My Diamond Kiya

On Friday, April 26, 2013 I said good-bye to my beloved Kiya. The vet had thought that her time had come in January, but my fierce Kiya, lioness in a little cat body, had other ideas. Like the miracle kitten she had been—through sheer will, immense love of life and the help of a village of Western and alternative practitioners—she rallied once again.

From the moment she ran into my hands as a four week-old kitten Kiya and I shared a very special bond (see My Queen Kiya). From the beginning of our 17 years together she made her choices and I followed along.

People often speak of how their lives were shaped by one person or event, in a very real sense mine has been shaped by the animals both wild and domestic that have crossed my path. Few have had as great an impact as Kiya. Of all my cat companions she was the clearest communicator—I always knew how she felt and what she wanted.

Kiya only rarely chose to work on the healing table with my people clients, rather her gift was teaching confidence, which she had in spades. Even as a kitten she was extremely self-confident, and loved attention. This made her the ideal companion for my first-ever television interview. I was nervous; Kiya was calm, cool, collected, and instinctively knew how to work the camera.

During that half-hour interview Kiya showed me how a star should handle herself. Every single time the camera changed angles Kiya would hit the mark and give it all her glamour. She did it so well that at the end of the program she got her close-up, which she held like a master. Our interview concluded with Kiya’s beautiful face superimposed upon an image of the Earth. Fitting for a cat who conquered hearts wherever she went.

Kiya’s life was filled with starring roles. She was calendar pin-up feline for March in Cats: Urban Tigers. Critics hailed her appearance as “fiery Kiya, Queen of Scream, who clawed her way to the top through star power, determination and the driving force of her backup group Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing.”

Over the years her charm and poise—paired with beauty that the camera loved—garnered her numerous appearances in photos and articles. Not only was she featured on the front cover of Tails of a Healer, but she also made several star appearances within. Kiya even had her portrait painted by well-known artist Robert Blehert.

In her honor Debbie Noyes created a wonderful tribute video “Kiya’s Celebration” which I feel captures the essence of her larger-than-life presence. Style-wise Kiya reminded me of the great regal queens of the silver screen, Marilyn Monroe, Mae West, and perhaps most especially Elizabeth Taylor. Kiya loved her bling, and rocked a bejeweled collar like no one else.

I have been privileged to share my life with some very special animal companions who were notable for many reasons. However, Kiya is in a class all her own, she is a “diamond of the first water.” I love her dearly and miss her greatly. I am filled with gratitude that she chose to come home with me, and for the many wonderful years that we had together.

Kiya illuminated my life, and from the realm of spirit she shines just as brightly.

KIYA’S LESSONS

Expect only the best
Indulge your taste buds
Always look for an adventure
Know and embrace your Royal Self
Be loyal to the worthy
Believe in your ability to inspire
Know that you are worthy of all that is good
Cherish the lifetime you are given

Inspired and approved by Kiya
Translated by Carolyn Riley

>>>>>>>>>>

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©2013 Rose De Dan. All Rights Reserved. http://www.reikishamanic.com

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Think Outside the Cage
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About Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing:

In private practice since 1996, Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing, is a mesa carrier in the Peruvian shamanic tradition, animal communicator, Reiki Master Teacher, author and artist. As an animal shaman she views her mission as one of building bridges between people and animals through healing sessions, classes, ceremonies and events such as A Walk on the Wild Side: Answering the Call of the Wild.

Rose’s book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism features heartwarming stories about animals and their role in her evolution as an energy worker and shamanic healer.

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The Dance of Woman and Shark – 333 Nina Salerosa

Incredibly beautiful video clearly demonstrates how little we understand about the Other Nations.

Superbly filmed and edited by Joe Romeiro of 333 Productions, the intertwining of film and soundtrack is genius. The Latin rhythms of “Malaguena Salerosa” by Chingon eddy and swirl like the lithe bodies of the sharks that encircle female diver/expert handler Cristina Zenato.

Filmed in the Grand Bahamas, 333 Nina Salerosa builds to an emotionally moving finale between the diver and one large Caribbean Reef shark that brought tears of awe to my eyes. I have added this gem to my collection of Inspirational People and Animals Videos in the Resources section of my website.

