:) Yeah, I talk to them too, Lapis! I live across from a huge regional park, where I like to take early morning walks. Just a few weeks ago I had a really powerful experience with a Coopers Hawk (they're huge, white, with black stripping). Just 'because", I decided to leave the regular trail and head off into some trees. Suddenly I hear this swooshing sound, and this huge Coopers flew right over my head - slowly - and drifted across the lake. About a half an hour later, after pretty much mentally moving on, I felt compelled to turn up and right off the beaten path again (this is something I haven't done in almost 2 years of walking there!). I stopped, and there He was, right above my head! I stood so still as he drifted down towards me, circling above my head once, twice, and then went glidding away.

I KNEW (with that non-mental sort of knowledge) that I had just received a message. There was no aggression in his energy...just very gentle movements towards me. When I got home I checked my resources for the message and let me tell you - it was so amazingly accurate! Just a few days later I would have a situation come out of nowhere but that I had been sort of forwarned about by Hawk. It made it all very peaceable to me...easier to accept...easier to move towards, because I knew it was from Spirit.

The animals talk back, for sure! Sometimes it in their physical presence, other times its sort of a psychic being-to-being conversation I hear in my head. About a year before my divorce, a very wise bright red dragon-fly came to me while I was sitting outside in meditation. Her words to me about my forthcoming tranformation were comforting and supportive, and gave me the courage I needed to move beyond the muddy existance of my physical life into a new one - where I could fly freely (she was quite chatty! lol ;-)..)

If you would like some good resources on Animal medicine, please let me know. There are several good sites out there that have a ton of info.