ANIMALS BODY MIND SPIRIT
Nicola Richardson, Animal Healer
Love Your Animal, Heal Your Animal
Start Leading. Stop Following.
Self-medication is all about honouring the species innate intelligence as they were designed. This is about listening to the being, and engaging with them directly in their own healing. This is quite hard for humans to do as we like to control things. This is about free flowing information from the animal, watching and learning as the animal directs. Once they know you are listening, their interaction heightens along with their direction and engagement.
What is important to know, is that animals can be shut down, and may also have their own belief systems and programs which may prevent the fully desired outcomes. It is about clearing them on an energetic level I find as well as having them direct their own healing. How I work, the animals are fully engaged at all times. The pet owner and I listen. It is always “how can we help you heal?”
Minerals, herbs, and oils are supplied first to see if there are any nutrient imbalances which need to be cleared. Depending on what has been “done” to the animal with regards to toxicity, and the damage to the digestive tract will determine how “manic” some animas are in the selection process. Sometimes, I can barely get in the door with the animals heads diving deep into my bags to see what I have brought them to help them.
Once the nutrients have been supplied, and the animal settles then smell is offered through essential oils. These are not any oils off the shelf, these are very high quality and do not have junk in them. When one smells the real thing, the junk oils are easy to detect actually.
The animal then self-doses and directs if need be to parts of their body. Sometimes oils are ingested, it depends on the needs. One does need to know what to offer based on the circumstances presented. The process is about drilling down on the requirements of the animal and then allowing them to process sometimes for hours as the oils will allow them to curl up into a deep, deep sleep. This is all about processing and healing at the molecular level. We are no different, as I use all these tools on myself and other humans too.
What an animal selects speaks volumes to where they need healing support, and where we go next in the healing journey. This method replaces all highly toxic protocols currently marketed via the veterinary industry.
In the photos presented below, my cats are working on their herb gardens, with catnip, rosebuds, calendula / marigold petals, yarrow, lavender, peppermint and valerian herbs being offered. Sam, the black and white feline is choosing to eat valerian. He came to us with urinary / kidney issues as he was on dry food, and this is still healing. Cats may also choose this for stress. Cats may choose to eat, sit, roll or lie on the healing herbs. I watch and take notes, so I know how to proceed to help the healing process further. He is a huge processor of the essential oils and will often come and sit in on the dog’s sessions to grab what he needs then off he goes again.
As explained above, the dogs are initially offered minerals and oils to highlight any deficiencies they may be experiencing, to let me know if they have any parasites they wish to clear, or if they are in pain. Based on their direction, I then know how to proceed further to help them heal with the essential oils, either through smell, and / or application.
Self-medication, also referred to as self-selection or zoopharmacognosey supports the healing process of the following imbalances:
Behaviour
Anxiety, depression, fear [loud noises, vet, aggression,], trauma, shock, lack of confidence, bullying, over dominance, separation anxiety, loss
Digestive
Protection, stimulants (not eating), upset, constipation, diarrhoea, purging toxins, liver and gall bladder problems, colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcers
Infection
Ear, eyes, gums, digestive, unidentified, and result of injury.
Injury
Burns, scares and external collagen damage, general wounds, internal collagen damage, puncture wounds, internal bleeding, weeping wounds
A beautiful young client of mine, male German Shepard was out on a dog walk and his muscle on is back right leg was pierced by a stick. It was sore, the leg was up, and it was infected.
The process of healing became the following.
The leg wound was washed, the whole leg and his mouth, as he had been licking it with a 50/50 Apple Cider Vinegar and water. Separate bowls and mixtures, and cloths were used for the leg area and the mouth area.
Based on his direction, Yarrow was applied all around the wound and on the outside of the leg. Lemon, lime and a few other oils were applied to the leg around the wound. He processed lemon, lime, basil holy, thyme, clove bud, seaweed and carrot seed through smell for several days thereafter with further application of lemon as well to the leg.
