Kinship with All Life

For years I was able to buy this in the bookstores at Unity Churches all over the country. I would buy it by the dozen to give to my clients, receiving body and breath work with me. The reality of the nature of the relationship between J. Allen Boone and Strongheart, the movie star dog, was so powerful that anyone reading it with an open mind could learn the truth about who dogs think they are, and what they intend in their purpose. At the time that I used this book as a meditation for people to discover the world of nature, and the depth of their experience with animals there were very few books related to the topic of the mental intelligence, and emotional life of animals. The scientific work of Darwin, 1872, "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals", discussed genetics in emotional expression for both species. There were a few books about psychic events with animals, anecdotal stories that were inspiring, and fell along the lines of experiences I had had with animals. Currently, "How Dogs Love Us", Gregory Berns, shows that amazingly, or not, he was able to train dogs to hold still for MRI scanning, which after many hundreds of scans reveal that apparently dogs could develop a mental model of their world view to include us. Dogs used their awareness, all parts of their brains, they smell accurately every piece of information received that way, which to us is more than a foreign language, it is an alien language. Dogs appear to know us and their eyes show us,(just watch a dog watching you) that by their careful observation, they have developed superb empathy: may be at cause for their domestication, and the development of so many different breeds, sizes, colors, and purposes. Nothing seems to be closer to us in terms of life that is shared than the dog. No other domesticated animal has such a huge variety in their species, and the dog described in Kinship With All Life is a superior creature, no matter what standard is used to judge. Looking at the variety of breeds, there is so much to consider about how they became all the different sizes and breeds. These dogs met, Boo Boo, a 24 oz. long haired Chihuahua, 4 inches high, and George, 245 pounds, 7 feet 3 inches, nose to tail, Great Dane. Such variety in thebreeds, bodies,same species. Although there are differences in intelligence and doggonality, in this book, the magnificent German Shepherd, a champion trained for the military, and police work was evidently a teacher, once Mr. Boone gave up his position of being the superior, more intelligent being, he became able to receive instruction. The dog explained very patiently everything he was doing. In addition, the book contains other stories of animal human encounters that are amazing in their freshness and understanding of what the animals must be experiencing. Now that it is possible that we are likely to allow thousands of species of animals to be destroyed by our carelessness, it feels urgent that we examine the truth about nature and our relationship to all that is, including animals. When Strongheart was delivered to J. Allen Boone, for him to take care of while the dog's people were traveling on Strongheart business, the instructions included reading to him from material considered to be inspirational and intelligent, on a daily basis. Reading to the dog? I have done so, including when a dog was left in my care and became suddenly, inexplicably ill. Until I got her to a vet, in the morning, I read this book to her and she listened carefully, fully attending, and seemed to feel better, and I felt that she was glad that I was treating her as an intelligent being. The vet found the weed seed, foxglove or something that had gotten lodged in her airway, and was able to remove it, and she immediately felt better. This dog, myself and my son had such a deep bond, it was as if we had been together all of our lives. I will say that this book, and "The Language of Silence" also by J. Allen Boone, "Letters to Strongheart" and others, were among the first to open the doors to another universe, one so close to us, but separated by chauvinism, 'species ism', and confounded lack of common sense on the part of people. Strongheart himself, like his brother Jesus, of Nazareth, (some people call him the Christ) as defined by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, founders of Unity, as a teaching vehicle, which became a church, "We believe that Jesus expressed his divine potential and sought to show humankind how to express ours as well. We see Jesus as a master teacher of universal truths and as our Way Shower. In Unity, we use the term Christ to mean the divinity in humankind. Jesus is the great example of the Christ in expression." Today, we can say that the divinity is expressed in beings such as Strongheart as well. They know very well who and what they are. They do not need to be taught, they are the teachers. In addition, today there are many books on the market that describe communication with animals. Some are very good. This one could not be better. Mr. Boone does not profess to be an expert at animal/human communication, and it appears that he was very good at it, and very humble. He also talks about other animals, from horses to ants. You will laugh as well as learn.

This book is a small gem, especially if you are interested in animal communication. There are so many different animals that the author has relationships with that you will be both amazed and at time, doubtful. But hang in there. This book will stay on my shelf and never be given away or loaned. I would, however, buy a copy for a friend who was insistent!

The book was perfect for the gift I wanted to give. Your description was right on. Thank you. He loved it!

