Here we are in July and I want to thank all of you who have contacted me to find out about the birth of my newest child. Arriving two weeks before his due date, my son, Dylan Zenn, made his appearance on Mother’s Day. He was already almost 8 lbs. 11 oz., so it’s just as well he didn’t wait any longer! Thankfully he was born totally healthy. His big sister Melissa adores him and we have resumed the standard level of chaos, fur and hi-jinks in our home.

I’m back working part-time. I am seeing clients in my office and scheduling phone consultations for Monday and Thursday mornings. On a limited basis I am also scheduling phone consultations Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays (around a napping baby’s schedule that is). I will be out of the office this month the entire week of Monday, July 16th.

I look forward to seeing and talking with you and your animals.

Polly

Talking With the Wild Ones

Though I spend most of my time talking with domesticated animals in my healing practice, I always enjoy taking time to talk with wild animals. I usually learn something about human nature or about a better way to look at issues in my own life. With that in mind, I would like to share two encounters I’ve had with some wild animals.

About ten years ago I was on vacation with my husband in Banff, Canada. It was a misty summer day with a little chill in the air. We were driving along a quiet two-lane road when I suddenly said, “Stop the car!” Down a ravine to my right was a golf course and on the fairway of one of the holes were over fifty elk. I wanted to find out if they would talk to me.

I climbed out of the car and crunched my way over the brush covering the slope of the ravine until I found a fairly flat spot to observe the elk. Not wanting to endanger myself or to startle the elk, I kept a safe distance from them.

At first I just observed them. There were so many elk it was hard to know where to start. There were cows with their babies, there were bulls with mature racks and there were young bulls. There were groups grazing near each other and other elk off by themselves. Most seemed undisturbed by the cars moving on the road, while a few lifted their heads or cocked their ears in the road’s direction. It was a beautifully serene sight.

I started by talking with one of the cows. I introduced myself by showing her a mental image of who I was and explained I was safe and didn’t want to hurt her or to come near her, I only wanted to communicate by thought with her. She was agreeable.

I asked what she could share with me about living so near people. She told me that mostly it didn’t bother her, but not all the elk felt that way. The cow then told me to look at a particular bull towards the right of the herd. She said he was so tired of the golfers barging in on them and felt they were intruding. “Golfers?” I thought. Would anyone really play through a herd of elk?

Just then two men came strolling up a path towards the elk. They were each carrying a bag of golf clubs and seemed thoroughly focused on their conversation. Without missing a beat, one of the men placed a tee on the ground and prepared to select a club. Just then the cow told me to watch the bull she had pointed out before. She said, “He won’t hurt them, but he’s going to try to push them out of here.” She made it clear to me that he just wanted to intimidate them. Sure enough, this bull started heading in the direction of the two men who seemed not to care they were about to hit their golf balls into over 50 elk!

The bull neared them, stopped about 15 feet away, postured and then fixed his gaze directly at the men. This did not deter the first man from setting up his shot. This amazed me. Despite the imposing elk looming near him the man took a swing, sailing the golf ball over the herd of elk. I could see why the cow had said the bull was fed up with the golfers. The lack of reaction from rest of the herd told me this was a more common event than I would have ever imagined. However, as was described by the cow, once the bull saw the men taking no notice of his action he turned and walked away. Shaking my head in disbelief, I wondered how many more times that would happen to this group and how long it would be until this bull or some other member of the herd actually charged someone or hurt them.

Another wild encounter I had occurred about four and a half years ago. I was driving home from the barn where I kept my horse. It was a dark fall evening. As I crossed a four-way intersection I noticed something dark in the middle of the street. At first I thought it was a jacket or a piece of wadded up material. I drove past the object, but as soon as I did I had a tremendous feeling that I needed to turn my car around and go back to take a closer look.

As I completed a u-turn, my headlights flashed over what was now clearly an owl perched squarely in the middle of the intersection. I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew if I left the owl there, someone was likely to run it over, yet this was a large wild bird and I had no way to move it. I parked my car diagonally across the intersection with my hazard lights blinking to block other cars from potentially racing through and hitting the owl. Then I got out of the car.

There, two feet away from me, was a gorgeous Barred Owl looking right at me. The owl didn’t stir a feather. He just kept looking at me, but not in any threatening way. There was an immense feeling of calm that seemed to radiate from him.

Suddenly I heard a car horn and someone yelling at me. I looked around to see a man in his car cursing me for blocking the intersection. I told him there was an owl in the road that might be injured. Instantly the man calmed down and said, “That’s really wonderful you stopped the traffic.” He smiled and pulled his car slowly around us and drove off.

