Well, that was a bit more of a blogging hiatus than I anticipated... Funny how time flies when you're trying to decide what to do next. After a move, and a 360-degree change in lifestyle, I'm slowly remembering that change really isn't a one-shot deal, but an ongoing process. An evolution. It's not about the destination, but the journey, right? Change into something else, and you will find that the something else brings even more change!
Right now we are in the time of Cancer. Whether you follow that sort of thing or not, we can learn a lot from the tiny crab. Astrologically speaking, just like the molting crabs whose soft-shelled state is so popular with the seafood-eating set this time of year, we are fighting our way out of the "shell" that has become too small, to limiting for us, and moving to better digs. But, the price of that journey is a time of vulnerability and insecurity. This year the change seems especially intense and precarious. So much is shifting on our planet; so much chaos seems to surround us, both in the minutia of our individual lives and collectively. Many animals I have worked with this year have chosen this time to transition, finding that this period of intense planetary change is best navigated by transforming not only their soul, but their form. Others have pointed unequivocally to the need for humankind to re-establish Order on the planet, and that means to step up into our rightful place as stewards, not just "users," of all that is around us.
So much has been written about the changes coming in this year of 2012 - and much of it is, most likely, utter nonsense. What is not nonsense at the collective level is that we are in a time of re-calibration. Each living thing on this planet is being nudged towards a choice - to change, or to stay forever limited by the shells we have built for ourselves. And the choice is not always easy. We get pushed and pulled, nudged and prodded, and for many of us, that is enough to keep us firmly ensconced in a place that feels "safe," no matter how small it may be. I am no different. My path has increasingly led me to be a voice for those that have none, and yet the more I am asked to speak, the more I want to look around for others who might do the talking! We all face these challenges, and yet I do know that unless each of us is willing to recognize our own potential - just acknowledge it, not to create it, or figure out how to make something big of it - we are consigned to forever feeling that we've somehow missed the boat.
Right now, it's like test day in school in our world. We're being asked the big questions. Will you buy into the chaos and darkness you see as reality, or will you accept and know that the solution is already here, that the Light IS here? Will you step up to be who you really are, or will you be what someone else tells you to be (and someone who is NOT your Creator at that?!)? Will you take responsibility for those who can not help themselves by ensuring that the choices you make bring more Life to all and less to none? Will you recognize that when we choose this, then we end lack, and find that there IS enough for all?
It's scary, I'll give you that. For most of us, this is a new way of thinking, living, being. There might not be a traditional model to follow, there might not be the signs of what we've come to recognize as "security" around us. But, take heart, you are just building your new home! And it is a bigger, better one than the one you just left, without limit or restriction, and probably with some cool new features too. Scary? Yep. Hard? Yep. Worth a shot? Yep.
For a crab, it's a matter of survival. And so, ultimately, it is for us as well.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Upcoming Class - Wednesday, Feb. 8. 2012
I'm very excited to announce that I will be participating this week in a teleclass with Kelle Eli, who is a phenomenal spiritual mentor and coach, and who I've been lucky enough to work with for several years.
"Coming into Right Relationship with the Kingdoms" is a class about spiritual ecology - how our spiritual growth affects the world around us, and particularly those kingdoms below our human one, animal, vegetable, and mineral, that look to us for leadership.
Looking at some of the wisdom of the Old Testament, alongside more new age concepts, and utilizing many of her core teaching principles, Kelle will help us all to have a better understanding of the limits and disinformation that often keep us at odds with the world around us.
Kelle will be interviewing me towards the end of the program as we discuss some of the specific ways that we can better relate to the animal kingdom, and how some of the changes coming to to the planet in 2012 affect our animals.
Join us for "Coming into Right Relationship with the Kingdoms" on
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 8:00pm ET/7pmCT.
Cost is $33 and includes an MP3 download, so if you can't make it live, you can listen later too!
Click Here to visit Kelle's website and get registered!
"Coming into Right Relationship with the Kingdoms" is a class about spiritual ecology - how our spiritual growth affects the world around us, and particularly those kingdoms below our human one, animal, vegetable, and mineral, that look to us for leadership.
Looking at some of the wisdom of the Old Testament, alongside more new age concepts, and utilizing many of her core teaching principles, Kelle will help us all to have a better understanding of the limits and disinformation that often keep us at odds with the world around us.
