Animal Voices, Animal Guides: Discover Your Deeper Self through Communication with Animals

by Dawn Baumann Brunke

Overview

How to connect with animal guides to expand individual and planetary awareness

• Reveals techniques for exploring dreams, shamanic journeys, healing, and shapeshifting with animals

• Presents words of wisdom from cats, dogs, horses, llamas, rabbits, ravens, bears, and even insects

As companions, helpers, and spiritual guides, animals have always held a special relationship with humans. As we access our natural ability to communicate with animals, we cannot help but open ourselves more profoundly to life, other human beings, and our own deep nature--the essence of who we really are. Animal Voices, Animal Guides presents a wide variety of ways in which we can tune in to the “universal language” of all life and reconnect with the animal kingdom in more conscious, meaningful ways.

Through myths, shamanic journeys, and dreams we meet our power animals, spirit animals, and wise animal guides. The exercises, meditations, stories, and experiments included are designed to help us tune in to the subtle whispers of nature and expand our awareness. We learn what sled dogs have to teach us about teamwork, how llamas see themselves as healers of the world, and how it would feel to inhabit the skin of a shark. Filled with advice from animal communication professionals and actual conversations with animals, Animal Voices, Animal Guides is an invitation to explore our inner ways of knowing. When we learn how to use all our senses to listen to animals, we will find out how to listen to our authentic self as well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781591439547
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	05/21/2009
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dawn Baumann Brunke is a writer and editor who specializes in the areas of healing, dreaming, spirituality, animal communication, and deepening our connection with all life. The author of Animal Voices and Shapeshifting with Our Animal Companions, she lives with her husband, daughter, and animal friends in Alaska.
Dawn Baumann Brunke is a writer and editor who specializes in the areas of healing, dreaming, spirituality, animal communication, and deepening our connection with all life. The author of Animal Voices: Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life, Shapeshifting with Our Animal Companions, and Animal Voices, Animal Guides, she lives with her husband, daughter, and animal friends in Alaska.

Visit her web site at www.animalvoices.net.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 7
Animal Healing

We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

Pema Chodron,
When Things Fall Apart

A few months after our big black Lab Max found his way into our home, he hurt his eye while playing outside in the woods. The lid was swollen and he could not see easily from the eye. Although a situation such as this might normally warrant a trip to the veterinarian, something stopped me. On the surface, I worried that I didn’t know enough to handle this problem. But on a deeper level, I felt called to healing.
After cleaning and treating the wound, I centered and focused on Max. He assured me it was a superficial cut and that what he needed most was to close his eyes and rest. “Trust yourself,” he said to me as we ended our conversation. Later, I was struck by the implication of those words, for trusting the call to healing was something that would bring about a much deeper change than I ever would have imagined.
I did some neck massage and energy balancing on Max while he rested. With one hand placed lightly over his forehead and eye and another resting gently at the base of his spine, I imagined soothing pink-white light bathing his eye and flowing easily through his body. Max slept deeply for a few hours. During the ten minutes or so while I was working with Max, my daughter, Alyeska, who was then four years old, watched intently. She wanted to know what I was doing, what energy was, and how to find the pink light. When she sat beside me and put her little hands on Max to help make him better, I was reminded that we are never too young to participate in a healing relationship.
Alyeska then wanted to make a “potion” to help Max. What kind of potion, I wanted to know. Like a magic spell? Laughingly, Alyeska said, “No, Mom. Let’s make a potion of real healing things!” And so, together, we collected “healing things” for Max: a crystal (to see clearly), some tiny flowers (to observe beauty), a penny (for luck). As we looked around for more, I suggested that we make a pouch to hold these things for Max to wear. Alyeska liked the idea. We sewed a small pouch and Alyeska drew a red heart on a piece of paper to put in with the other healing things, which by this time also included some dried mint and lavender. Placing all of the healing things into the pouch, we sewed it shut and tied it securely to Max’s collar.
From the moment we placed the pouch on his collar, Max moved with a new sense of pride. It brought tears to my eyes to see this change: it was evident throughout his whole body and demeanor. Clearly Max knew we had given him something special, that we had pierced beneath the surface in caring for him, and because of this, he felt “beloved” by our family in a deeper way. I was even more surprised to find my own vision shifting, too. Something had happened in just a few short hours, and suddenly I was seeing Max in a whole new light. I was touched by what I hadn’t seen before: the enormous amount of love this dog held for our family.

