I re-learned a valuable lesson from my dog, Buddy, today… how allowing space for a living, breathing being to be in pain and not fear it can be beneficial, even healing.

A couple of months ago, Buddy was outside in the back yard and suddenly we heard him howling in pain. We had no idea what had happened or had caused him to be in such excruciating pain. My kids thought he was dying – the howling was terrifying! I am well-versed in the benefits of grounding and staying calm, but with Buddy not being able to verbally let me know what was wrong, uncertainty crept in and I imagined the worst – I went into fear.

I immediately lifted all 95lbs. of him into my car and drove him to the vet. On entering the vet’s office, I watched him perk right up and apparently begin to override the pain he was in – so many smells…..

However, I was still in fear for him. I slept on the couch with him right next to me that night and every time he moved, he howled in pain and I experienced more fear and tension. The medication the vet had given him for an apparently torn shoulder or neck muscle or tendon, was not obviously working! The next morning I took him back to the vet for x-rays, convinced he had slipped a disc or cracked a vertebra – I was wrong. The diagnosis remained that he had wrenched or torn something.

We continued with the pain medication and muscle relaxers and he slowly improved and returned to his normal, relatively old dog self – he is a 9 year-old large breed.

Today, Buddy was lying in the kitchen next to my husband. He heard something, got up and suddenly began howling in pain just as he had a couple of months ago.

This time, however, I did not go into fear…. My children were out and about which made it easier. I simply said hello to Buddy and validated that he was in pain. I allowed him to be there and communicated to him that he had done something that had over-taxed or over-stretched his body. The difference in his ability to manage the pain was phenomenal. The more my husband and I pulled back and allowed him to be in pain without going into fear, the more he was able to accept it without matching that fear himself.

Within two days he was back to his normal self without any visits to the vet or any medication.

This is something that I teach the students in my Intuitive Touch Healing program and that they begin to practice in the Intuitive Touch Healing clinics each month.

As a living, breathing, sentient being, how do you grant space for someone to be right where they are, even if that is in excruciating pain be it physical, spiritual, emotional or mental?

We are programmed as sentient beings to respond to pain in fear and to try and fix and/or eradicate it. We are not taught to validate pain as a brilliant warning system for the body.

Are you experiencing pain in any area of your life that you would like assistance with? I invite you to visit one of the twice-monthly healing clinics. Here you will be granted permission to accept that pain, and given the certainty you need to be able to manage it without fear compounding and magnifying it.

Healing is often seen as a way to fix, repair or eradicate a problem – rather than a means of acceptance, release and renewal.

The Intuitive Touch Healing clinics are held on the first Saturday and third Monday of each month. Healings are by appointment, are 20 minutes long and cost $10.00.

If you live out of the area, call or email me and we can arrange for a long-distance healing.

I look forward to seeing you and working with you!