Soul Touched by Dogs

Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs
Podcast, the show for dog lovers who

see dogs not as toys or tools, but
wise souls worth our respect and care.

I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.

I talk to poor some humans, people who
do great work for dogs and their people.

So come and join us for
today's conversation.

Anke: Hello and welcome Isla.

I.

Forgot to ask you whether
I'm butchering your name.

Uh, you know, I actually also
forgot to ask the same thing.

So my name's

Isla: Ala.

It's

Anke: Ala.

Oh, that's funny.

I've been in Spain for too long then.

Isla: Yeah, its that,
that's, uh, I'm used to it.

I'm used to, many, many people are
like, either mispronounced my name or

asking like, how do you say your name?

So, and likewise.

Is it

Anke: Anca That's It's Anca.

Yeah, that's German.

And everybody gets it wrong too.

A that's funny.

Like, you know, because I'm seeing Eli
like, oh, that's island in Spanish.

So.

I didn't even have doubts,
that's why I didn't ask.

But then I thought, well,
maybe I'm butchering it.

So anyway, I

Isla: don't mind at all.

I have um, I have some friends
in Latin America and they always

call me ista, which I love.

Oh, so

Anke: I don't mind.

There you go.

Yeah.

Makes perfect sense to me.

So welcome, lovely to have you here.

So tell people where you are
based and what's your business

Isla: with dogs.

Oh, thank you so much for
that offering invitation.

So I'm based in northeast England.

Very, very close to Scotland, about
45 minutes south of Scotland, the

Scottish borders, and a beautiful
county called Northumberland.

Very ancient and sacred and holy.

I have been on a long walk with dogs
starting off, uh, way, way, way, way

back when I was doing my PhD and even
before then, I was doing a degree

in zoology and always wanted to be
a wolf conservation biologist and.

Life Spirit Universe took me on
a different path of, I managed

to work with captive walls for a
few years, but as I was working

with captive walls, I started to.

Have a deeper awareness of the disconnect
that animal guardians were having with

the canine friends that they live with.

Even though they were coming to
visit, you know, a beautiful wild

animal that was in captivity that
they were already talking about.

Very majestically and almost
like falling in love with them.

But yet there was this.

Different connection that they were
having with their animal friends.

And so I went on a journey to get people
to understand their dog as an ecosystem.

'cause that was my training in, um,
in my PhD as a conservation biologist.

But I always have had, um,
a spiritual path as well.

Um, and so now I do everything from
a canine wellness intuitive, getting

people to understand their dog as an
ecosystem, first and foremost of the

foundations of a dog as a physical,
biological sensing being, but also our

animal friends as souls and what they
offer as soul medicine for our own soul

evolution and growth from life all the
way into our animal friends transition.

Anke: I love that
there's so much in there.

Like the first thing that
jumped out for me was the.

You mentioned a couple of times, you know,
like looking at your dog as an ecosystem,

so can you unpack that a little bit?

Yeah.

I mean, obviously people might know
what, okay, what's an ecosystem, but

like what, almost like what does it mean
when you, how does your relationship

to your dog change when you see them
as an ecosystem versus when you don't?

Isla: Yes.

Oh, beautiful.

Thank you for asking.

So, I mean, yeah, an ecosystem
in its entirety as well.

I wanna break it down of that.

I'm seeing everything as
an individual ecosystem.

So what is, what works for one dog as an,
as an individual ecosystem doesn't mean

to say it's gonna work for another dog.

So this is one thing that I do try and
unpack for animal Guardians of just

because the dog book says this doesn't
mean to say it's true because it's

not even being written by dogs, right?

And like, it's almost like all
the dogs get together and go like.

Dave, have you seen what the
humans have been writing?

Now?

Apparently we're supposed to do this.

Uh, and it does always make
me laugh, so I'm like, okay.

Of course, from a very, very, very
well educated guess, but it's still

a very, very well educated guess or
a belief or, yes, an understanding of

when a dog does this, it means this.

