I met Charles at a meditation retreat a few years back, and since then we have stayed in touch and become friends. From the beginning he was very curious about my work, and about a year after we met he decided to hire me for a session to connect with his beautiful cat friend, Squiggs.

Squiggs acted like she had been waiting, not so patiently, for this moment in time. She began the session with, “I am a little bit upset. Is this ok?”  

I think Squiggs was testing the waters, wanting to know if Charles and I could handle her boldness, her directness, her real self.  She was secretly asking, “Can you handle me? Can I really be myself here?”

I could also sense that Squiggs was a very devoted and loving cat, but also annoyed. In the background of everything she said there was this feeling, “Isn’t who I am and my relationship to you and all that I do for you obvious?? Why don’t you human beings already get these things?”

I think Charles, like many of us (myself included before I learned this work), was guilty of thinking Squiggs was a lovely cat, but you know, how much can a cat really know? 

Turns out, Squiggs knows a lot.  

Squiggs said she connects to Charles’ heart, and holds part of his heart that is very precious and important to his spiritual awakening. It is a part of his heart that loves devotedly. Squiggs said she is very connected to it, because she understand devotion and loves Charles devotedly herself.

Then I asked Squiggs, “Hang on, you mean you know what awakening is?” Right away she responded indignantly, “Of course!!”

Clearly Squiggs had higher expectations for me, and I wasn’t living up to them. So there I was, being a doubting Thomas, validating this cat’s experience of us dim-witted humans. Sigh.

She went on to say that this part of Charles’ heart was also longing for a partner, and that a woman was coming soon.  And further, that she, Squiggs, has been helping prepare Charles’ heart to receive this woman into his life.

This woman would make their family complete: Charles, his daughter, Squiggs, and this woman.

In the in-between moments in the communication I tried to ask Squiggs how she knew this, or if she was really sure about this. Of course, she wouldn’t have any of it, she just ignored these questions. It was this feeling like, “Just do your job lady, and relay my messages.”

Sure enough, that was 2018, and about a year later, Charles met a woman, Lindsey, and they are now married.

Squiggs likes her very much.

There was so much more that transpired in this first communication session. And as you can imagine, with each of Charles’ questions, Squiggs did not disappoint. Squiggs had profound insights about so many things.

Even when Charles asked a simple question to Squiggs, “Do you like to be petted?” Squiggs responded with this elaborate answer that revealed all of this understanding of how energetically sensitive beings perceive and experience the world. Here are two short audio clips from the session, you can really get a sense of Squiggs’ personality here.

In that first session there were no big problems to be solved, but what did happen is that Charles now has this new, deeper appreciation of this being whom he loves dearly. And it has changed him. The communication was an awakening experience for him.

More recently, Charles reached out again.  This time he did have a problem to solve.  

Squiggs had stopped eating and drinking for 7 days.  The vets were saying that if she didn’t eat or drink something soon that her liver would start shutting down and the situation would become dire. Now Charles was the one who was really upset.

When I connected with Squiggs, she didn’t feel there was any emergency at all. She knew exactly what was happening, and said that her body was in a state of fasting so that she could heal from this stomach issue. Coincidentally, Charles himself had had a stomach issue recently and had fasted as a way to heal. 

Throughout this session we communicated with Squiggs about her condition. I have never claimed to be a healer, but something mysterious happened in that session. I could feel it in the empathic / telepathic connection with Squiggs. There was some kind of energetic congestion in Squiggs’ belly that started to move.  

I left the call with Charles encouraging him to use a homeopathic detoxifier as well as to reach out to a veterinary acupuncturist.  He didn’t end up doing either, because within 24 hours Squiggs started eating and drinking again and she recovered on her own from the problem, and now a year later she is doing fine.

While in some situations animals will literally energetically absorb an issue for their person, this was not the case here. Charles and Squiggs were doing something in resonance with each other. He had an issue, and she had an issue, and both were expressing through problems with the stomach. The love in their relationship had brought them to this point where they were moving through something together.

These kinds of things amaze me. There is mystery and great beauty in the depth of love and opening in our connections with our animal friends.

