I use to have a large black and white cat who liked to use his paws like hands. He would use his paws to pull cat food out of the dish to eat. Sometimes he would eat it right from his paw like a hand. Barney would also dip his paw in the water dish and lick the water off. Once I had a tall glass with a little water in the bottom sitting on the coffee table. I watched to see what Barney was up to when he started looking at the glass. Soon he dipped his paw in to taste what was at the bottom. My other cat, Callie, was watching and as soon as Barney left she came over to try that trick herself.
Barney was so into using his paws for every thing that he naturally used them to pull the cat door open to go through, just like a human pulling a door open with their hand. The only trouble was that this particular style was a hard plastic, double layer system. It was meant for the cat to use their head to push their way through. The double layer consisted of a large rectangle with a cut out that would only swing one way. The cut out inside this large rectangle had a smaller rectangular flap fitting over it. A cat when going one direction would push against the flaps and the larger flap would catch on a stop and the inner flap would push open making a smaller hole for the cat to go through. Going the other direction the smaller flap would push against the larger rectangle and both would move up and out of the way making a larger opening for the cat to crawl through. The smaller flap could swing either direction but in one direction it pushed the larger rectangular flap with it.
Barney would use his paw to pull the flap open. This worked ok, sometimes. One day Barney pulled the smaller flap open and proceeded to go through, however this was the direction where the larger rectangle should be pushed out of the way with the smaller flap. As Barney went through the door the larger flap with its smaller opening caught around Barney’s large frame and the farther Barney went through the door the tighter the larger rectangle grabbed him. By the time I got over to the cat door, Barney was in panic mode.
Paul and I had to push him through backwards to unhook him. Barney then did not want anything to do with that door. But that was the way to go out to do his thing (we did not keep a litter box at the time). So Paul and I grabbed Barney and pushed him through making him use his head and not his paws. We had to push him through about ten times before we felt he was comfortable with the door again. At least he was smart enough to realize what was going on.
Manifesting or Intuition?
Posted by: Ann
May 25th, 2010 >> Energy, Life, Manifesting, Physical/Material
I wanted to continue with yesterday’s topic as I feel it is very important. Maybe I am just trying to get it clear in my own mind.
One morning last week I started thinking about my watch. I had to take this watch in for some repair work in April and had to leave it with them. I was thinking it was about time to get my watch back. That afternoon, I received a call that my watch was ready.
Some people call these types of occurrences idiosyncrasies, others call them coincidences but I want to propose something else. What if these are actually manifestations of our thoughts? What if we have more power than we think we do?
Are you ready to take responsibility for your thoughts and resulting actions?
You could probably tell me your own stories. The time you started thinking about someone you have not thought of in years and all of a sudden you get a call from them. What about the list of things you wanted to do that you wrote up years ago then rediscovered the list recently and realized you have accomplished them all.
There are many such stories. Are these coincidences? In this household we have a favorite saying “There are no coincidences”.
I think one of two things is happening. Either we are using our intuition and accessing the future or we are creating, manifesting the future.
I find myself leaning more and more toward the idea that we are manifesting the future. What do think is going on?
Have you ever ‘known’ something was going to happen – and it did? There have been times I saw a door prize and ‘knew’ it was mine. I would be out of my seat and about to head to the front before my name was even called. I always wondered if I was creating the event or exercising intuition.
This can also apply to unpleasant events. Once my husband and I were outside watching our two-year-old ride his new bike. I was close to the house and Paul was by the end of the drive where there was a three foot drop into the bar-ditch full of muddy water. Jesse had ridden to within five feet of where Paul was and stopped. I ‘knew’ Jesse was going to head for the ditch but I thought ‘Paul’s there and will stop him’. Sure enough, Jesse gave a little banzai scream and headed for the ditch, and Paul just stood there. I was pretty frustrated with Paul at the time (we ended up in the emergency room – but Jesse was ok). But now I think I was picking up on intuition about that event when Paul was not.
