It’s not often that Oprah Winfrey and I cross paths, but when I sat down to interview Bioenergetic Therapist Tammy Billups, I learned that Oprah had beat me to it a few years back. I didn’t mind, though, because Oprah and I are cool like that, and because I’ve got the scoop on Beyond the Fur, Tammy’s new crowd-funded book project that helps animals and their humans heal together.
We met in her home office and discussed how our pets show us what is out of balance in our lives and what we can do to help each other. I’ve abridged our interview and put my questions and comments in italics, while Tammy’s responses are in ordinary font.
In your fundraising video, you talk about assisting the animals help to the people, as opposed to just doing human healing or just healing for the animals. You’re doing both through working with the animals?
Early in my certification process, I only worked on people. In my 30’s, before I had done any of my inner healing, I’d only let animals into my heart. Many people do that. They let animals get close to them because they are ‘safer to love’ than people. Even before I ‘woke up’ to my abilities to work with energy for healing, there were too many coincidences with my pets for me not to make note of it. If I got a U.T.I., my cat got a U.T.I. When I developed asthma, my other pet got asthma. And I found myself thinking, ‘What are the odds that these are not connected?’ Frequently when I’m speaking with a client about their animal, and I’m giving them feedback about what their animal is feeling physically, they will share that they also have a physical ailment in the same area of their body. That isn’t always the case, but physical mirroring of issues is real. Our energy is so enmeshed with the four leggeds in our lives. When I’m speaking with a client about their animal I will educate them about the mirroring because their energies are so enmeshed. Each session with an animal has the potential to make a shift within the person as well.
What percentage of the time does the animal have physical problems that aren’t what the owner has?
I see the physical mirroring of issues maybe a quarter of the time. There are four ways they can mirror us. Frequently the physical issue in the animal is mirroring something symbolic for their person. Is the dog limping? Then, where is the person out of balance? The animals will almost always mirror their persons’ unhealed emotional wound. Regardless of how briefly they’re in your life—whether it’s an animal you’re watching for the weekend or a long-term companion… there’s going to be mirroring an emotional wound. So how it shows up for you to see the message, or gift, from your animal companion is going to be different with each situation.
How is it changing how you live with your own animals since you started discovering all this?
We’re all much healthier and happier because I’m tuned into their frequency now. That’s really what the book is all about—the ability to recognize the symbolic, the physical, and the literal messages so you’ll have an easier go of things. The two teenage companions I have now were at the vet a lot in their first few years because I wasn’t in tune with the messages from their behaviors and ailments. I was treating the symptoms versus healing our emotional wounds. Sundance {one of Tammy’s two cats} hasn’t been to the vet in eight years.
For example, if one’s developed a new habit of hiding in the closet, I start looking at where I do not want to be seen, or what am I hiding? As soon as I realize what’s going on within me, my cat will no longer go into the closet. One of Sundance’s favorite messages is to show me when I am repressing anger. When I have a lot of anger brewing and I’m not dealing with it, she’ll get right in front of my computer and meow until I get annoyed and ask, “What do you want, I’m on the phone!” As soon as I realize how easily she triggered anger within me, then I have received her message and am able to do some healthy anger releasing techniques. Her behavior simply stops as soon as I receive her message.
Are you also acting out their stuff? Or in y’all’s relationship has it only gone one way?
Oh, no, I’m sure it’s both ways…because we’re both trying to heal the same core wounds. My intention is always that we are healing together. People can and will absorb their pets energy too. Unconsciously or consciously, when we want someone we love to feel better, we can agree to take their pain and wounds. But, I believe that by simply raising our vibration, or awareness, and actively working on healing my issues, that they will benefit as well. I also do sessions on them to help them feel better so they can heal and clear their energetic patterns of protection. I remember the last time my cat Mai Tai had a bad U.T.I… probably 10-11 yrs ago, he had a temp of 104 degrees. Iit was pretty serious, and stones showed up on the x-rays at the Vet’s office. So, I did several Bioenergetic sessions on him during those critical hours. During one of the sessions, I saw a visual of a jack hammer breaking apart stones. When I took him back to the vet the x-ray showed the stones were gone, and the she was scratching her head not sure if there was something wrong with the x-ray machine. While he was ill, my bladder was also very inflamed, but it stopped as soon as he began feeling better.
