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I let the beautiful gleaming sunlight shine upon me as I took in the truly magical cloud formation.  And right then, a shiver ran through my body. From the top of my head down to my tail. I was realigning. Do you know that feeling? When your body does a little shiver? When energy runs up or down your spine? And then came the crazy bit. As I oscillated between "I feel balanced" and "kind of am read...

Like many older dogs I communicate with, why is our dog Scout suddenly more sensitive and reactive to energies? When I asked Scout, he told me, "Because our bodies are hurting." He explained that when their body hurts, everything else becomes 'another thing' that needs to be dealt with. If one has chronic pain, any little thing stacks on top of the stress caused by it.  So, what can we do for our...

When I see Rollie shake,  I make eye contact, and with that, I say, I see you. If he does not reach out, I will offer him my hand so he can communicate with me. If he gives me a lick, I know he knows I know. If he is motionless aside from the shakes, I will put my hand on his neck and stroke slooowly down the spine. A beautiful way to remind him of his body. This podcast is less about the shakes a...

Due to popular demand … another pearl of wisdom from Bennett.  In one of my conversations with Kathy, it was now mid-summer, she told me that Bennett had gotten very assertive around the hand grazing. On the way to the barn, he pulled her toward the grass. Kathy's pulling back resulted in the classic push-pull situation in which no one wins. It was unusual how much effort he suddenly put into it. ...

My friend Kathy and her horse Bennett rode up to the pole and parked parallel. Bennett came to a stop but got antsy the minute Kathy leaned over to get the jacket. He jigged in place, and nothing Kathy tried made him come to a quiet halt.  I told Kathy, "You know what, I don't think he knows why you lean off to the side. Have you told him?"  Kathy said, well, I always have the obstacle course in m...

Sometimes, a podcast just comes to me. I record, and then during the edit, I realize the power of the words behind it. This podcast, #71, tells you everything you need to know to start utilizing everything you have ... your Body, your Mind, and your Intuition. It's all here in a nutshell. If you are ready to live your best life yet, listen in! Show notes available here: https://www.mindful-connect...

Mr. Willoughby, the handsome Golden Retriever, sat up again, scooted himself over to the right to be near his person, and put his face into the man's hand. "Now he is concerned about you," I said. He wants to know how you will deal with losing him. He says that his leaving marks the end of an era. He had hoped to be part of the next move but realized it was time for him to move on, more precisely,...

Who knows you Best? You might have expected the answer … your animals know you best. I went out to feed the horses the morning of my leaving for a three-day trip to visit clients. I didn't like going away for more than one night, but ... two nights it was. When Shana turned her head toward me, showing me her left eye, I stopped. It was not only swollen shut, but it was the size of a golf ball. On...

No matter if you are a horse person or prefer smaller animals. This episode is for everyone who wants a peek into what it means to be a team player. Here are some gems from the episode.x Steam took me back to the jumping arena, where he had refused to ride with the young girl. He said, "I want to make the rider look good. That is part of my job. And I can't do that in that environment with tight t...

And suddenly, I saw a dolphin, swimming along in the slipstream of the boat. Then a second dolphin popped up and jumped over the white-crested waves, the boat was creating. The first dolphin now arched over a wave and dove down on the other side, while the other sped up from his lagging position to catch the next wave. I was mesmerized. These two beautiful beings, one with the water. Arching over...

Before you leave on vacation, breathe deeply, explain to your animals what is going on when. And have a joyful heart as you drive out the driveway.  Fast forward. Depending on your trip, you will be utterly relaxed, super stressed, or something in-between as you drive home. In this podcast I share how I consciously integrated our family after us being apart for a long weekend. This podcast will in...

As you know by now, I am a big fan of speaking with your animal in plain old English. Talk to your animal in short precise sentences. Why? To give your animals a chance to wrap their minds around your request. We are not used to treating animals as a being that needs to understand. Nobody teaches us that. As a child, we might tell the animal anything, the how, the why, and everything in between, b...

