If awareness is not the exclusive attribute of humankind—if, indeed, every aspect of the perceivable world is felt to be at least potentially alive, awake and aware — then there is an obvious need, in any human community, for individuals who are particularly adept at communicating with these other shapes of sensitivity and sentience. The shamans are precisely those persons who are especially sensitive and susceptible to the expressive calls, gestures and signs of the wider, more-than-human field of beings, and who are able to reply in kind.

~ David Abram

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin – photo by sheilapic76 – Dolphind, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16011002