 Miss Saskia is a rescued thoroughbred. She was thrown away at a feedlot in 2013 as is the plight of many race horses that do not perform. Despite the hoopla about how well race horses are looked after, this may be for a select few, but for the most part they are used and discarded when no longer profitable. They are drugged to run even with injuries and are housed in inhuman conditions which do not consider the psyche of the horse.
This is the story of me and Miss Saskia! A story of LOVE! www.youtube.com/watch?v=atP2hcactYk  Storytelling Humans
Humans are very good at creating narratives to explain experiences in their lives. We are good at creating connections between events and finding meaning to put things into place. Often quick connections are created based on fabricated concepts after the fact. Therefore, depending on the experience these created connections can be used to quell our minds, fears, create understanding and/or put things into place in a way we can accept. These can often lead us down paths that seem connected to us but on closer inspection and with greater wisdom and hindsight may not be. Oftentimes, these can be projected on to places, objects and other living beings. As we navigate through the lived experience in physical reality every second we have breath is a gift and an offering. It is a gift because we have life. And it is an offering as each moment gives us the potential to create, to evolve and to grow if we decide to adopt this approach. I don't like to use the word mindset exclusively as I feel that it is not about the mind being set it is about the balance of the mind, heart and body (thinking, feeling, hands/doing) that supports our growth and evolution. Each day brings us the ability to learn anew and to put things into place in a coherent way rather than finding narratives and meaning based on our beliefs or what we 'think' we know. Often it is in the unknown that we find ourselves. It is the discomfort that we have epiphanies about ourselves, others and the world. More specifically, we as natural storytellers connect experiences and create narratives based on our internally created mental pictures of the world. Each individual creates their personal experience and an internal reflection of the outer world based on interpretation of their experiences at the time of it's origination. These often become idealized versions of the actual event or observed object based on internal interpretations. These can be distorted by past traumas, hurts and misconceptions. Animals and Humans What does all of this have to do with animals, most especially animals in domestication? The animal kingdom has served humanity for thousands of years. They have supported us while we have progressed and regressed through many iterations of human experience and civilizations. We owe them a great debt for their support on many levels and yet we continue attempting to understand them from a human-centric perspective (human centered). We bestow upon them human ideas and make comparisons between their cognitive abilities and those of humans; this often relegates them to lesser beings of intelligence. This is a mistake in my view. Intelligence is not based on an IQ, SAT or GRE test. Intelligence is not about how many test questions you can get right. There are different types of intelligences. I believe it is contextual so when reduced to a quantitative, human centric world view we have a very limited understanding of the animal and what intelligence is. This is evident in the current expression of intelligence and it's continual comparison between that of human intelligence and the natural world. This is what I mean by human centric and it is a gross arrogance to believe everything stems from the human outwards into reality. It begs the question as to whether that is the case and whether meaningful comparisons can actually be made with this point of view alone. The dismissal of contextual factors and experimenter bias is telling. In this regard, I believe there is another type of intelligence that is erroneously dismissed in our society as unessential - the intelligence of the heart. The HeartMath Institute shows that the heart has neurons very similar to those of the brain and is the first point of activation when interacting with the outside world. It registers information before the brain therefore, our processing is not a top down system as we have been led to believe, rather it is a bottom up system (heart to brain). The brain is secondary to the heart. To this day humans have focused on intelligence being quantitative as the 'results' are tangible. Until recently human centric ideas have dominated the description and comparison of animals and humans. This is also reflected in the controversial discussion about consciousness. Until 2012 animals were believed to be devoid of sentience and were relegated to the world of automatons and instinct - they were lesser than. We hold die hard beliefs that the brain is the seat of consciousness. And this topic within itself is controversial purely for the fact that materialists are unable to find a 'place' in the brain where consciousness quantifiably exists. As the Founder of The Society for Animal Consciousness we are of the idea that consciousness is shared by all living beings. We believe a rather more nuanced approach is needed; an integrated approach. Therefore, for clarity and purpose of sharing in this article it is essential to adopt a definition of consciousness. The dictionary supposes that consciousness requires mental faculties and the ability to have self awareness. I believe this is a human centric ideology and is a poor definition of what consciousness could be. I also acknowledge that this is a controversial subject and there are many interpretations of what consciousness might be based on personal points of view. Most are based in materialism - if it cannot be measured mechanistically with technology or cannot be tangibly seen or touched it must not be real. In other words if the 5 senses cannot decipher it then it does not exist. Materialist science suggests that being human (as we believe ourselves to be) means being conscious and humans are therefore the central point of consciousness to which all other life is to be compared. Definition of Consciousness Therefore, the beginning of a simplistic definition for consciousness adopted in this article is as follows, "consciousness describes a state of being or a lived awareness of one's surroundings with the ability to make choices based on an array of species specific senses and beyond. This refers to beings that possess the ability to experience a lived awareness from the most simplistic to the more complex . A lived awareness refers to the aliveness of being and has different forms dependent on the species, their environment and purpose as part of the ecosystem they are tied to. To be very clear this does not include any inanimate objects or a programmed entity created by humans using technology or AI." I would like to acknowledge that this is but a beginning definition and is a work in progress as we expand our different intellects - not just the thinking minds but our feeling minds (heart) as well. Now that we have a definition of consciousness for this article, I would like to further discuss the role that domesticated animals play in our lives. They are fully conscious in the expression of their species and possess their own contextual intelligence. They have also adapted to a life of domestication that has dulled this expression, however, they are by no means idle in their efforts to educate and support us. They are players that support our spiritual, emotional and even physical evolution (and I mean this not from a scientific perspective but rather a perspective that relates to wisdom and maturity). How many of you have experienced an opening of the heart with your animal companions? How many of you have stated that animals have changed your lives or have supported you through a transition or time where you felt you had struggles? No words were exchanged and yet you felt it. You know in your heart they were a part of change for you and were catalysts towards the individual you are today. I am sure there are many, I am one of them. These stories are often relegated to the shelves of book stores with what are termed anecdotal narratives about the relationships between humans and