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. 
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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

Photo by Gunter Hauer 

​In recent months I have been part of an experiment to directly communicate with whales. The intention is to signal openness to communicate and to learn how to exchange information on a conscious level.
My personal intention also is to offer to be a spokesperson (amongst many other human spokespersons) for the whales and other species so that their messages will be heard in human communities. Since long I am receiving messages that tell me about the changing Ocean habitat. Like creatures on land, the creatures in the Sea are more and more affected by the changes.
 
There are factors humans can’t influence in a direct way* (the changing earth magnetic field, natural features in the landscape, natural occurrences like earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) and there are factors we can.
If we start to directly get in touch and learn how to communicate, we will get a better and clearer understanding of what other species are experiencing, of how they see the world we live in, and we will be able to address the important factors and collaboratively work towards balance.
 
Yesterday I got a message from some whales near Nelson (Aotearoa/New Zealand). I admit that I find it challenging to “translate” the messages into human language. I receive these messages in form of visual imagery, feelings, sensations, observations… It is like the whales (or other species) briefly “make me” experience what they experience. As soon as I try to translate this into words, I feel it's not so easy to not adding my “flavor” to it. I also find it not easy to express the imagery and perceptions I get in human language, as sometimes they are so different from how I/humans normally perceive the world and I feel there are no words that seem to adequately describe the experience. I wish I could just do what they do with me and “beam” the experience into your head/body :) I can’t do this (yet), so my "translations" will be mere approximations to what they show me…

The whales sent me pictures of how they feel. First I saw their skin and it looked “not normal” = a bit uneven, flaky, marks here and there… Suddenly, I felt their skin as if it was mine. It felt kind of itchy and “not right”. It was a feeling of uneasiness (not pain or strong itches, but just “not well”). I felt very uncomfortable. I also got the impression of an overall feeling of “unwellness”. I felt “not good in my skin” at all!
After that they showed me how underwater noise affects them. I heard high-pitched sounds, and low rumbling sounds that penetrated my body and made it vibrate internally. Some sounds were ok, others were plain unnerving and some hurt my “ears” and other parts of my body. The worst thing was that I couldn’t escape the noises. I couldn’t just switch them off (which I wanted to after a while)! It wasn’t only the loud, dominating, painful noises – it was also the “background” noises that constantly ran in the background and “blurred” my audio-receptivity. It was just too much. And it drove me nuts after a while that I couldn’t turn the noise off (me = me as human, the whales didn’t send me this feeling!).
I asked if they couldn’t avoid it somehow. They showed me images of deep waters that were calmer. Then they showed me images of shallower waters (different colors, different feeling than "the deep"). I felt the need to swim closer to the coast, to rest and relax and play – the pull of the water, the whole atmosphere in the water felt much “easier” and quite attractive nearer to the coast. There were babies and younger ones, some old ones and one adult whale that had a cut on his back near one of the flippers that was heavily infected and the whale seemed to be quite weak. I could feel a sort of relief coming from them that they didn’t have to brave deep waters. (All these words – relief, brave, easy – are my desperate attempt to translate what I feel into human language and they don't seem like a perfect fit. They feel merely like rough approximations, but I hope you can “feel between the lines” and get the message :)

The next thing they showed me, or rather made me feel, was the water temperature. It felt too warm, and I felt really uncomfortable – a bit like being in a pool, wanting to swim, but then the water is too warm to move your body… Again: I couldn’t escape that feeling. I could dive deep – away from the coast – but I always had to come back up to warmer layers. And the diving cost me energy – I could feel this very intensely in my body (I/human felt physically tired the whole afternoon after this experience). I also saw how the whole underwater environment is affected by this change in temperature (food sources, parasites, plant growths,…).
 
All in all, I felt the whales being alarmed and not feeling well.
 
It’s up to us humans to make sense of these messages: Marine biologists and other scientists could set out to verify and explore these issues in detail. There is so much we humans can do, following these guidelines, to make changes that are needed to sustain life on this planet. Let’s start addressing the issues mentioned above: water quality/pollution, noise pollution, water temperature & its effect on ocean habitat. Let’s deal with the factors that are human-created and that we can influence/change. (And yes, there are factors we cannot influence or change as said before: we can simply leave them aside :)

Animal communicators (or whatever you want to call them) could work together with and alongside other researchers to give them clues and act as direct links to the “studied objects” :) And thus accelerate the process hugely and make it more efficient.

The whales (as well as many other species) are waiting for us to get in touch and collaborate!
 
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*From my experience, shamans and certain people can actually influence these factors as well by directly linking into the energy field and working with universal life energies. However, this takes a lot of effort and concentration and energy and, when addressing large scale issues (e.g. climate change), needs a certain critical mass of people doing it to be effective.
 
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We tend to only spring into action when things have a "tangible" and direct effect on us. Some of us have habits that can cause harm to our body/mind/soul and affect not only us but also other bodies/minds/souls, but because we don't drop dead straight away... hey, we might get away with it?! 
If young people act like this, we usually call this kind of behaviour and attitude "irresponsible", "immature", "short-sighted"... or plain stupid :) Yet, most of us do it all the time...

