Mystic Dog Mama Dr Alexia Mellor

My guest today, Elizabeth Anne Hill, talks to us about the soul part of Mystic Dog Mama’s focus on nourishing our dogs and ourselves by sharing her really unique and fascinating story of being catapulted onto her spiritual path after the death of her twin sister-and the unexpected role that animals are playing in her journey. 

Elizabeth’s spiritual journey began in 2002 with the death of her identical twin sister, Catherine Mary Hill, who then assisted Elizabeth from across the veil in writing her first book, Twin Souls: A Message of Hope for the new Millennium. Then, in 2008, Elizabeth learned through a trance channel that she was to begin a journey around the world, with no safety net, to transmute limiting belief systems and then share the wisdom she gained. Now, in 2024 — sixteen years and twenty countries later, with all that is occurring on the world stage — now is a good time to share this wisdom.

This is part of a series of conversations I will be having with ordinary people like you and me who are exploring what the path of the modern mystic looks like. 

Elizabeth also shares some practical things that you can do to begin connecting more deeply with your own higher self, your own unique wisdom, which is really helpful if you’re asking your guides for help and getting frustrated that you’re just finding feathers and seeing angel numbers, but have no idea what to do with that!

I really hope you enjoy this conversation, and that if you are having a similar kind of experience, that you know you are not alone on this path. I’d love to hear your takeaways, so have a listen, and then message me on Instagram @mysticdogmama to let me know about your own experience! I’d love to hear about it!

Just a quick note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.



To learn more about Elizabeth and to support her journey:

Website: ⁠elizabethannehill.com⁠

Main Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.a.hill.75

Author/speaker page on Facebook: facebook.com/twinsouls444

House sitting page: facebook.com/peacefulhomeowners

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/twinEAH

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethannehill888/



For donations: https://www.paypal.me/ElizabethAnneHill or use my email twinsouls444@gmail.com. Venmo: @Elizabeth-Hill-888, or Cashapp: $twin44888



DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

I’m so excited to introduce you to today’s guest, Surabhi Venkatesh! Surabhi is a certified dog behaviour and nutrition coach based in India, and she founded Luchi and Mutton’s after her own two rescue pups presented challenges that required her to look deeper, taking a whole dog - and whole human - approach.



In this episode, we have a candid conversation about some of the challenges we have both faced with our own dogs, and all the complexities of being dog parents to complex dogs. We also talk about how meeting our dogs with radical empathy in their healing journeys, made us realise the need for approaching ourselves with that same level of empathy in our own healing journeys. If you have got a complex dog, and honestly even if you don’t, I know you’ll find value in hearing this.



Surabhi shares her experience of studying with Sindhoor Pangal at BHARCS in Bangalore where she learned about asking the why of our dog’s behaviours, and how to hold space for our dogs’, and our own, big feelings. Oh my goodness, there are just so many nuggets in this chat, truthfully too many to list! Surabhi is such a wonderful human, and her approach to dogs is inspiring.



We do touch on some aspects of nutrition and different cultural approaches to feeding our dogs, but we’re saving a deep dive into that for a future episode. So, if there’s something you’d like us to address when it comes to canine nutrition and how to best support your dog’s health through food, let me know, and I’ll make sure that we address it! Just DM me on Instagram @mysticdogmama



Just a note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.



Ok, let’s go!



To learn more about Surabhi, how to work with her, and her podcast, visit her website https://luchiandmuttons.com



To learn more about BHARCS, visit: https://www.bharcs.com/



TIME STAMPS

00:22 Intro

03:15 Meet Surabhi and hear her journey into canine nutrition and behaviour because of her rescue dogs, Luchi and Mutton : “How do I just keep this dog alive??” to “How do we survive this??”

12:50 BHARCS - a relationship approach to dogs with your dog as your teacher

14:10 Understanding pet guardianship as an opportunity to reparent yourself

25:35 Leaning into what we are experiencing vs what we think we should be experiencing

38:00 It takes a village to raise a dog - finding safe spaces to support yourself in your journey with your dog

41:20 Surabhi’s experience of empathy-based dog training through BHARCS

51:00 A new perspective on resource guarding: not sharing your dessert!

