Voice of the Animals

Hello Everyone!  I am so delighted to introduce to you the wonderful Cattie Coyle.  Cattie and I connected a while ago through the wonders of cyberspace and I was really inspired by her work sharing animal centred alternative therapies/ courses/events with as many others as possible, with no agenda for herself other than to serve.  What an inspiration to us all and her work is so very needed.

Cattie and I agreed to write a guest post for each others blog and  I am so delighted we did, as her story is so inspiring and you can really get a feel for the wonderful soul she is.  I asked Cattie if she would be willing to share some of her own stunnning photography too which I am delighted she agreed to.   I hope you will enjoy learning more about Cattie and please do get in touch with her, sign up for her Guide, which is global, by visiting http://animalmassageguide.com/  you can  e-mail Cattie from her contact page too.

Cattie with Sadie

Hi everyone! This is Cattie Coyle from Animal Massage Guide, and I am so honored that Julie invited me to write about myself and AMG. When I asked Julie if there was anything in particular she wanted me to write about, she said “tell us about yourself and how and why you started the wonderful Animal Massage Guide”… well, here goes!

I have always loved animals and was one of those kids who was happiest hanging out at the stable or with my (and my friends’) dog(s) and other pets. My parents had to drag me away from pastures, barns or anything I came across that had animals. As I got older, I started pre-med with the plan to become a vet, but after a year of that, it dawned on me that while I would be helping animals, they would fear me, and I would also have to do things I wasn’t even able to think about. And that was it for pre-med. I instead decided to follow another passion – photography. I enrolled in a 2-year professional photography program and majored in portraiture. Of course, my final portfolio consisted of portraits of people with their pets.

Cattie playing with Prospect

I tried to survive doing pet portraits full time, but either the market for it wasn’t there yet or I just lacked the necessary business savvy. Whatever the reason, I needed a steadier source of income and ended up in the corporate world. Which I actually didn’t mind for many years, until my Dad suddenly passed away. It made me stop and think about what I was doing with my life, and I realized I wasn’t happy (to say the least) and what I was doing for work was completely meaningless.

Deep down, I knew I needed to work with animals. I came across animal massage by chance during a visit to Sweden, and when I returned to the US, started researching animal massage schools here. I found Bancroft School of Massage in Worcester, MA (where they had just started a small animal massage program), applied, and graduated in 2005. I started my own business, but after only a few years, allergies forced me to stop practicing. I had already become allergic to horses, cats and rabbits, and when I started reacting to dogs as well, I couldn’t continue.

But what was the end of my business was also the beginning of Animal Massage Guide. When I first started practicing, I was contacted many times not only by animal owners looking for a massage therapist for their pet, but also by people who were interested in learning animal massage and wanted to start their own animal massage business, or add animal massage to their existing “human” massage business and were looking for advice.

As I had been on “all sides of the fence” – as somebody looking for a school where I could learn animal massage, as a massage student, as a practitioner starting (and running) an animal massage business, an animal-loving allergy sufferer, and an animal guardian looking for holistic health alternatives for my own pet – I decided to start a blog to put all my experiences in one place, as a resource for everyone to use. At the same time, I was doing a lot of research into alternative therapies for allergies, and in my quest I came across many therapies I never knew existed before, and most were also used with animals. So what started as a blog about animal massage slowly became a blog about many different kinds of alternative/complementary therapy for animals.

I didn’t really have any set goals with the blog when I started it, but as it has evolved, I slowly figured out what they were. I want AMG to be a resource that both help open animal owners’ eyes to the fact that there are a lot of complementary options available, and that you may not have to give up on your pet just because the vet said so; and also help alternative / complementary animal health practitioners get more exposure (I know how difficult marketing yourself can be, and how important any chance to get your name out there is), and an opportunity to share their story and help educate us about the modality they practice (and maybe even find a new one to try themselves).

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I did start the blog. It has allowed me keep up with and learn so much more about complementary and alternative health both for people and animals, and I have “virtually met” so many amazing people who do so much for the animals and are wonderfully generous with sharing their stories, case studies and advice (thank you all!)

As for where the blog will go in the future, there will be more guest posts, more schools and practitioners added (sign up! it’s free), and I am working on a few exciting projects which hopefully will see the light of day at some point this year. I am also undergoing a new (to me anyway) kind of allergy treatment, continue to do freelance photography, and am about to embark on a whole new exciting adventure in the animal health field (there will be blog posts about all of this eventually of course!).

Julie, thank you so much for inviting me to write this – it was a good excuse to look back and think through the choices I have made and why I made them. A little self-reflection is always good for the soul. And for anyone reading this – please let me know if you would like to be listed on AMG, or if you have a story / case study (or anything else) you would like to share. I always love to hear from readers!

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderfully inspiring story Cattie, and here are some of Cattie’s beautiful photographs. You can see more of Cattie’s beautiful photography at her website http://www.ccoylephotography.com/

Hello Animal Ambassadors!  Trust this finds you well today.  I was contacted by the RSPCA recently who have asked me to share this story with you to raise awareness of their upcoming Live Weekend. So here is the story of Billy, the chestnut Thoroughbred cross to give you just one story of how the work of the RSPCA is vitally important. Please do get involved in the Live Weekend too and tell your friends and family too.

Neglected horse leads new life thanks to the RSPCA

This weekend is RSPCA Live, a major online event where you can get up close and personal with the RSPCA. But before you get involved with the fun activities that are happening on the RSPCA’s Facebook page and Twitter profile on Saturday and Sunday, we thought we’d share a success story about Billy that demonstrates how valuable the charity’s work is and why you should show your support.