I got an email from a dear client. Her horse, Gem, had sliced her leg, and they needed an emergency call to discuss the situation. During our call, Gem said, "Instead of coming with concern, my person can come to the barn and ask, "How do we activate the healing today?"  Gem explained, "You bring your knowledge (light therapy and Reiki), and I will bring my wisdom." Amazing, right?  This horse bas...

Scout and the bear had an invisible, energetic standoff. I quietly moved closer to see what Scout was looking at. Scout turned his head left to take one quick look at me. The moment he did, the bear ran out of the woods across the driveway, and down the embankment. Listen to more bear encounters in this episode. Show notes available here: https://www.mindful-connections.com/post/living-with-bears

Harry, the horse, spoke up.       He said, "You need to know your herd members well enough to know how to prepare them for clients." Let me repeat what Harry said, "You need to know your herd members well enough to know how to prepare them for clients." He continued, "Who do you take care of in the moment when the client and the horse both have needs?" Join me as I share more from this conversatio...

When I tuned inThe first words that came out of the cat's mouth were,"I like my name. Because I am a Cheetah." I said, "You are like a Cheetah?""Yes," he said, "like a wild cat." Oh, the irony. Though I had seen a few pictures of him sitting on a sofa and a window sill, his person reported that Cheeto, his real name, mostly hid under the sofa. She had just recently rescued him from a local shelter...

I don't get to chit-chat with farm animals all that often. Chatting with pigs and piglets opened my eyes to their utilitarian point of view and their deep compassion for each other. If you enjoy hearing the animal's point of view, this episode is going to surprise you.  Show notes available here: https://www.mindful-connections.com/post/60-chats-with-pigs

It is one thing to make the call to euthanize our beloved animal when the signs are clear. When the signs are wishy-washy, it is so much harder. We have to consider the level of comfort for our specific animal. In this episode, we'll hang out in the delicate space in front of the veil separating life and death. This space is sacred and fleeting. We do not get to hang out in it for long before thin...

In order to connect to the depth of the soul, we have to give the mind a break. These days our mind has so many opinions about everything. Have you ever noticed how your mind takes over? Let's be real. I love a good mind, but too often, the mind is a party pooper. When we were young, our mind was an explorer. We were open and curious about the life around us. Nowadays, our mind thinks it knows it...

Can I MAKE them Listen? Not really.  But, during our chat, we will learn about the reason behind a particular behavior and a way to resolve the behavior. Telling the animal to STOP or CHANGE a behavior is not a tried and true way to communicate in mindful and meaningful ways. Listening and adapting are paths to a great relationship.  Show notes available here: https://www.mindful-connections.com/p...

As you know by now, I am sharing animals' voices, opinions, insights, and needs. In each phone session or barn call, each podcast I record, and each article I write, I am expressing something the animals have taught us humans. Because of it, we get to understand our animals better and have a perspective on their life we wouldn't know without them sharing it with us. Experiencing a truth is one thi...

If you are an adult and still love horses you probably have one. Or you work with horses, or you take care of horses. And, like so many of us, the moment we engage with horses as adults, we lose a little bit of the girl-like quality we brought to the barn when we were younger.  In this episode, I invite you to go back to that feeling and the energy you brought to the barn when you were young. I sh...

I bet you are an animal communicator. You might not have a shingle out, but you speak with and speak up for your animals regularly.  Listen as I describe what we think of as animal communication (telepathic communication) and what it means beyond that definition. You might recognize yourself and feel affirmed. And … you might also hear a few ideas that will spark you to explore more and go deeper...

​In recent months, I have been driving up and down the highways quite a bit​ , and I would see five, six, seven, and sometimes eight hawks. ​ One day, I told one of the hawks," I love it that so many of you are making yourself visible. And I wonder if there is a reason behind it?" The hawk answered, "We're friends along the way." With the words came feelings of heartfelt energy and a visual that s...

Instead of calling a dog aggressive, I rather call them unhinged. Being aggressive sounds like a personality trait. It sounds like a label … s/he is aggressive as if there is no other way for the dog to be. Unhinged means not being attached where it really counts, much like a door. It means the animal is unbalanced. And that means there are ways for us to help the animal to move from unhinged back...