About me

Born in the Spreewald,
at home in community

I was born and raised in the Spreewald in 1972. After school, medical training as a dental nurse, and a few wild years, I moved to Berlin in 1998. Today I live in Pankow with my elderly dog, work at a day care centre for people with significant support needs, and volunteer as a nature educator and end-of-life companion in an outpatient hospice service.

Even as a small child I spent a great deal of time alone in nature — I felt safe, protected, nourished, and never lonely. There were so many beings around me!

But my life has not only held beauty — there have also been setbacks, crises, illness, loss and pain. Yet I found help, support and healing in many forms and along different paths. One of them was my path into shamanism, which I began in 2011 when I met the shaman, teacher and healer Vamarie Nanej during a sweat lodge ceremony.

At the time I had no conscious connection to spirituality or shamanism. Since then I have followed my spiritual path — first as someone curious about shamanism, then for many years as Vamarie’s apprentice, attending her workshops, teaching circles, camps, ceremonies and healings in Germany and the USA.

Now I practise shamanism myself. But it is more than a practice — being a shaman is a way of life, a calling, perhaps even a burden. For me, shamanism means living in constant connection with my spiritual companions, being conscious that all of nature is alive, without dogma, separation or boundaries of time and space, and especially without ego — but with great love, gratitude and compassion for each individual, myself included, and for the great whole. When we are aware of this, we begin to understand how healing can happen on every level, in balance, respect and trust.

"Shamanism moves power to communicate with the spirits, our spiritual helpers — in ceremonies, in trance, in journeys to the otherworld. Calm yet strong. Silence in motion."