Tune Into Your Animals

If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration. Nikola Tesla

Humans and animals operate or function on two levels: a conscious level and an inner conscious or soul/spirit level.  Our ego takes us on an outer journey while our soul or spirit prods and prompts us to follow an inner journey, or our destiny. Our soul knows exactly what lessons we need to learn in this lifetime and exactly how we are meant to serve God. But, for many of us, our ego is dominant and has a plan of its own - totally out-of-line sometimes with our Divine Plan. Animals, on the other hand, know their Divine mission because they are more intuitive than we humans, and we are the ones who get our four-legged friends off-track. 

Energy. We are all created by and sustained by the same Divine Energy, which means we are all inter-connected so that tuning-in should be a snap, but it isn't.

Our thoughts are actual energy forms that are backed up by our feelings. Thoughts back up feelings and feelings back up thoughts - you cannot separate the two. Animals read our thoughts and feelings. They know what we are thinking and feeling. For example, when I need to do errands, my dogs will sit at the door because they know I'm going out and they want to go with me - I don't have to ask them if they want to go for a ride.

And, when we're feeling down, how often does your cat or dog want to be close to you? They know you need comforting.

I'm not a proponent of the "predator  theory" that is circulating about horses. Animals read energy; it is that simple. My sister and I were having lunch at a restaurant on the beach. A woman was riding her horse on the shore line. A small wave came up and the horse shied. My sister said that the horse shied because it thought it was being preyed upon. That wasn't the case at all. The rider was uncertain of herself and of her horse's reaction to the wave. The horse picked up it's rider's fear and acted accordingly.

Animals incarnate to  help mankind evolve. We are supposed to recognized the God Energy in animals and nature and strive to work in harmony and oneness with them. But, few of us do.  When we work with a sense of oneness with animals and nature, we become one with the God Energy and communicate telepathically with them.  There is no master slave relationship; it is an equal partnership of mutual respect.  When I am in tune with my horses, I don't have to say a word to them because they read my thoughts and feelings.  Hal will accept anything I show or do to him because I have developed a bond of trust with him. He knows and understands that I will never put him in harm's way.

 Another way animals serve us is by absorbing our negative thoughts and feelings. They will also take on an illness or disease for us. Frequently dogs will take on cancer for their owners. Dogs, especially, serve mankind this way which is why they do not live long (another factor is crappy food stuff loaded with chemicals). Cats, on the other hand, will absorb only so much of our negative energy before they bounce it back to us.

 How many times have you felt sad and by grooming your horse felt better? Your horse absorbed some of your sad feelings. My old mare used to do this for me all the time.  Another horse I rescued, Bewitched,   absorbed all of her former owner's rage until she could no longer stand it and foundered. I rescued her and spent two years trying to help her, but she just wanted to leave this planet. She could hardly move, but the day she was going to be set free, she ran down the driveway to the hole. She was so happy that I was going to set her free. Later that day, her spirit came back to me to thank me.  We humans have no idea how much animals help us.

 Life is a science of vibration.  How we think, remember, feel, act, react, see, say, do, and even eat determines the quality of our vibrations, or energy. When we are positive, our energy vibrates at a higher level than when we are negative.

All animals tune into our vibrations; or how and what we're thinking and feeling.  They know when we're upset with them, or happy with them. Animals tune into what is going on consciously and inner-consciously with us humans. How many times have you seen a dog growl at a "nice" person? Well, on an inner-conscious level that person may not be so nice, or the person could be masking feelings of anger, and that is what the dog is picking up.

Getting back to animals tuning into to a person's energy/vibrations, my dog, Fraiser, was my vibe tester. Whenever someone had a hidden agenda, he would stand in between me and the person and then nip at the person. Several times he did this when my husband was mad with me, and on two occasions, Fraiser bite him to protect me.

Animals are very sensitive to our energy, be it positive or negative.  My horse, Hal, is extremely sensitive to people's energy, especially men's energy. He doesn't like  my neighbor's energy, and when he sees the neighbor, Hal will put his ears back and his whole facial expression changes. Yet, the neighbor is oblivious to this. I am not so I stand in between them. I can tell by looking at Hal's eyes what is going on with him because his expression changes. He does not bite and never has, but there have been a couple of men that he would like to bite and these men slaughter animals and reek of the smell.

Something else that people don't realize is that animals have moods too. It could be a beautiful day for a trail ride, but your horse may not be in a good mood. People don't pay attention to the horse's feelings and saddle up anyway. A sibling's horse had Lyme disease, which is very painful on the joints, but she rides him anyway. This is an example of selfishness and lack of consideration for the animal's feelings.  If your horse is not feeling well, he/she should not be ridden. Sadly, this horse had had enough of being used and dropped dead in front of her.