Whereas for me, I'm like, well,
why don't we just ask the.

The dog as an individual because
we can do through that psychic

telepathic, um, animal communication
ability, which we can all do.

And I really love getting people
to be in that space of soul

consciousness and soul consciousness,
uh, conversations with their animal.

But as I say, if we kind of like
backtrack a bit and go, but.

But also what it helps to
understand is our dogs, yes, are

in a physical body right now.

Uh, they're a biological being.

They're a scenting being.

How we can understand them
as that ecosystem and as an

ecosystem, it's really about that.

There is no separation.

Separation itself is just an illusion.

There's a, a beautiful statement, it was
taught to me around a teacher of mine,

but around kind of thought of synthesis
actually, where they shared that the

distance between the sun and the plant.

Is just an illusion.

There is no distance whatsoever.

That that is just, yeah,
is just an illusion.

And it's kind of the same thing that we
see our animal friends as separate to

us or what they're doing is it's them or
it's us, or therefore, collectively the

dog's doing a similar thing in terms of
how, what it means to how a dog should be.

But I kind of here to just
unpack all of that to say no.

Your dog's an individual, so let's
just forget what anybody, uh, what

anybody else's dogs are doing, what your
other dogs in the household are doing.

We're now looking at this dog's
an individual, but also how it's

interconnected to the bigger ecosystem of
the earth and the cosmos and the galaxy,

as well as the ecosystem that we are.

But when we start to look at our
dogs as an individual ecosystem, it's

kind of looking at how stable they
are, uh, in all these different ways.

So emotionally, mentally, physically,
spiritually, the sense of peace that

they receive, um, how connected they
are with nature, uh, again, in terms

of how we allow them to be connected
to their environment, to nature.

And then looking at our dog
as, um, having energy gateways.

So they have all these different
gateways, these pathways that influence

and, um, enhance or almost sabotage how
robust and how stable the ecosystem is.

So it's not just about training,
it's not just about behavior.

It's not just about communication.

It's not just about teaching.

It's not just about diet.

It's not just about their
physiological health.

It, it's, it's about
everything is entirety.

What is being fed?

Into the dog as an individual ecosystem
and how that creates stability or how

that can create nuances within it.

And it kind of.

It kind of came about because of my
background in learning about ecosystems.

But it was also around when I was doing
my zoology degree, we were learning

about the um, ger germ theory hypothesis
and the terrain theory hypothesis.

And it was just so happened that the germ
theory hypothesis kind of just everybody

went, oh, yeah, that makes sense.

We like it where it was kind
of like germs are everywhere.

Germs are everywhere.

So that's why we get diseases.

And of course, I mean.

Germs are everywhere, which is
the whole point of how robust our

ecosystem is, how stable it is, means
that we are more or less likely to

allow these diseases into our body,
into our being, into our ecosystem.

And so.

For me, what makes much more sense is the
terrain theory hypothesis, which is how

healthy an individual ecosystem is, not
just health in terms of physical health,

but physically and mentally, emotionally,
spiritually, actually gives an indication

of how strong and robust they are,
which then allows them to prevent.

Nuances.

So disease, which we kind of know is
a distress, a disease, a perturbation

within the ecosystem of the individual
and kind of exploring, not from a place of

desperation or obsession, because that in
in essence, affects the ecosystem as well.

Just from a place of curiosity
of, okay, what can I learn here?

How can I understand Maybe.

I maybe shouldn't be vaccinating my dog.

Maybe I should, looking at my dog's
diet, maybe I should be looking at my

own emotional state, my own spiritual
health, my own personal work where I'm

exercising my dog, how I'm exercising
my dog, the movement that my animal

needs, um, how my animal is moving out,
my animal friends, functional character.

I mean, it's all broken down
into these energy gateways.

And then the.

Really the healing that we can offer
ourselves and also our animal friends.

Mm-hmm.

Anke: Yeah, I love that because
there is so much, and I think looking

at the dog in front of you, you
know, like that really speaks to me

because while I've had, you know.

