On Saturday, April 6, Lulu the Wonder Cat will be 1 year old!
If you’ve been around for awhile, you know the story of Lulu’s magical birth, and the beginning of the next lifetime of the being who was formerly known as Louie.
Louie was my beloved cat partner, teaching companion, and spiritual mentor, and is now continuing our relationship in his/her new body as Lulu.
If you don’t know the story, you can read about it here:
As Lulu has grown and come into maturity as a full-grown cat, I have learned so much from her.
In this post, I want to share some of her wisdom, teaching, and the developing understanding I have of reincarnation, soul growth and evolution, and the journey that we all make as spiritual beings living embodied physical lives.
Personality: Something Old, Something New
I’ve been blessed to have other animals who have reincarnated to share another lifetime with me. My two Afghan hounds, Tashi and Surya, were with me previously as Tara and Rajah; and my sweet hen Callie returned quickly to me as a young chick after her sudden death in her former body.
Each individual is different, and each “return” is different.
As I was waiting for Lulu to arrive, I had a lot of questions. What would she be like? Would I recognize Louie’s personality and energy in her?
My former cat Freddie, now my wise protector and guide, who has remained in the spirit world since his passing 20 years ago, communicated to me:
Lulu will be sharp, clear, and feisty as always. She will handle the dogs.
In the weeks after Lulu was born, before she was old enough to come home, I asked her:
Will you have and express the same personality that you did as Louie? The strength, the clarity, the confidence you had in that body?
What I really was asking was,
Will I recognize you?
Lulu replied:
This body is different, the energy is different. The “imprint” that was the former body and arrangement of energy is gone, floating into the atmosphere, the energy of all. This incarnation is “2.0”–the next evolution, the next and current expression of who I am and what I am here to share.
I‘m bringing in a strand of energy with me that is soft, gentle; it will temper the directness I had in my previous form. Also, in a female body, there are some differences.
My direct clarity, the piercing look of my eyes, will remain. You will know it and feel it when you meet me.
This has all been so true.
As Lulu has grown and developed, I have seen her express almost exactly in this way. She is independent. confident, clear; her piercing eyes look into mine and there is such a direct recognition, a knowing. I call this her “Louie eyes.”
As in her previous incarnation, Lulu is precise and exacting about what she wants, when she wants it, and how things are to be. 🙂 She loves to cuddle and snuggle on my lap, and also needs and loves her autonomy: playing with the other cats, sleeping by herself, or spending time in the cat yard.
I recognize this personality and energy as the spirit I have lived with for so long…and there is also a freshness, a newness, a delight in exploring the world again; discovery, and so much joy.
I can feel the shift she communicated about as well: a deeper quality of sweetness, of softness. It’s in the silkiness of her medium-long fur, the gentleness of her love, the sweetness with which she engages with the other cats and with me.
It’s an added layer of softness, of gentleness…perhaps able to blossom because her entry into the world and into our home in this lifetime was free of suffering, of pain, of trauma, unlike her experience in her previous body.
Healing Relationships
One of the beautiful blessings of Lulu’s presence in our home is the healing relationship she has with Milo.
Louie and Milo had a fractious relationship for all of the 12+ years that they shared our home.
It was a great lesson for me in letting go…understanding what I could control and what I could not, what communication could change and what it could not, and accepting the simple and universal truth that some animals, just as some humans, simply do not like each other.
Lulu’s arrival in a young, female body pressed the “reset” button on their relationship. Milo is no longer triggered by the body that Louie had (“He looks weird, he smells weird, he walks weird” Milo used to say.)
Now, Milo accepts and even likes and enjoys Lulu. They will often sit near each other, either on my lap or on a chair. Sometimes, they will both sleep with me and the dogs, cuddled up near each other.
It’s helped me to understand even more deeply how much the conflict between Milo and Louie was physical, not spiritual, related to their biology as male cats and Louie’s disability.
The healing of this relationship and the peace it has brought to me, and to our home, is profound. Nothing makes me happier than seeing Milo and Lulu enjoying each other’s company.
Spiritual Purpose and Awareness
When Louie first communicated to me about his upcoming return as Lulu, while he was in utero, he shared:
I am integrating my energy and spirit with this physical form. I can’t stay completely “in”–it’s quite limiting and restrictive for me. Too small. Some of my consciousness needs to remain “out” and “wide”–very expanded in my awareness. This may remain true throughout the lifetime of this body.”
And:
This lifetime will be about anchoring galactic frequencies of light into the Earth, through my physical form. This is a continuation of the work I did in my previous body…and is the next evolution of that work.
This lifetime will also be about deepening my relationship with you, and expanding our shared work in the world.
I continue to feel the “Big Louie” energy as a wide, expanded awareness, anchored in Lulu’s body, but not contained by it. It is a vast spiritual consciousness and awareness that is present in the body–but not limited by it. I have felt a similar unity or integration in my connections with whales– a complete awareness of universal consciousness and a complete embodiment in the physical form and reality, all at the same time.
I understood from the beginning that Lulu would need to have safe access to the outdoors and the Earth, as in her previous lifetime. In Louie’s elder years, he spent much of his time in an enclosed area off of my front door–called the “portal” here in New Mexico. There was a small fence, which he respected, his aging, 3-legged form making him disinterested in trying to climb the fence or wander away.
However, I knew that a young cat would not be safe in this area, and so Lulu’s outdoor space is now the back “cat yard.”
The adult cats are trained to this cat yard with its cat fence. Lulu, however, was able to find a small escape route in the first week that I allowed her outdoors. And where did she go?
To the portal.
I found her sitting quietly under the piñon tree, next to the grave where Louie’s body is buried.
My heart burst open.
I spent a few minutes with her there, then calmly picked her up and brought her inside.
I explained to her that this area was no longer a safe place for her, and that she would not be free to roam. My job is still to protect her, as best I can.
I found the weak spot in the cat yard, repaired it, and Lulu has happily made it her outdoor home. She has not asked to go to the portal again.
As in her previous body, Lulu loves spending time on the Earth. She does more racing and playing now that she is young, loving to roll in the dirt, hide under the bushes, and watch the birds.
When I ask her about her spiritual life, she communicates:
Joy. It’s about so much joy. The light and joy of the Universe pours through my body, and I pour it into the Earth. I share it with you, and with all of my friends.
Joy is the most important thing…the joy of love, of connection, of play, of smelling the earth and the plants and the trees, of chasing the insects, of feeling the dirt in my fur, of being held by you, of curling up with Marigold and sleeping deeply.
It’s all about joy. Joy is love! Love is Joy! It’s all the same.
Lulu continues with her teaching in my animal communication classes. Last fall, as I was preparing to teach the Deepening Animal Communication Class, which Louie always participated in, I asked her, “Do you want to continue?”
YES! I love helping humans to understand how to hear and communicate with the animals, how to really understand who we are and what we are sharing.
And she did. The journey continues.
I learn from Lulu every day. I have noticed that I am more inclined to happiness and joy since she came…a shift from my sometimes extra serious and overly responsible personality and way of being.
I delight in the small, daily things with her: the smell of the earth, the movement of the trees, her morning and evening “zoomies”, her love of the light pouring through the windows and the movement of the wind.
Our journey together continues. She continues to be my teacher, my companion, my precious friend.
What a joy and a blessing it is to walk this Earth with her by my side.