                   *********************************************************************                                   
In 2013, I lost three dogs - two to heart problems and their sister to lymphoma. In August, I decided to get a puppy from a breeder whose line was European and had no cancer. When I walked into the room, I saw a pile of puppies playing. All of a sudden, there was a puppy next to me. So, I started walking around the room and he was following me. This is my puppy I thought.....and so I picked up the little guy. He stuck to me like glue and there was something in me that knew I had to take this puppy. He felt so familiar and it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I knew why. I was sitting with Godfrey on the couch and he looked into my eyes and I heard him say "don't you recognize me"? OMG! You're PT!  So, I called up this energy reader I know, and asked her about this dog, and she said.........he was a dog you had many years ago who got sick at an early age and died young. PT died when he was five years old.   Our time together was cut short, so PT incarnated to be with me again. Animals will reincarnate in a person's lifetime for several reasons: a special bond has developed; a need to help the person with his/her learning; or to continue learning its own lessons.

Our animals reincarnate with us to help us, or to enable us to resolve issues from past lives. In a past lifetime, I spent years trying to capture a black stallion. Finally, I did, but had a change of heart and let him go. My first horse  was that black stallion, and my specific lesson with her this lifetime, was not to try to conquer her. She was strong-willed, and after I brought her to NH, I just let her be. We became the best of friends and she followed me around like a dog.  My lesson with horses was to accept them as they are, not expect them to conform to what I wanted, and to love them unconditionally.

We humans need to think and act outside the box.  We are all created from God's Energy, and because of that, we are all inter-connected. There is a wonderful book called Behaving As If The God Energy in All Life Mattered by Michaelle Wright. I read this book over 20 years ago and it changed my whole perspective on what life is all about.
              
                                                 *******************************************

 So, how does one go about tuning in? It’s a process that takes practice, patience and time. It's a knowingness; it's not a head thing, but a heart connection that needs to be made. Paying attention to your intuition is a start. Listen to your gut feelings because they will never steer you in the wrong direction.

The connection to God is in your heart and listening to your intuition is the first step in making the connection to your heart, or the God Within your heart. Some folks refer to this as your Higher Self, your Christ Consciousness, or Christ Self, but for the sake of clarity, I'm going to say your heart. Some people refer to your heart's voice as the voice of the silence and that is because you must be silent to hear it.  

You can't hear what your intuition or heart is trying to tell you if you're mind is going one hundred and fifty miles an hour. You need to be able to silence your mind chatter and listen inwardly. I can’t sit and meditate – my body has to be active, and when it is, I can shut down, or quiet the chatter going on in my head. Cleaning stalls, vacuuming and gardening are all activities when I can be silent and listen inwardly. I get a lot of help, insight and guidance when I do. So, do what feels comfortable for you....ask for insight and answers and they will come as long as you mind is silent.

For years, I was under the tutelage of a clairvoyant who helped me connect inwardly. It wasn't something he could do for me, but he guided me through the process. I paid attention to my intuition. One morning, I walked into the kitchen and saw a mug on the counter. I should move that I thought, but didn't. My puppy climbed on the chair and did some counter-surfing and knocked off the mug from the counter. This is an example of my intuition guiding me, but I didn't
listen. Your intuition will guide you through the day - just listen inwardly. 

Your inner voice is subtle - it isn't booming unless you are in danger and it wants to get your attention. But, the more you practice listening inwardly, the clearer the voice becomes. One day, I drove my girlfriend to Concord so that she could do some errands. She wanted to go into a particular card shop on Main Street. I pulled into a parking lot and in my pocket was a dime and a quarter. Clearly, I heard: "use the quarter". But, we're only going to be a few minutes I said.  Well, my friend met someone in the card shop and we were in there for almost two hours. By the time  we got back to the car, there was a ten dollar ticket on the windshield. I should have used the quarter, but instead my arrogant self argued with my Higher Self, my heart, who knew what was better for me.

I love to bake, so I started developing  trust in my intuition and heart by not setting the oven timer. I'd simply ask to be told when the cookies were done. Nothing was ever burnt.

Whenever I get into my car, I ask to be guided and protected, and whenever I want  to pass another car, I ask my heart even when it seems like the coast was clear. I would always hear an answer, be it yes or not now. One day, I was driving in back of a slow poke on RT104 and could see that I had enough distance to pass. Because I developed the habit of listening to my heart, I asked whether I should pass or not. As clear as a bell, I heard "do not pass", and I'm glad that I listened because out of a side street came a car, which would have hit me.  These are examples of how I developed trust and faith in finding the answers within my heart.

