Lauren as a child in Spain
I have lived in eight different countries (England, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, France, Puerto Rico, Malaysia and the US), and now live with my partner and our animal family in the wine country of Oregon.
My education includes a BA in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College in California and an MA in International Relations from the University of Sussex in England. I met my life partner when I was a marketing specialist for an educational trust and a publishing company in England. We moved to Oregon in 1998 primarily to spend time with my father. Sadly, my father died unexpectedly 6 months after we arrived.
Although the death of my father was devastating, I later found that some of our most difficult times offer us gifts of new perspectives and wisdom. One of my father’s many gifts to me was his 10-year-old Malamute, Roo, who proved to be the catalyst and guide for the next phase of my life.
Roo
As an older dog, Roo began developing soreness in her body and became reactive to other dogs. A friend of mine suggested “Tellington TTouch” to help ease the stress of my journey with Roo. A local TTouch specialist, Debby Potts, taught me the basic TTouches and a new way of using a leash and head collar to walk Roo. The change was amazing and I trained and became a TTouch Practitioner. Debby and I created The Integrated Animal, LLC. in 2000 and I began a new career helping people and their animals.
At the age of 12, Roo underwent surgery to have a tumor removed. About that time I had heard about animal communication and hired a communicator to speak with Roo on how she was feeling, her treatment plan, and her progress. The results were remarkable! Despite my rational and academically oriented mind, I decided to learn the art of animal communication myself.
I assumed that learning animal communication would merely be a matter of applying myself to a rigorous program of study. How hard could it be to talk to animals? As it turned out, it was very hard.
What I didn’t understand at the time is that animal communication is not an intellectual process but more of an inner journey than a cognitive practice. Most people learn to communicate with animals through meditation. However, I found that I could not transcend into a quiet peaceful place with a mind filled with endless chatter. I decided to find another way.
Combining guided imagery, breathing techniques, and some Neuro-Linguistic Programming, I successfully developed my own process to help me enter a quiet, centered place.
One of the most gratifying things I have done professionally was to publish The Eternal Gift: Coping with the Loss of a Beloved Animal last year. As an animal communicator I specialize in working with animals who are transitioning, or who have died and crossed over to the Other Side. I find enormous satisfaction in offering comfort to people who are grieving the loss of their animal by sharing with them the words of the animals themselves on how they feel about life, death and reincarnation. The prospect of my own death holds no fear for me after a personal near death experience when I was in college. Perhaps that is why I am more comfortable with a topic that is often difficult and even frightening for people.
The Eternal Gift was published in Japan in early 2009 and was the #1 selling pet book in Japan for over 14 months. Later that year I self published the English version with the hope of offering comfort and healing to those who have lost a beloved animal.
My second book, Talk To Your Animals, was published in Japan in June of 2011. It’s a fun and interesting "how to" guide to learn animal communication.
My third book for the Japanese market, Talk To Your Animals: Deepening the Connection, came out in January of 2015. In addition to exploring some high-level "how to" techniques, the book included a series of stories and chapters highlighting some of the deeper aspects of how animals perceive the world including stories with a raven, giraffe, elephant, and cow, among others. All three books have been top sellers, which means that there is a growing interest in people learning about who animals are, and what they have to say.
As my work with animals has grown, so has our personal menagerie. We moved just outside of Portland to a beautiful refuge on 3 acres with sweeping valley views. Our animal family has more space and we enjoy being out of the congestion of a city. I love working from home and my peaceful surroundings offer me inspiration to create new projects and develop ideas.
Currently, I continue to teach and consult in Japan, Taiwan, Canada, Europe and the United States. I love helping people learn to make deeper and more meaningful connections with their animals whether through TTouch or animal communication. My work is not only what I do for a living, it is my life path and it is who I am.
