A Spiritually Enlightening Online Magazine. March's Theme: "Pets"
Volume 4 Issue 3 ISSN# 1708-3265

Index Meet Our Staff Free Subscription Donations Come Shopping Advertising Archived Issues

Illuminations Aleesha Stephenson About the Cover Steve Adams The Bookshop Chapter Four Jennifer Kusz Rauri Goes To Camp Hiss ~n~ Slither! Joanna Franchino Kindred Spirit Jennifer Danner My Pet Sheep Jennifer Kusz Teeny Tiny Puppy Love Rev. Cheryl Jewett Forever In Our Hearts Dj Brown What A Tangled Web We Weave Amanda Bugeaud Love on a Furry Face Douglas De Long Are Animals Our Pets? Tera Thomas An Unusual Pet Laura Korska Our Perception of Pets Jean Hofve DVM No Animals Allowed David Suzuki PhD Reiki, QT, Tai Chi, Qi Kung, And Yoga For Dogs Martin Avery Lifetalks Dawn Baumann Brunke Technically Tarot Jeannette Roth Walk Your Talk Aleesha Stephenson Wyrd Lynx John Sacelli Meditate a Moment Featuring: Aleesha Stephenson Ball Pythons: History, Natural History, Care, and Breeding Pythons of the World Volume II David G. Barker and Tracy M. Barker How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head Harish Johari and Vatsala Sperling The Secret Life of Pets DVD Esther and Jerry Hicks The Teachings Of Abraham

I love animals. I love nature. I am deeply rooted in my spiritual beliefs of honouring the Earth and her many creatures. As David Suzuki so aptly puts it… we are definitely one of the Earth's animals, but just because we can talk in a way which we understand doesn't make us better, it just makes us different.

But isn't each animal different? After all a bird can fly, but a flea only jumps. A dog can run while a snake slithers. I believe each living creature deserves to be respected and honoured for it's place and contribution to this planet and our lives.

I believe this so strongly that I actually live it. After all, there's a reason my column is called "Walk Your Talk" cause that's what I do - every day in every way.

The list of our animal friends who reside within my home is long. Many have names - others don't. It really has nothing to do with importance or how much we honour one over another, it's just the way it seems to go. If we are constantly referring to one critter, we name it to make it simpler for us to know who we are referring to. Okay, let me give you the list so you understand the need for names (and no names).

We have 6 beautiful fish tanks. Our largest is 210 gallons. It's 6' long, 2' wide and 29" deep - which means I cannot reach the bottom of the tank with my hand - I use a spatula. This tank houses many different freshwater plecos, loaches, eels, bichers and other community fish. The ecosystem we've created for them is thriving and the peaceful serenity they bless us with is priceless.

We also have a 135-gallon cichlid tank which houses 13 Bismarck Frontosas. A 90-gallon salt water tank, a 77-gallon Oscar tank, a 46-gallon brackish tank and a 29-gallon community tank in my youngest daughter's room. We obviously love fish as we even have some in our pond in the back yard!

We have birds, a holland-lop bunny, rats, an giant african land snail, giant millipedes, anoles, frogs, toads, tarantulas, snakes and of course, we have cats… 6 of them to be exact.

Part of the reason we have all these animals in our home is simply because we love them. We want to enjoy them, learn about them and interact with them in whatever best suits that particular pet. For example we never hold our tarantulas as we believe it's not a safe thing for them. They could easily startle and jump to their death. We hold our snakes, all of our snakes and often take one with us in the summer months to our local pet stores to teach and enlighten others about these magnificent creatures!

The pets we can't have in our house are represented by paintings, feathers or skulls. I believe the energy of animals we bring into our home assists us in our spiritual lessons and aids in our enlightenment.

An example of this is our Owl feathers. Owl feathers bring clarity, so much so that it's almost frightening to have them around. They remove deceit, shining a very bright light on any lies or manipulation. You have to really live your life in the most positive way to have Owl feathers around you on a daily basis.

Snake energy is the power of creation. Change is essential when you create and depending on what you are learning (physical, mental, emotional or spiritual) snakes can assist you to achieve the highest spiral of those lessons.

Rat energy brings things which are hidden into the open. It may sound the same as Owl energy but it is not. Rats creep and crawl into tight places which see no light and being a 'pack-rat' they bring them out into the light whether you want them to or not.

Fish energy teaches us to remember to cherish the Earth. To understand how every action (purchasing something new instead of fixing the old, polluting the rivers and oceans etc.) affects the future, as everything is connected. Seeing an ecosystem in a closed space - watching birth and death, eat-or-be-eaten, and peaceful harmony shows us how we must live on this earth.

Bird energy brings about abundant communication. They are constantly sharing with each other - the good and the bad. It reminds us to never keep things bottled up inside and also to share thoughts of inspiration with others. Communication is the key to health!

Spider energy reminds us to create! Whether it is being creative with our mind to solve a problem or being creative with clay… we are reminded - only through 'lack of creation' do we stagnate!

So as you can see, we don't consider our animal friends a burden in our home, we consider them a daily reminder of all we can be, all we can become and the infinite possibilities of our existence. And, if in the process, we can enlighten others to the many unique creatures Mother Earth has provided us, teaching about their needs and assist people to stop focusing on themselves and look past their bubble to view the world and it's creatures as a whole then we are pleased and happy at the end of the day.

Aleesha Stephenson is the Publisher, Editor, Graphic and Web Designer as well as a Regular Columnist for Timeless Spirit Magazine.

A Reiki Master Teacher, who lives her Buddhist, Shamanic, with many eclectic Pagan beliefs, she home-schools two of her three spiritually enlightened children as her eldest has graduated and moved on to the school of life. Friend (and mother) to them all, she is also a life-partner to her husband David. Her life truly is filled with light.

Aleesha teaches classes in Tarot, Meditation and Reiki. For more information, please contact Aleesha via email or visit her personal web page.

Copyright (c) 2007 by Timeless Spirit Magazine. All articles are the copyright of the particular writers and cannot be reprinted without their expressed permission. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permission of the copyright holder. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.

Any advice given is for informational purposes only.