Smarter Than a Fifth Grader; Are Pigs Smarter Than We Think?
The saying, “when pigs fly,” refers to an event or action most likely never to happen, especially when it comes to flight, and pigs. Pigs are animals we think of in relationship to farms, rolling in the mud to stay cool, snouts buried deep in their troughs. Or perhaps you think of the lovable pig Wilbur, from Charlotte’s Web?
When we consider higher intelligence in animals, we often think about the clever and opportunistic raccoon, or perhaps, our primate relatives, or elephants. But did you know that pigs are considered to be as smart, or perhaps even smarter than any of those animals? A large body of evidence points a curly tail at these largely unsung and highly intelligent animals. Current research shows the porcine population is emerging as one of the smartest animals living, as pig intelligence is studied in medical communities around the world.
Pig Intelligence; Complex and Perceptive Beings
Recent research has shown that pigs are in fact, highly evolved thinking beings, whose intelligence includes a wide range of emotions and complex cognitive capabilities, that include the use of tools and object manipulation. A study entitled “Thinking Pigs,” which explored domestic pigs, discovered high levels of attributes linked to animals normally thought of as the highest in the intelligence scale such as primates, certain birds such as crows, elephants, dolphins, and porpoises.
In the study, pigs displayed intelligence factors such as high and long term memory recall, a wide range of emotions, the ability and desire to learn new skills, curiosity, playfulness, strong social connections, self-awareness, and individualized personalities. Animal scientists have also applied a battery of intelligence tests to pigs that one would associate with primates. For example, in the 1990s, pigs showed they could learn to manipulate a video screen cursor using their snouts. The pigs were also able to tell the difference between repeated patterns and new ones, a behavior they performed better than chimpanzees, who are thought of as the highest on the animal intelligence scale.
But beyond the possible gaming talent pigs may have, one set of skills, in particular, has led many to reconsider pig’s intelligence status.
Pigs Using Tools: Using Their Snouts With Intention
In 2015, Meredith Root-Bernstein, a noted conservation ecologist, was visiting a zoo in Paris, France when she noticed an interesting behavior by “Priscilla,” a Visayan Warty pig, an endangered species from the Philippines. She observed Priscilla picking up a piece of bark with her snout and digging in the dirt with it, behavior she’d never in her years of research, seen or read about before.
Over two periods of time, she and a team videotaped the pig, as well as its family, who repeatedly used the bark “tools,” or sticks, in a process, she noted as being part of their nesting and breeding cycle, and one that was also taught to younger pigs. Her findings published in the journal Mammalian Biology is the first research domestic or wild pigs to have recorded this tool-using ability that pigs share with other highly evolved animals, including primates, dogs, and yes, humans.
Root-Bernstein’s research has opened the door to many questions about how similar humans are to other complex cognitive creatures. Her work and the work of other scientists unfold a story about the evolution of consciousness and intelligence in all animals, human and non-human alike.
Pigs Intelligence; How Cognition May Evolve
Do animals have the same kind of consciousness that humans lay claim to? Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has no doubts as to the existence of consciousness in animals. He cites that the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness states that “humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness.” Beckoff advocates for us to embrace the existence of consciousness and sentience in animals, and would go a long way to enhance our connection to animals.
Research is shining a light on new findings of the human and non-human brain’s capacity to express emotions and self-awareness. Previously considered to be a purely human neurological capacity, The aforementioned declaration states, “subcortical neural networks aroused during affective states in humans are also critically important for generating emotional behaviors in animals.” From birds to elephants, to pigs, there are striking similarities as to human and non-human consciousness.
The study of animal intelligence and consciousness, as well as non-human tool use, can teach us how all sentient beings have the ability to bring awareness to, and manipulate our world. An example of this was reported in the journal Animal Behaviour in which domestic breeds of pigs displayed the ability to quickly learn to use mirrors as a way to better understand their environment, specifically as it relates to searching out food sources.
The discussions regarding animal consciousness and intelligence, specifically in regards to tool use in primates has led scientists to classify this group of animals as having entered the Stone Age. The crude stone tools regularly employed by chimps and capuchins constitute a kind of stone-based technology. Could the same be said of pigs and their tool capability?
To those who disavow evolution or who believe consciousness belongs solely to humans, this research into the evolution of consciousness in animals might seem alien, threatening to the idea of humans being at the top of the intelligence food chain. However, another and the more expansive way might be to welcome this mounting evidence as an indication of a larger, deeper inner connection between humans and animals, one that has existed since life began.
About the Author
How to Remember Your Past Lives: 3 Ways to Access Past Life Memories
Sometimes life feels familiar in ways that are hard to explain. You meet someone and feel you’ve known them forever. Or you travel somewhere new and something deep inside stirs, like a memory you can’t quite place. Maybe these are traces of memories of past lives, or maybe they’re just intuition. Either way, they’re worth paying attention to.
Patterns often repeat themselves. Unexplained fears. Sudden talents. Relationships that circle back to the same lessons. These moments might be echoes from a previous life still influencing your present life.
Exploring past life experiences is not only about curiosity. It can be about understanding how your soul’s history continues to shape who you are. You might not find clear answers at first. Insights rarely arrive as complete stories. They show up in fragments, symbols, and emotions. Sometimes they make sense only later.
Table of Contents
- Can You Access Past Life Memories?
- How Past Lives Might Shape Your Present Life
- Signs You Might Have Lived Before
- Three Ways to Explore Past Life Memories
- Making Sense of What You Find
- The Story of Matías De Stefano
- Living With Past Life Insights
Can You Access Past Life Memories?
The idea of reincarnation suggests that human beings live more than one lifetime, each one leaving behind energetic and emotional imprints. Most people don’t consciously recall memories of previous lives, but certain practices can help open the door to them. Techniques like deep meditation, past life regression, or exploring the Akashic Records can reveal glimpses that feel older than this lifetime.