animals. Additionally, the narratives are explained away with limited views about the human animal bond when scientifically tested because they are not easily explained. I feel this dismisses the beauty and the shared bond that animals and humans have. Furthermore, I feel it is a travesty to reduce the experiential to a scientific explanation based on quantitative ideology alone. It is a rather reductionist approach that tries to explain a qualitative topic as one that is not measurable and is relegated to that of fiction or the land of fables; this is a mistake. Animals are key players in human evolution (in terms of wisdom and finding our humanity). What I mean by this is, we do not need to be able to quantitatively measure everything on our planet for as we can see lived awareness (consciousness) cannot be measured in our current scientific paradigm. This cannot be generalized to the population with an experiment as much of it is very personal. Reducing our lived experience limits it's richness and complexity. Also, science does not discover, it rediscovers that which it becomes aware of. Phenomenon existed before it was rediscovered (think of Galileo, for example), it just was not in the pervue of human awareness until the individual opens their mind and is enlightened so to speak or they have an epiphany because they thought about something differently. The point is that conclusions are based on human interpretation and this is based on their lived awareness (consciousness) and experience. Intellectual pursuit is important to the human experience and yet the richness, diversity and complexity of the inner world cannot be explained in tangible, reductionist forms. This is similar for the lived awareness of animals in our midst. I believe acknowledging this is important for our own humanity because dismissing it would be disrespectful to our own development and the contribution of so many creatures who have supported bringing us to this point in our human evolution. I want to be clear I like science. I myself have published research. I like to rediscover and explore and discuss but I am very aware of limitations of the mind and the effects of reductionism. We have seen it played out over and over again in our history. What we thought was truth was usurped by new information to the contrary or was expanded. True science creates building blocks upon knowledge that is not considered absolute but investigative explorations of rediscovery. Science in itself when used well is beautiful. To acknowledge this is important because it is my belief that in doing so we are able to expand how we 'do' science and begin to understand what lived awareness may be. With this preamble in place I want to share something that is often not considered when discussing animals. Animals are center pieces in our lives and support us and our evolution as I have mentioned. I would like to articulate a few of the ways they do. There are many ways they support us but for this article let's talk about animals as Activator's, Reflectors and our Emotional Reservoirs: The Activator Animals are special beings. Their role in our lives is much more than just companionship. They have the uncanny ability to see what is inside our hearts and to share the purity of their being with us. When they are in our presence they show us what it feels like to be accepted and understood without expectations. They see us with their purity of being. They share a connection that is unmeasurable. It is they who act as activators; activators of our hearts that are often closed after disappointment and trauma. It is they who are activators of our humanity. I often hear the word unconditional used but it feels like its true meaning has become lost because of over use and mis-use. This is the reason why you will not find it in this article. For the animals deserve better. As heart activators they so effortlessly share of themselves in their purpose of supporting our evolution. At this juncture you will also notice that I have not used the word love. Again for the very same reason I did not use unconditional. It is another word that has lost it's meaning due to over use and mis-use. However, what I will share with you is my definition of Coherent Connection ™. I define is as follows, "the ability to see another for who they are without projecting. It is in the deep yearning to feel accepted, understood and seen. It is the heart centered thread that links one consciousness to another. It is cradled in selfless, coherent LOVE." This speaks to the purity animals who give without expectation, projection or deception. It is the purest form of connection one has the privilege of experiencing. They teach us to love coherently. It is an gifting through connection and consciousness. The Reflector Animals do not have an "I am" the way humans do. Sometimes, I refer to this as the ego-mind. It is the part of ourselves that, when under-developed and mis-used is the seat of self-preservation through a limited world view. It can also be the seat of self-deception and deception of our fellow human. Animals do not have the ability to deceive. They share their beingness and when allowed their uniqueness without ulterior motives. They merely are themselves in the animal bodies they find themselves in. In domestication animals will meld with their humans. What I mean by this is they will connect and share their energy bodies with humans and in so doing reflect human traits back to their humans. You will see this when you get a sense of the animals beginning to feel like their humans. Some humans mistaken this for the animal becoming more and more human. They are not becoming more human, they do not have an I am. But what they are doing is reflecting back to the human their inner landscape. This they do so very well and yet it is subtle. This subtlety and the unawareness of humans allows these little gems of self-understanding to fly off into the wind unseen and unacknowledged. And yet animals loyally continue to share these gems of wisdom patiently waiting for their humans to awaken to them. What is your animal reflecting to you? Are you seeing it? The Emotional Reservoir Finally, animals are reservoirs of our emotions and physical ailments. Many times you will see patterns that emerge in terms of now 'common' diseases in our domestic companions. They are a result of domestication and our management of them (food, water, environment and other) as our animals suffer from many of the same diseases that is a result of our industrialized, modern world. These are similar to our own patterns of disease. Their uniqueness and connection to the natural world is ignored as we offer them life experiences created by the human mind and not with the connectedness to nature animals crave. Their bodies crave it. They are eager to tell us what they need but often it is so subtle we do not have the awareness to listen. As part of their many roles in support of our evolution animals are deep reservoirs of our emotions. Their emotional realities are slightly different to those of humans. Not to say that their emotional lives are not deep, but they are different. Part of their purpose in domestication is to take our emotions and to run them through their bodies; yes to their own detriment. They will process and run human emotions and emotional inner landscapes through their body and suffer as a result because it is part of their connection to us. It is part of their purpose to hold us up and support our emotional and spiritual evolution as we become human. It is therefore part of our purpose as guardians to support them as best we can and to clear and become aware of our own inner landscape and transform that which is keeping us in the old and holding us back. As an animal connector I see these three roles often in humans and animal relationships. Next time you are in the presence of your animal what role are they playing the activator, the reflector or the emotional reservoir? Can you sense it? Picture Source: Pixabay In this video I want to share with you my experience with a wild foal and trauma transformation. The video is raw footage and her Mother was nearby. It is not common for wild horses (animals in general to be trusting of humans, most especially with their offspring. Enjoy it!  In 2021 I published a chapter in Voices of the 21st Century about "The Animals are Communicating with you - are you listening?"