I also sent in energy in different colours, lemon, yellow, and orange where needed via dowsing to support the healing process.
Rhus Tox 30C was given for a few days to support the healing of his structure also. The leg was back to normal in five days. He was kept home a few more extras days to make sure he was safe and fully healed, but he was raring to go again on his walks, one happy pup.
Mobility and Neuro
Aches, sprains, joint and muscle pain; nerve damage, nerve pain, nerves trapped, nerve paralysis, inflammatory tissue pain, amputations, neuro / brain damage; seizures / epilepsy, cell regeneration, lameness
Pain
Digestive, mobility, trauma to the body, headaches, etc.
Skin Conditions
Allergies & Itching; midges, insect bites, inflammation, growths, fatty lumps, dermatitis, ringworm, dry skin and psoriasis
Trauma
Deep trauma to the body, emotional, spiritual, and physical | Although this is under behaviour above, I have highlighted this as so many animals have had traumatic experiences. It is important to know – deep trauma – such as being attacked, can be at the very core of the physical imbalance which needs healing, such as the ears – coming from the kidneys which is fear.
Urinary / Neutering
Antibacterial, hormone support, spaying/neutering, urinary / bladder [incontinence]
Sometimes the imbalance may be balanced in one session but more often than not, the session I do with the animal highlights the focus and the needs. This then becomes the program. It is then crucial the caretaker follow through DAILY with this program until the animal indicates the remedies are no longer needed. “Needed” being the CRUCIAL word. This is not as easy as it seems. There is definitely patience required, and an ability to watch and understand what your animal is communicating. Too often I believe, animals are requesting time, or perhaps less potency by shifting away – even going away and coming back to process the smell, yet this is being taken for a “no longer needed” signal. So, it is a bit of an art-form watching and following the animals’ direction.
I have been using this process for at least 6 years and every time I am amazed at what can be accomplished by listening to the animal and following their direction. They tell you what you would never normally know (unless you are muscle testing perhaps). The healing process – phenomenal.
This is just one of many examples of what is possible.
The brambles around here grow low to the ground and when walking through the forest I was pretty sure one of my dogs had her eye poked directly by one of them. She could not open it. I took her to the vet to check for damage. They could not see anything, and as I am against toxic remedies and pharmaceuticals when not needed, they used her blood to mix a concoction to put in her eye daily. They were very helpful, but this did not heal anything. The eye remained closed and sore.
I then offered her a self-medicating session. She chose to ingest buckets of liquorice root powder mixed with a little water. You can see this powder next to the bowl in the photo below where she is selecting spirulina. She selected this several times over three days. The fourth day she no longer selected, and the eye was healed. The eye was open, and fully functional again. Very clear and happy. It was amazing how fast this worked, and all through ingestion. Nothing went into the eye directly. Just fabulous.
The quality of the essential oils utilized in this process is critical. What is very important is they must be food-grade. There are only two sources I use from around the world, located in France and the UK (Ingraham). The essential oils page on this website, provides more information.
We are all connected to nature. We all actually map the earth in many ways. Nature has provided everything we need to be balanced and healthy. Animals constantly access nature’s medicine to heal. This is how wild animals survive. Our domestic animals are born with this intelligence too, they know what they need. Below are just a few examples, of wild and domestic animals, self-medicating.
• Wild roe deer eating acorns; most likely for de-worming, using the tannins
• Horse sourcing rosehips for collagen repair and vitamin C
• Grizzly bear eating dandelions for detoxification and nutrients
• Our young Sienna, sourcing raspberries for food, and nutrients
• Little puppy sourcing dandelions; for his liver – most likely due to vaccinations
• Wild stallion horse eating leaves from a tree
• Rabbit eating leaves from an apple for detoxification
• Dog sourcing oranges for Vitamin C, perhaps detoxification
• Wild male chital deer sourcing fresh leaves, would be definitely healing something as the effort is being made, main diet is grasses
• Moose eating fresh nettles for anaemia, kidney / urinary support and liver, toxins
• Little kitten eating fresh catnip for most likely stress, used as a sedative
• Beaver eating an apple for food, nutrients
• Mouse eating blackberry for food and nutrients
• Goat eating grass for chlorophyll and nutrients
I thought I would share with everyone the course I attended to help those interested understand a little more about self-medication. This was on Caroline Ingraham’s course for Equines held in Wyoming in September 2017.
