We recently connected with Barbara Techel and have shared our conversation below.

Barbara , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

My most meaningful project has been working on self-mastery which I’ve done, and continue to do, through the wisdom of animals and oracles. Over the years it has been animals that have guided me to look at aspects of myself that I didn’t like and examine why. Through the wisdom I gained from the animals, serving as a mirror to what it is I needed to heal within myself, I also incorporate journaling and working with oracle cards to help me gain insight to myself in order to continue to live with more harmony within.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It was at the age of 42 and in 2005 when I was questioning what this thing called life was all about. Why was I here? Was there a bigger purpose for my life? After hiring a life coach, and my chocolate Labrador died of bone cancer, that I’d discover I wanted to pursue writing and writing about my favorite subject – Dogs.

Six months later, my dachshund, Frankie, became paralyzed, was fitted for a wheelchair designed for dogs, and off I’d go into the world of publishing and publish two children’s books about Frankie. We’d visit over 400 schools and libraries while she was alive, educating children and adults about adversity and empathy. That was followed by a memoir I wrote about our life, “Through Frankie’s Eyes.”

I’d then go on to write another memoir (“Wisdom Found in the Pause”) about my short-lived journey with another special needs dachshund, Joie, who I adopted after Frankie’s passing. It was a time I was being called to pause and reflect yet again on my life after Joie’s passing. During this time, I incorporated oracle cards into a daily ritual of journaling gaining insight to how I wanted to move forward at a time when I was once again feeling lost.

I’d then adopt another special needs dachshund, Gidget. She would be the one that would mirror for me my biggest emotional wound I’d carried and a secret I’d kept suppressed for over fifty years – and that I was touched inappropriately as a child by someone I should have been able to trust. After that healing journey, I’d write my third memoir, “I’m Fine Just the Way I Am.”

A big part of my healing this feeling of unworthiness I carried throughout my life, which was very much tied to my childhood trauma, I’d once again incorporate oracle cards and journaling as a way to better understand my trauma and the unhealthy patterns it caused. I came to see oracle cards as a form of self-care that helped me to heal and finally understand I wasn’t broken and that I was worthy despite my past.

From my own healing journey, and the fact I’m a highly sensitive and expressive empath, I bring these attributes – and how I’ve learned to navigate the many parts of myself to establish an internal anchor of peace and harmony – to the oracle readings and healing sessions I now facilitate for people and pets, my writing, and to my animal art.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a writer, artist, and someone who helps people and pets through my oracle readings, is that by sharing the wisdom of animals and oracles, others are able to tap into aspects of themselves they may not have been able to do otherwise. When someone can glean helpful insight to their own challenges, through mine, and the journey I’ve walked to heal my own wounded aspects, and see themselves in a more positive and hopeful way — well, to me, there is nothing more rewarding than watching another human understand themselves on a deeper level and find compassion for those parts of themselves they didn’t always like, but now appreciate for what it taught them and how it has helped them in their life’s journey.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

One thing I do to keep in touch is via my monthly newsletter. It’s something I enjoy curating from sharing my own insights of growth that I hope will be of help for others, sharing the stories of animals that offer us teachings to guide us with our own evolution, and offering general oracle card readings to my clients that they can lean into to the help them along their life’s path.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joyfulpaws.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/barbtechel
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/joyfulpause
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/barbtechel