At Ease with E.S.P.

People often say they notice that animals are calmer when in my presence. I have thought a lot about this. Why are animals calmer? Do they know I can hear them, just by looking at me?

I don’t always tell them I can hear them, but I do know the subtle differences between human body language and animal body language. When meeting an animal for the first time I avoid eye contact or look at them and then look away. I never bend my torso over an animal. I bend with my knees. I move slowly. I avoid reaching my hand in front of their eyes and over their head. When I pet an animal I am conscious of my breathing and more often than not use the back of my hand before my palm. If an animal turns away I back off a bit.

I can fluently speak their language with my body. When I tell them telepathically I can hear them, they question how I got my telepathic skills: “Are you part animal?” they might ask. “Was your mom a cat?” Or sometimes:

“Did you eat something to be able to hear us?”

“Did you get struck by lightning?”

“Did the angels gift you?”

“Did you hit your head once?”

“Were you an animal in a past life?”

“Are you a witch?”

“Are you from another planet?”

“Are you one of those stars that fell from the sky?”

“Are you a fairy grown tall?”

“Where you born from a ray of sunshine like that dust?”

“Are you a monster?”

“Can you tell my mom which school you went to?”

Here, five animals share with me what they noticed about me the first time they met me:

Dolly (horse): When I saw you, you didn’t look human, though you walked liked one. I noticed immediately that my thoughts made it to your mind without much of an effort. When I told you about my past it was as if it got erased away. I felt understood and that made me feel safe.

Naomi (goat): I thought to myself, “This lady has the most unusual eyes.” I didn’t know what you were and when you were talking to me I was scared, but then I started to understand some things that I was confused about and then I thought, “This lady is intense but she is helpful.”

Catch (cattle dog): I thought you were more like nature then most people. But at first I wondered if you were a predator and then I thought you might be one of the lightening people.

Bella (Chihuahua): Most people scare me, but I knew if I stayed around you I would become smarter. It’s like the wind or the air is stiller around you. It reminds me of sleeping in my blanket. It’s like I had all these thoughts in my head and you knew how to organize them for me.

Rusty (cat): I thought you were silent in your head and you noticed everything a cat would notice. Most peoples’ thoughts move really fast and blend together without direction. Your thoughts move fast until you put them together. Then they slow down while you send them where you want them to go.

Pippin (bird): I watched you talk to the animals and I thought, for the first time, maybe I could learn something from a human. Also the air is silent around you.