Never assume your loved one knows how you feel about them...unexpressed love has no power at all, but love spoken and shared brings joy.

Audrey Jean Roberts

Who is influencing who?

When clients contact me to have a conversation with their animals, I usually ask the human to reply to the following questions:

1)       what do you think your companion animal’s job is

2)       what do you think they think their job is

3)       what do they give you

4)       above the basics of love, food, shelter, what do you think you give your animal companion

It is this last question that usually stumps everyone as we don’t think about what we give our furry friends. Many times I have found animals come into our lives to help us in the process of living, but there are also times I notice that we are in their lives to help them. Some animals are soul mates gently and generously loving us far beyond our practiced capacity to love ourselves. Virtually with every client, I find issues that manifest in animals have the underlying goal of showing us what we need to change in ourselves so that our hearts become open to new and profoundly deeper insights about ourselves or our perceptions. This is the most allusive journey of all.

Laddie's message:

I need you to realize with all your heart that your love heals me just as much as my love heals you.

The impact of stress

There are so many stresses that we as humans are subjected to each day, every moment. How well do you deal with your stress? I have found that how we deal with stress has a direct impact on how our animal friends deal with stress. Each animal is an individual just like you and me and each deals with stress differently. Stress for animals of all species, including ourselves, therefore, comes, at a minimum, from these sources that we as humans create:

1) physical stress – exposure to electromagnetic energies, man-made energies, chemicals, moulds…

2) mental stress – we live in time when fear and heavy thoughts weigh us down. We are so busy that taking time to enjoy simple moments and play can be forgotten. I find the quality of the thoughts we have (including having negative thoughts about others) can have a special, and lasting impact on our animal friends. It has been determined that we have over 40,000 thoughts a day – and I figure this is on a quiet day! Every thought has a frequency, vibration or electrical energy about it. Imagine the energy that each thought creates – and if that thought is one of anger, jealousy, doubt, or even the less obviously influential energies like frustration or dissatisfaction, the energy that goes rippling out into our environment becomes palpable.

3) emotional stress – as we hang on to emotional energy we create blocks within our heart. Animals are all about heart – their goal is to keep it (their and our hearts) open and full of life. Changes in family (death, divorce, moving, new animals) and living environment can create distress and emotional stress for animals. This type of stress often goes unrecognized by the humans, and may take some time to manifest into behavioral problems for the animal.

4) spiritual stress – either because of abuse, long term exposure to stresses referred to above or because the human companion is distant from their own spiritual connections.

A special note about worry

If I could paint a picture, translating the energy of worry (created by humans) that I have experienced when entering a home of an animal client, it would look like a room so small you could barely fit yourself into it. In the room would hang a heavy, dense fog that, even with the sunlight shining through the one window in the room would not penetrate it; nothing could come in, nothing could exit once in the room. Breathing would be a challenge, even with the healthiest of lungs. The living environment would so stress the functioning of the heart that its inherent following along with Mother Earth’s heart beat would cease. Any source of life would be overshadowed, even neutralized, by the energy of worry, and would affect anyone who shared the environment - human or animal. Now, just imagine the impact of worry on your animal's body, mind and spirit, especially with it being so much smaller than ours.

An extra special note about working animals

Of all that we treasure in our lives, the relationship with our companion animals ranks amongst the most valuable. Animals lessen depression, accept us unconditionally, bring us joy, and so on. When your companion is also a workmate, or works with humans in therapy situations, the bond is even tighter.

On behalf of working animals, I would ask that their human companions, beyond the human's deep gratitude, care and respect for their animal colleague, to realize the additional stressors that impact on the animal on an energetic level because the animal is a working animals.

Theirs is a special stress.

I further ask that the human help the relief of such stress the animal experiences by learning and administering energy clearing techniques to their companion, or at least find a qualified energy worker to assist them. I would be pleased to provide you with one-on-one training and education.

In summary, what stresses us usually stresses them. The price of stress for our animals is, at very least, an impacted immune system, a disconnection with their environment, and a reduction in their joy of living.

Some of the best ways to lessen stress for your animal companion include:

-     Learning to communicate with them, doing so on a daily, regular basis, even to the point of letting them know when you will be home and if your plans change and you’ll be home at a later. It also helps to let them know what you look forward to doing together when you get home.

-     Playing with them. Play is much less about amusing them and more about providing an opportunity for both you and them to de-stress and heal. Never discount the wide variety of benefits that play brings!

-     Meditate with your animal (see CD products).

-     Lessen your own stress, especially learn to develop ways to not create worry in your life, improve the quality of your thoughts, and deepen your understanding of yourself.

-    Over the years I have found animals enjoy being read to, have stories written about them, being sung to – just let your imagination, and their guidance, lead you. Ask them what would help them distress – you may be surprised at their answer.

-     Recognizing your animal has a job to do in life that is meaningful to them and supporting them to perform that job. They can also have a unique approach to life which may be hard to relate to but likely has some lesson for us to learn about living life richly.

from Lucy:

Living is the best ride. There is wonderment and success in "just being".

