Ask An Expert: Your Dog is a Healer with Michael Overlie-Ep: 098

Hey welcome to sheet coaches coaches, I'm your host Kandi motsek. And I'm going to help you find the clarity, confidence and courage to become the coach that you are meant to be. If you're a new coach, or if you've always wanted to be a life coach, then this is the place for you. We're going to talk all about mindset and strategies and how to because step by step only works when you have the clarity, courage and confidence to take action. Let's get started.

Hey, everyone, and welcome to this episode of she coaches coaches. I am welcoming Michael overley. He is my guest today. And he is another one of these amazing experts that was part of PATA palooza. If you've been listening to my podcast, you've probably heard some of the episodes with all these super interesting people. Now, before we start our conversation, let me tell you a little bit about Michael. He has a canine partner, energy coach. He's an author and a lifelong dog fanatic. Now, you guys who know me know how much I love dogs. And so when I had a chance to meet Michael, I was like, Yes, I want to talk to this guy, for sure. His bio says, and I can attest to this as well. Because I've seen him side by side with his animal. He has had a gift of connecting with animals since he was a small child. Dogs have been with him most of his life, giving him gifts and teaching him lessons. His greatest breakthrough was after the death of his brother. And while grieving this loss, he was fully awakened to his own potential, and the gifts our animals bring to our lives. Now he helps other men awaken to the gifts available to them from their dogs. He's dedicated themselves to assisting men and their dogs, and help them discover their path to living a life of purpose and being extraordinary. This is Michael's purpose. And it is his mission on this earth. Welcome, Michael. I'm so pleased that you're here.

Thank you so much. I've been looking forward to this so much.

Gosh, I love that bio. It just it has so much heart to it. You know, and what a you know what a gift that animals bring have brought to you but also, you know, like in the gift of your brother's passing. Like, even with all that grief to have this gift come out of it. That's amazing. Sounds like he's still with you too, right?

Oh, yeah, he's here all the time. Sometimes they get a little a little smack on the head.

Literally or figuratively. Both.

Like, Oh, good. God. Okay, he's right there. So, yeah. And how you do it. Um, it depends. And this This is the wildest thing. I used to be, you know, structured formulary. Oh my God, my corporate world, I did all these things. I was an EMT, medical er, of these things, you had protocols and you have procedures and things you had to follow. And I have found a way to just go so I get to know the person I'm working with in their animal deeply it doesn't always start that way. Guys are tough guys are tough to crack, they, they you know, we're macho and we're tough and we can do everything on our own. So just getting guys to even think about doing something like this has been quite a trick but every person is different. So understanding that gives me a little bit of an edge every animal is different understanding that gives me a little bit of an edge getting that person to understand that is where we just go right it opens the floodgates so the way we get in the way we get in to help these guys to get underneath that armor you know across the drawbridge, whatever you want to call it is the dog the dog is the key to the whole thing. Let me explain guys are worried to death about being seen as weak or vulnerable or you know, not perfect are unable to do something you know, we're supposed to be these you know, all encompassing I can do anything no matter what creatures and it's just not true. But we we think we have to be that way. We're allowing ourselves to go home at the end of the day after having a crappy day with Jim and John and Edie. We can go home in just around our dog. We can open ourselves up alert just a tiny bit more. We can slow down be vulnerable. You know science shows Some of the physical effects of being with an animal, dog, even a cat, have cortisol levels drop, respiratory rate drops, heart rate drops, blood pressure drops, that discharges our nervous system just a little bit. So we can just some, some of us, like me, I talked to my dog, I tell her what's going on. We can't do that with our partners, our you know, our spouses, our parents, our kids, we just don't allow ourselves to do that. But we do with the dogs. So using the dog as a key to open that gate. It's just amazing what can happen. Now, each, each one is going to be different, each guy is going to be different, right? But what's been fascinating is that they're categorizing themselves into into two kind of different areas, guys, who realize that they're really not in the place where they want to be in their life, right? They've been successful, and they've done well, whatever they did, but they realized there's a purpose for them. And their, their job may not be their purpose. And I've had guys just go, Okay, I'm done, I'm out, and go off to do this mission. Right, change careers, you know, take on some nonprofit, whatever it is. And then other guys, the perspective shift has been that, Oh, my God, I'm right where I need to be. But I couldn't see it for what it was. So I mean, how rewarding is that? That's, that's just freaking amazing to me.

And, you know, it's interesting, because even though your approach is different with dogs in the partnership with their owners, or humans, I hear the same thread with all the coaches that I talk to helping people to live that life that they know, they were meant to live, to live a life that's fulfilling, and meaningful and intentional. And, and there's another piece to, you know, like allowing themselves to be the human just to be human. Like you were saying, you know, so often men are locked into this macho role. And it doesn't we get to unlock that, you know, like, just because society has said that that role was acceptable, and it's time for society to change. And know, every guy that you work with. Is that unlocking that way of society? Right? Yeah,

yeah. Pebble striking upon, right. Yes, yes. Then in the ripples, I had a conversation with my partner, Dana, about this recently, she woman is so incredible, she's smart as hell. That effect from that ripple, it keeps going, right, even though we don't watch it, we may not see it, it continues to go. And I think that is huge. So one person at a time wanting that change, creates another person wanting change. Oh, I want some of that. He seems so happy. He seems peaceful, whatever it is. So now,

and it may not even be at the you know, the level of the logical mind. It's when you see somebody that has that vibe, you're like, what is it about them, you can't even describe it, but you just know that you want to be closer to them. You want to spend more time with somebody like that. And that is how we get to that critical mass of people allowed to be themselves, you know, I mean, women have their own socialization that, you know, I'm well aware of. But I think that you know, how each how, you know, each of us who socialized, it doesn't serve anybody, right? Like nobody, nobody gains by having to fit into that mold. So, tell me a little bit about I'm just I'm kind of I have three different questions in my head. I'm just not sure which one is the one that I'm most curious about right now. Tell me how you got started doing this. I read your bio, and I get that, but there's something more here tell me that.

