On The Farm
Summer kind of jumped in and said, “I’m taking over” and voilá, spring was done. We went from frost warnings to 80-90 degrees within days. I will even put my houseplants on the porch by this weekend.
Our local farmers’ market opened - I really enjoy seeing the farmers again, saying ‘hi’, and taking stock of fresh produce. What a treat! I found a really neat arrangement, a hanging plant that is beautiful—cucumbers! I picked my first one today. They grow quickly and are fun to watch. Check out your local farmers’ market or produce stand to see what treasures are there for you to discover.
Lots of good things will happen this month. I will complete my capstone project for chaplaincy, graduate and be ordained June 25. I will be one of the few being ordained via ZOOM, because on June 22, I will be leading a group to Peru. My 21st trip. I arranged to be in Lima for ordination, so that I have good wifi for the ceremony. Then, on to the Sacred Valley where I get to see my goddaughter’s baby, Iveth. She’s six months old now and a real butterball, but SO pretty! Her mother, Hilayne, will be our assistant tour guide for the first week, and the second week of the trip will be the primary guide for the group. We’ll be rooming together once we leave Pisac and it’s the first time she will be away from her baby for more than a day. I’m glad I’ll be there to support her.
It’s good to have something to look forward to. What will you look forward to this month? This summer? I hope you have good adventures.
Cause of the Month
MY HAPPY PLACE ANIMAL SANCTUARY
Julie Sabatine is a horse lover—and a dog lover, and a duck lover, and a chicken and pigeon lover. She founded My Happy Place Animal Sanctuary, 501(c)3, in Newfoundland, New Jersey in 2021 when Covid unemployed her and she moved to a home with two rescued horses whose person had died. The two horses, Rio and Jazzy are still with her. Rio’s care has guided and taught her how to care for those that came after. Since those early days, the Sanctuary has outgrown its space and she is looking for a new, larger location. Her mission is to provide rescue, rehabilitation and refuge to at-risk animals. “As we help heal the animals, they in turn, help heal us.”
Rio’s story is, unfortunately, not unique. He came from a kill pen and escaped both the slaughterhouse and the truck fire that killed the other horses going to slaughter. He was terrified of people, and it was obvious he had been abused and starved. In spite of it all, Rio is a real gentleman who is one of the kindest animals one could meet. Through special equipment, Julie was able to steam his hay bales and switched to dust-free cardboard shavings to support his heaves, an equine respiratory disease. It is not curable and is progressive. A month ago, after supplements, treatments, bodywork and managed feed, the vet said Rio had no wheezing for the first time in years. He is now helping other horses and people to heal.
Julie has connected with some of the best organizations in the country concerned with animal welfare, especially for horses. With their support, she has initiated education programs in which the horses teach people. Everyday care of the animals relies on donations, partnerships, and grants which have helped to provide features and procedures that ensure a healthy environment for the animals. The Sanctuary is a Guidestar charity with a platinum transparency rating. One of the organizations the Sanctuary has partnered with include the United Horse Coalition, which raises awareness of at-risk horses and educates horse owners on the importance of owning responsibly.
Thanks to a grant from Walmart and Sam's Club, the bedding was switched in the barn to dust-free, mold-free cardboard shavings, which are biodegradable and do not give off VOC's. A new FDA approved steroid inhaler is used for equines with asthma and allergies. Every bale of hay is steamed to kill molds and reduce dust. By reducing unhealthy respiratory particulate, using biodegradable shavings and removing steroids from manure, the manure can be composted and used in the organic garden. The fall harvest yielded organic carrots, which were fed to the horses! It is the only sanctuary in the country to be doing this type of initiative to help animals and humans breathe better, improve the environment AND produce healthy food.
The Sanctuary is also a participant organization in the White Horse Rehab Program sponsored by HayChix feed. The White Horse Rehab Program is designed to help horses in need and the people who love and care for them. Education of horse owners and people who love horses is a primary goal for Julie.
The number of animals in the sanctuary is kept small to ensure individual attention, safety and overall wellness of the animals. Most have been brought from extreme abuse, neglect or traumatic environments and require spiritual and emotional healing as well as physical rehabilitation. These animals will never be adopted out, but are in their forever home.
To develop a close relationship with the animal residents, Julie has taken animal communication classes with Judy and has arranged for shamanic healing for horses before they come to the sanctuary, so that their adaptation is smoother, calmer and more easeful. According to Judy, Julie is a gifted animal empath who cares deeply about all animals.
While My Happy Place Sanctuary works with volunteers, Julie does most of the work herself. She has been working a ‘regular’ job to pay for veterinary bills, facility repair, to meet special needs of the animals who come with a wide range of health and mental/emotional conditions (medications, special feed, hoof trimming), and to ensure a safe environment for everyone. There is always an expense with this care.