When a kind heart comes along, drink of its bounty and especially its wise connection to Universal Healing Light.

Its a really cool thing to have six toes on each paw!

What better job is there than being a cat!

Spiritual aspects of animals - trauma and ascension

It is because animals consciously remember that they are spiritual beings first (and they recognize this fact far better than we do), that animals are able to hold such highest vibrational energies as joy and love. Below I explore this aspect of animals, as well as my recent observations about the ascension process as it relates to animals.

from Ebony:

The love I bring to mankind is unaffected by the abuse I have endured by man's hand

Trauma
Time aftertime, I find animals have a higher understanding of why things happen and the broader meaning of events. This does not mean, however, that they are unaffected by trauma and traumatic events. Trauma affects animals, much like it affects us. Animals that have suffered abuse are often confused and displaced from their body as a coping mechanism (like soul loss). It is vital for humans to realize that while animals may have a high tolerance to unacceptable conditions, they can become overloaded by the energies around them, especially when exposed over long periods of time. Trauma can include mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of an animal.

Solutions and healing are very possible. Animals, like humans, can process and release the emotions of the trauma experienced and new habits can be established, but such healing takes time, patience, and love. I have worked with many different kinds of trauma including physical (wilds rehab, animal attach), mental (anxiety-centered) issues, and spiritual (abuse). Animals are keen to release the burdens of abuse, but only when they feel safe enough to release it. On-going permission from the animal is of utmost importance, respect for the animal is a main focus in this recovery experience. Working closely with the human is also important. However, because of the natural nature of animals, I feel it important to add that for those animals who have been severely abused and who use retaliation as a coping mechanism, a full recovery for those animals may not be possible.

A few words about ascension. In the last year (2008) I have begun to notice that animals arriving as newborns to us are holding significantly higher vibrations. With my own older companion animals I have also noticed that they are going through their own ascension process, not unlike mine - changes are happening as deeply and profoundly for them as they are for me.

Bear's profound message:

We [animals and humans] are all equal. We [the animals] need to be treated as equals.

Lost animals

Perhaps even more painful than losing an animal companion to death, is when they become lost. Doubt and worry soon take over the human heart so it is important to try to keep the faith and especially to listen to your “gut feelings”. A communicator may be able to help you to sift through the gut feelings, or to get a sense of where the animal is – but there are no guarantees.

There can be many reasons for an animal to become lost. Prevention is the best medicine so I encourage you to "carpe diem" - seize the day with your animal - improve your communication with them - let them be a catalyst to making changes in your life and opening your heart and mind up to new ideas, new perceptions.

Here are some suggestions of things you can do immediately if your animal gets lost:

1)       begin a door-to-door campaign immediately taking a poster around the neighbourhood, local animal shelter, and access the Internet – there are many sites out there that list found or lost animals. Don’t leave the job of following up to anyone but yourself – make direct contact with your neighbours and shelters regularly.

2)       never give up hope if you have a sense that they are still alive, ask the angels of serendipity and synchronicity to bring your life path back in line with your animal's path so you can be reunited

3)       send out a beacon of bright white light from the middle of your forehead to them. You need not know where they are in order for them to receive it - your intention will see that it gets to them. This light will be a guide for them to follow back to you.

4)       keep a steady stream of words and images running through your heart and head calling them home to you, even hold an image in your mind of them walking in the door – make the image as real, full of joyful emotion and detailed as possible.

5)       trust your “gut feelings”

6)       ask for help from their guides and angels (and yours) to guide them home. If you are comfortable with prayer do so, and ask friends and family to pray for a safe return as well.

7)       remember your companion is a spiritual being first, just like you, and the combination of you, them and Spirit is capable of many unbelievable things – miracles do happen.

8)       when searching for them, always have their favorite treat in your pocket

9)       remember your animal may be stressed, bewildered and may not act as they would at home - so they may not cry out or respond to you normally, often having food at hand will bring them enough around to at least find their location.

Ways to help keep your animal safe when traveling

-          if traveling away from home make sure they are not loose in the car

-     be aware that harsh chemicals may have been used to clean the room in which you are staying

-          if you leave them home, here is where well established communication comes in handy. Let them know the time, reason for being away, and while you are away keep your connection flowing with your companions. This is very helpful in lessening the stress of your absence in their life.

-          If you leave the responsibility of their care with friends or family – again, your gut knows what is best and what your animal wants and needs. It may be better to ask the caretakers to live at your place while you are away, rather then staying in a different location

Grieving a loss The passage of life to a higher form is an emotional and highly intimate experience. I bring my relationship with Spirit and understanding of energy to provide the human and animal with a supportive, benevolent environment, whether the time is when ...

leading up to an animal’s passing, or

being present for the animal’s passing (for human and animal support), or

providing support in the grieving process after the loss – be it the human’s grief or animal’s.

