I have just returned from the barn and taking care of Shiloh: deworming, feeding, grooming, and spoiling–not in that particular order.  This was the first day that he was out grazing, and it made me think of the horse care that needs to be provided with the onset of spring.  Click here to read more about the Spring Checklist for Horses.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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I invite you to spend some time watching this magnificent trailer for the documentary The Path of the Horse.  It’s a little over four minutes in length, showing the potential relationship between horses and humans.  For more information, visit StormyMay Productions.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Today’s post is a communication I received from Horse in May, 2007 during my private meditation time.  It’s with Horse’s express permission that I am sharing this with you.

I had asked Horse what my teaching of the day was, and this is how he replied:

HORSE:

“Today move slowly with pride and dignity.  This pace will add grace and distinction to all of your being and doings today.

“When you move too fast, you create a whirlwind of psychic dust at your feet. This clouds up everything and you are unable to move with distinction.  Since you can’t see your feet, you panic.  A better way of saying that is since you can’t sense your feet amid the psychic dust, you panic.

“To move slowly is to not stir up psychic dust – that is your lesson for today.”

The next day, Horse amplified his teaching:

HORSE:

“Be aware, continue to be aware of the psychic dust you are still stirring at your feet.  This will continue for you to practice not stirring the dust, and being aware of when you are doing it.  You have started the work on this, yes, but you are a beginner. This will take patience and practicality on your part.  Manure helps to settle the dust.

“Manure is the waste product of everyday body functions.  After it’s dropped, it fertilizes, settles things down, allows things to grow.

“You are nervous when I say this – that is beginning to stir up your dust, see? Take a moment to allow the dust to settle down, you do not need to stir it.

“I am saying that everything, everything, is natural.  Or everything begins naturally – it is only through the mind games and the distortions and cruelty of humanity that natural occurrences are corrupted.

“The psychic dust you stir up is in part your reaction to that corruption.  Stirring up the dust is not beneficial to solving the problem or helpful in solving the problem.  As we progress in our relationship I will teach you different ways to handle both the corruption and your reaction to it.”

Does any of this wisdom resonate with you? Please leave your comment telling us about it.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Congratulations to the two winners of the Talk2theAnimals Birthday Celebration Contest!  We had lots of entries, it was difficult to narrow it down to only two winners.  A heartfelt thank you to all who entered their stories.

The Grand Prize Winner is Bonnie Koening who wrote ‘Why Do You Think Sickness is Wrong?’ a story about her cat Georgia.  Runner up is Sarah Tymeson who asks if the thoughts in your mind are yours or from an animal.  Besides having their entries published, Bonnie won a Talk2theAnimals TeleParty for her and 5 of her friends, and Sarah won a half hour communication.  Congratulations Bonnie and Sarah!

Enjoy these two wonderful stories!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Why Do You think Sickness is Wrong?

By Bonnie Koenig
http://www.chey.mysiamese.com

Talking To Georgia

My old cat is dying.  Two and a half years ago she was diagnosed with a menigioma and given three to six months to live.  I took her to a homeopathic vet and she did quite well for a time but now I see her walking around like an old cat in kidney failure.   I wonder how much more?  Is she comfortable?  What does she want?  How can I meet those needs?

I’ve always been able to talk to Georgia.   Years ago, when she went outside, I would sit on the back porch and concentrate upon her in the late evening and tell her it was time to come home. She’d be jumping over the fence as I was getting ready to go inside.

I settled down in bed with her at my feet and concentrated upon her as she snoozed one evening not long ago.  I asked if she were comfortable? How did she feel?  She seemed not quite all in her body but she was content.  No she was not the young cat she once was, but she was fine.

I told her I worried. I had missed all these signs on another cat she had lived with.  I worried that this cat had been sick and I didn’t know.   If I had know “what was wrong with her” maybe I could have eased her suffering.

Georgia said, very clearly.  “There was nothing wrong with her. She was sick.”

And I said, “That’s what I mean. If I had known, maybe I could have helped.”

Georgia said, “Why do you think being sick is wrong?  It’s not wrong. It just is.”

I was so startled I was thrown out of the meditation with her but her words have stayed with me, haunting past choices.

Why do I think sick is wrong?  Why have I tried to so hard to control the passing of each cat as they get elderly and sick, worried that they can’t handle the end, when really it appears it is only my worry for them?

Georgia has indicated that as a hunter cat, had she been outside, she would have been killed and eaten by a bigger hunter by now.  And that would have been okay with her (she adds though that she has no desire to be thrown out to the coyotes).  Had her life been different, though, that is just the way things would have been.

