2003
Communicating with Nature
SKY'S LESSON
by Thomas Mennonna
While taking a walk one warm summer evening, I saw what looked like a small Golden Retriever lying in an abandoned housing lot. I approached the dog cautiously and found it to be a female retriever mix about two years of age. She did not move and accepted my hand as I gently petted her head. She did not have a collar with any identification, so I decided to take her to Animal Control to see if someone had lost her. I knew that I had to do something with her because the abandoned lot hugged a mountainside and if not moved soon she would be coyote bait. As I walked her to the car, I noticed she had a slight limp but otherwise seemed in good shape.
My wife Cheryl and I had been thinking of bringing another dog into our house, so I was going to keep an eye on this one and see how she did at Animal Control. During the next two weeks, Cheryl and I visited her often at the kennel to get a feel of how she was doing and if she would fit into our day-to-day lives. What I saw broke my heart. I did not know if this animal was a canine or a small calf. She would just sit there licking her lips between yawns.
When a dog yawns they are telling you that they are not a threat, and when they lick their lips they are telling you that they are under stress. She did not know how to play and would just sit there afraid to move in fear of some punishment or reprimand. Someone must have left her in the backyard tied to a tree and ignored. We decided to take her home after she received a clean bill of health from the county vet. We had no idea what we were in for.
We decided to name her Sky after the housing track where we found her. House training Sky was no problem. I worked out of my house. I put a small bell on her collar and kept her tethered close by me. If I heard the bell, I would check on her and show her how to use the doggy door. Sky had a few accidents, but after a few weeks she was house trained and living the good life in her new home. I taught Sky how to play with a ball that had slits in it so you can put treats inside. I would also take her to vacant fields and let her run free. That is when the problems started. Sky would suffer recurring muscle pulls in her rear legs. Along with the muscle pulls, she would have coughing spells. The vet and I just thought it was a form of kennel cough and that it would pass.
During this time I was doing Nature Healing Conings, microbial balancing and flower essences for Sky. After each coning I would get a "yes" to my question on if she was going to recover, and a "yes" to the assumption that she had a frail constitution and that she would outgrow her ailments as she got stronger. The problem was that she was getting worse and I refused to see it or ask the tough questions. Through all this, Sky was opening something wonderful in my heart that I did not even know was there. Cheryl would comment on how I would "light up" every time I saw Sky. I could not put into words how I felt about Sky. Most of the dogs we had in the past were Collies that looked like Lassie. These Collies were beautiful animals that anyone would be proud to own. Sky looked like a small calf with tiger-eyes and a personality to match. She had nothing in her physicality or her personality that would make you adore her.
Sky was the mirror image of what I was beginning to see and experience in nature and in all form. In these modern times we are taught from a very early age to either fear what science called nature or see our environment as something to be conquered. Bugs are "pests," and most animals are filthy and viewed with contempt. As human beings we exalt our free-will intelligence and consider all other intelligence inferior to ours. When you work with nature intelligence for a while, you begin to really see how brilliant nature is when allowed to flourish in balance. I was determined to allow nature the opportunity to restore Sky to full balance. She was my "pet" project, and I had no doubt she was going to be a success.
One day I noticed that Sky was not eating and her cough was back. It was a dry hacking cough similar to kennel cough, and although I was concerned, I had complete confidence that this too would pass. I watched her closely all day and something was telling me that Sky was really sick. I opened up a Nature Healing Coning and asked my usual questions pertaining to Sky's health. Of course the coning confirmed my very thoughts and wishes that Sky was going to get better. Did I need to take her to the vet? Of course not. I brought her into the bathroom and turned on the vaporizer. I had weathered this storm before and I was ready to do it again. Through all this I still had this terrible feeling that Sky was really sick. That evening I told Cheryl I really didn't care what the coning said and that I was going to take Sky to the emergency vet.
That night Sky died of congestive heart failure. Cheryl and I were in shock. Of course I blamed myself and my lack of ability to even participate in a coning. Cheryl snapped me out of my self-condemnation by reminding me of our past successes as co-creative gardeners. The evidence of our equal partnership with nature intelligence was undeniable. Our health, soil-less gardens and home environment defined balance, and the level of life vitality exceeded anything we had ever experienced before. What could have gone wrong? I simply did not want to accept the results of the kinesiology test. When it came to my beloved Sky, I did not want to hear the answer and I would override the test with my emotions and will. I finally had enough sense to listen to my intuition and bring Sky to the vet on the night she died. The coning was most likely shouting at me to do something and had to use intuition and a pain in the pit of my stomach to override my personal power and my desire for a certain outcome.
