I communicate with animals first by clearing my mind of thoughts and other concerns to create a space for the animals to be heard, and then by encouraging them to share any thoughts and feelings they wish to make known. Animals communicate in many different ways, and each animal has an individual style of communicating, just as people do. The ways in which animals communicate can involve visual images, thoughts, words, feelings, sounds, and other sensations.
What I receive depends on the animal’s style and what he wants to make known. The way that I communicate is in some ways similar to translating from another language, in this case a language of energy and spirit. In addition, I often experience a sort of merging with the animal. In this merged state I can know and feel things from the animal’s perspective, on the emotional and spiritual levels and often on the physical level as well, and this leads to illumination of the situation from his perspective.
When I’m working with an animal, the animal often wants me to know more about his person or family so that I can understand his situation from a larger, holistic perspective. Animals who live closely with people are often concerned about the challenges in their people’s lives, and this concern can play a part in the difficulties that lead their people to seek a consultation.
The people I work with are as important to me as the animals, and I have great admiration for the way that animals and their people work together and help each other. The people I talk with are doing the very best they can for their animals. If I can assist them to shift in the direction of even greater understanding, intimacy, and health, it’s always very rewarding for me.
My background in psychological counseling gives me an understanding of people as well as animals and of how human concerns overlap with the challenges animals face. Sometimes the challenges that animals face mirror in important ways the challenges that we humans are confronting in our lives. Out of love for us, animals can try to assist us by bringing our attention to matters we need to be aware of to be at our healthiest and best. These matters can be physical symptoms of which we may be unaware or emotional or spiritual matters an animal takes on to focus our attention on the need for growth or healing.
At the beginning of an appointment I ask a few questions to begin to develop a feel for the animal and the situation. As his person speaks about the situation and/or their life together, the animal begins to add his perspective to the conversation, and often other animal members of the household will offer their thoughts as well. People sometimes think that everything in an animal’s consciousness and memory banks is readily available to me, but in fact the animal is quite able to hold back anything he does not want to share or feels is irrelevant.
For instance, animals are very aware that certain matters are sensitive to their people, and they are invariably careful about keeping sensitive matters in confidence. They often take a short while to evaluate who I am and how their person is responding to me before they open up and participate. As they participate they are circumspect about what they reveal, if necessary, and find ways to give me the information I need to be of assistance without revealing matters that are sensitive to their people.
Some animals have a great deal to say and offer a wealth of information and impressions. Other animals have only a few important things that they want to make known. Regardless of how much or little an animal has to say, being able to express his thoughts and feelings and communicate directly to his person is usually tremendously beneficial and frequently a great relief to him.
In communicating with animals I never pressure them. I just make it clear that I’m available to listen and assist them in communicating with their human loved ones. As I talk with their people, I enter the animals’ world and let them offer what they want me to know in their own time and in their own way. I allow animals to evaluate the situation and me and reassure themselves that it is safe and comfortable to participate. In the long run this approach builds the greatest trust and leads to the greatest benefits for everyone.
As an animal communicator and as a healer it has always been important to me to respect animals’ wisdom and autonomy. Years of communicating with and healing animals have shown me that animals have their own wisdom about situations and about what they need and that it is generally quite precise and accurate. My goal is always for the animal to be a partner in the process we have undertaken, whether it is animal communication or healing. A truly integrative approach to healing animals respects the wisdom and autonomy of animals as fully sentient beings and takes into account their knowledge and preferences on all levels in designing a program of treatment for them. Deeper and broader healing is obtained in this way. I hope that as a culture we will move increasingly in this direction.
Because of my close connection to wild animals, I can help people to connect more fully with nature and the animals in nature with whom they feel a special connection, when this is something that interests them. I find that wild animals sometimes offer themselves as intermediaries to assist me in communicating with an animal if it seems that will be beneficial in some way. The wild animals of our world are more interested in and available for communion with us than many people think. They are usually very gratified by people’s desire to connect with them and give generously of themselves for the benefit of all of the earth’s inhabitants.
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