ANIMAL TALK
Zanta and Autumn
By Mary Lemons, BA, CHTP

Let me introduce you to Zanta the horse and Autumn the alpaca. Both Zanta and Autumn have messages of healing for us. Together they give us balance and insight into knowing how we can release what no longer serves us and how we can receive positive creative energy.

This past June our horse Zanta had difficulty breathing. Her vets treated her for a sinus infection and then a week later diagnosed her as having an allergic reaction to hay that caused inflammation in her lungs. We thought her symptoms would lessen when cooler weather arrived.

By late September it was evident that Zanta was not improving. An endoscopic exam revealed that the cartilage in her larynx was compromised. Our vet thought she needed surgery to repair her cartilage and improve her airway. We took Zanta to NCSU Veterinary Hospital for more extensive examination and diagnosis.

As the doctor did an endoscopic exam, we could view the results on a television screen right there in the examining room. To our dismay, Zanta’s air way was less than a half-inch wide. Her larynx cartilage had calcified and was completely immobile. No wonder her breathing had been labored. Dr. Tate said Zanta needed a tracheotomy.

In preparing Zanta for her surgery, I explained to her body what to expect and thanked her for healing. She shared with me that the hole she would have in her throat was symbolic of the opening that we need for new energy that is available to us. Sometimes we do not realize what is available to us and we limit what we receive. Zanta was asking us to open to new insights and energies from Spirit.

Zanta’s surgery was successful and she now has a permanent hole in her throat through which she breathes easily. She is patient with us as twice daily we take out her stent, clean her surgery site, and then replace the stent. She understands the stent is keeping her hole from restricting and becoming too small. Once her healing is complete and her hole remains intact, she will no longer wear her stent.

In late October I taught Animal Communication at Apple Hill Farm, a mountaintop home for alpacas, llamas, donkeys, horses, and fowl in Banner Elk, NC. A baby alpaca, Autumn, had a hernia in her umbilical area. The muscles had not contracted enough after her birth. As I worked energetically with Autumn, she shared how many of us need to release thoughts that limit us and keep us from moving into wholeness. We need to close ourselves to negativity and to what limits us. I told Autumn that her body needs to contract and close the hole in her belly. She needs this closure so everything will remain intact and not bulge through her intestine wall.

Then I realized the connection between Zanta and Autumn. Zanta needs to keep her hole open and Autumn needs to close her hole. Both their bodies were doing what they thought they needed. Zanta’s body was instinctively closing her wound site. Autumn’s body thought her birth process was complete and she was leaving her hole open.

I thanked both Zanta and Autumn for sharing with me. I thanked Zanta for gifting Autumn with her ability to close her hole. I thanked Autumn for gifting Zanta with the ability to keep her hole open.

The image then came to me of creative love energy coming to us through Zanta’s open hole and grounded in us just as Autumn’s closed hole shields us from all that would limit us. Together they create for us balance and insight. They allow us to be aware enough to be consciously open to the gifts of Spirit and to release what no longer serves us.

Our animals have their own journeys and sometimes they get sick despite all the loving care we give them. When they are sick, we need to explain to them what is happening to them physically and what they can do to speed up their healing. Often they will then take us into the depths of who they are and what they are learning from their physical condition, and also what we can learn with them.

During sickness, look beyond your pet’s illness. See him whole and healthy and thank him for healing. Look for ways his condition relates to your own life and journey with him into healing. The balance that Zanta and Autumn give us can take our pets and ourselves into wholeness.

Apple Hill Farm and owner Lee Rankin recently received the 2007 Agri-Tourism Award for Watauga County. The alpaca breeding farm teaches the respectful handling of animals and opens people to new relationships with other species.

Mary Lemons is founder of Inner Awakenings, a holistic practice for all species. Mary has a deep connection to animals and the healing presence they bring into our lives. In addition to being a professional Animal Communicator, she is a Reiki Master, Bio-Energetic Kinesiologist, and Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. She blends all of her training with her intuitive abilities, providing valuable support for those seeking personal growth with themselves or with their animals. You can contact Mary for private consultation or for seminar information at www.healingwholeself.net, 704-422-5055, marylemons@ctc.net.