PURE JOY

"Humans think they are smarter than dolphins because we build cars and buildings and start wars etc., and all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat fish and play around. Dolphins believe that they are smarter for exactly the same reasons." (Douglas Adams)

That quote made me laugh out loud. If you ever get a chance to swim with a pod of wild dolphins...DO IT! They are one of the treasures on this earth that not many get to experience. When I first moved to Oahu I heard about a bay called Makua where the pods come and just play regularly, and people are able to swim with them. I got so excited by the prospect and went several times but they were never there. And then one magical day I pulled up in front of the bay and there were all these fins slicing the water just a short distance from shore (looking an awful lot like movies of shark fins...), and these are the Hawaiian Spinners so they jump from the water and twist as many times as they can before they splash back in! Pure joy. So I excitedly threw on my gear and began swimming hard and fast, my heart jumping out of my body. Suddenly I thought wait a minute, should I be scared? I'm all alone in deep water, not a soul on the beach (normally I love that!), swimming into a pod of fish (I know,mammals) that are way bigger than me, and there are about 50 of them. hmmmm. And then a moment I will always cherish. I heard them. This exquisite ringing that I felt in my core. I wasn't scared any more. As I swam closer and I finally saw the first few, an extraordinary peace washed over me. They simply emanate peace. I stopped swimming, and the next 2 HOURS were spent in one of the more blissful states of my entire life. They welcomed me in. Swimming up to me and looking in my eyes, playing rambunctiously all around me, the babies nestled at their mother's side, pressing bellies against each other and rolling over and over. A little bit of heaven.

That was the first of many times spent with them. When my little sister came to visit she said of all the things I had spoken of, that was what she most wanted to do. So off we went and because she has a spiritual power all her own, the pod was there to greet us. We geared up and began swimming out, but it had never occurred to me that swimming in deep ocean water for someone that never does that, might be difficult! So part way out she had to stop, and said with great sadness she couldn't go any further. "But the dolphins are right there, just a little further!" "No, I really can't." "Well is it o.k. if I keep going?" "Yes." O.K., don't hate me people. I wasn't abandoning my sister in the middle of the ocean! It really was a short distance and I could still call to her to check and see if she was alright. (The lovely thing about salt water is it will just hold you up so you don't sink if you stop swimming.) Once I got to the pod I was urging her to come just a little further, they are right underneath me! She said later she was so disappointed in herself having come that far, but she really couldn't go further, and suddenly thought "but they could come to me!" And I kid you not, they did. As a pod they turned and swam straight to her and she got to have my transcendent experience for herself. Pure joy. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

I have read that dolphins are wildly intelligent and can communicate telepathically, and of course with their sonar. We really don't know how extraordinary these creatures may be. So I did an experiment. One time when I was with them, there was a bunch of what looked like strips of plastic wafting on the bottom in the currents. It was way too deep for me to dive and get it, and you know how much I wanted to! So I decided to "ask" for their help. I simply thought "if you bring that up to the surface, I'll take it out of the ocean." And you already know what happened next. They would dive down and scoop up plastic strips draping it on their side flippers, swim to the surface to drop it off, and go get more. I was simultaneously over the moon ecstatic, and dumbfounded. We have no idea how intelligent they are. They may very well be smarter than us. And able to communicate in ways we only dream of.

I've also read recently what a profound effect they have on children with autism. It is astounding. Just being in the water with them somehow shifts the firing in the brains of the children so that the autism is lessened. That is so beautiful! We have so much to learn from these creatures.

So guess what we are doing to honour them? By now you know, it's Daniel's blog so there is going to be something about how we are altering things, and not in a good way! Sigh. New research has discovered human made chemicals in these animals!!!!! Not just one. A list, from PCB's to antibacterial agents in soap, toothpaste, deodorants, pesticides, prescription drugs and more. If you want to read about it, google "chemicals in dolphins". They are now linked to disrupting reproductive organs, among other things. So if you wash your hands with "regular" chemical laden soap, you may affect a dolphin's ability to have a baby. That is nuts. What are we doing? Do we really want to leave this kind of a mark on creatures we share this planet with? Of course not. But how do we stop it now? We just start. We didn't know the harm we were doing. Now we do. So from now on we do it differently. We've got to start using products that do not cause harm. And pray the damage will be forgiven somehow. But not enough people know, and not enough people that DO know are doing things differently. That shocks and saddens me. Once people find out and still make the choice to harm. How is that possible? So that is the real shift that needs to take place. The majority needs to help and not harm. Every single day. Please be one of the people that begins to form a new majority. It CAN happen, but only if everyone who discovers what we are doing is willing to change the legacy they leave. And talk about what you have learned so more will know. It's been a long road getting to where we are with doing so much harm, but it needs to be a short and swift road back to treating the world as sacred. And who knows, maybe the dolphins can actually help if we ask! I know they will thank us.
Thanks for listening, and doing your part to shift this!