This week’s Talk2theAnimals Animal of the Week has flown into our lives, ready to help and guide for those who are ready to receive their help.

Ibis (collective plural of ibises) are a long legged wading birds.  Their long, downward curved bills allow them to explore the mud for food and often feed together in groups.

The Ibis were considered sacred in ancient Egypt, and were especially associated with the god, Thoth. In one of his forms, Thoth was depicted as an Ibis-headed man.

When Ibis appears, we are reminded that all is sacred, all is connected.  At this time we may be introduced to ancient wisdom in some way.  This introduction could come via a book or TV, or it could come as a certain knowing that simply blossoms within us.  The appearance of this ancient wisdom may lead to a shift to a new direction.

Ibis reminds us to stay true to ourselves, to follow our own heart and our own inclinations.  When we are true to ourselves and honor our own paths, doors open and wonderful things happen.

The appearance of Ibis is a wonderful reminder to stay on task, with the rejoinder not to let single-mindedness become narrow-mindedness.  Taking time to relax and reflect on our goal will help to keep us balanced and from taking a narrow-minded perspective.

Connected with the Egyptian god Thoth, the appearance of Ibis indicates this may be a serendipitous time to connect with the ancient wisdom of Egypt. While the intent to connect needs to be authentic and sincere, the connection can even be made through fun and entertaining ways,  such as books that deal with that time frame, like ‘The Memoirs of Cleopatra’ by Margaret George.  Perhaps Ibis is reminding us to lighten up, life is supposed to be fun.

Questions to ask when Ibis appears:

• Am I remembering that everything in life is sacred?
• Is it time to be open to the ancient wisdom, particularly that from Egypt?
• Am I true to myself and my own path?

Thank you, Ibis, for coming forward and sharing your ancient wisdom with us.  For this we are grateful.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Muskrat came forth to help us this week. Muskrat is a large, aquatic rodent with a thin, long, nearly hairless tail. They are talented water creatures, being able to swim up to three miles an hour and being able to swim backwards.

With spring in the air, Muskrat reminds us to do spring cleaning.  Get rid of the clutter, whether it is spiritual, emotional, mental or physical.  By doing a little bit at a time, the job will be finished.

Because Muskrat is a water creature, now is a good time to deal with any emotions.  Water is symbolic of our emotions in the Tarot deck. We can dive down into the depths of ourselves, discover what is there, what is helpful, what is not helpful.  If we discover something that is no longer serving us, Muskrat will help us clean it out.  Muskrat is of great value when we find ourselves experiencing unfamiliar emotions.

Muskrat is typically nocturnal, but may be seen during the day on overcast days.  During this time we may experience more dream activity.  Ask Muskrat to help you with the interpretations of your dreams, and it will be very helpful to keep a dream journal during this time.

Questions to ask when Muskrat appears:

• What is cluttering up my life?
• Am I avoiding/ignoring my emotions?
• What are my dreams trying to tell me?

Thank you, Muskrat, for coming forth and sharing your wisdom and guidance.  We appreciate your skill in helping us maneuver through the emotions we are experiencing, and in helping us clean out that which no longer serves us.  For this we are grateful.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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This week we’re working with Ladybug – she has graciously flown forward to help us with her energies and her teachings.

In The Animal Wise Tarot, Ted Andrews classifies Ladybug as a shapeshifter, meaning during her life time she takes on different shapes and forms.  We all experience change in our lives, and Ladybug can help us with those changes, helping us make an easy transitions from the old to the new, or from the same to the different.

Ladybug brings good luck whenever she flies your way.  She brings with her abundance in all forms and a new happiness.  Ladybug shares her innate sense of timing with us: when she appears, now is the time to pursue the opportunity that has knocked at your door.

Questions to ask yourself when Ladybug shows up:

• Am I letting others tell me what my dreams ‘should’ be?
• Am I limiting my dreams?
• Am I forcing my dreams instead of letting them develop organically?

Thank you, Ladybug for flying into our lives today, bringing luck, fulfilling our wishes. For this we are grateful.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Goose has flown into our lives this week.  She’s ready to aid and assist in any way she can.

