July 30, 2024
Somah
The other day, I re-watched one of my favorite documentaries, “The Animal Communicator,” featuring Anna Breytenbach, a woman who deeply inspires me. I was with my fellow animal-loving neighbor, Isabelle, and it reminded me of a special incident we experienced together.
I’d like to share that story with you…
Isabelle’s beloved cat, Indy, had been missing for two days, and we were growing worried. Indy hadn’t responded to our calls or searches around the neighborhood, which was unlike her. We decided to try a different approach, guided by our felt-sense, using the wisdom of our own bodies to track our missing kitty friend.
We took a few minutes on the porch to drop into a meditative state, syncing with our breath and noticing the deeper sensations in our bodies. We called in guidance from the unseen realms, including Indy herself, to show us the way. Then we waited for an intuitive prompt from our felt-sense. Each time we checked in, we both felt a similar direction to go. We followed these prompts, moving in a seemingly illogical circular path but trusting our felt-sense over our rational minds.
Eventually, we stopped by a building near a busy road, an unlikely place for a cat. We lingered there, asking another neighbor about Indy who we happened to meet on that corner. As we stood still, I sensed we were meant to be listening. Then I heard faint meows. I asked Isabelle and our neighbor if they heard it too. At first, they didn’t, but then another meow caught our attention. Looking up, we saw Indy directly above us on the upper floor of the building, trapped and meowing for help. We borrowed a ladder from the shop nearby and rescued a very hungry cat. We were relieved and amazed by how our search had unfolded.
In the documentary, people from various indigenous backgrounds speak about the kinship and telepathic communication that exists across species barriers. This ancient skill is inherent to all beings, including humans, though most of us have lost it. The good news is that we can recover it! My experience with Isabelle and Indy is just one example of how this works.
For years, I have been fascinated by animal communication, or intuitive inter-species communication. It is linked to our ability to quiet our minds, attune to subtler realms, and trust the innate felt-sense intelligence within us. Somatic (body-based) practices aided by meditation, nature connection, yoga, movement, and yoga nidra, all help us listen to, honour and meet our body’s needs. These practices can be used therapeutically for trauma (which is a form of fragmentation, the opposite of ‘union’ that yoga aims toward) resolution and serve our spiritual journey profoundly.
In the film, Anna speaks about humans being afflicted by the sickness of separation. This “separation sickness” means we are so out of alignment with nature that we believe ourselves separate from it and from each other, causing immense harm to all our relations, including non-humans and the planet.
In my 20s, I pursued a degree in social work driven by a desire to contribute to equality and positively impact people’s lives. I wanted to address systemic faults that create disadvantages for some and advantages for others, often along socio-economic, racial, sexual orientation, and gender lines. I am grateful for the education I received in that field, as it opened my eyes to the political and sociological structures in society. Many of these structures are facets and products of what I now understand as symptoms of this “separation sickness.”
I have always been interested in uncovering the root causes of issues, whether psychological or sociological. Initially, social work seemed to offer hope for addressing the underlying causes of sociological problems. However, it often proved to be more about applying band-aid solutions to dysfunctional systems, which, as Albert Einstein famously said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Through my journey into yoga and spirituality (I initially picked it up as a self-care practice while working as a crisis counsellor), I have been able to delve deeper into the roots of this “separation sickness.” Animal (and plant!) communication has seamlessly integrated into this journey, acting as a bridge between the tangible, embodied life forms in nature (us included) and the ultimate spiritual goals of liberation and union with the Divine, Source consciousness, or Spirit. In this way, animal communication allows us to fully embody compassion, love, respect, and honor for all our relations that the great spiritual traditions speak of and guide us toward. Ultimately recognising that we are all unique expressions of the One and same essence.
The somatic (body-based) and spiritual practices come together to form a unified approach that aims to heal the inner separation we experience. This inner disconnection often manifests in the world around us, contributing to the chaos and inhumanity we see today. By mending this inner divide, we can foster greater harmony both within ourselves and in the world.
For All Our Relations,
Simone
I’d like to share that story with you…
Isabelle’s beloved cat, Indy, had been missing for two days, and we were growing worried. Indy hadn’t responded to our calls or searches around the neighborhood, which was unlike her. We decided to try a different approach, guided by our felt-sense, using the wisdom of our own bodies to track our missing kitty friend.
We took a few minutes on the porch to drop into a meditative state, syncing with our breath and noticing the deeper sensations in our bodies. We called in guidance from the unseen realms, including Indy herself, to show us the way. Then we waited for an intuitive prompt from our felt-sense. Each time we checked in, we both felt a similar direction to go. We followed these prompts, moving in a seemingly illogical circular path but trusting our felt-sense over our rational minds.
Eventually, we stopped by a building near a busy road, an unlikely place for a cat. We lingered there, asking another neighbor about Indy who we happened to meet on that corner. As we stood still, I sensed we were meant to be listening. Then I heard faint meows. I asked Isabelle and our neighbor if they heard it too. At first, they didn’t, but then another meow caught our attention. Looking up, we saw Indy directly above us on the upper floor of the building, trapped and meowing for help. We borrowed a ladder from the shop nearby and rescued a very hungry cat. We were relieved and amazed by how our search had unfolded.
In the documentary, people from various indigenous backgrounds speak about the kinship and telepathic communication that exists across species barriers. This ancient skill is inherent to all beings, including humans, though most of us have lost it. The good news is that we can recover it! My experience with Isabelle and Indy is just one example of how this works.
For years, I have been fascinated by animal communication, or intuitive inter-species communication. It is linked to our ability to quiet our minds, attune to subtler realms, and trust the innate felt-sense intelligence within us. Somatic (body-based) practices aided by meditation, nature connection, yoga, movement, and yoga nidra, all help us listen to, honour and meet our body’s needs. These practices can be used therapeutically for trauma (which is a form of fragmentation, the opposite of ‘union’ that yoga aims toward) resolution and serve our spiritual journey profoundly.
In the film, Anna speaks about humans being afflicted by the sickness of separation. This “separation sickness” means we are so out of alignment with nature that we believe ourselves separate from it and from each other, causing immense harm to all our relations, including non-humans and the planet.
In my 20s, I pursued a degree in social work driven by a desire to contribute to equality and positively impact people’s lives. I wanted to address systemic faults that create disadvantages for some and advantages for others, often along socio-economic, racial, sexual orientation, and gender lines. I am grateful for the education I received in that field, as it opened my eyes to the political and sociological structures in society. Many of these structures are facets and products of what I now understand as symptoms of this “separation sickness.”
I have always been interested in uncovering the root causes of issues, whether psychological or sociological. Initially, social work seemed to offer hope for addressing the underlying causes of sociological problems. However, it often proved to be more about applying band-aid solutions to dysfunctional systems, which, as Albert Einstein famously said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Through my journey into yoga and spirituality (I initially picked it up as a self-care practice while working as a crisis counsellor), I have been able to delve deeper into the roots of this “separation sickness.” Animal (and plant!) communication has seamlessly integrated into this journey, acting as a bridge between the tangible, embodied life forms in nature (us included) and the ultimate spiritual goals of liberation and union with the Divine, Source consciousness, or Spirit. In this way, animal communication allows us to fully embody compassion, love, respect, and honor for all our relations that the great spiritual traditions speak of and guide us toward. Ultimately recognising that we are all unique expressions of the One and same essence.
The somatic (body-based) and spiritual practices come together to form a unified approach that aims to heal the inner separation we experience. This inner disconnection often manifests in the world around us, contributing to the chaos and inhumanity we see today. By mending this inner divide, we can foster greater harmony both within ourselves and in the world.
For All Our Relations,
Simone
