Dogs & The Women Who Love Them

by Allen & Linda Anderson

(New World Library, 2010, Softcover, 256 pages, $14.95)

With a comprehensive journalistic feel, Allen and Linda Anderson leave no stone uncovered in their doggie stories immersing the reader in the moment. Their stories cover police dog heroics, a service dog star, the courageous plight of a dachshund in a doggie wheelchair and everything in between. Any pet lover can relate to these heartwarming stories that inspire perseverance, hope, and love. At the end of each story is a thoughtful meditation that challenges the reader to think about how our relationships with animals effects who we are as people. The chapters are themed by life lessons: loyalty, healing, and embracing life.

Though most of the stories are memorable, there are a few that fall by the way side, being either too long or a just too ordinary. Overall this is a book worth snuggling up with for some feel good laughs and smiles.

An Eagle Named Freedom

by Jeff Guidry

(William Morrow, 2010, Hardcover, 224 pages, $21.99)

Mitakuye oyasin is the underlying theme of this honest and sometimes heartbreaking book. Roughly translated form Lakota Sioux, mitakuye oyasin means all my relations or all are related. An Eagle Named Freedom is the story about the special bond between author Jeff Guidry and flightless Freedom. Guidry meets Freedom when she is brought into Sarvey Wildlife Care Center as an injured and emaciated eaglet. Though she can never be released into the wild because of her damaged wings, he is central to her rehabilitation and training for raptor educational programs. After Guidry is diagnosed with cancer, Freedom takes him under her wing, inspiring him to fight and eventually beat the cancer.

Though the story focuses on Guidry’s connection with Freedom, it is also full of unexpected characters. From the kooky volunteers at Sarvey to the “wild ones,” he captures each nuance of their personality fleshing his journey from city slicker to a wildlife educator. This book is a must read.

Heart to Heart

by Pea Horsley

(HarperElement, 2010, Softcover, 304 pages, £6.99)

Nothing can truly convince a skeptic like a skeptic. In Heart to Heart, Pea Horsley really pulls you into her discovery of animal communication with her initial unabashed skepticism as she stumbles into the world. This book chronicles her development as Horsley evolves both as a telepath and a teacher.

Horsley tours you through her experiences with rabbits, geese, cats, and even insects. She helps animals find their way home again and assists people in making peace with the passing of a beloved animal friend. Each of the animal encounters are brief making for a quick read, but captures the essence of the furry characters involved with quirky detail. Her prose is focused and witty leaving you with stories that stick with you long after you finish the last page.

Spirit of the Horse

by Carole Devereux

(Windhorse Press, 2009, Softcover, 272 pages, $20.00)

This is the most eloquently written textbook I have ever read. In it Carole Devereux describes the evolution of horses as a species and spiritual icon in human theology. Delving deep into our co-evolution, she reveals through careful research and first hand experience why we love these creatures, showing us how much there is still to learn about them. Photos in the book help to illustrate and flesh out some of the facts she found in her research. However, more would have been greatly appreciated during the myths section to add a little flair and culture to each of the stories.

Though I generally like nonfiction books, I would have found more visual aids helpful to break up the text heavy pages. Citing the dictionary for anything other than a rare or complicated word is boring, causing the reader to lose interest, which unfortunately she does quite a lot. Otherwise, the book is a wonderful work that captures her thoughtful investigations as to why we see the horse the way we do today.

The Eternal Gift: Coping with the Loss of a Beloved Animal

by Lauren McCall (2009, E-Book, PDF format, 68 pages, $15.00, available at www.integratedanimal.com).

This e-book is a compilation of conversations that the author has had with animals about their experience with death and the afterlife, and includes guidance for people on handling grief, death and dying decisions, and communicating with their animal friends after death. The communications are mostly relayed in dialogue, question-answer format around specific topics and situations. There is also a nice meditation for connecting with animals in spirit at the end of the book.

