When an Animal Changes Their Mind

One of the things we sometimes forget when communicating intuitively with animals is that they are allowed to change their minds.

We often expect animals to give us clear and definite answers. If we ask them whether they want something, we expect the answer to remain the same. If they tell us that they like something, we assume they will always like it. And if they tell us that they don't want something, we may assume that the answer is permanent.

But animals are not machines giving us fixed answers. They are living beings with their own feelings, experiences, preferences and choices.

And just like us, they can change their minds.

But what if they told me something different before?

This is something that can sometimes be confusing for people who practise intuitive animal communication.

You may communicate with an animal today and receive one answer. A few weeks or months later, you communicate again and receive something completely different.

The first reaction can be, “But that's not what they told me last time.”

That doesn't necessarily mean that the earlier communication was wrong.

Think about how often we change our own minds.

You may have wanted to move to a particular place and then changed your mind after visiting it. You may have been excited about something and later realised that it wasn't what you wanted. You may have been completely certain about a decision six months ago and feel very differently about it today.

We don't consider that strange. We understand that circumstances change and that people change.

Animals can do the same.

Their circumstances can change

Sometimes the reason is quite simple. Something around the animal has changed.

Perhaps they initially wanted to live with another animal, but their relationship has changed. Perhaps they wanted to go somewhere and later became comfortable where they are. Perhaps they wanted more freedom and then realised that they actually prefer the security of their current situation.

Their physical condition can change too. An animal who once enjoyed long walks may later prefer shorter walks. An animal who loved being around other animals may eventually want more personal space.

The answer they give us reflects how they feel at that moment.

It isn't necessarily a promise about how they will feel forever.

Animals can have complex feelings too

Sometimes an animal can even have two feelings at the same time. They may want something and be nervous about it. They may want to go somewhere but also want to stay close to their human. They may enjoy living with another animal but still want some time alone. They may want a particular change but feel uncertain about what that change will bring.

As humans, we often want simple answers. Yes or no. Like or dislike. Stay or go.

But feelings are not always that simple.

Sometimes an animal's answer is more like, “I want this, but I'm also worried about it.”

That isn't contradictory. It is simply how feelings work.

Communication is a conversation, not a contract

I think this is an important way to look at intuitive animal communication. When we communicate with an animal, we are having a conversation. We are not taking a permanent statement from them that can never change.

If an animal tells you something today, it is useful to understand it in the context of today. If you speak to them again later and they tell you something different, that is new information.

Instead of saying, “But you said something else before,” we can ask, “What has changed?”

That question can sometimes tell us much more.

Perhaps their environment has changed. Perhaps their relationship with someone has changed. Perhaps they have had a new experience. Or perhaps they simply feel differently now.

And sometimes they just change their mind

There is also a much simpler possibility.

They changed their mind.

We don't always need a complicated explanation for it.

Sometimes we wake up and don't feel like doing something we were excited about yesterday. Sometimes we try something and realise we don't like it. Sometimes we simply feel differently.

Animals can have those moments too.

And I think there is something quite beautiful about allowing them that freedom.

We don't need to make an animal's every decision fit into a perfectly logical explanation.

They are allowed to say, “I wanted this before. I don't want it anymore.”

Listening means allowing the answer to change

Intuitive animal communication is not about getting the answer we want. It is about listening to what the animal is actually saying.

Sometimes that answer will be exactly what we expected.

Sometimes it won't.

And sometimes the answer may change completely the next time we speak to them.

That doesn't make the communication less meaningful. In fact, it reminds us that we are communicating with an individual who has their own thoughts, feelings and choices.

We don't expect the people in our lives to feel exactly the same way about everything forever.

So perhaps we shouldn't expect that from animals either.

Animals are allowed to change their minds. And our job is not to hold them to what they said yesterday, but to listen to what they are saying today.