Divine Messengers of Wisdom and Compassion

Excerpt from Introduction to Angel Animals Book of Inspiration by Allen and Linda Anderson

Golden Connections

 

Animals and people connect to God with the same golden threads that weave through all creation. Animal messengers deliver truths and answers about life by touching people's hearts as nothing else can. Animals' instinctive spirituality enables them to interact with their Creator and with creation in ways that can truly be called miraculous. Animals have a talent for bypassing the mind and going straight to the heart.

 

We are constantly learning our own spiritual lessons with the help of our animal family. The family consists of Leaf, a cute cocker spaniel; Speedy, a shy multicolored tabby cat; Cuddles, a gracious back-and-white kitty; and Sunshine, a cockatiel curmudgeon. These animal companions provide us with insights, unconditional love, and many good laughs.

 

 

 

 

 

Speedy, Sunshine, Leaf, and Cuddles Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For over twenty years, as members of the clergy and inspirationalauthors and speakers, we’ve focused our attention on discovering and sharing answers to life’s most profound mysteries. One thing we’ve observed is that the animal kingdom serves as a spiritual support system. From around the globe we’ve collected extraordinary stories about a variety of animals helping people remember that they are never abandoned or alone. The experiences you will read about transcend random acts and synchronicity to show life’s precision, wisdom, and beauty.

 

These stories demonstrate that furry, fuzzy, flowing, and flying creatures have an uncanny ability to serve as custom-made delivery service for divine love. Some stories are as cheerful as the antics of an animal who helps restore a person's sense of humor. Others are remarkable accounts of visions, miraculous interventions, soul-to-soul communication, or after-death encounters involving animals. Sprinkled throughout are meditations and exercises you can use for reflection.

 

The fact is, people are having profound spiritual experiences with animals. The Divine is working through animals as vehicles to bring more love, wisdom, courage, and comfort into the world. Animals are good for human health - physically, mentally, and emotionally. The stories in this book demonstrate that animals are also good for our spiritual health.

 

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Excerpt from Angel Animals Book of Inspiration by Allen and Linda Anderson.

 

Dreaming of My Animal Spirit

Hope Catherine Ball, MEd

Lake Monroe, Florida 

 

One day I answered a newspaper ad about a white shepherd dog named Dakota who needed a home. Dakota had been abused and was considered too mentally disturbed to be sent to a pound. I was asked to have an interview with someone from the Connecticut Friends of Animals before I adopted her. I cancelled all my plans for the day and drove to Hartford to meet Dakota. All I could think about was how this poor dog was alone in the world, and I wanted to be there for her.

 

I showed up at the small apartment of Brandy, a nice woman from the Connecticut Friends of Animals. She showed me where to find Dakota hiding behind a dresser in the bedroom. Brandy’s apartment was full of animals, but none of them were as frightened as Dakota. She told me that Dakota had been beaten and left for dead in her former owner’s backyard. She had gone without food or water for days. She had whittled her bottom teeth down to the gums in an attempt to chew the chain that held her. The animal rescue team spent many hours getting Dakota out of her doghouse.

 

I immediately fell in love with Dakota. After Brandy interviewed me, I was approved to adopt her. When it was time to leave, I spent quite a while convincing Dakota to get into the car. I finally had to lift her up and place her in the front seat. She was so scared that she shook all the way home in New London. Along the way, I stopped at the store and bought her food and a bed. When we got into my house, she had an accident on the floor. I just hugged and petted her for hours. Even my cats felt at ease with this timid, gentle dog.

 

The next day, I took Dakota to work with me. She sat under my desk, and no one even knew she was there. That night, I taught her to chew on a dog bone because she didn’t know how. I lay down beside her and pretended to chew on one end while she gnawed on the other.

 

Dakota and I were inseparable. I took her everywhere, and I noticed that she was very intuitive. She was always mystical, bright, and aware. In the years we spent together, she only barked once  -- and that was when a neighbor entered my house without knocking. She was so silent that she could enter a room and, unless you looked right at her, you wouldn’t know she was there.

 

Dakota could also sense danger. One day I was packing up my things for a trip to the beach. As Dakota watched me preparing to leave, she would not stop pawing at me or at the door. She was acting very weird. She followed me around the house, whining and pacing until I took her outside. Then she refused to go back inside. Finally I decided to bring her with me to the beach. When we returned, my house was surrounded by fire trucks and police cars. It had burned down! I believe Dakota knew something was about to happen and was trying to tell me to leave but not without her!

 

Because Dakota was so mystical and soothing, I grew to always want her near me. She was my best friend. She did so much for me over the years. My heart broke when Dakota died, but death has not separated us; Dakota continues to help me from the other side.

 

Soon after Dakota died, I got a letter telling me that the lease was up on the house where I lived. I had the choice of either paying more for rent each month or moving. I was already paying as much as I could handle, so I needed to find another rental right away. Because I had eight animals, it was hard for me to find an affordable place.

 

At the time, I had been studying with a wise woman named Jae, who suggested that a shaman named Maggie might be able to help me. Maggie and I drummed together, and we went into a meditative trance to find my animal spirit. While in the trance, we arrived at a place where Dakota was the only animal spirit. No other animal spirits came to us. I told Dakota that I needed a place to live, and she said that she could help. Dakota told me to look where she looks, and I would see the place. Then she told me to close my eyes, and that when I opened them again I would be able to see what she sees.

 

Maggie waited patiently while I looked through Dakota’s eyes (she was comically short) and saw a place in the country with gray tiles on the wall. All I saw were tiles; that was the image Dakota gave me. But I understood what to do; I must find this place with gray tiles at knee level (Dakota’s height) and rent it.

 

The next day, I called a realtor. She told me about a place in the country that was for rent. I was thrilled, and went to see it that week. The house was great, but there wasn’t a tile in sight. In spite of this, I decided to rent it. The place was badly in need of cleaning, so I arranged to clean it up as payment for the first month’s rent.

 

After I moved in, I was under the kitchen sink one day cleaning out copious amounts of garbage. That’s when I found a large gray tile. I turned over the tile and saw the name “Dakota” handwritten in blue letters on the back of it. I knew I had found the place Dakota was trying to guide me to; I was home.

 

I still see Dakota in my dreams. In fact, one day I was feeling scared about my future. I thought my job situation would never improve. Dakota came to me in a dream that night and told me to wait until morning before thinking about this situation again. The next morning, I awoke to the telephone ringing. It was someone from the university calling to say they needed an instructor; I was hired over the phone.

 

Long ago, I saved Dakota’s life. She had been beaten, abused, and left for dead. I guess she never forgot the favor, because now she saves me every day.

 

Endorsement:

“Animals truly are angels upon the earth, as Allen and Linda Anderson so beautifully remind us in this wonderful book. Their heart-opening stories are inspirational and remind us to take wonderful care of our animal friends.”
– Doreen Virtue, PhD, author of Messages from Your Angels and Angel Therapy