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Mandala of the Heart

By Simone Lipscomb | June 23, 2016

We were heading out to visit the dolphins and I found a quiet place at the front of the boat. I went within myself and opened my mind to dolphins.

After a while I began getting a visual image of two pink hearts that were intertwined. Then the two hearts expanded into an entire mandala of pink hearts. It was beautiful and it felt as if the dolphins gave me this image. I felt my heart open as I concentrated on it.

After the meditation ended I rejoined the group and we continued on and on….no dolphins for a very long time. And when we found them, they were in very murky, green water.

After easing into the water I noticed my mask was leaking profusely…to the point where it was filling completely with water even though I cleared it. I couldn’t see my camera readouts so I exited the water.

The camera went to a safe place, the mask got fixed and I entered the water again with the only intention of opening to an encounter with dolphins…nothing more. No photographs, no swimming hard to keep up. I simply invited the dolphins to join me and asked if I could join them and kept the image of the pink heart mandala in my mind.

I swam away from the main group of humans and found myself suddenly surrounded by mother spotted dolphins and their babies. One mom and calf…another mom and calf…another mom and calf. I had three mothers and their babies surrounding me, more beneath me and when I glanced back still more were coming. There was a minimum of 16 spotted dolphins surrounding me and possibly as many as 20.

As I gently swam side-by-side with the dolphins I was overcome with emotion….I could scarcely believe I was welcomed into the pod of dolphins who glided beside me as if I was one them. I wept profusely as I gently swam within arm’s reach of the largest female and her calf. And all the while the mandala of pink hearts remained in my mind.

I became one of the pod today as I surrendered to the gentle flow of love permeating everything around me….and within me. I felt welcomed back into my family, a lineage of wisdom that is indescribable.

It was as if I was welcomed home. Not in a geographical sense but rather a home within my heart and mind.

Lately I have had the feeling of coming full circle in my life, as if I’ve completed a very long and arduous journey to reach a place of completion that will give rise to a new beginning. Many years ago dolphins called me into this life and now they have helped me find a new beginning point.

Call me crazy, it doesn’t matter. I am home within myself and all is well. Oh, yes……all is well.

Later I got out my camera and captured one photo from the day...and it was enough. — *Later I got out my camera and captured one photo from the day…and it was enough.*

Dolphin Dream Time

By Simone Lipscomb | June 20, 2016

When I attempt to write about yesterday’s dolphin encounter…it’s challenging. I remember the sleek bottlenose and spotted dolphins swimming among our group. I recall the two male bottlenose doing their best to mate with the spotted females, getting tail-slapped and bitten by said females and then turning to each other for ‘comfort’ after their rebuke.

It’s difficult not to remember the protruding penises but I am grateful for the restraint they showed by keeping the majority of their fourteen inch ‘private parts’ hidden. Perhaps I am still blushing.

As I was floating among the amorous males, I remembered stories of male dolphins attempting to mate with human females and so I reminded them of my middle-age status. Stories of aggression toward human males came to mind. They can ram, rake their teeth or bite or heaven forbid, mount a human in foreplay. Yes…these stories filtered through my mind.

But mostly I was suspended in a sea of playful thoughts and appreciation for the profound beauty of both species of cetacean that interacted with us. Wild, unfed animals that chose us to learn from and play among.

After motoring along the bank for over an hour off the coast of Bimini, I spotted their gray dorsal fins heading toward the boat. Everyone quickly got ready and slipped into the water in snorkeling gear. It was beautiful to see the sleek, bullet-like bodies glide through clear water.

_TSL5026 — *Exhalation bubbles as the dolphin surfaces to breathe*.

Laughter erupted several times from a deep, inner palace of light. The dolphins reminded me of this treasure within that can be easily forgotten.

Dive master playing with dolphins — *Dive master Jamie playing with dolphins*

A friend reminded me a while ago that we actually have to choose to be happy. I thought about his words a lot yesterday and the truth of that idea resonated deeply. I can choose to be happy….at any time, any where.

