I just saw an article about a man who fell off his boat due to rough waters off the coast of California. He soon realized he couldn’t swim fast enough to catch up to the motorized boat. It was nighttime, the water was icy cold, and he could see lights of an oil platform far in the distance. He knew the platform would be closer than land, so he set off to swim toward the lights, feeling it was his only chance of survival. But soon he became devastated, thinking of his three children growing up without him, imagining all the burdens that would fall to his wife after he passed. Then he heard a splash.
The man describes the medium-sized harbor seal who appeared out of nowhere as an angel, who “would go underwater and come up and nudge me, like a dog nudges your leg.” He says it was like the seal was telling him to keep going, that he could do it. After being nudged along by the seal, the man eventually reached the oil platform after five hours of swimming. He was treated for hypothermia and exhaustion and survived.
This is such a great example of an animal completely understanding a situation and giving what's needed. It didn’t faze the seal that it was another species who needed help. The seal read the energy of fear and desperation and gave support and encouragement freely. And he didn’t have to.
On my second trip to Costa Rica for a horse-and-soul workshop several years ago, our group was to do an exercise in a small arena with a beautiful stallion named Juano, but I was experiencing too much back pain to participate. The facilitator had me lie on a table in the middle of the arena to see if Juano would give me an energy healing, as he’d been known to do for others in the past. Sure enough, he walked over to me and became still. With my eyes shut, I could feel his presence and saw a light show of stunning colors in my head as he shared his energy medicine with me. And he didn’t have to.
A year earlier on the first morning of my first trip to Costa Rica, I headed out of my cabin, making my way on a rocky trail to meet my group for breakfast. I was anxious and nervous, focusing on my significant lack of experience with horses and my fear of not knowing what was to come, when an adorable young cow approached me from the opposite direction. She came right up to me on the trail and we both paused, quietly looking at each other—me with a smile and her with a gently tilted head. I said a soft hello, she sent me loving energy, and we both went on our way. My vibration lifted so high after that “chance” encounter that I was floating the rest of the day. The cow didn’t have to stop, could have gone another way, and didn’t have to show me some love.
Whenever I’ve asked an animal about a situation like this, where they’ve helped but didn’t have to, the answer is, “But this is the way.” It’s not an extraordinary feat for them. It’s just what you do. It’s what they’re made of.
I often think of our life here on earth as one big school where we’re all majoring in the ways of love—self-love, being love, compassion, forgiveness. In my mind, animals are the master teachers of Unconditional Love Studies. They show it to us every day, from our pets (like my cat who stroked her paw three times on my forehead when I was crying to brush away the sadness) to harbor seals in the Pacific.
And here’s the thing—we’re animals too, so we all have the capacity for unconditional love (and the ability to do energy healing and intuitive animal communication) as well. They’re just the ones who already have the PhDs. What a blessing to be their lifetime students. 💜
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