BERNIE By Bernie Siegel, MD


Amelia's Story: Learning from Our Animals


I


became a believer in our ability to communicate with animals after Amelia Kinkade, who while sitting in California, told me via an email that she was seeing through the eyes of our lost cat, Boo Boo. She went on in detail about the house and yard and where the cat was hiding. The next morning I went out and rescued Boo Boo from the exact place Amelia had described to


me the day before. From that day on I learned that when in doubt to simply ask


myself WWAD, or What Would Amelia Do? One of my biggest prob- lems is mentally going into a place of fear when one of our pets is missing or acting strangely, as I know that interferes with my ability to communicate. I tend to try and force them to do my will by every means available to me or I go into my head and decide what the animal is thinking — neither of which ever works—instead of asking WWAD and resolving the issue.


My first experiment, after becoming a believer, was to try and


find out why our beloved house rabbit Smudge would allow my wife to walk out into the front yard, pick her up and bring her into the house each evening while, when I attempted to do it, she would run around for ten or fifteen minutes until I finally caught up with her.


Smudge began her day by running out our pet door every morn- ing and spending the day in our fenced-in front yard with our other creatures. So, my first WWAD was to step out into our front yard the next evening and in my head ask, “Why don’t you let me pick you up the way you let my wife Bobbie do it?’


The unexpected answer, which for me verifies it is coming from the animal and not my head, was, ‘You don’t treat the cats that way.’ I realized she treated my wife differently because I was the zookeep- er and guardian. My wife brought her treats more often and rarely forced her to come inside.


When I went on to ask what she meant by that Smudge explained


that I don’t make the cats come in at any specific time, but give them the freedom to go in and out until my bed time. I then explained that the cats could defend themselves should a predator get into the yard and I was worried about Smudge being out late when it grew dark. With those words Smudge hopped over and let me pick her up and every day thereafter. I will admit some days she would smile at me


42 Natural Nutmeg - April 2017


Bernie currently holds a cancer support group the second and fourth Tuesday evenings of the month 1:30-3:30PM at Coachman’s Square at 21 Bradley Road, Woodbridge. If interested contact Lucille Ranciato: lranciato2@yahoo.com 203 288 2839; or Bernie: bugsyssiegel@sbcglobal.net. You can find Bernie’s books ad CDs at Wisdom of the Ages in Simsbury, Ct. See ad on page 37.


and remind me of the old days for a minute or two but I could tell it was just her sense of humor. And when I had appointments I could go out into the yard and tell her I needed to leave the house and would feel better if she would come in. She always hopped right over when she knew I had a schedule to keep.


Our cats Miracle, Penny, Dickens and Gabriel read my mind


also. Their names are no coincidence. Miracle was named after a cat that appeared in a dream to one of my cancer patients and said, “My name is Miracle and this is the cancer treatment protocol you should follow”. The cat then gave her the details, which her oncolo- gist agreed to, and she is well today. So our next rescued cat became Miracle. Miracle is just that. She thinks she is a dog. She is fearless, so I entered her in a dog show. The next year someone posted a notice, “This dog show is for dogs only”. By the way, the neighbors treat you with caution after they hear and see you running around your house yelling ‘Miracle’ at the top of your lungs.


Now I take attendance every evening before I get into bed to be sure all our kids are in the house and no one is locked out. My hope is you will let Amelia open your minds and increase your commu- nication skills so you won’t get that look from the animals anymore. With time and training I even get along better with people, too—an added benefit!


For many, Dr. Bernard Siegel-or Bernie, as he prefers to be- called-needs no introduction. He has touched many lives all over- the Planet. In 1978, he reached a national and then international audience when he began talking about patient empowerment and the choice to live fully and die in peace. As a physician who has cared for and counseled innumerable people whose mortality has been threatened by illness, Bernie embraces a philosophy of living and dying that stands at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues our Society grapples with today. Read Bernie’s regu- lar blog posts on his website where you will also find his books, articles, and CDs: http://www.berniesiegelmd.com.


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