This is Eva’s dog. Eva was at the March Great Big Dreams Retreat and returned home with a renewed enthusiasm to get things in order in her life. After clearing out the clutter, she bought a label maker. Then, she sent this photo to the women from the retreat so they could see her progress.

————————

p.s. The June and October retreats are both so close to being sold out that I’m almost ready to close registration. Many people have written to me about wanting to come to one of these two retreats. And I totally understand putting off planning something that’s so far in the future. But if you’re considering coming to a retreat this year, you might want to sign up soon! (Or email me at christine@christinekane.com to get more info.)

There are certain kinds of books that just make you want to crawl under a blanket, sip tea and become friends with the author. By the time you finish the book, you’ve got a new relationship. Even if the author never knows who you are, you know you’re friends. She’d like you and you’d like her. Finishing the book is a little sad because that connection is gone.

Joan Ranquet is that kind of author. I picked up her book Communication with All Life: Revelations of an Animal Communicator because I was interested in reading about animals and the work she does with them. I got so much more than that.

Ranquet’s words offer more than just the observations of an animal communicator. Communication with All Life is a funny, authentic, spiritual, centered, and informative book about animals, awareness, health, and the deep and important role you play in your companion’s life. In addition to the many stories and examples from her clients and their pets, the author gives sweet examples of her own learning process with her animals to convey this as well.

This book doesn’t try to prove whether or not someone can communicate with animals, though there is one section describing telepathy. Communication with All Life recognizes that there’s a connection, a oneness of all things. And that any part of that oneness can tap into any other part of that oneness. In fact, Ranquet occasionally references other authors like Abraham-Hicks, and applies some of those teachings to our relationships with our pets. She does this with ease and practicality. No woo-woo stuff here.

As I re-read the book for this review, some sections said identical things to what Eckhart Tolle and Oprah are saying in their web seminar…

Animals’ ability to just be and not question their existence makes them seem more spiritual. We humans are so far away from “just being” in our everyday life. If it isn’t bills, it’s taxes; if it isn’t taxes, it’s what color to paint the bathroom; if it isn’t the bathroom, it’s forgetting to send off an RSVP for that party…it’s always something. As a result, there are miscommunications and breakdowns in our behavior. Or we have unclear ideas about how to proceed when our pets get sick. Ultimately, the depth of love that animals express to us is so profound that there are no words to explain it.

Sometimes the greatest thing you can do - even if you don’t necessarily belive that it’s communication per se or that you get any secret messages from your animals - is to just “be” with them and connect on that level of One Mind… Sometimes that’s all they’re waiting for.

Ranquet also suggests the very thing I wrote about in my last post: that our thoughts, our beliefs and the pictures we hold of our pets have great power. She suggests that if you’ve rescued a dog, you eventually let go of the “sad story” about the dog’s past abuse. Stop telling it over and over again - which only keeps that energy alive. (There is also one section called “The Myth of Multitasking.” Her dog, Olivia, teaches us why it’s not a feasible things for humans to do!) Ranquet also teaches readers how to tap in and listen to their own pets.

Much of the advice of the book is geared towards us humans creating a mind and an environment that is clear and peaceful and connected. The book is not just about healing animals. It’s about healing ourselves. The animal stories are amazing. I can honestly say that just reading the book created a little more harmony and connection between me and my furmily.

Any of my readers who have pets will love this book. That’s why I’m writing about it. I love to share my little discoveries with my friends. This is one of those discoveries. And you, dear reader, are my friend.

Two true stories:

1 - I read this book over a cloudy drizzly weekend. Every time I sat down to read it, all of my pets (3 cats and a dog) would gather round as if they knew what I was reading. They would all scrunch up beside me as I read. It was almost like a purr and love fest surrounding the book. I could hardly move for all the bodies!

2 - When I got back from the grocery store, Atticus (my cat) was on the coffee table lying across the book, looking very much in love with it. I took the hint and sat down with him to read.

Ever since the Fire Department pulled Gracie down from the tree behind our house as a timid little kitten, she has been determined to squeeze every ounce of life out of life.

It’s not that she’s feral. It’s that she’s fierce. She’s passionate. Everything is a wonder to her. Whatever she does, she does it one hundred percent.

After months of marveling at her tireless celebration of life, my husband and I began to create stories about Gracie.

For instance, we decided that her real name is actually “Lolita Grace” - which added a much needed exotic touch. I said that she had lived in South America for a brief time and had married a Latin tycoon of sorts. (No one knows why or how the marriage ended. She never talks about it.) This story resulted in a longer name. Lolita Grace Gonzales Kane. Then, after she stalked, killed, and brought home a giant piece of pizza, her name officially became Lolita Grace Gonzales Domino Kane.

Our stories about Gracie cracked us up. At that time, she often stayed out all night. This worried me, but I came up with the perfect explanation. I told my husband that Gracie had opened a nightclub along the river where we live. “It’s called Lolita’s by the River,” I said. I described it for him - a ramshackle hut, hammered together with rusty nails and pieces of scrap wood that came down the river. And all animals - be they predator or prey - go to Lolita’s by the River. They set aside their differences beneath the twinkle lights (there are lots of twinkle lights) and they listen to music. Gracie would serve drinks laden with fruits, long swirlie straws, and little paper umbrellas.

Some summer nights, my husband and I would both wake up at 3am and realize that Gracie was still out. I’d say to him “Well, it’s Cajun night at Lolita’s by the River. So, the place probably got pretty rowdy.”

When Gracie hadn’t returned in the morning, I told my husband that she had started another business called “Lolita’s Lattes” and was out serving coffee-drinks to go at a roadside stand.

Gracie also opened a transport service along the river called “Gracie’s Gondolas.”

As much fun as I had creating the imaginary world of my little gypsy cat, it stressed me out that she stayed out all night. My other two cats are home-bodies, mostly sleeping and playing on the deck. They each have their own stories as well. For instance, Atticus (aka Mr. Patticus) is Headmaster of the Patticusian Academy of Relaxation and Comfort [PARC] - and has implemented various coziness initiatives in the house, such as the Patticusian Lean Optimization Program [PLOP] - which allows for him to lean on any convenient person or pillow as he sleeps.

One day, I told my friend Joy that I wanted Gracie to stop staying out all night because it worried me so much. Joy reminded me of the power of our thoughts and words. Even though Joy loved hearing all the stories about Lolita’s, (while Joy was on vacation, Gracie dragged a rickshaw across town and picked up Joy’s cat P’nut and brought her to Lolita’s) she suggested that maybe I should start portraying Gracie as a cat who loves to be around the home.

So, I did just that.

After that conversation, when anyone asked about Lolita’s by the River, I said that Gracie had started an online business because she wants to stay at home more. Lolita’s by the River is still there, of course. But now, she has outsourced all the work so that she can tend to her online business. I also began to imagine Gracie delighting in hanging out at home and on the deck.

Well, guess what?

It worked.

Since I began shifting my thoughts and stories about Gracie, she has stayed out all night only once. (It was Reggae Night and the band didn’t show.) And even when she’s out late, she runs home the minute my husband calls her. She’s also much more affectionate with us and more aware of our presence in her life. This change has been nothing less than remarkable.

Now, am I saying that all you have to do is think different thoughts and your animals will change?

Not at all.

But I am suggesting that when you see your dog as needy or crazy, or when you call your cat weird, or bad, or stupid, or afraid - those messages have power. Our animal companions pick up on our energy and our emotions. It’s so easy to forget that. While you’re becoming more conscious and aware in your life, remember that your animals can change and grow with you. They can also be the best teachers along the way. Gracie taught me the power of imagination!