Horses are one of the easier species to work with as they are very clear in their direction of what they need when they are presented with the remedies.
Gibson, a 13-year-old horse adopted three years ago is the focus in this session. He has a history of abuse, was used for polo. He is flighty, extremely insecure with a tooth was broken on bit, causing an abscessed molar. This is his experience with humans.
In the above photo, Caroline is preparing the buckets for the horses. Each horse is worked with separately. Caroline is pouring Barley Grass (anxiety / magnesium) into a bucket. Already prepared are:
A little water will be added to the barley grass to see if the horse prefers it dry, with a little water, or wet. The consistency matters to each individual.
Caroline is ready to begin the processing of presenting the buckets to the horses. This is the first stage of the self-medication session. Caroline is checking if any of the horses are deplete in any nutrients prior to beginning offering remedies to smell.
Important to Note About Nutrients
If an animal is craving nutrients, then this will interfere with the smelling portion of the healing process as they may be searching for this to be resolved first. Therefore, minerals and macerate oils, and herbs are offered at the beginning of the session. This would suggest diet and access to nature is not adequate. What each horse selects is a huge indicator what oils will most likely be the initial focus to open with to support the ongoing healing process.
What is very important to understand in these sessions, is the animals are usually processing pain, trauma, unwanted memories perhaps. This is a humbling process because as facilitators of the session we provide the space and the time for the animal to process everything in their own time frame. There is a lot of watching and waiting and subtle intuition about what the animal may need next.
Nothing is every pushed on the animal nor is the animal made to rush. This is a hugely respectful, honorable process where one is fully present. It is wonderful, but also sometimes a little heart breaking, as the emotions released, the pain released, resonates. There are no phones, no joking around, only pure focus with the intention to help so the animal trusts the process and also the facilitator.
The following were offered to Gibson, shown below, with information about what he selected.
Gibson, then took a break and munched on some hay. Next Step: High quality, food-grade oils are offered via smell and application.
In the above photo, Caroline Ingraham is preparing oils to present to Gibson.
St John’s Wort (SJW) Macerated Oil
Wintergreen
Wintergreen and Peppermint
German Chamomile (Blue)
Carrot Seed
Yarrow (Blue)
Carrot Seed reoffered
Rose
Angelica Root
Yarrow
Wintergreen
Peppermint
Yarrow
Peppermint
Carrot Seed
St John’s Wort
Carrot Seed
Mimosa
Rose Water
Orange Flower Water, Separation
Mimosa, Comforting, softer than Neroli
Neroli, Loss
Linden Blossom, Trust
Violet Leaf, Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay
Vanilla, Soothing to the Soul
Angelica Root and Frankincense,Unwanted memories and fear
The session continued offering Gibson other behavioral oils and then focusing on the digestive. Gibson continued to process oils for ages after this. So much repair to his body, mind, and spirit.
Wild Health by Cindy Engel
Animal Self-Medication by Caroline Ingraham
https://www.barkandwhiskers.com/2016-05-29-nl-animal-self-medication/
Dr. Jane Goodall’s work also provides many examples of the animals she studied self-medicating in the wild.
Aloe vera gel is used to dilute the essential oils when an animal directs application to their body via their skin. Please note, this must be pure aloe vera gel, no additives, so please read labels before purchasing. The real plant is the best thing to use when available. We always have one in the house.
Please reach out. It would be an honour to help. If of an urgent nature, please call 604.896.1517 to discuss, thank you.