This book became an Amazon best seller and has been celebrated around the world. I am so grateful for this opportunity to share my knowledge with the wonderful women who are featured in this book along side me. You can order your copy here!  When I connect with the energy of the White Rhino there is a deep reservoir of ancient knowledge that is accessed by the Rhino. I am connecting in particular with a White Rhino that is unknown to me. This feeling of ancient knowledge is kept in the DNA. It is something that all rhinos hold within their DNA. Their history and their blueprint. This rhino is coming up to me and is sniffing me. It feels like the rhino is seeing inside of me. The female that is in my presence is using her ears to listen to me and her nose to smell me and even her taste to taste what I am like. Rhino vision is not very good so that sense is not their main sense. She says she can hear the blood coursing through my veins and tells me to drink more water. She is so right. She is wiggling her ears in different directions and is just standing to my right side. She is just taking me in to see how I am, how I function and it is a way of being together. What humans would consider hanging out. Now she is asking me to follow her and to feel what it is like to be her. We are walking. I am behind her and I can see her feet as they fall to the ground and act as suspension cushions for her large body. Her ears are still wiggling front and back - she is also checking where I am. Her tail moves from side to side. She is calm. She is showing me what it's like to be rhino and she wants me to know what it feels like to share with humans. She wants me to share what it's like so humans can connect on a personal level. She says humans find it difficult to connect. They are not connected to nature and themselves like the animals. The animals, she says, are connected to their bodies fully. She says we know when the rain comes, when Earth moves. We smell it, we hear it, we feel it through out legs and bodies. I am asking her if it's like the elephants. She says it's similar but not the same. She says the elephants are a different frequency and they feel different things at the frequency that they are at. She is telling me that the natural world is very well organized. She says that each of us have our purpose and our place. She is showing me that everything works together and the idea that things are separate as we humans think is not true. She says her kind know that their time on the planet is limited. She is telling me that humans are unable to see beauty. She said humans did see beauty at some time but then they became disconnected. Becoming disconnected means they do not see the beauty in the life that is present. They also want to own everything that they can. I cannot explain very well to her about the resources that humans use like money and that what she is describing is materialism - these are all human constructs that do not make sense in the animal world. What I am explaining to her is that humans are trying to hurt rhinos because they use the horn in medicine. She is looking at me very strangely. She is telling me that that is not what happens. It is not the horn that gives what humans are looking for it is the essence of who we are. She says I can share the essence of who I am very easily with humans if they only ask. Yes, I agree humans just take they do not understand that animals are beings that have an internal part to them (internal reality). She is agreeing with me. She wants to show me how she browses (this is indeed, such a treat because she is letting me into rhino life! I want to apologize to her and to tell her from me and other humans are trying to help rhino's that we do love and care for them as a species and that she means a great deal to all of us). She just looked at me, she heard it. Her head in the air, her horn higher still. She sniffs and stops chewing. Then she turns her huge body around and she is facing me. She stops and I am waiting. This is a special moment I do not want to interrupt. She is rather surprised. From what the rhino clan had told her humans cannot wait and need to do everything now. Humans are ones that destroy rhino families and lives. As she comes to me she puts her snout in my belly. She looks at me with her small and yet meaningful eyes. She is sniffing me and she decides I might be ok and that sharing space, energy and information is safe (I am honored). She is asking me if I really want to feel what it's like to be rhino? I tell her it would be an honor to do this. She is moving in front of me again. Looking at me with her meaningful eyes. She says:-
Don't let them take all of us away. We are part of the past (history) of this place (planet). Tell humans that we have beating hearts. Tell humans that we are of the land and we allowed to be here. Tell them that touching our essence is not via our nose (horn). It is via our essence. We are rhino and we can share who rhino is if humans ask. (I sat for a moment and she was still in front of me. Her words hit my heart like small arrows. Not because they were unkind but because they were so poignant. It was how she and her fellow rhino's feel. They are peaceful (when left in their territory and not trifled with, most especially when they have a calf. All Mothers protect their offspring with a strength and fierceness that is innate. She looks at me again. I am still sitting down and she is much larger than me. She moves a few steps closer and her horn is right up to my nose. I know it is sharp. Her ears are wiggling around again. She is listening, always listening to the sounds around her. She is sniffing. Sniffing me. I blow out of my nose a little and she sniffs my breath. This is amazing at the same time so intimidating. Rhino's are a few tonnes in size and I am petite by comparison. She moves back a little and then she turns her body around and begins to trot away. She is wiggling her tail and turns her head slightly not too much and her eye is towards me. I feel the urge to trot and follow her. She is asking me to follow. So I get up and begin to follow her. She begins to gallop a little. She is fast. So much faster than I could ever be, I would have to sprint to keep up with her. She is telling me in my mind to let myself just be myself and to let the body find a rhythm with the earth and the rise and fall of my feet. I recognize I am different to her. She has four legs and has those cushions at her feet that help to buoy her weight as she moves. She is slowing down now. She is playful. HUGE! Playful. I am out of breath. There is a small dust trail that is behind us. She wanted to share what running with rhinos is like. She says rhino is an energy that is deeply connected to the Earth. She is telling me now you that you have run with rhino you can receive the rhino essence. She wants to know if I want to try the rhino essence more. I agree. Of course I want to fully feel what it is like. Here we go. I will explain it as it happens. The energy is large, it is soft not harsh and yet there is a groundedness to it. It is the feeling of knowing who you are, fully embodying this groundedness that is sustaining on a level that i cannot explain fully. It is sustaining at the deep inner level that is connected the physicality of what it means to be human. It feels like my body is full. It has a fullness that is large that what my physical body usually feels like. It is also freeing. Truly freeing. Now I am feeling what it was like when she was trotting and then loping before. There is a rhythm. Oh my the rhythm. It is a rhythm between the rhino, the limb movement and the Earth. It is something is best felt rather than explained intellectually. It is a harmony of sorts. A harmony with the place you live, breath and touch. This is how it feels to be in communion with the Earth and the essence of rhino. It is beautiful. As she disengages