Billy is a 16 hand chestnut thoroughbred cross gelding who was owned by a 17 year old boy in Devon.

In November 2010, the boy began working and living away from home as a groom at a private stud in Somerset. The boy had made arrangements with his mother and 14 year old cousin to attend to Billy on a daily basis and he would return home once a week. However, during the time the owner was working away, Billy began to lose condition. The owner became very concerned about the deterioration in condition of Billy so he decided to offer Billy up for loan in hope that he would have a better life.

A lady arrived to look at Billy but was shocked by the condition he was in. She decided to take Billy on as she could not bear to leave him in his current state. She arranged for a vet to attend, who performed tests to rule out any underlying conditions. Upon examination, the vet confirmed Billy was in an emaciated condition, though thankfully, appeared otherwise healthy. The vet advised the lady to contact the RSPCA.

How the RSPCA found Billie

Billy was signed over to the RSPCA, remaining in the care of the lady. On a second visit, the vet described a good improvement in body condition and confirmed that Billy had no reason other than neglect and lack of appropriate food for the emaciation previously exhibited. The vet concluded Billy had been caused to suffer unnecessary for several weeks, possibly months.

During the interview the mother of the owner stated that it was usually the 14 year old cousin who looked after Billy but on the odd occasion that the cousin couldn’t attend to Billy, she would, usually after work in the dark. She said she was devastated and had never seen him look so bad. She was visibly shocked and upset throughout the interview process. She admitted she should have checked his condition in daylight without the rug on.

The owner admitted full responsibility for Billy. He stated that he had left written instructions regarding hay, water and feed for Billy but that he had not asked anyone to take Billy’s rug off to check his condition. In the interview, the boy had thought Billy had loss muscle due to not being ridden and not because of a lack of being fed. It was not intentional and the owner was only trying to do his best for Billy by putting him out on loan.

In the circumstances, the boy received a police reprimand for failing to adequately address the cause of Billy’s poor condition, while his mother received an adult written caution.

Billy after receiving care from the RSPCA

If you’ve been moved by this story and would like to know more about the RSPCA, tune into RSPCA Live - a virtual event happening on the charity’s Facebook and Twitter profiles on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th April. Find out what it’s like to be an RSPCA inspector, take part in the Animal Oscars poll, and hear the best ever pet jokes as told by celebrity ambassadors – including Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon. You’ll also be able to find out more about the RSPCA’s work, and join the Animal Nation by taking a pledge on Facebook.

To take part in this exciting online event, make sure you’re following the RSPCA via Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RSPCA) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/RSPCA_official) and tune in to the activities this weekend. Don’t forget to tell your friends!

Hello there! I wanted to share a special blog with you to attempt to covey some of the magic that occurred,  as we aligned to bring the Inaugural Awakening to Animals Conference to the UK on the 17-18 March 2012.  Already  two weeks ago, it had taken me this long to get to a place where I can begin to articulate some of what took place!  For those of you that were there – I want to say another HUGE THANK YOU  and I also want to invite anyone, who wants to be a part of this new community, to join us – with the pure intention of allowing Equality for All Life.  Join us on Facebook at Awakening to Animals and get involved in the discussions.

Let me start with a little introduction though, to explain how the conference and all that has unfolded with it came to be….

Elaine, Sue and I at the conference donning our A2A Polo Shirts!

About 12 months ago or so I had arranged to meet for the first time with a fellow animal communicator and healer, Elaine Downs, to get to know each other.  We talked and talked and very soon realised we had an awful lot of alignment in terms of our beliefs and life purpose.  Towards the end of our first meeting, one of us (and I honestly don’t remember who!) said “you know I had a vision a while ago telling me to organise a conference to share this knowing  about animals with as many others as possible!”   To our delight and surprise it appeared that we BOTH had been receiving guidance to co-create a conference and that THIS was one of the reasons we had met that day!  The Universe is so very clever at aligning people and circumstances together to allow experiences and expansion to occur.  This arises from our abilities to align with what is and the vibrations we are sending out into the Universe.  There is simply no such thing as random happenings….

So right there and then Elaine and I committed to co-creating a conference.  Elaine’s partner Sue Reid became the third wonderful corner of what has become a very strong and amazing triangle, we each have a range of skills, abilities and experience that has allowed us to manifest this incredible conference template, all set to annually take place in the UK and already we are being asked to visit other countries around the globe to share the vision and build the community.  I must also mention that my amazingly talented and wonderful partner David Bell has also been a key part of the team, he composed and orchestrated the score for the conference, including a unique theme tune for each speaker and was the IT man who solved every problem, glitch and hiccup that occurred all through the process.  So THANK YOU for all you are and all you did David!

The three corners of the triangle!

So that is how all this began and from there we have been on quite an epic journey, allowing the conference to shape up into something amazing – yet we had no real idea just how incredible it would actually become…

One of our crucial tasks was to get all of our speakers in place and this was a delightful experience too!  It seemed that the Universe knew exactly who was meant to be speaking and guided us to them beautifully.  As we connected with them they all responded very rapidly and although a few couldn’t make this years event, they have all shown huge interest in the coming years.  Many of them replied to our invitations literally within minutes of us asking!!  For example, I e-mailed Billie Dean and within minutes she wrote back saying yes – she had been thinking about wanting to visit the UK and my e-mail arrived!!  Very similarly with Brian Reid too, he replied almost immediately – he answered YES with all his heart and that is how to allow things to manifest in your world!

