Pets Teach Us How To Love

I've always had animals around me from farmyard animals to cats, dogs, rabbits, and goldfish.  Right now, I'm taken care of by two wonderful rescue cats.  They look after me and my partner each day.  They make sure we are loved and looked after and we're never alone.

Pets show us how to love one another.  They really do.  If you have a pet, you'll know this firsthand and I'm not telling you anything new.  Unfortunately, we sometimes forget just how much love we are given by our pets.

I wish humans could learn to love one another as our pets love us.  Rather than getting caught up in all the political discussions of the day filled with ego and hate and ill-will towards one another, we could experience love.  The love our pets show for us.

Our pets don't look at us and say, "you're this or that or the wrong thing".  Our pets don't look at us and claim how much we do wrong.  Our pets don't see the differences in us and they often act far better than many humans.

I wish humans could view one another through the eyes of love, just like our pets do.  There would be no issues with color or race or sexuality.  We wouldn't work so hard to divide and separate one another from each other.  We would just look at each other with love and respect, nothing more and nothing less.

I wish humans could stop preaching to one another how much they love all mankind, while showing through their actions and words, the complete opposite.  Let us be like our pets where they show us love through their actions and attentions, meows and barks.

We could learn so much from our pets if we allowed ourselves to learn.  We could look at others with oneness rather than separating our species out of fear and hatred and ego.  We could truly learn what being human is about if we let our pets show us how to love one another.

Do you have a pet?  How do they show you how to love?  Feel free to share in the comments below.

The cat in the picture above is Corey, our orange cat.  Topanga did not make the picture this time.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Triggered By My Cats

No... don't ...

No pets... don't you understand?

Don't do that.

Please don't do that!

The scenario that played over and over so many times as a kid.  Rarely did my pets ever get to come inside and if they did, I often had to sneak them in.

Well, sneaking means I sneaked them through the front door, but then since we had absolutely no privacy growing up, it was hard to keep it a secret.

Unfortunately, our pets were not used to being inside.  I don't know why they weren't allowed to stay inside, but they weren't.  It didn't matter if the nights were subzero temperatures.  It didn't matter what, they just had to stay outside.

The monster would be after them...

Most of them weren't used to letting me know they had to go outside to go to the bathroom.  They made a mess from time to time and of course, when they did - the monster would be after them.

I would see their little heads and faces ground down into the carpet into the mess they made.  The monster would show them once and for all never to do this again.  He'd throw a fit.  He'd make them learn.

I would watch in terror, wanting to rescue them but not able to do a thing.  You didn't dare lift a finger or raise a voice to the monster.  He would lay you flat on the ground and beat you until you could no longer feel a thing.  There was nothing you could do to stop the torture. You had to watch it and hear it and silently cry within.

If the monster got real mad...

If the monster got real mad, he'd pick up the cat, open the door and toss it up in the air.  The cat would go sailing in the sky and somehow land and run away.  I would cringe every time I saw this.  My heart would skip a beat.  I would hold my breath in terror.

And if the monster got real real mad, he'd just kill them.  He'd find a way to drown them in a gunny sack in a river or crush them or whatever method he deemed appropriate.  There was no stopping the judge and executioner.  I was powerless to stop him and I still hate myself to this day for that.  Yet, I was a small child.

I still remember doing the dishes as he shut my little kittens in the cellar door.  They had just been born recently.  I loved the grey one and the charcoal color one.  I had started to name them.  One was smokey.  I would sing to him, "On top of old smokey".  Yet, the monster killed them.

I instinctively knew what happened...

I heard the sounds.  I heard their little meows and screams.  The monster went outside pretending he needed something from the cellar.  Then the screams and meows increased.  The door slammed.  The meows stopped.  I instinctively knew what happened.

I started crying trying to wash the dishes.  As the monster stepped back inside, I was told to grow up and not be a cry baby.  I was told that it was a mistake.  I was given a half fake explanation as to what happened backed up by the monster's lover.

No more did little smokey get to play and listen to me sing.  No more did the Charcoal and the little kittens have a chance at a life.  No more were my new little friends to be around me.

So, when my cats did something wrong, I would be frightened that they would be killed too.  The monster was merciless.  He didn't care.  In fact, the more the kittens showed me they loved me, the more likely it was that he would take them away.

Hoped the monster didn't find out...

I cringed when they did something wrong for I had to hide it and hope the monster didn't find out.  Hardly was I ever successful.  I often failed the cats and pets.

As a kid I watched the movie, The Planet Of the Apes.  It scared the daylights out of me.  However, I found myself hoping and dreaming that the cats and dogs of this world would rise up and rule the humans.  I wished and hoped and prayed that they would claw the eyes of the humans out and cause as much pain and harm to them as they did my own pets.

It never happened.  I still live with those sounds.  I still live with those images.  I cannot erase them from my mind.  They haunt me with every breath I take.

Today, I got triggered.  Today, the trigger got the best of me.  It turned into anger and a rage directed at no one, but at everyone.  Today, I failed once again.

I know one thing, if anyone ever tries to harm my pets, they or I will most likely not be alive.  I will not allow anyone to harm them.  They mean more to me than my own life.  Animals rank higher in life than my own self.  They always have.

I can still hear their screams.

I wish I could have protected them.

I wish I would not have failed so many times.

#Triggers

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Shoot Them And Problems Disappear

In my house, if the authority figures needed to make a point, they did so in a dramatic way.  It happened so many times from an early age in my life until long after I left home, that it seems like the way problems were dealt with.  In fact, the Colorado shooting brings this subject back up for me.  It isn't only the killer that I think about, but all those going out to protect themselves and buying guns like there is no tomorrow.

I'm not hear to write about gun control.  That is a subject for some other blog, but not mine.  What I am here to discuss is how my father and older brother used the shooting, killing, mutilating and suffocating of my pets in order to get rid of problems.

From my little kittens that got shut in the basement cellar door and killed, to my kittens that were drowned in the river, I remember crying my eyes out silently for them.  I was not allowed to show any emotion on this or make those who did it feel guilty in any way.  There were the innocent frogs that I would see being mutilated just for the joy of it while I so badly wanted to rescue the poor critter.  Yet, if I had tried, my body would have been beaten to a pulp.

Medicating Pets Is Not The Answer

Recently I saw an article on CNN about a person giving "happy pills" to their cat because of behavioral issues.  I'm not going to reference this article because it really added no value to life.  It was poorly written and done so from a view point that was very one sided.  Trust me - its not worth your time.