When you connect with your heart, your actions will be heart-centered, which elevates your energy, and animals will respond accordingly. When your heart is open, animals can feel that energy and won't shy away from you. How many times have you seen an animal avoid a person because he/her energy was off?

I talk to my animals as I would talk to anyone. They understand me very clearly. There are times when they test me, but that is to be expected. I make a promise to all of them that I will never hurt them or put them in harm's way, and I know without a doubt, that they will never hurt me. We have a bond between us. I believe it is this bond that helps me to connect with them.

Animals love to be touched and be massaged. Touch is a basic human need and it is just as important with animals. Touch your animal all over his or her body....find the sweet spots. You need to find the time to touch....to caress and love your animal. My horse, Hal, loves to have the inside of his ears massaged and will put down his head so that I can massage him. Touching is bonding time. You will need to bond with your animal in order to tune into him or her.

Whenever you walk into someone's barn, you can tell how the horses are treated. If the horses retreat or bare their teeth, know without a doubt that they are not happy campers. Whenever folks walk into my basement (yes, my horses are stabled in my walkout basement), they poke their heads out to see who is coming. They are happy horses. If you want to work with your horse in harmony, or as one, they have to be happy to do so.  If you are not happy, or not in a good mood around your horse,  he or she will pick up your mood, and not want to be around you. If on those days you can't stand being with yourself, why do you think your horse will want to be around you?  This applies to all animals.

You will never be able to tune into your animal if you want to dominate and control it. Quite frankly, working in harmony and oneness with another  person or animal isn't about domination and control. And why do some people want to control others? It is fear that drives us to control everyone and everything around us. If you are fearful, animals will pick up that negative emotion immediately.

And, animals know intuitively what our motivation is because they are masters at reading energy.  Have you ever witnessed an animal lashing out at a person for no apparent reason? The reason for the animal's behavior is because the animal is sensing what is really going on with that person on an inner-conscious, or soul level.  Consider the person who sees a cute dog, and wanting to impress its owner, makes a big deal of the dog, but underneath that person is really saying what a mutt. The dog will pick up that energy and act it out.

Or, if a sweet dog suddenly lashes out at a person, the dog may be picking up the person’s anger and acting it out.

Make no mistake about it, animals can read our thoughts and feelings – there is no hiding the truth from them.  Animals, like humans are sentient beings – they can think, reason, remember and feel, just like humans, but unlike most humans, they are very telepathic. Nevertheless, most animals want to serve humanity. This is certainly true about dogs – regardless of how they are treated, they love us unconditionally.

Animals have their own evolution or evolvement. Those animals that do not kill are more highly evolved – generally speaking – than those who do kill.  Dogs, horses, elephants, giraffes and any vegetarian species of animal are more highly advanced than tigers, lions, or even domestic cats.

What about those dogs who fight? Remember, dogs especially want to serve us. On the spirit level, they do not want to fight, but they will serve their master who wants them to fight. The person who fosters dog fighting is one mean sucker who expresses his anger, meanness and hostility through his dog. This sociopath thinks he can get away with it because no human is getting hurt, but never forget: “what goes around, comes around”. We are held accountable for how we use our energy. 

Animals instinctively know who they can and cannot trust.  The first animal I rescued after I was married was a wild black cat who appeared at my front door. He had scars all over his body and a big abscess on his head. He lived in a neighbor's barn and was the producer of many kittens. The couple up the street had so many wild barn cats that eventually, they ended up shooting all their cats, and by doing this, they created lots of karma.

It was no accident that this ole fellow found me. He knew I had a kind heart. I called him Pally because it was the first name that came to me. Animals like to name themselves, and generally, the first name that pops into your head is what they want to be called. Anyway, Pally was my buddy. I took him to the vets, had him neutered and cleaned up that big abscess on his head.  

Pally made himself at home – it was the first one he ever had. He was a very special cat in that he loved to be with me wherever I went. Every day, I would walk down the road to the mailbox and he would follow me.  But, other than our daily walks, he never wanted to leave the house. I have found this to be true with many homeless animals – once they have a home, they don’t want to go outside for fear of losing their home.

Pally was with me for five years and one evening quietly passed away in his sleep.