So after much meticulous planning and Skype meetings between Elaine, Sue and I – we now affectionately call them “Skyping Gown Meetings” as more often than not we are all sat in our dressing gowns!!  We did think about wearing them for the conference but perhaps that would have been taking it a little too far!!  We opted instead for the very smart A2A polo shirts, which are quite in demand, so watch this space to be able to purchase your own, should the desire take you!

What was wonderful about the way we worked was that we all had different skills and expertise, Elaine is an ex-lawyer and very detail aware, great at doing the tasks that need a keen eye, such as finding us the best insurance, going through all our contracts and thinking about many, many important things that Sue and I wouldn’t have even considered!  Sue is great at researching and evaluating options, such a warm hearted connector, who really builds strong relationships with those she meets and is wonderfully creative and heart driven.  I have a background in learning and development in the corporate world, over fifteen years of professional development and have studied creativity,  psychology and NLP, and have also learnt  a huge amount about how to organise events, how to communicate with people and how to effectively speak at conferences.  So between us we have been able to easily handle each part of the organisation.  It feels wonderful too!

So with all the planning, preparation done, we all traveled to the stunning Low Wood Bay Hotel, set right on the banks of Lake Windermere (see below) on the Friday evening to get set up ready for the conference. Our speakers and community were flying in from all over the world and there was such a buzz of excitement and anticipation.  We had a great briefing meeting with all the speakers, their assistants and our wonderful helper team before having some well earned dinner!

The View From The Low Wood Bay Hotel – Lake Windermere – just beautiful!

So the morning arrived!  It felt like Xmas morning to me, as I excitedly leap out of bed and prepared to get things started.  Had we done everything we needed to?  Would everything go according to plan?  Would all the technicalities involved in running big scale conferences all work as they should…. the list went on and on and on in my head!

Yet there was also an overwhelming sense of calm and composure that I have felt many times before, when you just know that things are going to be great.  A centred kind of well being that makes you feel connected and full of life!

So as the wonderful community started to register at 8.45am the atmosphere was electric and all our speakers were already in place manning their stands with their wonderful assistants, ready and eager to welcome everyone into the conference.  People excitedly were beginning to connect with each other, knowing that we all were there for a common purpose and with a common passionate love of animals!

9.30 arrived so quickly and with everyone welcomed and sat in their places in the beautiful conference room we opened the conference to a visual presentation and the theme tune to the A2A conference, both created by the hugely talented David William Bell.

We began the conference with our messages about the purpose and intention of Awakening to Animals – to create a community of light minded souls that stay connected and take practical action toward helping rebalance the planet with a focus on creating Equality for All Life.  We asked everyone to listen to everyone’s views and ideas with respect and love and to really open up to learning over the two days and beyond.

Billie Dean, one of our amazing speakers was supposed to be attending in person, a few weeks prior was told in no uncertain terms from her dogs that she was not to attend.  We were all, of course, very disappointed but we arranged for her to create a film of her presentation instead.  It had two parts to it and we shared the first part as Billie officially “opened the space” for us as a community.  Billie is what she calls a New Shaman and lives in the East of Australia.  Turns out she was flooded into her home so her dogs were spot on with their wisdom…

Billie shared two films with us – from her home in NSW, Australia.

Sue then went on to invite everyone to “Imagine a World….” by guiding us through a magical and very emotional journey, exploring a world where all is in perfect balance and love and respect is given to all.  So with the space opened and the scene all set we commenced our speaker presentations.

Amelia Kinkade – As many of you will know Amelia is one of the true beacon’s for animal communication, she began way back in a time where most people would just think she was totally crazy!  Today Amelia, has written two incredible books, Straight From The Horses Mouth and The Language of Miracles, both I  highly recommend.  She works with many African Animal Centre’s educating the staff and teaching them to connect with the animals from this heart centred place.  She has and continues, without question, to shift the world view about animals and how it is possible for all humans to communicate with them, with practice and belief.

She shared with us her incredible stories of how eminent scientists have worked with her to prove how inter species communication is possible and that we are ALL capable of developing the skills needed.  She told us many stories from her life where the animals have shared incredible wisdom.  Amelia was the lady that reconnected me to animal communication and so many thousands of others too and for me she will always be the bright light that shows the way. Thank you Amelia!

An extra special moment happened the night before too when I tested our Skype connection for the Q&A session with Billie Dean, I’d arranged to call my Dad who lives over in New Mexico – whilst talking with him Amelia came up to say hi to him, she shared with him that her Mom lives about two hours or so away from him too!  How cool is that?  It was great to be able to have my Dad join us for this very special event, thanks Dad!

A special moment for me – with Amelia Kinkade

Billie Dean’s film presentation was next on our incredible agenda.  Billie talked with us in some depth about her strong beliefs about deep peace for all species and how this includes, for her, being Vegan.  She shared a lot of very powerful information and video footage that really for made powerful learning.  Billie has a centre at her home in New South Wales, Australia where she has over forty wild horses, goats, dogs and many other beautiful beings.  As she shared her teachings with us she took us around the land and the animals engaged with us too.  A very powerful and thought provoking presentation indeed.  Sadly, we didn’t manage to get connected on Skype at the time for Billie’s Q&A session but we asked everyone to write down their questions and Billie will be sending her answers back very soon.  I will be posting all of them onto the Awakening to Animals blog page.  Thank you Billie!