Four of them.

Not never, never.

All of them.

Always between two or three basically.

But, um, never all of them together, but
they, they, they are really different.

I got like, I think when you have
one dog, you can't even picture that.

Like you cannot, even, like when I
had my first dog, I could not even

imagine how different they would be,
you know, from one individual, even

if they live in the house in the same
house and grow up in theory, like the

same way, a bit like siblings, I guess.

They're still individual,
individual people, and, and I found.

Trying to get advice and information
was kind of often more, like, more

confusion and help, you know, like, just
like, oh no, you have to do it this way.

But then, yeah, my dog didn't
respond the way they yes, should

and, and things like that.

So to really take this more
inwards and, and, and come so w.

If somebody goes, well, that makes
sense and that makes more sense

than, Hey, you know, like, the dog
does this and this is what it means.

And, you know, let's
just try a different way.

What, what do you think
is a good place to start?

Because there feels, it feels to me
like there's a lot, there's a lot of

moving pieces, there's a lot of to
take into account if I'm now thinking

like, okay, let's make a robust.

Ecosystem or like, you know, if I
think of like an immune system, you

know, I'm thinking like if I want to
strengthen, if I wanna make sure my dog.

Yes, there'll be, and I remember actually
now that you're saying this, there, there

was somebody who did, uh, I think agility
or something like that, and there was

this discussion between all the, you know,
the handlers what, uh, like flea stuff to

use, because in the sand it was all like,
and all these dogs were full of fleas.

And she says, my dogs don't get any.

Ever.

And I don't give any medication at all
because she says my dog's immune system is

strong enough to not be invested by that.

You know?

And that made a lot of sense to me.

So if I'm now saying like, oh, I want
my my doctor to be like that, right?

Yeah.

To not needing to kind of just not be
receptable to all this kind of stuff that.

Other dogs kind of get, get, get
hit with like, where would I start?

Isla: Yeah.

And it is such a great question
because as a dog guardian, we

kind of just go, oh, I'm getting
a dog and I'm just getting a dog.

It, we don't really expect to then
have to learn the wealth of information

that's out there now of like, you know,
wanting the best for animal friends.

And I kind of wanna start with, um.

We are already, just by bringing an
animal friend into our life, we're

already doing the best for them.

And also our animals are
perfect as they are already.

They already know that they're perfect.

They already come being this
beautiful, perfect being.

And they also do not live from
thinking, which I absolutely love.

We as an animal, ourselves, as human.

We also should live from a place of
feeling like our animal friends do.

So rather than thinking we should
feel, and when we drop in this place

of feeling, we actually realize
that there's actually no questions.

We can just enjoy this experience with our
animal friend as they're equally as souls

coming into our life to give us a learning
experience because they are already, it's

almost like they are already a higher
level of consciousness than what we are,

because they're not, they don't live
from worry, from doubt, from judgment,

from blame, from ego, from excuses.

They're just like.

Yeah.

Okay.

I'm love.

Yeah.

Okay.

And I'm love.

Oh, yes.

Okay.

I love myself.

They, they don't attach to anything I
always say, you know, um, a dog's not

walking the street going, oh, I, I wish
I was, that black Labrador over there

isn't gonna slim our waist that I do.

Yeah, exactly.

Looks so, so much that they're not.

And this is, you know, as, as a
animal guardian, we often put our

own conversations, our own narrative
into our dogs of what they're

thinking, what they're saying, and.

It kind of creates, we
give ourselves a hard time.

We beat ourselves up, and so for
me, a really good place to start is

actually What conversations are you
telling yourself about your dog?

And go to the feeling of that and
what your animal is in your life for.

I really feel like when we are our
animal friends are in our lives

for our own healing journey, our
own access to sole evolution, and

when we can start to consider, oh.

Actually, I think this about my
animal friend, or when my animal

friend does this, I'm telling it.

I'm telling my animal friend that
they're wrong or I believe that

they're wrong, or they're right
when they do this, or they're wrong

when they do that, or they're good
when they do this and they're bad.

