PET CORNER

Animals Tuning into Nature

and the Universe

By Allen and Linda Anderson

Whether wild in nature or living as family members, each animal has a unique, individual awareness that largely goes unnoticed in our human-centric world. When people connect with animals on a spiritual level, they can feel the true joy of viewing animals as equal souls on the journey of life.

Over the past decade we’ve heard from many animal lovers worldwide about their life-changing spiritual experiences with animals. Often the stories defy logic even as they touch the heart. Janette Warren of Kirkland, Washington wrote about one such occurrence for Angel Animals Book of Inspiration published by New World Library in 2003. Janette had the insight to observe the synchronicity of all life and was blessed with the miracle of possibility.

The Falcon’s Return by Janette Warren

A friend gave me Deepak Chopra’s book The Return of Merlin, to stir my imagination and create hope for new possibilities within me. Merlin the magician had trained himself, with extraordinary discipline, to create the life he wanted for himself. He developed the ability to transform himself into anything he chose — a stone, a tree — or disappear into the ether at will. The form Merlin most often used was that of a falcon. To me, this feat of becoming a falcon showed the degree to which anything is possible if the desire is strong enough.

I was nearing the end of Chopra’s book, and its powerful images were fresh in my consciousness. As I drove home from the grocery store, I was astonished to see a falcon sitting on a city sidewalk. I sensed that the falcon had been sent to deliver a spiritual message I sorely needed at this time in my life, but I didn’t know what it could be. I wanted to get out of the car and investigate, but I had heavy schedule and needed to get the groceries home.

After putting my groceries away, curiosity overcame me. So I drove slowly back down the same street where I’d seen the falcon, looking everywhere for the bird. Suddenly I heard a thump on my car. It sounded as if something had hit the window. I didn’t see anything on the ground, so I kept on driving. Then a woman jogger across the street slowed down her pace and gave me a huge smile.

Soon I came to a stoplight. In my rearview mirror, I noticed some commotion in the car behind me. A woman got out of the car and ran up to my window. With a big grin on her face, she asked, “Do you have a pet falcon?”

Like a child who knows that some surprise will be in store, I said, “No-o-o” in a long, drawn-out, questioning tone. She then told me that I’d had a falcon riding on the roof of my car for some time. He had just flown away as she approached me.

Immediately I pulled over, got out of my car, and sat on a porch step near the area where the falcon had flown away. I waited for ten minutes, but the bird never returned.

Touched deeply, I left all possibilities open for the exact meaning of this experience. but the image of Merlin’s falcon, followed by a visit from a living falcon, had shown me that anything is possible.

Have you missed signs that life is opening up for you in unexpected ways? Are animal messengers being sent to remind you of possibilities?

CHANTING WITH YOUR PET

Part of the love and communication experience between people and animals can also involve making a conscious connection together with the Divine. One of the most loving experiences we’ve had with our pets is when they join us for our morning contemplation, prayer, and journal-writing time. During this sacred space, in which we start our day by centering ourselves in divine love, we like to sing an ancient name for God known as HU (pronounced like the word hue). We sing HU, as a love song to the Creator, for ten minutes, followed by quiet reflection.

Singing HU is a form of non-directed prayer in which we listen to Spirit for answers and insights. (Depending on a person’s spiritual tradition and beliefs, they can sing holy names that comfort and uplift them, such as Jesus, God, OM, or Allah.) While we sing HU, our hearts fill with peace, love, and understanding. Evidently this is an age-old spiritual practice that works for our animals too.

At various times Linda has sung HU to animals in nature as well as ones confined in zoos. She had a delightful experience watching a lonely elephant close his eyes, sway his trunk, and dance to the rhythm of her chanting. Another time, she closed her eyes and silently sang HU to a gorilla in a glassed-in zoo cage while standing next to a line of school children. When she opened her eyes, the gorilla had come over to the glass and pressed his lips against it. One of the little children commented, “That gorilla is trying to kiss you!” Animals always feel the love.

While we sing HU, our rescued cocker spaniel Leaf jumps up on the chair with Allen in his big blue recliner or with Linda in her brown recliner. He settles in on either of our laps and usually falls asleep. When Leaf doesn’t claim the territory, Cuddles, our little black-and-white kitty, curls up on a lap, closes her eyes, and purrs along with the sweet, melodious sound.

Allen and Linda Anderson are authors of a series of books about the spiritual connection between people and animals. They have designed a writing course to help others learn from their fifteen years of publication. Visit www.allenandlindaanderson.com to check out Woof, Meow, Write, Publish: Writing about and Animals for Love and Money. Subscribe to the Andersons’ free, online newsletter at www.angelanimals.net and follow them on Facebook and Twitter @angelanimals.