What a painful lesson to learn. Sky was going to die anyway because I later found out she had a congenital heart problem that was very hard to detect. I don't regret the six wonderful months we had with her or the very valuable kinesiology lesson.
Working with nature is one big giant learning curve, and kinesiology is on the lesson plan. Machaelle's kinesiology tips do not need to be repeated in this article, but her ideas about clarity bring up some interesting questions and observations. People do have a problem articulating a yes/no question. Machaelle states that this is because there is no clarity in their own life, and that they must learn to develop internal order by learning how to articulate a simple yes/no question. Machaelle states:
As you develop internal order, your intuition will become clearer and stronger. You will see that when you ask a simple yes/no question, you will intuitively sense the answer or begin to "hear" nature answer before testing. This is a normal development. I recommend that you continue with the kinesiology testing as a verification that your intuitive or "overheard" answer is correct.
Machaelle suggests that it helps to write down questions as an exercise in learning how to articulate a yes/no question. I have observed over the years how people ask a yes/no question, and I agree with Machaelle, yet I feel there are more reasons why yes/no questions are lost in space or not answered at all. Many of us are taught the rules of grammar in school, but we are not really taught how to write or to articulate our ideas into a sentence. Very often the teacher is looking for grammatical errors and paying little attention to what is being said in the paragraph. My observation is not meant to be a criticism, but as you internally formulate your yes/no questions it is easier for your intuition and nature to answer. You don't need to take a course in grammar if you read the book The Elements of Style (William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White). This book is awesome and will teach you the following:
- How to cut deadwood out of your sentences.
- How to use the active voice.
- How to put statements in the positive form.
A yes/no question I hear about often is the "future question." People always want to know what is in store for them. Maybe it's only in southern California, but I hear quite a few questions in a coning that should be directed to a psychic medium. Will my business prosper? Should I do this or should I do that? In the Perelandra Garden Workbook (p. 41), Machaelle explains how the answers you receive will be accurate in light of all the variables surrounding you now. Once the variables change, the accurate answer will change accordingly.
I love how she states that she concentrates on what she is facing in the present and has deep faith that if she addresses the present well, the future automatically takes care of itself. I truly believe that if you follow Machaelle's suggestion for the fall equinox and call in your next personal cycle, you will experience clarity in every aspect of your life. No worries, Mate; it is only one small refracted soul ray you're worrying about anyway.
One more yes/no question I hear about often is the sensitive subject of religion and one's faith. It is somewhat safe to say that most of us were introduced to spirituality through some avenue of organized religion. What one believes to be sacred to them should be honored, but not while you are participating in a coning. In a religious atmosphere, one expects God to reveal his perfect will for your life and through the petition of prayer supplies the matter and the means. In a co-creative relationship with nature intelligence, the opposite is true: We, the human, provide the definition, direction and purpose of our intent, and nature provides the matter and the means. In co-creative science, it is called involution/evolution balance. Too often I hear people ask nature if it is okay for them to do this or do that. They are asking permission and are worried that their petition might not be granted. Nature has become God to them and a coning has become a religious service. Someone once asked me if I thought nature would think it was okay for them to do such and such. I was shocked and found myself speechless. This may seem funny, but it happens more times than I care to remember. I remember one time somebody commented about what a wonderful job nature had done in my garden. I thanked him and explained to him that I get half the credit because I am an equal partner in this garden business. We are equal partners with nature, and our yes/no questions should reflect that.
A doggy update!
It has been six months since Sky died and Cheryl wanted another dog. Cheryl wanted a Collie, but decided that any dog that fit in our home would do just fine. We opened a coning before we went to the pound with our intent being a dog that was just right for us. We found what looked like a large terrier mix that responded to us in a loving and knowledgeable way. We asked the coning if this was the right dog for us, and we got a huge "yes." We named him Winston, and he immediately became part of our family. We really did not know what breed Winston was until the vet told us he was a Bearded Collie. Who says nature doesn't have a sense of humor?