Introduction

The Story
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A Few Personal Stories
Francis
Faith
Anne
Silva

A Spiritual Journey

By Faith Maloney

I grew up in a devout Irish Catholic family in post World War 2 England. I loved the ceremony of the Church, but felt, even as a child, that for me something was missing. After graduating from art school in the early 60s, and while I was living in London, I went in search of other ways to get in touch with the spiritual world.

Faith in the 1970s

I had been seeing auras around people nearly all my life, so it felt quite natural to attend classes on clairvoyance and psychic communication. I learned a lot, but it still wasn't what I was looking for. Then I met a group of people who were holding weekly discussions and who seemed to be searching for the same things I was. We came from different backgrounds, grew up in different faiths, or no faith at all, but we were all searching for a better, more fulfilling spiritual life, and to be honest, some plain old adventure.

The journey to the Yucatan, Mexico, was a way of leaving behind my old way of life and embracing a whole new one. It was the beginning of living in community with like-minded people and, for a girl who had grown up in dull, English suburbia with a pet dog, it was an introduction to the wide world of nature. At Xtul, the Mayan name of the place we settled there, I discovered an ability to commune with animals of all kinds. I loved the iguanas that ran up the trees, the scorpions that made their nests in my clothes. Even the mosquitoes, that bit me mercilessly, were sentient beings to me.

I stayed behind at Xtul when the rest of the group went back to England, to help take care of the dogs, and to have my baby. My son was born there in 1967. It was a wonderful and blessed time in my life. I felt closer to God there than in any church I had ever been in. I was attuned to the abundant life all around me, and my path in life was set from that time onwards.

When I did return to England almost a year later, I felt a great sense of loss. My friends had started their own spiritual organization, The Process Church, and I became part of that. But what I wanted most of all was to regain those feelings of union with nature. It took a while, but I started a small animal sanctuary for abandoned dogs and cats in Pennsylvania in the 70's. It had a lot of problems, like not enough money, and not enough homes for the animals, but I felt I was doing what I was supposed to. In a way, it was a dress rehearsal for Best Friends.

Looking back now, at the age of 60, I am amazed to see how the many threads of my life have come together. I was scheduled to become an art teacher back in the 60's when I left art school. I did become a teacher, but not of art. I taught classes in New York on spiritual development, helping people get in touch with that part of the human experience. And as part of the Foundation Faith, I spoke at national conferences about healing and the power of faith. I created a daily radio show on spiritual topics, and taught a class for two years at a prestigious medical school in Chicago about understanding the spiritual aspects of a patient during the healing process. It was radical then, but is more accepted now. I even combined painting and my spiritual work there in Chicago, starting a ministry called Images of the Soul, in which I would paint personal mandalas for people who wanted them. I also added two daughters to my family, and have watched all of my children grow up to be wonderful, contributive, loving people.

When some of my old colleagues began talking seriously about starting an animal sanctuary, I hung up my canvas and paintbrush, and gave up teaching, and offered to take on the care of the animals. Best Friends Animal Sanctuary offered me the fulfillment of my life.

Today, here at Angel Canyon, the home of Best Friends, I am immersed in the sounds and sights of nature, like I was at Xtul in Mexico. I'm surrounded by animals that need a helping hand, and by a team of loving, dedicated people who have grown in numbers and ability over the years. And I am once again a teacher, since I spend more and more of my time with people coming to the sanctuary to learn how to start and operate an animal sanctuary, and visit people doing work with animals all over the country.

Life is good.