A cat called Rambo
Yes, you read that correctly, talking WITH animals and not necessarily to animals, an activity I had the pleasure of practising again during a recent workshop given by the American author, Marta Williams. I am sure most of us talked with animals when we were kids, and we would tell our parents about the lively discussions with our cat, dog or other pet. Most parents would not have believed you, even though you were convinced your experience was real.
My first tentative leap into the world of animal communicators began when I was a student in Amsterdam and the lucky owner of five beautiful cats. When one of them suddenly disappeared and our nightly searches shaking tins with biscuits and calling his name had not brought puss back, my aunt suggested I contact a clairvoyant she had used to find her Belgian Shephard. This woman looked at the cat’s picture, touched it all over and told me to go to a certain street in our neighbourhood at night when it was quiet. The cat was hiding near a builders’ site and was very, very frightened. That night, armed with basket and food, I heard the cries of our cat. He was so scared that it took him another two nights to come out of his hiding place.
Many animal communicators and lost-and-found cats later, I finally realized that perhaps I could learn to communicate this way too. I started reading books on the subject, became involved in online practice groups and finally made it to a course with Marta Williams, who on quite a few occasions, helped our horses with one or another issue. So is it difficult? Yes and No! Yes, because you have to stop thinking you can’t do it, and no, once you have made that important step, trust your intuition that what you receive is right!
Marta Williams explaining how she does animal communication
In Marta’s course we talked about and practised various forms of intuition: communicating with animals by initially asking questions that are verifiable (a description or a picture would be given by a fellow participant), medical intuition to scan an animal’s body (this can even be done when the animal is not with you) for any imbalance in its energy centres (called chakras), and finding out to what extent our animals may be mirroring us. The last day we spent in the company of horses at a beautiful private property in Lunteren, in the Veluwe, a glorious forest-clad part of the Netherlands.
But a feeling of ‘knowing’ can come in many forms as the following story will show. Some weeks ago Andrew and I took Anaïs for a walk in the forest. The new barn cat called Rambo (he had a bit of a reputation but turned out to be a really nice character) suddenly ran after us just when we crossed the road into the bridle path. He had never done this before and it struck us as rather strange. Rambo kept following us, frequently calling out, running almost between the legs of Anaïs, and would then sit in front, looking at us and meeowing at full strength. We did not know what to think of his behaviour and first decided to ignore him and continue our walk. However Rambo became ever more insistant, running after us, turning around, calling out to us.
Rambo leading Andrew and Anaïs back to the stables
Suddenly Andrew and I both felt a very strong feeling that we had to turn around and go back to the stable, but not understanding why. Rambo was deliriously happy, running ahead now all the way. Hardly had we arrived at the stables, and the rain came pelting down. Why did Rambo behave like that? What was he trying to tell us? Andrew and I both intuitively knew at the same moment that we had to turn around and follow him home. What would or could have happened if we had continued our walk? We will never know but it is enough to realize we followed our gut level feeling and felt completely at ease with our decision. Since then Rambo has never done anything like this with us again.
It was just over three weeks ago that Anaïs had her first treatment at the holistic equine clinic. We were advised to just walk her for a couple of weeks, and then start lungeing her on large circles to assess her hindquarters and front feet. Andrew and I had arranged to do this together on 14 October (which, by the way, was Dubu’s 17th birthday!), but something told me the day before (when Andrew was not there) that Anaïs was totally ready and we had to go into the arena…. My heart filled with joy when I saw her powering along, showing off her newly found balance on four sound feet and powerful, swinging hindquarters without a hint of stiffness or lameness!! What a difference in her compared to only four weeks ago! I am no big fan of lungeing just for the sake of lungeing, but this was clearly her moment! As we wanted to check her movement on video in slow motion, Andrew videoed a short session the following day, and again she was eager to show off her pain-free body. We have included a short clip of that lungeing session.