from me. I feel like I am back in the mundane. And yes there is beauty in the mundane but there is even more beauty in the sharing of essence. It's this essence that humans try and capture but it cannot be captured unless one is able to sense it and is willing to see the animal and respect the animal from which it comes. Humans have a disregard for this. They have a disregard for anything that is not visible in physical reality. It is a loss for the human who is seeking deep connections with self, other and nature. The rhino is sensing all of my sensations and she is sniffing me again. Right in front of me. I am standing and decide to plop to the ground. It was a feeling that came over me to plop to the ground. She is sniffing my breath again. She is happy to share. She is happy to find a human who allows her to be. Allows her to be free. I apologize on behalf on humanity for their disregard of her species. Her tail wriggles and her ears move back and front. She is sending me another feeling. She likes to do this. The feeling I am getting from her is that this is the only way to teach. The only way to foster change is to feel the difference, to feel the animal. She is urging me to share my knowledge and the way I am with animals. She is asking to do it for her. For her species and for humans to grow. I am crying. How will I do it alone? She sniffs me and her horn meets my nose again (it feels like a listen up at this point), you are not alone because all the animals are with you. You are not alone is what I hear. She wants me to go with her. This time we are side by side. Walking. She takes me to an area of grass that has a small mud hole. She rolls in the mud and invites me with her eyes and a feeling to be with her. I am feeling hesitant but then I realize this is being rhino, I will. So I move to the edge and put my feet in first and then sit in there with her. She is huge! Rolling from one side then the other. It's cooling her down. She breathes out. She comes to me when we are out of the mud hole and is standing in front of me. I get this feeling over my body to look after the animals of the planet so that there is more harmony. She says she is her too and that she matters. Like all the ones in her clan. She wants humans to come back to their hearts. Come back to your hearts. If you leave my rhino clan to die then so will you because the Earth will change and she showed me a great many floods and fires and she is showing me how the loss of life on the planet means there is change and things will not be the same as before. She is sending me the feeling of being careful and not to hurt the planet so much. She turns around and walks away very quietly, with great resolve and strength. She turns her head a little and I feel this feeling of "do not forget what you experienced. Remember to teach". "I am rhino, I am here, I am here," is what I heard. White Rhino (via Chiara)  Photo Source: Pixabay When I connect with the Gorilla's there are many different troops that I can choose but I am being drawn to Rwanda and am being zoomed into that area. They know who I am and some of them are not used to having a human who has projected herself to that area to visit them in this way. The younger ones think and feel this is strange. The older ones are just looking at me and chewing on vegetation. The Earth smells different. It's very Earthy and strong. The air is moist and misty and we are cool up in the mountains. It's so quiet. My body feels like it is calm. It feels like this when I am with nature and animals. There is a deep calmness inside of me. Something that the industrialized world has lost in their day to day hive of activity that is created by the human mind.
I hear them talking to each other verbally and also silently. It's so beautiful. There are multiple conversations at once and yet they are all melding and balanced. Everyone understands each other and there is no mis-communication. In the quietness. In the quietness. The Silverback noticed me and is coming to check me out. It's his role as the protector to make sure all visitations of any nature are safe for his group and I allow him to sniff me and to poke me a little on my back. It is inwardly quite confronting to have a Silverback in your sphere with the intensity of their gaze and their breath in close proximity. I stood very still. I did not look at him. I only looked on the ground. It was instinctual. I knew I needed to be invited to stay for me to talk to them. He tickled my hair and I wanted to laugh but kept still. He then took my arm. He has such a strong grip (I haven't felt that strong a grip before) and he pulled me with him. I went with him. We walked past the others (females and juveniles) and they were all watching me while still munching away. The air was cooler now and it felt more moist. The clouds were visible. It was cloudy up their in the mountains and the temperature changed so quickly. I felt stings on my arms - nettles. They were a favorite for the Gorillas. He sat up in the mountain and I got the sense he wanted me to sit next to him. I kept my arms low to the ground with no sudden movements. I wanted to show respect and to show I am trustworthy. Then I heard his voice...I want you to learn the way of the Gorilla then we will tell you about Gorilla for you to share with the humans. His voice was loud in my right ear. His voice was calming and at the same time protective. It was also very assertive and I knew this is what I needed to do to be considered a part of the Gorilla group and to show my respect for them as a species. I agree. I told him that I wanted to learn Gorilla and for him to show me. First he told me to sit like him. My knees were close in to my torso and my feet rolled underneath. He told me this was important not only because it was comfortable (for him not so much me) but because it gave the momentum to jump in a different direction if need be. He said that they were mostly safe except for the two legged ones like me. They are not trustworthy and not safe. I apologized for humanity and their actions. I told him this is the time for him to share with humans what Gorilla means and I would share this for all to hear (I could not use read - they don't read but they hear). He looked at me with his eyes directly in my eyes. It was very intense. He did not respond. He accepted my apology and it was sitting between us - the apology and we allowed it to simmer and then to integrate in the space between and inside of us. I felt so humbled by this experience. I was humbled by the gentleness and kindness shown to me. He took another leaf and he looked at me again. I could feel he wanted me to watch him carefully. It was a nettle (yikes! why?) and he wanted to show me how they folded the nettle leaves so that they could eat them and not be stung. He showed me fast and I asked him to show me again slow. I was terrified what if the nettles stung me all the way down my esophagus? I had a lump in my throat. He showed me a second time. It was such a cultivation - this folding. It felt like a ritual before food. It was part of the actual beginning of taking the nettle in. The nettle he said helped the gut for them. They liked nettle because it had iron a lot of iron and also it had some things that would make them feel okay. He showed me (in his mind) the picture of the forest and how much damage there was to the forest and the Gorilla's running to higher ground. They were afraid to go down below because that's where the two legged ones were and they were not safe. He looked at me now with this deep sadness in his eyes. He showed me pictures and feelings of being killed, burnt and different parts being used for food or other (the bushtrade also sells Gorilla meat and limbs). He made me feel how his heart was crying. It was like someone had put a sword inside the heart and he then showed me how this is carried by all of the Gorilla's. All the