EXCERPT
Preface
I thought it would be a good idea to get a second
golden retriever to keep my first one, Cindy, company. That's
when I saw an ad for a golden retriever rescue shelter. And they,
in turn, referred me to the Lochvier Kennels at Midland, Virginia.
At the time, I was not far from the kennel, maybe forty-five
minutes or so. And yes, there was a female golden available.
Would I like to see her? Yes! And off I went, not realizing of
course that I was entering a whole new world, the bright and
glorious world of Delphi.
I didn't pick Delphi, she picked me. She had been a show dog
but that type of life was not for her. At a year and a half she
was more than ready to do something else. The only trouble was
she had to find a way to let me know what that "something"
was and how much I was to be a part of it.
It had never occurred to me that animals and people were not
all part of one family. I grew up with my springer spaniel, Freckles,
beside me. A bantam chicken by the name of Snookie always had
morning coffee with my mother. Well, Snookie sipped cream out
of the coffee cup saucer. She would hop right up on mother's
bed and wait patiently for her cream to be served. What with
cats and dogs, horses and ponies, lambs and sheep, chickens of
all shapes and sizes, fancy pigeons, parakeets, turtles and rabbits,
how was I to know that humans were supposed to be different from
animals? I didn't!
Oh, I did not start right off hearing animals talk -- at least
I don't think so. If there was any kind of language between us
to begin with, I suppose it was the language of love and high
regard for one another. We were friends.
Lately I have been aware of a sacred, silent language between
child and animal. I have watched small children visiting Delphi
and her brother Chipper. The loudest and most boisterous child
can sit with Delphi or walk beside Chipper without a word being
spoken -- yet they are speaking words, I know. Words that I cannot
hear nor understand. Watching them as they communicate without
sound, I am struck by a world many adults have eliminated from
their consciousness. It is a world of movement, of dancing secret
codes that only the childlike mind and pure animal heart can
understand. This book is really dedicated to that world and to
all of us -- young and old -- finding it.
When people ask me how to communicate with animals, I say, "I
open my heart wide and express love and respect to them. Then
I hear them." This was not a slow process for me. It was
sudden. And it can be sudden for you, too, if you open your heart
as I have done. All life is in communication. It is just that
humans have isolated themselves from "the web of life."
To be in Delphi's presence is to be constantly amazed at her
intelligence, her gift of wisdom, her command of energy. As far
as I know, she has never been exposed to the Navajo People; yet
she sings us back into the Beauty Way, an experience that is
awesome to any and all who are fortunate to take this path with
her.
Delphi reaches out to all of us in a partnership of animals and
people. She tells us that we can heal our earth and ourselves
by remembering our connection with one another. Many books have
been written about self-growth, self-actualization, and even
self-self! Delphi says that is not the point at all. We've missed
it entirely! She says, "We're all about love and how we
can work together as partners. It is through the heart,"
Delphi says, "that we can join with all life in the coming
of a bright new world."
Delphi and I share in this book a portion of the animal communication
classes we convened in Tucson, Arizona. The events and Delphi's
words are accurate. Only the names of the students attending
the classes have been changed. I believe that these classes illustrate
that when humans and animals become partners, miracles can happen
and they do.
I feel blessed to offer this book to you and I know Delphi is
joyous that you are reading it.
Patricia Jepsen
P.S. Delphi is pronounced DEL-PHEEE.
|