54:45 Evolutions in dog-human relationships: emotions

56:40 The need for diversity in our conversations about dogs

1:12:00 Discounting the “magic bullet” for our dogs’ health

1:23:00 How to connect with Surabhi and learn about her podcast + what Luchi and Mutton taught Surabhi about what it means to be human

1:25:00 Outro

This is a really special episode for me, because today we are celebrating 6 months of the Mystic Dog Mama podcast, and 6 months of growing this beautiful community together!

In this special episode, I have created a compilation. If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll know that I ask all of my guests what dogs have taught them about what it means to be human. The answers are so profound and beautiful, and they offer a real opportunity to reflect on who we are as individuals, and who we aspire to be. I’ve brought all of my guests’ answers to this particular question together in this episode, so you can hear them again in one timeline. I hope you enjoy hearing the breadth and depth of their responses. I’ve listed everyone in the time stamps below, so you can see the speaking order.

When I first decided to create the podcast, I set the intention that this would be a safe space to bring people together to talk about what nourishment for our dogs, ourselves, and the planet could look like. But, I never imagined that this little corner of the internet could create such a sense of home for myself, and for those of you joining me in this journey. We live in a strange time-space continuum that can be so divisive, and so alienating. It’s such a testament to the canine spirit that a little 10lb chihuahua walked into my life, and became the catalyst for creating such a beautiful community. I am grateful to each and every one of my guests, and each and every one of you listening. This means the world to me to have you and your pups walking the spiritual path alongside me and Lucky.

A quick note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.

Ok, let’s go!

TIME STAMPS

00:22 INTRO

03:38 David Ian Howe, archaeologist

12:05 Vivian Birlie, canine reflexologist

14:09 G.G. Silverman, author and creative

16:16 Dr Tom Lonsdale, veterinarian and author

21:30 Dr Laura Donaldson, professional dog trainer and behavior consultant

25:51 Sarah Vrba, astrology and tarot expert

27:73 Susan Raven, author and musician

28:40 Laura Thomas, host of Rescued by a Dog podcast and author

30:31 Berdhanya Swami Tierra, spiritual teacher

44:38 Caroline Griffith, pet nutrition consultant and founder of Canine Flow

46:31 Jessica Green, integrative health practitioner and health coach

47:39 Kay Stewart, veterinary technician and lead educator at Feed Real Institute

48:34 Rachel Knott, zoopharmacognosy expert and animal communicator

50:25 Dr Odette Suter, veterinarian

53:16 Veronica Mezzetti-Draia, human design expert and coach

57:56 Niki French, professional dog trainer, author, and host of PupTalk

59:38 Wendy Welpton, natural movement expert and host of Make Movement Matter podcast

1:02:56 Kim Brophey, professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant, applied ethologist, and author

1:05:11 Rhi Anderson, life coach

1:08:37 Simone Mueller, professional dog trainer and behaviour consultant, and author

1:09:56 Dr Saskia von Diest, Nature communicator and founder of Ecofluency

1:11:52 Jess Adam, therapist and coach

1:13:50 Sally Morningstar, author, photographer, and hedgewitch

1:16:12 Amy Arnold, professional life fulfilment coach

1:18:04 Hannah Zulueta, canine nutritionist

1:20:14 OUTRO

DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice. 

It’s really exciting for me to introduce you to today’s guest, Hannah Zulueta! Hannah is a certified canine nutritionist, and is currently studying to become a doctor of acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Herbalism for the human end of the leash. You may know Hannah from her popular blog and Instagram account, @dailydogfoodrecipes where she shares how she applies a Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to health and feeding her own dogs, Maggie, Orbit, and Mr Higgins.

Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine, or you might see it abbreviated as TCVM is really coming into the mainstream of holistic dog care. I invited Hannah to come and have a conversation with me to unpack what this really means and looks like on a practical level. Something that I just love about Hannah’s approach to feeding your dog, and to TCVM, is her focus on simplicity. She says that if you can feed yourself and your family, you can feed your dogs, too, and I wholeheartedly agree.