A healing relationship between the animal and human kingdoms must be a co-creative one, and an important first step in any co-creative relationship is to examine our perceptions.

Steve Johnson, The Essence of Healing

Of course, it wasn’t the pouch or potion that brought about this change but the energy that was activated throughout the process of making the pouch. It began with the “call” to trust, to go with the flow of events, to welcome others (my daughter) into the healing venue, to open to unexpected ideas (the potion, the “healing things”) and expand upon them (the pouch). Max’s hurt eye was merely the symptom, and although we treated the symptom, it was what happened beneath the surface where true healing occurred.

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince


Sensing Past the Symptoms

Symptoms are our body’s way of giving us clues, telling us that something is not quite right. Some symptoms, such as cuts, broken bones, or burns, require immediate attention. To treat only the symptom, however, and ignore the underlying problem that caused the symptom in the first place, is to miss out on the deeper nature of healing. Symptoms are often treasures, great mysteries that--if explored--show us more about who we are.
For example, was the reason Max hurt his eye (as opposed to his paw or tail) an indication of something that needed to be seen more clearly? Was the injury an invitation to become aware of another perspective, to peer beneath the surface of things? Or, was it a reminder that sometimes we need to pay more attention to ourselves when racing wildly through the forest? Holistic healing is about digging deeper than symptoms, treating not just the clues but seeking and addressing the core causes of imbalances that manifest as symptoms.

If we approach this work with open hearts and minds we will be able to receive many valuable insights as to what is really taking place on the soul level within the animal kingdom.

Steve Johnson, The Essence of Healing

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

List of Exercises

Introduction: The Door Is Round and Open . . .

Part I
Beginning the Journey

1 Once Upon a Time . . .

2 Becoming Doctor Dolittle

3 Magical Meetings

Part II
Seeking Animal Wisdom

4 Power Animals, Spirit Animals--Ambassadors of Awareness

5 Animal Guides and Teachers

6 Animal Dreams

Part III
Deepening in Relationship

7 Animal Healing

8 A Look at Death

9 The Art of Shapeshifting

10 Center Being

Notes

Resources, References, and Recommendations

Photo Credits

Editorial Reviews

The oneness of all life is vibrantly highlighted in this beautiful book. It will stimulate many to open up to and remember a universal language that is understood by all creatures.

H.R.H. Princess Irene of the Netherlands

I am delighted to once again have a book by Dawn Baumann Brunke in my hands. She is not only an excellent writer but also a guide and teacher, offering respect and honor for all beings. Anyone who appreciates animals will absolutely want to own this book.

Rita M. Reynolds

Animal Voices, Animal Guides presents the principles of how to communicate with animals and is filled with delightful passages of wisdom from animal helpers and teachers. The sections on dreams, healing, and animal guides are as practical as they are enriching.

Penelope Smith

Animal Voices, Animal Guides is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in communicating with animals and other aspects of nature. Dawn Baumann Brunke expresses a wide range of thoughtful, inspirational, and genuinely empowering teachings and stories.

Nicki Scully

Brunke offers human and animal wisdom to guide and encourage the increasing effort to restore balance and respect among all beings.

Best Friends magazine

"Eighteen simple exercises, such as creating an animal fetish or meditating on a power animal, encourage readers to develop their own innate abilities."

Richard D. Wright

"Of course, for those of us with an almost inseparable connection to our pets, it's no surprise that Dawn and others like her have discovered many ways to communicate and connect on deeper levels with these personal "mystics" we all have, if we'd just realize it."

