Since the death of our beloved cat this past summer I have been pondering our relationships with animals in general, and more specifically through my relationship with our cats. I have read several books on communication with animals since then because I really see a soul when I look into an animal's eyes (a cow's on a walk, a deer's in a field, a lion's in a zoo, a horse in a stable), the same way we see it in people - you have probably heard the saying "the eyes are the mirror of the soul." Well, it's as true for animals as it is for humans (and why would it be different anyhow?).

It is telling to watch people interacting with their pets. Amelia Kinkade, the noted animal communicator, writes in her book The Language of Miracles "The animals are here to facilitate our enlightenment through their unconditional love." Some people get it, some not so much yet.

While I by no means pretend to be able to communicate with our cats, I totally get that you can tune into them by becoming silent (.....quieting the mind as in meditation or simply tuning in and tuning other stuff out) and learning it the way we would learn Spanish or Russian. It is a matter of practicing and a matter of applying the appropriate techniques. You wouldn't try to learn to speak Spanish by practicing scales or chopping up onions.

What astonished me most from reading this particular book is how well developed animals' emotional lives are, and how precisely they are able to communicate to anyone who is able to listen - on how they are being treated, on what they prefer to eat, on their own and even their owner's state of health, on their preferred toys, on the layout of the place where they live, on the family dynamics of their host family, even everyone's names. Quite amazing.

I am so much more careful now with how I interact with the cats after reading this book because I realize that they are more aware than you would ever believe it - a total eye-opener.