The Wonderful Billie Dean

After our wonderful lunch and time to talk with all our speakers at their stands, Richard DeBoo took to the stage. The Politics of Compassion the title of his presentation.  Richard, also a passionate Vegan demonstrated how he feels about the way millions of animals are factory farmed and slaughtered, often in deeply traumatic and horrific ways all around the world.  We asked all of speakers to share with us their latest work and what they wanted to say about Equality for All Life. Richard is the former Deputy Leader and Co-Founder of the political party Animals Count, as well as a school educator and animal rights public speaker.  So politics is the name of Richard’s service to animals.  He shared with us a political speech, very bold, very challenging and in your face.  As politics is.  I was very interested to learn more about Richard’s passionate beliefs and he educated me a great deal through his sharing.  Richard chose also not to share many of the images that are available of the atrocious ways animals are kept and slaughtered around the world, which I think was the right decision.  Thank you Richard!

Elaine, Richard, Sue and I relaxing in the evening

To round up our fabulous presentations for the first day we welcomed, for his first ever visit to the UK, the founder of Horses Know The Way Home, Brian Reid.  Brian had responded to my e-mail contact back in October, asking him to be one of our speakers with a resounding YES!  and as he began to share his story with us, it is so evident to see that he really does walk his talk!  Brian spend his hour sharing with us the most beautiful film footage of his teaching team back in Rhode Island, USA – Shire mare Brenda Lee, Red, Eddie and Lucy the wonderful canine teachers and Brian, and as he went he shared the communication messages he got from them.  Brian told us about the way he teaches people how to live in the moment and to be true to who they really are through the model of the horse.  Beautiful and very powerful teachings indeed! Elaine, Sue and I, as well as some of the wonderful community at the conference went on to experience his workshops down in Northamptonshire the following week – what an amazing team the HKTWT are!  Thank you Brian and all the team!

Jaimie, Julie, Brian, Sue, Elaine and Katleen enjoying the Lake post conference

So with the presentations for day one complete, all that was left to do was to enjoy a celebration dinner in the beautiful Low Wood Bay Hotel.  Nearly the whole conference stayed for the evening celebration and the atmosphere was simply beautiful.  Excitement, sharing, enjoying each others company.  It feels so good to be with people that align with who and what you are about.  Feels like coming home in fact.  It was such an honour to be with this community at the start of this wonderful adventure.  What an honour to have been guided to co-create this nurturing, supportive and fun community to help change the way humanity views and treats animals for the good of all…

So, onto day two!  Much more incredible wisdom still to come!  We welcomed everyone back to the conference room and began with the most amazing lady.  Margrit Coates, world renowned animal healer and communicator, I met Margrit last July in beautiful Kamloops, Canada and have learnt such an enormous amount from her already.  Margrit kicked off our Sunday with a wonderful presentation. She shared with us some of the things that can get in the way of receiving pure information and communication from our animal companions.  She talked with us about how important it is to separate our baggage, our filters and wounds from the communication that is coming in from the animals that we communicate with.  If we don’t we can miss the blatantly obvious facts, such as present pain and discomfort that we must attend to and assist the animal with over and above other information that we may receive.  Margrit’s latest book is about to be published on May 3rd – Communicating with Animals: How to Tune into Them Intuitively.  Margrit very kindly asked me to contribute a small section of the book and I am very excited to get my hands on a copy!  Thank you Margrit!

Margrit and I celebrating the conference

Next came the fantastic Nick Thompson, homeopathic holistic Vet. Nick shared with us many of his incredible success stories, working with animals, where looking and treating the whole picture, drawing on many holistic aspects, enables animals to go on to live happy, healthy, long lives.  He talked about the importance of the food that we give to our animal companions and was a roaring success at his stand too – everyone so keen to learn more about how best to care for their animals, learning from his amazing knowledge and experience.  Nick talked about how everything is interconnected, and that this must be taken into account when working with an animal showing an imbalance.  Thank you Nick!

Nick in action!

We enjoyed another lovely lunchtime – eating, drinking and talking!  Lots more sharing and connecting going on and much laughter and camaraderie forming, just wonderful to be a part of.  Our next speaker had not long returned from yet another incredible healing journey to Malaysia, Loesje Jacobs, BodyTalk specialist and much more than that shared her adventures with us, Linking Awareness is how she describes the wonderful work she does around the world.  Loesje shared with us the messages she has received from indigenous tribes on her travels, speaking truth, for their part, of the balance of things and how important animals are in this balance.  We also got the chance to experience a little Body Talk ourselves as she guided us through a session.  Thank you Loesje!

We all have a taster of Body Talk!

As the sun moved around the conference room, we realised that we were now ready for our second and last Keynote Speaker.  Linda Tucker had joined us from South Africa to share her incredible story, so far, as founder of The Global White Lion Protection Trust.  Linda captivated the community as she shared her story both verbally and with powerful videos of the amazing work she has done to bring the sacred White Lion back from the bring of extinction.  She has now established the White Lion Leadership Academy, so that she can begin to share and raise awareness for all who go to her to study and learn, so that they may step fully into their true leadership potential and do what they are meant to do in this life.  Linda concluded her presentation to a roaring (!) standing ovation and we enjoyed taking time with her singing some traditional (an not so traditional!) songs in celebration of the emerging wisdom.  Thank you Linda!

