My work as an Animal Communicator has brought me many varied experiences. I am always amazed at what the animals have to say, especially when it is words of wisdom. With eyebrows raised, I listen intently and often record these wise insights. Enlightening animal messages of love and life are both deep and inspiring to me. So inspiring that two books are in the works, the first of which will be published later this year. Yet with all of the wonderful thoughts that the animals have shared with me, I think that some of the most important communications that I do are those regarding healthcare.

Being a homeopath means that my mind is always looking for the symptoms. Homeopathy does not treat "disease," rather it treats symptoms. In this day and age we can take advantage of the voluminous written works available on homeopathy ~ many of which allow you to look up a disease and then find your remedy, but the old masters had no books such as these. The books written now are a reflection of the master's time consuming work. They are a wonderful addition to any health care provider. Nowadays, you can get one of these newer books and start using homeopathy right away. If you have a diagnosis from your veterinarian or doctor, then you can look up that disease name and find the remedies most often used. You still need symptoms though. Remember, you must always match most closely the symptoms of a remedy with those being portrayed. But what do you do if no one knows WHAT to call the problem you are facing? You only have symptoms left, forcing you to utilize homeopathy the way the founding father's did. And just HOW do you get symptoms from an animal? Well, keen observation will help a lot, but being able to communicate with the animal will be even more helpful.

Anyone who has ever gazed deeply into the eyes of their beloved companion animal will tell you that they KNOW what they are thinking. We are not talking about body language here, as many skeptics will refer to animal communication as. Body language is only one aspect of communicating. I am talking about the 'knowing' that comes from really being in tune with your animal friend. Anyone who is a parent has surely experienced this: the knowing' something was wrong with their child before anyone else did. This is communicating too, and we can hone these skills.

"I saw the light and then I was here." The first time I used a communicator was for our first and cherished pig, Clover. As a piglet, he had begun having seizures. It was awful. The least little stress... like picking him up, or choking on a bite of food... would cause him to seize. Most of the times we couldn't figure out what had triggered it. After spending $500, the veterinarian had no real ideas either as to what the problem was.

We called him one afternoon after Clover experienced a two and one half hour continual seizure. He told us frankly, "If you don't get him to Cornell as soon as possible, he will not live out the month." Well, considering that stress was indeed a trigger causing our little guy to tip over and begin seizing, this avenue was one we were not willing to travel. First, if the car ride itself didn't kill him, then all of the strange people and many tests, surely would. As a family we vowed that he would not be put through this. All we had left to do was to depend on ourselves to help Clover.

Being homeopaths, it was time to give it a much better try, but how was I going to do this? Never having had a pig before we were already in unchartered waters. My first thought was that I had no diagnosis and not enough symptoms to narrow the field of remedies down with, or did I? The animal communicator I had spoken with while Clover was in that big seizure had told me many things. Pulling out every recollection of what she had said, I found a definitive, keynote symptom that narrowed the field considerably. This was a God-send, along with hearing that Clover was spending this seizure time in a field with flowers, warm sun and a wise pig named Jeffrey. Just beforehand, all I had done was pick the little guy up and stood by the picture window looking out over the river. He was screaming, but I didn't want to spoil him by putting him down until he stopped. He never did stop, so when I finally did put him down, he instantly tipped over. He really did "see the light" and then he was gone...

Stramonium 200C is made from the plant called Stink Weed, Jimson Weed or Thorn Apple. The books tell how it causes epilepsy (seizures) from bright, dazzling lights, or shiny, glimmering objects. This is exactly how it looked that day as the sun streamed through our picture window after bouncing off the rippling river's water. This remedy went on to cure Clover of his seizures. Each time he had a subsequent seizure, we would give him his remedy and it would be shorter in duration and they would be further apart. About 6 months from beginning the remedy, he was seizure free. Now you may remember that I have spoken of Ethoxyquin in feed before. It is a horrendous ingredient to have your animals consume and next month I will discuss it in length. I believe that this was the real cause of Clover's seizures, and the aura that would come beforehand was in the form of visual triggers. In a later conversation with him, he spoke of how it would scare him when he would look at us and we'd be standing upside down. Based on the assumption that he has the worst vision of our three pigs, I believe that Clover's vision is his weak spot, therefore when he isn't well the symptoms come out visually, first. With our daughter Ali, her lungs are her weak spot and every time she gets sick, it triggers her asthma. I never would have known this important symptom from Clover if a communicator hadn't picked it up, and at the time she didn't even realize how important that message was. We believe it saved his life. Then I learned how to better communicate with him myself.