different species of Gorilla, he says we all know of each other even if we do not come together, we know of each other. I felt deep shame, shame for the disregard humanity has for their habitat and disregard for the Gorillas as sentient beings. I was ashamed that they endured this human created trauma. That not only affected individual Gorilla's but affected the collective. He looked like he had fire in his eyes when he turned and looked at me. It was the fires that are used to burn the habitat. It reflected in his eyes. He showed me his heart crying again and I felt my eyes well up. I sat still but it was hard. My knees were achy and my feet were going to sleep but I wanted to respect him as much as possible. He could see that and feel that. He grabbed my arm again and with the same strength he pulled me deeper into the mountain. There was a clearing and the vegetation was different. I felt relief as this meant I didn't have to attempt the nettle folding and eat the raw nettles. Here there were grasses. Grasses that sometimes they ate. He showed me they would eat the heads of the grass that is what they did. He pointed to some weeds (they looked like weeds) and he told me not to touch these. And then another type of weed he said when they had the runs they used this. He knew so much of the environment. It wasn't just a knowing it was a feeling. There was what I call a nervous system to nervous system dialogue between his body and the environment. It was with his feet and knuckles when they were connected to the Earth. It was with his breath as he breathed in and out. It was a full body experience. It was incredible. I felt an aliveness that I have not felt before. He looked at me and allowed me to feel that I was not ready before this time to embrace what this was like because my body would not have been able to take it. It is very powerful. He also made me feel like now I understood why it took so long for me to talk to him and his relatives. He looked me deep in the eye. It was so intense and yet it was so gentle at the same time. I could go flying out of my body into the Universe by looking at his eyes. It was hypnotic. He gave me a top of the grass where the seeds were. He folded it in on itself and gave it to me. I took it and began to eat it. He was quite impressed and I could feel he was happy I followed through. He felt good in the stomach now, I am okay and I am respectful. I am not a bad human. The grass tasted tart and it took a lot of courage to swallow it when I had chewed and chewed and it didn't seem like it was enough. He grabbed my arm again and we were going down the mountain. He was going so fast I kept on losing my balance and he thought that was odd. He let go my hand and bounded ahead and let me move how I wanted. He looked sideways every now and again to see I was there. His head was also darting around because he needed to check that all was okay. As he came to the rest of the group he puffed himself up. He puffed his whole body and he was so much bigger than before. It was intimidating. He stood high on his front legs and the back legs and his body was very taut. He went to each of the females and sat with them a bit. I felt like I was invisible. But I was not. I was accepted. They were going about their own lives and letting me have a feel, a glimpse and an experience with them. What a privilege. As I thought this they all turned to look at me. Their eyes intensely on my form and I could feel it penetrate inside of me. They were looking at me on the inside. They were reading my energy body. It was quite a trippy experience to have them all do this at once. It's like have peeping toms inside your energy body that are only looking at you to see who you are. Nothing more. When they all left I could feel my energy body move back into the position it had before. It was surreal. One of the females came to me and like the Silverback she sniffed me all over and she poked me in the chest (I got the sense she had satisfied herself that I was female). Then the other females came and some of the juveniles that were not far from their mothers. They also poked my chest (the females) and sniffed me. Then they put there hands on my hair and head. Their hands where heavy on my head. Then they started to groom me a little. I was not up to Gorilla standard and they wanted to change that. They wanted me to feel what Gorilla family felt like. The females were different. They had their own strength that was not only deep but their connection to Mother Earth was different to the male. When their feet and knuckles or hands (because they did splay their hands on the ground) touched the Earth they talked to the Earth. They asked for parchment to be abated. They also asked for more food when they needed it. There was a direct link between them and Earth. They also asked protection from the two legged. They were scared of humans. Scared of humans. When they lost one of their clan it was a grief for all the females and the male (although he did not show it as much). The females shared everything with the Earth. Their experiences, feelings (including the grief of loss) and their joys. Joys for the Gorillas were when there was food, when the young ones played and when there was abundance for all the members of the family. There were some of the older females who shared a great deal of wisdom with the younger females/males. There seemed to be what we would term a culture. They were able to tap into their specific species uniqueness and they would share it with the rest of the group. They were so deeply connected to the Earth because they had built relationship with the Earth over a long period of time and their bodies had the ability to process information differently than a young body. This deep wisdom is the piece they want to share with humanity. That each animal has a deep wisdom that they bring with their species as a whole. They are also an expression of the deep wisdom of the Earth and each of them play an intricate part in the stability of the Earth as a whole. It was on a micro-level in their own environment and also it was on a macro-level as every small environment affected all the ones near it and so on - it was a ripple or butterfly effect. The older female shared her consciousness with me and she shared pictures and feelings. She showed me how the Earth was not pleased with what the humans were doing. There was no balance. The humans had lost their ability to sense in the other realm and they were saddened by this (Gorillas). She had a quizzical look in her eyes and she asked me how I did this? How did I remember? I looked at her and it felt like I had to do sign language. I did not study sign language but I was using a sign language that involved feelings, pictures and using my hands for certain gestures so she could 'hear, see' me. It felt like this sign language was old. It was older than I could even grasp. She looked at me with this knowing in her eyes. She recognized me. She knew now I came into this world with the DNA open to the animals. It was changed and she showed me how it had a nick in it and that this nick was there because it would allow me to choose to offer the animals a voice. I thanked her. And again using sign language mix I asked her when it was decided on this planet that it would be so. She said at my birth I decided I wanted to be with the animals. She proceeded to show me all the animals wild and domestic that touched my life from then until now and she allowed me to feel that these were not coincidences. She allowed me to feel how the animals could sense me and that they were open to me looking at them. They told me I needed to go through some iterations before I could actually interpret what they were saying from their perspective. They told me not so much when you were little you were open but after you started to be shut down by society. She showed me that if the world was different they would have found me sooner but the domestic animals took care of me. She touched my arm and I felt the warmth of her hand and the tickle of her fur. She was sharing energy with me. It was Gorilla energy. She looked at me directly in the eyes and said "don't let them take my babies. Don't let them take my family." I looked at her deeply and my heart was crying. It was crying for the loss of their babies and family and for the intervention of humans in their habitat and them being taken to be put in concrete places. She looked at me and said she did not want to talk about the ones in those places that humans go to (captivity). She was sad and she was also angry (its a different type of anger, it is not exactly like we humans have). She felt we had lost our sacredness. And that we treated them like they were just ... and she showed me a picture of a monkey...