Unfortunately though the individuals in this article felt that the cat needed happy pills and were convinced the cat's behavior changed as a result.  I'm sure they could prove that it did.  However, the thing that disturbs me is how quickly we turn to medications and pills just to solve problems.  For the most part, this is not needed in animals nor in humans.  Yes, there are some exceptions, but they are few and far between.

I do not make these comments because it is my belief.  I have worked with thousands of animals over the years and dealt with all types of behavior issues.  Most of the time, the issues either boiled down to the caretakers or the animal's home.  Yes, once in awhile there was some disease or other health issue impacting things, but that was limited to a small percentage of the time.

Dear Pets, I'm Sorry I Failed

I saw that my older brother's dog died and while seeing a pet die makes me sad, I find myself remembering just how much he would torture animals. I still remember when I was in Kindergarten and seeing him grind that frog with his bicycle tire into oblivion.  I wanted to cry but I knew if I did, I would be next.  I had to cry in silence.

Most of my pets tried to stay clear of him and my dad for good reason. They were safer that way. Its just hard for me to picture my brother having a pet and being sad that it died.

Has he changed... Can a zebra get rid of their stripes?

In my family, an animal was no different than a child. They existed for the sole purpose of control and manipulation through whatever means existed. In the case of an animal though, torturing them to extinction was not something that the authorities would ever be alerted to.  I'm not sure the authorities would have listened anyway in those days.

Yes, they were loved at times, but it was a love based upon convenience by the monsters.  I always begged my animals to hide from the monsters and sometimes they would listen, but at other times they would emerge looking for food.

It wasn't just my older brother that did this.  My dad was part of this blood sport as well.

To all those that didn't make it - I'm so sorry.

1. To the numerous kittens that your only crime was you were born and had to be sentenced to death by drowning in a gunny sack in the river or crushed in the cellar door.  I'm so sorry I couldn't rescue you.  I wasn't even allowed to cry as the monster tried to explain it was an accident.
2. To my Bunny Rabbit that I won memorizing many bible verses all week long in vacation bible school who mysteriously died that first night home after I went to sleep.  I'm so sorry, I should have never let you out of my site.
3. To one of my sheep that loved letting me know who was boss around the female sheep, I'm sorry I was in college and couldn't stop him from taking a 2x4 to your head because he got mad at you.
4. To all the pigs and cows and other animals that he transported where he would get a thrill out of jamming the hotshot up their butt to make them move.  I'm sorry I didn't take that thing to him and run it until the batteries ran dead.
5. To my favorite dog, Princess who was always just trying to get our attention and made him so mad that at times that he would hit her with whatever he could lay his hand on.  Her yelps still haunt me, but the thing that haunts me most is knowing that she still had the buckshot in her legs from the time he shot her.  Both the vet and I cried the day Princess died, but I'm so sorry I didn't take the gun and put buckshot in him.
6. To the cats that my family would get upset with if we were ever allowed to have them inside for a brief few moments. I'm sorry that my family thought it was appropriate to open the door and toss you up in the air as they flung you outside. 
7. To the little dog that my younger brother loved so much, the only crime Duchess committed was that my father considered it to be a mutt.  He hated the dog.  It wasn't until years later that my brother told me he was forced to shoot his pet and bury it when he was only in high school.  Words cannot describe my shock and horror when I heard this. 
8. To the squirrels that would be shot in the woods because my father thought it was a fun sport, I would try to wander in the woods acting as if everything was fine.  I loved the sounds of the woods. Deep inside, I was so lost in the horror of a sport that killed an innocent animal.  

To all the other animals...  I'm so sorry.  I can't remember all of  you.  I know I always kept wanting more animals but I'm sorry I brought you home into this mess.  You would have been safer if I would have never loved you in the first place.  I wasn't strong enough to protect myself and I didn't stand a chance against the monsters that did these things.  You gave up your life for me and saved me from many more beatings than I got.  I will never forget that as long as I live.

I always dreamed of a world where the animals would rise up against the humans and take them down.  It never happened of course, but I still dream about it to this day. 

I did try to make up for it when I was managing some farms.  One owner started to kick an animal that was down and with fire in my eyes, I looked at him and said, "if you kick that animal one more time, you will never walk again."  Oh no, no longer did I allow anyone to abuse animals in front of me.

It makes me angry when I see people not respecting nature the way these creatures are intended to live.  Its fine to observe them, but most of the time mother nature knows best and it isn't up to us to interfere with their daily lives.  These animals know far better what they need then any human ever will.  Most of all though, don't you dare abuse an animal with my knowledge of it.  Most likely the authorities will not be needed.  I'm a peaceful person until you mess with animals.

It isn't cute to me when I see humans parade their kill around town as if it is an honor.  This isn't respect for the life of those that can't defend themselves.  I don't wish to see it.  I find it horrible and unforgiving.

They say that most people who abuse and mistreat animals or pets have had abusive experiences in life or have unresolved anger issues.  Regardless of what you have been through, there is no excuse for this type of behavior.  If you have issues, work on them.  Don't take them out on innocent loving animals!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 7/8/14 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Laura's Book Impacted My Life

Review Written by Don Shetterly

There are very few things I read that have such a great impact on me.  This book that Laura Corbeth wrote, My Courage To Tell, is one such book.  I'm stunned with how much it touched me.  I'm stunned at the way a chance connection made this possible.  Soon, I'll be sitting down with Laura to conduct an interview that will be shared on this blog.


Anyone who has followed this blog for very long knows that I too wrote a book about some of the experiences I went through growing up.  It is called, Hope And Possibility Through Trauma.

Part of what I experienced, in addition to the sexual abuse and torture, was psychological abuse like what Laura shares in her book.  I've actually never heard anyone talk about it so eloquently as she did.  She shared her story and through it, her own self-discovery and realization of healing her life.  Laura was so open in what she shared.

The psychological stuff for me included the following... and this is only a minor list.

• My brother tormented me all my life.  He lied a lot, and that’s one of the things that resonated with me from her book.  I used to hate his lying so much.  He would lie about the stupidest things.  We had these tiny little plastic American Building Bricks that I loved to play with.  When he would lie, my dad would get mad at both of us and threaten to throw them in the fireplace.  I finally got to the point where I’d speak up because I was tired of being punished because of his lies.
• He did many horrendous things to me.  Another that resonated from the book was how he would pin me down.  He was overweight and much larger than me.  I was a small-framed kid.  He would get me down on his back and jump up and down with his knees on my upper arms as he stretched them out on the ground.  I still suffer from the physical pain of that.
• I was beaten and hit by my brother and dad.  I’ve had a garden hoe taken to me, a shovel and belts/boards – whatever they could get their hands on, they would use on me.  For a long time in my life, I would find rocks and sticks to hit myself with when life got too rough.  As a kid, my older brother hit me with a round point shovel and caused me to bleed.  He tried to keep me from going inside to get my mom to help me.  He didn't want to get into trouble.
• When Laura talks about the frogs, I’m overwhelmed.  I saw what my brother did to a frog with his bicycle when I was in kindergarten.  I saw my dad kill my pets to help silence me.  I saw my brother and my dad be mean to my pets.  My dad got mad at my dog and shot the dog as it was running down the road.  When my dog finally died of cancer, I was in college, and as it spent the last few days at the vet’s office, the vet and I cried over the phone – when he saw the buckshot still lodged in the feet of my dog.  I’m a fierce protector of animals.  I have a degree in animal science.  No one ever got away with hurting any animal under my watch. 

