Creature Thoughts – June 2009

Receiving information from an animal is, usually, not quite the same thing as having a conversation between humans.  In many cases, it’s more like gathering pieces of a puzzle, which arrive in many shapes and sizes.  You then face the need to put the puzzle together in a way that the human mind can understand.  In addition to the various types of input that come through the connection, it also must be understood that what we are perceiving is from the animal’s point of view.  This means that it is filtered through instinct, sensory perception, and physical space as experienced by that animal.  Things may appear to be quite different than they would if we were simply observing them through  human eyes, ears, and experience.

That said, I’ve discovered that the more an animal becomes used to speaking with humans telepathically, the more “conversational” the information may appear.  Some animals are so accustomed to this form of communication, that it feels like I’m talking back and forth with them verbally.  This, however, is the exception to the rule.

Most of the time, the information arrives in a wide array of forms.  Sensory input; sights, smells, sounds, physical sensations; make up a large proportion of the inflow.  The communicator will see images, smell scents, and feel things as the animal is experiencing them.  This can be very helpful, particularly in situations where what is going on with an animal is not apparent on the surface.  We’ve all said, “I wish he could tell me where it hurts”.  With animal communication, a pet can do just that, although it’s more “relay” than “tell”.  Quite frequently, the communicator will even experience the sensation as the animal is feeling it.  It’s common for the person receiving the information to actually feel the pain or pressure, feel like they are surrounded by the smells, or have mental-vision flashes of what the pet is seeing.

Emotions are another way animals will tell us what is on their minds.  A dog who experiences fear, for example, can combine images and memories with the emotion, and help us to understand what it is that triggers that fear.  Pets can share how they feel about one another, or about their humans.  It’s not that the animal is “telling us” how he feels, but rather he is showing us, as we experience the emotion directly through the connection.

This direct exchange of emotion and sensory input is called empathy.  Rather than “telepathy”, which is what most people think of when they categorize animal communication, when we connect with an animal, we are often being relayed direct impressions rather than “word-thought”.  Empathy and telepathy are closely related, though by definition “telepathy” deals more specifically with thought, while “empathy” refers to actually experiencing and perceiving things the way others do.

Anything received from an animal is experienced from the animal’s point of view.  In addition to living in the present moment, animals are very much creatures of instinct rather than reason, and emotion rather than logic.  This is not to say that animals can’t reason or think logically, for they certainly can … they do, however, do so from within the confines of their own instincts and way of understanding their worlds.  It can often be a challenge to get an animal to see things from a human viewpoint (though really, no more of a challenge than it is for a human to understand an animal’s perspective).  For example, animals rarely have a clear understanding of human constructs like time, numbers, or monetary value.  With help, they can be made to understand such things better, and see things from their owner’s point of view to some extent, but they have to reach beyond their world view to do so.  It’s important to understand that the cat who is peeing on the carpets doesn’t see it as a problem.  The cat doesn’t “get” the upset feelings over having to replace the rugs, until she can be helped to perceive the issue from inside the human perspective.

In addition to the need to perceive things from the animal’s instinctive world-view, physical vantage points must be taken into consideration.  Although animals see color, for instance, we have no way of knowing if the colors they see are perceived in the same way  our human brains translate them.  To ask a dog, “what color is your favorite toy”, is pretty much useless.  The dog can show us a color, but we’ll be seeing it from his physical vantage point:  an object that appears blue through his eyes may in fact look green to human eyes, or vice versa.  (This is just an example, I don’t literally mean that dogs see blue as green.)  Likewise, a “huge field” to a cat, when seen from a human point of view, may be an average sized back yard.

When you reach for that very special connection with your animal friends, be very aware that what comes back to you may not quite be what you expect.  If you think you’ll be holding a conversation, and instead get flashes and feelings, please do not think you have failed in your task.  It’s very likely that you have made a valid and strong connection, and are accurately receiving the responses your pet is sending you.  Trust the information that comes, even if it’s not what you thought you would receive.  Try to see what you’re sensing from your animal’s vantage point, keeping in mind his instincts, and the different ways a dog, cat or horse will perceive his world.  If you are acting as a go-between for a pet and his owner, also be aware that if things don’t make sense to you, it’s best to voice what you receive anyway.  Often they will make sense to the person who knows that animal best.

By thinking of the information animals relay through our connection to them as pieces of a puzzle, rather than a “verbal” conversation, we are more open to receive, and we grow in confidence.  We will be able to better help our animal friends, and grow closer to them.

It is by embracing our differences that we discover how much we have in common.