AUGUST 2006

Intuition and Animals

By Donna Velardi

What is intuition? The Webster Dictionary defines it as "quick and ready insight; the power or faculty of knowing things without conscious reasoning"; it is our "gut feeling." Some people call this a gift, some doubt that it exists at all. There have been numerous studies done and the bottom line is that everyone to one degree or another possesses this "gift". It depends on your choice to develop or not to develop this natural skill. Many do not because the "conscious reasoning" comes into play. Our biases as a society tells us those psychics who use their intuitive skills are freaks, and part of society believes it goes against the laws of God and nature. But, back in Biblical times when certain people foresaw the future they were called prophets.

Intuition can not be logically explained, therefore, many people have a difficult time believing. It is a belief with no tangible proof; however, we believe in many things with no tangible proof. Unfortunately, we let society's bias and opinions deter us from developing and trusting our intuition.

However, our animal friends do not allow peer pressure or biases hinder what they know instinctively. Their behavior is based on their intuitive knowledge. During the tsunami disaster in Asia there was no mass deaths of wild animals. Why? Because they had fled to higher ground before the tsunami hit. Could they have use of an intuitive "tool" called clairsentience? Clairsentience is the sense of knowing, "a gut feeling", having a physical sensation of an oncoming event. Animals are "in sync" with nature, as they perceive it and have a clear knowledge of what is about to occur and respond accordingly.

Other world cultures have always held animals in high regard. For example, Native Americans turned to the animals for wisdom and insight. As humans we are very egocentric and have a difficult time acknowledging the intuitive and the insightful knowledge of animals. The tsunami disaster is just one of many disasters in history that animals had foreseen before it happened. When earthquakes hit there are many reports of different animal species leaving the area before the earthquake actually hits. When a storm is coming you will see flocks of birds heading in the opposite direction of the storm. Even though there have been documented cases of these events, because we can not test it under laboratory settings, animal intuition can not be proven.

However, if you just watch an animal and really interact with them, and see life from their perspective you can learn so much. I have found that many animals can detect many types of illnesses in people and try in various ways to communicate this with their human companion. For example, a cat started sleeping on her caregiver's lower abdomen when she was having slight pain. It turned out when the person went to her physician she discovered she needed to have her appendix out before it burst. Her cat "knew" that she was having a problem in this part of the body. We are also just learning that dogs can help detect an epileptic seizure before it hits and they can help detect early stages of cancer.

There is just so much about life that we can learn from animals. How they react to not only stressful situations but to everyday life. We need to respect all animal life and see life from their perspective. Understanding through communication as with humans is the key with animals as well. We just have to be willing to see and to "hear" what they are saying to us.

Donna Velardi is the Pet Astrologer for Pets Press. To contact Donna Velardi call her at 203-387-9738(ZPET), email her at petastrologer@yahoo.com or visit www.zodiapet.com.