As many of you know, two weeks ago we suddenly lost one of our beautiful fur babies. While we are deeply saddened by this, we are feeling so grateful to have had this fur baby in our lives for the time we did. For those of you that are wondering, through an autopsy we found out he was missing 70% of his brain. Incredibly, only 30% of brain was there and the rest was water. The vet was astounded he had lived at all, let alone for eight months. He wanted to know what on Earth we did that he was able to keep going (lots of love, healing and essences). His days were always numbered and we are lucky that we got to take care of him for his short little life. Losing a pet is never easy. It can be just as heartbreaking as any human loss and how we move through such challenges can have a huge impact on quality of life, not just in the short run but it can impact us long after the loss occurred.

Dealing with grief, honoring the life that was, healing from loss, and moving forward with hope in such times can seem almost impossible. We may not know where to turn or who or what to turn to for support. In my recent experience, I was guided once again back to nature. In nature, cycles of life and death are constant. Trees and plants lose leaves everyday. Flowers die every winter. There is a constant flow of life in and out of this Universe that is intimately reflected in nature. Nature is a great teacher for us in such times. Its infinite wisdom regarding life and death can help us move into greater acceptance and find our inner balance once again. On a psycho-spiritual level, certain flowers carry the very vibrations that can help move us into alignment during such times. The consciousness of key gemstones can help bring us greater understanding and acceptance of the inevitable cycles of life. Having a tool for healing support during tragedy, loss, crisis, and grief can make all the difference in coping in a healthy way, so that one comes through the painful experience with strength and a sense of renewal.

Reflecting on this through a series of recent losses, especially this most recent one, made me realize that I left out a very important Transitions™ Companion Essence: Hope™. Shanti Kai’s™ Hope Blend is formulated around the Gardenia family, uplifting and inspiring, promoting gentleness and peace. It also has many healing gemstones that inspire wisdom, help open the crown chakra (our connection to divinity and all that is), and the belief in infinite possibility. Every time I find myself feeling overwhelmed with sadness and/or grief I have been using these essences.

From my own experience, I recommend spraying the legs and spine with Transitions™ and the third eye, crown, heart chakra and navel with Hope™. I do not find it necessary to wait in between use. I spray Transitions™ first and follow immediately with Hope™. I remind myself to be grateful for all the precious moments I had with my sweet little friend and to keep moving forward, hopeful about the future and with increasing awareness of how precious life is and how much we need to cherish all the love we have each and every day.

After working with these two products for a while, I began to rotate Transitions™ and Transformation™ (instead of Hope™) to help shift my experience from one of loss into the new perspective and wisdom I’ve gained from the experience, and into a more expanded awareness and consciousness. I hope most of you are not currently in need of these products, but as we all experience loss at some point, when you do they are here for you.

Tips on working with Transitions™ Companion Essences for Moving Through Grief and Loss

1. Spray the legs and spine with Transitions™. Specifically, I like to spray backs of knees, and tailbone first and sometimes rotate in hips, thighs and calves. Shake the bottle before spraying to activate ingredients. 2-3 sprays is really all that is needed but 6-8 allows you to cover more areas which can have a revitalizing or stimulating effect.
2. Spray the third eye, crown, heart chakra and navel with Hope™, again shaking the bottle before use. (I sometimes alternate these areas with spraying the backs of the kidneys.)
3. Close your eyes for a moment and take a few deep breaths, focusing on a nice deep inhalation through the nose, filling up the diaphragm, holding for a few moments at the top of the breath and then slowly exhaling out through the mouth. Repeat as many times as needed or desired, but at least three times.
4. Become aware of shifts in your body such as: lengthening in the spine, a feeling of lightness or floating, feeling weighted or heavy or as if you are wearing body armor in certain places, temperature fluctuations, tingling or goosebumps, the need to stretch or shift postures, movement in the neck, and/or any other shifting sensation in the body. All of these are signs of releasing and are perfectly normal and natural.
5. Focus for a few minutes on something positive. It can be helpful to lovingly acknowledge the person, pet, or object of your loss or offer a quick thought or prayer of gratitude before shifting your attention forward to a new and different focus. It can be something as simple as calling a friend, taking a walk, or something larger like taking a vacation, plans to renovate, or a new idea for work… It really doesn’t matter, as long as it brings your thoughts forward and out of the pain of the past.
6. If you choose, you can repeat a mantra or affirmation.
   1. If you have a mantra you work with regularly, such as Om Namah Shivaya or Shanti Om, you can repeat this here, or you may choose to use something such as “Be still and know that I am God” Or “I am”. If repeating a mantra, it helps to synchronize the repetition with the inhale and exhale such as inhale: Shanti, exhale: Om, Repeat nine times.
   2. Another option would be to create a healing affirmation such as “I move forward in peace, counting the blessings in each day” or “I peacefully accept the flow of life and move forward with hope.” Again synching words with breath and repeating nine or more times. It really doesn’t matter what the affirmation is as long as it resonates with you. (Note: It is never a good idea to use an affirmation that someone else has created if it does not feel completely right to you, as this will only create agitation and bring up underlying resistance).
7. Transition out of this exercise by creating a interim activity such as taking a quick walk, or performing some sort of activity to create space from the emotional overwhelm you may have been experiencing. For instance, if you were working at your computer, one suggestion would be to go outside and take a brief walk.
8. Return to your activity with a sense of renewal and focus, repeating this exercise as frequently as is necessary: every 15, 30 or 60 minutes until you are in a better mental or emotional space.
9. If you cannot take the 5-10 minutes necessary to complete all the steps of this exercise, then just use the sprays, close your eyes for a few breaths, and repeat as many times as needed at regular time intervals until symptoms have subsided.

Again, we hope you are not in need of these exercises, but if you are we hope our products may make things more bearable.

Here are a few testimonials from some of our customers.

Transitions Essence

“Having gone through a long drawn out and painful divorce and unable to sell our house, I felt very stuck and unable to move forward. I bought Transitions spray from Jayme after a private session. I carried it with me all the time and also sprayed it around my home. I felt like it got everything moving and I started to see ways around things that weren’t apparent to me before.” -A.M.

“This essence, when used along with Emerald Light, has been so powerful for helping me to curb overeating. When I’m craving something that I know isn’t going to make me feel good, or I have an urge to keep eating when I’m not hungry, I take these one right after the other and the urge disappears. Amazing amazing products!” -Anna

“This one self explanatory and I’ve just started working with it for clients to help ease them into what ever transition they may be going through on any level.” -Kim

“Several days ago I fell. My right toe caught in a lamp cord and I fell flat. Stretching my right calf a lot. I was pulling books off of my shelves to begin composing the workshop I plan to start soon. Of course my first thought was that I had to stop and give up because once again I had too many obstacles. Then after 2 days of spraying my muscle with transitions I suddenly got the insight that my right leg muscle was being stretched so that I could step out on my path.” -Molly

Hope Esssence

“When I lost a student of mine in a sudden tragedy I was devastated. I was so deeply affected. Everyone was coming to me for support and to be the strong one, and I could barely get thru the day myself. I took several drops of Hope every 15 minutes when my emotions became really intense. This is the only thing that got me thru.” -J.R.

“Helps me ward off feelings of discouragement and impatience. Helps me feel lighter and more content/hopeful.” -Allison

“I get tension headaches and as this was the only essence I had, I tried spraying it on my forehead, back of neck, and temples to see if it helped. Anyway I tried this and sure enough it worked! First time it worked right away, but for recurring stress headaches sometimes I need to stay on it longer. Anyway whyever it works, I’m very grateful for this essence.” -Mary