We are here to awaken from our
illusion of separateness.
— Thich Nhất Hạnh
This is an extraordinary documentary that is deeply important and well worth the time to watch.
A brief synopsis is described here:
What if you could talk to animals and have them talk back to you?
Anna Breytenbach has dedicated her life to what she calls interspecies communication. She sends detailed messages to animals through pictures and thoughts. She then receives messages of remarkable clarity back from the animals.
Anna can feel the scars hidden under a monkeys fur, she can understand the detailed story that is causing a birds trauma, she transforms a deadly snarling leopard into a relaxed content cat – the whole animal kingdom comes alive in a way never seen before – wild birds land on her shoulders, fish gather around her when she swims, and wild unfamiliar baboons lie on her body as if she is one of their own.
This is the first full length documentary film on the art of animal communication.
For a shorter clip of Anna Breytenbach and the story of a black leopard, please go here:
It also needs to be noted that this is about much more than communicating with animals alone. This is about healing and transforming what is referred to in this film as the "sickness of separation." We humans have tragically long experienced a disconnect with the wisdom of our Indigenous sisters and brothers, with our interrelatedness with other beings, and with the sacredness of all life.
How else are we to explain the sixth major extinction that we are now in the midst of and which threatens all life on Earth? How else to explain our apathy and ignorance when it comes to the food we eat and its direct connection to the poisoning of what we are putting into our bodies and to the unimaginable suffering and torture that is rooted into factory farms? How else do we explain the precipice that we now sit on due to human caused climate disruption? And how else do we explain so much of what has been normalized in American culture and in so many places around the world that causes untold suffering, violence, death, and destruction?
Thich Nhất Hạnh also speaks to what we most need to do to save our world — "we need to hear within ourselves the sounds of the Earth crying." And this, to me, means listening to and hearing the sounds of suffering in all beings. We are woven together with a sacred thread with all of life. We are related, we are family, we are interdependent. And as we humans awaken from the illusion of our separateness and reconnect with each other, other beings, and our Earth Mother, we will increasingly become incapable of violence in all its many forms. Because we will see this violence for what it is and it will be too painful to continue our complicity with that which causes so much harm.
It is my belief that there is a great need to courageously embrace the word "radical" and transform its meaning from one which has deadened us to our experience with our inherent interbeing to one which embraces the birth into remembrance of what we have forgotten. And this is a radical act. Just as it has been a radical thing to fall asleep and unknowingly participate in that which destroys life, so too it is a radical thing to wake up from our illusions and see with new eyes, open heart, and the wisdom of our Sacred selves. This is radical. And it is this kind of radicalism that is so long overdue and urgently needed if we are to save ourselves and do what we can to work towards a planet which is healing and which has the potential to be habitable for our children and grandchildren.
There is so much untapped potential in our species. Yes, we have done immeasurable harm to Earth and her beings. AND the time is now to wake up, recognize this violence for what it is, and commit to doing our part to radically shift directions away from that which destroys life to that which holds life, all life, with reverence. May we all be inspired to be part of the Great Awakening which, in the midst of it all, is unfolding on our beautiful planet today. We all need each other. And the children of all the species are counting on us. Theirs are the eyes that are watching us. I pray it is not too late.
How else are we to explain the sixth major extinction that we are now in the midst of and which threatens all life on Earth? How else to explain our apathy and ignorance when it comes to the food we eat and its direct connection to the poisoning of what we are putting into our bodies and to the unimaginable suffering and torture that is rooted into factory farms? How else do we explain the precipice that we now sit on due to human caused climate disruption? And how else do we explain so much of what has been normalized in American culture and in so many places around the world that causes untold suffering, violence, death, and destruction?
Thich Nhất Hạnh also speaks to what we most need to do to save our world — "we need to hear within ourselves the sounds of the Earth crying." And this, to me, means listening to and hearing the sounds of suffering in all beings. We are woven together with a sacred thread with all of life. We are related, we are family, we are interdependent. And as we humans awaken from the illusion of our separateness and reconnect with each other, other beings, and our Earth Mother, we will increasingly become incapable of violence in all its many forms. Because we will see this violence for what it is and it will be too painful to continue our complicity with that which causes so much harm.
It is my belief that there is a great need to courageously embrace the word "radical" and transform its meaning from one which has deadened us to our experience with our inherent interbeing to one which embraces the birth into remembrance of what we have forgotten. And this is a radical act. Just as it has been a radical thing to fall asleep and unknowingly participate in that which destroys life, so too it is a radical thing to wake up from our illusions and see with new eyes, open heart, and the wisdom of our Sacred selves. This is radical. And it is this kind of radicalism that is so long overdue and urgently needed if we are to save ourselves and do what we can to work towards a planet which is healing and which has the potential to be habitable for our children and grandchildren.
There is so much untapped potential in our species. Yes, we have done immeasurable harm to Earth and her beings. AND the time is now to wake up, recognize this violence for what it is, and commit to doing our part to radically shift directions away from that which destroys life to that which holds life, all life, with reverence. May we all be inspired to be part of the Great Awakening which, in the midst of it all, is unfolding on our beautiful planet today. We all need each other. And the children of all the species are counting on us. Theirs are the eyes that are watching us. I pray it is not too late.
With deep reverence for all life...
Molly
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