So many things that Laura shared in her book sounded all too real to me based on my own experiences.  I still struggle and deal with what I went through because it runs deep.  I continue to work through them, and heal my life to the core with every new realization that appears.

I cannot believe I survived and made it this far in life.  I'm beyond ecstatic to see someone like Laura share her story in the way she did.

When I was reading the book, it took me a day and a half to finish it.  I could not put it down.  Laura does an excellent job of weaving the events together into a story that captivates you and holds your attention.

I strongly suggest you check out her book, her website, and the podcast interview she did because it is very enlightening.  See the links below.

We've all got our stories, but if we don't share them, the abuse and horror will continue.  It is up to each one of us to do as Laura did and share your story.  You will touch others, and through touching their lives, they will find more possibility and hope and healing.

Our silence gives a fertile soil for abuse to continue.  Make a difference by speaking up and telling your story.  If you would like a platform to do this, let me know, and I will help you.  I'm always careful that it is not about vengeance, as Laura discusses, but instead that it stands up and says, "I'm taking back my life."

Check Out These Links

• Website:  MyCourageToTell.com
• Podcast:  Podcast with Dr. Berney
• Twitter:   @Laura_Corbeth
• Amazon: My Courage To Tell

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Loyalty Of Child Abusers

Written By Don Shetterly

One of the things I witnessed and saw in my house was how my dad controlled everyone.  I can remember him shouting at us that if we ever went to the cops for what he did to us, that it would be the last thing we did.  As evidenced of what he did to our pets, there was no mistaking what he meant.


He demanded complete loyalty to him.  He accepted nothing but us worshiping at his feet.  He would explain to us that we are family and that family loves one another.  If we questioned this in any way, it was that we had no loyalty or love for our family.

My dad would scream and rant and rave.  He'd pound his fist on the table to make his point.  There was no double crossing the family.  There was no double crossing him.  You had to back him up no matter what for anything he did.

His transgressions included child sexual abuse, rape, molestation, physical beatings, emotional abuse, domestic violence again my mom, lying and cheating.  They also included the murder of innocent pets via the use of guns or drowning in rivers.

He demanded loyalty...

Of course, he demanded loyalty.  We were not allowed to say anything to anyone.  We feared for our own lives.

Later on, when I was in the hospital and dared to speak out about what I had been through, he quit talking to me.  He showed me what the silent treatment was all about because I dared to stand up and say, this wasn't right.  In fact, he turned my entire family against me including neighbors and friends that I had known for a long time.

Does this sound like someone that should deserve loyalty and respect?  Hopefully, your answer is NO!  Anyone that does not allow for dissent or a difference of opinion is not a healthy individual.  If you do not permit yourself to be challenged, you are not a strong person in my view.

I'm so tired of hearing about loyalty these days.  I've heard it so many times in jobs.  The companies that tried to tell me they would never ask me to cheat or lie are the ones that broke the rules.  These were major corporations.

Loyalty is not about breaking the law or following someone blindly.  It is about having the respect for others.  It is about gaining respect because you earned it and you deserve it.  It is not given because you threaten people or you scream and yell at them.

The ego loves greed and control.  It likes to manipulate and punish those who don't accept their ideas as law.  It is not about being human.

We need to wake up in this world because each one of us that falls into these traps diminishes our light and our love in this world.  The more we feed the control and manipulation of the ego, the more it grows.

I so wish that I could have stood up to my dad but there would have been no one that would have listened in those days.  The payback would have been hell if I had not succeeded.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Joy From Sorrow

Losing someone you love or were fond of is never easy. It is much harder if you never got the chance to say goodbye. Whether it is through an unexpected event in life or just not finding out until later, one can never be prepared.

All too often it touches on the nerves that are connected to other losses. The pains we felt of saying goodbye to someone or something we loved are unearthed. It is like a connection or a bridge to previous encounters of letting someone pass away from life.

Death is never easy no matter how you look at it or frame it. Loving someone or something gives us so much joy in our life. Saying goodbye in death, feels like that joy which has become a part of us was ripped out from our bodies. It often feels like the end of the world after someone has died and that nothing will ever take the pain away.

I've lost far too many people and pets in my life. For a long time, I never allowed myself to grieve for them. Grieving was not easy for me because it involved allowing myself to feel many emotions. Early on in life, I was just shown that I was to move on and not allow myself to feel the emotions. However, I have learned that grieving and allowing these emotions is a necessary part of life. it is what helps us find the joy we shared with what we lost.

At times the process of grief seemed long and as if it would never end. There were times that I did not feel as if I could make it. At times, tears flowed as easily as I took a breath. However, with time, life began to balance out and the pain I experienced in loss, once again became joy for my life.

When the joy emerged from the sorrow, I was able to remember so much of what I shared with the person or the pet. It was almost like I had to travel through the tears to see the beauty.

Each person or pet that we love gives us so much. Through our connection with them, we give much back as well. The beautiful moments of what we shared will stay with us for a lifetime. We will realize one day through the tears, all that we received from those we were closely connected to. Through loving gratitude, we will celebrate so much and the pain will diminish.

We will observe that our life is much stronger, better and more full for having these special connections. There may even be things that will take us time to recognize. Deep down, these connections will share a very important part of our life.

Even though we are not able to talk to these people and pets who have passed on, in the same sense we once could, I believe we can talk to them at any time. I believe they are around us and they hear us. They, of course, remain in our hearts and our minds as we think about them through the eyes of love.


Above image taken from memorial website "When Tomorrow Starts Without Me"


*Read other articles on Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Why Didn't I Know Better?

For a long time, I didn't let that little boy off the hook.  I kept thinking, why didn't I know better?  Why didn't I tell someone to help make the abuse to stop?  Why did I let it keep happening?