Kelle will be interviewing me towards the end of the program as we discuss some of the specific ways that we can better relate to the animal kingdom, and how some of the changes coming to to the planet in 2012 affect our animals.
Join us for "Coming into Right Relationship with the Kingdoms" on
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 8:00pm ET/7pmCT.
Cost is $33 and includes an MP3 download, so if you can't make it live, you can listen later too!
Click Here to visit Kelle's website and get registered!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Web Update
Yes, the blog has been on a long hiatus! I've been busily working on some other projects, and thinking up some new things to write about. In the meantime, I'd like to announce the launch of my website - finally! This is the main thing that's kept me distracted from blogging, but I hope the content, and the answers to many questions I've received in the last few years, will be worth it. It will also streamline my booking process for appointments, which should make us all happy!
You can check it out at www.jessicazullinger.com.
And, if you mention the blog, I'll give you a 10% discount when you book a session in January 2012!
See you back here soon -
You can check it out at www.jessicazullinger.com.
And, if you mention the blog, I'll give you a 10% discount when you book a session in January 2012!
See you back here soon -
Friday, July 15, 2011
By Bread Alone
Summer always makes me think more about food than any other time of the year. What with the bounty of produce at the local markets, and gardens bursting at the seams even here in the city, it's hard not to give at least a passing thought to what we eat and why. There have been so many books on this subject in recent years that it feels a little redundant to talk about the social and ecological impact of food yet again. But, I have been thinking about food in relationship to my animals, and the animals that form an integral part of our planet's food chain, from humans, to the humble honey bee on who's tiny (albeit multiple!) shoulders rests the health of much of our food ecosystem.
As humans, we omnivores truly do have a dilemma - to eat what is affordable, readily available, and, let's face it, easy, or to be thoughtful about what we choose to consume and how it affects the world around it. And it does have an effect. Factory farming, for one, is changing both the landscape, the land itself, and the livelihood of millions of farming Americans. And yet, it seems at times like the only solution for providing cheap, plentiful food for an ever-growing population. The meat industry has long been at the center of the battle over acceptable farming and slaughter practices, and I'd wager a guess that if a person thinks about food at all, it is "the meat issue" that is usually the first stop on the road to food consciousness.
As an animal communicator, I'm often asked whether I eat meat, and the answer is "yes". I have a body that feels better with the grounding effects of at least occasionally consuming muscle-based proteins. I know this from forays into the world of the non-meat-eating - I'm not one to make a decision without observing all sides! I also eat meat because it is in my nature, as a human and an omnivore, to do so, and I am at peace with that choice. That, to some, will be heresy, I know. I can hear my vegetarian and vegan friends saying "but, it is your job as a human to care for the animals and not eat them!" And yes, I hear you, I really do, and I honor that impulse - after all, animals are a core focus of my life! But, one of the joys of working intimately with animals is that you get to ask them about these things, and learn their truths. What I have learned from the animals is that we are all part of a delicate order, and what is required of us is respect for our place in that order. Just as in the animal world, there is a hierarchy of species, and we provide for each other within that hierachy. Am I saddened when I see a cat kill a rabbit, or a coyote have a deer for dinner? Absolutely - it is painful to see a beautiful life extinguished. But, I know that the cat can no more survive on grass than the coyote can. And, this is what the animals express. They recognize this order, they recognize that we all have a part to play in it.
"But wait", you might say, "you have a choice! The coyote does not, and neither does the cow on the farm that becomes your steak!". True. I do have a choice, and while that cow does not have a choice in being a cow, and being in the cow's place in the hierarchy of the species, we as humans have a choice in how we honor that cow in life and in death. I do have a choice, and so my choice is to try to honor the life that is given so that I might be sustained. In nature, each animal takes only what it needs, consumes only what is required to survive. Animals are not wasteful, and they are not cruel. They do not keep their prey living in unsanitary and insanity-inducing conditions, they do not slaughter in-humanely, they do not treat the resulting meat with all the dignity of rat poison. If we are to eat meat, if, in fact, we are to survive on this planet whether we are vegetarian or carnivore, then we must remember to honor the essence of life in our food, and to work together to sustain food sources that bring more life to all of us, and less to none.