We talk about Hannah’s own journey into TCVM and canine nutrition, starting with how her family fed her dogs while growing up in Papua, New Guinea. She shares the fundamentals of Traditional Chinese Medicine, where it came from as a medicine for the common people, and how you can begin applying its principles to your own dog’s health to restore harmony. Hannah also addresses how she would approach the top health issues that you told me you have with your dogs: allergies, yeast, and anal glands, oh my!I absolutely LOVED talking with Hannah. She is so wise, and gracious with her energy. I know you’re going to love this episode, too!

To learn more about Hannah and her TCVM approach to canine nutrition, visit her blog: https://dailydogfoodrecipes.com, or connect with her on Instagram https://instagram.com/dailydogfoodrecipes

If you’d like to dive a bit deeper into TCVM, Hannah has a wonderful community with mini-courses on specific topics related to caring for your dog with TCVM. I only ever endorse people and programs that I believe in, and I know firsthand that Hannah’s Harmony Circle is a fantastic resource and community that I, myself, am learning from. I’m sharing the affiliate links below in case you, too, would like to check out the Harmony Circle and the courses in it. I receive receive a small commission if you choose to use these links, which helps keep the podcast up and running. So, if it resonates with you, I would be grateful if you chose to use them to sign up.

https://daily-dog-food-recipes.circle.so/checkout/harmony-circle-group?affiliate_code=02a640

https://daily-dog-food-recipes.circle.so/checkout/allergy-reset?affiliate_code=02a640

Finally, a note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram https://instagram.com/aspirationery

Ok, let’s go!



TIME STAMPS

00:22 Intro

03:20 Introducing Hannah Zulueta + her journey into canine nutrition and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine

12:30 What is Traditional Chinese Medicine and what are its roots?

17:50 What are the five constitutions and how do I know which one my dog is?

35:00 Some of the current debates in the fresh food space

43:20 Hannah addresses how she would use a TCM approach to your biggest questions: allergies, yeast, and anal glands

1:02:00 Hannah’s tips on where to start practicing TCM yourself today

1:07:00 How to work with and learn from Hannah

1:14:00 What have Hannah’s dogs taught her about what it means to be human?

1:16:00 Outro



DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

I am thrilled to introduce you to my guest for today’s Spotlight Series episode, Amy Arnold! Amy has such a unique and  interesting story that echoes what so many of us experience - the dissatisfaction that comes from a life that is no longer resonant, and the quest to discover just what that kind of life might look and feel like. After 26 years as a practicing plastic surgeon, Amy left the medical profession behind and started down the path of finding what purpose meant to her. She explored a variety of avenues, including an 11-day vision quest, studying shamanism, and even writing. She now brings together her life experiences and skills to support other women to find their own true sense of purpose, their true story.

We talked a lot about the nature of stories - our personal stories, our cultural stories, and even the stories we have about our expectations of our pets. We talked about how our dogs mirror back to us the dysfunction of our culture’s stories by the expectations we place on them, and they how they offer us the gift of seeing where our own personal stories are asking to be modified - which is something Amy has personally experienced with her gorgeous 11 year old Italian Greyhound, Sophia. In this conversation, we also highlight our power to change our stories, all while acknowledging that this process brings a lot of discomfort, especially when we are in that liminal space in-between letting go of one story, and the next one hasn’t yet appeared.

Amy has a beautiful gift for Mystic Dog Mama listeners! She has generously crafted a 12-week group coaching program at a really special rate specifically for Mystic Dog Mama listeners! In order to run it, she will need 3 or more people for the group, so I highly encourage you to reach out to Amy if this is something you think you might be interested in! For more information visit: https://www.yourtruestorycoaching.com/special-offer

Learn more about and connect with Amy:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556233196692

https://www.instagram.com/amyarnoldstories/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachamyarnold/

Here are a some links to the books Amy and I mentioned. They are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to purchase through them, I will receive a commission that helps to keep the podcast up and running.



Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance

Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/3VHIsMP

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3IKScOE



Charles Eisenstein’s The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible

Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/4aohj56

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3K8fo9U

Finally, a quick note that this episode was sponsored by Aspirationery, which, in full transparency, is another project of mine where we create books, notebooks, and stationery to help you become all you aspire to be. You can check out our shadow work and moon magic journals and workbooks, as well as our popular “My First Period Tracker” for young girls and tweens on Instagram @aspirationery.



TIME STAMPS

00:22 Intro

03:30 Meet Amy Arnold + hear her journal from plastic surgeon to shamanism to supporting women to lead fulfilling lives

15:45 Amy’s takeaways from an 11-day vision quest

27:45 The role of stories in our modern time 

45:50 Using discernment on the spiritual path

57:30 How Sophia, an 11-yr old Italian Greyhound is serving as Amy’s teacher

1:03:00 Amy’s nuggets of wisdom from her coaching practice + her wonderful gift to listeners

1:11:00 What Sophia has taught Amy about what it means to be human

1:13:00 Outro



DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for medical advice or other relevant professional advice.

Today, I wanted to introduce you to someone who has been a big part of my own spiritual journey along the mystical path over the past several years. author, photographer, and hedgewitch, Sally Morningstar. I’ve wanted to include conversations about finding the spiritual path, and walking it with our dogs becauseI believe a big part of why dogs choose us is because throughout time they have played the most beautiful role of walking us home to our true selves.

Throughout her life, Nature has been Sally Morningstar's greatest teacher. Her deep love of the wyrd and the wild is the inspiration behind her writing, photography, and magical mentoring  of those seeking to live consciously and mindfully upon this Earth. From the age of 18 Sally began her own search for spiritual answers, which led her to psychic teachers and spiritual mentors in both the Eastern and Western Mystery Traditions, including Vipassana, Zen, Sati (the way of mindfulness) Dzogchen, Shamanism and even saw her becoming a High Priestess in Wicca. Ultimately, though none of that felt right for her until she discovered a sense of home within hedgewitchcraft, which, at its core, is based upon creating right relationship with all of Nature and her Creation. What I love about Sally’s story is that she often talks about how she has been a hedgewitch all her life without realising it until her later years, and that that is often they way it goes when we are meant to walk a particular path. That the path is always there, we just may not have noticed it until we arrive at that place of knowing.I

n our conversation, Sally talks about her personal journey and what it means to follow the old ways in our modern context. We talk about what magic really is, how we are all a part of it, and how the most magical path of life is the journey of self-discovery. Sally also shares how her sweet 19-yr old canine companion, Rosie Dumpling, has been key to her path.

To learn more about Sally and her work, visit her website: www.sallymorningstar.com

Below is an affiliate link to Sally’s amazing The Witches’ Oracle divinatory deck and book. By choosing to use this affiliate link, I may receive a commission for qualifying purchases, which helps to keep the podcast up and running!

Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/3yl4B9X

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3WH5UKi

To enter my giveaway for the chance to win a FREE animal communication session with your pet, remember to rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and send me a screenshot of your review on Instagram @mysticdogmama Please get it to my by May 24th 2024, and I’ll be announcing the winner on our special 6-month anniversary episode airing June 8th!

This next week is Period Poverty Awareness Week. We can’t talk about nourishing ourselves mind, body, and soul, without also addressing the need for awareness around menstrual health. My other project, Aspirationery, supports this podcast through creating books, notebooks, and stationery to support you in becoming all you aspire to be. This includes creating journals and workbooks to remove period stigma, and empower young girls and tweens to learn about their menstrual cycles, as well as supporting women to align with the power of your menstrual cycles through cyclical living. I invite you to check out these journals on the Aspirationery Instagram account, and consider if these books might help support you, or a young girl in your life to feel more empowered. https://instagram.com/aspirationery

TIME STAMPS:

00:22 Intro

06:04 Meet hedgewitch Sally Morningstar + her 19yo pup Rosie Dumpling

12:25 Understanding + Walking the Wisdom Path

19:45 The Old Ways in the Modern Context

31:35 How to discover your soul’s path

45:00 Communicating with our animals

56:00 How our dogs help us to connect to all that is

1:00:00 What Rosie has taught Sally about what it means to be human


1:03:00 Outro