These questions are common among those of us who have been sexually abused as children.  They are questions that seem to haunt survivors with no end in sight.  Unfortunately, when we are adults, we see things differently than when we were young kids.  What seems normal and reasonable to an adult is anything but that to a child.

One of the things I've done to help orient my mind from looking at this in a detrimental way is trying to find a kid that is around the age I was when the abuse happened.  I try to reason in my mind if this kid is able to stop an adult or know what is right and wrong?  Is this kid able to stand up to the child molester and say enough is enough?  Is this kid able to stop everything from happening?

The answer is usually NO! 

There is no way that a kid has the ability to understand what is going on especially when it is someone they trust or look up to or that takes care of them.  Kids aren't built with adult minds of understanding at the age most of this abuse takes place.  They are kids.  They have the mind and experience of a kid.  The child molesters know that and take advantage of this.

I'm not 100% certain when the abuse started for me.  I can remember being raped at the age of 5 and left in my own pool of blood to clean up before my mom got home.  I had no clue what as happening at that age.  The threats if I told were not just idle warnings.  I had no one I could turn to and was afraid of what would happen if I even thought about doing telling anyone.  After all, I saw my pets killed for lesser crimes.  If you think watching your pets be killed doesn't send a strong message, please have a conversation with me.

Questioning will tear you apart...

Abuse survivors have to give themselves a break.  It will tear you apart questioning why you could not have stopped things or why you didn't do something different.  The only thing you can do once you are starting to put things together is take care of the person you have become and learn to care and forgive that little kid that had no choice.

Child molesters take away the most intimate and sacred parts of us as a child.  There is no choice by the kid.  There is no consent by the kid.  The child molesters know this and they exploit it past the limits of reasonable explanation.

The next time though you are being a little too hard on yourself as a survivor, do what I do.  Find a kid that is near that age that you are remembering and then see if you can picture that little kid stopping things.  I've got a feeling, you'll find that you see things more clearly.

Most of all, just be good to that part of yourself and work on forgiving YOURSELF.  I know that isn't easy and it definitely takes time and work, but its what I found that I had to do.


Here is a blog post to think about in regards to breaking the silence.  It is a quote by Ellen Bass who wrote, "The Courage To Heal" (one of the first books I ever read on the subject).  Click the following image below to read it.

(click to read)

If you've found other ways that work for you on this topic, please leave a comment below. 

Bumps And Bruises

(by Natural Healing Gal, Marie)

Things that go bump…

My all time favorite Homeopathic remedy is Arnica Montana.

According to Dr. Luc, "Arnica is the king of the trauma remedies and king of the sports remedies. Arnica is good for the whole family for bumps, bruises, pulled muscles, and overuse of muscles…"

Well, he is so right! I tend to bruise quite easily, and I am not the most graceful person.  My cat, Otis (who passed away a few years ago) would walk across my lap and I would occasionally see bruises like his paw prints! I began taking Arnica 30C anytime I bumped into a chair, hit my head on the car roof, or fell in the grass when I was running. For minor bumps and bruises, one dose (see article Starting with Homeopathy on doses) is all that is needed. To my surprise, the bruises were minimized, and if I took the remedy right away, there was usually no bruise at all. The best part? No side effects.

I soon realized I could use Arnica for a heavy workout when my muscles were sore. It worked so well, and I felt better quickly!

I began to give it to my pets when they bumped into something or fell. One time my sheltie, Desi, was heading into the house and did not see the glass sliding door was closed. OUCH… I immediately gave him Arnica and he recovered from it very quickly. In that case I gave him an extra dose a few hours later.

Our pets cannot tell us how they feel, so we have to watch for signs carefully. Running in dog sports, they can get a mild injury that we may not notice for a while. I have a massage therapist that works on my dogs who would find mild injuries from time to time. When I began giving them Arnica 30C after a long day of competition, the sore muscles and misalignments usually found were minimized greatly.

Once when I was running at a competition indoors, I was knocked down and hurt my ribs. We were running on a dirt surface that was not very forgiving. When I stood up, the pain was pretty strong.  Since I have never broken a bone, I had no idea if it was broken…I just knew it hurt to breathe. Luckily, I had my kit with me as I try to take it with me on all my travels. I took Arnica 30C right away, but it still hurt a lot. I told a friend about my concern, and she said, there is one way to know. Lie down. You will know by the pain you feel. OH my…

I considered going to the doctor.  I could not lie down until I got home several hours later. When I did, I felt it POP and saw stars. Luckily it was momentary, and I was back to the pain I felt earlier that day. It felt like I had knocked a rib out of place, (and my chiropractor confirmed it at my next appointment).

Dr Luc has a protocol that he wrote about for a serious injury like that, and I followed it. Take Arnica 30C, then four hours later Arnica 200C, then another four hours Arnica 1M.  I actually made a mistake and followed it backwards, I used 1M first. It still worked like a charm! The pain was minimized the next day, and by the following weekend, I was back to running again, with very mild discomfort. I saw a light discoloration on my skin that could have been a bruise. A few days later it was gone.

I unfortunately had the opportunity over the last two years to try the protocol 3 more times. Sprained ankle, pulled leg muscle while running, and the last incident happened when I was visiting my grandchildren in Kentucky. I was playing soccer with my granddaughter and slipped on the grass and fell. I thought I was ok, but I bruised my big toe…and I had forgotten to take my travel kit with me! I tried to forget about it, but a few hours later my foot swelled up so I could barely get my shoe on, and I could only put pressure on my heel when I walked.

It was the night before Thanksgiving, and stores were closed the next day. Thankfully a local health food store was still open, and my incredibly helpful husband drove me in the freezing rain to find it. (He told me to write that!) They had Arnica 200C. I took it right away, and took a dose every 6 hours for the first two days. By the second day the swelling was gone, and on day 3 and 4 I took the remedy twice a day. I was walking normally again by the fourth day. By the following week I was able to dance in my Zumba class and run with my dogs.

I think I will remember to have Arnica with me next time!

-- Marie --

Further Reading:

Arnica:  Natural Relief During Pregnancy And Childbirth

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Marie is a regular columnist on Mind Body Thoughts.  She writes the Natural Healing Gal monthly column.  This article is written by Marie.

To learn more about her and see all her other articles, go to Marie's Page, Natural Healing Gal.

Check her page out to see the Medical Disclaimer

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Marie

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Father's Touch, Part 2

This is part 2 of a series in reviewing the impact of the book, Father's Touch, by Donald D'haene. Please see PART 1 for the beginning of the review.

Here are the links to all three parts of this book review.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

In this part of the book review, I'm going to pull out various passages that stood out to me and connected deeply within me. I'll try to share how they impacted my mind at the time I read them.