Then there are the times I just knew it was time; time to get a job, time to go on a retreat. The feeling was one of resignation, a letting down of an energy that was keeping the status quo. As soon as I let the energy down the event happened. For example: I had moved to Austin with my new husband and had been searching for a job. One day while driving around I felt it was time to get a job. There was an energy shift. When I got home, I received a call from some one who had received my resume and I knew from their tone that they were going to hire me. Another time, my husband had talked me into signing up for a 3 day retreat. This was a women’s retreat that had a six month waiting list. I was not totally sold on going when I signed up but two weeks later while driving around town I decided it was time and I really did need to go on this retreat. When I got home, my sponsor called and said there was a cancellation for the retreat happening that weekend and could I go! As soon as my shift in thought or energy occurred the event happened!
I have been playing with shifting energy lately and it is hard. The resistant energy resides at the bottom of my heart and just above my stomach. I can feel it. But letting it go is difficult. I can’t seem to force it to leave; I have to let it go or release it. I would be interested in knowing of other people’s experiences.
I wanted to continue Saturday’s blog with today’s book review. Gary Craig has written a series of books on using EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) on various issues. One of his books is EFT for PTSD (EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques)
What exactly is PTSD? The usual diagnosis requires at least one symptom from each of the following categories:
1. Events are relived through nightmares or flashbacks. The person may have a strong mental and physical reaction when they are reminded of the event.
2. The person will take extreme measures to avoid activities, thoughts, feelings and conversations that will remind them of the event. The person may not be able to remember details about the event or they may feel emotionally numb and detached from the present moment. Something the seminar mentioned were many vets who felt disconnected from their souls. One such vet told his counselor that he could see his soul sitting in the other chair. It was not safe for his soul to integrate back into his body.
3. No interest in important activities. The person feels alone and can not experience normal emotions, a feeling of depression.
4. This person can never relax, is always on guard and over reacts when startled. There is trouble sleeping, feels angry or irritable and can’t concentrate.
From the above list you can see how almost anyone who has a traumatic event could end up with PTSD. What I think is a shame is that there is such a marvelous way to handle this tragedy, easily and effectively and it is not being used enough.
Gary covers the basics of how to do EFT, through various techniques to use for releasing and reducing the trauma. Some of the techniques show you how to sneak up on the core issues without having to really go there until you are ready.
This little book also has input from many practitioners and their experiences. This is a great book to broaden your knowledge of PTSD and EFT.
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) has been in the news a lot lately. Most of the news has been geared toward our troops coming back from war areas. This is the ‘shell shock’ of other wars. I live close to one of the largest army bases in the US, Fort Hood. Their practice shelling rattles our windows. A year ago I went to a three day presentation about PTSD and our troops. There was a lot of good information presented. One piece that stuck in my mind was that our troops have gotten younger and younger. In World War II the average age of a soldier was 26 while now days the ones being sent off to combat are usually 18-19, much younger. This is significant as the younger you are when a traumatic incident occurs the less likely you are to be able to deal with it emotionally.
The experiences of life seem to help a person deal with more extreme experiences. This is why a person who had an abusive childhood may experience PTSD.
Another question that was brought up was why do some people seem to deal with the same situation better than another person? The answer has to do with a person’s background or childhood. A person who had a more traumatic childhood will be more likely to exhibit PTSD. The past trauma that was ineffectively dealt with as a child is being replayed in the war situation and the adult not only has to deal with the most recent situation but also the past, often buried (that is how the child dealt with it) situation. This is often too much to handle.
What is often ignored is that anyone can have PTSD. Some one who experiences a bad car accident, or whose house is broken in, or who is severely attacked by a dog can be extremely emotionally affected resulting in PTSD symptoms.
PTSD is an attack of the emotions. It is an attempt of the mind to protect itself. What works well with releasing negative emotions? EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or one of the other Meridian Tapping Techniques can be used to neutralize the negative aspects of the emotion and give the person back their life. There is no reason to live such a desperate life. You can be better! Check out www.naturallyresilient.com and sign up for a session.