When they do that, even in those
moments in the spaces, they're

already asking us to like, no, no, no.

Let's just annihilate all those things.

That's not even true.

It's a belief system that's
being placed into us.

Let's just drop into the moment where our
animal friends are living from anyway.

Of how is my animal friend?

How are they in this moment?

What are they sharing?

What are they emitting or reflecting
back to me about how their behavior

or how they are physically, mentally,
emotionally, how it's making me feel.

And actually, for me, that's a
really powerful place to begin

because in order to be in this space.

That our animal friends are,
which is unconditional love.

They love us unconditionally,
love themselves unconditionally,

and actually that's what they're
asking us to do for ourselves.

If I loved myself unconditionally,
I wouldn't be, and like, oh,

is my animal friend okay?

Oh, how can I be improving this?

Oh my goodness, are they, are
they really angry with me?

Oh, they're doing something wrong.

It's just like, oh, okay.

We're just having an experience right now.

We're just having a moment.

And so if we go back to the feeling,
which again is what our animal friends

are admitting or emitting all the time,
and what I love so much about dogs is dogs

have the largest heart master body ratio.

Mm-hmm.

Which many people don't know, but
they literally are heart beings.

They're inviting us to be back
in the heart, which is where

we should be living from.

And this is what even blows my
mind even more, that is humans.

When we are developing as a fetus, our
heart is the first organ of perception

that comes online at four weeks old.

So when we're four week old
fetus, our heart comes online.

Our head doesn't come online
until the third trimester.

So we're already having a heart experience
at four week old fetus and making these

heart connections with our animal friends.

And that's really where they're inviting
us to return to, to come back into

unconditional love, come back into the
moment, come back into the heart where

we're feeling, and as we start to feel.

Really, truly, and fully, we start to heal
and then we can start to see actually my

animal friend is really good as they are
because I am also really good as I am.

And then we can start to have an
awareness of just where we maybe.

Projecting or our own fears or ego or
concerns or judgments, we're placing

onto our animal friends, and that's
kind of what they in our life for,

plus many, many of the things for their
own soul journey experience as well.

But I always find that, oh my goodness,
I, I've got, where the heck do I begin?

Do I learn about this?

Do I learn about that?

Do.

Let's just default to reset.

Reset back into the heart, because when
we're in the mind worrying, worrying

where we're gonna be all over the place.

So in this moment, although there's
a wealth of things to understand,

let's reset back into the heart,
go to our feeling, see our dog.

As unconditional love the invitation
asking us to unconditional, to have

unconditional love for ourselves
and start there around the questions

that start to percolate, but
from the heart, from the feeling.

Um, I always find this a really,
really great place to start.

Mm, I love that.

Anke: I love that.

I mean it, what I'm, what I'm hearing,
like the first thing that jumps to

mind is like, oh, be, you know, like
how often he was like, be more dog.

Yes.

You, that's kind of the objective.

Right?

And also to.

To see them more as a teacher rather than
a being to be controlled and to be clean.

Oh my goodness.

Yeah.

And to be like, it's almost like what is
it that they are trying to communicate?

Oh, thank you.

Oh, I'm gonna take some lunch here.

Isla: So, nice look.

Be more dog and have some lunch.

Amazing.

Anke: Yeah, so, so it's that, it's
that sense of like looking and

as, as an invitation to try and
understand what they're communicating.

Isla: Yes, yes.

You know, it's such an invitation, you
know, one of the things that I said

to, to, to my clients is that they
may be coming to me for X, y, and Z

reasons about my dog, my dog, my dog.

And I'm like, actually,
let's just park all of that.

We, let's explore if we need to.

My first question is, what is your
animal friend presenting to you?

I don't care that it's,
it's just a belief system.

If it's good or bad or right or
wrong, or it's doing something, it

shouldn't, it's behaving, it doesn't
know it's in that moment for the dog.

It's, it's good and it's right and it's
true because that's what they're doing.

