Meet Raphaela

My first personal telepathic animal communication occurred more than thirteen years ago. I had called telepathic animal communicator Penelope Smith on many occasions for telephone consultations with various animal buddies, feline, canine and equine. During one of these consultations I learned that Penelope would be giving a workshop in Oakland at the home of Jeri Ryan. The purpose of the workshop was to help ordinary people (like me!) realize that they too could communicate with animals, and in fact, with trees, flowers, rocks and all aspects of nature. Great, I thought. The opportunity I've always wanted!

I grew up on a turkey ranch and dairy near Roseville, California, among many relatives. I had often fantasized about talking and listening to animals. Every morning I got up at 5:30 a.m. to go with my cousins and the farm's border collies to bring the cows in from pasture for milking. I loved the routine, and I knew them all by name: Flower, Trixie, Pat, and yes, there was a Bossy. I was thrilled to be allowed to pour the grain into the feeding troughs in front of each individual stanchion, and earned a spanking from my uncle for being overgenerous with the grain. I also loved the slow, stately, measured milking, their procession always dignified and purposeful. I agonized with them when they were separated from their babies in the spring, and spent hours lugging buckets of artificial "calf starter" to the calves and trying to comfort them.

My reports of conversations with the cows were pooh-poohed by my cousins and older relatives. I learned to keep silent and I gradually forgot that I had once understood the cows and their calf children.

I did, however, cherish a lifelong dream of adopting all the animal strays in the country and taking care of them in a big country house. This dream was partly a way of nourishing myself, as I felt I was also "a stray". Unfortunately, because of my life and living situation as a teenager, I was not able to own, let alone adopt, any animals. I had to become and adult before I could indulge in my love for animals and my desire for their companionship.

At the time I met Penelope I had a wonderful dog buddy named Peter. He was half Golden Retriever and half Great Pyrenees. A giant teddy bear of a dog with a dense, soft, cream-colored coat and golden freckles on his nose. Once, when dropping my son off at school, a child on the playground saw Peter and asked "Is that a real bear?"

I spent many hours every day with Peter and the various horses I was riding at that time. We trail rode in Redwood Park, exploring for hours into Tilden and Anthony Chabot, traversing tiny one-track trails deep in the redwoods, and the larger fire trails on the ridges where we could see the snow on Mt. Diablo during the winter.

So I was surrounded by animal friends when I heard about Penelope's workshop. The first day at Jeri's house we learned techniques to quiet our minds and focus on what being an animal might be like. I imagined myself as a horse, and felt the wind in my mane and forelock as I raced and played in my paddock. I felt how wonderful it was to roll on my back in the sand and cover my coat with cool wet mud to keep the buzzing stinging flies away. I felt powerful and strong, but also peaceful and content.

Under Penelope's instructions we practiced many other techniques that day, and we were given a homework assignment. The assignment was to calmly, carefully and objectively sit with an animal, domestic or otherwise, and observe him/her, feel his/her feelings and thoughts and try to get a sense of his/her way of being without human preconceptions.

Of course I chose to do this exercise with Peter, who was then nine years old, and very wise. I told my family I was doing and exercise, buried the telephone in pillows and firmly closed the door. I sat in a chair and observed Petey lying on a rug several feet away. I noticed his beautiful luxurious coat, his plumy tail, his golden freckles, his luminous expressive eyes which were beaming back at me. Spontaneously I silently "thought-spoke" to him, "Petey, if you are hearing me, please show me a sign." He immediately got up, came over and sat in front of me and put his paw in my lap! I was astounded and thrilled beyond words. Could this be for real? Or just coincidental? Again I silently asked Peter for a sign that he was hearing me, and again he placed his paw in my lap.

I could not doubt his intention to communicate with me and his confirmation that he "heard" me.

Thrilled beyond belief, I looked at the homework assignment again. One of the suggested questions was "Ask your animal friend what his/her purpose in life is." Obediently I turned to Petey and "though-spoke" the question to him. The answer came immediately from Petey into my mind, "It's to get you to do this, and it's taken 9 years!" I could almost see Petey laughing when he said this.

It was an amazing, profound and revelatory experience. Did I immediately become a skilled and expert animal communicator as a result? No. While I never doubted the existence of telepathic animal communication again, I doubted my own ability, and often negated the messages I received, unless they were validated by Penelope or Jeri. Because the communication came (at least to me) as thoughts in my mind, it was easy to assume they were my thoughts. It took a lot of practice, imagination, and confirmation from others to achieve a basic, reliable skill level. It also required a lot of effort to settle and slow down my mind enough to receive thoughts and impressions from others.

Through the years I have taken many more workshops with Penelope, Linda Tellington-Jones and others. I have practiced on mice in the kitchen, (You are charming, my friends, but I would prefer that you live outside) and done hundreds of consultations for friends and relatives, as well as for various animal rescue organizations.

Can anyone do it? Yes, I believe we are all born with the ability to communicate telepathically. Most of us suppress the ability when adults around us say "Johnny, the cat can't talk."

Can we get it back? Yes, absolutely! And getting it back leads to a connection with animals and the natural world that is humbling, exalting and nourishing. Our animal brothers and sisters are waiting for us to join them in their wit, wisdom and compassion.

The purpose of my writing, this website and all my animal work, is to increase the harmony and respect between all species. It is my privilege to share this with you.