1) Blew them to smithereens

“Mother told us to tell her if it happened again, but she couldn’t stop the game from happening. Father kept a shotgun in the pantry. On several occasions, he blew our favorite pets to smithereens. We knew enough not to get papa angry.” (page 99)

Wow, this hit me like a ton of bricks dropped from the world's tallest building. If you know anything about my own story, you know that I witnessed my cats being killed. I am haunted by their screams to this day and if anyone dares to hurt an animal, you have no place in this world in my eyes. Even my dog that I had was shot at and to the day she died, the Veternarian that spent the final hours with her could still see the buckshot lodged in her legs. There were other stories that involved one of our sheep, my brother's little dog, a cat I had while I was gone to college and probably too many more that I cannot even keep track of. In all cases, my father either got mad at the animals or thought they were getting too much of our affection or just wanted to teach us a lesson. You see, animals to me were always sacred and seeing something I truly loved and that loved me in return be hurt or killed made me into a believer that if I did something to upset my father, it may be me that was hurt or killed. As a child, I dreamed of a day when the pets would rise up against the humans and go kick some serious butt! In those moments, I knew my father would be one of the first to get his butt kicked.


2) Block them out of my mind

"Fellow Christians believed in placing negative experiences behind them through the practice of prayer and positive thinking. Putting my path behind me seemed far easier than dealing with the dysfunction within my family. We certainly had troubles and I wanted to make them disappear. I did have bad memories, but they only showed up in the reels that played in my mind. New experiences were added to that memory bank daily. The only way I could feel better was to make believe each situation was non-existent. Each would be assigned a fresh reel." (page 140)

This part gets me on a couple different sides. In church we were just supposed to forgive and forget and be happy people in Jesus. While I know many people find solace in that, it is hard to be happy in Jesus when your father is abusing you and telling you that this is what God wants him to do. It seemed like those that wanted to abuse me could do whatever they wanted and then go pray and ask forgiveness for it. In addition to the church and the people who just turned their heads and closed their eyes, my dad was into the Norman Vincent Peale books that basically you were just supposed to think happy. I'll tell you, it is hard to be truly happy when your life is being ripped apart fiber by fiber. The only thing I could do during this time was escape into a world that I would hardly remember and act as if nothing was going on. I became a good actor in life. For if I didn't hide all that was going on, you can sure as bet, father's rage would be waiting for you.


3) Am I really going to charge him?

"In my bed this night, the peace of sleep eludes me. Am I really going to charge my father with something that isn't real to me? Life with Daniel seemed to last an eternity, but I can't remember my father's face, how he felt, or the sound of his voice. I wanted to force him out of my mind, and I did. However, why are the home-movie reels so vivid? How do I conjure up such images and yet feel nothing? It happened to my other self. I know it did." (page 156)

Even though I know what happened and even though I have indisputable evidence of these events, my mind loves to play tricks with me. My mind likes to minimize all that I went through and say, this really wasn't that bad. Being raped isn't such a bad thing after all. And yet, most people would cringe at hearing these words and in reality for most of my life, this was normal. I have had to stand on my own in what I remember and in the failings of my mind to piece my life back together. I remember one attorney that really wanted to me to take my father to court but at the time, I did not want to endure the torture that it would put me through. Now, I'm at a different point and the thought of taking him to court has crossed my mind more than once. I'm not the weak little boy that he once knew and he is no longer the big mean monster that I always hid from in fear.


4) Touch makes my skin crawl

"I can't stand being touched by men or women. Especially if someone comes from behind and touches me before I know who it is. Oooh! It makes my skin crawl - I don't know why. Is that stupid or what? The fact that I don't like being touched is kind of sad to me. But just talking about it helps." (page 195)

For a long time, if anyone got close to me, let alone tried to touch me my skin would crawl like ants running up and down my body. That may sound gross but for a long time in life, I would constantly check my skin to see if there were bugs on it. It took a great deal of courage and strength for me to go to massage school and learn to be touched. It was agonizing at first but now after the deep healing work I have done on my body, touch is something I welcome. Of course, my body is very sensitive to touch and so what some may consider extremely light body work is indeed very deep work to me. It does not take much for me to get a tremendous amount from just a light touch. My body was taught to fear and avoid touch but since I have been reclaiming that part of me, I'm finding there is a world that is so healing and so beautiful and full of compassion.


5) Healing has no graduation class

"The truth is that the path I chose is one of the reasons that I am alive today. I found my way of surviving. I want to continue my journey of self discovery, but there is no graduation class, no point where the past means nothing. My experiences and choices have molded and shaped a character that is truly unique. I believe that if every victim were to experience the awakening I have, he would find the world is not such a bad place to inhabit. I have an awareness, a sixth sense that cannont be bought, taught, or taken away from me." (page 288)

I so love this part of Donald's book because I find it so true. To many times I have been told by others that they hope I get to the point where I have moved on. I've heard this in so many ways from so many and while it is a nice thought, my life is about going further into discovery and awareness. I want to reclaim all parts of myself no matter how difficult it is. I want to become more aware and more conscious of who I am. In my view, healing from trauma or child sexual abuse does not have an end point or as Donald says, "graduation class." It is a journey and while the journey may put time and space between the events and where an individual is at in their life, future consciousness is what matters. The more we become aware of all parts of ourself, the more we are human. Often these journeys of recovery occur over many years and they come and go as tides crashing on to a short. There may be periods of rest and then there may be periods of hard work but all of it is connected to each other. The more I journey into the land of the unknown and fear, the more I discover parts of myself that I never knew existed. That to me is the greatest single joy which can never be taken away from me.



Please come back tomorrow for part 3 of the book review of "Father's Touch" by Donald D'haene.

Click here to Purchase the book on Amazon, Father's Touch.



(c) 11/9/10 by Don Shetterly - use by permission only

What Should I Expect When I Book a Reading?

(Written by A Happy Medium, Amanda)


A lot of people ask me this question, or tell me at the end that they had no idea what to expect from their reading. Most often, they are pleasantly surprised when they come in with no expectations and really enjoy the experience.

Maybe you've been to a carnival and gone into a psychic tent and had a reading. Maybe you thought it was nothing to write home about. Maybe you've been watching the well-known mediums on TV like Tyler Henry, John Edwards or Theresa Caputo and you are intrigued about what Spirit may have to say to you, or maybe you think it's all a bunch of garbage and you want to go to someone just to test them out.

Choosing A Reader

Choose someone who resonates with you. Check out their website and social media platforms. Maybe they are doing readings online so you can get a feel for their style of readings. Trust your gut when you choose your reader. Don't be afraid to call them up and ask them how they work.

