​I am asked this question a lot: why do whales strand? 
There are so many reasons, and people spend a lot of time and energy on discussing possible answers at lengths.

Some reasons we humans came up with, just to name a few:

• topographic reasons - there are studies made at a gently sloping beach in Australia/Tasmania similar to the Farewell Spit region (NZ) that show how the echolocation of whales doesn’t function properly = it is easy for animals to loose orientation and get confused & strand as a consequence. Farewell Spit in NZ has always been a tricky location for whales.
• solar storms & changes of the earth’s magnetic field – NASA is currently investigating this
• tidal currents that cause inexperienced or sick animals to strand
• extreme weather conditions (climate change)
• geomagnetic anomalies
• noise pollution – causes stress, blocks communication, makes whales loose orientation
• social bonds - if one individual strands the pod follows the distress calls and beach themselves, too
• warming of the oceans – rising water temperatures affect sound transmission and food supply
• hunger/mal-nutrition - following fish and other food sources into shallow waters, inexperienced animals strand as a consequence, overfishing plays a role, mal-nutrition causes mal-functioning of  echolocation & other body functions
• plastic pollution – whales have been found with their bellies full of plastic or other rubbish = affects their health and balance
• earthquakes
• seismic testing & military LFS activity

 
All the above reasons are more or less well scientifically researched and “likely”. Some can be influenced by humans, some are created by humans - and others not.
 
Animal communicators, including myself, also receive messages in correlation with strandings.
For the last 6 years, I continuously get messages from the whales that are quite disturbing (I described one here). The images and feelings I receive are intense and show how the whales (might) feel. As on land, life in the oceans becomes more and more affected by the current shifts and transitions that we can observe everywhere on this planet. The imbalances, of course, affect not only creatures living on land, but have an increasingly devastating effect on ocean habitat, too. The whales bring important messages about this effect if we choose to listen.

My personal opinion: instead of, or better: in addition to spending a lot of time, money and other energy forms to try & find out possible reasons and to develop pre-warn and emergency systems to deal with symptoms, why aren’t more people focusing on finding out what we can do to PREVENT regular (!) mass strandings. Why not focus on looking at possible options and approaches to reduce or take away human-created factors (see above)?
We play around a lot with researching, analysing and discussing potential reasons while treating the symptoms (strandings) and intensifying emergency care (rescue efforts, Project Jonah, DOC). I am not saying this is all in vain. However, I feel deeply concerned about the lack of complimentary and/or alternative approaches – and often the active resistance against “outside-the-box” solutions and new ways of doing and being, like involving animal communicators, shamans and other intuitive and wise humans to directly communicate and connect with the whales and exploring preventive measures (e.g. divert whales with underwater sound recordings), for instance. This would mean that we promote change and take action – and deal with the potential consequences of human-created effects proactively. Sometimes, it seems that we choose “same old same old” because it seems easier (cheaper, faster, more predictable and familiar, etc) than exploring new terrain…
 
Research
There are hundreds of scientific papers, research studies, articles – here a very few selected links for a first overview. Also check out www.oceancare.org, www.oceanmammalinst.com and www.terramarresearch.org.
 
Solar Storms
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-scientist-studies-whether-solar-storms-cause-animal-beachings
 
Noise pollution
google research by Linda Weilgart & Marsha Green
 
http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesson13/l13la2.html
 
Geographic reasons
Research study
​

Most of the spectacular discoveries, inventions and insights of humanity have been made when people just “played” and explored outside of the box – trial and error, ignoring people who were saying: it’s impossible, we have never done it like this, it wont work, etc. And then, one day: they made an amazing discovery, had a genius idea, dreamed up a truly fantastic plan, product, whatever... 
Talk to scientists, researchers, businessmen, they will confirm this.

In order to be “successful”, we also need to look at the resources we have - and learn how to make the most of them.

It's a process of opening up, loosening up in order to be able to receive. It's a process of listening deeply - not to reply and to compare to already existing templates, but to understand and to expand consciousness. 

​In education – why don’t we ask children what they need? How they want to learn? What they are interested in and feel drawn to? In order to ensure that we tap into their full potential for the benefit of all.