(apes have no tail and monkeys do. It also felt like it was not derogatory at all. It was the explanation of the mis-match of the animal essence, it was the feeling of humans projecting on animals their superiority - this is what it felt like when she showed me this picture). She says that all animals are here for a reason and have their purpose but it is disrespectful for humans to not honor them for the animal essence they are. She says that honoring them means respecting their place (where they live), their form (bodies), their food, their ways, their families and their animal essence. She says that humans leave a print (she showed me a human print) everywhere. She is showing me how animals do not do that - they leave a print that is specific to them (it feels like a niche). She is also showing that everything is connected. And that there is a reason for everything and that things are not always what they look like (things are not always what they seem). She touched my chest again. She is finishing now. They are moving away up the mountain. The Silverback is at the front and as he looks down at this group he looks at me. I had the feeling of "do not forget." How could I forget this? How could I forget. That would not be possible. I will not forget Gorillas (via Chiara)  Their Whole Selves Today I want to talk about what animals teach you. Those of you who have read my previous posts know I mentioned animals do not have an ego. Not the same way as humans. Animals come to you with their whole selves. They do not hide anything about themselves from you. They may be cautious and they may take their time but once they feel that you are trustworthy they show you their 'Whole Selves'. What does showing your 'Whole Self 'mean from the animal perspective:-
When animals meet you or greet you they scan you physically, emotionally and energetically. You may use masks in the human world but animals see through these and see the raw you as you are. This is one reason why humans feel that animals get them and they can connect to them - most especially after trauma. You see animals don't hide who they are and they give with zero expectations (maybe a treat here and there but that type of expectation is a conditioned response). Animals are attuned to their bodily sensations very deeply and are ready to meet you where you are. At the same time they will do what they can to bring you to this present moment and want you to see them for who they are. This in itself is such a beautiful gift indeed. Allowing you to see them. Their real selves. In their view they cannot be anything else. Meeting You Where You Are Meeting you where you are is a sure way to build trust. When you meet an animal always meet them where they are. I do not believe in pushing animals beyond their capacity. One cannot get over trauma in one sitting and no behavioral methods can erase trauma. Trauma does not go away through conditioning. It may appear that way temporarily but it's not fool proof. Trauma sits in the tissues of the body. Research by Candace Pert and her colleagues (Pert, Ruff and Herkenam, 1985) (she was the Chief of Brain Biochemistry in the Clinical Neuroscience Branch of the National Institutes of Health before her death) suggests the mind and the body talk to each other through what are known as neuropeptides. These are complex protein molecules that are released in the brain and attach themselves to cell receptors in the body. These molecules create a cascade of chemical reactions inside the cells where they are attach and are related to how emotions are manifested in the body. Candace Pert dubbed these 'molecules of emotion'. What this research tells us is that emotions are full bodymind experiences that are not separated. How does this relate to the current topic? It's very important because when I wrote that animals meet you where they are - they are truthful and when they behave a certain way they are showing you a great deal about themselves. There is a reason for everything and there is a time to direct and a time to invite and a time to stand still in the quietness so that integration and learning can happen. An animal does not learn when the brain is in a flight or fright stress/trauma response, so continually eliciting this response is a sure way to create fragmented memory and does not address the fear in the animal at all. It creates a platform for a total shut down and a resignation to helplessness. The animal is pushed beyond beyond their threshold. Threshold Each animal is an individual. Each animal has their internal reality (I will cover this in another post) and has their own thoughts and emotions. Bringing all of these together means that they bring their personalities and all of their experiences with them when they meet you. A threshold is a demarcation or a line that marks the top end level of tolerance in any given experience. In working with trauma this threshold is the marking point of what the animal can handle at any one time. Some animals have a small window of tolerance others do not. Think about a time when you were triggered and you were terrified of going to a certain area as a result and someone pushed you through that when you weren't ready. You probably collapsed internally and some type of dissociation of the bodily feeling occurred because the pain was too great. You moved beyond your threshold. Trauma is no different for animals. In fact it is even more intense because animals are fully aware of their experience and their bodies. Humans, on the other hand, are focused on the cognitive and lose track of their bodies very easily. When trauma has been the status quo for a human or animal finding joy in new experiences and exercising curiosity is no longer natural. Curiosity and Play When an animal is healthy (mentally, emotionally and physically) they show a cautious curiosity and play in new situations. I am sure you have watched kittens and puppies play - they are adorable and totally throw themselves into the experience and the moment. Jumping all paws in! This is the healthy way to navigate life! These are examples of healthy curiosity and play. Provided the animals have the correct resources for good health and they are in a homeostatic place (where bodily checks and balances are maintained) they will exhibit these behaviors. Often young animals most especially in domestication are plucked from their Mothers too soon. This is the number one thing animals tell me they want a healing for. So by the time animals in domestication are born they have inherited the traumas of their parents (trans-generationally), have lived through the trauma of birth and have been prematurely separated from their animal families. This is the beginning of the trauma cycle and timeline right there. By the time they are 8-10 weeks old, baring all else is well (resources, human interaction etc) young animals already hold the scars of these traumatic events in their bodies and personal narratives. Rescue animals hold much more based on their experiences. So what do animals teach us...