  A wonderful standing ovation for an inspirational soul, Linda Tucker

We concluded this magnificent weekend with a closing of the space, beautifully led by Sue Reid, inviting us to bring in our animals to give us their messages, sending out love and peace to all and absorbing the beauty our animal loved ones are so willing and able to give to us.  Happy tears and much love exchanged.  We said our heartfelt thanks to all the animals, that so tirelessly teach us and love us.  Thanks to all the community that followed their calling to be at the event and to our incredible speaker team and all the helpers and assistants that worked so very hard to make everything such a wonderful success.

We shared with everyone that our next UK conference will be on the 22-23rd June 2013, so if you would like to become a part of this very special community, pop this in your diary now so that you know you will be free to make it!

What a weekend! As we all took our time to say goodbye and farewell, we shared many thanks and hugs!  It took me quite a few days to begin to digest all that had happened and reading through all the feedback forms I am so delighted that Elaine, Sue and I had the courage, determination and leadership to bring this conference and community to life!

We also want to be able to offer this conference community to other parts of the world too – so if you know of a venue and would be able to assist us with organising a similar event near to you then please do get in touch with either, Elaine, Sue or I.  We’d love to hear from you.

So, with that all said we are now moving swiftly forward.  Our next steps are that we are editing the film footage that was taken of the whole conference so that we can offer a the Awakening to Animals DVD to everyone who wants to experience the 8 presentations.  It will be a full coverage of all eight speakers presentations with music from David William Bell.  So watch this space for news of this.

We are also starting soon to contact our speaker line up for 2013, we have a great long list, provided from the community and some people that we approached this year who have indicated they would like to attend… some VERY exciting souls indeed, again watch this space for more news.

And we will also soon be offering, for all of you that asked, the opportunity to buy your very own Awakening to Animals Polo Shirt too!

We’d love to hear from you so please do get in touch, I hope you have enjoyed this special post and sending much love and peace to all.

Julie XXXXX

Hello Animal Ambassadors on this snowy Winter’s day in the UK!  I am writing with much excitement as I notice that there are all sorts of  TV programmes, magazine articles and the like, appearing that are really starting to embrace the truth (that we animal lovers have always known) that there is FAR more to animals that we have been led to believe.

For example, there is a television series that starts this week on Wednesday the 8th February, on BBC1 (UK), called Super Smart Animals hosted by Liz Bonnin  on the BBC, which truly shows that things are changing!  Take a look at the replay on BBC iPlayer. (I apologise for those of you outside the UK if you can not view this.) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01by613/Super_Smart_Animals_Episode_1/

Another example; I was reading the BBC’s Wildlife Magazine this week and there was a featured article all about animals abilities to experience emotion and stating that there is more and more scientific evidence that supports that they are sentient, intelligent and incredible beings.  Now I know that we all know that already, but it makes my heart soar to see other people shouting about this, especially in the mainstream!

So I am very excited to observe others doing the same thing and  I feel so very honoured to be a part of the soul team helping this shift in consciousness, for the good of all.

With this in mind I am so delighted that our conference Awakening to Animals is going to build on these themes, as it brings together some of the worlds leading experts in the areas of animal wisdom , intelligence and sentience.  The community that is coming together for the weekend of the 17-18 March 2012, is going to be holding a vision of Equality for All Life and sending out that energy vibration around the world.  If you would like to come along and be a part of this community please visit our website Awakening to Animals to get your tickets and for all the details.

Also, one of my other projects The Purpose of Species is going to be published at the perfect time too, delivering the first 44 messages from the collective consciousness of animal species.  The animals offer their wisdom to humanity to assist in the rebalancing of the planet.  These messages are posted on the website too, so if you’d like to receive updates when new channellings are posted, please do visit the site and sign up.

So, as we take one step at a time in our own lives, breathing in, breathing out, my request to all is that we do what we can to assist in the rebalancing of the planet.  This could be any action aligned with compassion and the good of all, for example, putting some food out for the birds regularly, or donating to an ethical animal charity, or playing for just a bit longer with our beloved animal companions today.  Whatever you do, know that it counts.  It does help and it DOES make a difference.  Imagine for example the shift in energetic vibration around the globe if all animal guardians were simultaneously showing their love and affection for their animal friends, think about the energetic waves that would flow out around the world…  This makes a difference.

Sending much love and blessings to all.  More news very soon. Julie. XXXXX

Hello Cherished Animal Ambassadors!  Wishing you all a very happy new year and that 2012 really does see some profound shifts in the way humanity views and treats animals, for the good of all.

I have just looked back on my last blog post, three months ago now, it seems so long ago and it made me realise that this really is a new chapter for me, for Voice of the Animals and for everyone, whether consciously aware of it or not.

Much is being said about 2012, a lot of it nonsense, some of it truth.  For sure there are huge shifts and changes taking place all around us, the planet herself is changing and moving, as she always has and always will.  Our human systems; political and financial, to name but two, are crumbling and falling apart, ready to be replaced by the new.  So many of us are reaching a tipping point in our lives.  Questioning what we are doing, how we are doing things and, most importantly, why we are doing the things we do.

As humans many of us are strongly conditioned to view these changes as frightening, fear producing and threatening but what is happening is all meant to be, all a part of the letting go of the old ways and creating the new world that we need in order to rebalance all on the planet and beyond.  Many of the changes occurring are challenging, tough and dramatic and the reason this is so it that often it is the ONLY way we will make change in our lives, when we, seemingly, have our hand forced.

For the animals on the planet much is balanced on a knifes edge.  Many species, too many to list, are on the brink of extinction, losing their habitat, losing their families and/or being treated in horrific ways by a scared and desperate humanity still asleep and draped in the amnesia of the old ways.  The animals are reaching out to us, like never before, appealing to us to awaken and to remember.

