Ep1. Talking with Alastor
December 26th 2022
I had just begun an animal communication session with a horse early in 2022 when I found myself struggling to describe to his owner the stunning awareness he possessed of the environment around him.
The wind, the mountains, the sky, and the grassland in front of him seemed alive in a way I'd never perceived through another's senses. The earth itself seemed to breathe. It held such great depth, detail, and meaning.
As I sought to find words to describe this to the horse's current owner, his guardian and friend, she stopped me to say that he (still a relatively young horse) had been wild for the first two years of his life.
She asked if that fact might have something to do with his brilliant awareness.
Of course, that was what I was experiencing, and as I stood there in space, in awe, next to him, the horse seemed to be searching for something.
The other species I talk to are most fluent in non-verbal communication. They share ideas primarily through emotions, internal images, and physical feelings. This is their language and it serves them beautifully well but sometimes an animal is surprised by my presence in this unique and eloquent world. I waited, reaching out with my heart center and this horse turned to me and spoke his first words. "Are you talking to me?"
I answered "Yes". He responded, "I didn't know humans could do this.” He paused and added, “This is the language of the Earth". My heart almost burst with joy.
I finished that session with tears still in my eyes. He was the first wild horse that I'd ever spoken to.
That shared awareness and those few words are among the most profound gifts anyone has ever given me.
Linked below there is a 10-minute interview with Ed Young, author of “An Immense World” that I want you to listen to. It’s a fascinating brief conversation and one I hope may illuminate some of the awe I have for the intellect of other species. The author discusses our human ignorance of the world around us. He comments on the great cacophony we humans create in our day-to-day life and asks us to consider ways to quiet ourselves. He talks about the impact of our brightly lit nights and manicured lawns and he asks us to consider shifting to a quieter, darker lifestyle.
Please adopt respect for the quiet and darkness that other species need so desperately.
Stopping our mindless mowing and leaf blowing, reducing or eliminating our lawns, planting trees, planting native plant species, closing our shades, and installing motion-detecting lights give back to free-living species some of the vital space we consume.
Walk more, drive less, and turn down your music. It's good for your animal friends, and for humanity, too. In this coming new year, remember to be a respectful neighbor to the tiny ones, the flighted ones, the ones that crawl and leap, trying hard to avoid our loud, thoughtless, unaware, and omnipresent selves. Remember that our animal companions, too, thrive when at night we turn off the lights and at daytime never turn on the deafening yard equipment.
Commit to living softer, quieter, and darker than you ever have.
A world of healing and enlightenment is waiting, literally at our feet.