In conservation, horticulture, agriculture, etc.: why don’t we communicate directly with animals, plants, the land?
"But we cannot speak with animals, plants,…", some say. "We don’t speak their language."
Well, I have met a lot of researcher/scientists who study animals and they all had a story of “interspecies communication” to tell. I haven’t met a pet owner yet who didn’t have to tell a story about “magic communication” with his/her pet. More and more stories are published about “animal communication” these days. And: shamans and indigenous people have been communicating with the land and its many life forms since ancient times.

We are all indigenous to this planet. We all have the potential to do this. Some more than others, but still.

Why don’t we tune into what the whales have to tell us?! Why don’t we listen to the stories of the birds? Why don't we listen to the voices of the Water? Why don’t we hear the many voices of the Earth?
They ARE here, all around us, loud and clear for some, quieter for others. There are so many opportunities to tune in and to listen…
So many stories to be shared...

I find it not easy to bear, when I see that we don’t even listen to our own species (children/youth, indigenous people, elders...).
It’s early stages (still) in modern human consciousness, and I keep my hopes up.

Please listen!
​

Who doesn't know the good feeling after a walk in the woods? Especially after the rain, when mist fills the air, we come back refreshed and energised. Some have genius insights, ideas and epiphanies. Others simply de-stress and enjoy the calm that arises within after a while in forest-company. The young ones love climbing trees or playing under their branches, building huts and having all sorts of adventures in the bush... 

So when I was recently asked to write an article about "Forest Therapy" I wondered what this meant. "It's a new thing", my editor said. "Now science can prove that forests have a beneficial effect on humans." I have to admit that his statement made me smirk a bit. Here we go again, my arrogant side snorted: our mind-dominated Western culture needs scientific prove... for something that is an integral fundamental fact of life, and thus of us as a human species... interconnectedness...

Animal communicators like Anna Breytenbach, shamans and indigenous traditions all around the globe and individuals like Rupert Sheldrake, Jim Nollman, Joan Ocean and many many more have been exploring and sharing their experiences in this field for a long time - often without getting much attention. Is now the time that Western cultures re-connect with this fundamental truth of life? Is now the time that we move towards balance, from a mind-dominated life experience towards (re-) integrating emotional, intuitive, spiritual aspects?

Through my research for the article I found out that there are certified Forest Therapy Guides offering therapeutic Forest Walks and Forest Therapy Programs. In Japan, professor Qing Li from the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo started a scientific research program in the early nineteen eighties studying the effects of forest environments e.g. on the immune function. His research initiated a worldwide interest in "Forest Medicine". The Japanese tradition of Shinrin-yoku, "forest bathing", is a method to prevent illnesses, officially recognised and promoted by the Japanese health system.

Interesting how much scientific data has been gathered over the last decades. Studies show that spending one day in the forest increases the natural killer cells in our blood by almost 40 % - and that this effect last for up to seven days. Or that the forest community has elaborate ways of communication and information exchange - and that the forest system directly interacts and communicates with our human body-mind-soul system - and with any other natural systems for that matter. Some call it the Biophilia effect, others have other labels for it. 

Quite frankly, when I see all these great "new" initiatives and findings, I am surprised why we create such a hype around them. And it makes me cringe sometimes to see how many people make a business out of it: wilderness pedagogy, forest schools, electronic devices to communicate with plants and forest therapy programs... Seems to be part of human nature, too, this business-thing ;)
However, if it supports the process of re-membering, of re-connecting and feeling the interconnectedness of all life again and of learning how to communicate with other life forms, then why not?!

Long story short: if you are not doing it already, spend time in the woods, daily, regularly, to boost your immune system and your mental health. And while you are at it, enhance your creativity and your overall wellbeing. It is now scientifically justified and recommended. So you can tell that your boss or teacher or parent. 
You can do this on your own, or, if you find it easier, you can book yourself in for some "nature assisted remembering programs" - there are more and more sprouting everywhere.