Kathy scheduled a communication with me for her horse Ruti a few months ago. She had bought him a couple of years ago, and shortly after she got him, whenever she rode Ruti, he acted uncomfortable and even bucked her off a few times. The vet’s exam showed nothing was wrong, and the trainer’s suggestions weren’t working.

Kathy really wanted to help Ruti but was concerned for her own health and safety, and his too. Maybe he didn’t like being her horse? Maybe there was something wrong that she and the vet and trainer had missed? Kathy thought she had a strong bond with her new horse, but now she was second-guessing everything. She wanted to hear Ruti’s perspective on it all.

Right away Ruti came forward in the communication (his energy felt much like he is in the photo above!). Though Kathy has two other horses, Ruti knew that he was the reason for the communication session and insisted on sharing first.

“Oh I like this. I like all the attention on me.”  Then Ruti shared a bit about who he really is as a being. “I am a rowdy guy. I like to keep things interesting,” sending an image of him kicking up his back legs, having a good time.

Then he got straight to the point: “I like being here. I am a misfit everywhere I go. But I feel like this is my home. I am grateful to be here. I know I am difficult but I want to make this work.”

It was clear that Ruti had already sensed Kathy was thinking this may not work out, and Ruti might be happier somewhere else. But Ruti was letting her know straight away that he felt otherwise.

“I get wiggly. I get fidgety. You are still, Kathy. You are very present and still. I need this. This is hard for me, I am not used to this. I am used to a man with edgy, agitated consciousness. I took some of it on. I don’t like it, it is in me.

I had the feeling that the man he was referring to was someone from many years ago in his past, before Ruti came to Kathy.

“I will become calmer, but I am not there yet. Oh I like when you ride me but I feel that agitation moving through me, clearing out of me. It is your stillness, and calmness. It heals me and makes the pain and memories of this other man move through me.”

He showed us that it felt like this big uncomfortable static that this man had in his energy and when he rode Ruti, all Ruti could do was absorb it. Ruti continued, “Because of the stress when that man rode me, I sometimes didn’t do things right. This man thought I was stupid. No! I was just doing my best! He was agitated.”

Then Ruti shared, “He was an angry man and he didn’t know it; he didn’t feel his own anger. You, Kathy, are not like this. You are calm. I care about you. I understand, I am not easy, but I am working things out.”

Next Ruti threw in the comment, “I am a really good-looking horse, by the way. Everyone says so.” Kathy burst out laughing, “Yes! That is so true, everyone says that!”

As the conversation deepened Ruti shared even more of his story and more details of what is happening for him. He also shared that he needed just a few months’ time, some ground work and continued love and devotion from Kathy. He said that more time, and her awareness of the problem, would help him move all this old energy through his system.

With tears, Kathy shared that this all made sense, and she told me to reassure Ruti that she understood and would continue to work with him.

Now, several months later, Ruti is very successful and very calm when they go riding. Kathy said that she understands more what he is experiencing. She is now more tuned into cues from Ruti when he is feeling uncomfortable, and works with him accordingly.

Ruti said later in the conversation that he has an important purpose in Kathy’s life:  to show her this calm, still side of herself, this healing nature. In this way, she can be in this part of herself more of the time. What a gift.

In the photo above you can see how Ruti and Kathy are very attuned to each other as they are riding together. I love how tangible Kathy’s calmness is in this photo!

Look how proud Ruti looks in this image as Kathy beams with joy of their success.

Animals are so empathic and often sense things that we human beings would never even imagine! There is a whole world of understanding waiting for us human beings, when we open our hearts and minds to hear our animal friends share.

Rescue animals often have mysterious behavior problems that their people never fully understand. These problems can severely limit an animal’s life, and their family’s life too!

A dog with separation anxiety, a cat who sprays, a horse who cribs, or a pet pig who bites the dog, they always have a story to tell.

Their people look into their animal’s eyes and wonder, “What in the world happened to you to make you behave this way? Why don’t you understand that you are safe now?”

In a communication session, we hear from your animal, listen deeply to whatever s/he has to say. Then I gently but persistently guide the conversation towards the issue their person is calling about. Often the animal will bring up the problem, before I even know the full story of why the person is calling.