They don't know whether it's right
or wrong or good or bad, and in

fact it's just perfect because
all they're doing is behaving.

Um, but when we go to that question
of what is your animal friend

presenting to you, it's, I want.

Due to go to the feeling
of how it makes you feel?

Well, it makes me feel awkward.

It makes me feel uncomfortable.

It makes me feel embarrassed.

It makes me feel frustrated.

Okay, well this is all useful information
because in that moment, your animal

friend is bringing forward a charge within
your body that is not being integrated.

So it's being brought forward for us
to look at your animal friends that

you're going, can you look at this now?

And again, most of the time we
rebound it back onto the dog.

You know, it's the dog's fault.

The dog's in.

The dog's in the wrong, and
it's nothing that at all.

It's like we.

Go to that feeling.

And then the question can be, so
where in your life was the first time

you were made to feel embarrassed?

Where in your life were the first time
you were told that you were wrong?

And it's not true.

So we often.

Project onto our dogs.

What, what we were put into when we
were, when we were young children.

So the quality of our life experience,
I often find is what our animal friends

are kind of so beautifully in our life
for, to go, Hey, don't worry about it.

Just I'm on this journey with you.

I'm here to support you, to teach you
of how you can see these unintegrated.

Charges that are just asking to
be loved now, that are just asking

to be welcome and just asking
you, do you know what, sweetheart?

You also didn't do anything wrong,
but you're at the moment putting

that onto me because again, it's
a belief system that we've been

conditioned to to live our lives from,
and they're the complete opposite.

They're living their life from like.

Oh my goodness.

Isn't life amazing?

Oh my goodness, I'm so
full of joy and happiness.

Oh my goodness.

Uh, this is what's happening in this
moment really being led from the heart.

So I really feel like there
absolutely are our teachers.

When we can look at it from that
perspective, what my animal, how

is my animal friend making me feel?

And what are they here to teach me?

Whilst at the same time, what can I
learn to support their ecosystem and

to really give them the best life?

But if that is our intention, anyway.

Then that is also what they're receiving,
which I know, you know, animal gardens,

we, we don't want anything other than
our dogs to have their best life.

So even just holding that intention,
even though they may have a disease

or they may have itchy skin, or they
may have fleas, or they may be having

some serious conditions like cancer or,
you know, to towards the end of their

life, those things are inevitable.

We can't, you know, here to play God.

We can't stop a transition from
happening when it's supposed to happen.

But that powerful intention of
going, okay, yeah, how do I.

Relax and say all pressure, like all
bets are off, all pressure is off.

I'm here having an experience
with my animal friend.

How do I make it a really wonderful,
truly beautiful experience?

Um, but being from that place of the heart
and how my animal friend makes me feel, I.

Anke: Yeah, that makes so much sense.

Reminds me of this book by Kevin Beehan.

Uh, your Dog is Your Mirror.

Isla: Yeah.

Yes.

Oh, so true.

It is so true.

It is so true.

And you know, there's another one
that I recommend that's actually

got nothing to do with dogs, but
it's actually to do with children.

But if you cross child out in
many of the chapters and put

always the same, isn't it?

It is almost the same.

And it's called, um, the book
You Wish your Parents had Read.

And your child would be glad that you did.

And it's so honestly, if you replace the
word child with dog in so many of those

chapters, I'm like, this is, we do exactly
the same to our children as that we do

to our dogs, or we do exactly the same
to our dogs that we do to our children,

because that's kind of what happened.

I.

To us as children, the quality
of our life experiences kind

of is massively explained.

It's, it's not the only factor,
but it can hugely explain actually

how we, how we are with our animal
friends and the belief systems that

we impose onto them when they are not
living from a belief system at all.

So when we go back to that, like actually.

As a child growing up, my parents,
my grandparents, my, my role models,

my elders in my society that were
not terribly wise, were basically

saying, um, here, can you also
unconsciously carry my wounds?

'cause I don't know what to do with them.

And so we carry them
through those role models.