Thankfully, many of us are reawakening and remembering that the balance of the planet is all important, that we are indeed all one and that this mindfulness of our interconnected nature is the key to creating shifts that are now so needed to realign and rebalance. Many of us are hearing the animals and listening to the wisdom they have to offer us.

Many of us can see what is happening on the planet, can see what is needed.  We are changing the way we spend our days, moving away from the individualistic ways of living, my career, my car, my house, my finances, my family  and moving toward our community, our planet, our well being, our responsibility.

I am noticing that the people in and around me are leaving their old jobs, unable to continue being in the old world, the old systems and vibration and are bravely setting out on their new chapters, following what they are passionate about, what their true service is that they offer to the world and stepping into these new ways of being.  It is wonderful to witness.  If you are doing this, I encourage and wholeheartedly support you, follow your heart and all will unfold beautifully, despite not being able to see the path ahead or to even really know where the path is leading you to!

For me, I have parted from my old career, it has been a gradual process over the last few years, but as of the end of 2011 I officially stopped working as a training consultant and entered into my animal ambassador role completely.  It feels exhilarating, sometimes scary and often highly challenging and I know it is exactly what I am meant to be doing.  I don’t know where this path will take me, I don’t know how things will turn out but I do know that this is what I am meant to be doing and that feels incredible.

So what is on the agenda for 2012 for Voice of the Animals?  Who knows for sure but I am co-creating some amazing things and I want to share with you over the coming few blog posts what they are and how you can become a part of it, should you choose to.

To give you a flavour and to wet your appetites I am co-founding a conference that is the first of its kind, a conference that will build each year a community of light minded souls and together we will assist in raising the energy and vibration for all life, searching for equality for all life.  It is called Awakening to Animals – Bridging New Science and Animal Spirituality.  It is taking place in March and we have gathered a group of fantastic speakers to share their latest work and discoveries about the true nature of animals and how we can learn and evolve by connecting with them on deeper levels.  We are donating 20% of all profits to two amazing animal organisations too.

I am running a truly unique retreat in Canada in August called Learning From The Heart Of The Herd.  We will spend almost a week with an incredible herd of horses who have lived wild on 320 acres of pristine British Columbian landscape, learning from them and opening ourselves up to our true potential and power.

I have launched four different types of Playshop for 2012. A two hour taster session, a one day introduction, the two day foundational playshop and a one day advanced playshop.  These are aimed to provide a better selection of opportunities for you to learn and practice intuitive animal communication, dependent on where you are on your path to remembering and your level of experience and skill.

I am continuing to build The Purpose of Species, the collection of messages channeled from the collective consciousness of as many animal species as possible.  I am currently contacting a range of publishers to get the first book published, look out for news of this.

Of course there is much more than this going on but this gives you a flavour of a few of the guided actions I am aligning with.

My next few blog posts will share more about the Conference story, about how 18 months or so ago, I started feeling guided to co-create a conference to build a community and many miles north of me a wonderful lady called Elaine Downs, who I hadn’t even met at this point, was also feeling the same guidance.  A few months later we met up and exchanged with each other this information and agreed, alongside the wonderful Sue Reid, to start building the conference!  The Universe is now moving in amazing ways to assist this co-creation – in the next few blogs I’ll share some of the incredible co-incidences that have been happening to bring it together.  It reminds me of a line in the film Fields of Gold, “If you build it they will come…” :0)

So 2012 is lining up to be an incredible year, I wanted to share my wishes to you that you allow yourself to follow your heart, to listen to the calling of source guiding you to become the person you are meant to be, to know that you are surrounded by light minded others, to trust that you are provided for now and always and that you must apply the wisdom that you are remembering.  2012 is a time for surrender, letting go of the old, embracing the new, connecting to the all and thinking “We” instead of “I” and “You”.  It really is all about entering into the age of Unity Consciousness and living and breathing this truth.

I’d love to hear from you, your stories, your paths and the guidance you are being given.  Please do use the comment box to add your messages so that all can benefit.

Sending much blessings and love to all.

Julie XXXXX

Hello Everyone,  this is a conversation I have been having with lots of people for a long time now.  I find it very difficult to understand how some people believe that animals are dumb, stupid or without soul and emotions.

Unfortunately, many people have tried to measure animal intelligence directly against human intelligence and deemed that humans are smarter than any other species.  If we were to measure humans against, let’s say wolves in the wild, for example, and looked at their sensory awareness, their ability to work as a team, to care for themselves as a pack, well I think you would find that humans are not so smart at these types of task…

Building on this topic I have heard about a wonderful horse, called Lukas, you may have seen him and heard his story before but I wanted to share this with you and would welcome your thoughts and comments.  He has been recognised as the World’s Smartest Horse, well I don’t know about that, I’m sure Apache would have something to say about that!  He certainly has learned how to do a lot of things with his human, Karen, though and it is a wonderful message they are sharing with the world about seeing animals differently and honouring each beings unique and special gifts and abilities.

Intelligence is expressed in many different ways, it’s not just about being able to talk the same language, or to read and write. Intelligence takes many shapes and forms and if you think about it animals that work with people have to first interpret the language and thoughts of another species and they do a pretty amazing job at it too.

I hope you enjoy this video and please do share it with others too.  The more we talk and raise awareness about our wonderful animal relatives the better for all.  There is a place for all life on this amazing planet.  We all play a role in the balance of all.  We all have a right to respect, love, a home and a lifestyle natural to our species.

