Psychic Pets | Amazing Cases
The subject of psychic pets appears in many amazing cases of animal to human communication but it also raises some fundamental questions. For example, to say that pets are psychic pre-supposes that animals are conscious. Obviously, they are, right? Not according to two groups that agree on very little else: scientists and theologians. The scientific argument rests on a quickly eroding assumption that animals are ruled entirely by "Instinct" and therefore lack the capacity to choose how they will react to events around them. However, beginning with the Washoe project in the late 1950s and '60s when primates (chimpanzees in this case) were taught to communicate through pictures and eventually through sign language, it became apparent that humans may have grossly underestimated animal intelligence and the degree to which they may be said to be conscious. More than half a century later researchers have discovered that animals as varied as gorillas and birds are capable of making choices and expressing those choices in language, including spoken language (Aimee Morgana 2001, I. Pepperberg 2000, R. Sheldrake 2003-2010).
Psychic Pets | Amazing Cases
We already knew about amazing cases of animals that used "tools", something that had been presumed to be unique to humans. But ethologists and behaviourists observed gorillas and other primates stripping young twigs of leaves and then using the twigs to remove ants and termites from rotting logs and eating the creepy crawlies off the twig. Coastal monkeys in
Japan were observed using small shells or pebbles to open oyster, clam, and mussel shells to get at the food inside. So the use of tools is not what set "man" apart from the animals. Ah, then, said the scientists and theologians, it must be language and specifically the ability to vocalize meaningful sounds. Wrong, again. Dolphins and parrots have learned to "speak" our language and African Grey Parrots in particular have demonstrated exceptional abilities to go beyond using individual words to using abstract concepts such as the concept of none or zero! Humans only began using zero routinely in the 16th century but the most famous African Grey, Alex, trained by Dr. Irene Pepperberg (above left), spontaneously started to use the concept of "none" appropriately and even humorously in response to experimental questions designed to measure his understanding of quantity (more/less, larger number/smaller number). For that past half century the distinction between human capacities and those of animals have been found to be largely based on untested - and therefore unscientific - assumptions. Testing those assumptions had led to the conclusion that animals are conscious, have the capacity to make choices, and understand us much better than we do them! Does it follow then that if animals are conscious beings, their consciousness might survive physical death as it appears that human consciousness does?
Japan were observed using small shells or pebbles to open oyster, clam, and mussel shells to get at the food inside. So the use of tools is not what set "man" apart from the animals. Ah, then, said the scientists and theologians, it must be language and specifically the ability to vocalize meaningful sounds. Wrong, again. Dolphins and parrots have learned to "speak" our language and African Grey Parrots in particular have demonstrated exceptional abilities to go beyond using individual words to using abstract concepts such as the concept of none or zero! Humans only began using zero routinely in the 16th century but the most famous African Grey, Alex, trained by Dr. Irene Pepperberg (above left), spontaneously started to use the concept of "none" appropriately and even humorously in response to experimental questions designed to measure his understanding of quantity (more/less, larger number/smaller number). For that past half century the distinction between human capacities and those of animals have been found to be largely based on untested - and therefore unscientific - assumptions. Testing those assumptions had led to the conclusion that animals are conscious, have the capacity to make choices, and understand us much better than we do them! Does it follow then that if animals are conscious beings, their consciousness might survive physical death as it appears that human consciousness does?
Pets In The Afterlife
According to many of the clients with whom Dr. Michael Newton practiced past-life regression, animal consciousness 
does survive physical death. Our pets who precede us in death often appear as we leave our bodies or they show up after we arrive at the point where we encounter our "spirit guide". According to the experiences of thousands of people who have been regressed to the 'life between lives' by Dr. Newton and his successors, animals enjoy an afterlife separate from but accessible to that enjoyed by humans. They and we have "visiting privileges" as it were and they can be brought from their "heaven" to be with us for short periods after our arrival in the afterlife. For me, this answers the age-old question of whether animals have "souls". If humans are thought to possess souls by virtue of being conscious and animals share in a form of consciousness, then obviously animals have souls.
does survive physical death. Our pets who precede us in death often appear as we leave our bodies or they show up after we arrive at the point where we encounter our "spirit guide". According to the experiences of thousands of people who have been regressed to the 'life between lives' by Dr. Newton and his successors, animals enjoy an afterlife separate from but accessible to that enjoyed by humans. They and we have "visiting privileges" as it were and they can be brought from their "heaven" to be with us for short periods after our arrival in the afterlife. For me, this answers the age-old question of whether animals have "souls". If humans are thought to possess souls by virtue of being conscious and animals share in a form of consciousness, then obviously animals have souls.