For today Georgia is still with us.  Perhaps tomorrow. No matter what happens, Georgia says it’s okay. She is content.  And so we enjoy these last weeks together.

RUNNER UP

By Sarah Tymeson

I was working on a blog post a few months back and was telling the story of the horses I’ve known and how they’ve shaped my life.  There were several listed but one name eluded me.  I could NOT think of his name to save my soul.  It drove me crazy for days.  All I could remember was that it was short…only 3 or 4 letters.  And I was about 90% certain it started with a ‘K’ but that was all I could muster (and I wasn’t even all that sure about the first letter).  Hubby even tried to help, naming off horses that I’d worked with.  I must say, I was impressed that he would remember ANY of their names!  So, randomly, for days, I would half-yell, “What is his name?!”  Seriously, things like that drive me NUTS!
On weekends I work at a stable.  I find that my time there is very relaxing and I tend to have my communicative moments there.  And not necessarily by choice either.  Since I’ve only recently tuned into this ability, I’ve not yet gained full control over where and when it occurs.  So, while cleaning stalls, in the quiet of the barn, when there is no other thought in my mind, the animals tell me things.  Lilly informed me that she’s a princess and wants the “royal treatment.”  Another horse, Trouble, wants to be a jumper (I think, still want clarification here).  Tex wants to be un-retired.  And so far, I haven’t minded these ambushes because I’m grateful that anything at all is getting through.  And that is how it happened on one cool morning:
I was cleaning stalls and this movie began to play in my mind.  Now, I must say 2 things here:  I do not normally visualize anything in my mind.  And it was not a movie that I had seen before in its entirety.  I’ve seen bits and pieces, but a scene from this movie played constantly in my mind for several stalls.  I kept thinking:  Why on Earth am I thinking about this movie?! I didn’t even really like it that much.  But no matter how hard I tried to think about other things…my to-do list or what to make for lunch…this movie was “attacking” me.  Over and over.  Without ceasing.  And then it hit me!  The movie playing in my mind was Shallow Hal.  The horse’s name was HAL!!!  How else would a horse with the name “Hal” communicate to someone what his name is?!  And as soon as I yelled out, in the quiet stillness of that barn:  His name is HAL!  I had NO more thoughts about that movie ever again.
My lesson:  When thoughts flood your mind that you seem to have NO control over, check:  Are these thoughts mine?!  If not, they may very well be the animals in your life trying to tell you something.

About the author:  Sarah Tymeson works with animals…primarily horses presently…using Access Energy Transformation to unlock and dissolve the blocks that they don’t realize they can let go of.  Oftentimes the animals in our lives take on our garbage in an attempt to help us, and then that gets stuck in their bodies and hinders their progress and health.  And all they need is the realization that they can let it go and the tools to do so.  Visit http://healing-horses.com for more information.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Recently I had an equine assisted coaching session with Lynn Baskfield and the herd at Wisdom Horse Coaching.  It felt very good to be back with them, since I hadn’t seen them since November.

Various horses came up and greeted me and then went on about their business.  Moon and Coal, who have helped me before, decided to be my teachers that day, so they stayed by my side and got closer…and closer…and closer…and closer….

The herd has been helping me learn to stand my ground and to step forward energetically when I want to move someone or something away from me.  Beginning with 2009 I have also started to put systems in place (sometimes called spreadsheets) to help me become more focused and orderly as my business is ballooning in growth.  Moon and Coal gave me the chance to see where I was in my education process.

Coal represented my intuitive, creative side which is a very natural place for me to be, my center of being, the right side of my brain.  Moon represented the left-brained side of my life, the part that is logical, analytical, rational, objective and sequential, all of the attributes which go into the makings of a good spreadsheet.  A place where I feel uncomfortable, ill at ease, awkward and lost.  I found it humorous that Coal was standing on my right side and Moon was on my left.

Both of the boys kept getting closer and closer to me, right up in my face, so to speak.  I gathered my energy, directed it towards the boys and moved them away from me.

Coal, the polite gelding he is, moved away to a respectful distance.  He still watched me, he was still curious, and he respectfully kept his distance as he observed me.

Moon?  No such thing as moving away!  Oh no, Moon took that as an invitation to get even closer to me, picking at my coat and gloves with his mouth, sniffing me up and down.

It was getting annoying, but I remained calm, politely asking him to leave.  Lynn asked if I was getting annoyed with his “niggling” and I said yes I was, but he wasn’t leaving.

As soon as I acknowledged that Moon was annoying me and not leaving, he took that as an invitation to get even more up close and personal!  His niggling turned into wiggling as he literally took my coat sleeve in his mouth and tugged at it, lifting my arm, shaking it back and forth.