My hope is, that people don't just go for forest walks because they learn that the forest, as a healthy balanced and sustainable natural system, has a recalibrating, strengthening effect on humans. I hope that these regular forest-visits will help you/me/us all to re-establish and re-activate a respectful and loving relationship based on open communication and mutual understanding. That they will help you to feel again that we are a part of a bigger system - that we are not a separate entity, but that our health and balance is intimately linked to the forest and all its beings, and vice versa. 
This goes way beyond what the scientific mind or our head brain can grasp. We need our intuition, our extrasensory perception skills in order to gain a whole new awareness of life. We need to engage not only our head brain, but also our heart and gut brain - and much more that we haven't labelled yet. 
​
The Ocean-community, the Forest-community, the Mountain-community, the River-community, the Stone-community and all the other communities on this amazing planet have taught me more than I can ever share. And the connection to them makes me who I am. This is why I sometimes find it hard to understand how we can treat each other/nature the way we do... not feeling each other... not listening to each other... completely ignoring the bond that simply is, no matter if we are aware of it or not. 

​I am hugely grateful to see that more and more humans long to become "real", connected to life, and to be alive again. Strengthening the life force, chi, wairua, no matter what we call it, the energy that binds us all together, the very essence that brings life - becoming alive, once again, reconnecting...

What a great journey.

​The short version:
Relationships are the most important ingredient for a well-balanced, healthy, happy and long life.
 
Close relationships nourish us with deep connection based on an open and voluntary exchange of energies on many levels.
 
If we learn to open ourselves up and to expand our consciousness beyond the framework of our “normal perspectives” and expectations, we enter the magic of true relationship.
On our way there we need to overcome two big influential factors that sometimes can block or hinder an open and pure connection and a free unconditional exchange of energies: the negative aspects of dependency and our “user-mindset”.
 
We are all interconnected and depend on each other in various ways. There are supportive and nourishing aspects of this interdependence – and there are non-supportive aspects that limit the free exchange of energy. The ability to perceive the world through the eyes of other human individuals or other life forms can be an amazing experience of modern shape shifting: We merge with “the other”, gaining a deeper and broader understanding and vision of “the bigger picture”.  As a business owner we see the world through the eyes of our clients. As a parent we learn how to look at the world through the eyes of a child. As a teacher we receive the gifts that our students hold for us. And as humans we are able to access a “whole new world” by merging with trees and other plants, other animals, the mineral kingdom, and the “unseen realms of the spirit world”. When becoming the river we can feel the flow and the alignment of energies… When shape shifting into a mountain we can feel the powerful, stable and calm presence of thousands of years.
 
If you want to know more, keep on reading ;)

The long version:
I LOVE animals.
When I was a child, I always wanted an animal companion, so I welcomed rabbits, hamsters, canaries, dogs and later “foster horses” into our family. I cared for them with all my heart and tried to make their lives as comfortable as possible. As I strongly disliked cages and fences, I let them run or fly freely in or around the house – much to the displeasure of my parents at times…
Two birds took their chance and disappeared one day through an open window in our living room. And one of the hamsters died one morning after indulging in an opulent night-time meal of leaves from a potted rubber tree in our lounge. One rabbit was attacked by a cat in our huge garden area, but his female partner saved him and chased the cat away. Apart from these incidences, all my animal friends stayed with us and had pretty cruisy life-style. I took the horses for long walks, without lead rope or anything, together with the dogs. They were free to roam, and as far as I was concerned, we simply enjoyed each other’s company and (mostly) stayed close together.
Still… there was something “missing”. There was something deep inside of me, a tiny little voice in my heart, that didn’t “feel good about it”. There was this slight dissonance that I only became consciously aware of much later in my life, when I swam with dolphins in the wild for the first time: I was swimming in a bay off La Palma, a couple of hundred meters away from shore, all by myself, when suddenly a group of wild bottle-nose dolphins appeared. At first, only one individual came really close, within my arms reach. She swam beside me and then kept going back and forth for a short time, while I paddled gently with my flippers to keep my body on the surface. Then, she swam back to the group who had circled me at a little distance. Now they all came closer, swam around me, below me, and some even gently touched my body while passing. I could feel their clicks vibrating in my body and hear their high-pitched sounds… It was magic. They took me into their world and I completely forgot my Self…
 
There is a huge difference whether you meet somebody on an equal level, based on free will, open and without expectations. 
It changes the whole relationship experience to something that is different to what we are used to.
 