This would be a good introduction to the topic for people who are unfamiliar with animal communication or animals’ experiences with death and the afterlife. While I found that some viewpoints in McCall’s experiences differ from what I have learned from the animals in my own work (for example, that animal souls don’t often have experiences in human incarnations, or that there are particular timelines around communication after death), I feel that many people will find her descriptions of soul journeys, reincarnation, and animals’ experiences on the Other Side to be an enjoyable overview of the wisdom that is available from animals in spirit.

Subtle Worlds: An Explorer’s Field Notes

by David Spangler (Lorian Press, 2010. Softcover, 208 pages, $15.95).

Every explorer can benefit from a good map. Sure, it can be great to bushwhack on your own, but sometimes it’s important to have the guidance of an experienced traveler. In this book, David Spangler, mystic, spiritual teacher, and co-founder of Findhorn and the Lorian Association, chronicles his sixty plus years of experience in communicating with the non-physical dimensions of the earth.

Subtle Worlds is written as a field guide, with clear descriptions of the vast possibilities of regions, types of beings, and nuances available in our “natural second ecology.” Spangler gives clear guidance about connecting, staying balanced, following instincts, and handling energies that aren’t beneficial. There is nothing “new age” or “airy-fairy” about this book. It is grounded, friendly, and practical, like sharing a cup of tea with a neighbor who is telling you about his latest travels. I loved Spangler’s inter-dimensional navigation instruction, and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in exploring the vast realms beyond the physical world.

Whaledreamers, a Julian Lennon Production

Directed by Kim Kindersley (Monterey Media, 2008, Film/DVD, 83 minutes, $19.95 www.whaledreamers.com)

This documentary was released in 2008 to widespread critical acclaim, and won many awards at international and independent film festivals. The film combines wonderful footage and cinematography of whales (some contributed by Jeff Pantukhoff of the Whaleman Foundation) with the story of the 1998 gathering of indigenous tribal leaders from around the world at Whale Rock on the Great Australian Bight in South Australia. The film has a strong environmental and human rights message, including saving the oceans and ecosystems of the earth, and protecting the rights and cultures of indigenous peoples worldwide. I was moved by much of this film including director Kim Kindersley’s sharing of his personal story of having been deeply touched by the dolphins and whales, the beautiful footage of the whales, and the way that the tribal leaders shared their cultures’ deep spiritual and ancestral connections with the cetaceans.

However, I was also struck by the benevolence, kindness, and compassionate understanding shown by the whales toward the human species, even under the direst conditions. The message I felt from the whales throughout the film was that cooperation, peacefulness, and compassion will create the most profound shifts in the unconsciousness that has pervaded our human way of life.

While we may work hard to create change in the world and to try to “save the whales,” the whales, by their own example and spiritual leadership, are most likely saving us.

Life is a Jigsaw: Learn the Energy Footprint via the Master Horses

by Virginia de la Pole (Athena Press, London, 2006, Softcover, 211 pages, £29.99).

When I was first given a copy of this book by the author on our whale journey in the Dominican Republic in April I could feel a powerful energy contained within its pages. This is an extraordinary book, and is quite unlike anything else I have experienced before.

The photographs, many of humpback whales, and full color artwork which includes much sacred geometry and diagrams of human and animal energy systems, are extraordinarily beautiful. The text describes the author’s transformational spiritual journey as a healer, with horses and whales as her primary teachers and guides. It also contains a rich discussion of the variety of healing energies, ascended masters, divine rays, and guides which are available to those who connect with them, as well a guide to the chakras and other energy systems of both animals and humans.

I feel that the most important aspect of this book is not the text, informative and useful as it will be for many readers, but rather the energy contained within its pages. This is a book to be felt, and I believe that its primary power and information can be absorbed, rather than experienced intellectually. I received the gift of this book through my energy field as it lay beside me on my bunk on the whale journey. Months later, when I went to actually read it for this review, I found that I had absorbed the transmission contained within its pages on a level that completely bypassed my mind.