Hi and welcome to Still Connected,
Finding a way back to life with pet loss and grief.
My name is Biggie,
I'm a dog trainer and among other things a grief coach for pet loss.
And I don't teach this from a theoretical perspective but from deep personal experience.
In June 2024,
I lost my sole dog Charlie who had been by my side for 13 years.
And like many people,
I had to slowly learn what it means to keep living while carrying that kind of loss.
So if you are here now,
Something inside you may already be shifting very quietly,
Not away from your grief,
But perhaps towards something alongside it,
A sense that your connection hasn't disappeared,
Even if it has changed.
This meditation is here to support you in that space,
Not to move you on,
But to help you stay connected to yourself,
To your body,
And to the bond with your animal companion that remains.
Find a place where your body can rest a little,
Sitting,
Lying down,
Whatever feels right for you.
Let your hands rest.
They don't need to do anything,
Nothing to hold and nothing to fix.
And if it feels safe,
Allow your eyes to close or simply soften your gaze.
There is nowhere else you need to be right now.
Begin by noticing your breath.
No need to change or control it,
Just notice.
Breathe in,
And out again.
And maybe,
Just maybe,
You can let the out breath be a tiny bit longer than the in breath.
As if slowly letting go of something you've been carrying for a long time.
In.
Now bring your attention to your body.
Again,
Not to change anything,
Only to be present with it.
What's here for you right now?
Perhaps a sense of heaviness,
A quiet ache somewhere,
Or a sense of emptiness where once there was your beloved animal companion.
But there could also be just a little more space around whatever you feel than there was in the past.
Perhaps a little more space than you felt in the last months,
Even if only for a moment.
Whatever is here is allowed to be here.
Nothing about your experience needs to be changed.
And if you can,
Imagine that your attention is resting beside what you feel,
Rather than inside it.
Beside your grief,
Beside your pain,
Your guilt,
Your anger,
Or whatever is here for you right now.
As if you're sitting on the shore,
And your emotions are the ocean.
The waves may still rise,
They may still move through you.
But you are not caught up inside them.
You are not lost in them.
You are here,
Now,
Breathing,
Present.
And now,
Let your animal companion come to mind.
Not by forcing an image,
Not by trying to remember perfectly,
Just allowing a sense of them to appear in whatever way they choose to come to you today.
It may be clear,
An image,
A sensation,
An emotion,
Or it may be subtle.
There is no right way for them to be here.
Just allow what comes up for you.
And notice what happens in your body as they are present in your awareness.
Maybe there is warmth somewhere,
Or an ache in your heart space or your belly.
Maybe both warmth and ache are present at the same time.
Let everything be as it is.
And just notice this.
What you are touching here is not only a memory.
It's a relationship.
It's a bond that has not disappeared,
But changed its form.
Stay with this sense of connection for a little while longer.
Sense them.
Being with you.
Not as they were in the past,
And not as something you have to recreate,
But as the essence of your connection.
The part of them that knew you,
Trusted you,
Lived alongside you.
You don't need to do anything with this.
Just let it be here.
In whatever way it arrives.
You might notice that grief is still present.
And that something else can be present too.
A sense of connection.
The love you have for them.
The familiarity you still share.
These things are not separate.
Grief and love are woven together.
Intricately.
Inseparably.
Grief is one way of connecting.
Love continues to move through you when it no longer has its old place to go to.
Let it be there.
Let it settle into you.
Give it space.
Now bring your attention back to your breath.
In.
In.
Out.
And as you breathe,
Imagine that each inhale carries a sense of their presence.
And each exhale creates a little more space inside you.
For grief and love to exist together in that shared space.
You do not have to leave your animal behind in order to continue living.
Your connection is not something that has ended.
It is something you are learning to carry in a new way.
As you keep moving through your life,
You're carrying this with you.
Yes,
There may be this heavy feeling of loss.
But there is also something else.
Something a little quieter.
A thread of connection.
A sense of presence.
That is always with you,
Even in ordinary everyday moments.
Walking.
Eating.
Resting.
When you're with others.
When you're alone.
Still.
Connected.
Before we close for today,
Take a moment to acknowledge this.
You do not have to choose between grief and life.
Both can exist alongside one another.
And both are part of how love continues.
Now,
Slowly bring your awareness back to the space around you.
The surface beneath you.
The air on your skin.
The sounds around you.
You are here.
Now.
And so is your connection to your animal companion.
Here.
Now.
And then,
When you're ready,
Open your eyes or lift your gaze.
If this meditation resonated with you and you feel that you would like to explore the bond that continues a little deeper,
You're warmly invited to explore the course Pet Loss Grief Support Part 2,
Returning to Life.
In it,
We explore together what it means to live with grief over time.
How the bond with your animal continues.
And how you can carry that connection forward in a way that feels true to yourself.
You can move through the course at your own pace.
There is nothing you need to achieve or complete.
It is there as a companion.
Whenever you feel ready.
For now,
Take good care of yourself.
And take your time.
One breath.
One moment.
After another.
Until we meet again.