When Goose appears, a quest of some sort is involved. She reminds us to pay attention to the call of the quest. We’ve been summoned for something, it’s time to pay attention to that call.

Quests are transformative for us. We start as we are, and end in a new place, a new person. Goose will help us on our quest, honking to get our attention, using her keen vision to guide us.

It’s time to release our hold on the past and fly with Goose to new surroundings, whether they are physical, mental, spiritual or emotional.

Goose’s keen vision will help us open our eyes to experience our new surroundings.

Questions to ask when Goose appears:

• Do I need help in seeing things clearly?
• Am I stuck in the past, holding on to things that are no longer beneficial, but have become detrimental?
• Am I ready to take wing and fly?

Remember Mother Goose? This would be a good week to pull out her stories, and see what we can learn from them with our adult eyes.

Goose, thank you for flying into our lives, helping us on our individual quests.  For this we are thankful.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Welcome to today’s Talk2theAnimals Animal Communication Practice Session.  This is your chance to deepen your relationship with animals and see what messages they have for you.

Before you start talking with today’s animal, prepare yourself by gathering your animal communication journal, a writing stick, and, should you so desire, a beverage.  Set aside 15-20 minutes to have your conversation. Make sure this is a time when you are able to be fully present to the animal and the conversation.  Go to a quiet, comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. Empty your body and your mind of all the ‘monkey chatter’…..thinking of your to do list, your schedule, etc.  ‘Monkey chatter’ is anything internally that is standing between you and listening to the animal.  It helps me to create an imaginary wastebasket.  When those distracting thoughts come along, I simply put them in the wastebasket, knowing I can pick them up after the conversation, if I want. You are in a safe, quiet location, and only that which is for the highest good for you and the animal will present itself.  You have now created your Circle of Listening.

The animal that volunteered to help us today is Hawk.  Interesting enough, as I am writing this, I hear Hawk outside of my window!

Just like when you meet a new person you introduce yourself, introduce yourself to Hawk.  Ask if Hawk is willing to talk with you, and if so, if this is a good time.  Go with what Hawk says: if you caught Hawk in the middle of hunting, this may not be a good time to talk.  Ask Hawk to connect with you when it is a convenient time.

The following questions are to get you started, feel free to create your own to let the conversation flow!

• What does it feel like to fly?
• Even though humans have no wings, is there a way I can create a similar sensation in my life?
• Are there places in my life that I can learn to fly like you do?
• Do you have an individual message for me?

Once you have finished your conversation, thank Hawk for talking with you.  Take time to note the conversation in your journal and what it was like for you to talk with Hawk.

Most likely, your conversation has not finished here.  Pay attention in the upcoming days to messages from Hawk.  Let Hawk stay in your consciousness.  Are you suddenly seeing Hawk all the time? As you’re reading, does the work ‘hawk’ keep coming up? Are your friends suddenly talking about Hawk?  Pay attention to these experiences AND pay attention to what is going on in your mind/body during these experiences.  This is a way the animals keep the conversation going.

Leave your comments here on the Talk2theAnimals Blog about your experience with Hawk.  Others can learn from your experience.

Remember: U2CanTalk2theAnimals!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Except for three years of my life, I have lived either in Illinois or Minnesota, and those three fantastically exceptional years I spent on Bayou Lafourche in southern Louisiana.

My first job out of college was teaching jr. high orchestra and private string lessons on the bayou.  Bayou Lafourche is located south of New Orleans and just north of the Gulf of Mexico.  Nothing in my entire life had prepared me for living on the bayou with the Cajuns.

The Cajuns are of French Canadian descent and live along the bayous of southern Louisiana.  While I lived there, I experienced them as having close knit relationships with friends and families, and living with a joie de vivre in all they did.  During my stay there, I heard many of the Cajuns refer to themselves as “coonass.”
Fast forward a few decades: I’m in Minnesota and while searching for people to follow on Twitter, I ran across the Twitter account “coonassdotcom.”  This belonged to Jill Guidry on Bayou Lafourche, my old stomping grounds!  Jill and I connected and I am pleased to introduce her to you as a guest blogger.  Jill’s love and passion for all things Cajun and the Louisiana coastline come through in her writing.  Jill has also shared her talent as a photographer with Talk2theAnimals by providing pictures of Pelican and Great Blue Heron for Talk2theAnimals Animal Communication Practice Fridays.  You can connect with Jill at her blog Bayou Child – One Cajun’s Life and on Twitter.

