By Marguerite Jill Dye
Animals bless our lives and give us joy. Especially our pets. They love us unconditionally and connect with our deepest selves. How I miss our black lab, “Luke.” I remember how careful I had to be of having a fleeting thought like, “We should go for a walk.” For when I did, immediately he’d appear by my side, excitedly wagging his tail. Luke knew before someone arrived, and if I thought, “It’s dinner time,” well, he read my mind without a doubt!
While attending Bookstock’s “Nonhuman Rights Projects” lecture by Steven Wise, foremost expert on animal rights jurisprudence, I sat beside Jeannie Lindheim, an animal communicator from central Vermont. I wanted to learn more about her gift, so asked if she’d share her amazing experiences in the field of animal communication. Here is what she had to say:
MJD: How did you first learn that you had an ability to communicate with animals and what types of animals have you worked with?
JL: I took Penelope Smith’s classes in animal communication and then it all opened up for me during her workshops. I call myself an animal communicator. It is telepathic communication. I have worked with dogs, cats, horses, lizards, llamas, birds (parakeets, pelicans, seagulls, cockatoos, owls, blue herons, cockatiels) and even insects including wasps, flies and ants. I don’t believe there is any animal that an animal communicator cannot work with. Each animal is unique, just as people are.
MJD: Have animals always been receptive or are some animals closed to this form of communication?
JL: I have never spoken to an animal who wasn’t excited to finally have a place to say what he wants and needs and delighted to be understood. Occasionally, an animal who is ill may be quiet and communicate through images, but he definitely gives me information that is invaluable to his human companions. I do
Reiki, which is energy healing, remotely and teach people how to do it for their animal. This doesn’t necessarily heal their animal, but it can be helpful. Often the animal tells me what he needs, and many animals feel healed already, even though in people terms, they may not be. They experience illness very differently from the way humans do and may be much more accepting of it.
MJD: What was the most surprising message you have received and from what species did it come?
JL: There are so many, but I recently spoke to a llama whose client asked what was wrong with her. “She is so different from other llamas,” she said. The llama gave me a picture like she was Ferdinand the Bull, just eating grass, relaxed and spaced out. When I told the client, she confirmed her llama was just like that. Her llama was fine and only wanted to dream and space out.
MJD: Are you a medium, psychic, or an intuitive? Do you also have a gift of communicating telepathically with people?
JL: I’ve always been psychic but decided not to do communications with people. That said, when I talk to a client, I feel it is almost a three way communication because I pick up on what the client is feeling and thinking too. I do many end-of-life consultations. How and what I say is very important, so I must be in touch with what the client is feeling.
MJD: How do you conduct the communication session?
JL: I do my consultations on the telephone. The animal doesn’t have to be near the phone or in the room. I once talked with a woman in Utah, and her horse was in Massachusetts. It is helpful if it is possible to be in a quiet room with no interruptions. I open myself to the animal communication, then close that energy when done so as to not remain an open vessel.
MJD: How do you communicate with the animal? Do you form the words into a sentence or just think the thought or question?
JL: The client asks me the question and I ask it to the animal. An animal companion may tell me things he wants my client to know. The connection is telepathic. I pick up on the animal’s thoughts, sense his feelings, hear words, and see images through energy. Everything is energy. Sometimes the process involves taste. My body feels the sensations that the animal is feeling. I did a communication with a dog and felt his throat was very tight and sore, and I almost couldn’t swallow. In fact, the dog was ill, and had a hard time swallowing.
MJD: Are you able to communicate with animals who have died?
JL: Yes. I have spoken to animals that have died. The very first communication I ever did in training was with an animal that had died. The person said, “My cat died and I wanted to know why she didn’t like her food.” I closed my eyes and the cat said, “My food was too hard, but that doesn’t matter. Tell her that my favorite place to sit was by her knee.” I told the cat’s person what she said, and the person said, “Oh my gosh, that was her favorite spot!”
MJD: What issues are you most comfortable exploring with an animal? Are problems often resolved?
JL: Honestly, I am comfortable asking anything someone wants to know about their animal companion: behavior, training, health, end of life… The animal may also want her person to know certain things about her, which she will tell me and then I will relate. These are often new insights. By really listening to, understanding, and acting upon what the animal says he needs and how he feels, problems are often resolved. When I check in with clients a month later via email, 95 percent of the time a change has taken place since the consultation.
MJD: How do people tend to react to messages from their animals?
JL: They are incredibly relieved or grateful and love hearing answers to their questions. One comment I often receive is, “Our bond is so much stronger now. I really understand him so much better.” This is an incredible gift.
MJD: Do you think that anyone could be trained to communicate with animals? What if someone is skeptical about animal communication?
JL: I truly feel that anyone who is open to this wonderful work can do it. One needs good training and a fine teacher to learn the tools and techniques of animal communication. If someone is skeptical, I would ask that they be as open minded as possible so the communication can proceed easily, and the results can be helpful for both the person and their animal. I have found that negative thoughts can cloud the communication. It is fine to be skeptical; that is normal. As we proceed, people are almost always excited by what they hear and feel.
MJD: What do animals teach us? Why do you do this work?
JL: Our animal friends are here to bring us joy and love. They teach us patience, forgiveness, kindness, love, acceptance, compassion, gentleness, to not take ourselves so seriously and to laugh! I feel that animal communication has changed the lives of many people and animals I have worked with. It is such a joy and honor to do this heart-felt work—helping people and their animal friends understand each other better.
MJD: How do you believe we humans are connected to animals and God?
JL: We are all one.
Marguerite Jill Dye is an artist and writer who divides her time between the Green Mountains of Vermont and Florida’s Gulf Coast.