If I use myself as an example and you call me about a reading, I will tell you that I am a clairaudient medium (meaning I "hear" my information from Spirit). My specialty is mediumship readings, so I mostly work in the past and the present.

If you are looking for a concrete future reading (though readings are not concrete at all - free will!), I may not be the reader for you. I might refer you to someone else or advise you to seek out a reader who works with Tarot or other divination platforms.

If you are looking for future readings from me, I can tell you how I feel about situations or possibilities, but I always reinforce that you have so much free will and that you are in charge of your life. For example, I can tell you traits about your children and the directions I feel they may go in their lives, but I can't really "predict" what they're going to do with their lives. They have so many choices to make!

When booking a reader, don't tell them too much about yourself or motivation for booking unless they ask. I prefer to be kept in the dark so I can do the work myself!

Once you are happy with the reader, their rate and you've booked an appointment, now you should be setting the intentions around your reading.

Setting Intentions

I can only speak for myself as a reader here because I use my own style when I bring in the energy. When you're booking with a medium, you generally have a purpose in mind. Maybe you are looking to hear from someone close to you who has passed away. Perhaps you are looking for clarity in your next steps or whether the decisions you are making now are the correct ones for you at this time. Maybe you need to ask about the lessons you are meant to learn now.

Think about your reading carefully and what you want to draw in. Jot down a few questions you want to ask. If you want your grandmother to come through, ask her to come to your reader. In this action, the reader will actually have an easier time picking up the information.

I am usually able to get the "red herring" (the reason my client has come) and the energies they most want to hear from. The reading is YOUR experience, so I want to make sure you own it and get as much out of it as you can.

Arriving For Your Reading

There's a lot of pre-work on the reader's behalf that goes into a reading. Please arrive on time. Take a few deep breaths in the car to ground and center your energy before you come in. Open your mind and be prepared for anything.

I can only speak for myself in what you see when you come in the room for a reading with me, but I assure you my house is completely normal. I do work a professional job and live a very normal lifestyle. I like to create a safe and comfortable atmosphere for my readings.

When you come in, you will see two chairs and a table in between. On the table I have candles, a salt lamp, various stones and usually an oracle deck spread out and at the ready.

You will probably smell sage. I burn sage to clear my space prior to readings. Let your reader know if you are allergic to pets (I have two cats in my house that like to be present for readings) or are averse to the smell of burnt sage. We have workarounds for the smells and can probably put our pets away for the duration of the reading.

I offer my client a glass of water before we start and give them my intro about myself and the opportunity to ask any questions before we begin and then we are off to the races!

I generally channel for my clients before they come, so I always have a notebook with a few items jotted down as a place to start and we go from there.

Making The Most Of Your Reading

It's YOUR experience!

Please don't feel like you have to hold back information from your reader to "test" them. If you are coming in with the belief and intention that readers are a bunch of crap and that we won't get anything, guess what? That's what you'll manifest.

If you come in open and willing to hear the messages, it will be a positive experience all around. If you're going to block the reader just save your time and theirs and don't book until you are open and willing to receive information. I am not here to meet your expectations, but to deliver the information you need at this point in time.

I encourage my clients to stop me and ask questions whenever they like. If we are going somewhere in the reading you don't want to go, let me know and we will change course. This is your experience and I want you to get what you need from it.

Some information received may not make sense and you may need to refer back. Bring a pad to take notes. Alternatively, a lot of readers (myself included) will allow you to record the reading so you can refer back to it later. Things might make more sense once you've had time to reflect on them.

Keep an open mind and have fun!

The more open you are and the higher the vibration, the greater the experience will be. Keep it light.

Remember that readings are not intended to be something to base serious decisions on. They are for entertainment and may open the way to beautiful messages from your loved ones and a different perspective on your life.

My goal is to have you leave feeling empowered, inspired, refreshed and on course.

Take care until next time!

 - Amanda (A Happy Medium)

Read all of Amanda's Columnist Posts

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Amanda

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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NO Place For Animal Abuse

One of the things I grew up with in my life as a kid was seeing just how animals were treated if they weren't 100% obedient.  Please note though that obedience may not mean what you think it was.  Of course, we as kids weren't treated any better.  Obedience meant you did whatever the "masters" wanted at any point in time, even if it meant one thing in one moment and something else in the next.

Time and time again I heard and witnessed the phrase "I'll Teach Them A Lesson" by members of my family.  In this post, I'm more speaking out for the animals.  If the dog or cats didn't do exactly what some member of the family thought they should do, they were disciplined and taught a lesson.

These lessons were taught in the way of the cats being hurled up into the air as they went sailing out the front door.  More severe lessons were taught by closing the cats in the basement door or drowning them in a river.    Of course there was the normal beatings that they would get in my house for just about anything.  A cat in my house didn't dare jump up on a table or counter.  That was like a major sin unto God.  Apparently God condoned this type of behavior in our house.

The dogs were not immune to the lessons either.  Shoes would be thrown at the dogs, or they would be held by the collar while they were beaten and kicked for whatever crime they committed.  Sometimes they would be locked up for a long time in the garage and tied to a chain to show them just who was boss.  Its important to note that we were not supposed to go out and see the dog until the imposed sentence was served.  I would sneak out and take the dog part of my meal and water.  Heck, the dogs would even be shot at as they ran down the road.  If all else failed, it was up to our father (the patriarch) of the family to have my younger brother go out and shoot his dog because he didn't like the dog.

Bully In The House

This was my life.  I grew up in a home where the bully was in charge.  The one that said, you must believe what I say or get out.  The one that thought their way was all that mattered or it was the highway.

There was no dissent.  There was no thought about dissent.  There were many threats if you even thought about telling anyone the secrets taking place in the house.

If the threats were not enough, you watched as your pets were killed and your body was whacked with beatings and pain.  You hunkered down as the violence happened and the yelling intensified.

I grew up in this home where you either believed and thought and talked like the bully of the house wanted or you were nothing in their eyes.  If you didn't do as they wanted, you were outcast.  You were shunned.  You were given the silent treatment.

There wasn't just one bully either.  There were two.  The second felt as if I was the physical punching bag he needed.  He was bigger than me and weighed almost twice as much.  I still remember his knees jumping up and down on my shoulder as he pinned me to the ground.

Both bullies molested me and raped me and made me hate myself.  It was the house I grew up in.  I despise bullies.  I despise child molesters and rapists.

The bullies used their church and the bible and their God to torment me, and keep me in line.  It kept me silent.  They used the teachings of Jesus to proclaim to me that they did these things to show God's love to me.  They were bullies.