Lynn looked at me and said in her most professional coach voice, “He’s not leaving, and this is getting worse.  What are you going to do about it?”

It was then I had my epiphany – instead of “politely” asking him to stop and giving him mixed signals, I needed to expand my energy and clearly step into my energy.

Literally, all I did was step into my energy, and as soon as I did, Moon backed off.  He didn’t back off as far as Coal had done, but he moved out of my space and stood by respectfully as Lynn and I continued our conversation.

Ever since then I have been practicing stepping into my energy, stepping forward into who I am, instead of passively, “politely”  hanging back and allowing niggling, wiggling things to annoy me.  I had to chuckle as this lesson appeared again while I was having a massage.  As the woman was working on me, she said her sense was I was entering a time where I was stepping in my authentic self.  We both laughed as I told her the story of Moon and Coal, and told her she was speaking straight from the horse’s mouth!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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I recently wrote a post on Animals and Right to Life.  One of the comments brought tears to my eyes.  With Billie Dean’s permission, I am using her comment as today’s post.  At the end of the post you will see her contact information.  Feel free to leave your comment after reading this!

Hi Janet,

My animal loving husband and partner found this wonderful blog and invited me to read it this morning because I am an Australian animal communicator, shaman, writer and film maker, and mostly an animal advocate.  Getting a better deal for animals informs all my work.

I believe the problem lies at the top of the food chain, and current education doesn’t even begin to address this.  If we stopped killing animals as if they were worthless, if we stopped having euthanasia in pounds, if it were illegal to take a beloved horse to end his days as dog food, then we would see it filtering down to the rest of society. Everyone would KNOW that an animal’s life meant something.  And we would see it making a difference.

I have started a campaign to end euthanasia of HEALTHY animals, and it is bigger than this.  In Germany no homeless animal is allowed to be killed.  If they can do this, so can the rest of the world.  I’ve worked in rescue for over 20 years.  What I’ve seen has left me with a dim view of humanity.  But I am now encouraging people to only focus on the good of people and to visualise or dream in a world where animals and people can live in sacred harmony.  Focus on what we want, so we create this into being, according to spiritual laws that make up our universe.

Our group started just before Christmas.  It is open to anyone who wants to make a difference to the world of animals. I live with about 60, now, of society’s rejects who I have given a forever home to.  And if I’ve learned anything, it is that rescue isn’t the answer.  Nothing has changed in 20 years.  Rescue is a bottomless pit.  And those rejects are souls who are dependent on humanity’s compassion and kindness.  We give our murderers a better deal than we give animals who are simply homeless or who have been abused.  People abuse them again and again because they don’t see them with respect and reverence.

We need to get rid of the concept of kill shelters and give animals a shelter FOR LIFE if they need it.  We need people to understand that animals are really teachers and healers.  And that their silent language  can be heard if only people learn to listen.

www.alllifeisprecious.ning.com is our new community for change for animals through practical work as well as meditation and shamanic dreaming.  www.billiedean.com is my website.  I’ve made two films Finding Joy and Seven Days with Seven Dogs (available from my website) which in a fun way try to encourage people to see animals differently.  Now I have written books soon to be published.  It’s time to change things for animals and I welcome every bit of like-minded community to make the change happen on every level.  We need to make an international net.

As a psychic communicator I have been told by the animals they are finished suffering for humanity.  It’s time WE changed as a species, and it’s time we understood how connected we all are.

Thank you for your blog.  And thank you from my heart for allowing me the space to put my views here.  From a shamanic perspective, the world isn’t going to heal until we start  understanding our true connection to nature and animals.  The pain in people is the pain of animals and nature and the pain of our disconnection from them.  There is a path forward and I talk about it in my books and in my new film This Sacred Earth.  All these are currently self funded — this is the depth of our commitment.

Thank you for caring!

Billie Dean

About the Author: Billie Dean is an author, filmmaker, shaman and animal communicator who works as an animal advocate and with her husband, Andrew, runs Ballyoncree Animal Sanctuary, a forever home for abused and abandoned animals.  Billie launched the For Life Campaign to end death row in pounds and the senseless killing of healthy dogs, cats and horses.   Coming from a background of journalism, comedy and natural healing, she and Andrew are committed to social change through uplifting and inspirational books and films — http://www.billiedean.com, http://www.laughinowl.com.au Watch out for Secret Animal Business and This Sacred Earth — out soon!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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November has gone so fast and December is already here!  Pretty soon here we’ll start seeing snow staying on the ground (but hopefully not four feet of the stuff).  And it’s time again for the Carnival of the Horses.  Luckily, this time the post is up on the host website, and all the information is there.  Please visit EQUUS, this month’s host for more detailed information on December’s Carnival of the Horses.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Our world is changing quite rapidly and in ways that few, if any of us, has ever experienced before.  Many of us, including our leaders, are at a loss on how to move forward in this current climate of chaos and confusion.  We find ourselves wondering “what’s next?”