There are times when you need to do EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) or Meridian Tapping but you are in a public area or would feel too embarrassed to tap in public. There are ways to deal with this. You can tap on the finger points only. You can do this under the table. I have gotten so good at finger tapping that I can do it one handed; using my thumb to tap the other finger points, and my index finger to tap the thumb point. When you tap with one hand and people can see you, it looks like you have a nervous twitch.
Where are these points you may ask. Hold one of your hands in front of you with the palm facing you. The points are at the top edge of the nail on each finger. If you thumb turns like mine, the thumb point would be the edge of the thumb nail closest to your body. This is where the nail and flesh meet.
There is another way to tap without anyone knowing. This is silent and inconspicuous and is all in your head. It is imagine tapping. Just imagine you are tapping on the points, this can get almost the same results as actual tapping! I have used this on numerous occasions. I have often used it on others. I just imagine I am tapping on them. It is amazing how effective this can be.
A great use for imagine tapping is when you are having a hard time falling asleep at night. Just imagine tapping on yourself for tension, release of tension, feeling relaxed and pretty soon you will find yourself waking up in the morning! Give it a try for yourself.
Dream interpretation involves getting in touch with your intuition. Unfortunately our western, American society has tried to eliminate and downgrade our intuition by denying our feelings. How often do you hear a well meaning parent telling a child “you aren’t hurt, I don’t see any blood.” When it is obvious the child who is sobbing is hurt, it may not be a physical hurt but the hurt is there. Some times I feel like smacking that parent and saying “that didn’t hurt did it?” Well back to dreams and intuition.
On Tuesday I mentioned using Dream Dictionaries and the interview method. Today I have another useful method: alternate hand writing. This method involves writing a question with your dominant hand and answering with the nondominant hand. By doing this you are accessing both sides of your brain. Ask the same types of questions you would with the alternating chair method. The nondominant hand takes longer and more concentration to form the letters, this ties up the logical part of you brain so the artistic side can actually have a chance to have a say in matters.
The last method I will mention will probably be the hardest for most people: Meditation. Do a simple meditation, get quiet, take your mind to a beautiful, safe area and access your inner wisdom. It may show up as a person, another version of you, a feeling or an object such as smoke. Ask the questions and wait for an answer. If no answer comes immediately, don’t worry, one may come later in the next day or two.
All the methods listed (except the dream dictionaries) are ways to access your intuition. That is all you need to do to interpret your dreams. Your own intuitive interpretation will have the most meaning to you as it is the most personal.
If you do experience a series of dreams with similar elements it may be worthwhile to interpret the dream. Your subconscious is trying to tell you something.
When we lived in the duplex in north Austin, we had a cat door insert for the sliding door. This allowed any and all stray cats in the area to come in and make themselves at home.
My husband and I had recently married, he had 4 cats and I had 2 (hey a guy who likes cats is something to hold on to). We bought the duplex and finally moved in together. All this shuffling around had confused the cats and they were not sure who was and who was not suppose to be with us anymore so our legitimate cats were very welcoming of strays.
One stray stayed on the outskirts of the back porch for quite a while, unsure of his welcome. He was very scruffy looking; the kind you really did not want to touch. He looked and acted like he had been kicked out of a lot of places. I thought he needed some food and kind treatment. He was a very ugly cat with a stub of a tail. I was never sure if it was natural or had been cut off. That tail is why we started calling him Bobbie. He also had a medical problem that I am sure kept anyone from taking him in. He had a tumor. His side bulged like a tennis ball was in there.
My husband and I decided he needed some kindness and some good food. We cajoled and bribed him until he finally let us close. The good food did help. His fur started getting smoother and shinier. He finally decided to make the plunge and he came in the cat door.
He liked it indoors. It was cool and safe; he did not have to worry about predators or the pit bull down the street.
Since he had moved in, I decided he needed his shots. At the vets, I asked about the tumor and he said that he could operate and remove it but it would come back. We decided to let nature take its course.
