Animal Wisdom
Learning from the Spiritual Lives of Animals
Valuable information about improving human attitudes toward animals is presented in a friendly memoir style.
Veterinarian and life-long animal lover Linda Bender describes her experiences communicating nonverbally with animals in Animal Wisdom. Her insight into their spiritual intelligence encourages people to relate to animals from a more enlightened perspective.
All children begin their lives with the intuitive ability to communicate with animals but lose that ability as they become more involved in the adult world. Bender never lost her early childhood connection with animals, which led to a career dedicated to healing and protecting wild and domesticated species. She cites numerous scientific studies about animal behavior, including the intuition of dogs and cats to anticipate their human companions’ arrival home and to travel long distances to return home when lost. Quotations from scientists, writers, and spiritual thinkers begin each chapter, and the book ends with suggestions to help readers communicate with animals and to work toward reestablishing balance in the world’s ecosystems.
Bender’s direct writing style clearly explains how animals transmit thoughts to humans without language. She uses the example of someone who can’t remember a word or phrase but understands fully the meaning. “They [the words] are a translation into human language of a meaning that the animal transmitted wordlessly,” Bender explains.
She emphasizes a strong spiritual connection in her life and work with animals. “What we are used to calling the ‘material world’ and the ‘spiritual world’ are made of the same stuff: the mind of the Source, and we are all in this one mind together.” Bender believes animals communicate with each other on this level and want to convey their interconnectivity to humans.
The author acknowledges that some people may question the veracity of humans communicating telepathically with animals. She refers to Saint Thomas Aquinas who said, “But it is when we come to the limits of our understanding that we glimpse the divine.” The information she describes having received from animals is closely aligned with her personal values expressed in the book.
Bender’s compassion for all living beings informs the ideas she presents in Animal Wisdom. Her relaxed, first-person narrative successfully explains difficult concepts, such as the nature of animal consciousness, the unifying quality of spirit, the process of dying, and life after life. This book provides readers with valuable information about improving human attitudes toward animals and deserves a thoughtful audience.
Reviewed by
Margaret Cullison
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
