I'm a relatively private person...

Stress. Anxiety. Fear. Doubt. Unexplainable, frightening physical symptoms.

These are things I've come to know intimately, especially given these last few years after a very special relationship would bring me to my knees, traumatize me to my core (in countless ways), and leave me in the rubble... of what it was actually there to teach and uncover.

I don't believe there are "accidents" when it comes to relationships. They're some of our greatest teachers and greatest assignments (relationships of all kinds... yes, even - and especially- with our dogs).

There are gifts in everything.... even in the darkness, even in trauma. These gifts aren't so obvious when we're in the thick of things, but - I assure you- they are there.

I'm a relatively private person. I don't believe in using social media as a personal journal, a sound-board, or to air dirty laundry. I was also taught early on (through what was modeled, what I bore witness to, and what themes would repeat themselves in various ways over the course of my life by people who were struggling themselves) that "life was hard", "love = pain", and feelings and emotions were unacceptable (they created too much discomfort, and no one knew how to handle them).

I grew up believing I was "too sensitive", "too passionate", my energy was "too strong", I was "too loud", "too this" and "too that". I was "too much"... so I spent the betterment of my life closing myself off. Estranging myself. Becoming uber independent. Judging myself (.... hard) for these things that are actually what make me uniquely ME. I'd find myself constantly apologizing for having an opinion. For disagreeing. For having feelings.... and for sharing them. I didn't know how. Writing became a medium and a way for me to express myself. It's a practice I've long since cultivated and has become a bit of a sanctuary for me. To this day, I'm far better at expressing myself through the written word than verbally.

I spent my life seeking. Seeking connection, seeking answers, seeking what was "truth". And in my "seeking" journey, I'd bounce from church to church seeking hope... a feeling... a message. Something that would deeply resonate with me. I never found it in organized religion. Then I stumbled upon "spirituality"... and felt like I'd come home. "Home"... was such a foreign feeling for me, yet I'd found it.

Through spirituality, I came upon the practice of meditation..... and subsequently fought it for years. I was too busy to sit still. I kept myself too distracted so I didn't have to sit with myself and *feel*. I spent a great deal of my time and energy trying NOT to feel; well, anything uncomfortable, that is. But in my efforts to avoid not feeling the discomfort, I also prevented myself from feeling anything above this. When we don't feel the depth and authenticity of our emotions, this disables us from feeling the depth and authenticity of the entire spectrum of emotions. Including joy, happiness, peace...

The great majority of us were not shown how to handle, cope or deal with **emotion**. What's being heralded as "mental health", is actually **emotional health**. We numb emotion, anesthetizing it in a multitude of ways. Suppress it. Run from it. Avoid feeling. Our behaviors, habits, and - yes- even addictions, built around this.

Our inability to sit with, feel, deal and cope with *emotion* is an epidemic, and is one of the biggest contributors to "trauma" worldwide.

Through enduring trauma after trauma (you know, because "life had to be hard"), and "learning to unlearn", I've had to unlearn a lot of things so I could stand tall in my space, learn to love and accept myself as I am (in all of my "too this" and "too that's"), and so I could be of better service, better help, and a source of better guidance for others. Little do we realize, as all relationships do and will, our dogs (especially) are highlighting the parts of us we refuse to face, deal with, and take ownership of.

These last few months have been a time of great awareness, facing, dealing and healing for me; though, "healing" is not a "one and done" thing. It's a lifelong journey. A process of Excavation. Exploration. Discovery. And Recovery.

This is where meditation comes in.

Meditation is something I'm becoming more and more comfortable with, has been one of the biggest factors in my own healing, and I *know* can do the same for you, too.

The dog walking meditations I've created (available individually and also altogether in an album) are guided, and - although they can be practiced sitting on a meditation pillow and in the lotus position- they don't have to be. In fact, all but one were written to take with you and your dog(s) as you set out on your walk together. Yes, we can still experience the benefits from meditation this way.... and your dog(s) will benefit from the peace, awareness, personal confidence, self acceptance, self love, reconnection, healing, and much more we gain through this.

Meditation is the holy reuniter. The gentle responder and encourager. The bridge between our light and our dark. Our pain and peace. Our wounds and our healing.It reunites us with ourselves and fosters reconnection. Reconnection to those disowned parts of ourselves we’ve been running from.?It fosters transcendence.

I continue to add to the album and will be adding another later today... the "I Don't Wanna' Meditate" meditation ; )

https://www.packfit.net/meditation

I'd also like to invite you to a very special event coming up I was asked to speak at called "The Everybody Hurts Summit - Dogs, Trauma, and Healing". It's being presented by the amazing Michael Overlie of "Dogs and Men", another gorgeous mission. There are a number of incredible speakers on board, and this is promising to be such an impactful event. My presentation is entitled, "The Gifts of Trauma... and How Dogs Help Us Heal". I really hope you'll join us. I'll be available for Q&A after the event in the Summit's FB group, and also have a number of gifts I'll be offering attendees in support, as well.

You can find the link to the event here:

https://dogsandmen.com

Wishing you all much love and support on *your* individual healing journey.... *your* return to self, and reconnection to the nature of who you are (beyond what you've been told or conditioned to be).

With Love,

K.