Dear Appy…
A different point of view
One of the most powerful and useful exercises, or a tool for your animal communication toolbox, is Becoming an Animal. One of the goals and purposes of that exercise is for you to experience exactly what it is like to live life in a specific animal body.
We might experience seeing through their eyes from their point of view or see what it feels like to have four feet on the ground instead of walking around upright on only two feet. We might choose to become a bird and experience having wings and experiencing for yourself what it feels like to fly or seeing out of the opposite side of your head, instead of seeing straight ahead.
These are just some of the wonderful things that we as humans can experience by practicing the exercise, Becoming an Animal.
What if roles were reversed and an animal becomes you?
What, you might ask? I have done that with many animals and each time is quite a different experience for both the animal and me.
Give it a try and see what you experience. Always have fun!
So now that you are in the energy of reversing roles with an animal, I would love to share a story with you that I sometimes share during an animal communication workshop.
Let’s travel back in time a little bit to a time with no cell phones, no internet and no cable TV. At that time, there was only “free” TV and it came on about 6am and signed off around midnight. There was no email. People actually hand wrote letters to each other using pen and paper.
Sometimes the paper was plain and other times fancy. Maybe you would use a note card, but there was a fine art to writing a note or letter. Talking long distance on the phone was expensive so most people communicated by writing a letter and taking it to the mailbox or post office. Now, we usually receive bills or junk mail in our mailboxes.
In those days, we got most of our daily news from a newspaper. There was a popular news column that was carried by most newspapers in the USA called “Dear Abby”. Abby was an advice columnist. People would write her a letter asking questions about day-to-day life and the letter with her reply would appear in the paper each day. Each question would be stated along with her response. The question would always begin with “Dear Abby”, and end with Sincerely, Love Struck (or how ever the person signed their name). Abby’s response would always begin by addressing the person like “Dear Love Struck.”
Now imagine that roles are reversed.
Wait a minute! Animals can’t talk. Animals don’t have feelings. Animals don’t dream.
Really? Can you be sure?
Here’s a twist on the “Dear Abby” column from a horse magazine called “Dear Appy” by the writer, Jan Molina published in the Southern California Riding Magazine in 1987. (“Dear Appy” is obviously a play on the “Dear Abby” column for humans. “Appy” is short for Appaloosa, a type of horse)
A couple of weeks ago my old neighbor, Thunder, passed away. Of course, all of us were deeply saddened, but we realized it was for the best since he had been sick for quite a while. Now, here is the strange part. Every evening at the same time, as in the past, his old owner shows up and sits on the rail of Thunder’s old corral. He doesn’t do anything except sit there and stare out into space. I think he is sad and misses his old pal, but the other horses say, “Don’t go giving him emotions he is not capable of having.” They say it is just instinct or habit that the old owner keeps showing up and soon he will just stop coming. I prefer to think he truly misses his old friend. What do you think?
-Sentimental
This argument has gone on for centuries. Some horses believe that humans respond by instinct and are incapable of emotions or original thoughts. Others believe that humans have emotions and thoughts like we do, but only on a much lower level. Since no hard evidence exists to prove either view, you are certainly entitled to your own opinion. Personally, I think humans share more traits with us than we care to believe. Sometimes when the light hits my owner just right, you could swear she possesses a fair degree of feelings and intelligence.
Food for thought…
Animals actually do wonder why we humans think, speak or act the way we do, as we are very different from them.
There is so much that we can learn from each other if we only open to the possibilities.
Is the light hitting you just right allowing animals to see your feelings and intelligence?
Enjoy your own experience with your animal companion or animal friend as you listen to the guided meditation below.