Bobbie stayed with us for about seven months and I could tell the tumor was taking a toll on him. His favorite place to sleep was in the bathtub with its cool sides. One day he disappeared. After being gone for several days I assumed he had gone off to die.
About four months after his disappearance, he showed up! He came in the cat door and in his weakened state managed to climb into the bathtub. Paul and I petted him and made over him and offered food and water but the timing was bad. We were just on our way out when Bobbie walked in. We had to leave; our bowling league was depending on us. So I left Bobbie in the bathtub. When we got back several hours later, Bobbie was no longer in the tub or the house.
We never did see Bobbie again. I think he came to see us one last time before he died. I like to think he was appreciative of our efforts to help a starving, sick stray.
I am going to delve into some dream interpretation today. Do you ever have a dream that repeats or one that has the same elements as another dream you had recently? I believe your dreams are trying to tell you something.
What I have determined is that our dreams are symbolic representations of our emotions. Our emotions are trying to make themselves know through familiar objects. Within the last week I have had two dreams that had very small ‘doors’ in them. This may sound a little like Alice in the Looking Glass, but the first had a stair way up to a very small opening about the size of a small pet door. I needed to get to the other side but there was no way I was going to fit through that opening. I found myself thinking if I was younger and smaller I would be able to fit but not now. In this dream I did not go up the stairs to make sure, but I went around the wall to look for another way to where I wanted to go. I did find a way and it was more direct than the pet door would have been. The second dream involved a small 2 foot x 2 foot opening that I had to slide out of the way. If you looked directly through the opening you would see a wall in front but I crawled through, turned the corner and went around the wall to find a large room containing all kinds of educational information.
How do you interpret such a dream? There are several ways. We as humans seem to have a ‘mass consciousness’. Because of this consciousness, we can assign meanings to specific images in our dreams. Google “dream interpretation” and you will find various dream dictionaries that say pretty much the same thing for the same words. For example: Dreaming about a campus (If you have been to college you have probably had such a dream) means you need to expand your thinking or knowledge and challenge yourself mentally; To hear a drum in your dream may symbolize the rhythm of life and a need to keep a steady pace in the pursuit of your goals. The term door had many meanings depending of if the door was open, locked, to the outside, inside a revolving door. What I settled on for the best fit for my door was that it meant a new opportunity that I am feeling is unimportant (being small) or difficult to obtain.
Another method of Dream interpretation that I was taught years ago involves sitting in a chair facing an empty chair. You start out as yourself and you talk to an element in the dream as if it were sitting in the opposite chair. Ask it questions such as: how do you feel, what is your purpose, what do you have to tell me? To receive an answer, get up and switch chairs. Become the other person or object and answer the question. When through, change chairs again and ask another question. When I did this with each of my door dreams, I got different answers. One door was sad and felt insignificant the other was happy and inviting.
There are other methods. I will continue with on Thursday.
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you are sick all week and can’t get anything done? Last week was like that for me and I am still recovering. I could feel the cold coming on Monday. I did not think much of it. OK, a cold, which means two days of sore throats followed by three days of only being able to breathe out of one side of my nose. Then I suffer through two to three weeks of drainage down the back of my throat, keeping me from singing in church.
I started taking my vitamin C when the sore throat hit. Vitamin C can help cut the sore throat to a day and the clogged nose to 1-2 days. I did not think much of the cold otherwise, at least not for the first two days. I guess that is why it was different this time, it just kept coming. By the end of the week the sleepless nights were getting to me. I hate trying to sleep when I can’t breathe!
Finally on Friday I looked up the healing properties of amethyst and Turquoise (the stones on the necklace my spirit guides chose for me). From The Illustrated Directory of Healing Crystals: A Comprehensive Guide to 150 Crystals and Gemstones
The cold may have been running its course or maybe the necklace was helping. Believe what you want but I do not believe in coincidences.
Order your own necklace at www.naturallyresilient.com/cicada/