We carry them in ourselves, but
then we carry them over and put

them into our dogs unconsciously.

So, and still, until we start to
realize that's what we're doing.

And with absolute purity of unconditional
loaf, that's why our animal friends.

Uh, one of the reasons why they're with us
to go, yeah, I'm gonna help you do this.

I'm gonna help you to see.

And also, it's okay.

Don't blame yourself.

Don't think that I hate you.

Forgive yourself.

Don't, don't put this pressure on yourself
of like you're doing something wrong.

'cause the reality is we're
not doing anything wrong.

It was just put into us from
a very, very, very early age.

Anke: Yeah.

And it's that moment of,
of becoming aware of it.

And I think that's where they
saw such beautiful teachers.

'cause you've got them right
in front of you, you know?

Yes.

So if you can come at it from
curiosity rather than how can I, you

know, like I, I, every time I, uh.

Host like a, you know, invite
an expert to do a class.

I always ask people when they register,
what are you most curious to learn about?

Right?

Yeah.

And they, and I think what warms my
heart is that the one quest, or the one

thing that comes up most of the time is.

To understand my dog better.

Right?

So it's that, you know, but there is a
lot of like, how can I, and especially

when the class is about a specific topic,
there is a lot like, how can I make them

stop doing this and stop doing that?

Right?

So, but the overarching intention
is to understand what's going on.

And I think it's almost inevitable
the more we understand about the dogs.

It's like we become better per
better people in the process, right?

Because we're learning all this stuff.

Absolutely.

Isla: Absolutely.

Yeah.

I mean, we, they, the way that I
see our animal friends is yes, the,

the truth is they're a biological
animal in a physical body.

I want to know how to support them so
that they are enjoying their life and

their transition, but also they're in
expression of spirit that's manifest into

a physical form, clearly disguised as dog.

'cause I'm gonna fall
in love with my dog and.

That expression of spirit is
going, can you look at this now?

Can you see this?

Now we are coming to give
you this spiritual message.

So absolutely our animal friends do
make us better people because they

are here to enhance and shift our into
our soul evolution, which is kind of

also what we're here to do as humans.

And so I really love this space when.

It becomes rather than a question yes
of how do I stop, how do I get, how do I

make sure that they don't all those words,
because they're just words that, again,

we've been conditioned to have a, whatever
the belief system attached to, they all

kind of get dissolved or we're just like,
okay, we don't ma, those things don't

matter anymore, but how can I enhance
my relationship with my animal friend?

How can I have.

A conversation with their consciousness.

So I understand for my animal as
an individual, who they are, how

it is for them, how they feel,
what they're here to teach me.

And that absolutely enhances,
um, our relationship.

Yeah.

Rather than the, you can't do
this or you can redo it there,

or I'm telling you to do this.

And it's such an old, old, old system
that, for me has never made sense

and it, and it isn't working and it
doesn't work because they, they're

so much more than the physical body.

And, and that's also what they know.

They're not afraid.

Afraid to announce who they are.

They, they're not afraid to show
who they are, not just in their

physical form, but, but beyond that.

And that's kind of the reason why we
love them so much, because partly we

wish that we could be that authentic.

We wish that we could be like,
I don't care what anybody thinks

about me, I'm gonna be in my truth.

And many of us don't feel like we can.

And so it's why, kind of like we love
them so much, but at the same time we're

trying to stop them being so honest
and innocent and raw and authentic.

But they can't not, they
can't, they can't hide it.

Anke: Yeah.

It's, it's so, it's so true.

And I think we also play
quite a bit of a role.

'cause I've really seen it with,
with Mayan as, as the more we can,

we can be calm and you know, and.

Not worried and not up in our head and
not kind of straight outta mind because

they, they soaked that up, right?

Oh, totally.

And I remember like little Beck High, he
was like, you know, very sort of nervous.

Like he had like a lousy experience,
like right when he was like super tiny

and he was always a little bit on edge,
like super sensitive as I got to learn.

And he used to be.