So after the death of my brother, I woke up, right, I had this awakening. And I realized that I didn't like who I was. I had so much buried and hidden pain and shame, anger, rage. I was, you know, I was hair trigger for a long time, but I didn't realize I really didn't notice that about myself. And I After after this death in this grieving process that allowed me to release so much of this crap. I was like, wow, well, I I don't like I don't like that guy who I'm looking at in the mirror right there. And I'm going to change this. I'm doing something about that starting today. What I noticed about the dogs and my dog at the time Darby is he's an energy healer, absolute an energy healer, I had no idea this was even a thing. And then I experienced it. And then I watched him, work with other people blew my socks off. I'm like, Okay, I know what I'm going to do. And so I started training in energy healing modalities, multiple, many different teachers and reading and trying other things and taking courses. And that's what got me started down this path. Now I've combined it with with a coaching approach, it seems to be more accessible, especially for guys, because they energy woowoo. You know, I mean, everything's energy physicists have already proven

quantum physics. So of course, we feel its energy, exactly.

But it's a perspective, right? So guys have trouble asking for directions, let alone getting energy healing. So what I've also come to know, though, is that I'm not actually healing anyone. And this just takes like way off the charts. What I do is I help them tap into their own innate abilities to heal themselves, I help provide an access point into what they're already able to do, but they don't know it.

Well, what I think is really interesting is that, you know, despite the grief, of losing your brother, and how your path, ultimately, kick started, shall we say? There's a couple of things. There's this quality of curiosity, you know, trying all different kinds of modalities, different teachers, like, knowing that you're going to create your own special blend that's right for you. So that's one thing. And then the other thing that you said, that really struck me. And I think it's because I've been kind of reflecting on this a lot lately is it all starts with a decision. And sometimes these decisions are not this big, like, declaration, I'm going to go and do this thing. It's this like, No, I don't like this, I'm going to change today. But these small decisions that may have been building for months or years, happens in an instant. But nothing actually happens until you make that decision. Right. And who knows where each of us has to get to before we're ready to take that step over. I mean, the line is a tiny little line and it's close to the ground. It's not a big hurdle, but it's actually putting your foot on the other line. Other side, you might be staring at the line for 10 years. But now here you go. Let's just go on the other side. Just just know, right? What do you think about that?

Absolutely. Absolutely. So we all have choices. We may not like what those options are, right. But we all have a choice. And I think we spend so much time running away from discomfort and in hiding from perceived pain. Right? We got we could spend tails, like my partner and I we tell her to do this thing. What if one of us starts to go to like, Hey, I don't know shit. I don't know. I don't know shit. And it's like, Oh, okay. I'm spending a story. Thank you for that. Because it's true. it the more I learned, the more I realized, I don't know much at all. And and I think it's a fantastic place because it goes back to the curiosity that you mentioned before. Right? Find what, what if what it began Exactly. Oh, what if? Oh, no, really? Is that? No kidding? Is that possible? You know, that's God, what a wonderful place to be. I heard somebody else and I don't know who it was, I want to say Eckhart Tolle or somebody, but talked about, ah, the word ah, aw, e, that we've, we've truly lost that place of just looking at something and just going oh, yeah, just being completely dumbfounded, like, oh my gosh, that's amazing. You know, it's like, wow, wow, something that touches us so deeply.

So that's totally accessible. You know, it's still there. Yeah. You just have to remind yourself to do it. And you don't need any special circumstances or special location. There. You know, their eyes available to you in any moment, just looking around like right now, I could look up my little window and I've got farmlands and trees. And just that. It's amazing, right?

Oh, yeah, no, I've got a 38 acre farm right behind me. And then the foothills right behind that. It's gorgeous. I love that. Yeah, sometimes I'll just be standing back there. And my partner's like, oh, no, I'm staring. One, I do that with guys and their dogs, I send them on assignments, they have homework to do, you know, this isn't you don't just read a book and get to hang out with me. There's your stuff to do. Because your dog is trying to show you stuff all the time. And if you let them lead you around a little bit, and pay attention to what they're actually paying attention to. And I'm not saying you gotta go lick the piss off the post that they're sniffing over there. But if you pay attention to what they're really getting into, sometimes you might hear oh, what do you notice that or Oh, I do. I've walked by that 1000 times. I didn't know that was there. That was really interesting.

So just about time for us to wrap up, I want to make sure that you have time to show us your book, tell us about what you've written. And tell us more about how people can get in touch with you. If they love what you're saying. And they just want to check things out. How can they get in touch with you? And tell me about your book?

Absolutely. So www dot dogs and men.com. It's a simple site, because life's complicated enough. But there's information on me and there's some courses on there and link to a summit I'm doing that I'm going to leave up on the site as well. So that'll be accessible to folks, coaching information and all that jazz links to my book. Let your dog lead us. Now. There's a link to dozens of other podcasts and shows up in on on there as well. You just got to click on Darby near the bottom of the page. They'll take you right to it.

So like it's a whole treasure trove of stuff. It is but

it's not you don't have like page after page after page after page. It's really simply laid out. And I did it on purpose because I can't stand having to go through 20 pages or something. Yeah, so the book is an introduction, folks. It's just an introduction to finding a different way to be. If you're not happy, you can choose you decide, decide, as Danny told you, you make that decision and step across that line.