Can We Listen to Animal Conversations?

A woman had a troupe of Amazon parrots who loved to perform for people. One evening she was holding her timid parrot, Kodiak, while watching a television program on dolphins, complete with recordings of them talking. All her parrots perked up and seemed to be listening, especially Kodiak. He became quite relaxed while the dolphins talked and seemed different when she put him back in his cage.

When she held him again while watching television, he calmly walked over to her left arm and sat on it for several minutes. She was astonished because he had been terrified of and unable to perch on her left arm. She felt that what the dolphins had said affected all the birds in the room. How she wished she could have understood what it was!

I’ve often been asked if we can eavesdrop on animal conversations to hear what they are communicating to each other. This certainly would have been useful to the woman with the Amazon parrots.
How “Eavesdropping” Works
Animals (including Homo sapiens) are endowed from birth with the ability to understand each other directly through telepathic communication, consciously exchanging thoughts, feelings, mental images, and intentions. Most humans in modern, western cultures lose the ability to communicate directly with other species during early socialization, when they are taught to speak their own verbal language as the most valid or only form of acceptable communication. This discourages continued use and development of telepathic communication. People then fail to recognize how and when they are receiving telepathic communication from others.

No other species suffers this form of deprivation of intimate connection and understanding among their own kind or with other species. No fox, bird, dog, elephant, snake… educates their young ones that receiving another's thoughts or intentions telepathically is impossible, that other species are non-thinking or non-feeling, or that thoughts and feelings are private or not-perceivable by others. Humans are unique in such training of their own kind.

Humans who observe that other species can intelligently communicate and who acknowledge their own ability to telepathically communicate, can experience the joys of understanding inter-animal communication, too. It's such a refreshing experience to experience what animals communicate to each other and to you. It’s like opening up to other cultures or new ways of thinking, being, and perceiving the world.

A Calling
My former husband and I went to meet our prospective llama companions, Regalo and Raindance, in October 1991. I had met Regalo months before and made a strong connection with him. This was our initial contact with Raindance, and he was somewhat shy and uncertain of what he wanted to do with his life.

After taking the young llamas for a walk with halter and lead rope, we were sitting on the ground as they stood near us. Regalo was munching grass when Raindance turned to him and asked, "Do you want to go with these people?" Regalo looked at him and answered confidently, "Of course, these are my people. I'm meant to be with them."

Raindance contemplated what Regalo said, then warmed to the idea of life with us. We welcomed him into our family.

The people who raised Raindance noticed an immediate difference in him. Instead of merging anonymously with the herd of llamas as he usually did, he now stood out more confidently and became a leader of those in his group. He had found his purpose in life.

After arriving at our home that December, Raindance frequently demonstrated his love for helping people learn interspecies telepathic communication at the advanced courses we held at our home, as did his buddy, Regalo.

And the Cat said to the Llama
When we were preparing for our llamas to arrive, building their fence and shed and clearing the dead brush from their run, I also tried to prepare all the other animals for their coming. I described what the llamas would be like as best I could.

When the llamas finally appeared, the dogs, chickens, rabbits, and birds accepted their presence easily. Our four cats, however, were not prepared by my mental pictures for the llamas' actual size, and they acted at first like King Kong had arrived.

Yohinta, tortoise shell cat, had the most to say about them. The llamas were in their run for a few days, and we were getting them familiar with the rest of our property by leading them around. Yohinta gave me this commentary:

"Did you see the big animals? I saw them. I was surprised to see you right next to them. Weren't you afraid? What are they like? I'm afraid they could hurt you. Did they hurt you? I'm going to keep watching them. They are scary but interesting." I interspersed my feelings and thoughts in answer to her questions, and she listened very thoughtfully.

A few weeks later, Yohinta went up to their gate, sniffed Raindance's nose through the wire, looked him in the eye and asked, "What are you?" He looked at her puzzled, with no ready answer to the question! Months went by before Yohinta no longer questioned them and accepted their presence.

Healing Between Horses
Barbara Janelle, a Therapeutic Touch Practitioner and animal communicator, was working at a large horse breeding farm. A foal with a broken leg had been put down that morning. The body had been left awhile in a corner of the mare barn, so the mother could see it and know her baby was dead. Hours after the body was removed, the mare, Balsa, still stood in the corner, sniffing and calling for her foal.