Remember there is a time to DIRECT, a time to INVITE and a time to STAND STILL. References Pert, C.B., M.R. Ruff, R.J. Weber, and M. Herkenham. 1985. Neuropeptides and their receptors: a psychosomatic network. J Immunol. 135:820s-826.  Chiara gives a voice to the voiceless. She brings the internal realities of animals to life through her Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N) Connectivity™ process. She is unique and mixes science and intuition. She calls it a boundless science. A science that includes doing, being and has a method.
Wild Voices Talk™ and Chiara are about you and your animals. Chiara provides unique services that bring a richness of connectivity between animals and their human counterparts. She provides a new perspective on animal minds, emotions and trauma with a view to supporting animals through their journeys with their humans. It is a Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N) Connectivity™. She creates the space for animals to find their voices in a human world. She creates a communicative meeting place between their consciousness and yours. Disclaimer: Nothing on this website in any communicative form and relating to any and all communications either on this website, social media accounts or using any other technology constitutes giving advice, or a diagnosis or a cure or a prescription. The information on this website and any and all communications, verbally or by any other technological platform globally is provided for 'sharing' of resources only. Should you decide to use any such information you do so at your own risk and you hold Chiara Marrapodi totally harmless in any and all legal matters concerning your health and the health of their family and/or friends and/or colleagues who they may share the information with as well as all of their pets and/or livestock whom may practice the information upon. For all diagnosis, cure or prescription and any related information contact a qualified health professional at all times. Chiara Marrapodi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and bluehost.com. The Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or it's affiliates. The Bluehost logo are trademarks of Bluehost.com. This notice is provided as a form of transparency. Chiara Marrapodi does not endorse any products that are part of the affiliate program and by clicking on any links you are dealing directly with the advertised supplier. In so doing you hold Chiara Marrapodi totally harmless in the decisions and purchases you make. Animal Connectivity Session Today I want to share an experience with you... Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting a beautiful Maincoon. Her name was Grace. She has cancer in her right jaw and her human wanted to find out if Grace wanted to leave the body yet. When I arrived at Grace's home she was outside. In true maincoon style she came to greet and then walked away and did her own thing. This was a privilege unto itself. Later her human told me that she does not come to strangers and usually runs to hide under the bed. We all proceeded indoors. Grace placed herself on an ottoman between me and her human. It was the perfect set up. You see it was already creating the flow of energy that would make this session so incredibly beautiful. Grace was getting all she needed at that moment in time and her human was right by her side. Grace knew this was her session. We locked eyes and I told her why I was here to ask her some questions and see how she was faring. Grace already knew she said. We asked her if she wanted to stay or go and she said she was not ready. We did a scan of her body and did a healing (accuhealing and cleansing of her body). We also did a healing on her cancer too - I asked her at each point if she was ready and she was. With each healing and communicative expression she became more and more relaxed. Her human was surprised at how relaxed she was and commented on how Grace would either look very intensely when I talked to her. When it was complete we all knew. Grace got up and she decided to look outside and then scratched the mat that was near the door. Her human was most surprised. She said that Grace had not done that for a very long time. Grace decided it was integration time and she needed to move a little and find her space for her alone. And she did. As I was leaving her human went to find her to tell her I was going and she came back into the lounge room and sat on her ottoman. I left Grace and her human. A few hours later I got a text message from her human who told me that shortly afterwards Grace went to the corner of the couch I was sitting on and sniffed for the longest time. Then she sat down right where I had been sitting. She wanted to soak what we had done through my imprint on the chair. Tears filled my eyes. What an honor and a privilege. Grace, dear Grace you are a feline filled with great wisdom and grace beyond our capacity as humans to grasp. Thank you for sharing yourself with me and for trusting me to share your life with you and your human. This practice is so very sacred and is life changing both for the human and the animal. I hold it in sacredness. Love Chiara #animals #animalcommunication #gift #sacred #sacredness #maincoon#grace #species #pet  Chiara gives a voice to the voiceless. She brings the internal realities of animals to life through her Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N) Connectivity™ process. She is unique and mixes science and intuition. She calls it a boundless science. A science that includes doing, being and has a method.