Hello, I’m Jill Guidry and Janet was kind enough to tell y’all about my blog and feature one of the many animals that live here in her Friday practice session.   I was honored to see that she introduced you to Pelican.  Pelican got a powerful spirit and very much a part of life here in Southern Louisiana.  This part of the world is full of hundreds of different animals: gators, nutria, otters, raccoons deer possums, naming only a few of them.  We got hundreds of species of birds here: some live here year round and some return here every year to survive.

Our beloved coastland is being eaten away by damage from hurricanes,  but mostly from coastal erosion.  We are losing our bayous and losing Louisiana.  Experts say an area the size of a football field disappears hourly.  When it goes,  a unique culture and ecosystem will be lost forever.  I’m working, along with others, to stop this from happening.  I have lived out here on the bayou my whole life and my spirit is part of this place.  I would rather die with it then live without it.  The voices of the animals, birds and insects here can be heard like nowhere else in the world.  I thank Janet for this chance to speak for my place and for the Cajun people.  I think sometimes animals make their message known better then people ever could, and I want everything that live here to know I’m listening and if it’s in my power I will never let their voices drown.

In order to live in a place like this we got to live with the animals,  not against them, but we do hunt some of them.  Some of them hunt us.  I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else and I invite you to learn more about the animals here.  Some of them exist nowhere else, they are priceless treasures that we can’t afford to lose.

Jill, thank you so much for sharing your love of the bayou with all of us at Talk2theAnimals!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Welcome to Talk2theAnimals Animal Communication Practice Friday.  With as busy as we can all get, isn’t it nice to have one day where you know you can take some time to Talk2theAnimals?

Today we are talking to Great Blue Heron.  Jill Guidry, who lives in the Bayou LaFourche area of Louisiana, has supplied us with the photos.  As a matter of fact, it is her photos that you will be seeing for this month’s Animal Communication Practice Friday.  Jill can be found on Twitter at @coonasscotcom and I invite you to visit her blog at Bayou Child – One Cajun’s Life.  Jill is passionate about the perservation of the culture, wildlife and coastlines of southern Louisiana.  She will soon be appearing as a guest blogger.  Click here to see Jill’s photo of Pelican and to talk to Pelican.

And now it is time to talk to Great Blue Heron.  Remove yourself from any external distrations and make yourself comfortable. Allow your breath to calm you down, by focusing on the inhalations and the exhalations.  You are exhaling any feelings of anxiousness or distraction and inhaling peace and quiet…..exhale anything that is standing between you and talking with Great Blue Heron, inhale peace and quiet.  Continue with this until you feel yourself calm, centered and focused.

Now, select one of the pictures with which to start.  Before you talk to Great Blue Heron, ask yourself why you decided to start with that picture.  Bring to the forefront of your consciousness what it is that attracted you to that picture.

The following questions are only guidelines to get you started; feel free to ask Great Blue Heron your own questions.

• Have I calmed myself down enough so you feel comfortable talking with me?
• Are you most comfortable on land, water or air?
• What is a day like for you?
• What does it feel like to fly?
• What is your relationship with humans?
• Do you have a special message just for me?

Once you have finished your conversation, thank Great Blue Heron for the conversation.  Now, go back to the question I originally asked you: why did you pick the picture you did? Did that picture in anyway influence the answers you received from Great Blue Heron? When you get a chance, talk to Heron in the other picture and see how/if your answers compare.

Thanks for joining in today and talking with Great Blue Heron! I encourage you to leave comments on the site: what it was like for you to talk with Great Blue Heron and perhaps even share portions of the conversation!  Just check with Great Blue Heron and make sure it’s OK to share the conversation with others before you do post it as a comment.