Woman and Shark – 333 Nina Salerosa
Follow my videos on vodpod

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You are welcome to share this article with others by email, on your blog or to your mailing list so long as you leave it intact and do not alter it in any way. All links must remain in the article. And, you must include the copyright notice and the bio.

©2011 Rose De Dan. All Rights Reserved. http://www.reikishamanic.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think Outside the Cage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing:

Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is a mesa carrier in the Peruvian shamanic tradition. In addition she is also a Reiki Master Teacher, animal communicator, author of the acclaimed book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism, and creator of Animal and Reiki Art. As an animal shaman, she views her role as a healer as one of building bridges between people and animals, and of empowering them to reconnect with Pachamama, Mother Earth.

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ReikiShamanic Messages from the Animals: A Juicy Living Tour Interview

“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than blacks were made for whites, or women for men.” — Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

My interview Animal Reiki Shamanism – Rose De Dan, Seattle with Lilou Macé of Lilou’s Juicy Living Tour was released today. In the video we talk about animals and spirit guides – the messages they wish to share with us – and how together we can co-create a sustainable vision for the future of our world.

Topics covered included Reiki, shamanism, domestic, wild and zoo animals, and I tell lots of stories about my adventures, visions, ceremonies and messages from the animals and from Spirit. And my own animal companions – Kiya, Puma, Bagheera, Cougar and Sand – make cameo appearances (as usual, Kiya got the starring role, appearing at the beginning of the video and she even upstaged me by appropriating my name).

Lilou is in the fifth month of a year-long tour, interviewing inspirational people across the U.S. ‎Meeting with her was an amazing opportunity that came about through the serendipity of student Rhonda Hanley’s suggesting me as a candidate.

During our time together I found her to be warm and supportive, and Lilou’s own journey resulted in the creation of the Juicy Living Tour as chronicled in her book I Lost My Job and I Liked It: 30 Day Law of Attraction Diary of a Dream Job Seeker. And next year she plans to tour Europe, talk about living the Law of Attraction! Her travels are fueled by donations by Web TV viewers who enjoy a wealth of wisdom and stories contained in over 1500 interviews, and I feel truly honored to be included.

I wish Lilou all the best – her work is helping so many people – and speaking with her gave a boost to my own dreams of rebuilding the bridge between people and animals. It is my hope that viewers find the interview as exciting as the experiences/adventures were for me.

One person left this comment about the interview on YouTube, “That was a long one, but so worth the time. I really appreciated every word of it & Rose has opened my mind a little to maybe starting to see SOME zoos and SOME pelts in a new way. That’s a big paradigm shift for me, but there’s a crack now in that armor & a tiny bit of light coming through.”—MajorArcanaTV

Please share your thoughts, feeling and insights you may have experienced while watching. Did our conversation inspire you in some way? Surprise you?

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You are welcome to share this article with others by email, on your blog or to your mailing list so long as you leave it intact and do not alter it in any way. All links must remain in the article. And, you must include the copyright notice and the bio.

©2011 Rose De Dan. All Rights Reserved. http://www.reikishamanic.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think Outside the Cage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing:

Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is a mesa carrier in the Peruvian shamanic tradition. In addition she is also a Reiki Master Teacher, animal communicator, author of the acclaimed book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism, and creator of Animal and Reiki Art. As an animal shaman, she views her role as a healer as one of building bridges between people and animals, and of empowering them to reconnect with Pachamama, Mother Earth.

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Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Aunt Rose

Christmas Past
Photo: Rose De Dan©2009

It all started with my desire to give a special Christmas gift to my niece and nephew, who are two and four respectively. I saw the ad for the Hallmark recording storybook “The Night Before Christmas” and instantly knew this was a great idea. Due to circumstances I had been unable to travel to visit them in person. Aunt Rose was simply a voice on the phone or perhaps a photograph. But with the storybook their Aunt Rose could read them her much loved Christmas classic from 1823 at bedtime, and perhaps they could have wonderful dreams filled with promises of Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve.

I ordered a copy, and a week after it arrived I began recording. Several hours later, extremely sad and frustrated, I concluded that my copy was defective. I cannot tell you how wretched I felt – Christmas was ruined. It was late in the month, and internet research showed that the storybook was sold out of stores across the U.S. Apparently I had stumbled across this year’s hottest item.