The work of people like Aimee Morgana and Irene Pepperberg demonstrate that, given the opportunity, animals can acquire the means to communicate with us and they show higher level intellectual functions once thought to be exclusive to humans. Suppose part of our task as embodied souls put here to grow in consciousness is to help animals to advance in consciousness as well? If that were the case, we would be remiss in not making an effort to communicate with the feathered, scaled, and furred souls with whom we share the planet. I, for one, think that working with other forms of consciousness is our destiny as a species and perhaps animals were placed here with us to help us accomplish that part of our task.
Books cited in this post are available HERE.
© Delia O' Riordan 2012
© Delia O' Riordan 2012
www.psychic-delia.com
I sometimes recommend Psychic Readings using Runes for clients who have just one question they want answered. The use of runes for this purpose is unclear from the historical record but when we consider that most runic forms going back to the Ur culture began as systems of counting, we can see how the concept of number evolved in practical terms. I think numbers have always had spiritual meaning because the concept of number is both symbolic and "real". Number is firstly a concept, an abstraction, an idea that the human mind can play with. When we see or hear "seven" we are presented with two methods of understanding it: seven things (cows, apples, clouds) but also the abstract notion of "7" as itself with no connection to things or qualities of things, such as size, weight, depth, etc. It is the abstract quality of numbers that gives them their mystical dimension. As counting systems evolved into alphabetic systems, there seemed to be a natural congruence between letters and numbers that established the basis of Numerology as a system of divination. So although we cannot pinpoint the exact period in which Runes were first used for divination, the basic connection between Numerology and Runes is obvious.
Well, here I am back in SynchroniCity again. What has that to do with Tonto and The Hobbit? Read on! Yesterday, for no good reason that I can think of, the 1950s TV series, The Lone Ranger, popped into my head. But it wasn't Clayton Moore in the title role that I was thinking of; it was Tonto played by Canadian actor Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk of the Six Nations from the Brantford, Ontario region. I confess to having had a massive crush on Jay Silverheels when I was a kid! And maybe even after that. I loved his voice. No, truly. I fall in love with voices and the voice of Tonto is one I still remember from before the "pc" era when it became obligatory to use the term Tonto (no longer a name) disparagingly. However, I never saw Tonto as playing "second banana" to the Lone Ranger. Quite the contrary. Tonto was far more interesting to me and I always longed for the stories to be more about him than the LR. So, anyway, I was fondly remembering and lamenting the loss of Jay Silverheels yesterday hoping that he has long since been in the arms of The Great Spirit. Then today, as is the way with human consciousness, I was thinking along entirely different lines when a note from a friend reminded me that it is Mabon, the Autumn Equinox in the northern hemisphere. And voila! I had the topic for my blog today.
The first order of business was to find an arresting visual for my post and I discovered a beautiful version of the Wheel of the Year kept in the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle. Somehow that graphic led me to an article about the Mabon celebration in Thornborough and as I scrolled down the page a magnificent image unfolded before my eyes. It was a poster for the movie version of The Hobbit based on the book by J R R Tolkien first published 75 years ago. My introduction to the book was as a student-teacher when I was expected to 'teach' the book to a group of rambunctious and disaffected grade 9 students, more than a few of whom were repeating the grade! Much to my relief, most of the students got interested in the characters, especially Gandalf the Wizard, so I didn't have to resort to either bribes or threats to get them to read it! And now, decades later, the long awaited film version of The Hobbit was about to be released.
"Lone Ranger' Crew Member Drowns!What? I was looking for more information on The Hobbit movie but somehow landed on this story. My first thought was that someone who worked on the original TV series had drowned. I clicked on the story link and discovered that there was a film version of The Lone Ranger in production and due for release in the New Year. Now, the presence of Jay "Tonto" Silverheels in my mind yesterday made sense. Well, sort of. I don't know how Tonto happened to come into my mind the day before a crew member on the set of the new Lone Ranger film died. Nor do I know why the Thornborough Mabon site featured the poster ad for The Hobbit movie. This seems to be an example of a Synchronicity, the acausal connection of two or more events that strike us as related. So, how are the two events connected? And why did they happen at all? Let's look at the chain of events:If I hadn't begun to look for a suitable graphic for an article on Mabon I wouldn't have stumbled upon the page about the Mabon celebration at Thornborough and if I hadn't scrolled down that page I wouldn't have seen the poster ad for The Hobbit movie. If I hadn't clicked on the link for the movie I wouldn't have seen the item about the death on the Lone Ranger film set. And I would not have known that the 'new' Tonto was going to be played by guess who? Johnny Depp. Given his height, age and general colouring he's a good candidate for the part. No doubt the "pc" purists, however, will object to that casting and I must admit I, too, would like to see an actor like Adam Beach, an Anishinaabe First Nations Manitoban, in the role of Tonto but it appears that he had committed to several other projects during the same period that the Lone Ranger would be in production. I hope that Johnny Depp's fame around the world will bring a whole new generation to the saga of Tonto and his uh…sidekick...some guy called The Lone Ranger. Maybe I wasn't supposed to write about Mabon today...
