Do animals possess a sixth sense? Do they have thoughts and emotions? Are they conscious beings? Do humans and animals have a spiritual connection that reaches beyond our present comprehension? Today, even though the human race is growing more and more separated from nature, people are asking these questions. But, does anyone really know how animals can forecast disaster, or how a dog knows when a person is coming home from work, or when it's time to go for a walk. Some believe animals have a highly developed sense that enables them to feel the earth move before an earthquake, or smell gas escaping deep beneath the ground before an actual event. In any case, anthropologists claim that ancient humans may have once also possessed this higher sixth sense. But, because we rarely use it, we have all but lost it. Perhaps the animals can help us reclaim it.

 

Humans and animals have enjoyed a long prehistoric relationship that originated thousands of years ago when the animals were evolving from wild beasts into the domesticated companions they are today. In 1997, UCLA biology professor, Robert Wayne startled the dog world by announcing his research suggested dogs were first domesticated as early as 60,000 to 100,000 years ago in Hunter-Gatherer societies. He also confirmed that dogs are descended only from wolves and not jackals or coyotes as some scientists had thought.

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For the last ten years, I have been  working to bring into human awareness the theory that animals and humans have shared a longstanding psychic and spiritually-based, nonverbal system of communication of which there is evidence in Stone Age cave paintings created during the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago. Paradoxically, as our culture endeavors to move toward interplanetary communications, we would be wise to remember that within the heart of ancient interspecies relationships, lies a "jewel within a stone," awaiting our rediscovery. That jewel (telepathy) is the essential healing bond animals and humans once shared in early times. Within this bond is a gift that can guide us in our spiritual and interplanetary quest. And since humans have denied the essential core of this telepathic connection for so long we need to relearn it, or at least reinvent it, so we can evolve cooperatively to the benefit of all, accepting our commonality with other species on Earth.

 

While researching my book titled Spirit of the Horse , I learned a lot about the diverse relationships early humans once enjoyed with animals in ancient times. Recently, many more books have been published on this subject. Yet, this is not an academic study. It has everything to do with the survival of our planet today. If we are going to heal the Earth from the damages we have wrought for so many centuries, we must return to this deep and rich telepathic connection with nature and allow it to guide and teach us.

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Animals are psychically aware spiritual beings, more so often times than humans. And they possess as complex a system of thoughts and emotions as we do. They have a lot to teach each other about life. But, few realize the rich and complex spiritual "sameness" we share with animals is the foundation upon which our relationship with them rests.

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When early people began to settle down and build permanent dwellings they also began to subvert the heart of this wonderful association with wild beasts. We learned everything we know from them then, and are still learning from them today. We needed them to survive the weather, the seasons, to find food, water, and shelter. Today we need them again. But something has changed.

About the same time, we began to justify exploiting not only animals, but other humans, nations, races and sexes as well , be began to lose our psychic ties with nature. Armed with this reasoning a person had only to demonstrate the "other" was not fully human or "closer to an animal" to establish his right of dominion. And according to Aristotle, women were also deficient in a rational soul, and the relationship of male to female was naturally that of superior to inferior.

 

As humans, we have spent thousands of years telling ourselves we are above and apart from the "others" in nature.  Today, this paradigm, which is slowly receding, still dominates our world and has shaped modern societies across all boundaries of race, religion and creed.

The new paradigm, which focuses on a more holistic worldview, seeing the world as an integrated whole, recognizes that our fundamental interdependence upon one another as we now share the same ecological concerns. Once the shift begins to take hold, we will begin to realize, by embracing our relationship with nonhuman species, that we are truly in partnership with everything alive, and we can start to understand how to heal the past.

 

My research into telepathic communication with horses began when I purchased a horse and discovered I could hear his thoughts and vice versa. I have always had an affinity for animals, but I became fascinated with "other ways of knowing" them when I started working with them full time. When I learned that horses could communicate psychically, intuitively and telepathically, a new world opened up for me, and for them. And this can happen for you.

After many years of communicating with humans in my professional life, I realized the best way to reduce prejudice and alienation was to listen to others without judging. Using these same nonjudgmental listening skills I began to sense the rich heritage we share with other species, as I listened to them and found a rich heritage, one as rich today as it was when we shared caves and watering holes with bears and wolves.

Are We In Denial?

 

Because we are constantly bombarded with denial from the moment we are born, many of us learn not to question anything, and we do not go out on a limb to know if what we were told is true. As a culture, we are told animals do not talk to people, and we cannot communicate with them. They do not have souls and are unable to think, reason and feel. To the contrary, these assumptions, made by an anthropocentric society, are patently false. Yet, the effects of this paradigm have made us tune out all of nature, as well as ourselves. We dismiss our deeper "knowings" because our habit is to just not listen. Now is the time to realize that animals are full partners with humanity. We are closely interconnected and interdependent.