Mary A. Shafer

"Another useful facet of this book is the how-to-aspect. Dawn intersperses a variety of exercises throughout the text for those who want to further explore their relationship with animals, nature, self, and spirit. . . . suffice it to say that this is a must read for those who love or interact with animals of any kind."

Alys Culhane

". . . Dawn brings a deeper understanding through her skills as an animal communicator, helping us, through her dialogues with animals, to see beyond the physical world, and to increase our own knowledge of all of nature as intelligent, wise, and deeply mystical. . . . There is not one page, not one line that is not inspiring, encouraging, and fascinating—a tall order for a book."

Vol. 20 LaJoie

"The deep respect that Dawn Brune feels for all of earth's creatures comes through clearly in her testimonials, affirmations, and visualizations. She brings us along gradually, introducing thoughts that will help us explore step-by-step an unknown pathway to our souls and those of our profoundly wise animal friends."

Make-A-Scene newspaper

". . . Dawn brings a deeper understanding through her skills as an animal communicator, helping us, through her dialogues with animals, to see beyond the physical world, and to increase our own knowledge of all of nature as intelligent, wise, and deeply mystical. . . . There is not one page, not one line that is not inspiring, encouraging, and fascinating—a tall order for a book."

"Another useful facet of this book is the how-to-aspect. Dawn intersperses a variety of exercises throughout the text for those who want to further explore their relationship with animals, nature, self, and spirit. . . . suffice it to say that this is a must read for those who love or interact with animals of any kind."

"Eighteen simple exercises, such as creating an animal fetish or meditating on a power animal, encourage readers to develop their own innate abilities."

"Of course, for those of us with an almost inseparable connection to our pets, it's no surprise that Dawn and others like her have discovered many ways to communicate and connect on deeper levels with these personal "mystics" we all have, if we'd just realize it."

"The deep respect that Dawn Brune feels for all of earth's creatures comes through clearly in her testimonials, affirmations, and visualizations. She brings us along gradually, introducing thoughts that will help us explore step-by-step an unknown pathway to our souls and those of our profoundly wise animal friends."

“Animal Voices, Animal Guides is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in communicating with animals and other aspects of nature. Dawn Baumann Brunke expresses a wide range of thoughtful, inspirational, and genuinely empowering teachings and stories.”

“Animal Voices, Animal Guides presents the principles of how to communicate with animals and is filled with delightful passages of wisdom from animal helpers and teachers. The sections on dreams, healing, and animal guides are as practical as they are enriching.”

“Brunke offers human and animal wisdom to guide and encourage the increasing effort to restore balance and respect among all beings.”

“I am delighted to once again have a book by Dawn Baumann Brunke in my hands. She is not only an excellent writer but also a guide and teacher, offering respect and honor for all beings. Anyone who appreciates animals will absolutely want to own this book.”

“The oneness of all life is vibrantly highlighted in this beautiful book. It will stimulate many to open up to and remember a universal language that is understood by all creatures.

From the Publisher

". . . Dawn brings a deeper understanding through her skills as an animal communicator, helping us, through her dialogues with animals, to see beyond the physical world, and to increase our own knowledge of all of nature as intelligent, wise, and deeply mystical. . . . There is not one page, not one line that is not inspiring, encouraging, and fascinating—a tall order for a book."

LaJoie

"The deep respect that Dawn Brune feels for all of earth's creatures comes through clearly in her testimonials, affirmations, and visualizations. She brings us along gradually, introducing thoughts that will help us explore step-by-step an unknown pathway to our souls and those of our profoundly wise animal friends."

Feb 2010 Make-A-Scene newspaper

I am delighted to once again have a book by Dawn Baumann Brunke in my hands. She is not only an excellent writer but also a guide and teacher, offering respect and honor for all beings. Anyone who appreciates animals will absolutely want to own this book.

author of Blessing the Bridge and Ask the Cow: Rita M. Reynolds

Brunke offers human and animal wisdom to guide and encourage the increasing effort to restore balance and respect among all beings.”

Best Friends magazine