How To Communicate with Plants?

Lessons from Sitting with Plant Beings

As an animist plant woman, I communicate with the plants I work with—to understand the energies they carry within them, which support us on a psycho-spiritual level, but also to honor them, and to collaborate with them.

This connection primarily happens through sitting with plants. Plants exist in a different temporal reality. We humans move too quickly to fully perceive this reality, so it is necessary to slow down and attune ourselves to the rhythm of the plants as a first step.

There are many ways to do this. One approach I use is the phenomenological method of Goethe, who described this way of working with plants—a practice that later inspired Rudolf Steiner’s work as well.

Is not the core of nature in the heart of man?

Johann Wolfang von Goethe

In my version, this involves first approaching the plant with all my senses to gain a general impression of its spirit. I listen inwardly to what stirs within me in its presence, then describe the plant, draw or paint it, and begin an inner dialogue with its energy.

If this plant could tell a story, what would it say to me? Here, poetry, songs, dance, and other art forms can also be used to connect with the spirit of the plant and embody its wisdom.

In my more traditional shamanic training, a journey into the otherworld is often initiated with a rattle or drum to encounter the spirit of the plant on a different level.

Whatever method we choose, it should be something that brings us joy, makes us feel comfortable and can happen in complete relaxation. There is no blueprint for this. However, what is universal is that we are all capable of communicating with the spirit of plants, animals, the land, waters, stones, the elements—indeed, with everything as we are one with all.

In the animistic worldview, everything is interconnected in the web of life and has consciousness, as all of existence is born from the same intelligent source.

We tend to perceive the world in a very one-dimensional, materialistic way, yet it is, in truth, multidimensional. We carry within us the ability to see into these other dimensions and encounter different forms of intelligence.

Unfortunately, the perceptual organs that enable this have atrophied in most people because they are neither used nor cultivated in a world that largely holds the belief that if something cannot be seen, it does not exist.

This has led to the materialistic dilemma we find ourselves in today—a world where many feel an emptiness within and try to fill it with material things or seek meaning through ego-centered self-development.

The deeper truth is that what we lack—and what the epidemic of mental illness, reflected in rising rates of depression and suicide, reveals—is our spiritual connection to the Earth and all her living beings, who are our kin in the great web of life.

Humans feel alone because they believe they are not a part of this web—and so they act accordingly. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Even on the material plane, we see that our actions deeply affect the entire network of life. Only when we take responsibility and weave ourselves back into this web—as equal participants and partners—can something new emerge, repair and healing happen.

However, for this new way of being to be born, we must let go of old concepts and ways of thinking, which is not always easy. A first step in this direction can be taken when we allow ourselves to feel into the realm of other beings and open ourselves with curiosity to what may come through this doorway.

Sitting with plants is one way to do this, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Over the years, it has deeply inspired me, blessed me with wisdom, otherworldly friendships and given me something fundamental—the feeling of being at home in the world, always supported and never alone.