They brainwashed me to think that everyone else was wrong and should be despised and talked about and shunned.  I grew up learning this and seeing it in action, even as they took time out to pray to God, read their bibles and preach love.

It is easy to say not all people are like that, but when you've been through what I have, you see that those words fall short.  For you see what truly lies in a person's actions and words.  You see evidence of it every day with grandstanding, but no matter what, the bullies are still alive and kicking.

I grew up in a house where I didn't know who I was and love was something that was proclaimed, but I knew very little about it from the example I was shown.  You wouldn't have been able to convince the bullies of this.  For they thought they were self-righteous and honorable and the best loving human of all times.  They were the greatest in their own eyes and they made sure everyone knew it.

Little do they realize as they continue to practice their hatred of those who don't bow down and worship at their feet, that I no longer participate in their bullying practices.  I no longer wish to allow them to rule over me.

Yes, it means that I no longer live in that house or talk with the bullies.  It means that I am blazing my own path.  Yet, I see time and time again, evidence throughout our land that the bullies I grew up with are present everywhere I go.

It takes more than words and actions.  That's all a bully has to defy human existence and love.  A bully will convince you they are not a bully, but if you believe that, you will sacrifice your own soul in the quest for life and for your soul's existence.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Sometimes We Fall Flat On Our Face

It happens to me!  I wish it didn't and I wish I was far enough beyond it sometimes.  However, sometimes I just fall flat on my face.

Yes, I know - that it is what we do with that after we fall flat on our face that matters.  Picking ourselves up and inserting any appropriate cliche' is how we focus.  Yet, when we fall flat, sometimes the bruises hurt.

I won't go into specifics here, but if you want to know more, read the blog post, Triggered By My Cats, from yesterday and it will give you a better idea.  It is one of my all time difficult triggers that actually was the moment where Conversion Disorder fully showed up in me.  It took me years to discover and understand that!

I'm doing better than I was yesterday.  Yesterday, it was overwhelming to me.  Yesterday it engulfed every bit of my being, my brain, my body, and my emotions.  The trigger left me standing there numbed and disconnected, angry and enraged. It blinded me with confusion.  It pushed me to hide far away from anyone and everyone.

How quickly it happened...

I felt flat on my face.  Just as I was making it and gaining ground, it hit me.  It frightens me to think of how fast it struck and how quickly it happened.  It frightens me to know that it lurks around the corner, just waiting to pounce.

I feel helpless when it appears. I feel as if I don't even have a split second to try and contain it or think about it differently.  It is a major trigger.  It slapped me hard.  And yet - I've done so much work on this, but it sneaked up from behind and attacked me.

We pick up the pieces...

Yes, I've healed.  I've come a long ways.  I post this, not out of a desire for sympathy, but to help others see that sometimes we just fall flat on our face.  And that's OK!  Yes, its okay to fall flat on our face.  We just have to pick up the pieces tomorrow and do what we need to do to keep going.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it and put some happy thought or meme in place to say if I think this way or that way, its magically better.  I recognize and realize, that this too is part of my healing, as difficult as it gets at time.  Healing is an ongoing process.

I'm writing this just to let others know that you're not alone when you fall flat on your face.  Yes, it may feel that way.  Yes, you may temporarily forget everything you've learned and lose site of how much you have healed.  That's all normal that this moment.

However, just look for the rope at the top of the cliff and try to reach out for it, grabbing it one hand hold at a time.  Use it to pull yourself back up.  Most likely there will be someone up there steadying the rope and offering help as you struggle to climb back up the cliff.

Don't lose hope if you've fallen flat on your face because sometimes it is what happens.  It's the point where we hopefully get to heal another piece of our life.  Just don't lose hope!

#Pets

 

 

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Horses, Buck and My Animal Connections

I was watching the documentary once again about the horse whisperer.  The title of this film is "Buck" and is about the life of Buck Brannaman as he teaches horse clinics and people about the greater truths in life.  I've hardly ever ridden a horse, but I can tell just how much Buck understands the finer parts of life.

Growing up most of my life I have been around animals from dogs, cats to chickens, sheep, and pigs.  My college undergraduate degree is in Animal Science and at one time I wanted to be a veterinarian.  Due to grades not being quite high enough in my undergraduate and financial limitations, I did not pursue this area.  However, I spent considerable time working on and managing big farms.

To this day I still love the animals, although I don't live in a situation where I can be close to them.  There is nothing more rewarding and joyful than to have hundreds of animals that can't wait to come up and greet you.  There has never been an animal that I was afraid of or could not be around.  Somehow I always found a way to make friends with them and do things that most people could not do.

Piano Meditation Music

Meditation - the moments you spend in solitude and silence with reflection and a listening ear. Yet, these moments sometimes seem to me to be one of the hardest things to embrace in any given day. Between everything that is going on and all that I need to get done, the minutes fly by.

Today as I was sitting there playing my piano, I thought back to all the days that this has been a constant in my life. No matter how difficult the days or the events got in my life, there was always the piano. In fact, between the piano and my pets, I can always find life's center with these things. When nothing else in life gives me a moment of peace or stillness, I always have my piano.

When I was a child, my house was never dull and quiet. There were constant times of screaming, yelling and criticizing. In addition to that, love, touch and companionship, were shown to us in ways that were abusive, harmful and full of evil. It was in those moments, that the only thing I could do was to find a way to escape. For I could not deal with what was taking place at that time and it was not like I could just run away from the situation. There was no place to run to and no place to hide.

During these times, I would turn to my piano and play the songs that I so loved. Most of these were church hymns and choruses because that is all I knew and about all I was ever allowed to work with. Their easy melodies and harmonies along with the gentle and peaceful words found in the verses of the songs, made for some beautiful moments of connectedness for my life.

Today as I was playing some of these songs, I noticed that the pain and turmoil of the past are brought up within the notes. For the pain and turmoil was as much a connection for me to these songs as the peaceful moments were. And while the pain and turmoil is sometimes still overwhelming to me, there is a side of these songs that takes me into a space unlike any other. It is a place of deepness, far removed from this world.

One could say it is a place of meditation or spirituality but to me it goes much deeper than that. It is very hard to describe. I know I have read that Yanni talks about going into a black space when he creates. I'm sure what he is talking about and what I'm talking about are our own similar experiences with this. I'm sure each artist knows first hand what this space is.

It is a beautiful place to be and travel into. It does give me the opportunity to be deep in meditation. To me, meditation is not only about sitting cross legged in silence. It is much more that that. Meditation is a deep connection to what is not readily seen or heard. I'm always amazed at just how much insight, awareness and communication I receive when I'm deep in the meditative moments of playing my piano and creating.