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Every child on earth, every animal and plant is in a constant natural, psychic connection with everything else on Earth. A research study, conducted by the University of Virginia School of Medicine, shows that more than half of Americans today have had, or will have, at least one major psychic experience in their lifetime. This is amazing owing to the fact twenty-five years ago ESP was considered entertainment and tainted with fraudulent practitioners who diminished the credibility of many sincere and well-meaning people. These myths are now changing.

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Jumping the Chasm

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"As you go forward in life, you will come upon a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think." This advice, given to a young Native American boy upon initiation into adulthood, is relevant to our work today. Bridges between minds are being found in the spiritual realms, where we can recognize links between human and nonhuman nature. The emotional lenses we once had, colored by fear and disgust, no longer cloud our relationship to the "others."

 

The best way to begin a conversation with another human being, or with an animal, is to develop trust. If you want to learn to communicate with your horse, for example, you need to develop trust and mutual respect.

Communicating with Your Animal

If you have ever wondered if you could communicate telepathically with your animal friend, try these simple steps.

 

Sit or stand quietly beside your animal in a peaceful and calm place. Open yourself to listening without judging until the chatter in your own mind begins to still. Once you are comfortable in this "deep silence" with your animal, as in "meditative silence," this state of being will take you to a mental place where you are receptive and trusting of your own feelings. Those who meditate are more likely to achieve good communication with animals than those who do not.

 

Once you are quiet and emotionally calm it is important to establish rapport with the animal before plunging into what you want to talk about. Going right into a discussion with an animal sometimes makes them see it as an attack, or a punishment, and they can close down. If you are worried about something, you will transmit those worries to the animal. It colors your interactions depending upon the strength of your emotional connection. You want to be patient, calm, relaxed and breathing slowly, deeply and quietly. If you know anything about Ttouch, it is an excellent way to help an animal relax.

 

Ask yourself if you are blaming the animal for a behavior. Remember there is always a reason for the way an animal is acting, whether or not you understand it is not important right now. That the animal knows you honor and respect her is what is important at this stage.

Once you feel a rapport is established and there is a calm mental "environment" surrounding you both, you can begin by asking a simple question. Or, you can considerately state a problem. Often an animal is willing to negotiate with you, so be patient if you do not succeed the first time. This takes discipline and one-pointed focus.

An example of good phrasing for a question is, "You are not eating today, is there something you would like to tell me? You can close your eyes for a moment to "see" if the animal is sending a visual image or a verbal message. Often we receive communication in symbolic language, since animals do not always speak English. Good communication is a marriage between both words and pictures. Words alone, no matter how powerful they may seem, are not enough to get the point across. This works with all species and is at the core of our universal language.

 

When you send a message, you also need to project a mental picture with it, which corresponds to what you are saying, thinking and feeling. Recognizing we sometimes "force" communication onto animals, either out of frustration, or ignorance, is important. It is wiser to smile and cultivate flexibility. This will help to change your old methods of communicating instead of using force when you cannot get your point across. Often humans are unrelenting in their effort to get quick results. We need to learn to be present and grounded when learning this new skill. You cannot expect "push button" results.

 

If you find you cannot hear your animal's message, ask again. Wait and check for yourself for any negative thinking, doubt or insecurity, making certain you are thinking positively. Let go of conventional ideas about the human/animal bond of the past. If you receive pictures you do not understand, ask the animal for clarification. You will learn to interpret the images as you progress. Allow whatever mode of communication you experience to occur naturally, whether it is a feeling, picture, word, thought or sensation. We all receive messages differently and to the degree we are listening, or can tune everything else out.

When there is love for animals and a willingness to learn and accept them as they are, our ability grows, and the mind and heart open and expand. Even with the most skeptical students, in time with regular training, a deeper understanding, even communion with animals is possible.

 

In summary, if we ask deeper questions about the present paradigm that says animals are dumb, and we truly wish to change that, we will. Eventually we may need to question every single aspect of the old paradigm, but we will not necessarily have to throw everything out. A complete shift in consciousness is possible through an expansion not only of our perceptions and ways of thinking, but of our values as a society.

 

The ancient association women have with nature links them closely to animals as a source of natural kinship. Accordingly, the study of feminine spirituality, termed Goddess Spirituality, which views female knowledge as a major source of a more holistic and ecological vision of the world, offers inspiration to anyone who wishes to learn about the wonderful blending that humans can experience with animals and nature.