Dear Laura,
My family feels very close to our animals. We even make up what they are saying. We feel we know them pretty well. But we don’t think we can talk to them like you can. Can you give us some ideas on how to communicate with them better?
Sincerely, Kimberly

Dear Kimberly,
Most of the time, when people make up what their animals are saying they are pretty close to the truth. I would say the number one quality to have when communicating with animals is desire to do so. If you have a desire to talk to them and to listen to them it is just a matter of practice until you hear them clearly.
First find a nice quiet place to be with you animal. Turn off all cell phones and distractions. Spend a moment just being with them. Notice the color of their fur, their facial expressions, their movements and what their eyes look like?
It is beneficial to spend a little bit of time quieting your mind. I like to close my eyes and concentrating on my breathing. Once you find yourself peaceful ask your animal if they would like to talk to you and a question you would like to ask them. When you talk to your animal picture the images and feelings of your questions. It helps some people to send images like they are watching a movie. You can try sending your messages in a beam of light towards your animal. I tend to send messages from my third eye area and my teacher sends messages from her heart center. So do what most comes natural to you. People talk to their animals all the time. Don’t worry about them getting the message. They will understand.
When you are ready to receive sit back, concentrating on your breathing and the center of your body. Have your mind and heart open. Don’t worry about what your animal is doing. They can eat, groom themselves and walk in the other direction while talking to you. Some will come and look directly at you, but do not be discouraged if it looks like they are ignoring you. Just like people. They can multitask.
Listen and trust what you receive. Pay attention to the feelings in your body. Do you feel tense, serene, anxious, has a pain risen in your body that was not there before? Do you feel calm and happy? Has an idea or image just popped into your head? Do you all of a sudden know something that you did not before? Do you hear your voice talking but it’s coming from your animal? Do not judge what you are feeling or seeing. I like to write it down. Sometimes it helps to write and read it later.
Over time you will be able to weed out what is coming from your animal and what is you coming to conclusions or guessing. We all do it. It takes a lot of practice to see the difference. For instance a cat may say to me that they want their favorite blanket by the window. I may tell the owner that the blanket is blue because that is the color of my cat’s favorite blanket. Over time you will be able to catch yourself.
Eating well (no wheat or sugar), doing meditation or yoga regularly, and getting enough sleep all helps the communication to flow more freely.
Practice, have fun, and trust what you are receiving.