For me, the choice has been to try, when I can possibly afford it, to select foods from known sources, to choose meats from animals that I know were given a good life, and killed humanely, and to choose vegetables from small farms where pesticides are minimally used and I know I am supporting a farm family's way of life. And, no matter what I've chosen to eat, I give thanks. Even that small act has a huge impact. When you sit down to your steak or fish or chicken, your corn or lettuce or beans, give thanks for the animal that is sustaining you - whether it be the cow or the honeybee. These small acts of gratitude create the butterfly effect in Universal terms. When one is grateful for the life of another, we honor the hierarchy of all Life.
Each person has to choose the path that is best for them. I offer these thoughts only for those who have asked, and are struggling with making the "right choice" for themselves. And, regardless of your food choices, do try to support your local farm markets, local farmers, and humane producers. Someday, we can hope, that these options are more affordable for all of us. In the meantime, choose wisely, as best you can, and give thanks.
As humans, we omnivores truly do have a dilemma - to eat what is affordable, readily available, and, let's face it, easy, or to be thoughtful about what we choose to consume and how it affects the world around it. And it does have an effect. Factory farming, for one, is changing both the landscape, the land itself, and the livelihood of millions of farming Americans. And yet, it seems at times like the only solution for providing cheap, plentiful food for an ever-growing population. The meat industry has long been at the center of the battle over acceptable farming and slaughter practices, and I'd wager a guess that if a person thinks about food at all, it is "the meat issue" that is usually the first stop on the road to food consciousness.
As an animal communicator, I'm often asked whether I eat meat, and the answer is "yes". I have a body that feels better with the grounding effects of at least occasionally consuming muscle-based proteins. I know this from forays into the world of the non-meat-eating - I'm not one to make a decision without observing all sides! I also eat meat because it is in my nature, as a human and an omnivore, to do so, and I am at peace with that choice. That, to some, will be heresy, I know. I can hear my vegetarian and vegan friends saying "but, it is your job as a human to care for the animals and not eat them!" And yes, I hear you, I really do, and I honor that impulse - after all, animals are a core focus of my life! But, one of the joys of working intimately with animals is that you get to ask them about these things, and learn their truths. What I have learned from the animals is that we are all part of a delicate order, and what is required of us is respect for our place in that order. Just as in the animal world, there is a hierarchy of species, and we provide for each other within that hierachy. Am I saddened when I see a cat kill a rabbit, or a coyote have a deer for dinner? Absolutely - it is painful to see a beautiful life extinguished. But, I know that the cat can no more survive on grass than the coyote can. And, this is what the animals express. They recognize this order, they recognize that we all have a part to play in it.
"But wait", you might say, "you have a choice! The coyote does not, and neither does the cow on the farm that becomes your steak!". True. I do have a choice, and while that cow does not have a choice in being a cow, and being in the cow's place in the hierarchy of the species, we as humans have a choice in how we honor that cow in life and in death. I do have a choice, and so my choice is to try to honor the life that is given so that I might be sustained. In nature, each animal takes only what it needs, consumes only what is required to survive. Animals are not wasteful, and they are not cruel. They do not keep their prey living in unsanitary and insanity-inducing conditions, they do not slaughter in-humanely, they do not treat the resulting meat with all the dignity of rat poison. If we are to eat meat, if, in fact, we are to survive on this planet whether we are vegetarian or carnivore, then we must remember to honor the essence of life in our food, and to work together to sustain food sources that bring more life to all of us, and less to none.
For me, the choice has been to try, when I can possibly afford it, to select foods from known sources, to choose meats from animals that I know were given a good life, and killed humanely, and to choose vegetables from small farms where pesticides are minimally used and I know I am supporting a farm family's way of life. And, no matter what I've chosen to eat, I give thanks. Even that small act has a huge impact. When you sit down to your steak or fish or chicken, your corn or lettuce or beans, give thanks for the animal that is sustaining you - whether it be the cow or the honeybee. These small acts of gratitude create the butterfly effect in Universal terms. When one is grateful for the life of another, we honor the hierarchy of all Life.
Each person has to choose the path that is best for them. I offer these thoughts only for those who have asked, and are struggling with making the "right choice" for themselves. And, regardless of your food choices, do try to support your local farm markets, local farmers, and humane producers. Someday, we can hope, that these options are more affordable for all of us. In the meantime, choose wisely, as best you can, and give thanks.
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