“I pee in her husband’s shoes and chew on the sofa when she leaves. I can’t help myself,” one dog told me. And then the deeper reasons came forward: “I was yelled at and beaten by a cruel man, then abandoned on the side of the road. I wandered the streets for weeks before someone picked me up. I am terrified of losing my person who loves me so much now. She is my everything.”

When an animal has a mysterious behavior, it is a coping mechanism for some emotional wound or wrong belief that formed earlier in their lives. 

And beautifully, when animals get to share their story fully and deeply with their person, they change. In about 50% of my client cases, the very problem that the person calls about goes away, just through communicating alone, no additional interventions.

I have so many stories that illustrate this, but probably my favorite story of all time was that of a cat named Genevieve.

Her person, Katy, is a nurse who cares for the elderly. Katy loves cats and always goes to the shelter and chooses the cat that no one else will adopt. Inevitably, it ends up being an older cat with FIV and / or Feline Leukemia. This was Genevieve, with the added complication that she hides a lot and doesn’t like people touching her.

From the time she came home with Katy, Genevieve lived in the spare bathroom. She would not come out for any reason. Ever.

Katy didn’t force the issue; she sensed Genevieve had lived a difficult life in the 11 years before she arrived. Katy just accommodated her friend, bringing food to her, going in for visits and cleaning her litter box.

But the truth of the situation was that Genevieve was in a prison of her own making. And Katy was lonely. Her cat before, Gabby, was very affectionate and followed Katy around the house to see what she was doing much of the day. Here is Gabby perched in her favorite window, watching the birds.

But not Genevieve. Six months of Genevieve’s self-imposed isolation passed, and Katy was at her wits’ end. She wanted to help her friend, and was curious what Genevieve had experienced in her life before that would cause her to be so afraid. Katy saw my YouTube video and decided to reach out to me for help.

Right away Genevieve came forward, ready to communicate. She had a long and intense story, and at one point, Katy and I were both in tears. Here is an audio file of the 60-minute session:

Immediately after Katy hung up the phone, Genevieve came up to her, got close to her face and looked into her eyes very intensely. Katy said Genevieve had never done this before, and that there was this overpowering sense of connection, and it blew her away.

Then Genevieve proceeded to venture out into the hall for the first time, ever.  

In the days that followed, Genevieve gradually, slowly took even more brave steps. Within a couple of weeks, Genevieve had the run of the house.

Below are images of Genevieve finding Gabby’s favorite bird-watching spot, as you can see. In the middle photo she is looking up at the birds in a feeder just outside the window.

Below are photos of Genevieve relaxing in the hallway and watching Katy as they spend their day together.

Each day Genevieve would do something a little more adventuresome. Here she is seen again in the hallway, casually exploring her home. In the other photo Genevieve has found a nice place where she feels protected, but can see and be seen by Katy while she works on the computer.

It is amazing that a lifetime of fear unwound in only a few weeks. This is the power of this work. Genevieve’s truth was heard, received and appreciated. And because of this she was freed from some of the pain from her past.

People sometimes ask me, “Do animals know that you can do this, and do they come up to you out of the blue wanting to talk?”

Yes, they know. They recognize an openness to them, and a receptivity.

Whether it is a black lab passing me on a hiking trail with his person trailing behind, a horse at a barn, or a koala bear at a zoo, they often give me a knowing look, or feel comfortable coming closer to me for a friendly hello.

They sense a light in my heart, an availability to care and understand what they are experiencing, and receive what they are consciously, purposefully telling me.

But they generally don’t approach me with requests to translate for them and their person. Or come up to me and start pouring out their hearts to me.

This said, there have been a few exceptions.

One of these exceptions happened when I was on a road trip a few years ago, passing through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. I came upon a very sad, upset horse. Or I guess she came upon me.

I was driving from Northern California back home to Arizona, on my way back from a meditation retreat. I always find a way to drive down Highway 395. Mono Lake and the Inyo National Forest are special territory to me. I feel so alive weaving my way through mountain passes with the windows down, the road curving along the edge of post-card-picturesque rocky streams, and then into stretches of open, arid, hilly land. And then back again into the tall pine forests. So beautiful.

But it’s a total food desert. There are no decent places to eat along the way, only gas stations and sometimes-open diners in tiny, empty-feeling towns.

So I pack a lunch from a grocery store in Reno, Nevada, and plan to pull over on the side of the road somewhere interesting and sit there in my pickup truck and eat.

