Power of Pretend!

I recently enjoyed some light-hearted banter with a longtime friend on Facebook about my objection to Miss Piggy making a rather adult comment about her relationship with Josh Grobin on “The Muppets.” I took issue that Miss Piggy should be kept innocent. My friend pointed out that “The Muppets” has grown with our generation and never really was that innocent. OK, well, I guess I do recall having nightmares of Alice Cooper crawling out of a casket singing “Welcome To My Nightmare” and Janice did seem to be a bit of a partier.

Which one is "real." My "stuffed" dog, "Tiger" and "Blankie" from childhood. Plus, a few new additions. No, I don't still sleep with them, not at all....

I have also been made aware of an apparently very popular animated show on Netflix called “Bojack Horseman” in which a horse who talks and walks upright is a former '80's television star. Sort of a John Stamos and Charlie Sheen blend. He's very cool. I watched the show and really liked it. Most of the characters are animals acting like people but some are just regular humans who interact with the animal-people as though they are human.

As a child who thought everything had feelings; the car, the house, but most importantly my “stuffed” (yeah right) animals, I love forms of entertainment that use anthropomorphizing (or making animals out to be like humans). Being a professional animal communicator, I feel these shows are a wonderful way for people to imagine what it would be like to really communicate with their animals. Sort of an opening of the door. In addition, it greatly pleases me to see animals portrayed as deeply feeling and thinking beings. Sentient.

So while my friend and I had to agree to disagree on the Miss Piggy matter, I encourage you to watch shows like this and begin to pretend that you can talk to animals. I feel this can be a first step to real communication with animals. Remembering what is was like as a child to believe that animals could talk can re-awaken what has been hidden since childhood.

And please encourage children to talk about animals having thoughts and feelings. Support children in this so that they do not bury their inborn ability to communicate with animals, like most people do as they receive the message from society that this is just for "make-believe." Imagine a generation of children who maintain their natural ability to understand animals as being sentient. Leading to a new kind of world, one with a much higher level of inter-connectivity, not just between people and animals, but between all living beings.

 Re-Connect With Your Natural Ability To Communicate With Animals?!