“All things connect” Understanding Animals by Jane de Forest

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

 - - Chief Seattle

As you will read in my blog articles as well as my upcoming book on animal communication, it is my fervent belief that we have the ability to talk and understand what nonhumans are saying.

I have learned many things from my foray with furry four-leggeds, and one thing I found most fascinating is that animals perceive everything as interconnected. Somehow, they have an innate understanding that they are part of the web and have a right to exist. 

Let’s start with the basic strata of an animal’s existence; they operate on several different levels:

1. Instinct. A particular animal’s instinct, like a cat’s urge to hunt or a bird’s urge to make a nest, dies when the animal dies.

2. Personality. An individual animal’s personality-self is an aspect that seems to be influenced by a combination of the animal’s body and the soul.

3. Soul. A soul is an aspect that reincarnates and is eternal. Many times the same animal reincarnates within the lifetime of their human. This also includes a deeply bonded human-animal connection or a  “soul-mate animal,” a relationship which can recur in recurring lifetimes.

4. Guide. A teacher or guide level — in this aspect, the animal seems to choose the person to teach the traits and wisdom that they most need to learn, develop, or embody.    

5. Totem. An archetypal or totem aspect, which is a universal category that crosses cultural, historical and geographic boundaries. The animal’s totem energy is also used to symbolize essential ideas, such as the United States’ eagle, a family crest or a tribal totem pole.

6. Spirit. The level of a Goddess or God, represented within an animal form or an animal form mingled with the divine, such as a cat and a Goddess combined to be the Egyptian cat-Goddess Sekmet. 

Some of the things that animals have told me are heartwarming, some shocking, and many things are downright wise. As an animal communicator I am honored to be able peek into the secret inner workings of the animal kingdom.

I was recently hired to communicate with a dog named Anubis. But it didn’t take an animal psychic to see that the Rottweiler was, at minimum, in a bad mood. He snarled and eyed me suspiciously while the dog’s human, Selene, shared her concerns about his health or perhaps a depression that her beloved pooch was suffering from.

I sat on the floor near Anubis and centered, following my breath. Then, I imagined myself connected to the web of all life (my secret formula and it relaxes the animal), and finally, asked for help from animal guides and angels. 

Focusing my mind, I asked Anubis the dog what was wrong and waited for his answer. Soon imagery and feelings were flowing—I drew some red angled lines on my pad with crayon. Agitation filled my body—a crash, something had broken dramatically—I heard a loud bang and felt a commotion.

“Ok good job Anubis” I said out loud to the canine, and then reported my findings to Selene. 

“Well we break wineglasses now and again, so maybe I dropped something on the floor. But certainly nothing out of the ordinary,” Selene said as she scoured her memory. “Nope, sorry Jane, nothing like that of significance.”

I looked back at the dog. I asked again slowly, directing my mind to contact the dog’s mind, “Why are you upset?” Again, in my head I psychically “heard” a loud crashing sound and felt a deep concern—empathically.

“Anubis is saying that a loud crashing sound upset him and that he is greatly concerned.” I took another run at it.

“Well, we live next to the railroad tracks, so maybe that’s it.” Anubis’s human is a kind person and wanted to make my information fit.

We continued with the animal communication session and addressed some other issues Anubis was having. 

Selene called me several days later with a revelation—her elderly mother had fallen on the tile floor a week prior and broken her pelvic bone. Only the dog was home, he knew something was wrong and stayed by her mother’s side until the ambulance came.

Selene had an idea! She put the dog in her car and drove Anubis to the rehabilitation center for a visit with her elderly mother. It was hard to tell who was happier, she or the dog, and after some quality time together, the dog’s mood improved steadily; he began to eat and play again. Selene’s mother felt much better too.

To many of us, this is confirmation of animal intelligence, showing that they can understand complex situations and remember past events. But what touches my heart is the concern and compassionate that this canine companion truly had for his human. 

Disclaimer: Jane's opinions and insights are from her own perspective and experience and should not be used in place of veterinary advice or other professional counsel.

Jane de Forest author, artist intuitive, animal communicator, and medium for almost 20 years. She has studied with a Lakota Shaman, Buddhist meditation teachers, as well as at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her multiple-award winning book, Love Never Dies-A Psychic Artist Illustrates True Stories Of The Afterlife, is a first-hand account of people reunited with loved ones and animals in the afterlife. JanesInspiration.com