by Dr. Linda Bender
By quieting the mind, focusing on the present, and opening the heart, we create the sacred space in which our souls can encounter the souls of animals. This is where you should begin whenever you wish to initiate such an encounter. Spend a few minutes doing one or more of the practices described below. I find that meditating daily makes it easier to settle my mind and open my heart at will, without having to make a big production of it. The sacred space I want to be in becomes so familiar that to get there is as easy as slipping into my favorite bathrobe.
Animals think in pictures and feelings. When they want to connect with you, the most natural way for them to do it is by sending a mental image, a feeling, or both. The fact that I “heard” the words quoted in this book doesn’t mean that the animals were sending words. Rather, the words sprang from my own mind spontaneously when I received a mental image or a feeling. If someone sends you a postcard with a picture of a mountain on it, the word “mountain” is almost certain to flash across your mind. Though you weren’t sent the word, it nevertheless arrives with the picture. This is what is happening when people quote words “said” by an animal who doesn’t actually know any words.