You know, like walking with him
was like, Jesus, you know, he would

drag me along and it was like, and
sometimes it was worse than other times.

Right.

And I would, I would learn to say,
to realize that because I, I think,

you know, I mean obviously you read
stuff and so there was all of a sudden

when he was kind of pulling more
than usual, I'd be like, wait, how?

How?

Like, how am I, yes, yes.

And the first, it was always funny
because the first was, I'm fine.

Nothing to do with me.

It's not me.

Right?

Yeah.

So don't nothing about me.

And, and then when I'm sort of
literally talk some, okay, let's just

breathe, let's just touch that tree
that I really like and, and like the

moment, like literally I came, like I
make a conscious effort to just, yes.

Let go.

All of a sudden he would settle too,
because he was incredibly in tune.

Isla: Yeah.

Anke: You know, with kind of
anything in, in his environment,

but probably specifically with me.

And so it was really noticeable how.

His behavior was an expression
of my Yeah, absolutely.

You know, my, my state of mind
in the moment, you know, and it

also, it was literally like bing
bang, like your notification

bell, you know, calm down bitch.

Like, you know, the going nuts.

And also the more we moved away and moved
to quieter space where there wasn't the.

Constant information overload.

He was the chillest dog.

And I then, you know, when, like
where, where, where I live now,

I, you know, you could walk with
him and he would not pull it all.

And I never taught him anything.

Yes.

I never did any loose leash
walking, any exercises, any treats.

No, nothing.

It was just, we were both in a calmer
space and we just go for a walk, you know?

Yes, yes.

And that really showed how, it's not
about commands or about, you know.

It's kind of a deeper thing that that
actually has that lasting impact and

that lasting that connection that gets
created and yeah, it's just, um, I.

It's remarkable to
experience, to be honest.

Isla: It's, you know, it's really re it's
such, it is such a beautiful experience

and again, it, it is that great example
of like, just come back into the heart.

So, because the heart doesn't
think, the heart doesn't question,

the heart doesn't need to know,
the heart has no expectations.

The heart just is.

And so again, as.

As humans, we didn't start off as this,
but we kind of get told and conditioned

and as adults we're so, we're so busy
worrying, thinking, overthinking, planning

de and the, our head is so noisy that our
animal friends are like, oh my goodness.

Like even when we think we're
calm, we're not calm at all.

'cause our head's still like babababa.

And of course, I mean our animal
friends as we are, we are.

Moving emotions.

They're a big, beautiful ball of emotions,
their own emotions, but yes, they

can't not absorb ours and then again,
reflect what our emotional state is.

So often, again, I will kind of say
to someone, what were you thinking?

Immediately before your animal did that
behavior, because sometimes it is the

animal as an individual, but often it
is, you know, your animal's presenting

X, Y, Z, and then it gets worse.

It gets exacerbated in these conditions.

So I'm just curious to
ask, what were you doing?

What were you thinking immediately before?

And then again, the guy, well, nothing.

Oh, actually this, that,
or the other night, and.

Can you see how then that changes the
e, the, the movement, the vibration,

the sense for the animal friend and
also in that space, you know, with

my two dogs, uh, Manitou, Lilu.

That again, going back to em
as individuals, they're brother

and sister and yes we've got a
different in gender, but they are so

different based on who they are as
soul and then who they are as dog.

But um, they were, when they were first
kind of pups and we were walking them,

everything was really great 'cause
there were little pups and then it

was starting to be, there were again
adolescence, they want harnesses.

We were walking them and
they were starting to pull.

'cause being on the lead was very new
experience and I was really curious.

Because I'm in that space now, I'm
able to kind of catch my own feelings

and I was really curious because
I'm like, ha, when they pull, that

actually brings up anger for me.

I feel anger.

Now, if I wasn't aware of that, which is
fine because we're all on our own journey,

I would've put it onto my dog's, right?

Yeah.

Stop.

But I'm angry because you are bullying.

That's what we tend to,
again, be conditioned to do.