Walk me through what’s in the book.
The book will help people to develop a new level of awareness and in turn, a deeper relationship with their animal companions by learning how to interpret the messages around all of the four levels of mirroring and the emotional wounds that the animals carry as well and how it might be showing up in their lives through examples and client stories, and {explains} how every animal chose them…and why..and more importantly, how people can better help their animals heal their emotional wounds. Every animal that touches someone are divine matches regardless of how brief they are in your life. Even if they end up getting re-homed for some reason, those meetings are designed to happen for growth and healing for all. I delve into those five core wounds and how they might be showing up for the animals. A lot of animals have, for instance, an emotional wound from abandonment.
Sure; rescues.
Yes. Rescues. So how abandonment shows up in animals is similar with people—there’s usually an oral fixation. With people, they might over-drink, over- eat, or smoke, or talk a lot. With animals, they’ll probably be chewers, overeat; or over-lick if they haven’t healed their abandonment issues. And of course like every unhealed emotional wound, it will continue happening (abandonment) until they heal it. And the universe will always orchestrate the right and perfect animals connecting with the right and perfect people for the advancement of their souls healing journey. So lots of client stories and examples will be woven throughout the book for people to be able to better connect to an experience they might have had with one of their pets. There’s a story from one client who’d tried absolutely everything to help her cat to stop urinating outside of the box. She got my name and number from an article she’d seen written about my work and didn’t know what to expect. She was very upset because she felt this was the last thing she would try for him and if it didn’t work, she was going to either re-home him or take him to the county shelter…which she didn’t want to do but felt she was left with no choice. “I don’t want to give up my cat. He’s peeing everywhere. We’ve tried Prozac. He doesn’t have a U.T.I. We’ve changed his food; we’ve done everything the Vet suggested with no change.” So she had a lot of anger about his behavior, which is very normal, and in turn people will try to control or scold the animal– which never works to stop urination issues. So, I asked her if there was an area of her life she was experiencing unresolved or unexpressed anger. If an animal is triggering anger in their person, there’s a good chance they’re helping them to see they’re repressing anger, and the animal is being the scape goat, per se, to help them release it.It indeed turned out she had a lot of unexpressed anger at work, and every day she drove home angry from her job, and she walks in and the cat’s peed on something and out the anger comes. I suggested some healthy techniques to move out her anger after she was amazed that I knew she had repressed anger issues, and the cat never peed outside the box again. Ever. She then understood that he was helping her to release her emotions and immediately had compassion and gratitude for him. Animals’ actions and behaviors always hold gifts for their people. And once they receive them, voila! both will feel better.
You mentioned core wounds. What are the five core wounds?
There’s abandonment, betrayal, invasiveness, unaware/denial of real self (those are usually more senior souls actually), and terror.
How many sessions do you find you work with an animal on average?
It depends on if it’s a physical issue or behavioral. I’ve had many cases of a behavioral issue that is gone with one session, but it is typically 2-4. If there is a physical issue it could be from 1-8 sessions. Ideally people will start their animal on sessions before the onset of a physical manifestation to help them clear what they absorb from their environment before it manifests physically. In this instance, a couple of times a year will work when they are younger…and then as they get older, once a quarter typically is sufficient. Just like a good diet, receiving Bioenergetic sessions will add quality time to their life and help ward off physical and behavioral issues.
So, dogs, cats. What’s the difference? What do you notice about the difference of them as energy beings and who they’re drawn to and who’s drawn to them?
So of course we’re going to call in similar behaviors as we have. Cats are really independent. Dogs do tend to gravitate more toward somebody who really needs to be loved and desires more companionship.
So the more independent versus the dependent?
Dogs tend to be more dependent on your love and being with you to teach you how to love unconditionally because they are experts at it.
But energetically there’s no difference between dogs and cats. When I hook up to one or the other, I see similar energetic patterns… what they’re releasing and allowing in, etc.
