Published by Bear & Company/Inner Traditions International

In the larger expanse of human history, communicating with animals is nothing new. Our ancestors did it. Though, of course, the world was different then. Humans had not yet forgotten. We were still connected to all – land and sky and water, wolf and buffalo, raven and sea turtle and spider and all other living things, which was everything because everything was alive. There was a single language of being, in which all aspects of life freely conversed and knew one another.

Some say we were all one peoples then. A Netsilik Eskimo song puts it thusly: In the very earliest time, when both people and animals lived on earth, a person could become an animal if he wanted to and an animal could become a human being. Sometimes they were people and sometimes animals and there was no difference. All spoke the same language. 

In today’s world, the idea of conversing with animals may seem a bit odd. Perhaps it is a reflection of just how far we have separated ourselves from the web of life that we might wonder why, even if we could communicate with animals, would we want to? What could anyone possibly learn from talking with an animal?

 

Let us suspend for a moment our disbelief, the cloak of cultural conditioning that tells us such things are nonsense. Let us ask some deeper questions: 

 

What would it mean for humans to understand the world from another animal's perspective? What information could animals share about their own unique perceptions and ways of life?  What might we learn from those animals we herald as bright and spiritual -- such as dolphins and whales? What might the faithful, domesticated animals with whom we share our homes and lives -- dogs, cats and birds -- have to tell us? And what could we learn from the "shadow animals" that we so often have troubles with, whether from fear, learned hatred, or ignorance -- rats, sharks, flies and mosquitoes?

 

In every instance, opening to animals is ultimately an opening to our own inner mystery. In a mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart connection with an animal, we expand our personal being.  We experience another part of the universe and recover another part of ourselves.

 

This page is a companion web site to the book, Animal Voices, which explores the wisdom, humor and insights offered by a wide variety of animals and humans. From this site, you are welcome to read chapter excerpts from the book or check out the reviews. You can browse the Table of Contents or jump to the sites of some of the animals and communicators included in this book. There's also a little bit about me. I hope you enjoy your time here!

                                            ~ Dawn Baumann Brunke

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