As a professional psychic I take pride in my psychic readings. As a pet owner, however, I have to admit that my abilities may be outdone by the animals we share this planet with, Psychic Animals. Have you ever had the feeling that your pet dog or cat – or even bird – knows what you’re thinking? Observant pet owners know their animals well and can predict how they will react to certain stimuli but when animals react to our thoughts rather than our cues, our relationship to them is of a different order. And when they react to our thoughts at a distance and with no way to identify us through their physical senses, we have entered the realm of the psychic animal. The question is how do they do it? Are they able to "hear" our thoughts - "Hmmm. Tugger needs a bath…"? Or do they "see" our thoughts - "Uh-oh. Tub! Bath! Run!"? Or do they "read" subtle changes in our auras that they have learned to connect with certain events, like feeding time or baths or "walkies"? As long as they can see us, we can "get" that they are picking up something from our demeanor but many animals "know" what their owners are thinking or even just "intending" when the owner is many miles distant from the pet. In these cases there is no physical signal to "read" yet the animal "knows" that its owner is on the way home. Ok, so where's the proof?
phenomena pervade human life. However, there are a few scientists who are willing to brave the disapproval of colleagues in order to investigate neglected areas of human experience and reveal their findings. Biochemist and biologist Dr. Rupert Sheldrake is that kind of scientist: endlessly curious, unafraid of criticism, rigourously conscientious in designing experiments that are subjected to intense analysis and statistical evaluation, and modest in reporting all of the results, not just the ones that validate his hypotheses. Because he forsook laboratory research for research in ‘the real world’, he is considered a maverick, even a ‘heretic’ by professional ‘de-bunkers’ who claim to represent ‘real science’. De-bunkers will be the focus of a later article so for now we are going to concentrate on Dr. Sheldrake’s (Cambridge and Harvard in case you’re wondering about his credentials) 20 years of research on human/animal telepathy.
Julia Garnet is sixty years old, emotionally repressed, sexually inexperienced and has spent her life in almost sacrificial frugality. She is also the amazed heir to her former - even more frugal - housemate's legacy. Harriet seems to have had a secret: a genius for investment! Who knew? Certainly not Julia Garnet who did not believe in Destiny.
with Destiny. Where would you go if you suddenly had money to travel? France? Egypt? Bora Bora? Miss Garnet chose that most decadent and sensuous of Europe's cities, La Serenissima, Venice. The mere mention of Venice evokes many images in the popular imagination: elaborate Carnivale Masks; extravagant chandeliers and gold leaf interiors; illicit assignations in gondolas; magnificent meals and expensive wines; Murano glass and hand-made shoes. Venice has all of this. And churches. Lots and lots of churches. Miss Garnet was CoE, of course, and like so many of her ilk, suspicious of anything "Romish". Her life was marked by as utter an absence of the voluptuous in terms of spiritual life as it was in terms of daily life. Despite the suspicion and antipathy toward Catholic display, millions of Calvinists seem to feel almost envious of the astounding outpouring of genius and talent that even fairly modest Old World Catholic and Orthodox churches contain. But none amongst them can rival Venice for sheer sensuous indulgence. Despite the ravages of damp and salt, Venice is home to a vast artistic inheritance - one that was about to rock Julia Garnet's world.
light that so intrigued artists from da Vinci to Correggio and beyond. From her tiny perch above the teeming canals, Julia Garnet will dive into a life she could not have imagined. Friends had been few and somewhat cold-blooded in England but from her first day in Venice Julia seemed to attract an amazing number of interesting and talented people and for possibly the first time in her life, she fell in love. Not once but twice. And one of the objects her love was - of all things - an Angel. An Archangel to be more precise. A beautiful androgynous Archangel whose presence seemed to follow her around the floating city. His name was Raphael.
In a previous Psychic Readings post ( 
front of me seemed to be watching my physical reactions closely whilst the one (or two) behind me seemed merely annoyed in an animal sort of way that I was attempting to stop them, like a dog that growls if you get too close to its chew toy. The noises I heard defy description and in some ways it was the noise that most terrified me because it threatened to make it impossible ever to think again. I had the distinct feeling that if I could not free myself from that noise, I could - literally - LOSE my mind, a prospect I find far more terrifying than losing something physical. What is weird about that is that I don't believe that the "mind" lives in the brain. Rather, the other way about. We dwell within consciousness so logically it is not possible to LOSE one's mind. However, in my state of extreme fear, my emotional self acted as though the brain and the mind were one. I wonder now if that was the "point" of the whole experience - assuming it was being orchestrated by some sentient being which is certainly how it felt!