New times call for new and different ways of approaching problems and issues, new ways of creating new life.  Albert Einstein (1879-1955) said: “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same levels of thinking with which we created them.”

So, I’m going out on a limb and saying that asking the animals for help in solving our problems is certainly a different level of thinking from the thinking that originally created the problems!

In yesterday’s post, Maverick Melberg gave his thoughts on the economy.  Today, we’re going to hear from my horse, Shiloh.

JR:  Hi Shiloh, how are you, buddy?  Are you willing to talk today about the world economy and share your thoughts with us?

S:  “I’m doing good today.  I like it when you call me ‘buddy’ and I’m always happy to tell people what I think.

“First of all, I want to say that it is good, so very good that people are beginning to ask the help of us animals and are beginning to listen to us.  We have a different perspective from you humans, and you can learn from our perspective, if you are willing to stop your antics and listen to us.

“It is important to remember that each animal will offer their perspective on your current situation.  No one perspective is right, nor is it wrong.  Each perspective offers a kernel of truth and hope, and it is when all perspectives are put together, and looked at as a whole that a true picture will emerge and you humans will begin to be able to right yourselves.

“Humans tend to look at life in black or white, night or day, either…or.  No!  You must stop looking at Life like that!  It is not me or you, it is me AND you.  It is together that we make a complete unit, not factions or fractions!

“Look at us horses.  We work together in a herd!  Our herd offers us safety and it lets every horse be who they are meant to be.  We don’t wear disguises!  I’m not a leader, I don’t try to lead.  The herd would be in trouble if I were to try to be the leader!

“Do not think in small terms when I use the word ‘herd.’  I use it to mean the collective, not groups, or divisions, or factions.  The trouble with you humans is that you don’t think in the collective.  You think too small, you think only in either….or; me OR you.  You don’t think in the big picture, you don’t think in the all together.

“When you don’t think in the collective of all, problems occur.  You are now seeing that and living the results of your either….or thinking.  It is time to come out of that, it is time to come together in your collective herd.

“You have asked about the economy, but I am talking about things that need to be taken care of before the issue of your economy and other situations can be solved, renewed and recreated.

“If you humans try to resolve your problems before coming together, you will only create more problems, dig yourselves deeper into the hole that you have already created.

“Now, this is what you can learn from us horses.  We teach working together, being in a herd.  We are powerful, you can harness our strength and forward motion and we will help you pull yourselves out of this hole.  We teach love, we teach compassion.  We have worked with you humans from times untold, we are willing to continue to work with you now.

“As humans learn to work more together in the collective human herd, you will notice us horses being more and more with you.  We are here for you, as all animals are here for you.”

JR:  Thank you, buddy.  I will tell others what you have said, and I’ll see you later today.

So says Shiloh.  I invite you to consider how Horse can help you in your own, personal situations of coming together, becoming part of the “collective human herd.”  Leave your comments on how you experience this; it’s very likely that your experience will help someone else on their journey.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Three years ago, my horse Shiloh had his left eye removed due to moon blindness, or equine recurrent uveitis (ERU).  Behind the Bit has posted an excellent article on ERU, so I won’t go into the health or physical issues, but I’ll talk about it from an animal communicator’s point of view.

From my point of view as a communicator, it was a pain!  I don’t mean that I was picking up Shiloh’s pain either.  I was unable to talk with Shiloh because of the fears and dread I was feeling. I isolated myself from experiencing the fear by living in my head, thinking of everything I needed to prepare for the surgery, details that needed to be taken care of, telling people about it, etc.  I couldn’t face my real, deepest fear: what happens if something goes wrong during the surgery?

I asked Nicole Roberts, Shiloh’s communicator, to talk with him and see what he needed before the surgery.  Both Shiloh’s regular vet and the surgeon told me the surgery was the hardest on the person, even more so than on the horse.  According to Shiloh, that was absolutely true.

During our conversation, Shiloh said he was not worried about the surgical procedure.  He requested I have professional photos taken of him before the surgery and he also asked if I would be able to bring my sleeping bag to the hospital and spend the night with him in his stall.  He didn’t want me to worry.

