On The Farm
Just returned to the farm after 3 weeks in Peru. So glad to be back. This year, reuniting with old friends (humans and non-humans, places, mountains, trees) was important. We had perfect weather the entire time. I discovered new things among the familiar—always exciting.
For example, the mayor of Miraflores, the district of Lima that we stay in before going to the Sacred Valley, has declared Parque Kennedy (basically Central Park) a cat sanctuary for strays and homeless cats. The hundreds of cats that frequent this park have veterinary care and neutering provided by the city, and there are designated areas where people can bring food for the cats.
The most amazing thing to see was in the evenings. The park is full of people sitting on benches, interacting with cats, who sit on their laps, play and purr. The people become calm and soothed by the cats, and the cats get taken care of. What a beautiful symbiosis! The mayor, bless her, determined that this was the most efficient way to care for the cats and also to address the residents’ stress. Can you imagine this model where you live? Let’s hold that vision.
Cause of the Month
Did you know that research, primarily by the American Veterinary Medicine Association since 2017, has shown that veterinarians, men and women, young and older practitioners, comprise a group experiencing the highest rate of suicide and mental illness in the U.S.?
These professionals are exposed to a full range of intense physical, mental and emotional demands and stresses that never ceases. Staff are exposed constantly to circumstances they cannot control. Extreme suffering of the animals and the constant presence of death test the limits of self-regulation in this field. Long hours are required to address a patient base that never lessens, leading to work-life imbalances, overload that includes managing a practice or an organization shelter, and addressing expectations and complaints of customers/clients. Moral stress affects everyone working in those settings and contributes to compassion fatigue, burnout, and even suicide.
For my chaplaincy capstone (graduation) project, I developed an on-demand workshop to address compassion fatigue. In my own research, I interviewed veterinarians and shelter/sanctuary staff. Those vets who practiced more than 30 years told me they were trained with a mindset that said if they didn’t give 100% of themselves 24/7, they weren’t representing the profession well. What helped those vets practicing less than 10 years was a shortage of professionals during and after Covid. These vets definitely felt that they could choose the setting/clinic that would best meet their personal needs and work/life balance.
Interestingly, the older vets both admitted that they only just began in the last three years to look at work/life balance. Their training and their perspectives were shaped by their education and the veterinary culture at the time they entered the field. Also, their age is beginning to restrict what they can do physically, and they need to search for alternatives for practice.
The shelter/sanctuary managers and volunteers indicated that their job is 24/7 also. There is always something that needs doing, and the job is very physically demanding. Events at shelters/sanctuaries happen every day of the week for fundraising and volunteer recruitment, the pressures of which really push the managers to their limits.
There is an organization of veterinarians that aims to support those in the profession who experience burnout. NOT ONE MORE VET, at https://nomv.org, is a 501c(3) non-profit organization developed to support mental wellness within the profession through education, resources and support. Visit the website to see how you can support the professionals that give us so much by helping our beloved animals in life and in death. There are opportunities to donate your money, your time and your skills to prevent crisis, trauma and suicide among animal professionals. We can all help by keeping in mind this larger picture within which the veterinarians must work, and do our best to reduce the pressure, working together with our professionals to achieve the best outcome for our animals and for our animal physicians.
Training for Animal Chaplaincy Open Enrollment
The program of training that I just completed with the Compassion Consortium was one of the best I have ever encountered. The Compassion Consortium has a 3-month program, a 6-month program and a 9-month program which will guide you through how to companion animals and their people through different life experiences, particularly death/dying. The 9-month program culminates in ordination as an animal chaplain. This is an intensive training with lots of preparation (i.e., homework) via readings, audio-visual resources, experience with other cohort members, and deep examination of your own belief and wisdom traditions. It's not for everyone.
However, if you would like to explore animal chaplaincy as a service path for yourself, I highly recommend this curriculum. You can find out more by going to the enrollment site www.compassionconsortium.org/act. I am happy to share my own experience in the program. Just send inquiries to me at info@judyramsey.net.
The Easiest Way to Give a Cat a Pill
Okay, we’ve all tried it—MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, right?
I spent the month of May with webinars from Holistic Actions! on irritable bowel disease in cats and dogs.
One of the best outcomes of the webinars was learning what pre-/probiotics can do for an animal. One of those probiotic companies, AnimalBiome, has DoggyBiome and KittyBiome, which I’ve been using—good products resulting in more energy for my senior cats and better disposition for my dog.
The site, kittybiome.com, has a great article on how to give a cat a pill and many helpful articles on other topics as well, written by experts in cat guts.
For the article, see kittybiome.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-easy-ways-to-give-your-cat-a-pill/. I liked the tips like making sure your pet’s medicine CAN be broken up or asking your vet if it has to be given whole. Check it out. Information all cat lovers can use. The products are really good, too.
The Bookshelf
H IS FOR HAWK, by Helen Macdonald
This book caught my eye because it was listed as a New York Times Bestseller, and was also on over 25 lists of Best Books of the Year. I understand why.