Section Two - Animal Communication

The Gift of Animal
Since the first wild animal was tamed animals have given a special gift to mankind:

Unconditional Love
Since the first twinkle in their eyes animals have invited mankind to:

Laugh and Play
For each time mankind has felt alone animals have been there to:

Comfort Us

Malki'el

How does animal communication work?

Because …

thought is a form of energy, and

thought/energy can travel anywhere it is intentionally sent, and

we can receive this energy and translate it based on our own inner definitions of the energy,

...a person can send and receive information from an animal.

Perhaps you feel disbelief, or perhaps doubt in your mind - in spite of these blocks, I would wager that you and your companion are already communicating back and forth with each other, even beyond the basics of “feed me”- “I want out” – “let me in” and my personal favorite – “its time to get up!”.

An Animal Communicator is very much like an interpreter. They are sensitive to the vibrations of thought energy and are able to interpret and translate the universal language of thought energy from human to animal, and from animal to human.

Humans communicate through touch, voice, words, and gestures. Animals communicate in similar ways. However, they most efficiently communicate by transferring images through thought energy or telepathy. As humans we have long ignored our own natural telepathic abilities yet they still show up when getting a “sense” of someone calling, or "feeling" some event is about to take place. We have trouble believing in the unseen or unexplained; animals need no proof of the unseen, and at times stake their lives on it.

Each Animal Communicator brings with them their own unique gifts and life experiences, so it is important to find an animal communicator that you are comfortable with, and with whom you feel you can work.

My approach

I consider working with humans and animals to be a special privilege. It is an opportunity for the human and animal to come together on new levels of understanding. More often than not I have noticed that an animal’s issues are a prelude to the human experiencing their own personal transformation.

Work can be ongoing or may only require a single meeting. Communication can be carried out long distance (since thought energy travels boundlessly throughout the world), or in person. Each interaction expands a circle of healing that benefits the world.

I feel it is important to provide the human with new ways of connecting with their animal companion. This serves to strengthen their mutual bond. Together we work as a team exploring solutions based on what the human is comfortable with, and what the animal is willing to accept. I also take the opportunity when working with the human client to educate them about ways of identifying stress and relieving it (theirs and their companion’s), teach ways of connecting energetically with the animal (i.e. heart to heart connection – photo shown left ), and help to to empower the human to communicate openly with their furry friends, as well as natural world around them.

The ways in which I communicate and assist with rebalancing the animal includes telepathy (to understand where they are coming from) and body work (to clear blocks they are experiencing - picture below).

I have also found that harmonics, drum healing and other energy techniques of tremendous benefit to animals . It is their nature to be joyful so they eagerly respond to ways that return them to their inner joy. They instinctively know when someone knows energy techniques that can help restore them to that balance - and with great trust, go up to the person and just plunk themselves down at the feet of the human making the area needing work within easy reach for the human.

Benefits

Also referred to as Interspecies Communication, the greatest benefit of enlisting the help of an Animal Communicator is (stating the obvious) communication!

The types of issues that are generally addressed are:

behavioral habits

improved understanding of the animal’s point of view

human’s view or needs are better understood by animal

healing from abuse issues

Service Area

Services are offered either in person (Maritime and Quebec regions) or long distance (including international requests).

Follow up is available and highly recommended, especially in the situations where physical and emotional healing is the main focus of treatment.

When emailing a picture of your animal, please try to send one with the eyes and body showing and if possible please send a low resolution i.e. below 700k.

Rates

An hourly rate of $30.00 is suggested. Time is calculated to include the time spent talking with the human initially, talking with the animal, providing the animal healing techniques, researching issues, and finally reporting back to the human. At-home visits may require transportation costs to be reimbursed.

Special pricing: Sliding scale fees and Rehab-ers pricing available. For support during emergency (lost) or grieving situations, donations only are accepted.

Training & background

My best teachers have been the animals. With each encounter, and especially those who share life with me, I continue to be an eager student. On the practical application level, I have taken advanced training with Penelope Smith, Carol Gurney, and currently working on certification for Energy Healing for Animals (by Silvia Hartmann, PhD). Other courses taken include Therapeutic Touch (advanced for animals) and Basic Tellington Touch.

Messages we all can relate to

August 27th, 2006: Carnival Day for Greyhounds in Halifax (link below)

During a brief workshop on "Communicating with your animal" the rescued hounds relayed the following messages to their human companions.
"I Protect You" ~ "I Appreciate Your Care" ~ "Relax, Warmth of Heart" ~ "Peace, Contentment, Belonging" ~ "Love, Gentleness" ~ "Please Don't Abandon Me"

Links
My teachers: Penelope Smith http://www.animaltalk.net Carol Gurney http://www.animalcommunicator.net

Greyhound rescue http://www.gpac.ca

St. John's Ambulence Therapy Dog Services http://www.sja.ca/NSPEI/CommunityServices/Programs/Pages/TherapyDogServices.aspx

PAWS to read Program: Student support reading (to a dog) program for kids in Halifax area libraries - Grades 2-5 - contact the HRM library for more information

Eastern Shore Wildlife Rescue http://www.hopeforwildlife.net

Thank you to my teachers...