Remember: U2CanTalk2theAnimals!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Welcome to Talk2theAnimals Animal Communication Practice Friday.  Here’s your opportunity to practice and hone YOUR communication skills with animals!

Before we get started, I want to introduce you to my Twitter and blogging buddy, Jill.  Jill is from the Bayou LaFourche area in southern Louisiana.  She has agreed to allow Talk2theAnimals to use her photos for this month’s Animal Communication Practice Friday.  Jill’s handle on Twitter is @coonasscotcom and her blog is Bayou Child – One Cajun’s Life. She has a very unique and beautiful perspective on Cajun life and I invite you to connect with her. I used to live in that area, so meeting up with Jill via social media and having her contribute to the Talk2theAnimals blog means a lot to me!

Some gentle reminders about to keep in mind when communicating with animals:

• Find a place where you will be undisturbed
• Relax and still your body and mind
• Make the animal’s acquaintance and ask if it’s OK to have a conversation
• TRUST the information that you receive
• Express your gratitude to the animal when you are done.

For more information and details on connecting intuitively with animals, click here.

Got your animal communication journal ready? Here we go!

Today we are talking to the state bird of Louisiana, Pelican. The questions below are guidelines, feel free to ask your own and develop a conversation/relationship with Pelican.

1. What is an average day like for you?
2. What’s it like to go fishing for your food?
3. Has mankind had any affect on your home?
4. What is your relationship with humans?
5. Do you have a message for me?

Thank Pelican when you are finished.  Once you have finished your conversation, leave a comment at Talk2theAnimals blog. We’re all looking forward on hearing how your conversation with Pelican went!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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When I Talk2theAnimals, sometimes the animal tells me she needs a little more help to balance herself so that the original problem her human brought to me can begin to be resolved.  Sometimes this may include the help of a trainer or a vet.

Many times the animal will tell me an alternative modality will be helpful, such as massage, chiropractic, Reiki or Bach Flower Remedies.  In massage, the muscles are kneaded to reduce, or release pain or tension.  Chiropractic involves manipulation of the spine, joints and soft tissues, putting the animal back into alignment.  Reiki and Bach Flowers work the energies of the animal.

To learn more about Reiki and Bach Flowers, I am going to point you in the direction of a couple of my blogging/Twitter buddies.  Coryelle Kramer is a Bach Flower Therapist and also an animal communicator.  On Coryelle’s blog you will find a lot of information on Bach Flowers, as well as common uses of the flower essences.

Reikifurbabies specializes in Reiki for animals.  On their blog you will find out what Reiki is, how it affects the animals, and you will be able to read some case studies and testimonials.

Happy reading and I hope you enjoy their blogs.  You very well may find a new modality for your beloved pet!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Welcome to Talk2theAnimals Animal Communication Practice Friday, a place to make interspecies friends while practicing your animal communication skills!

Before we get started, I have some questions for you:

1. How is it going for you? What are you discovering about your intuitive skills during this process?
2. Are you finding any commonalities about how you receive the information from different animals?
3. What is your strongest point when you Talk2theAnimals?
4. Are you discovering anything about yourself as you Talk2theAnimals?
5. Are you having fun? I hope so!

If you’re a first time visitor, click here to see what we’ve been doing in the past, and click here for some instructions on communicating with animals.

Today we’re talking with humanity’s best friend, Dog.  If you have a dog of your own, you may want to check in with her/him and have a conversation.  Remember to ask Dog if it’s OK to have a conversation, then thank Dog when you’re finished.  Be open to going with the flow in the conversation, just as you would with a person.  These questions are guidelines only, and Dog may have something to share with you that’s not within the confines of the questions.

Questions for Dog:

1. How did dogs get the reputation for being humanity’s best friend?
2. The culture of dogs in the US has changed immensely in the past years – going from animals in the back yard to living the quality life of organic foods, having pet insurance, being dressed up and being carried around in pooch purses.  What are your thoughts about that?
3. What do dogs reflect back to humans about ourselves?
4. What’s a good day like for you?
5. Anything else you’d like to say?

Tell Dog thanks after you have finished your conversation.  Remember to leave your comments here on the blog and to share what it was like for you to talk with humanity’s best friend!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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