Rio’s a great dog. A 70 pound black and white mix bought at the pound seven years ago as a scrawny, malnourished pup for just $100. A taller, short-hair version of a Border Collie with a Hindu-like sacred black dot on his forehead. He is nothing but love. And some neuroses.
Sure, Rio has the usual canine fear of thunder and lightning and hesitates to go out into the rain. But Rio also has a thing with linoleum and can only be coaxed into the kitchen on the prospect of licking a pan of leftover sautéed juices from a breast of chicken. He doesn’t like other people’s houses either, their apartments, or their offices. With any strange indoor space, he will shake uncontrollably with tail between his legs and refuse to cross the threshold. You can pull all you want, he won’t budge. Standing firm, he will whine until you let him leave the premises. Forget about taking him to visit a friend, a neighbor. It is just too anxiety producing for this otherwise very Zen dog. His fear is palpable.
Now one of the ways I have dealt with my human issues over time has been to receive energy work. Yes, of course, quite wu wu you say, but frankly, it has really brought me through a whole host of times that would have otherwise cost me a lot of time and money with a shrink. I have done all kinds – sat with spiritual channels, done Reiki, Feldenkrais, Polarity and Past Life regressions and every time, it seemed to help. So the other day as I was lying on the table reliving one of my many past lives in the Catholic Church, it occurred to me that Rio could also benefit from a past life regression.
Perhaps Rio could see that all his irrational fears stem from a distant Roman incarnation when as a lion he was forced to devour innocent Christians who dared challenge the divinity of Caesar. Or maybe his issues can be traced back to a lifetime as a relentless bloodhound sniffing the trail of an oppressed slave escaping the cruelty of a Mississippi plantation Master. In fact, it could be any one of hundreds of lifetimes in which he, as one creature or another, was abused or did the abusing. Of course, none of this explains the part about the linoleum or his fear of strange spaces, but remember, spirit doesn’t operate on a literal plane, and the point here is to release, to exorcise the demons.
I asked Rio if he was game for this type of therapy. He told me he’d pass. He’s kind of used to his neuroses. He’s comfortable with his discomfort, as they say. If anything, he told me, he’d go in for something more cerebral, say psychoanalysis or better still, some good drugs. He’s no dummy, my dog Rio – particularly ‘cause he picked a really good life this time around.
Sixties Chick 
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