When I was about 11 years old, I had a raven friend. I first met him when he showed up at my window while I was doing homework for school. He sat on the wooden railing of my balcony and watched me intently. His shiny blue-black feathers fascinated me. I had never seen a raven from this close. After a while he flew away and I didn’t think more of it – until he came back the next day. And the next, and the next… I started opening my window and talked to him. We had long conversations about all sorts of things. He came most days, and if I was not in my room, he would track me down and knock on the windows of our kitchen or living room or wherever I was with his strong beak. My family teased me and called me “Kleine Hexe” (little witch).
He often took on the role of a mentor. I would bounce ideas off him and share my dreams and sorrows… And: I learned to see the world through his eyes as well. A very different perspective compared to mine!
 
I used to bike to school, and one day, when I opened the gate to the land where we were living, I saw Raven flying down from a big tree. He accompanied me the rest of the way to our house. From then on, he either visited me on the balcony in front of my window or he picked me up at the gate and we walked/flew home together. Somehow he always knew exactly, when I would come home. Even when I was held off at school or finished early: he was always “in time” to meet me.
Our relationship held many treasures for me (and I assume for him, too – why else would he have kept coming?). It provided the “missing bit” and stilled, for the first time, my longing for a relationship based on free will and equality.
Today, I think it was because of two main factors:
 
1. At any one point in our relationship we were both free to be wherever we chose to be.

2. Neither of us depended on the other for food, drink or anything else to meet our basic needs.
 
From my observation, these two elements hugely affect the way we relate to each other.
 
Another aspect that interferes with a deep, unconditional, open relationship is what I call the “user-perspective” or "user mindset". Instead of being interested in other perspectives and open to experience the world through “other eyes” (thus expanding our consciousness), we tend to see relationships a lot from a user-angle: what can I use “the other” for? What benefits does the relationship hold for me? How does the other being fit into “my normal world”? This is often a cause for trouble and exhaustion in a relationship, no matter if we look at innerspecies (between humans) or interspecies (between humans and other beings) relationships.
We see trees as timber or firewood suppliers; parents as taxi drivers, cooks, laundry staff, cleaners; our partners as emotional and overall personal support system; and our “pets” are often used to meet our needs for unconditional love, cuddles and as our therapists. Again: there is no “good” nor “bad”. It is about observing our Selves and learning to discern when we do what and why. 
 
There is a fine line between the nurturing aspects of “feeling useful” and “being of use” on one hand and the less supportive aspects of ab-use and exploitation on the other.
If we – consciously or unconsciously – choose to be and connect with another being, because we see a benefit for our Selves, it can lead us to expect that the other being gives something to us. Instead of seeing and receiving the gift they might have to share with us, we focus on our expectation – and completely miss the opportunity of an expansive relationship.
If there is a mutual agreement and understanding about exchanging certain gifts (e.g. between a healer and the person who wants to be healed), then there isn’t an issue. However, I often see that people seem to neither ask in the beginning nor check in along the way if all partners involved agree to take on certain roles. This is especially noticeable in interspecies relationships. Humans often seem to assume that other species are here to sustain us (e.g. as “food sources”) or to help us to keep our balance and that we can “use” them as we please.
 
Looking at relationships in regards to the two before mentioned factors – free choice/will and dependency levels –, I observed the following: No matter how much we love our animal companions or pets, our animal therapists, farm animals, etc.: They mostly aren’t 100% free to go where they want to go and we mostly provide their food and/or drinking water. They are used to depend on us for life essentials. Again: I mean no judgment here. It is simply about exploring the impact those two factors can have on our relationships.
 
I have seen humans using wild or domesticated animals as therapists and friends, with best intentions. I have been involved in dolphin assisted learning and healing programs in the early 1990’s and in equine assisted therapy for most of my life. I have seen amazing things happening – beautiful relationships, incredible healing. I met many animals who enjoyed their “job” or role as a therapist, teacher, healer – most of the time at least.  I also met many who “did the job” – but given a choice I know that they wouldn’t have chosen to do this job on a regular and ongoing basis.
In exchange they were fed, loved, cared for (most of them anyway). Most of their human relations seemed to have genuinely good intentions. However, all of these animals have been kept in captivity without them being asked J It seems to me that “captivity” almost became a norm in our human world – we don’t seem to think much of it anymore. Zoos and animal parks are seen as normal entertainment and education facilities for the whole family, and when have you seen the last wild cow, horse, dog running around freely and without any restrictions in your neighbourhood? Or the last wild child in the woods for that matter? What about your Self? Are you confined to four walls, in front of a small screen? Think about it: how many beings do you see on a regular basis that are mostly kept in check within paddocks, kennels, classrooms and fenced off school yards, offices, etc.? And how many actually choose to be there, or would, given a choice, run off and rather be somewhere else?
 