On one of these trips, I chose to have my lunch along a lovely stretch of highway where there were gorgeous mountains on one side, and fields with cows and a few horses on both sides of the road.

As I was sitting in the driver’s seat, taking the first bites of my vegetarian sushi, I felt that eerie feeling we all know. Someone was staring at me.

It was a horse, from way over there! Across the two-lane highway and across a huge field. She was a tiny dot in my line of sight from where I was in my truck on the side of the road.

I turned my attention back to my sushi. I thought, “This can’t be right. Maybe I am just imagining this.”

But within one or two minutes, she was up at the edge of the fence, her gaze fixed on me.

Obviously she wanted to talk.

“Really?” I wondered.

A few seconds later I thought to myself, “I can’t ignore this horse. She clearly has something to say.”

So I set my sushi on the passenger seat and got out of my truck, walked across the highway, fumbled through the tall-weed-covered ditch on the opposite side of the road, and walked up to the fence where she was still waiting. Still staring.

I touched her nose, gently petting her. She let me.

By this time, all kinds of cows were gathering around, and another horse, a gelding who had a sweet disposition but was not quite as sharp as this mare, came closer as well.

My mind was still surprised, and I didn’t know what to expect. But in my heart, I could feel this horse had a story she needed to tell.

So I opened my heart and listened, made myself available to receive her experience.

Right away, she showed me an image of a dark black steer lying on the ground on his side. Obviously sick.

“He takes care of things here. He was my friend. He was a leader and the others looked up to him.”

She showed me an image of a gun, and a man using it to kill the suffering cow.

“I don’t understand this. My cow friend could have gotten better. The man did not understand. He could have gotten better. He was my friend and we all depended on him, he was the smartest and wisest and most noble of the cows.

“I am so mad at our person, he doesn’t appreciate his cows, what they do for him. He thinks they don’t understand anything but they do. They know what they provide for him. They give to him. I want him to respect the cows. Appreciate them for what they give him. They know why they are here.

“And I want my friend back. We were friends, looking out for the herd together. He was sick but he could have healed. Our person did not understand this, and he didn’t give him time to heal. Now he is gone and I am sick with grief.”

I stood there with her, just listening. There was nothing I could do to solve her problem. I couldn’t make her friend come back alive. I couldn’t go and talk to her person. And she wasn’t asking me to talk to her person.

And I can’t imagine that scenario anyway. Not only would it be unethical and incredibly rude, but they might think I am a lunatic and have me arrested for trespassing.

Even communicating with his horse without his permission was questionable in the ethics department, in my opinion.

But there was a higher good needing to happen here. This intelligent and compassionate mare was very upset, and needed someone to listen.

So I listened.

In the next minutes there, standing in the grass up next to the fence, my new horse friend didn’t say much more that was different. I could feel the same feelings and thoughts rumbling around inside her heart and mind.  I continued to listen and receive.

Around that time, I started to notice the hearts of the other beings who had gathered, the cows and the other horse, together with hers and mine.

They created a little gathering of warmth and curiosity. I could feel each of them having their own experience of the situation.

“Why is this human caring about us?”

“How did our smart horse friend know that this lady could talk to us?”

“What will this lady do? We are sad and we miss our friend.”

I continued to be present with the horse from across the fence. Feeling her grief with her. Just being there. Occasionally petting her nose.

After a few more minutes of this, it was clear I had done all I could do. And by this time the chestnut mare seemed a bit relieved. Someone understood. A human being understood.

Then I sent the following feeling-thoughts to her: “Thank you for sharing your story with me, Beautiful Mare. I am sorry this happened. You are a very compassionate being.” And I told her it was time for me to leave, showing her an image of me getting back in my little truck.

I turned around and slowly walked back across the ditch and street. As I got back in my vehicle, I sat there for a minute, just taking it all in.

I turned on the ignition and headed on down Highway 395. I could see the cows and two horses watching me leave, and then each one slowly started to wander back out into the field.

My grandmother had a saying, “A problem shared is a problem halved.”

We humans think we have to fix everything for another being when they are in pain. It is great if we can, but sometimes deeply-present listening is a precious gift all on its own. It is a kind of grace.