When "issues" arise and "symptoms" show up that could guide us to have a closer look and to bring back balance, we often choose to "take a pill" and want a "quick fix option" - or ignore them altogether.
We can take painkillers and not address the root causes of our migraine. We can give someone Ritalin to "calm people down".
However, we need to be aware that there are other choices and options as well.

Whales and dolphins often link into my consciousness, and especially during this time of the year (December-February), I am quite alert and try to be receptive for their messages. During this time, there often are mass strandings near the place I live. They happen due to various reasons - some human-related, some not. So far, people’s main strategy to deal with strandings is to get the animals back into the water. This seems the obvious thing to do, right? Interestingly enough, often whales re-strand and it sometimes even looks like "they deliberately come back to land to die".
It surprises me, that only few people seem to be interested in exploring the root causes for stranding on a deeper level. Scientists have to be very careful as they cannot “prove anything” and often are concerned about their funding and reputation. It’s also an easy way out to point at all the reasons, that we humans can NOT influence – and come to the conclusion that it has always happened, there is nothing we can do, really, and so on. There are also efforts that only come from a specific angle, e.g. keeping the whales away from certain coastal areas – which, interestingly enough, doesn’t always work. It might prevent strandings in a certain area (e.g. beepers, setting up lines to shut off challenging terrain, etc.). But whales and dolphin often re-strand or strand in other areas. The message I got from them recently (see “Talking Whale") gives us initial indicators why and points out that a more holistic approach might be needed in order to address strandings.
Unless we address and eliminate human-created factors of strandings we won’t contribute to a situation that is sustainable for the whales/ocean habitat/us humans.
 
Communicating with the whales gives us a clearer picture of what they are experiencing and what the underlying issues are from their perspective. Together we can then set out to find balance.
 
P.S.: This applies to many other areas of life as well: communication with out own body and soul, communication with our children & young people, communication with our elders, communication with people who don’t share the same language, culture, values, opinions, beliefs,… How often do we shut our communication partner down and/or impose our own solutions and worldviews onto “them” without listening deeply and trying to perceive the world through their “eyes”?
When we learn to open up, to tune into “different vibes” and to listen deeply with an open heart and open senses – to our body, our children, other cultures, other species – we will make the next evolutionary steps towards well-being and balance for all life.

Do you see the white triangle? This is an example of the brain making sense of a picture for itself, by filling the gaps. 
There is no white triangle - or is there?

Nature over there, me here? Is there an individual ME? Or is it the brain creating the illusion of an individual ME? 

When I talk about "SELF" I don't mean the "ME" that the brain creates. I mean the energy field that we are that is intimately linked to and in constant exchange with many other energy fields forming an overall pulsating, ever-changing, evolving, colourful field of life/death. 

So Nature/Self are just aspects of the same field. Through feeling Self, we are able to feel Nature. Through feeling Nature, we are able to feel Self. 
If we feel connected, it is all the same. 
(= If we are able to perceive this connection, not only with our minds, but with our whole body-mind-soul complex)
If our perception of connection is interrupted (read my other posts about Self connection), we might need to take some conscious steps to re-connect and to re-activate our connection channels.

Listen to the trees... 
I recently mentioned this in a talk to some permaculture students. "Well, trees don't talk. How do we do that?" one student said. The good news: Like every life form, trees do communicate = they send and receive energy. They might not speak English, and we might not speak Tree - however, we can learn to exchange and receive messages in a different way. 
Other life forms usually communicate in a very subtle way. They send energy waves, mind pictures, holographic images, feelings/e-motions (energy in motion) that aren't as strong as, for instance, words. The good news: once you are accustomed to perceive and translate the subtle impulses, you will be amazed by the simplicity and efficiency of this direct and clear form of communication. And it will also help you immensely with "inner-species communication" when dealing with your fellow humans. No more misunderstandings and assumptions. No more mis-interpretations and "false friends". 

How to start to learn this way of communication

1. Ideally, establish a relationship = get to know each other by meeting on a regular basis, to learn about individual qualities and personality traits. Especially if you are new to this form of communicating, it helps to perceive and get used to different ways of communication. 
   
2. Keep an open mind and heart, stay focused AND playful. When you are relaxed and not attached to the outcome, your body-mind-soul system is the most flexible and receptive.
   
3. Observe what happens, like a curious child. There might be images that pop up, thoughts, emotions, colours... You might feel drawn to a certain place, your attention and focus might shift to something you haven't noticed before in your surroundings... You might simply have a "very strong gut feeling" that tells you something (e.g. where to plant the tree, see below). You might "see" a story unfold in your mind's eye... Whatever it is - just let it be and observe it. With time, you will be able to clearly discern the impulses that come from your mind/imagination and those that come from other life forms. Be gentle and patient with yourself. Learning something new always takes a bit of time and practise.