Tuning in is more than a hunch; it is a knowingness.  I don’t know how to put into words what I feel.  I foster for Boxer Rescue of New England, and its founder, Jan, will often call me up and ask me to foster a dog. I know instinctively that the dog she is talking about will get along with my dogs. I can’t tell you how many times I have rescued a dog who was supposed to be “dog aggressive” and they weren’t, thus saving his/her life. I picked up a dog named Candy who supposedly fought with other dogs. Well, it came to me that she was unhappy in her home and didn’t like the other dogs because they picked on her. She would jump the fence every chance she got.  She was found wandering on the streets and brought to a local shelter. Her owner was notified, but decided to leave her in the shelter. The shelters are pretty good about calling breed rescues, so Boxer Rescue picked her up. I found Candy to be exceptionally intelligent and loving.  Candy was four years old and had had three litters, so I had her spayed. I brought her home and the other eight dogs made her feel comfortable. Nine dogs and everyone got along……

Eventually, Jan found the perfect home for Candy in Londonderry. When I brought Candy to meet her new family, she greeted everyone and jumped on the couch. She was home. Although Candy’s new owners had a fenced yard, Candy still managed to jump the fence and cruise the neighborhood. She made friends with the Doberman next door and the Rottweiler down the street and would play with them. When she was tired, she would go home and jump back into the yard. 

Animals have feelings and moods, and oftentimes, they will pick up our moods. Pay attention to your animal's feelings. You may think that it is a grand day for a trail ride, but your horse isn't in the mood, so you make him or her go, and you end up having a crappy ride. Well, it's because your horse wasn't in the same mood you were in.

A good part of my service on earth is to help animals and people; more specifically to help people understand, read and communicate with their animals. Most people don't understand that an animal - and this is true of people too - will manifest an illness or dis-ease - because on an inner-conscious, or soul/spirit level, there is something going on in their life that is upsetting and troubling. Dogs, on the other hand, are true service animals and will take on a dis-ease that was meant for their companion. Lily took on cancer for me. I will always be grateful to her for that. We humans don't realize how much our animals do for us. 

Dogs act as sponges for negativity that is ours or is directed to us from others, which is one reason they do not live long. Cats will absorb only so much of our negativity before bouncing it back to us.  Horses, too, are healers and will absorb our negativity, and by that I mean, low vibes that accompany ill or sad feelings.  

We make our horses do things they are never meant to do. Jumping is hard on their legs. There are some horses that love to jump and others that are forced to jump. There are some horses that love the show ring and others who hate it. Trudy was one horse who hated the show ring and humans. When her owner tried to teach her to drive, she kicked the cart to bits. But, he didn't pay any attention to what she wanted and showed her under saddle. His philosophy was: "if one whip didn't work, I'd find one that did".  When I adopted Trudy in 1999, it took her five years to get over her anger. There were times when I made a move similar to her previous owner and she would swing her rump at me to warn me not to come any closer. When a horse swings his/her back end in your direction, that is a warning to you - don't come closer, or I will kick you. Horses defend themselves by either biting you or by kicking you. Pay attention to their body language and signals - ears going back, eyes changing and tail swishing are all clues of an unhappy horse.

If you see a horse in a show ring with its ears pinned back, know that he/she is unhappy. If you see a horse swishing its tail, know that horse is really pissed. Impatient, angry, or frustrated horses will strike out - paw - with their front legs. Pay attention to the signals – get to know your animal on a more intimate level. 

I think the most important component in any relationship, be it with another person, animal or even with one's self is trust, which is developed with kindness, consistency and respect.

I purchased Hal when he was 8 months old. His mother died when he was three months old, and since he didn’t have much human contact either, he was pretty lonely. He craved attention and bonded with me instantly. He loved to be touched. Touch....touch....touch....hug...hug...hug....it's all part of bonding with an animal or human.

I always talk to Hal to let him know what I’m going to do. I promised him that I would never hurt him or put him in harm’s way. He trusts me implicitly. I did a lot of ground work with him that involved walking under and on blue tarps and through mud puddles. I showed him how to maneuver around objects and whenever I introduced something new to him, I showed it to him so that he could touch it because he is very tactile. He needs to touch everything with his nose. I showed him a rubber snaffle and asked him to open his mouth, which he did. I showed him a back saddle and told him what I was going to do with it and how it might feel in it and put it on without a problem and then took him for a walk.  I talked to him about the clippers and told him that the buzzing noise wasn’t going to hurt him. I can clip his bridle area, whiskers and even the inside of ears without having a halter or lead line on him. People are impressed when they see me clipping his ears. 