trying to "invade me" whilst remaining unable to control my body and I resisted with every bit of my being and mentally fought to get free. It seemed to be a battle for my Will - something that I admit has never been very strong in me. Although I would always fight on behalf of others, I found it nearly impossible to stand up for myself when it really mattered. Now that I think about it, I believe I have been 'tested' with regard to my Will from time to time but never to the extent that my survival seemed to be on the line! I guess it would take the threat of the loss of my intellect to get me to fully assert my Will. Threatening what I value most in life - the ability to think, to grow in understanding, to learn as much as possible - was perhaps the only fool-proof way to get me to assert my Will. But that begs the question of who - or what - would orchestrate such a thing? And why? Then again, if the whole episode was a sort of "psycho-drama" thrown up by my unconscious mind, it has some "serious 'splainin' to do" as Ricky used to say to Lucy!
Continuing this series in Psychic Readings History, an extremely well-documented case of multiple hauntings caught my attention. Have you ever had the experience of lying in bed and becoming aware of a very heavy, immovable weight on your chest? I don't mean a bad case of indigestion or a dream of an elephant crushing you to death. I mean an actual waking experience of someone or something sitting heavily on your chest so that you feel that you will suffocate and die if you can't get it off of you? I have had that experience and that is terrifying! Although records of the phenomenon go back at least 6000 years, stories of the Incubus (male) and Succubus (female) were common in the European Middle Ages as its depiction by artist Henry Fuseli (below, right) attests. Contemporary psychology dismisses such stories as folktales, delusions, or "sleep paralysis". Elaine Mercado would have agreed; that is, until she began to experience the presence of a very angry entity pushing her down into her mattress and nearly suffocating her to death several nights a week. The experience was anything but pleasant and certainly not sexual as Medievalists had imagined the Incubus to be. This attack was menacing, ugly, and traumatic. For years, Elaine's eldest daughter, Karen, was likewise afflicted but there was far more to their experience. Shadow people, "the Mist", balls of light, whispering voices, rasping breathing, extremely odd behaviour in their pets, ear-shattering noises, strange odours, were part of their everyday lives and before long Elaine began to feel like a hostage in her own home.
Even when he himself was subjected to some of the phenomena, he refused to acknowledge the significance of it. As her life became a living nightmare, Elaine desperately sought "natural explanations" for the odd goings-on. She did not invite and did not want these intrusions into her family life but as a full-time mother and housewife she had no credibility with her husband.However, Elaine had harboured a life-long dream to become a Registered Nurse and, partly to escape the house for hours at a time and partly to realize her dream, she enrolled in nursing school. Her husband's business prospered over the years but her marriage continued to deteriorate even as Elaine became valedictorian of her graduating class. Her sense of accomplishment went some way to make up for the belittling that her husband handed out and the opportunity to study psychology seemed to promise an answer to the riddle of what was causing all the phenomena in their home.
everyone in the family including Elaine's disbelieving husband, friends of her children, neighbours and colleagues experience one or more of the frightening manifestations of haunting. When she finally initiated divorce proceedings, Elaine hoped that things in the house would improve and for a time they seemed to ease but invariably the "suffocation dreams" would return and deprive her of sleep four or more nights a week. Likewise, the balls of light and strange shapes moving along the baseboards, the movement of articles, the odd animal behaviours, would all return. When these activities affected both her daughters and their friends, they would all sleep in one room or would spend the night with Elaine's parents. The situation was intolerable but Elaine could do very little about it. Under the terms of her divorce agreement, she got title to the house but only when the divorce was final at least two years after she initiated it. Meanwhile, the house could not be sold. She was stuck. Only her brother, Joe, was sympathetic and believed what was going on in the house was real. He had felt something "heavy" in the house on the day Elaine moved in but had said nothing to her about it, not wanting to spoil her happiness at finally having a home of her own. Eventually, it would be Joe who would fine a possible solution to the problem of the haunting.
"medium" to come to the house to see if an outsider could pick up anything about what or who might be haunting the house. Months later, Joe made good on his promise and Dr. Hans Holzer and a medium with whom he worked agreed to visit Elaine's home to investigate the problem. Hans Holzer was probably the best known researcher into paranormal phenomena in the US at the time (mid-1990's). If anyone could help Elaine to evict her unwanted ghostly tenants it was Holzer. However, he wanted to know very little about the problem so as to approach it with an open mind. He was given only a note of few lines describing the most frightening aspects of the haunting and omitting dozens of others. One test of a true medium is that they don't want to know the details of a case. They want to experience an allegedly "haunted" place for themselves and having prior information just contaminates the process. Holzer and the medium got straight down to work on their arrival at the house. Many hours were to pass before Elaine had her answers.