Here an example:
If you plant trees, ask them where they want to be planted - you will be surprised by the guidance you will get! Be still and listen...
Listen to the land, the garden, listen to all the different life forms around you... 
Get in touch with them, connect with them and communicate with them. Establish a relationship. Be still and listen!
You will receive a message or an answer to your question - give yourself time to learn how to perceive it. 

Find your individual way. A lot of people naturally and intuitively communicate with their pets or with their plants while gardening, etc. They do it in a verbal or non-verbal way: some people sing while planting, tell their dog how their day went – whatever way you choose, make a connection, establish a relationship. Trust your "gut feeling" and follow it. 

Ask the next tree you want to plant: Where do you want to be? 

Then simply wait, be still and perceive what "comes up". Where does it “feel right”? It’s that particular feeling. The more you practice the "listening", the more you will actually perceive/receive, the more you will know. Instantly. With certainty. The knowing will come. It just happens. Trust the process. Like a child that is exercising its leg muscles, playfully and consistently, until it can finally walk and run. Exercise your "communication muscles", your "language skills" - just do it, again and again. You will become more and more confident, you will become clearer and clearer, you will know - and expand your perception of life. You will gain a valuable communication tool that you can use to connect with other earthlings, with your own species as well as with other species. 

Another valuable "side effect":
The budding relationship that you are establishing, will enable you to feel and live the connection, that is already there, and integrate it more and more into your doing and being. It will help you to balance all sorts of dis-traction, things that are and have been pulling us away from feeling the connection (these things/habits/life styles can be quite dominant, noisy and loud, and persistent). 
Do it with (your) children to nurture their natural innate ability to communicate in this way. Remember the last time a 3 year old shared with you what the cat just told him? Did you ban the story into the realms of a "vivid imagination"? When children (or adults, for that matter) do what people sometimes call daydreaming, they drift away and enter a different state of perception. Teachers and parents often try to bring them back and make them focus on the task at hand, or they simply interrupt them, unaware of what's happening. In many day care centres and schools, activities like daydreaming are rarely respected and uninterrupted, they are certainly not encouraged and nurtured. 
In this way, we condition our children (and have been conditioned ourselves) to not connect, to not keep their fluency in "connective energy language" and to not enter dream space...

Hold a space for it and allow your Self to enter and to dwell in it now...

Because so many keep asking, how can we communicate with another species, here is a brief overview of what you can do. Please feel free to contact us if you have specific questions :)

How to start...
Send “mind pictures” to the animal. Focus on the message you want to get across. If you want the animal to do something specific, visualise the “desired outcome”. 
If you want to know something, formulate a question in your mind (you can also talk loudly at the same time if it helps you to focus and set your intention). Important is here to visualise the question and have a clear intention. 
Don’t ask yes/no questions. For instance, if you want to know what's "wrong" with an animal, you could ask: Show me where you feel unwell – or: show me how you feel. 
Sometimes, it takes a bit of practise to be able to receive the answers. Don’t give up and keep practising. The more you do it, the better you will get at it and the clearer you will be able to discern your own thoughts/imagination from the replies that come from the animal. 

If you have already established a good relationship with another animal, you most likely will be “tuned into each other” and the animal will react to your thoughts immediately – now it’s up to you to become more "receptive" and to learn how to receive the answers :)

When Noa, my 12 year old son, goes for long walks with his dog friend Mout (Mout doesn't have a collar or lead or anything), they mostly communicate via thoughts/imaging. The other day Mout found a bone and ran after Noa with this big bone in his mouth. Noa didn’t want him to take it, as he had planned a longer walk. So he sent him a mind-picture of what he wanted him to do: carry the bone back to the house (about 2 kms away), leave the bone there, then come back to go for a walk. Mout ran off – did what he had been asked for and came back after a few minutes while Noa waited for him at the side of the walkway.

I have been communicating with animals in this way since I can remember. I find it very easy once I have established a relationship with an animal, but I also continue to experience direct communication with birds, ants, rabbits, dolphins and whales that I haven’t met before, in the wild.

“Pet owners”, animal trainers and animal researchers have many stories to tell about this kind of communication. Indigenous people and shamans use it for inner- and inter-species communication. I have also seen many species communicating with other species in this way, e.g. dogs with whales, horses with dogs, elephants with giraffes.
In my view, it is an ancient way of communicating in holographic images that is used by animals (incl. homo sapiens) since ancient times. They are fluent in this communication form. 
Everybody = every human can “do it”, too! We simply have to familiarise ourselves again with this way of communication, and practise our “receptive” and “listening” skills. 

Other species are very good at “reading our mind” and picking up our intention. It is us who have to practise our skills in order to pick up their replies or requests.

Check out Anna Breytenbachs videos and publications or Lawrence Anthony's story about his relationship with a herd of wild elephants in South Africa.

More links that might help to get you started:
How to practise your visualisation skills…
How to start to feel interconnected…