"About my co-creator: He is a companion beyond all others. I still learn from him and gnow to trust him. His instincts are pure and protective of my very soul. It is hard to explain how he helped create Sacred Healing, but he did. As odd as it may seem, he is the great communicator. Those who have experienced his magic will never forget his human eyes, unwavering stare and demand for truth and excellence. He never let me settle. When Butch suggested Bentley should be listed as co-author, I knew this was a simple honoring of truth. Without his ever-presence, our life would not be what it is, healing would be less complete and this book may still be invisible ink."

Bentley is an unsual contributor. He laid at Marri's back throughout the process of creating Sacred Healing, insisted on walks to clear her mind, nudged her hands with a wet, cold nose when it was time to eat or drink, or take a break and play. He watched out for her when she failed to watch out for herself. He kept away intruders, especially energetic invaders, keeping vigil while all others sleep. When anyone doubted the work or words, he snorted approval, sighed exasperation, shook off what wasn't right, barked endorsements and never missed a beat. He parked his 130 furry pounds against Marri's chair to make sure she can't leave the computer and blocked doorways to prevent interruption. If his paws would have fit on the keyboard, that book would have been finished years earlier.

"People forget that we pets are part of the family and feel the impact of crisis and change as much as, if not more than, humans do. Everything comes down on us -- to us. I wish everyone could see the view from here. ... I was sent to help the healing and to be healed in my own sacred places. Spirit lives in four legs, as powerfully as two -- sometimes we gnow more than you would imagine."

Virginia Weldon lives in Boulder, Colorado with her cat, Spike. She works with an innovative internet company e-Vitro. For twelve years she and her partner owned Pacific Western Entertainment and Programing, a commercial and residential satellite system company. As a continous studen of truth, Virginia has been a studying astrologer for over forty years, has studied Tarot, Numerology and most recently various Shamanistic teachings from Amerindian to Celtic lore. She has been a journal writer for the majority of her 66 years, and in this process of self-examination/awareness has written over 150 poems. In Feelings: Insight Out she shares some of them.

Michael Stellitano moved from his native New Jersey to Las Vegas in the 1980s. At a very young age, he recognized that he possessed a unique spiritual gift. In his early adulthood, he began to utilize the power he sensed to heal the pains and illnesses of people he encountered. He has spent the past 20 years in the active practice of healing. Thousands of people have sought his assistance and have walked away relaxed, happy and free of pain. Michael believes that everyone is a healer and teaches how to awaken that energy in an instructional video, a how-to book and conditioning audio tape Your Healing Hands. www.yourhealinghands.com

Sharon Kaplan Roszia has worked in the fields of foster care and adoptions since 1963 in both public and private agencies, and also in private practice. She is an adoptive parent and grandparent, was a foster parent and now has an open adoption relationship with her two teenage granddaughters. About twenty years ago, Sharon started an open adoption support group that welcomed anyone participating or interested in cooperative adoption. That group of adoptive, birth and extended family members still continues to meet monthly, which has allowed Sharon to witness the ongoing relationships of the families described in this book, plus hundreds of additional open, cooperative situations. Sharon is also co-author with Lois Melina of the book The Open Adoption Experience. Sharon has carried her beliefs about cooperation into the child welfare system and now teaches openness in those court cases where children will be separated from their families of origin. She is involved in a progressive California program training mediators to create open adoption agreements between the birth and adopting families. Ms. Roszia is a progam director for the Southern California office of the Kinship Center. She oversees a project that places children from the foster care system into permanent families. She and her staff work diligently to honor all the prior connections in a child’s life. She can be reached at Kinship Center, 1520 Brookhollow, Suite 41, Santa Ana, CA 92704 (714) 979-2365 or sroszia@kinshipcenter.org .

Mary Jo Rillera was both an adoptee and birthparent involved in adoptions that changed from closed to cooperative in the 1970’s. For over 20 years, she was a national speaker and consultant on family search and reunion. Ms. Rillera founded Triadoption Library, served as a Guardian Trustee for the International Soundex Reunion Registry and on the boards of numerous reform organizations like Concerned United Birthparents and American Adoption Congress. She is a publisher, artist, book and website designer, and is the author and editor of many articles, newsletters, magazines and books including: The Adoption Searchbook: Techniques for Tracing People; Adoption Encounter: Hurt, Transition, Healing; The Reunion Book; The Family Book ~ A Keepsake, The Smile Book and Poem Is Where The Heart Is; The Free Press and TriadOptions Magazine.