Omega: You say that animals are our teachers. In the midst of the global crises we are facing, what are animals trying to tell us?

Danielle: The overall lesson is unconditional love for ourselves. According to the animals, all of the challenges and problems that we face as humans stem from not loving ourselves. For example: I don’t get jealous if I feel loving toward myself. I only fear the future if I don’t trust myself. 

When you love yourself unconditionally, then you love others unconditionally. You give, you receive. Everything balances itself out.

If I’m not in survival mode because I’ve learned how to truly love myself, then I can live in harmony with the Earth. Versus, “I need to take everything I can from the earth because I need to survive—as much money as possible, or as much food as possible.” 

Omega: Have you received any messages specifically about climate change from an animal?

Danielle: No not direct messages. But they are always alluding to the imbalance on Earth. It comes back to this selfishness that humans live in. When we stop doing that, then climate change shifts. 

So no animal has said, “When you stop doing this, the air will get cleaner!” but they will say, “Wow, what you’re doing here is creating an imbalance.”

Omega: The lesson of unconditional love trickles down to so many things that you might not expect.

Danielle: It trickles down to everything and everyone. It trickles down to how we take care of the ground we are walking on, how we tend to a tree with a broken branch. If I believe in myself, and I believe I deserve love, then I believe everyone and everything else does as well. It leads to existing within the world differently, as part of the world.

Omega: Can you explain how you usually receive the messages? 

Danielle: Sometimes I hear words. The thing about words is, while they give great confirmation, they are limiting. Sometimes it’s more effective if I can have a feeling in my body, along with a knowing. Some animals won’t communicate in words, they are going to give you feelings in your body or emotions.

Omega: You say that the animals tend to communicate with humans only in positive terms. Can you explain why?

Danielle: In my experience, when I connect with animals psychically, they aren’t going to point out what you’re doing wrong, because that doesn’t feel good. What they like to point out is what you can do better. Here’s how you can improve you—which improves everything else.

I understand that because, I don’t like it when my mother points out everything I do wrong. If she says, “Here’s an idea that can help you,” I’m more likely to follow that advice. Animals are not claw- or talon-pointing! They are always letting us know how we can feel better by what we’re choosing.

Omega: So the messages from animals are sometimes indirect, and not always easy to interpret?

Danielle: Animals are more connected to this world and beyond. But as our teachers, it doesn’t work to just say “this is the right way.” We have to have the experience.

When we find the answer ourselves, we follow through. I’m experiencing this with my son right now. I cannot tell him what to do. But if he comes up with that same answer himself, he’s all over it.  

Omega: Can you provide a specific example of this sort of animal communication?

Danielle: Remember Cecil the lion? Five years ago, Cecil was in a sanctuary in Zimbabwe and he was the head of the pride. You were not allowed to hunt there. But outside of the sanctuary, you were allowed to hunt. So, a big game trophy hunter lured Cecil out of the sanctuary, and he hunted down and killed him. The killing resulted in international media attention, causing outrage among animal conservationists and a strong negative response toward the hunter.

This incident with Cecil helped humans realize there was an imbalance. People started taking steps once their awareness grew of canned hunting, and they started behaving differently around sanctuaries.

Another thing that affected everybody–and I know people are still feeling the effects—is in the beginning of the pandemic when people receded and animals started showing up in the cities. It’s like earth started going back into balance. People felt it. 

Omega: Can you provide some tips on how to tune in to messages from the animals?

Danielle: The easiest way to tune in is to look at where you have big emotions rising. For instance, if your dog is misbehaving and making you crazy, that means that’s the area where you need to look for the message, what the animal is working with you on.

Sometimes that emotion is “I’ve never loved any being as much as I’ve loved this being.” It can be a positive but overwhelming feeling, or a negative annoying one. If you look at the big emotion, the animal is bringing up the big emotion because that’s how we change; we change through those big feelings because the big feelings lead to big realizations. 

Omega: Do you see changes taking place in response to animals?

Danielle: Right now, people are looking to feel loved, they are seeking comfort, and animals do that. That’s why animals are so important to people right now. All of my classes have increased in size. People are also seeking connection and, during Covid, there are a lot of people who are becoming more aware through animals. 

On social media, there are so many positive stories about animals that people need to hear. Every story is helping humans get closer to the unconditional love the animals are trying to teach us. Whenever we follow their guidance, we are better off.