I did find a few copies being auctioned on the net at almost triple retail price, and seriously considered it as an option for a few moments. I had complex feelings of being a bad aunt for not being able to get a copy, and at the same time questioned whether I was becoming too materialistic. I finally concluded that it simply boiled down to seriously wanting to be some part of my niece and nephew’s life. If I could not do it traditionally by being there in person on Christmas Eve, then I was willing to do the next best thing.

Next morning I had another crack at recording, and lo and behold, it worked! Christmas was saved! By this time the store had returned my call and explained why. Apparently the sensor was light sensitive. I had been trying to record by firelight to add the ambiance of the crackle of the flames. Breathing a sigh of relief, I wrapped the storybook up and shipped it off via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail. Since it was December 14th I had plenty of time for it to get there.

December 22 rolled around and tracking revealed that the package appeared nowhere after Seattle. More angst. Took me 45 minutes to finally figure out how to contact the right department at the post office to initiate a claim. Once again, Christmas was ruined and I felt like a bad aunt. Maybe I should have spent the additional money and sent it Express Mail?

At this point I decided that the best thing to do was to send Reiki to the situation, which I did. Half and hour later I received a notice from the P.O. that the package was in New Jersey. Christmas was saved! I figured that it would be delivered that afternoon. It was not.

Drastic action needed to be taken, and so bravely Aunt Rose took out her new Flip camcorder which she had little experience with, and decided that she was going to make a movie, something she had never done. Feeling somewhat Grinch-like toward the Post Office (after all every other package either she or someone else had sent before or after this one had long ago arrived at their destinations), Aunt Rose drafted her trusty dog Puma, and faithful cat Saqqara into the effort.

After much maneuvering of the camera on its very cute tripod, Aunt Rose finally arrived at a balance where you could see part of her face and all of Puma. Apparently the small frame of the camcorder limited the amount of scenery you could include, and moving it back made sound quality difficult. So many decisions!

Thankfully the shoot went off without a hitch in one take. Puma was a pro, albeit a somewhat nervous one, being a bit camera shy. He even made an effort at acting, at the point in the poem where Saint Nicholas comes down the chimney with a bound, Puma shot up from his resting position looking startled. And Saqqara played the part of the cat settling down for a long winter’s nap well, giving a convincing yawn before exiting.

Figuring out how to edit the portions and put them together took longer, but finally it was done and uploaded. Christmas was saved once again. Clement C. Moore’s timeless classic from Christmas Past now lives again on YouTube as The Night Before Christmas read to Dog and Cat. All made possible by the technology of Christmas Present and one determined aunt!

From all of us at Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing – Rose De Dan, Saqqara, Kiya, Cougar, Sand and Puma – Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a blessed and Happy New Year!

Postscript: Today is the 24th of December, and the package has moved closer to North Jersey but is not there yet. Package might arrive on Christmas Eve along with Santa. Or maybe not.

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Think Outside the Cage
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Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is a mesa carrier in the Peruvian Q’ero tradition. In addition she is also a Reiki Master Teacher, animal communicator, author of the acclaimed book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism, and creator of Animal and Reiki Art. As an animal shaman, she views her role as a healer as one of building bridges between people and animals, and of empowering them to reconnect with Pachamama, Mother Earth.

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YouTube Video, Two Dogs, inspired by Dalai Lama

My fledgling video effort, “Two Dogs, a story of compassion and animal communication” is up on YouTube!

“Two Dogs” is the true story of two lost dogs, and this video lovingly portrays the miracles that can happen when you communicate from your heart, and features my reading an excerpt from my new book, “Tails of a Healer: Animal, Reiki and Shamanism,” to my dog, Puma. Two of my cats, Kiya and Saqqara, also make cameo appearances.

The making of “Two Dogs,” produced and directed by Reiki Master Rhonda Hanley, was inspired by the Seeds of Compassion press conference video that His Holiness the Dalai Lama made prior to his recent visit to Seattle, Wash.

My intention was to see if I could get the video widely distributed, perhaps raising consciousness about compassion and communication from the heart, especially among children, our hope for the future of this world.

You can help spread the word by passing the link to the video on to others, and by rating the video with stars and leaving your comments, it helps to increase traffic and viewership.

Enjoy, and thanks from all of us!
Rose De Dan, Puma, Kiya, and Saqqara
Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC