Animal ConsciousnessMetaphysical Mind Ezine #91Dear Reader, I hope you are enjoying your wonderful October days! Welcome to the latest issue of the Metaphysical Mind Ezine. The focus for this issue will be animal consciousness/communication, which is a subject very close to my heart. Connections formed between a human and an animal can be astoudningly powerful; especially on the subconscious level. As many of you know, I humbly honor anyone who practices a vegan lifestlye. As such, I proudly present you with the following article written by Eldon Taylor: Animal Consciousness/Communication In my book, "What Does That Mean? Exploring Mind, Meaning and Mysteries," I addressed the idea of animal consciousness--not just as in being aware or of feeling pain, but in a special nescient way. My experience with animals has been rich and they have come in all shapes and forms. At one time I owned a large all-breed stallion station and racing stable complete with a tack and feed store. We had some cattle, dogs, cats and other farm animals including our mother goats that would adopt orphaned foals. I share many stories in my book about my animal friends and what they have taught me about life, spirituality and kinship. Many of you have written me about those stories for some of them are tear jerkers, while others cause goose bumps to climb your spine. From my experiences, I have found animals to be intelligent companions, sharing with us a consciousness that in some ways is far superior to our own. They are aware in ways that astound me. For example, I once had a mare teach me something really important. It's a long story and one that I tell in my book, "What Does That Mean?" but today I will condense the story to the bottom line. This mare died in my arms. It was around midnight and there were some fifty horses in my barn. They were all turned away from the alleyway where I sat with the mare, her owners and the ranch hands close by. The moment her eyes rolled back in her head, all fifty horses turned, came forward in their stalls, put their heads out over the stall gates into the alleyway itself, and in unison began neighing. My foreman, who was standing some thirty feet or so away with the rest of everyone present, shouted to me, "What's going on with the horses?" My answer, "The mare just passed." How do horses connect this way? How is it that they all knew what had happened the moment it occurred? Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, the notable biologist and researcher, has appeared on my radio show and we have spoken of his research demonstrating that animals have a consciousness that goes beyond the so-called local event. He has unequivocally shown that many animals know in advance when their owners will return, when they call on the phone and much more. I remember a dear friend of mine, Geoffrey Chambers Hughes. He boarded a thoroughbred in my barn for years. He called this horse, "Cupcake." Geoffrey owned Silk Willoughby Farms and bred Aloma's Ruler, a Preakness winner. The name Cupcake and Cuppy, as Geoff nicknamed him, always seemed somewhat ill dignified for a horse from the lines of Legionnaire. Nevertheless, I remember a trip Geoffrey made down the Amazon. He sent letters to Cuppy. We would read the letters as they arrived and then pin them to the door of his stall. The horse seemed to know what we were reading and that the letters were from Geoffrey. Not only that, he would sometimes just sort of nuzzle the letters and if one fell off the stall door, he would set up a fuss until it was pinned up again. Where animal communication is concerned, I used to be truly skeptical--but then that was years ago. I do know that certain animals, those that we share a bond with, seem to know what we are saying. I remember having to shoot a large varmint that was killing our chickens. My friend, Lady Balto, a German Shepherd, had the animal cornered on the railing of my deck. It was large enough that it could well have attacked Balto. I pulled the shotgun to my shoulder and yelled a command to Balto that I had never used with her. One word, the word "Break." I had used this command many years ago with my bird dogs in my hunting days. The minute I spoke, Balto dropped back clearing my shot as though she had been trained to break away on that command. A guest on my radio show and the author of three books on animal communication, Dawn Brunke, details many interesting cases in her books but the one most find particularly interesting is of a parrot that understands ten different languages. How is that possible given our current interpretation of animal consciousness? Animals are truly amazing in my view. More and more people recognize this today. About fifteen years ago my dog, Duke, came in with a 22-250 wound in the stomach. Someone in the neighborhood had shot him. I went door to door but no one had seen anything. Duke died later that day from the gunshot wound. The thing is, he never complained. He came when called and wagged his tail and jumped in the truck to go to the vet's office. You see, the wound was not obvious, but Duke's behavior wasn't normal. So when we went to the vet it was without any suspicion of a gunshot wound. To the very last moment, it has been my experience, your animal friends continue to give--not complain. As humans we go through life taking many things for granted. I believe one of those on the "for granted" list is our animal friends. I would urge everyone to be more cognizant of our kinship with all life. One of the early animal movie stars was the German Shepherd, Strongheart. When Strongheart passed away, his handler John Allen Boone, wrote a book titled "Letters to Strongheart." In this book, the dog spoke to Boone about many things that he had learned during life. One of Strongheart's remarks that I remember very well goes like this, "It would be a horrible site to see faces walking down the street as incomplete as their human minds." I would hope our minds would become more complete by recognizing our animal friends and all that they have given to us. Let me know your thoughts and I'd love to hear stories about your special animal friends. Together we can truly raise the level of awareness. Thanks for the read and all the best, Eldon Eldon Taylor is an award winning New York Times bestselling author. To subscribe to his free newsletter from which this article was take, go to his website: http://www.EldonTaylor.com May you continue to grow in your appreciation and respect for the animals in your life. Jason |