Learning how to communicate with animals again is not that hard, but it does take an open mind, perseverance and patience. Depending on the mental activity of your own mind, you may need to learn to quiet it down, similar to when people meditate. Because we all are different, there are many approaches, so I'll give you a technique that worked well with my busy mind. Choose an animal friend that you would like to speak with first and tell them what you are about to do... that is relearn to communicate with them. Be frank. Sit down with them and have a heart to heart, explaining your intentions at length. Watch them. Get a feel for their comfort level. Get a feel for your own. If you aren't comfortable, chances are your companion isn't either. If needed, move to another area, or make an appointment with them to try again at a certain time... then follow through and keep your appointment. Consider this a new introduction between the two of you. Tell them that you are going to write down all the thoughts that come into your head and ask them to share their thoughts with you. Get a notebook and pen, then offer them your undivided attention. Ask simple questions at first, like: "Can you hear me?" "Are you well?" "Do you know that I love you?" Write down the FIRST things that come into your mind no matter how nutty they may sound. If you don't think you are hearing anything, then write down what you are feeling or seeing. The 'hearing' will be how you hear yourself think. The 'feeling' will be emotions or physical sensations that were not present before you started this exercise. The 'seeing' will be how you picture your animal friend in your mind when you aren't with them. These are all very subtle, and if you don't pay attention, they are very easy to dismiss as an overactive imagination or miss altogether. When you write it down, you can later go back and see more clearly where communication has truly taken place. Try this for a month, but only for 15 minute sessions at a time. I don't know about your life, but I'm sure your animal has a social life that will need tending to. Don't try to hog his time right away. That's something you'll want to politely work your way up to. Remember good manners, too, and thank him for sharing when you are done.

You know, the brain is an interesting piece of equipment. It is very logical and you need to remember that it has been programmed to think that talking to animals is NOT logical. It will jump in and give you all kinds of thoughts to ponder which generally run along the lines of you being a raving lunatic. I know... I've been there. That's why the notebook and pen were so valuable for me ~ they kept my brain busy with physical writing, while my higher self was receiving information from the animals. Every time you doubt what you are getting, you shut down the lines of communication and brain has won the battle of logic. Communicating with animals isn't a mechanical process really, it is a telepathic one. Your form of communication will be unique to you. So, let me know how you're doing and I'll address it next month. Don't worry, I won't blab your name about, just what is or isn't working for you. You can trust me. And we'll learn from each other.

Well, Clover is now 7 1/2 years old. He has not had a seizure in over 6 years. He graces us with his wisdom and wit at every opportunity available to him and we are so thankful for all he brings to our home... mind you, I say that as I listen to him bang on the kitchen cupboard door with his snooty right now. You see, he has found that the trash pail often contains some tasty morsels. And, he's more than glad to share that wealth with Harry & Penny, too. How do I know this? Welllllll, the other big part of Clover's recovery was that I began making his feed myself after realizing the commercial feed was responsible for making him sick. Because of all the ingredients that go into it, making our feed is a big ordeal but I have seen the fantastic difference it has made in their health and appearance so I happily make it when needed. Happily and timely are two different things though. It is a fact that we have run out a few times, thus requiring their meals to be composed of various items from the cupboards and fridge until I finally haul my own hams downstairs to mix up a new batch. This happened just last week. Since the grass is so rich and nutritious right now, I wasn't in too much of a hurry. After about 3 days of thrown-together meals containing a little of this and a tad of that, and a long way from her old Texas Pig Park, I glanced out the window just as Wayne put Penny's bowl of pot-luck down and she eagerly dove in...

"Oh, I think I'm eating the trash!" You know, sometimes it's really embarrassing what your animals have to say. They can be sooooo revealing! I'm happy to say that their next meal was taken from the big, new batch of feed that I promptly made that night. Now all I have to listen to is, "HEY! How come there's not enough food in my bowl?" Oohhhh, the things you'll hear the animals say ~ especially when they are dieting.

Co-Founder of Animal Wellness Consultants, Colleen Nicholson has been an Animal Communicator since 1992 and a lay practicing Homeopath since 1987. She resides in central NY with her family and their herd of 3 pigswhile consulting for people and their companion animals world wide. She is also an Author, Educator, Reiki Master and Stained Glass Artisan. For more information on Colleen or to book an appointment with her, you may call Animal Wellness weekday afternoons at 315-652-4964, or visit her on the world wide web in the domain potbellypigs.com... enter Piggy World.