But because I was aware of the
feeling, I'm like, this is so.

Peculiar for me, because I would
kind of like to say I'm, I'm a

person that doesn't have anger.

I'm not an angry person, but yet he has
anger rising in me when they're pulling.

And I was like.

I need to look at this.

So I would spend moments when I'd
get home just in quiet space, to

be like, what is this anger about?

And I'd thank them because
like, wow, thank you.

Because in that moment when you're
pulling and it's bringing forward

this anger, what it's bringing forward
is the frustrated parts of myself.

But when, when I was little, the, the.

The little girl for straight I, and I'm
like, why is no one listening to me?

I have important things to say.

I have feelings too, and they matter.

So it was like these little parts of
myself that needed to be integrated.

But when I sat with that further,
I'm like, do you know this?

Anger's also not mine.

It's collective.

It's my mother's and my
grandmother's and it's the anger

that I'm carrying for my, um.

The women in my family that have kind
of been oppressed in that way and just

therefore have carried that anger.

So through my dogs, you know, I
could just say I get angry at them

because they're pulling on the leads.

So how do I get them not to pull,
but I'm going to the feeling.

Mm-hmm.

And as I'm in that space of like,
actually you're just sniffing,

or you go like, it's fine.

The, the pulling then stops anyways.

So it's a really beautiful
space of looking at ourselves,

of like, yeah, where are we at?

And how these things can change in
our animal friends in those moments,

because energy follows consciousness.

If we're having thoughts of
something, and again, this is

kind of where I invite people to.

Try as best as we can to be
conscious of the words that we

speak and the thoughts that we have.

Because they become things, they
become physical, they become manifest.

So even the words that we say about our
dogs, but certainly when we're walking

them, like, where are our thoughts?

What words are we even thinking?

Because that is still creating
an emotional response that

our Alamo friends are feeling.

And we'll be like, oh, okay.

I need to respond towards this.

So I need to just, I need to diffuse
it or I need to get out of my system.

Um, so it's a really yeah.

Really beautiful example
that you brought forward.

Mm-hmm.

Anke: It's, I mean, there's.

That invitation, you know, to
have a, have a closer look.

That's beautiful.

So where can people, you know,
find out about, you know, what,

how they can work with you?

What about your books, you
know about all your work?

Where can people go find out more?

Isla: Thank you so much for asking.

So my website is called
kachina canine.com,

and then I'm on Instagram
and YouTube and Facebook.

Yeah.

And so I have.

I have like a variety of different
offerings because there's so many

ways that we can get into support
our animal friends having at their

best lives, including ourselves,
having our best life as well.

So I do everything from courses
that look at canine wellness to.

End of life when your animal friend is
ready to transition, but how we can make

a sacred space for that and a ceremony
and our healing journey around the grief

and holding an offering around that.

Uh, I do have two books out.

One is, uh, 'cause I also channel,
I channel the Animal, the Co,

the Soul Consciousness or Spirit
Consciousness of Animals, as well

as spirit consciousness itself.

And so I have a book out that's
called T'S Teachings, which is the

channel consciousness of one of
my wolf dogs called Tonko Sealer.

Uh, just again, messages medicine for how
we should be living, uh, healing wisdom.

And I have a medicine story out
that's called How the canine

people help the Humans Remember.

Which is all about returning to ceremony,
which is what our animal friends are like.

Come on.

Like just return to ceremony, return to
ceremony, return to ceremony, which is

all about, again, returning to our heart,
returning to unconditional love, and

just being in that space of, um, yeah,
journey and experience, uh, a relationship

with our animal friends, a coexistence,
seeing them as as, as equal in that way.

Anke: I love that.

I love that.

Thank you so much.

Obviously I'm gonna pop the books below
as well and all the links and make it

really easy for people to find you.

So, because I think this is the
kind of stuff we all need to hear

and and lean into, so thank you.

Isla: Thank you so much for having me.

It was beautiful to speak with you.

Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening.

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That's A N k E at Soul
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