These aspects influence ALL our relationships. Parent-child, teacher-student, employer-employee, male-female partnerships all include aspects of dependency and a “user mindset” that is deeply ingrained in our collective psyche.
It can be a huge task and challenge to become aware of these aspects and how they affect our relationships. However, from my experience, it is very rewarding. You will be able to experience relationships on a whole new level!
 
Ask your Self in what areas of your life you are in a “power position”. This might not be that obvious sometimes. For example: we are in a power position compared to our young children – we provide their food, are in charge of their mobility (= we decide where they are allowed to go and when), etc.
 
Are you in a partnership?
It’s worthwhile to explore any “areas of neediness and dependencies” in your relationship J Are you or your partner financially, emotionally, socially depending on each other? Does this affect your relationship? If yes, how? Do you have certain expectations that you want to be met within the relationship?
 
Are you a parent or caregiver?
Your children, especially young ones, depend on you – by default. Normally, you provide all the basics (food, shelter, warmth) and, ideally, more than that (an emotionally and socially safe platform, a safe haven from which they can sail off into the world). Clearly, you are in a power position. How does this “play out” in your life and in your relationship with them?
 
How are your work relationships?
Are you an employer or an employee? Are you a self-employed entrepreneur? Where are the dependencies in your work relationships?
 
If you are an “animal lover” – like me – and/or work with animals, and if you want to deepen your connection and bring it to the next level, it is worth to look at your Self and your relationship to your animal friends under those aspects.
The “dependency factor” in our Western world is normally quite high: apart from bird friends, lizards, worms and, occasionally, cats and mice and rats and many insect friends you most likely won’t have many free roaming animal friends around you who care entirely for themselves and don’t depend on you at all.
Yes, we are all interconnected and depend on each other all the time – this is true. However, this is not what I am talking about here. I talk about the importance to become aware of the dependencies we created, about our “user mindset” and how both factors affect our relationships.
It is about awareness and getting a clear picture of how we relate to each other.
 
Deep inside, most of us long for deep meaningful fulfilling relationships. In fact, such relationships are seen as the main ingredient for a well-balanced happy long life. 

This photo has been taken by Nomi Baumgartl with dolphins in the wild.
(c) 2016 by Nomi Baumgartl

This is the time…
 
…when we ALL need to make time and space to STOP, to RELAX, to LISTEN DEEPLY.
No matter how busy, how happening, how needed, how important we, and the lives we have created for ourselves, are or seem to be.

Why?
​Because the ways we have created, the systems we see in place around us*, our schedules, our expectations (from ourselves and from others), our everyday rat racing are exhausting our energies. And we are not only exhausting our energies. We are also not able to be creative in a fun and truly productive way. And if we are not creative in a fun way, we are not creating things & dreaming up stuff that make life “good”, supporting all life on this planet.
 
So many people I meet, so many young ones (!!!) I meet, are exhausted. 

Why?
​Because they blindly, expectantly, hopefully, desperately, reluctantly, resignedly, whole-heartedly, half-heartedly, but rarely happily follow the given patterns, systems and constructs in their society and culture.
Why?
Because they believe the promises of their society and/or culture and that this will help them to create a happy and “good” life.

However, they are exhausting themselves…

We can’t go on like this.
Why?
Because we are depleting life-supporting energies. And the more we deplete life-supporting energies, the less enjoyable, liveable and alive our lives become. It’s a dead end road :) Even if it looks like the only road available sometimes.