Love and Blessings to all,   Julie XXX

How To Communicate With Animals Intuitively
Weekend Playshop with Julie Lines
24th-25th September  2011

Wildcroft Rare Breeds Farm, nr Guildford, Surrey, England.

Can you imagine how wonderful would it feel to be able to communicate intuitively with animals?  Would it be reassuring to know that you could ask your animal friends anything you wanted and be able to understand their responses? How would this change your relationships and your life? Well, it is possible and you can learn how.

This Playshop is held at a wonderful rare breeds farm where the wide variety of species are all ready and willing to help you to practice communicating with them!

Our Playshop is designed to give you all you need to be able to reactivate this amazing and humbling ability. All you need to do is bring an open heart and mind coupled with a willingness to practice and learn.

You will get everything you need to allow you to explore these topics in a highly practical, positive and supportive way including; practice with guest animal teachers and photographs, guided meditations, group discussions, and personal reflection. You will also be given a playbook containing key information and plenty of space to write your own notes.

Included in this Playshop you will learn and practice how to;

• Centre yourself
• Quieten your mind and reopen your receptivity
• Re-sensitise yourself
• Receive animal communication
• Conduct a body scan to identify “dis-ease” within an animal
• Track lost animals
• Channel the collective consciousness of animal species

The weekend is facilitated by Julie Lines, a talented animal intuitive who has been training and developing people for over 15 years. She is passionate about sharing these skills to change the way humanity views and treats the animal kingdom. Julie was trained by Amelia Kinkade, the highly acclaimed animal intuitive and has developed this Playshop to centre on you as a learner, sharing with you all you need, regardless of your current level of knowledge and skills.

Here is a brief glimpse of one of our earlier Playshops to give you a flavour.

8 places only.  If you book before the 1st September benefit from a great discount of 25% !!

£150 if you book before 1st September, £200 after.

To book your place now e mail Julie, submit a comment below or
telephone +44 (0)845 838 6801 or +44 (0)7968 038279 for an informal chat.

Good day Animal Ambassadors!

I found this beautiful song via a wonderful friend, Emma, and wanted to share it with you.  For me the message is so important as we move forward as a species.  For far too long humanity has not taken responsibility for our actions, we have taken far too much, far too often and if we don’t rebalance and urgently, the consequences will be catastrophic.

If each of us live our lives the way we want to the rest of the world to live, imagine the impact this will have on the whole.  If we take responsibility for what we do, say, think, feel and the influence we have, we will massively impact the world around us.

Our animal friends have been trying to show us this, their wisdom and presence falls on deaf ears a lot of the time, but more and more the  messages are being heard now, they are so important for us to hear and act upon.

So take a deep breath, think about what you are bringing into this moment, life is meant to be joy filled, love filled and peace filled.  If we can be, according to this, imagine the impact we will have on all around us….

Enjoy the music and video, it’s so great to hear a rap song full of  positivity,  is a rare and wonderful thing, more please, MC Yogi!

Blessings and love to you all,  Julie. XXXXX

Hello Everyone,

Well, I’m delighted to tell you that the new webinar programme has commenced and the first session went really well.  AS with any new project I did encounter a few teething problems but thankfully they are all now resolved and all is running smoothly!

The first session included a wonderful meditation with our animal guide.  We also connected with beautiful Anne, the elephant, and her energy was truly awe inspiring, especially considering the life she has experienced over the last forty years or so…

If you missed it however, do not fear,  you can download the recording on our Webinars page, just read the instructions on how to download a recorded session, then click on the Session One Paypal button and follow the guidance.  It’s quick and easy and costs just £4.99.

If you’d like to sign up for the remainder of the full programme (nine more fortnightly sessions) you will find that I have reduced the price, and will continue to do so, after each session.  This will  ensure that you still make a great saving of 15%. 

REMEMBER: If you sign up and for whatever reason you can’t then attend a live session, you will automatically still receive the link to download the recording of it, the day after.

SO do come along and join us, our next session is on TUESDAY 26th April 2011 at 7pm (GMT+1)

We are exploring the 2nd and 3rd keys to animal communication, grounding ourselves and connecting to a higher power.  We will also have a practice session with our next wonderful guest animal teacher and a question and answer session at the end, to give you the chance to ask any questions and get my direct response.

I am very excited to share this with you, using this new method of learning, and really hope you will find it stimulating, exciting and FUN!!!

Blessings and love to you all. Julie. XXXXX

It takes something of a different breed to give up the comfortable 9 to 5 lifestyle in idyllic Kent trading it in for a windswept, cold and somewhat precarious new life in the highlands and islands of Scotland – all for the love of a few chickens and sheep, but that is exactly what we did in 2008.

With 2 dogs, 4 cats and a rabbit in tow, Tracy and I headed north and have never looked back. We have always wanted to work with livestock, it’s an indefinable urge that lies somewhere deeper than just a job or keen hobby. We felt passionately (and still do) that we didn’t want a commercial business nor indeed to play at farming but to achieve a sustainable and more wholesome life – that brought us closer to nature and the land and animals that we share our life with. Somehow we wanted to make a difference.

Desperate not to fall into the trap of wanting the Good Life and seeing it through rose-tinted glasses, we did our homework before we began. Digging away in the mountains of information and archives about animal breeds, we were shocked to find just how many rare breeds of domesticated animals we have already lost and just how many more continue to be under threat. Now, the north of Scotland might not be the depths of the Amazon but we too were losing breeds, diversity and heritage before our very eyes. The Caithness cow and the Orkney pig being some of the examples of those that have disappeared that spurred us on to do something about it. It was then that we decided to dedicate ourselves to doing something about it and the seed of Saving Rare Breeds was sown.

