How we treat and love animals is a direct mirror of how we love, feel about, and treat ourselves.
Chopper, our family dog, will be 5 in December and it was only under 2 years ago that I allowed myself to completely fall in love with him and see the beauty, joy, and love that he is in my life to teach me.
Prior to that, I loved Chopper from a distance and kinda conditionally; like I loved him as long as he didn’t get hair all over me, or as long as he didn’t leave a big saliva goober on my clothes, or as long as – as long as it was convenient! I never really used to spend time connecting with him from my heart. Now I see that I was just way too scared to really let him into my heart – I was scared of loss, I just didn’t know it.
After my journey into spiritual growth began, I started practicing the teachings of Esperanza Universal of the S.OU.L. Institute, Inc. With Esperanza’s loving Spiritual Guidance, I started to see that my conditional love and distance from Chopper was a direct reflection of my conditional love and distance from myself….which becomes a reflection of every relationship in my life. For me, the journey into my heart and loving myself has profoundly changed all the relationships I have in my life, including the one with my dog and the most important one of all – the one I have with myself.
S.O.U.L. Institute’s universal teachings have given me the spiritual awareness to see that when I have a deeply connected, loving, healthy relationship with myself, the world is just a mirror of my inside, so ALL of the relationships (spouse, kids, extended family, pets, business) in my life will reflect this inner love.
For example, I am more patient with my husband and communicate more openly than I ever have before, and he reflects this back to me. With my daughters, I find that I’m more present and understanding, and am able to listen so much easier than in the past. They also are changing their behavior. Even in my business dealings, I have clients noticing a deeper peace and calm in our interactions, actually asking what happened to me! ☺
Esperanza teaches about the Law of Reflection. I see this Universal Law showing up in my life like this: If we have distance or tumultuous relationships with ANYONE it is a mirror of how we feel about ourselves. It’s a reflection of how much – or how little – we actually love and value ourselves.
The good news is, it is our Self so we can change the mirror – and to me, that’s TRUE Freedom! If you’d like to learn more about Esperanza and the phenomenal teachings of the S.O.U.L. Institute and how they can positively impact your life as well, then I encourage you to read more at www.MasteringYourLife.com.
Chopper shows me Unconditional Love and I love the reflection. What are your reflections – and is it what you still want? If not, there’s a better way… I’d love to read your comments.
To your personal freedom!
Angela Albright
Consultant, Internet Marketing
"I was able to see life-long patterns that have held me back for so long, in so many ways - and most importantly, I could see how to trust myself enough to change those patterns and make new, more empowered choices..."
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I love the last question – what are your reflections and is it still what you want? I recently made the decision that the reflection I was seeing WASN’T what I wanted any longer. I hung on for so long thinking that if I changed, the reflection would change…but as I loved myself more and trusted myself more…I knew that it was time for a change…I have experienced SO much peace and self love since making this decision – I had no idea this would happen so quickly. I thought I’d be afraid to be alone…but I’m loving the time to get to know myself again – and truly love who I am. I”m now drawing AMAZING people and experiences to my life and seeing clearly why I behaved in certain ways in the past – things I just couldn’t see when the relationship I was in wasn’t working for me. Freedom…it’s the ultimate gift.
Great post Angela! The Law of Reflection is such a powerful law and I see it constantly in my own life. I definitely see it when I’m around animals. If I’m denying the turmoil I feel inside, animals instantly reflect it back to me. They are phenomenal mirrors and teachers!
My cat Boris taught me about unconditional love and helped me realize I was capable of loving and being loved in return. He was with me almost 20 years, even longer than my husband. We developed an incredibly deep bond. I could just think about him and he would appear. He would find me working in my office and just sit at my feet, I would just know to look down and there he was expecting to be picked up. I still miss him so much. I can feel his presence sometimes, it helps to know he is here with me in spirit.
On another note, I worked with a group of rescued stallions that had been terribly abused. One was a real brat and very much a bully! A 1,500 lb. bully who would never pass an opportunity to kick or bite. You could never turn your back on him. Another was so timid he could not tolerate direct eye contact, he would turn his head away. He was also explosively fearful and dangerous. He had to be handled with great care. One could never be incongruous with oneself and be in a stall with him. He could sense the inconsistency and it would make him nervous and fearful. It took a lot of careful work and so much patience to bring him out of his shell. He got to where he would whinny when he saw me coming. He grew to love being scratched in places he could not tolerate a simple touch. I was taken aback when I mentioned to the head trainer who my two favorite horses were. She replied to me, “You realize you are drawn to the two most dangerous horses in the group. You should look at why you are attracted to them.” Wow, talk about a mirror of conflict in myself! I realized that I was not being honest with myself about my true feeling and was burying them very deep. Since then, I have attended SOUL twice now and have finally been able to tap into the fear in myself and come out of my own shell, much as the old stallion did. Animals are a mirror to our souls and see through the mask we use on our fellow humans. They will call us on that behavior every time.
Wow, Sharon, How beautifully you state your ‘Oneness’ with animals! They are each showing you many aspects of you. The Patience, Love, Devotion, and yes, the fear too. What a gift you are to the Animal Kingdom. I’m sure they guide you even as they cross to the other side. Thank You for sharing! Love and Peace, Esperanza
Yes Rick, this is so true. I Love a deep connections with animals, and How they reflect back what you may not want to see. However, they are also here to show us Love Unconditional and Freedom. May 2012 bring you Love, Peace and Joy like never before. Love You! Esperanza
Beaufifully stated Linda! Thank you for sharing. I know your life ‘has just begun!’ In 2012 you are attracting Love, Peace, Joy, and Abundance like never before! Keep following your Heart and your Knowing and it will keep getting better! Love You, Esperanza