For Pet's Sake Column

I have always thought of myself as a good listener, at least that is until I attended Carol Gurney’s animal communication workshop last weekend. Carol is one of the most well respected animal communicators in the world and I felt fortunate to be attending her popular HeartTalk workshop (www.animalcommunicator.net) recently at my friend, Tita Lanning’s home in Montecito.

As a group of 14 women and two dogs gathered in Tita’s spacious living room, a hush fell over the room. Carol began by sharing with us the story of her own entrée into animal communication. The year was 1980 and her cat Soleil had started acting strangely. After ruling out a medical problem, her veterinarian suggested contacting an animal communicator. I know what you’re thinking – Carol rolled her eyes at first too. But, Carol was desperate and decided to heed her veterinarian’s advice.

Enter Penelope Smith, one of only three professional animal communicators at the time. Penelope told Carol that her cat was unhappy because there was tension at home between Carol and her husband. That’s true, confessed Carol, who later divorced, sold her business, and began studying animal communication in earnest. Soleil’s bad behavior, by the way, soon dissipated.

Fast forward 25 years. Carol is now teaching newbies like me how to converse with critters. At the workshop, we began by partnering with another student; one of us would start off as the “sender” of energetic information and the other would be the “receiver.” Then we’d switch roles. As the sender, I went first. My partner, Lynda and I turned to face each other as we settled comfortably into our chairs. “Close your eyes and take several deep breaths,” Carol encouraged. “Now I want you to think of the color pink. Visualize its hue, its texture, everything about it.” This is going to be easy, I thought. I visualized my cat Cassidy’s light pink nose. But wait, my brain cells began bouncing around and I started sending images of Cassidy’s pink tummy, then his pink ears. OK, back to focusing on his pink nose. Whew, my overactive mind was tiring me out. Focus on one thing, Karen.

“When you’re ready, open your eyes,” Carol finally said. When it was Lynda’s turn, she began to beautifully describe exactly what I was trying to convey to her. “I saw a light pink color,” she began. I also felt a strong sensation between here and here, pointing one hand at her chest and the other at her stomach. She was obviously feeling the picture I was sending her of Cassidy’s tummy.

Damn, she’s good! Now it was my turn and I was eager to flex my intuitive muscles. Carol now asked us to focus on the color green. I visualized the dark green leaves on my orange tree, then the light green moss on a rock in a creek. Suddenly, an image of a frog jumped into my mind. I confidently portrayed my mental pictures to the group, but alas, I learned that Lynda had been focusing the whole time on a single green leaf.

It’s apparent that I’m going to need some more practice before Dr. Doolittle starts to call on me for my psychic prowess. No matter. Carol assured us that, with time, we can all learn how to talk to the animals.

Huh, what did she say?

Karen detests cell phones; she prefers to communicate telepathically with her two- and four-legged friends. Email is good too. Send her a message at karenleestevens@cox.net.