I turned back to the owl. I explained that I didn’t want to hurt him, but I was worried that a car would hit him if he stayed there. I told him I wanted to get help for him. I then did something that went against my better judgment. I slowly moved my hands within an inch of the owl and offered him Reiki (an energetic healing modality that I practice). Normally I would never venture so close to a wild animal, especially one with a beak that could easily snap off one of my fingers. However, the owl just kept staring into my eyes and stayed perfectly still.

More cars came by, each one with horns honking and carrying hostile people mad that I had blocked the intersection. With the news of the owl, every single one of them calmed down and offered either to help or had kind words for me for trying to help. Finally one driver offered to go home and get a large box for us to try to contain the owl so we could keep him safe until we could contact a rescue organization. I was grateful for the help because I still had no follow-up plan about what to do with the owl. I just couldn’t drive away and leave him alone in the street.

At that point I turned back to the owl and communicated that there would be a safe box coming to protect him. I asked if he wanted help and he just kept staring and radiating peace and calm. Not knowing what else to do I asked, “Do you have something you want to tell me?”

As I locked eyes with this majestic bird, he began showing me an image of me on the dark street with the owl. Then he showed me an image of me turning around and the landscape changing. It was bright and sunny and for lack of a better description, hopeful. In that instant I understood he was telling me that I have the possibility to live in the light, hopeful world if I just remember to turn around from my darker place to see it. It was both so simple and so profound a message for me because I tend to focus on the problems in my life, often forgetting or simply not seeing many of the lighter or joyful things around me.

I thanked the owl for showing me these images and said I understood the message. With that, the owl spread his wings and took off into the woods, apparently not injured at all.

I’ve often thought of that encounter and wondered about the owl who seemed to not only be there for me, but clearly had an impact on all the other stressed out people who came through the intersection that evening. What a gift!

As for the elk encounter, it reminds me that sacred and the mundane often lay in the same image. Do we see the sanctity of the elk herd or do we see an obstacle to move around? Do we see the magic in the tiny treasures that surround us on a daily basis or do we miss them because we are focused on the game? My wish is that we will have enough clarity in our vision to always see the magic.

If you have a question you would like to see addressed in an article, please send it to Polly Klein at paws@tonglenhealingarts.com.

	Animal Communication Tip: Communicating Safety Recently a client wrote me to ask for advice on comforting animals who were staying at her boarding facility. Understandably, some of the animals are stressed when they arrive in a new setting. They can be confused and feel unsafe simply because they are out of their home environment. My client asked if there was anything she could do to help the animals feel more settled in their temporary home. In a situation like this the first thing I suggest is to remain as calm as possible and to simply sit quietly with the animal. Sit still, breathe deeply a few times to help let go of stress in your body and imagine a peaceful feeling filling your body. After this I form a mental image of the animal and myself in the current setting. (This usually means picturing the animal and myself in my office.) In this mental image, I show myself being calm and the animal relaxed and content. If it’s a cat, I might create an image in my mind of the cat lazily yawning or resting in a comfortable position. While holding this image in my mind I keep my body relaxed and calm. My intent is to send peaceful feelings and a mental image of me being a safe person. I want the animal to look at me and sense that my thoughts, feelings and actions match. It is critically important to maintain this consistent message even if you see the animal worried, stressed or anxious in any way. The mistake many people make is to get caught up in what the animal is presenting. If the animal shows physical signs of anxiety and you start to worry about it, then the message you send gets combined with your worried feelings. This can make the situation worse when what you really want is to be the grounding force that the animal can count on to be calm. In the specific case that prompted me to write this tip, the woman who owns the boarding facility wrote to tell me that sometimes animals staying at her facility won’t eat because they are stressed. For this problem, after establishing a calm presence I also show images of the animal going to its food bowl and eating peacefully while I maintain a sense of calm in my body. By doing so, the message I send is “This is a safe place and I am a safe person. It’s safe for me to be near you and it’s safe to eat your food.” You can help your animals when you are leaving them somewhere or when someone is coming into your house to stay. While sitting calmly with your animal, create an image in your mind of the person who will be caring for them. Show the type of things this person will do. If you have a pet sitter sleeping in the house at night, show an image of that person lying in the bed when it’s dark. You can also show images of whatever activities are likely to take place, such as your pet sitter putting food in the animal’s bowl, playing with the animal or brushing the animal’s hair. You remain calm and relaxed the whole time you are picturing these images. The message is, “I know this person and I know what they will be doing when I’m not here. I feel safe with it, so you will be safe.” Calmly presenting images and feelings is the best way to communicate with your animals.

I usually write the client profile section of The Animal Talker. However, for this month’s profile Gus’ person did such wonderful job describing his situation that I’m printing it in full as it was sent it to me.

The Story of Gus

by Marilyn Bursons

For reasons that I can’t explain, I found Gus on Petfinders.com and immediately believed I was supposed to adopt him, even though he was at a shelter all the way over in Billings, MT and I live in Kirkland, WA. On April 14, I drove over to Billings, met him that night, picked him up the next morning and drove back to Kirkland on Sunday, April 15.