Barbara went to Balsa and felt the mare's bewilderment; she didn't understand what had happened with her foal. Barbara sent words and pictures about the foal's leaving, repeating in her mind several times that the foal was gone and that the mare had work to do with the others in the barn. Barbara knew that having a job to do can empower, develop self-worth, and bring focus, all of which support life and health. She told Balsa to share her wisdom of motherhood (she had previous foals) with the others in the barn.

Another mare, barren that year, came over. Barbara asked her to spend time with Balsa and to join with her in mothering the other foals. Later in the afternoon, the two mares were seen with the others, eating and quiet.

Guinea Pig/Rabbit Collaboration
Gingerbread, guinea pig, was Elfie rabbit’s companion on the ground floor (finches, a cockatiel and parakeets flew in the upper reaches) of the Beatrix Potter Bunny Cottage. Elfie was not very friendly with Gingerbread except in her last few months of life, when she accepted the warmth and support he offered her.

Gingerbread was saddened by Elfie's departure. He withdrew into his box shelter and hardly came out for his vegetable and fruit treats for which he usually whistled joyfully. He felt like he was getting ready to join her. However, I was getting messages from two young rabbits who were ready to be in our family. I told Gingie to hang in there, that soon he would have bunny company again.

Chester and Molly arrived about 10 days after Elfie's death. The 8-week-old bunnies immediately accepted Gingerbread. They showered him with bunny love that he had never received before in the form of snuggles, licks and eager sharing of vegetable treats.

What a pleasure it was to experience their warmth and happy thoughts with each other! Gingerbread no longer thought of dying. Instead he spent a lot of time seeing what his two bunny friends were up to and felt rejuvenated in his new role as Uncle Gingerbread.

I was just about to have Chester neutered at the proper age, so we would not have a population explosion, but I was evidently a day or so late. Gingerbread became the proud "granduncle" of six baby bunnies. He stayed with them and kept them warm. Molly never minded his care of her babies, despite the difference in species and protective mother rabbit instincts. She groomed Gingerbread in appreciation whenever he was off duty. He got accustomed to having his eyes very well-washed, rabbit style.

We found wonderful people and new homes for four of the babies. Gingerbread had plenty of bunny-love in his senior years with the remaining two. I felt that Gingerbread had a part in the "mistake" of this pregnancy somehow. He'd never been happier.

The Lighter Side
Dawn Hayman relates the lighter side of inter-animal communication:

One afternoon I was busily mucking out stalls in our barn when I tapped into the following conversation:

"Go ahead, it's your turn."
"No, I can't. I just can't do it."
"It's easy, go ahead."
"No. I can't. I can't. I just can't."

I looked up on one of the trusses and saw seven sparrows, all lined up, looking down at two of our horses. This conversation carried on, and I decided that I didn't have time to stay and find out what they were talking about. I went back to mucking.

About 5 minutes later, amid this flutter of activity, I heard this joyful yell, "I did it! I did it!" There was great cheering and laughter. I looked out and saw one bird standing on the neck of one of our horses. The other six all looked down and cheered.

Then she flew back up to be with the others. The conversation continued, and this time I stopped to watch.

"I did it. Now it's your turn again. What will you do now?"
"Well, watch me," said one determined fellow. He flew down and tried to land on the horse's head.
"That's enough already! That's enough," said Bo, the horse.

They all laughed and flew away. What fun they were having!

About 10 minutes later, I heard this: "How about this animal; he’s big." "No, he looks grumpy; maybe we should go do something else." And out of the barn they flew.

You Can Be an Eavesdropper, Too
One way to increase your receptivity to telepathic communication between animals is to spend long, quiet times being with them and sharing their world. Soon you may feel what they are feeling and sense what they are thinking and how they view the world. You may find yourself in such attunement with them that you “become one” with your dog, cat, chicken, horse. You understand them from the inside out, and it is a thrilling experience.

After you spend some time in quiet communion, try gently imagining what they are saying to each other. Often imagining opens the door to receptivity, and you find yourself actually tuning in to their communications between each other and with you.

Don't try too hard. Breathe deeply, and let your reception and understanding flow like a river. You will know you have got it by the increased cooperation, harmony, respect, and positive responses you get from the animals, and the big smile on your face!

My classic book, Animal Talk, will get you started. When Animals Speak and the Animal Communication Mastery Series will help you deepen your journey in animal communication.