Why? 
1. Because you won’t be “efficient”, “successful”, “useful”, a “good mum/dad/husband/wife/friend/employee/employer” or anything else you want to be, if you are exhausted and overwhelmed and pushing your Self too hard. 2. Because we need humans on this planet who come up with sustainable, cooperative, life-supporting ways of living, in harmony and balance with life’s energies.
Why? Because otherwise, you will be… exhausted, depleted, not fun to be around and, in general, not getting anywhere. (Well, you will get somewhere, but most likely not where you want to be and where you will be well.)

So, please, consciously take some time to STOP. Step out of this old cycle.

​*I am referring to most Western societies and cultures here.

I am a writer, a storyteller and a collector of stories… we all are in a way. We all write the stories of our life and collect the stories of others, listening to their experiences and insights. We write stories all the time, as individuals, as members of a family, a tribe, a workplace, a culture, a religion… Some stories stay with us over hundreds of years, others are short-lived and aren’t told for long. As we evolve, our stories evolve, too, and reflect our state of consciousness. That’s the beauty of storytelling and writing: you can change a story, rewrite it, take elements that work well and dismiss others that aren’t “serving the plot”.
 
Stories are usually born out of experiences. From the experience grows the impulse to share and tell the story. Writing a new story brings joy and excitement. It is often a plunge in the unknown, a process of exploring and experimenting, and as a writer you never quite know where it will take you. A new story also often evokes opposition and resistance, and might trigger suppressed feelings. Stories can be a great space to explore the shadow-side of things.
Stories can be entertaining, full of wisdom and knowledge, provoking, soothing, uplifting, horrifying, strange, quirky, spiritual, emotional, scientific… in short: they can illustrate many aspects of life and can create various atmospheres.

​We are all born with an innate feeling of connection. When we are born, we know and feel the interconnectedness of all life. We can “travel between the worlds” and have access to all sorts of  “magical and supernatural” realms.
 
As we grow up, depending on our environment, we become more and more focused on (or restricted to) the “world view” of our parents, teachers, society, culture… You can observe this process in the face of newborn babies on their journey through childhood…

First a question: would something change in your life, if money/earning money wasn’t an “issue”?
 
Be honest to yourself, when you answer this question – and take some time to explore it.

In our modern lives and psyche “money-making” is ingrained and role-modelled as an underlying core value. And many aren’t aware to what extend most people growing up in modern societies are influenced and coined by it. Money-making and money developed its own dynamic in our collective psyche. It became a motivator and anchor point in our societies – even for those who strive for other ideals and values.  
In a bigger context, money can be seen as a form of energy.
How much is “getting energy from others” steering what you do?
If you had enough energy available, would you arrange your life differently?
What would you do?
How would you feel?
 
It’s interesting to explore these questions and to become aware of how much money/the related mindset is steering your actions and decision-making. The “money-mindset” is often so deeply ingrained within us, that we hardly notice its influence. Some might think they are free of it, but their ongoing struggle with “money-issues” is just the other side of the coin ;)

The money-mindset is installed in our children (and has been installed in many of us) through modelling in their environment from a very young age: even if they grow up in a setting where people talk differently, they see how, deep inside, money is a big influential factor in people's lives and systems around them. We have allowed money to become much more than a bare means of exchanging goods and services. This is why it’s so important to explore the above question in depth and with an open heart and mind :)
 
Do you grow your own food and sell your surplus to others? Are you offering your knowledge, wisdom, art, healing, any other skills to others for money? How often do you think about how to sell this or that in order to… make a living?
 
We have built almost all systems in modern society around money-making – hence, it is not so easy to “step out of it” and all the related thinking patterns and belief systems. And maybe we do not need to. But I think it is high time to reflect on our acquired mindsets in relation to money, our relationship to money and to consciously re-assess the meaning and power we attribute to money-making and money in our everyday lives as a motivational factor.
A first step is to become aware when and how it affects us on a deeper level of our thinking.
Share-economy, gift-economy, universal income and similar concepts and ideas try to point in a different direction. However, only if we all explore the unconscious aspects and effects of money in our psyche, will we be able to sustainably transition into a new way of dealing with money and, more importantly, with all the related aspects of "energy flow" and open connection in life :)

P.S.: At first sight, you might wonder what this post has to do with "interconnectedness", feeling connected, and opening connection channels. If you explore the various aspects and effects of the "money-mindset", you'll see how it impacts on our ability to feel connected and often blocks our connection channels.