HOW A BOOK WAS BORN
The First Message
The day was December 17, 2007. I was sitting in our brand new and very small apartment in Vancouver, taking notice of my growing feelings of frustration and anxiety of the unknown... We just moved to a brand new province two months prior, with only hope and dreams in our suitcases.
Not knowing what's in store for myself and my family, all I knew for sure is that I felt a pull to become fully self employed as a speaker and teacher, to continue to spread the light of Reiki healing to animals and animal lovers, and to share of my own learning and findings of the journey while hoping to plant a seed of inspiration and compassion in the wonderful beings who cross my path.
I reflected on my path thus far: working with traumatized children and youth, running a part time private practice in psychology, founding the Canadian Centre for Pet Loss Bereavement in 2002 and still dedicating my work to this sensitive issue, Animal & Human Reiki Practice of healing and teaching, etc... Now what? I did not know what it is that I wanted it to look like in my new life in BC, and especially HOW......
Then, out of the blue (or out of the oblivious I should say), I saw her in the corner of my eye: my beloved rabbit Zoe, who died in 2002!! She was literally standing in front of me on the bed, on her two hind legs, and stared me right in the eye! Then came the first message. It was loud as a thunder, and very very clear:
"You Have to Teach People!"...
I was quite stunned! I was having a conversation with my beloved deceased rabbit whom I said goodbye to 6 years prior!! I looked around to ensure that there was no one else in the room who was talking to me.
"Teach people what??" I asked after a long pause that seemed like forever...
"Teach people about us... We never leave... we're never gone... Tell them what we are about!"
I must admit that my scientific psychologically-trained brain, the one who "only goes with what is a for sure" (also known as EGO) did not know what to do with this new information...
I was just about to go on a conference call to begin a new year-long coaching program with Bob Proctor, one of the teachers of The Secret, I didn't know what I am supposed to do with this information, or what it meant, and I certainly did not know how to file this command from my dear Zoe in my mind... So my brain (EGO) decided to let it all go to some unconscious hidden file....
CONVERSATIONS WITH NEALE
It was March 19, 2008. I was farily new to Vancouver, and got lost on my way to the event. When I finally arrived I discovered that not many seats were left and so I took the first one I saw, wishing to not interrup the evening talk led by Neale Donald Walsch ("Conversations with God" Bestselling Author). As I sat there taking notes, I suddenly had another flash of standing on stage delivering messages to people about their animals... I have had these flashes before, for years in fact! But I never knew what they meant. This time I finally understood. At once I remembered: "YOU HAVE TO TEACH PEOPLE!"
It all made sense now!... Of course!!
I have dedicating my entire life to the study of the human-animal bond, I've counseled hundreds of people through their grief over the loss of their beloved pets for over 7 years, I've been offering Reiki healing courses to animal lovers. OF COURSE I have to teach people "what they are all about!!" My heart began pounding with what felt like a mixture of OHMYGOSH excitement, and fear of this huge new responsibility!
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Neale Donald Walsch during the Q and A time, sharing with him (and the 250 people in the room) through the microphone my experience with Zoe and her message to me......Neale looked at me very seriously for a moment, and then said:
"So what's the problem??"
"There's no problem" I said, smiling... "I just feel that I have a job to do now: tell people about the animals!"
"So when are you finishing your book?" Neale asked calmly, as if this was all coordinated by some divine cosmic plan
"I haven't even started!!" I shouted, half laughing, half amused.
Everyone in the audience was hysterical as well... I could hardly hear myself speak as my heartbeat was so very loud!
I took this as an order from God Himself. How could I refuse my beloved animals' request, AND God?! No way!
ALLOWING ALLOWING, ALLOWING...And so began a long three year journey of learning to ALLOW, learning to become a channel, a messenger, an instrument via which beautiful lessons from the collective of animal kingdom can share their wisdom with us humans. More messages came through after that March date, and I am still at awe at the wisdom of what comes out! I know to the core of my being that it isn't "me" or my mind who is delivering these messages on paper, because my own English language skill isn't that good!! English is my second language (Hebrew, my first), and the poetic beauty by which these messages come through to me as their writer, is way beyond my own verbal capacity.
So I allowed... and the messages came...
GETTING OUT OF MY OWN WAY...I wrote and published a poetry book when I was 18 years old. It was combined of poems written from the age of 15 years - on, and they were entirely dedicated to my cousin Tomer Shua who died of Cancer at the age of 16. His death and our close age had a significant impact on my adolescent self, and pure teenage Angst is evident in the writings... The poems are in Hebrew, and the book probably sold 2 copies in over a decade...
I also wrote a 300 page manuscript of a book about eating disordered teenaged girl struggling to find her-self. I was 17 at the time. It got sent to a number of publishers in Israel, one of them was even nice enough to meet with me and gave me some encouraging feedback but said it wasn't ready for publishing.
At 33 years I am learning to become an instrument, a vessel to the written word. And those of you who wished to read this long blog post are all guinea pigs of mine (hope you don't mind) :- ) As I learn the ropes of immersing myself in the writing, I do have moments of human-ness or rather Human-Mess where I get caught up in my own brain and do not leave any space for spirit to flow through...
A few weeks ago I had such a moment. My EGO decided to take over and invest in worry: who is going to publish the book? Who will edit it? What if no one reads it? How will it ever get published? What should I write about...? Etc' etc'.
I then heard a VERY clear voice inside my core saying:
"Don't make this too complicated. Just tell our story!"
WOW! I thought - the animals just kicked my butt! LOL!!
But that was the wakeup call / kick in the behind that I needed in order to get out of my own way!I welcome such kicks / wakeup calls any time they wish to come, to remind me what is really of importance.....
PREGNANCY!
The book is being written at its own rate and time. No matter what, I know I must deliver it to the world. It is developing little cells juiced up with words and concepts that will mature fully as the pages turn. It is growing little ears, arms, and a beating heart, and its delivery due day is still away but can be felt as it kicks me in the stomach from time to time to let me know that it is alive and well.
The book is not only about the messages that come through, but rather about our own awakening of the heart through compassion and healing. Our own call to be of service and make a difference in this lifetime... About us as students and the animals as our guides, teachers, and healers. With that said the messages that come through have to do with the cycle of life, death ("pet loss"), and the journey of the soul.
Some of the messages have to do with the purpose for which we were born in any given incarnation, and some of them are challenges to think about what is really important to us. I am humbled and honored that the animals and Spirit chose me to be their translator and write this down as their instrument.
Stay tuned as I unfold these mysteries together with my furry guides, who ensure that I tell their story.
Thank you for listening!
Shiri Joshua
Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Aug 13, 2008 / April 2011 (the book is now on Amazon and ready to be shared)