May you find those deep moments within yourself that give you reset, renewal and a different outlook. May your own meditation bring you deeper within yourself.

While I don't record most of what I play in these moments, some of the music has made it on to my CD's of relaxing piano music from the heart. This music often comes out of those times and sound clips can be found on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify.

For More Information on Don Shetterly, Visit his website at http://www.donshetterly.com


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Living A Disconnected Life

Hello?  Is anyone there?  Okay, you're here, but are you alive?  Are you present and connected?  You say, "Yes, I am here and connected," but are you really?

You see, we tend to keep ourselves so busy in a day.  Its far easier that way because then we don't have to feel.  You know, feel all the stress and torment we've experience in life or feel all the stress from the weight of responsibilities in life that we have.  Its easier to just not feel.

If we begin to feel, sometimes life gets too overwhelming and we look for the mind numbing escape routes.  We sure do have those escape routes.  It is part of being human in a human body, but when we numb out, we're not being human.

Hear the birds sing....

In the course of your day, how often do you just go outside and feel the sun upon your face, or hear a bird sing?  How often do you just notice your breath and stop in stillness for 30 seconds?  How often do you immerse yourself in nature or just take a moment and watch your pets run and play through the house?

We tend to go on Facebook or Twitter constantly during the day and night.  Yes, they are designed to keep you engaged, but the mind and the eyes and the body need a rest.  They don't need to stay this engaged all the time.  It is not healthy.  It is living a disconnected life.

We engage in the latest political gossip of our day, making it our life's purpose to set those straight that disagree with us.  We know that it is our responsibility to do this which is true to a point, but at some point, we lose the limits of life.  We become disconnected in life chasing down the lowest form of discourse.

Often we don't read what we share or pass on through social media.  We just like and click.  Granted there is far too much out there in a day to read, but it doesn't stop us from being part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.  We mindlessly forward and share all that comes our way, not stopping to realize just how much we are living a disconnected life.

Fail to stay engaged with family...

We go home and our families and children and friends become something we chat with when we have little else we're doing.  We fail to stay engaged and keep them in the loop of our life, thereby alienating them from what is happening with our life.  We just assume they know how much they mean to us, but we fail to communicate this to them.  After all, we are living a disconnected life.

We dish out memes to those around us hoping to make them feel like we appreciate them, but our words often fall short.  There is no true feeling and connection in the meme, but it doesn't stop us from allowing it to take our place in the relationship we have with those we care about and love.  Living in a disconnected life keeps us from seeing what it is we actually do to others we care about and love.

Not everything is worthy of our time...

Not everything that happens in the news is worthy of our time.  Not everything that others expect from us is an expectation we should put on our self.  Not everything that we think is important is as important as we think it is.

Taking care of ourselves and learning how to stop and smell the roses is far more important than all the hundreds of tasks you try to do in a day.  It is more important than all the likes and shares on social media.  Taking care of yourself is far more important than being engaged with the latest tirades from the news-makers of the day.

Living a connected life should be what we should strive for in our years.  Connecting with our mind and body, learning to stop and enjoy life or just taking a moment to truly connect with others; this should be on our list of goals.  If you're living a disconnected life, you've lost site of what being human is and its taking you on a dead-end road to nowhere.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

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Valentines Day Facts and Trivia

I know Valentine's Day is coming up and I just found some cool facts and trivia that you may or may not know. If there are any guys out there that are reading this, just know that on Monday, February 14, 2011, the day is here! So don't say you haven't heard about this. :)

I'm not saying you have to spend a lot of money but see if you can't find something special to do for the one or ones you love. Showing love to anyone does not have to be about spending money! It is the thought that counts and there are a million and one ways to show how much you love or care for someone.



Americans celebrate Valentine's Day by doing the following.
- 65% give greeting cards
- 44% have a date night
- 38% give candy
- 32% give flowers
- 29% give Gift Cards
- 17% give various miscellaneous gifts
- 12% give Perfume or Cologne
- 11% give jewelry


Valentines Day Facts and Trivia:
1) One billion cards are sent on Valentine's Day - Second only to Christmas.
2) Of people buying flowers, approximately 70% are men and 30% are women.
3) 15% of women send themselves flowers on Valentine's Day.
4) 189 million stems of roses are sold on this day in the US.
5) California produces 60% of the US roses but most are imported for this Day.
6) In 1868, Richard Cadbury sold the first Valentine's Day box of chocolates.
7) 64% of US men do not make advance romantic plans for Valentine's Day.
8) More than $1 Billion worth of chocolate is purchased on this day in the US.
9) More than 35 million heart shaped boxes are sold on Valentine's Day.
10) About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's gifts to their pets.
11) In 2010, consumers spent approximately $103 on Valentine's Day.
12) Men spend almost twice as much on Valentine's Day as women do.
13) More than one-third of men would prefer not receiving a gift.
14) Children between 6 to 10 years old give more than 650 million cards.
15) Over 50% of cards are purchased in the six days prior to Valentine's Day.
16) Teachers receive the most Valentine's Day cards.
17) To be awoken by a kiss on Valentine's Day is considered lucky.
18) The heart is the most common symbol of romantic love.
19) Ancient cultures believed the human soul lived in the heart.
20) The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
21) Valentine's Day is the most popular day for marriage proposals.
22) In Victorian times, it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine's Card.
23) Valentine's Day is believed to have begun in France and England.
24) Alexander Bell applied for his telephone patent on Valentine's Day 1876.
25) Hallmark produced its first Valentine Day Card in 1913.


Most of all, I hope that whatever you decide to do on Valentine's Day with whoever means so much to you, that it will come from the deepest place in your heart. Remember, love is not about spending money and buying gifts. Those things can be a reflection of love but keep it in perspective. It is those surprise gifts that are created out of thought, energy and love that mean so much to those around us.

Happy Valentine's Day..

Enjoy, love and live!


Sources of Information:

1) Fun Facts About Valentine's Day
2) Valentine Day Fact
3) Valentine's Day Trivia
4) Weird Things You Didn't Know About Valentine's Day
5) Valentine's Day Fun Fact
6) Valentines Day Facts
7) Valentine's Day Facts And Trivia
8) 10 Fun Valentine's Day Facts


If you're looking for music to spend that romantic day with the person you love or just relax and chill, check out my relaxing piano music that comes directly from the heart. Available on most major retailers to purchase CD's or download mp3's. iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Rhapsody, Cdbaby.com























Blog Post & Images (c) 2/5/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com