“Hi Val, I’ve been communicating with the animals around me and I think I’m seeing results. But I’m not sure! Is this real or is my mind just making it up?”

I get this question all the time from students who are worried they aren’t having the effect they wish. That any results they are seeing are just their hopeful minds making it up. This is completely understandable when you’re just starting out.

How do you know if you’re really communicating with animals?

Communicating with animals can be such a rewarding, fulfilling experience. But how do you know that it’s really having an effect when the animal you are talking with can’t “talk” back?  How do you know if you’re accurate or not in understanding what they’re trying to say to you?

It all starts with your intention and using your imagination.

I teach all about the importance of intention and of using your imagination in the Beginning Core Foundations Course.

When communicating with animals, you are likely receiving lots of information, ideas, thoughts, and feelings. But you’re not sure if it’s coming from them or your own overactive imagination. You really want proof that what you’re receiving are really messages from that animal. You want to make a difference in their life and in the life of their companion. That you’re not just making it up.

But here’s the thing: In the beginning, there may not be any “hard proof” that the messages you’re receiving aren’t your imagination!

And guess what.

That’s okay.

Your ego mind is happy to tell you that you’re making it all up — you couldn’t possibly be really talking to animals! How crazy! What’s really going on is that your mind is trying to help you by casting doubt, by distracting you, by keeping you safe from ridicule or embarrassment…, it just hasn’t adjusted to your new reality and what you are learning how to do yet.

The trick is: Don’t fight your mind.

Trying to justify your work, to make sense of your own judgments or doubts is a waste of time that will only throw you off track.

The next time you practice communicating with animals and your mind jumps right in to say: “You’re making that up,” just quickly agree and say, “yes, I am making it up!” And move on. Keep going, don’t let it distract you!

By acknowledging your doubt you are freeing up your mind to delve deeper and truly focus, to keep playing and experimenting with communicating with animals.

Focus on watching results instead.

Instead of questioning whether or not the messages are real, you can instead feel the power and truth of what you receive by watching the results of the work.

Do this by paying attention to the feedback you receive from the animal’s person. This is where you will see the validity of the work you are doing. You may even receive “hard proof” that you weren’t making it all up at all.

When communicating with animals, results are essential. However, it’s important to remember that this isn’t mind control. You can’t force another being to change through communicating with animals. However, notice what does happen and pay attention to the subtle and not so subtle reactions.

Does anything change, for them or for you? How does it feel when you’re communicating with animals? Does the experience feel true and clear as a bell, resonating deeply within you? Does what you hear surprise you? Was it unexpected? Does the animal’s behavior or energy change at all? How do they respond? What do they do during the conversation and afterwards?

When practicing animal communication around specific issues such as bad behavior, animal stress or healing a trauma, we watch for the results.

How are they feeling? Do they seem calmer? Are they behaving better? Are they breathing more normally?

Notice these concrete and subtle changes.

As a beginner, you might want to practice on your own pet. But truthfully, it is a lot more challenging for those starting out to talk to their own pets.

You’re already so deeply connected, and you mirror each other. This makes it harder in the beginning to separate out what is yours from what is theirs. You hear and feel them all the time. By all means keep trying as there is nothing more rewarding than being able to communicate with your own pet on a deep level. It just takes more training.

It’s best to begin practicing by communicating with others’ animals at first—an animal you know nothing about so you don’t have any preconceived notions that can muddy the water and make things more complicated.

Try, and watch what happens. Watch closely!

And if you get positive results?

Then no, you’re not making it up.

The truth feels right.

Trust is essential when it comes to communicating with animals. And you can’t force or fake trust. It comes from experience and knowledge and getting to know someone at a deep level.

The bottom line is, communication with animals either helps or it doesn’t. You’ll learn to notice when your mind takes over, interrupting you with doubts, questioning or flights of fancy. You’ll find yourself tripping down the rabbit hole of your own thoughts, lost in space.

Conversely, you’ll also learn to notice when your heart is open and your communication with animals is true, accurate, inspired and right on target.

It feels different.

You will know you’re on the right track when you get results and validation. Confirmation helps your confidence soar, and your accuracy rate improves dramatically as you keep practicing.

You will learn more, and as you do you will grow and evolve the more you practice communicating with a wider variety of animals. Every animal you talk to will teach you something. Each animal is a unique individual, with their own viewpoints and experiences and voice.

Tools to help you.

Download my FREE Ebook Hidden Secrets to Communicating with Animals – just click on the picture below!

Become a member of the best online Animal Talk Coaching & Mastery Club and you can practice communicating with any of our well over 100 animal teachers. Get proper feedback and support so you’ll know when you’re accurate, or not.

Continue the process taught in the Beginning Core Foundations course about how to connect and stay engaged.

Check your TIPS Sheet for clues on how to know when you’re communicating with animals. (That’s one of the bonuses that comes with the Beginning Course)

If you stick with it, you will see the rewards. Just trust yourself. Lean in. Go for it. Then? Watch for the synchronicities that will start to show themselves over time. That will be all the convincing you need that the messages you are receiving are not made up at all. That you can really communicate with animals, anywhere, anytime.

Make a point of talking to an animal today!

Check with your animals frequently and find out what’s going on in their world. You don’t want to wait until something is wrong to make the effort to communicate and learn how to be accurate. Don’t wait until you are reacting to a problem. By then it could be too late.

It’s about staying with your practice and letting trust in yourself and your abilities grow over time.

If you’ve been feeling that it’s time to really start communicating with animals, begin your journey now. Start here at The Heart School of Animal Communication® with your free ebook.

Enjoyed this article? Here are three more you might find helpful:

The three fundamental animal talk principles.

7 great ways to help you and your pet through coronavirus stay at home isolation.

Five benefits of animal communication.