We humans have done something extraordinary in the last, oh, fifty years: we’ve “learned up” with our animal families.
That is, we’ve moved from living with animals to help us survive to living with them to support mutual heart and soul growth. Life with cats and dogs (and other species we live with) becomes living with animals as family members—what I call multi-species families.
And what do families like—and need? To communicate with each other. That’s why so many people are exploring animal communication and cross-species connections as the human-animal bond deepens.
It’s tantalizing to think your dog could tell you what she most enjoys doing with you, or your cat could say why he’s suddenly cranky and hiding. That’s the promise of animal communication: talking with your animals about fun things, behavioral issues, how everybody’s day went—and really feeling you understood each other.
Yes, you can hire a professional animal communicator, and I certainly suggest it, especially for difficult cases, from behavior to dying and death. Professionals offer the objectivity, insight, and training to examine an emotionally complicated situation. However, we can all better understand our animals by learning the basics of animal communication, which just takes three things: choosing our mindset; being practical; and learning about animal communication, or mind-to-mind telepathy, by taking a class.
Let’s look first at mindset. When we choose a mindset that sees animals as family members, what we’re really doing is seeing them as equals to us, with souls, consciousness, rights, responsibilities, and opinions. (This is not the traditional mindset that sees humans as caretakers and guardians in charge of the universe.)
Sure, there’s a hierarchy in every family (sadly, animals don’t drive or shop for groceries), but how does life play out when everyone really is a family member, no matter the species? How does a multi-species family evolve? That’s when animal communication isn’t a novelty, but important for family harmony.
Which leads us to practicalities: no matter what, we’re still dealing with animals. To get along—and to respond in an emergency—you must understand species and know your animal’s behavior and personality. How do they react to new things? Are they ill? What is their temperament like?
Consider, for example, what goes through your mind—and theirs—when you come home from work and want your dog or cat to sit on your lap. Why? Maybe you just like lap time! But when animals become part of our multi-species families, things change. Now when you plop into your recliner, you may invite your animals to sit on your lap, if it works for you. Or you may notice them eyeing you expectantly, and you realize they want lap time (because you are always communicating with your animals, even when you don’t think you are). So you invite them onto your lap. You expect … whatever happens next. Just like you do with any family member who can think, reason, and choose to please themselves and, maybe, you, too.
When you live with animals as family members, life gets more interesting—and more complicated. Sure, you’re living together in close quarters, but you’re also considering their feelings and needs—what they want and know what brings you together and keeps you together, and why.
It can be as simple as your dog fetching a ball when you ask her if she wants to play—and you stop to notice all the intellectual steps she took to do that. It can be as tough as a devastating illness, which reminds you that this kind of family changes more frequently than the all-human variety. Or it can be a sudden startling event that flips your world upside down—like February 28, 2001, when Murphy, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel I adopted in 1998, went berserk and got us out of the house about two minutes before a major 6.8 earthquake rocked Seattle—because she knew the earthquake was coming (something scientists still can’t do).
Whatever it is that alerts us to the complexity of animals, living with them as multi-species families prompts us to better understand them, to connect with them like we do with other people. But how?
First, it’s species: understand them as animals. Then think of it culturally, like you’re visiting a foreign country, say, Italy. You’ve researched geography and customs, you arrive and mind your manners, you figure out how to communicate (learn some Italian, even if everyone speaks English). You’re courteous and respectful—and ready for a good time.
Now translate that to your animal families. Live with a twenty-pound dog? Get down on the floor and look up at the world like they do. Have a cat who stares out the window? See what’s really going on out there!
With species and culture set, you advance to animal communication—telepathy, or mind-to-mind communication. You start by learning how your intuition works—your particular combination of seeing, hearing, feeling, or knowing things intuitively—and then you apply it to your animals.
Telepathy is as basic as daily life. Paying attention helps, and so does talking out loud (just like before texting). Not simple yes or no things, but real conversations with your animals. Over time you’ll realize you’re responding to a conversation—with your animal.
Sometimes that response can be as hilarious as it is revealing. For example, I was trying to tell my grumpy dog, Murphy, who had become old and arthritic, that she simply could no longer romp like she was a puppy. Her body language said it all: she glared at me and looked depressed. (This is the observation part of animal communication.)
So I changed my approach. I knew what Murphy felt like: I am handicapped and physically can’t do things I’d like to do.
“Murphy,” I said. “It’s like me. If I went out and ran a marathon, I’d be really sore and cranky the next day. The pain wouldn’t be worth it.”
Now, a normal response from a human family member would be all over the board, depending on mood and snarkiness. So I expected Murphy to mope but gracefully accept her limitations (I’m a dreamer). Instead, she shot right back, in a high-pitched, outraged voice, “You could never run a marathon!”
Which made me laugh—it was a real response, one I didn’t anticipate. And that is what animal communication can do for you and your animal families.
When we learn to connect with our animals as family members, we learn their species and idiosyncrasies, we interact, and eventually, we learn to communicate telepathically, a process that fine-tunes our intuition as it helps us understand each other. That can’t help but lead to richer family lives.
In my webinar Animal Communication and our Animal Families we’ll explore how animals think and interact with us while teaching basic animal communication skills to help you deepen your relationship with your companion animals.
© 2017 Robyn M Fritz / originally printed in OMTimes magazine. Find it here: https://omtimes.com/2017/09/communicating-animal-families/