My secret to the ear clipping is that Hal loves to have the inside of his ears massaged. He will stand for hours having his ears rubbed, so after I clip the hair on his ears, I massage them. It’s bonding time for us. Although Hal loves and trusts me, there are times when he will think of challenging me and the subtle change in his eyes is a dead give-away.  I can tell when he's not feeling well by his eyes, or when he's mad with me because he wants more attention from me. But, all in all, we love and trust each other. When he’s outside and I want him to come in, I’ll call him and he will come running towards me – all 1800 pounds of him – and I know that he will not run me over. He likes to be with me and will follow me around like a dog. One day, he found his way to the back of the house. I was vacuuming the living room but could sense someone looking at me, and low and behold, it was my buddy staring in the window at me. 

My pet peeve about raising and training horses is that people want to rush them along when they are not mentally, emotionally or physically ready to drive, ride or race. There are some show people who train their young ones to harness when they are two years old before their bones are set and then the horses are ridden when they are three years old. Thoroughbreds are raced when they are too young and their bones are not set. There are many horses that are ruined because they are rushed along.  Hal’s vet told me – “nothing on his back until he is four years old”. I was planning on getting him going under saddle this summer, but didn’t because I felt that he needed more time. I put my ego desires aside for the betterment of my horse. 

I have another peeve and that involves docking tails and cropping/cutting dogs’ ears off. Why? It isn’t for the betterment of the dog, but for ego gratification of the dog’s owner….all for show.  I learned from my acupuncturist that there are energy pathways from our ears to our organs, and when the ears are lopped off, energy is cut off to our organs. If our organs can’t get the energy they need, what do you think will happen to them? It’s common sense to me.

We manipulate, mutilate and disrespect our animals without any regard for their feelings. Animals are sentient beings, which means that they can think, remember, feel, reason and love, just like humans. People: animals feel pain so when we cut off their ears, they feel the pain, which often lasts for weeks! I won’t get into what an animal endures when they are killed for food. Read anything by John Robbins who graphically describes the torture and pain that these lovely beings endure just so people can eat their flesh. Yes, I've been a vegetarian since 1986, and am leaning towards veganism. I do have chickens and since I take care of them, I do eat eggs. I'm not being critical of those who aren't vegetarians, it is important to me that I walk my talk. 

There are times when we have conversations with ourselves and a battle seems to ensue - should I or shouldn't I? Well, I want to, but shouldn't....yada yada yada.....in these situations, our ego trying to justify its position why we should do something against our best interest and our soul/intuition is prompting us to take the higher road. Don't worry if you give into temptation because the lesson will be repeated until we do listen to and follow our intuition. Just keep trying and never give up.
                                
Competition hinders our spiritual growth and ability to connect with the God Within. We are here on earth to work and live together in peace, harmony and love while appreciating each other's talents and gifts. Competition keeps us from living in peace, harmony and love.

Don't compare yourself with others. Accept yourself just the way you are. Comparisons are competitive and competition hinders your spiritual growth.

Spiritual growth is a process - don't put a time limit on it. The more you want to know God on a more personal basis, the more momentum you are building in that direction. Know that what you want is of God and will manifest in your life when it is meant to and not according to your timetable. This is why my friend, Teddy, would always remind me to flow with the rhythm of life and allow my destiny to unfold because I was always trying to re-direct or push the river. In God's time, not mine. So, I had to surrender my will/ego's will to that of God's.....not very easy to do sometimes.

Remember too that are life lessons are meant to teach us - not define us. There is no black or white, right or wrong, win or lose, success or failure - everything is a learning lesson and it is up to us to probe for the lesson. Most of my lessons were centered around the deep sense of deficiency I brought with me from a past lifetime.  I was faced with situation after situation where I could be found deficient by others, but what they thought of me didn't matter, it was how I reacted to each situation, or lesson, that mattered. I had to repeat to myself that I was in the middle of a lesson that was teaching me that I'm not deficient.  God doesn't make junk.
 
Service to God and to people, the animals and earth should be a joy and not a duty. Whatver is done without joy, must be redone with it.

Clearing the mindless chatter, realizing just who you are, surrendering your will to God's, understanding your lessons and not being competitive will help you enormously to tune into your heart.
 
We do not need to be perfect to know God. We are human and we have our buttons. I have zero tolerance for unfairness, deception, meanness and unkindness. So, whenever one of these buttons get pushed down, I can get pretty pissed, especially when I feel that someone's motivation is really mean-spirited. Really, it's their problem and I make it my problem when I react to them. 

The following poem, titled "The Voice”, was written by  Shel Silverstein. 

                                                  There is a voice inside of you
                                                    That whispers all day long
                                                     "I feel that this right for
                                                   me, I know that this is wrong."
                                                 
                                                  No teacher, preacher, parent,
                                                 friend or wise man can decide
                                               What's right for you - just listen
                                                                      to 
                                               The voice  that speaks inside.