Scarcer than the mountain gorillas in Africa – the Boreray sheep (left) was the first breed we decided to concentrate on. Fewer than 300 individuals existed in the summer of 2008 when we proudly and rather nervously took ownership of our founding flock.

Working closely with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and specific breed societies our aim is to help to remove as many rare breeds from the watch list as possible. After negotiating the maze of paperwork always associated with livestock, we achieved charitable status in the Autumn of 2009 giving us the chance to spread the word of our work to others and to fundraise to help rare breeds. There are at present over 50 breeds of pig, sheep, goats, cattle and horses on the watch list and our main aim will be to reduce this number.

Inevitably our flock has grown to include several more rare breed sheep; at present we are home to Boreray, Castlemilk Moorit, Shetland and Soays with provision being made to accommodate Portlands and Herdwicks shortly.

Rescue animals are another area we are keen to work with further. Our latest rescue being some abandoned sheep two of which were in lamb and the fellow on the left, Noah, no Ears. Noah lost his ears to an infection and is one of our animals that is available for sponsorship.

As word of our work has spread so too has the breadth of our rare breeds to include poultry too. The Scot’s Grey, Ixworths (pictured below) and Marsh Daisies will be a focus for 2011 and we have successfully developed a hatching programme which we hope to extend to other rare breeds in the future. Another 2011 scheme is Project Pig and 2 British Lops will become the base for a future breeding programme for this the most endangered of pig breeds.

2010 also saw one of our greatest achievements in securing Julia Kendell as Patron.

The guys and gals of BBC’s DIY SOS are a rare breed in themselves, but the gorgeous Julia Kendell in particular. The inspirational interior designer who quite simply makes others dream homes come true has a special place in her heart for wild things, and that doesn’t just mean her fellow presenters and handy men on the must-watch show.

Julia, a keen naturalist, advocate of self-sufficiency and passionate about animal welfare, is highly excited to be working with us and our supporters we have both at home and world-wide given the wonders of cyberspace and social networking sites which is where contact with Julia was first made.

Julia is to spearhead our work, as Patron.

Why save rare breeds?

Surely, rare breeds have become just that because they an uneconomical, difficult to look after or simply outclassed by modern breeds?

Rare breeds are absolutely perfect for the modern small-holder as they have effectively been designed to work best as hardy animals fulfilling the specific and often demanding needs of our climate and terrain.

Even on a larger scale, rare breeds have added values that have all but disappeared from more modern breeds. They generally suffer fewer health issues, are good mothers rearing sturdy and healthy offspring with minimal input, and thrive in harsher conditions on poor pasture, harsher climates and terrain and can digest a wider range of plant material that would simply be unpalatable to many others. Many rare breeds are used for precisely this purpose in conservation areas.

Our aim is make some of the breeds of livestock we have common again – we really would like to see the rare part of our name disappearing over the years and for the diversity and heritage of our traditional livestock to be valued in the farming community and within associated industries too.

Maintaining the diversity of characteristics and traits we find in rare breeds can also potentially provide us with options in the future too. With an ever-changing landscape and climate our rare breeds may help us to find solutions to changes we face in the years to come too as well as safeguarding our heritage for future generations.

So what’s happening at Saving Rare Breeds now?

We are really excited at Saving Rare Breeds as we have just launched some really brilliant new opportunities for young people to get involved with saving rare breeds themselves. By sponsoring our animals and keeping track of them, what they are up to, videos of farming and loads of great info too. Individuals, schools and community groups can get a first hand account of what it is like to look after livestock and how they fit into our daily lives. Who knows we might just encourage some of the young farmers of the future. To find out more, go to;

A new addition to the sponsorship will be our Easter chicks. We will be starting the incubation process at the beginning of April and will be hatching over the Easter weekend. The whole process  from beginning to end will be recorded on your sponsorship page.

http://www.savingrarebreeds.org.uk/Sponsorship.html

Farming whilst caring for the environment is something we care strongly about and follow organic principles. Once we have found a new home we will be pursuing full organic accreditation. In the meantime we are carrying out a 12 month research project with natural wormer market leaders Verm-X into its efficacy. Progress and results will be published on our website.

Also new in 2011 is our e-newsletter which provides news on what’s happening at Saving Rare Breeds and also includes articles on sheep, pig, chicken keeping and also vegetable gardening from some true experts in the field. And the story of Ghillie Mcdog our Deerhound undergoing sheep dog training.

2011 also sees our search for a new home intensify. We have outgrown our current location and we urgently need more space.

How can you support Saving Rare Breeds?

There are many ways you can support Saving Rare Breeds.

By searching the internet using Everyclick – http://www.everyclick.com/savingrarebreeds

Shopping at Amazon using our click through -

http://www.savingrarebreeds.org.uk

By sponsoring an animal -

http://www.savingrarebreeds.org.uk/Sponsorship.html

Or by making at donation -

http://www.everyclick.com/savingrarebreeds

Making donations of livestock keeping equipment. We are always in need of feeding, water troughs and sheep hurdles.

You can also keep in touch via our website, blog, twitter and now on facebook

Contact Details:-

Stephen Pickup & Tracy Owen

Tel: 07514 408293

A huge thank you to Stephen for contributing this fascinating post.  Please do get in touch with him through the methods highlighted if you are interested in learning more.  Blessings and love to you all.  Julie. XXX