Can Psychedelics Help You Communicate With Animals?

There’s long been characters in film and media with this special skill, the most famous being Dr. Dolittle, a very Victorian gentleman who wore top-hats and chatted to dolphins. 

However, nowadays the Dolittle’s of the world, like many other things, could be being replaced by AI.

(Which is probably more effective than a man in a top hat anyway.)

Deepening Our Connection with the Animal Kingdom

An exciting new project by Californian non-profit group Earth Species Project (ESP) will use machine learning to decode non-human communication. It is all with the aim of deepening our connection with the animal kingdom, to open people’s eyes to the importance of conservation and caring for nature. After all, when a 1970 album of whale song was released, it greatly advanced the movement that banned commercial whaling. Creating a space for understanding with other species seems to be a key aspect of getting people to take animal causes seriously. 

Co-founder of ESP, Aza Raskin explains; 

“The end we are working towards is, can we decode animal communication, discover non-human language… Along the way and equally important is that we are developing technology that supports biologists and conservation now.”

Can Psychedelics Help You Communicate With Animals?

It’s a super cool, exciting project that we will certainly be keeping our eagle eyes on. However, those who have dabbled in the world of psychedelics know that sometimes all you need to understand our furry, feathered, and fishy friends is a magic mushroom!

It has been proven through various studies that psychedelics, such as psilocybin from magic mushrooms and truffles, can measurably increase our feelings of closeness with nature. And that is nature of all kinds — from trees, to bees, to rivers, to rocks, to dogs. It is also true that psychedelics have long been studied for their potential ESP-giving powers, including mind-reading. Even the lowest doses of a psychedelic, such as a microdose, are reported to increase our empathy. And, as we all know, empathy is key to understanding — to reading behaviors and soaking up the vibes of others — so much of communication is non-verbal!

Animal Anecdotes from Reddit’s Psychonauts

So, have you ever chatted to your cat while high? Had a chin-wag with your labrador? Or a full on heart to heart with a blackbird? We went on a Reddit deep-dive to discover the stories of psychonauts who believe that they have had Dolittle-esque experiences while tripping or stoned. And, there are many. 

Such as PsychedelicsScot who shares;

“I’m positive my cat and I was communicating a few times when I’m on lsd or shrooms. She (my cat) is normally really chill and doesn’t stare into my eyes very often. But when I’m peaking, she’ll appear and start acting all weird, and we’d stare at each other for ages and it really felt like we were communicating telepathically. Can’t remember what was being “said” between us as it was about a year ago. But I do remember as we were locked eyes, I could see into her soul and I’m sure she could see mine. It was quite incredible at the time. It definitely made us closer, even till this day. :)”

And user SerVinSwerVin;

“I began telepathically communicating with my cats while tripping on L. I’ve tripped around them so many times it’s just natural sober now. Other animals too but some are harder to hear than others for some reason. Just gotta be open to hearing them.”

Jakeshinns also tells his trippy story;

“On lsd I heard birds chirping so I went over to the woods. I kinda said out loud softly for something to call back and raised my hands up. Seconds later an owl hooted 3 times very loudly and stopped. I ran and dove on the ground in joy.”

Animals as Tripsitters

There are even more stories from those who feel that their animals are aware they are tripping. It’s certainly not a crazy idea — animals have far more heightened senses than us after all. However, many of these users also tell stories of how their pets have helped them through a bad trip, or intensified the joy of one.

Nixbixy01 shares;

“I have this cat named Emily that I’ve had since I was 12, she lives with me and while I was having a bad trip I was just sitting in my room and she came over and rubbed her face on my cheek and really grounded me. First time I got out of a bad trip easily.”

SImilarly Kamille1999 says;

“I was just so appreciative of life during my trip, listening to MGMTs “The Youth” was hitting me hard too, then my 3 dogs just rushed in and started licking me and s*** and I started crying from how much I love them lmao. Good vibes all around.”

And CarefulSalad4;

“Cats and dogs while you are high are incredible, and they are the best things to be around. I met my friend’s cat the other day, and once I got high I realized that we were bros. He even let me pet his tummy. Even a dog licking your face feels crazy when you’re high. It just feels like you’re on another level and close with them when you’re high.”

Psychedelics Open Our Eyes to Things We Usually Miss

When you are tripping or high it is easier to focus, without background thoughts of anxiety about the day-to-day. Maybe these avenues of communication have always been available to us, but psychedelics such as shrooms, LSD or even weed act as a key to help us through that doorway. Perhaps it is the separate life that humans have built away from nature that has blocked these abilities in the past. We are all creatures of the earth after all, it is natural that we should communicate. By reconnecting via psychedelics or mindfulness we are joining with the natural world that we are truy part of. 

Next time you trip, why not see if you feel closer to the animals in your life? Whether you have a pet, live in a nature spot, or just listen to the birds singing their hearts out on your windowsill. It may change your whole point of view.

So we’ll give the final word to user agoodearth, who saw the importance of all living things while high;

“When we are high (pot or shrooms), both of us feel so connected to all the other living things we share our world with. Just yesterday I watched in amazement as this ant hauled a food crumb 5-10x her size. A few years ago, I would have crushed her without a second thought. Now I carried her out on a piece of paper, making sure I took her crumb with her.”

So there you have it! Do you have similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below!