Shiloh arrived at the hospital the evening before the surgery with enough grain, hay and treats for an entire herd of horses.  He immediately checked out his stall, and then settled down to munch some hay.  Once I saw he was settled in, I left.  I had to leave, the stress was too much for me.

I was a nervous wreck the day of the surgery – in fact, I cancelled teaching and paced around the house, too nervous to leave the house ‘just in case’ I got a dreaded phone call saying things had not gone well.  I wasn’t even in any condition to trust that a call would come through on my cell phone!

I did get a phone call – everything went very well; Shiloh was in recovery and I could come see him anytime I wanted.  I couldn’t go see him – the pressure was too much for me.  I tried connecting with him intuitively and couldn’t even do that; consequently, I felt guilty because I couldn’t connect with the guy.

When I went to pick him up, Shiloh was a trooper.  He walked out and loaded up like he had surgery every day.  During his short stay in the hospital, he had managed to con the staff into giving him all of his treats, and he had a new  girlfriend in the mare across the aisle from him.

I got him back to the farm and into his stall, where he settled in very easily and nicely, complete with his bandaged face.  I couldn’t stay, I couldn’t breathe, the strain of seeing my beloved horse with his head bandaged was too much for me.  I went home and drank some wine.

So, I’ll bet you’re asking yourself, “What the heck does Shiloh’s story have to do with animal communication?”

Here’s the moral of the story: As animal communicators we must take care of ourselves first and foremost before we can help others.  It’s like in the airplane, when you’re told to put your oxygen mask on first.  It is my job to be as clear a vessel as possible when I’m receiving information from the animals.  When I’m emotionally upset, attached to the outcome, or unbalanced in any way, chances are extremely good the information will be corrupted with my issues.  When that happens, I am of no help to anyone, including myself.

Also, sometimes our own beloved animal companions can be the most difficult to communicate with.  The reason is that we are emotionally bonded with them, and therefore attached to the outcome of the conversation.

If you find yourself in a position where you are unable to connect intuitively with your animal companion, be kind to yourself.  Give yourself the time and space to take care of yourself and try again later.  If you are still unable to connect and you feel it is important to do so at that time, consult with a professional animal communicator.  Remember, you don’t have to go through this by yourself.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Not long ago I met with a dear friend and inspiring woman, Teresa Thomas-
Carroll, Director of MN Women In Networking, LLC.  We met at a local coffee shop, had a wonderful time talking and reconnecting.  Teresa is a networker and connector extraordinaire, so it seemed only right and synchronistic that as we parted ways, a dog trainer arrived at the coffee shop.

I went over and introduced myself to the trainer, asked if she had time for a short chat.  She said she was waiting for a client, but she had a couple of minutes.  She then looked at the empty chair, pointed and commanded, “Sit!”

I sat.

We proceeded to talk, yet I became uncomfortable as the conversation progressed.  I noticed a pattern evolved: she asked a question, I began my answer, she interrupted, I felt more and more nervous, I sensed her irritation as my nervousness grew.

Was this simply a case of “Trainers are from Mars, Communicators are from Venus?”

She finally asked the million dollar question: “Well, if you’re an animal communicator, why don’t you just tell the animal to knock off their bad behavior and act correctly?”

OK.  Lightbulbs turned on in my head when she asked that, and the entire conversation began to make sense to me.

I began to explain about the connection people have with animals, and the opportunity for building relationship that connection gives us.  I could see I had lost her; luckily, (for both of us) her client came up to the table.  She looked at her client, pointed to the coffee shop and ordered “Go.  Get coffee!”

That was a terrific question she had asked me: as an animal communicator, why don’t I just tell the animal to shape up and behave themselves?

It’s a question I’m still processing, but here’s where I am thus far:

To me, animal communication is about relationship, not power over.  Relationship is about building bridges, finding connections, finding ways to work together.  A stronger, more enduring bond and foundation is built when a relationship is created together.

Power over is about divisiveness which can create fear, disagreement, or hostility between creatures.  By it’s own nature, power over infers I’m good enough, but you’re not.  You’re inferior to me, I’m superior to you…

When someone commands me to do something, or tells me I “should” do something, I usually dig in my heels and either balk or simply refuse.  While being an Aquarius may have a part in that, the much larger part is that I begin to feel diminished and powerless, and I don’t like feeling like that.  If, like above, I comply out of what is generally considered politeness, I become nervous and the possibility of creating real relationship is diminished.

I like feeling empowered and respected, and I want to help other creatures feel that way also.  In my book, it is now time to create new, mutually beneficial relationships with all creatures.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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