A month ago, their town was engulfed in a wildfire and the Sanctuary was faced with possible evacuation. They don’t have a trailer to make evacuation an option. Their goal at present is to raise enough money to buy a customized horse trailer and move to a bigger location. Julie and her crew invite anyone who feels called to come visit the amazing animals or to offer them remote healing. You can help by making a donation on the website, https://MyHappyPlaceAnimalSanctuary.org.
What is an Animal Chaplain?
June 25, 2023, I will be ordained as an animal chaplain. For the past nine months, I have been engaged in intensive training by Reverend Sarah Bowen (Sacred Sendoffs) of the Compassion Consortium. The Consortium’s training program has introduced me to chaplaincy fundamentals and the best practices from fields of research that I never knew existed—ecotheology, interspirituality, animal theology and human-animal studies. My hope and goal was to combine chaplaincy practices with what I’ve been doing to support animals and their people over the past 25 years in communication and shamanic practice, to enrich my services, to broaden their scope, and to serve people and animals with the best tools I can find. It has been hard work and a lot of it.
As a nondenominational chaplain, I will support the spiritual relationship between humans and non-humans. As a social work counselor for 25 years, I learned to listen well and to help manage trauma, stress and PTSD. As a shamanic practitioner and animal communicator, I learned to listen even better and received amazing solutions from the animals themselves. My skills as a shamanic practitioner helped to develop rituals, ceremonies and ways to find meaning through life changing events that inevitably happen to all of us and our beloved animal companions. As an animal chaplain, I can listen at the deepest levels to both the animal and their person and hold the space to empower them both.
I am excited about becoming engaged as a chaplain in this next chapter of my path. I will be helping people and animals beginning their relationship with communication and education on the animal’s needs, their background, and welcoming ceremony/ritual. I will also be supporting problem solving and mediation between animals and their people as growing pains arise. Compassionate support for hospice, including communication that I offer now, will be available at end of life for both the animal and their person, so departure can be done with grace and ease.
Interspecies meditation practices are something I have enjoyed developing during my training. We are all connected. Tapping into that connection is a beneficial practice, especially for humans.
I will also be offering workshops. My capstone project for graduation is targeted to compassion fatigue in veterinarians and shelter/sanctuary staff and volunteers. More information to come in the July newsletter. Stay tuned.
I am looking forward to the path ahead. I love how the chaplaincy training program brought everything that I know together in a spiritual context. It’s really special when that happens. I am excited about what we might do together. If I can help, contact me by email through the website, https://JudyRamsey.net.
The Bookshelf
HTTPS://PURRLI.COM
While I usually suggest a good read, this month I am suggesting a good listen. I found purrli.com through the chaplaincy program when Rev. Sarah had us listen before beginning a class. It was heaven—so relaxing. So I began referring clients who had lost their precious cats to the site. The purring not only soothed, it filled a space that only purring of your favorite cat can fill when you are grieving. Some veterinarians I spoke with want to use it in their waiting room to calm the patients and their people.
Dr. Ir. Stephane Pigeon is an engineer and sound designer. In 2017, he developed a free online background noise generator, MyNoise. People who visited the site kept asking for a purring cat. He initiated “Furry Friend”, which delighted over a million views. He wanted to mimic the purring of his cat, Babouche, including purring variations, not just one continuous sound that didn’t vary.
When he came up with a purr generator of purer sound quality, Purrli was the result.
purrli.com is a free website that runs without ads. It has brought comfort to thousands of people. You can choose the quality and speed of the purr you like best or need the most. If you make a donation, there are extra features, like being able to post a photo of your own cat, and access more purrs.
ENJOY!
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.
June 1 & June 15, 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 15-16 2023
Extraction: Illness & Healing From a Shamanic Perspective
This is an advanced in-person class with a limit of 6 persons.
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 Journeying, Medicine For the Earth/Healing With Spiritual Light. Suggested Reading: Walking In Light by Sandra Ingerman.
9am-5pm EDT each day
Cost is $220 per person, $100 for repeating students
In-person class located in Chelsea, Michigan
July 19-August 23, 2023
Shamanic Healing for Animals II
In seven weeks, this class deepens your relationship to animals and their healing within the context of working with their ancestors and the elements. Psychopomp with animals will be covered in depth. Pre-requisite: Shamanic Healing for Animals
Times: 7pm-9pm Wednesdays eastern daylight tim
Cost: $320 per person/ $125 for repeat students
To register: Register through the website, https://JudyRamsey.net
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!
Pre-requisite: read ANIMAL TALK, by Penelope Smith.
9am-5pm EDT both days
Cost is $160 per person, $80 for repeating students
To register: Register through the website www.JudyRamsey.net
ZOOM