For some, these insights appear as flashbacks, vivid dreams, or waves of emotion. For others, it’s just a subtle pull toward a person, a place, or even a time period. In my experience, it’s unpredictable. You can’t force it, and that’s often what makes it meaningful.
The process takes patience. Sometimes fragments come together slowly, piece by piece. You might feel a sensation before you see an image, or recognize a lesson before you know its origin.
How Past Lives Might Shape Your Present Life
Emotional patterns often carry forward from former lives. Dr. Ian Stevenson, a psychiatrist who studied young children recalling memories of past lives, documented cases where birthmarks matched fatal injuries described in these memories. Whether you see this as scientific or spiritual, it’s hard to ignore the consistency of such reports.
These imprints may not prove anything, but they do suggest continuity between lives. A certain fear, gift, or attraction could reflect something unresolved or unfinished from a previous life. Recognizing these connections can bring clarity and healing in current life.
I once worked with someone who had a deep fear of the ocean. Through past life regression therapy, guided by a trained hypnotist, she recalled a drowning incident from what felt like another lifetime. The memory came in pieces, more feeling than image. Still, acknowledging that connection helped her let go of the fear over time. Experiences like this show how understanding past life experiences can release something held deep in the subconscious.
Signs You Might Have Lived Before
Even if you never access vivid memories, signs of former lives can appear in subtle ways:
- A powerful connection with someone you’ve just met
- Fascination with a specific era or culture
- Unexplained fears or emotional triggers
- Skills or talents that seem to come naturally
- Dreams or visions that feel oddly specific
Most people notice just one or two of these patterns. Others find the signs everywhere once they start paying attention. Sometimes a single clue opens a path toward remembering more.
In my experience, recognizing a familiar emotion or attraction can be just as revealing as a full flashback. It’s less about proving a past and more about noticing what the soul is trying to show you now.
Three Ways to Explore Past Life Memories
1. Deep Meditation
Deep meditation is one of the simplest ways to open the mind to memories of past lives. The key is to relax and observe whatever comes up without judgment. Images, sensations, or feelings may surface. Some might seem random. Others might carry a weight that feels ancient.
Before beginning, it can help to set a quiet intention, such as:
“I’m open to seeing what my soul wants me to understand.”
Then you simply allow the experience. Don’t chase it or analyze too soon. In my experience, the most authentic insights from former lives come gently, not dramatically. Even a fleeting moment of recognition can hold meaning.
2. Past Life Regression Therapy
Past life regression therapy uses relaxation and visualization to uncover memories of previous lives stored in the subconscious. A trained hypnotist guides you into a meditative state, helping you move beyond surface thoughts. Some people experience vivid scenes or sensations that feel like a flashback to another existence.
Whether these experiences are literal or symbolic, they often reveal emotional truths. They can explain patterns that don’t make sense in your present life or help resolve fears that seem to have no origin.
I once met someone who had always struggled to speak publicly. During past life regression, she recalled a lifetime where her voice had been silenced by strict authority. That realization gave her the courage to use her voice more freely in her current life. Even if symbolic, the experience carried emotional truth.
3. Exploring the Akashic Records
The Akashic Records are said to contain every thought, action, and experience the soul has ever had. Accessing them, either independently or through a reader, allows you to explore lessons across past lives and recurring patterns of growth.
When people tap into these records, they often describe sensations of recognition more than visual imagery. Insights come as feelings, intuitive words, or brief impressions. You might discover why certain people or challenges keep reappearing, or how your soul’s history is guiding your spiritual awakening.
Even a few minutes of connection can shift how you see your current life. These insights don’t have to be dramatic to be meaningful.
Integrating What You Discover
Exploring past life memories is not about getting lost in the past. It’s about using what you find to better understand your choices now. A glimpse into a previous life might explain an ongoing struggle or illuminate a hidden strength.
In some cases, the lesson might be an emotional release. In others, it could be creative inspiration or reconciliation. What matters most is how the experience influences your perspective in the present life.
It helps to write down what you recall after meditation or regression. Don’t try to label everything as fact or fiction. Treat it as information from your inner world, something your soul is offering for reflection.
The Story of Matías De Stefano
Spiritual teacher Matías De Stefano has captivated audiences with his extraordinary ability to recall multiple past lives since childhood. Unlike those who access memories through regression, Matías’ recollections emerged naturally and in vivid detail, spanning ancient civilizations, planetary histories, and metaphysical dimensions.
Through his Gaia podcast and original series The Journey of Remembering, Matías shares how his memories shaped his understanding of the universe and his role in the collective spiritual awakening. His story offers profound insight into how connecting with the memories of past lives can guide us toward purpose, unity, and a deeper remembrance of who we truly are.
Just as with Matías’s experience, remembering past lives invites us to explore the continuity of consciousness and to see life as an unfolding journey rather than a single chapter. Whether through meditation, past life regression, or the Akashic Records, these methods can open the door to self-discovery and healing.
Ultimately, the value of these experiences lies not in proving their accuracy but in how they help us grow, evolve, and live our present life with peace, clarity, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Living With Past Life Awareness
Understanding past life experiences and exploring the soul’s history is not about proof or persuasion. It’s about awareness. Insights from past lives can explain repeating patterns, clarify emotional attachments, or simply remind you that growth is continuous.
Whether through deep meditation, past life regression, or the Akashic Records, each method opens a doorway to reflection. Sometimes that reflection is subtle, almost imperceptible. Other times it feels profound, as if you’ve remembered something essential about who you are.
Ultimately, remembering past lives isn’t about living in the past. It’s about carrying forward what matters most into the present life. Each glimpse, each small understanding, becomes part of how you live more consciously now.