I would like to hear about the range of animals that you’ve worked with…
I’ve done, of course, horses and dogs and cats, but I remember working with a snake with a mouth infection, and at a progressive school which teaches the kids how to be kind and care for animals as part of their everyday schooling, they asked me to work on a goat and a sheep that had been attacked by wild dogs, so they asked me come over and talk to the kids who were feeling badly for the animals, and what to do with their emotions…and provide healing for all.
Any other unexpected ones?
While leading the Animal Healing Ministry at the Unity North Church in Marietta GA, I donated healing sessions to the congregants’ animals. So, if I include those I’ve also done birds, fish and rabbits. And if I see an injured animal in the wild, I’ll connect and ask permission to help it heal. So there’s also been deer, squirrel, hummingbirds, and a chickadee.
Why are you so drawn to the animals?
Animals have been incredible teachers and healers for me and were the first souls to give me unconditional love. I want to give back to them for all that they have done for me. I experienced a lot of invasiveness as a child. My first memory of connecting with an animal was when I was very young. I remember locking eyes with cats that were being severely abused, as I was, and we didn’t only commiserate, but I felt them. I felt them. So I believe its part of my path that I’m wired to do, to be a healer for both animals and their people. I get very excited about the connection between the two. When people get the deeper gifts and receive the aha moments…. then their animals won’t suffer as much. Even the daily messages we can receive through animals in nature is a tremendous tool for an easier life. That’s one of the ways the universe gets messages to us, and it’s free. Gluten free, sugar free! So, establishing and opening up a deeper relationship with all animals is what jazzes me. That’s my niche. I love serving both people and animals. I’ve known for many, many years this book was to be written. It’s about the animal-person relationship and how they can understand each other better, and grow and heal together. It can be life changing for them.
Tell me about the crowd funding project.
I was unaware of crowd funding until not too long ago but once I realized it’s a great option to use to get this work out there more quickly to help more animals I decided to put together a campaign. Everything fell together so easily and the team has all donated their time on faith it will be funded. It’s going through June 12th and I’m still amazed with every donation how positively everyone is responding to getting Beyond the Fur in print. I am and will be forever grateful for the support and generosity.
And the funding goal is…
The minimum dollar goal is $18,000, which covers all of the editing, the publishing, the printing of the books, the PR, the marketing, the advertising, and the video. My mission is to reach as many animals and people that are seeking healing from the message. The wonderful thing about crowd funding is that you get something in return for your donation. There are 12 levels of gifts. And I promise it’ll be a great quality book. As with my CD, a percentage of the profits of every book sold will go to help orphan animals. There are levels of giving in which the gift is to get your favorite rescue organization’s info in the book, or even donated sessions to them. Everyone that donates will get their name in the book on the “Dream Maker” page.
You’re on Pubslush, right? Is there any backslash address thing we should add in?
Yes, please go to www.publush.com/project/6447 Or, you can go to my website, tammybillups.com, and there’s a link under the video which takes you to my campaign page.
Editorial note: Tammy’s Pubslush campaign has raised about $5000, with 16 days left to reach her full goal of changing lives one paw at a time. Head over to www.pubslush.com/project/6447
to check it out and contribute.
About Tammy
Tammy Billups is a Certified Bioenergetics Therapist, Author, Speaker, and Group Facilitator. She has facilitated thousands of individual sessions throughout the U.S. on both people and animals. She walks her talk and overcame much physical and emotional pain via Bioenergetic healing. This, in turn, gave birth to her passion to help others heal their wounds and enrich their lives. www.tammybillups.com, info@tammybillups.com, (770) 552-9877.
About Stephen
Stephen Cavitt practices and teaches the healing arts in Chattanooga and the Southeast. His workshops blend a love for the natural world the power of rhythm and multicultural healing arts. Stephen has gained recognition around north Georgia for his drum making workshops and handmade rhythm instruments. He works individually with clients and families who are transforming their minds, bodies, and spirits. Follow him on Facebook at www.fb.com/stephencavitt. www.stephencavitt.com, stephen@stephencavitt.com, (678) 526-4799.
