What

I admit I find it hard to explain animal communication, especially in your average day-to-day settings. It's just doesn't strike people as an "everyday" sort of thing, and yet it is as much everyday as breathing. What has been most surprising to me, is the number of people that begin nodding in some semblance of understanding as I bumble my way through an explanation. If you have an animal friend whom you love very dearly then of course you speak with them, and if you are little bit open to possibility, of course they answer back.

As a child I had no problem imagining that a cat, a deer, a bumblebee or a blade of grass for that matter might speak to me and have something profound (or not!) to say. Why not? As children we sense the world, we do not forge through it like a crusading army. The world unfolds around us and we are quite close to that veil beyond which communication is a vibration, a heartbeat, and much more than words. So what happened? So much. Today we are bombarded with information, our intellectual brains are the size of melons and our intuitive brains struggle for any attention at all. Women often find themselves re-attuned to their intuition through motherhood. Ask any mother for a time when she has just "known" where her children are, what they are doing, if something is wrong, etc. There is a cord of electricity that binds us all, and we have only to flick the switch to ignite it.

When I first heard an animal speak to me as an adult, in a "how to communicate with animals" class, there was shock, but also familiarity. A sense of "I've been here before, but I've forgotten the where, when, and how." Of course my little cat and I communicated constantly, but I didn't recognize this as something interesting or unique, it just was. Likewise with the various horse friends I'd had over the years - and their communication could be quite loud, as in when I'd find myself lying on the ground after having been told in no uncertain terms, "no I do not wish to jump this fence you silly girl."

The thing that is hard for us as humans is recognizing the difference between cerebral communication, our spoken language, and heart communication. Having a conversation with an animal, or any being in nature, is like turning on your 6th sense and letting it drive the car. Possibly a bit unnerving for those of the intellectual persuasion. It is beyond "thinking" and ALL feeling.

I'll explain that all more someday, but for now, the easiest thing is to just take a deep breath, and feel what is around you. Close your eyes - they tend to be tricky and give you a false sense of reality. Just sense what is, and let it in. If your animal friend or your wee child is being particularly nice, or particularly nudge-y at the moment, just be quiet, and see what comes. Don't judge it, and for goodness sake, don't judge yourself.