Another Great Book on Animal & animal communications. I learned about this book from Great Book by Dr. Agnes Julia Thomas - "Pets tell the Truth", about which I have already written my review. And this book "Kinship with All Life" was originally published in 1954 and since then it looks like published continuously. Many people already reviewed, valued and gave great comments on this book. So, I just write my impression how it was inspirational and full of wisdom on nature and world by just writing on small things. Together with Dr. Agnes Thomas's Great book, this book should be read by all human being, not only by pets lovers but by all people on earth.This book starts from his encounter with great German shepherd "Strongheart" as his teacher and he (Boone) was modest enough and wise enough to learn from this great dog. What he learned from "Strongheart" expanded not only to other dog world, but also to other small animal world including, skunk, rattlesnake, ant, earthworm and flies. What he learned was to maintain very spiritual attitude common to Indian, Bedouin, and other spiritual leaders - listen to the nature and feel totality with earth, whole world. What a great book this is to show us what we lost in this too mechanical world, losing contact with nature and losing love against whole world including every creatures large and small! His story is amazing. He spent a lot of pages on his friend -fly "Freddie the Fly". Unbelievable! But it must be true. And after finishing this book, I found my view on all animal, especially on Fly, Ant and others changed forever. I know he was writing truth since I have lived with dogs and cats from childhood and watching other animal too, how they behave. Less than 160 pages, but how great this book's wisdom shines! I love this book and the same as other people in this review, I will get extra copies and give to my friends. It is important to know that we can learn many things from this tiny but great book. Thank you J.A. Boone. You were also great!

It starts out kind of slow. But then it gets going. It's an excellent book a out animals and how they communicate and see the world. Hint, they are a lot like us ;)

This book was not what I expected! It had been popping up in my social media as a great book for people who want to connect more with their horses but it offers something far greater than that. It is relevant to anyone who has any relationship at all with animals and has shifted my perspective hugely. I can communicate with animals anyway but this is beautifully written and has a purity which really shines and which has already changed my way of being with nature. I wasn’t sure where the book was going at first but after the first chapter or two it came clear. Do give it a try.

If you have any kind of animals this is a book for you but of course for all animal lovers. Dr Dolittle invited us to 'speak to the animals' and this is book that has the same message but maybe on another level. The initial story of the book is about the German shepherd Strongheart whoStrongheart was a famous movie dog in the 1920ies. He came to stay with the writer for some time and a very strong bond developed between the two. This was of course a very well trained dog and when you read about their time together he seems very human. Ah, but stop... this is exactly the point. Boone means that we humans always put ourselves above the animals and think ourselves superior. However, in the dealings with Strongheart the writer discovers time after time that the dog has his own private sphere and life which is on an equal level with himself. Mentally, we have to see each other as equal creatures and try to find the level where we can communicate with each other. Words are not always necessary although we often seem to think so. There are many fantastic stories in the book on how intelligent this dog was. You wish you had a dog like that to teach you a thing or two!Having been very successful with Strongheart, Boone continues to investigate people who live very closely with their animals and seem to have a special bond, for example indians and their horses, bedouins and their camels and horses. They see their animals as equals and all of us have been created by a higher authority to understand each other. You have to open your mind to one another. You think though that to reach this universal language and understanding with animals it works with a dog like Strongheart. However, Boone tells in his book on how he managed to use this universal language of love to also capture the spirits of other animals. In the book he tells the stories how he befriended a skunk, ants, earthworms and Freddie the fly...!This book came as a recommendation from my friend Yana who already have adopted a universal language with everything around here. She had a problem with mice in her kitchen. Everything had been tried to get rid of them, even a call to a company specialising in these kind of things. Nothing helped. After having read this book she took her time, sat down and talked with the mice and some time afterwards they had left her house! Exactly what happened with Boone and his ants which is described in the book. I therefore am now inclined to sit down in my garage, talk to the mice there in a friendly manner, tell them I love them but I don't really want them in my garage during the winter and maybe they should just try to find another resting place for the next winter! I will keep you posted!

This little unassuming book will always be one of the most influential of my life. When more people read this book or books by other more current sensitive open- hearted people, the world will change for the better.

great read

This is officially my favourite book of all time. What an inspirational read. It's the kind of book that you buy multiple copies of and send to friends as presents. It's hard to find another book to compare it to but if you love animals and believe that they hold their own innate intelligence then you have to get this book. It will change your outlook on life.