Animals have taught me how important being present and mindful is when being with them, both with my own animals and with those I work with.
Mindfully Offering Essential Oils
When I am offering essential oils to them for them to select for their healing I always find that being mindfully present with them as I offer the oils enhances the healing and brings the most amazing connection. Mindfully connecting with them with love feels very strong and helps the healing energy of love and of being listened to flow much more easily both ways.
Congruence
Animals are always trying to teach us to be present, to be connected with all parts of ourselves including our physical bodies, and to be authentic. This is when they feel most comfortable around us. This they understand and this they feel safe with.
Being mindful, we can connect with our bodies, our feelings, our emotions, our thoughts as observers without judgement and this leads to full integration of all parts of us. Our animals will appreciate this congruency and want to connect with us and be with us and do things with us.
Animals would far rather that we are honest about feeling out of sorts – to ourselves and to them – rather than try to paste on a smile and make the best of it for them, which confuses them and they feel uncomfortable being around this energy. They love it when we are fully who we are and in accordance with ourselves on all levels.
How To Be Mindful
Being mindful is simple, it just takes practice to make it a habit.
Sometimes it means we need to face who we are and accept who we are, which can be the challenging part – we may not want to see that we are angry or that we are afraid.
It doesn’t mean we have to sit for an hour in meditation, although this also is beneficial. Just noticing our breath going in and out, noticing the birdsong or the traffic noise, noticing what we are touching or what is touching us, consciously putting one foot after the other down on the ground, or noticing any sensations in our bodies can all be ways we can practice mindfulness.
Starting off with a few seconds here and there we can build this into more of a habit and bring it into the course of our day.
We don’t have to change our thoughts or feelings – just acknowledge them and accept them with compassion. We don’t even have to take deeper breaths if we don’t want to.
My Mindful Experiences
I used to love to sit and meditate with my horse, it was always easier for me than when I was alone and I very often meditate now connecting with this memory. She helped me to be present, to breathe in rhythm with her, to be in rhythm with her. We shared honest space together – connecting with and sharing in peace.
Being mindfully in the present moment made a massive difference in helping Rufus, my people-aggressive dog, feel safe and it also improved our relationship.
Other Benefits
Mindfulness has other benefits such as reducing stress and anxiety and helps us to be in a place where we can heal. It was the tool that brought me out of depression many years ago.
The connection I experience when offering oils mindfully, and generally being present with animals fills me with joy.
We all benefit in so many ways from being mindful.
With love and kindness,
