<DIV>"For many years, I have been a student of spirituality and states of consciousness. For many more years than that, I've been a student of dogs," says best-selling author Jean Houston, whose study of this subject is the basis of <i>Mystical Dogs</I>. Houston has spent a lifetime bridging the worlds of animals and humans, exploring a realm that pet owners have glimpsed and indigenous peoples have known for millennia. The author identifies dogs, with their deceptively uncomplicated, joyous, loving nature, as <i>custodes animi</i>, guardians of our souls. She shows how animals, particularly dogs, are often the best spiritual teachers. For example, in Houston's hands, a seemingly simple story, such as a man saying goodbye to his beloved dog, becomes a striking metaphor about personal and planetary transformation.</div>