allow me to put my hands on him or the body wrap. The body wrap, ear and mouth work really seem to help him to calm down. 

Like Marley, we’ve also grown to love Murphy. What can you do, when he looks at you with those adoring yellow eyes and continues to offer you his unconditional love no matter what he’s done... you can only love him in return.

Diesel the Boxer Pup’s Spondolosis

At the tender age of 18 months, Diesel, my daughter’s playful Boxer pup, started displaying signs of pain and distress when he sat or tried to lie down. Tests and x-rays revealed mild hip dysplasia, the primary source of pain being spondolosis, a degenerative disease of the spine. His life expectancy was reduced to three years as the disease was encroaching rapidly and was untreatable. He was prescribed painkillers and Bronwyn made him as comfortable as possible and waited for his spine to fuse as the vet had predicted. His quality of life became severely compromised as he responded to the painkillers.

I treated him with some hands on Reiki sessions and there was a huge improvement.

His appetite improved and he stopped crying out when trying to sit or lie down. He even started playing again. I used the ‘Reiki Laser’ (a technique given to me by my Reiki guides in which I visualise the energy as a laser beam and focus it on the

dis-eased area) to break up the dense negativity surrounding his spine. I extended my psychic fingers and performed psychic surgery* on the whole area, removing the **energy blocks. I visualised a brilliant blue light flowing down his spine and saw the pain being flushed out the end of his short stumpy tail. As I mentally drew the Reiki symbols I asked for help from my Divine Helpers: God, Reiki Guides and Angels. I asked for the healing energy to flow to the cause of the problem and heal it. I felt intense pain in my hands and psychically saw scenes of a puppy having his tail docked. I asked for healing for his highest good and that the memory of this pain be released from all the cells in his body and especially from the area of his spine. 

Some months later x-rays revealed that the spondolosis had slowed down dramatically. The vet was amazed with the results, as the dog's spine was expected to have fused and it had not even progressed to the halfway mark. Diesel is almost 12 years old now and thanks to the healing power of Reiki and some nutritional supplements, he still leads a full life, running, jumping and swimming like a true Boxer.

* psychic surgery is a technique taught in my Reiki Master’s Degree course

** the removal of energy blocks is taught in my 2^nd degree Reiki course.