Wild Voices Talk™ and Chiara are about you and your animals. Chiara provides unique services that bring a richness of connectivity between animals and their human counterparts. She provides a new perspective on animal minds, emotions and trauma with a view to supporting animals through their journeys with their humans. It is a Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N) Connectivity™. She creates the space for animals to find their voices in a human world. She creates a communicative meeting place between their consciousness and yours. Disclaimer: Nothing on this website in any communicative form and relating to any and all communications either on this website, social media accounts or using any other technology constitutes giving advice, or a diagnosis or a cure or a prescription. The information on this website and any and all communications, verbally or by any other technological platform globally is provided for 'sharing' of resources only. Should you decide to use any such information you do so at your own risk and you hold Chiara Marrapodi totally harmless in any and all legal matters concerning your health and the health of their family and/or friends and/or colleagues who they may share the information with as well as all of their pets and/or livestock whom may practice the information upon. For all diagnosis, cure or prescription and any related information contact a qualified health professional at all times. Chiara Marrapodi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. The Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or it's affiliates. This notice is provided as a form of transparency. Chiara Marrapodi does not endorse any products that are part of the affiliate program and by clicking on any links you are dealing directly with the advertised supplier. In so doing you hold Chiara Marrapodi totally harmless in the decisions and purchases you make. Many humans have the idea that once the animal is rescued the animal is now fine. Rescue is an important breakthrough but is not the complete picture. Most especially if there is trauma (and usually there is in most rescue cases). When the animal is rescued it is only the beginning of their healing. Unfortunately, for some animals them being rescued brings another host of issues... Human expectation. Their new humans expect them to be able to perform "new jobs" or "roles". The idea is this will bring the animal healing but this is not the case. The animal has a nervous system and based on the species and particular circumstances the nervous system requires recalibration. Rescue animals need at least these 5 things:- 1. Feeling of safety The feeling of safety is not instantaneous because they have now been rescued or have come into a new home. The feeling of safety comes with sniffing the environment, the new people, new food, other animals and doing a territorial search. This is what animals do when they have healthy experiences. They use their bodies and all their senses to understand their environment. When animals are traumatized they are in the flight, fright, freeze or appease (overly pleasing) state. They will try and change their states and will be seen to lick, pant, shiver and other behaviors to compensate for their states of discomfort. A feeling of safety is cultivated. It doesn't just happen. A feeling of safety takes time. Give rescues time to seek their safety in you by not pushing them beyond their threshold. Give them space as they begin to smell your motives, state of being and sense their place in the human-animal world. 2. Adequate resources (food, water and shelter) Good quality resources are important for a healthy nervous system. Understanding that quality water (not from the tap) is important due to all the impurities and contamination found in it. Also the idea that kibble food and canned food will provide all your animal companion needs is not accurate. These commercial, packaged products are laced with synthetic vitamins and minerals that are not as easy to absorb and the animals are eventually left with deficits. Additionally the quality of ingredients is not what you think. They are usually byproducts of the meat industry and a cooked melange of inedible products. A good whole food, raw diet is better for both canines and felines. The quality of this food is key to their thriving. It is my experience that those animals that have been through trauma and are in a rescue situation need more resources than a naturally healthy animal that has had a wholesome life. When you are stressed you will need more nutrients to compensate for this stress. It is the same for animals. As the animal begins to find safety this will slow down. This will also result in better digestion and the animal will be able to hold their weight more. Digestion is not only about food but also about experiences and emotions. 3. For humans to understand their behavior from the animals perspective Animals do not have ulterior motives. I remember reading somewhere that someone stated they know animals lie. This is completely inaccurate. Animals do not have an ego at all. They do not lie or gossip. Animals are honest and animals show you exactly how they are feeling. Humans usually do not see or listen to these communications because humans are stuck in their heads and they use only the languaging of the mind. Also humans tend to project their ideas on to the animals in their care and use human feelings and thoughts to explain human behavior (anthropomorphism). While there are similarities animals do not have an ego and many of the things humans say about their animal's is not interpreted accurately. To be able to see from the animals perspective watch the animal without placing your ideas or thought upon them. You will begin to sense from the animal's perspective how they are experiencing life. 4. Down Time/Processing time/Time to rebuild/Time to feel that things have changed Usually humans are super excited about their new animal companion. And this is of course part of the adoption process! You get all excited and you bring the animal companion home and then there are certain things that begin to show up as the months go by. This is normal with a rescue animal. It is normal for all animals but rescue animals need more time. They need time to understand their surroundings for safety as I said before. They need time to understand you. Your needs, your quirkiness, the other animals, the new tasting food. Everything is new and their senses are being bombarded. In a state of trauma or trauma recovery you can get overwhelmed very quickly. So do animals.
5. Time to connect to their new 'people' and other animals around them Although this has been covered somewhat in the above points I want to address it separately. Animal introductions are not always easy. Most especially in felines. Often older felines who are not accustomed to colonies can find it difficult. Or their personalities just aren't about sharing their space with other feline friends. I have a motto when it comes to introductions:- "Expectations need to be low. Introductions need to be slow". Oftentimes humans want these introductions to be very quick. They want the introductions to go perfectly. This is not the case most of the time. Animals have thresholds and they have dog and cat etiquette. Finally, expecting less is more. What I mean by this is that while we want the best for our animals sometimes we expect them to be more like us. And expect them to be quickly in tune with their environment and us. When a rescue animal has experienced abuse and pain they are very forgiving. They also have their thresholds. Expect less and go slow.  Chiara gives a voice to the voiceless. She brings the internal realities of animals to life through her Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N) Connectivity™ process. She is unique and mixes science and intuition. She calls it a boundless science. A science that includes doing, being and has a method.
Wild Voices Talk™ and Chiara are about you and your animals. Chiara provides unique services that bring a richness of connectivity between animals and their human counterparts. She provides a new perspective on animal minds, emotions and trauma with a view to supporting animals through their journeys with their humans. It is a Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N) Connectivity™. She creates the space for animals to find their voices in a human world. She creates a communicative meeting place between their consciousness and yours. Disclaimer: Nothing on this website in any communicative form and relating to any and all communications either on this website, social media accounts or using any other technology constitutes giving advice, or a diagnosis or a cure or a prescription. The information on this website and any and all communications, verbally or by any other technological platform globally is provided for 'sharing' of resources only. Should you decide to use any such information you do so at your own risk and you hold Chiara Marrapodi totally harmless in any and all legal matters concerning your health and the health of their family and/or friends and/or colleagues who they may share the information with as well as all of their pets and/or livestock whom may practice the information upon. For all diagnosis, cure or prescription and any related information contact a qualified health professional at all times. Chiara Marrapodi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. The Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc or it's affiliates. This notice is provided as a form of transparency. Chiara Marrapodi does not endorse any products that are part of the affiliate program and by clicking on any links you are dealing directly with the advertised supplier. In so doing you hold Chiara Marrapodi totally harmless in the decisions and purchases you make. |
AuthorChiara is unique in her ability to quickly connect with animals at their level. She connects Nervous System to Nervous System (N2N). She shares her animals stories and animal wisdom right here! Archives
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