This true story describes the journey the author takes with her goshawk, Mabel, as she determines to train one of the most difficult birds in the art of falconry.
Training resources are scarce, so she relies on the mistakes made by the author, T.H. White, as he tried to become part of the exclusive hawking sport in the Victorian age, learning in the process, what kind of man the author was.
The book is elegantly written. It describes the developing partnership between an independent bird and Macdonald in a way that envelopes you as a reader in the mental, physical and emotional process of establishing a relationship of respect and bonding. It is almost poetry. You can easily take the bird’s point of view, as well as Macdonald’s.
Enjoy this book at your own pace. I couldn’t put it down.
Upcoming classes and workshops
Find full descriptions and costs of the classes and events on the website. Registrations are on the website except for Journey Circle. Once registered, a Zoom invitation will be sent to register to receive the meeting i.d. and passcode. If you have difficulty with a registration, please contact Judy at info@judyramsey.net. All classes and journey circles are recorded for your convenience.
July 20th, 2023
Journeying Circle
If you know how to do shamanic journeying, you know that it is a path of direct revelation. Come join us as we explore different aspects of our life’s path, doing healing for ourselves as well as for the world. Zoom registration required—contact Judy at info@JudyRamsey.net
7pm-8:30pm EDT
Cost is $25 per session or $40 per month to attend
Zoom
July 29-30 2023
Basic Animal Communication
Learn how to communicate telepathically the way that animals communicate to each other. In this basic class, you will open your intuitive senses through exercises designed to take you gently step-by-step into telepathic communication. In a fun, nurturing class environment, you will open your intuitive senses through the first day. By the second day, you will be ready to explore communication with animal guests who have offered to teach you how to understand what they want to say. Come join us!
9am-5pm EDT both days
Cost is $160 per person, $80 for repeating students
Pre-requisite: read ANIMAL TALK, by Penelope Smith
To register: Register through the website www.JudyRamsey.net
ZOOM
August 3 & 17 2023
Journeying Circle
If you know how to do shamanic journeying, you know that it is a path of direct revelation. Come join us as we explore different aspects of our life’s path, doing healing for ourselves as well as for the world. Zoom registration required—contact Judy at info@JudyRamsey.net
7pm-8:30pm EDT
Cost is $25 per session or $40 per month to attend
Zoom
August 12 2023
Drum Making Workshop Deadline
This is the last day to sign up for the Drum Making workshop to be held in Chelsea, MI, on September 2, 2023. Master drum maker OOL PARDI, of StrongHeart DrumMedicine, will provide materials, bison skins and either ash or oak frames, and instruction in this ancient, sacred art. Whatever your wisdom tradition or spiritual path, creating your own drum to support your practice is a special experience.
12:30pm-5:30pm
Cost is $250 inclusive
Register by calling Kellie Pardi, at 989-413-6208
August 26 - 27 2023
Basic Shamanic Journeying
The shamanic journey is an easy and powerful tool used to access spiritual information. You will meet and begin to develop a relationship with a compassionate spirit or power animal who is coming forward to help you at this time in your life. The techniques will help you develop a self-directed practice of empowerment, allowing you to move safely, intentionally through the world in a balanced way.This class is a prerequisite to ongoing and more advanced shamanic studies.
9am-3pm EDT
Cost is $160, $75 for repeating students.
Zoom
September 2 2023
Drum Making Workshop
Master drum maker OOL PARDI, of StrongHeart DrumMedicine, will provide materials, bison skins and either ash or oak frames, and instruction in this ancient, sacred art. Whatever your wisdom tradition or spiritual path, creating your own drum to support your practice is a special experience.
12:30pm-5:30pm
Cost is $250 inclusive
Register by calling Kellie Pardi, at 989-413-6208
September 5 - October 17 2023 (No class September 26)
Shamanic Animal Communication
Explore the differences between telepathic and shamanic communication with animals of all species, and those who have passed. Find deep connection with all their relations and the richness that shamanic connection gives to communication.
Prerequisite: Basic Journeying.
7pm-9pm
Cost is $240 per person, $100 for repeating students
Zoom
September 16 - 17 2023
Extraction: A Shamanic View of Illness
Deepen your understanding of illness and how one’s spirit can help the physical body thrive or not. From a shamanic perspective, there are three causes of illness: loss of power, loss of soul essence, and intrusions. We will focus on power loss and extraction of intrusions. Explore different ways to “diagnose” an illness as well as to address its healing. Working with partners, deepen your understanding of spiritual intrusions and learn ways to extract them. Prerequisites: Basic Shamanic Journeying, Medicine For the Earth/Healing With Spiritual Light. Suggested Reading: Walking In Light by Sandra Ingerman. Class will be taught via ZOOM with careful monitoring of techniques and practice.
9am-5pm each day
Cost is $220 per person, $100 for repeating students
Zoom