We were having a lot of problems with him from the start, mostly because he was so afraid. Gus started out in a soft kennel in our living room but one day decided to move into the kitchen and that’s pretty much where he’s lived ever since. His only “safe” areas were the kitchen and our fenced backyard. I tried taking him to a local park a couple of times and he was so frantic with fear that I decided to stop taking him until he felt more comfortable.

One of my co-workers told me about a woman she had taken her dog to named Polly Klein at Tonglen Healing Arts. She explained that Polly had talked to Annie (her dog) and that Annie’s behavior had dramatically improved immediately after that. Being somewhat of a skeptic about such things, I still decided to give it a try because I felt I didn’t have anything to lose even if I only tried it one time. Polly talked to Gus last Tuesday afternoon from her home in Issaquah (Gus was in the kitchen at our home in Kirkland). After she talked to him, she came on the phone and told me what he said. I recorded that entire session and have listened to it a number of times. I had originally been told that Gus was a Katrina survivor but some things just didn’t add up to me. I was told about a month after I brought him home that he had a brother who was also looking for a new home. If Gus had been in Katrina, how did anyone know that this other dog was actually his brother? And if they truly were siblings, how had they remained together all that time? Polly told me that she had questioned Gus about surviving a flood but it meant nothing to him. He sent her images of being in a kennel since the time that he was very small. Except for when he was only a few weeks old, he didn’t ever remember not being in a kennel and he told her about there being many other dogs around him at all times.

One night last week, I listened to the tape once more then decided to go through some paperwork I had been given when I adopted Gus (he had previously been named “Cromer”). I found the name of a "rescue" agency named "Canine Angels" in Dewy Rose, GA. My first thought was that Canine Angels was the group who had rescued him from wherever it was that he had been. With that thought in mind, I did an internet search and found, not only hideous stories to confirm everything Gus told Polly, but an actual picture of Gus standing behind a fence himself: Best Friends Link

Canine Angels was not the association that had saved him, it was the name of the “rescue agency” that he told Polly about. This is where Gus lived his entire life and where he had been abused beyond belief. Based on information I found in the paperwork I brought home and the stories about Canine Angels that I’ve read on the internet, I've now been able to confirm that he was born in April 2003 and was at Canine Angels from at least 3/11/04 to 10/14/06. On that day, he was shipped to Montana where he remained until I drove over and adopted him in April.

There are many more articles about the dogs and Canine Angels on the internet and everything he told Polly is confirmed by the stories. Most of the dogs are afraid of men and thunder (two things that Gus said he is afraid of) and they were kept in hideous conditions by two female animal hoarders. It appears that he absolutely has lived his entire life in a cage, which is what Polly told me he told her.

Things are beginning to look up for Gus. Before he talked to Polly, he never wagged his tail, he was scared to death of my teenaged son (because he’s a male), and he had never made a sound of any kind.

The tail has started wagging, he let my son take him outside for the very first time, and he barked (very loudly!) twice. Polly told him his world is now safe and he’s obviously beginning to believe her.

His world is looking even brighter now because he has a new girlfriend É another dog that I just adopted who had been abandoned by her family when they decided they didn’t want her any more. Chloe has already shown Gus that their world is safe and he happily chases after her in our backyard. He’s not quite out of the kitchen yet but he’s at least started to peek around the corner...a good sign that he’s on his way to exploring our entire house with Chloe by his side. I would never have known how much Gus wanted another dog in his life if he hadn’t have told Polly about this!

We’re now one big (hairy) happy family and I can’t thank Polly enough for all the help she’s already given us. We’re going to visit Polly in person very soon and I believe it’s going to be a catalyst to even greater things. Thank you so much, Polly (and Gus and Chloe thank you too!)

If you would like to see your animal profiled here, just e-mail a picture to paws@tonglenhealingarts.com. We will profile at least one client in each newsletter.

Upcoming Classes

I have not yet set specific dates for my upcoming classes but will do so by August 1st. However, I plan on teaching Reiki Level I in both September and October. I plan on teaching an Animal Communication class in late January.

I will send out a separate email with class dates once they are confirmed. After August 1st you will always be able to find an updated schedule of classes at my web site.

	We NEVER give or sell your e-mail or contact information to anyone else. If you prefer to be removed from The Animal Talker™ mailing list, please send a reply e-mail with the subject line saying “Unsubscribe” and your e-mail address will be deleted from the list. Thank you. © Polly Klein 2007. Polly Klein, owner of Tonglen Healing Arts for Animals, is an animal communicator, Reiki Master and Certified Animal CranioSacral Therapist. You can contact her online at www.tonglenhealingarts.com.