1. "Changing the way humanity relates to animals" - Genie Joseph Terry McMullen 50:46

I’ve said this before, but there was a time before I started doing this show where I thought I understood the world. I thought I understood it at such a level that it was reasonable for me to judge or dismiss certain viewpoints as obviously wrong. Whether it be spiritual beliefs, different values, or an aspect of how the world worked that did not directly align with how I thought it worked. Ironically, I would not ask any questions or explicitly challenge the person (I was too much of a people pleaser), but would have just judged them in my head.

I don’t know anything for sure, but the new approach I take to life definitely seems to be a lot better one. In this new approach, when I have a guest like Genie on who talks about building the skill to “talk” with animals, I am extremely open to the idea. Who am I to assume that is crazy or impossible or nonsensical? There is so much in this world we don’t understand, how could I ever assume I know better? At the same time though, I am also much more comfortable to humbly question the idea to understand it better. I am not afraid to challenge and probe, because I know it is not coming from a place of judgement but rather from a place of curiosity.

So that is what Genie and I did in this discussion. She started with her mission (and the mission of her organization https://www.thehumananimalconnection.org/) to change the way humanity relates to animals. She wants to help people better communicate with the animals and understand that they have emotions, intentions, desires, and opinions. Her hope is that once people do that, it will be much harder to mistreat the animals they interact with.

The way she drives towards this mission is by showing people that it is possible to directly communicate with an animal (through a kind of telepathic connection), if you can enter the right mindset. She told stories of the connections she’s made with dogs, cats, sheep, donkeys, horses, and many other animals. Although you may be skeptical, her accomplishments are pretty well documented showing that she has something figured out. The list includes an Emmy award-winning film, a bestselling book (The Human-Animal Connection), the President’s volunteer service award for her work with over 4,000 service members/veterans, and her specialty, a therapy program that helps shy and traumatized dogs recover and heal.

If you love animals or just love learning about a new aspect of life that you were not familiar with before, this is a great episode for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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Terry McMullen Podcast Host

I spent much of my career trying to consult companies on how to better achieve their goals. I was a Finance major, a Harvard Business School graduate, and a business strategist. I've always been curious and I've always loved trying to solve problems. It was a really good fit for a while, but then life happened.

Within the span of a couple of years I had a son, my sister tragically passed away, and my wife became severely ill with Multiple Sclerosis. All of a sudden everything I thought I knew about life didn't seem to make sense anymore. I needed to raise my son and teach him how to be a good person but I realized I didn't even know what it meant to be a good person, let alone know how to teach him to be one. I also realized that I wasn't capable of being the person my wife needed me to be to help care for her. Simply put, I wasn't good enough.