Anaïs restored (music from Run with the Wind by Jan Carter available from Save the Brumbies at www.savethebrumbies.org/get-involved/)
So, what’s next? How are we going to continue with our mare now that she seems to be on the road to recovery? I can feel the eagerness in her to finally get to work and it is now up to me to discover how to let Anaïs seek me. I have once more picked up Klaus’ latest book and on page 39 he describes the qualities he believes the person needs to have in order for this to happen: to be credible, to set an example, to radiate inner confidence, to be trustworthy, to be clear and unambiguous, to be relaxed and quiet, to be peaceful, to be positive, to be hopeful, and to be balanced and controlled.
If you will excuse me, I now have some work to do!
Love
Vicki
SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!
If you are able and willing, please join us to send special birthday wishes to our puppy, Dubu, who has just completed 17 years on God’s earth and shows no sign of giving up just yet. Dubu is essentially Vicki’s baby. She presided over his birth and assumed control for his and his siblings’ first tentative six weeks following their mother’s death a day after giving birth. Dubu was the breeder’s present for a job well done.
Wim, Marga, Hedda and Lidewij, thank you so much for bringing this bundle of joy into our lives 17 years ago. We have no idea how long he is still going to bring us joy, for he is showing no signs of stopping, just slowing down.
Love
Andrew & Vicki
HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY, DUBU!
Vicki holds Dubu 17 years after presiding over his birth
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUBU and many more happy & healthy years with Vicky & Andrew!!!
Wonderful story on animal communication Vicky. The cat….WOW
Had the same experience with Marta when I attended one of her weekend workshops a couple of years ago. Beautiful lady inside and outside.
Nice video.
Take care
Geerteke
Hi Geerteke
Thank you for Dubu’s birthday wishes – he received a large raw bone from us which will take him quite a few days to get through.
Thanks too for the additional feedback you sent regarding the video with Anaiis – much appreciated!
What a joyful message! I am especially pleased to send Dubu love for his birthday. You are all so fortunate to have each other for so long, and as you know working with Marta, he will always be with you.
It is encouraging to see Anais so sound and all of you sounding happy. And what a wonderful Rambo story! It seems that we humans need to just let go and listen to the animals. It is almost comical that we think we are the ones who are so smart!
Vicki, your last paragraph using Klaus’s words “to be credible, to set an example, to radiate inner confidence, to be trustworthy, to be clear and unambiguous, to be relaxed and quiet, to be peaceful, to be positive, to be hopeful, and to be balanced and controlled” seems to be a perfect formula for us in all that we do.
I think I have some work to do also. I will start right now!
Love to you all,
Susan
Thank you Susan for your best wishes for our birthday boy.
Looks like we both are going to be really busy for a while working on these guidelines. I would like to add one though: to feel joy!
All the best,
Vicki
It is so funny, as soon as I sent that message, I thought I should have added joy and almost sent another message. Thank you for finishing the thought!
Susan
My pleasure,
Vicki
Happy birthday to Dubu Mzungu of Ibo!!
Amazing to think that it is already 17 years ago that you suggested to put Veronika – our pet lamb – either in the oven or in the freezer, because she deprived you of your very few hours of daily sleep, Vicki!
Also 17 years ago that not only Dubu and you became best friends, but Marga and I regard that time as well as the start of our long-lasting friendship with you guys. Up to the next 17 years!!
Love
Marga and Wim
Dear Wim and Marga
Goodness, I had (almost) forgotten Veronika’s constant bleating for a bottle outside my room ha ha. How different would her story have ended if I had not been a vegetarian??
Yes, it (our friendship) all started with Dubu’s mother travelling to Hawaii with us where we took care of her while she was in quarantaine en route to New Zealand. Little did we know back then that one of her offspring would move to his mother’s birth country!
Love
Vic
So pleased to see Anais strong and healthy and that Dubu has celebrated another year, looks like you are all happy.
Hello Laraine,
Yes, it is great to see the animals (and ourselves) do so well. I am finally getting used to the much colder weather and am actually looking forward to some snow! Both Anaiis and Dubu have never experienced that…