_TSL5183 — *Spotted dolphin shaman…healing my headache.*

The day began with an intense headache, the kind that generally lasts for days. After a female spotted dolphin buzzed me (literally) twice, I realized the headache had vanished. When she approached, she stopped and her sonar clicks were so strong I felt them in my body but especially inside my head. It felt as if my brain responded to her intense clicks…like I ‘heard’ them inside my head. In fact, almost 24 hours later I can still feel the vibration within my skull.

I knew she was scanning me and have no idea what she ‘saw’ but the encounter was fascinating. I had taken ibuprofen before leaving the dock but generally it only takes the edge of pain away. It was a nice surprise to realize I was pain-free.

My great love is marine mammals. Manatees connect with me in a very soulful place. Humpback whales, when they choose an up-close encounter with me, touch a deep place of peace within my heart and so my heart expands. The dolphins opened my mind, expanded it and it feels as though they activated an intensely deep-mind connection with them that will continue to unfold.

When I am in the watery realm of marine mammals, open to connection and communion, there is mutual learning. I enter into the experience excited to learn, eager to expand my understanding of other sentient beings. They seem inquisitive and therefore learn from me through our connection.

Oneness and understanding is cultivated in the fluid reality. I am not in the water to ‘get the shot’ but rather to commune with other species and gain understanding. If a good photograph results from the encounter…well, that’s just icing on the proverbial cake.

How Can I Keep From….Smiling

By Simone Lipscomb | July 13, 2014

I felt the dolphins before I parked my car. Before my feet reached the sugar-white sand or my face felt the warmth of the pre-dawn salt spray, I sensed their sleek bodies slicing through sea water. When I crested the top of the path leading over the dune the first thing I saw was several dorsal fins moving up and down through golden water. It was perhaps the most glorious morning I’ve ever spent as a sea turtle volunteer.

Clouds were building all around. The towering tops of some reflected the sun, not yet above the horizon. Their flat bottoms hung close to the Gulf as if teasing the surface with the sweet kisses of raindrops.

As the light increased the surface of the water turned that metallic slate-blue-turquoise highlighted by flecks of orange or gold or peach, depending on the angle. This is when the shore is at its most magic, at least in my mind.

As I strolled the sand looking for sea turtle tracks and gazing at the magnificent clouds I felt immense peace….and joy. At one point I realized I was grinning widely and even laughing at the beauty of it. A dear friend and teacher recently told me the Ocean had claimed me as Her own. Never have those words felt so true.

I thought back to the decision that brought me back to the Alabama Coast. My significant other had decided to move back to Iraq and I didn’t want to spend any more time alone in the overly-large home I owned on a mountain in Asheville. I had also grown weary of snow and ice and howling winds that seemed constant in the winter. I knew it was time to sell the house and move…but where? The man in my life followed his Path to work in Iraq. Where was my Path leading me?

I thought about purchasing a smaller home in the Asheville area at a lower elevation. I pondered moving to North Georgia. But the example set by my partner made me think…where is my heart calling me? When I put it that way, I narrowed it down. A coast. And even though I explored other coastal areas, it was this beautiful place of my birth that tugged on my heart.

There is no magic ball that tells me what’s next, if there will be a man and partnership in my life, what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be living in a year..five years . But I do know this…I am happy. I am joy-full. I am smiling in my heart. The Ocean has claimed me as Her own. I rejoice to have such a mighty Mother, Teacher, Friend.

Water Planet

By Simone Lipscomb | July 10, 2014

Manatee & Dolphins of Alabama

By Simone Lipscomb | November 20, 2013

I have been working with Dauphin Island Sea Lab staff to create an educational video for schools, communities and all coastal residents. Please take a few minutes to view and then share with others as you see fit. The intention of the video is to promote awareness of our marine mammal species. Special thanks to Michael Brant DeMaria for allowing us to include two of his beautiful musical compositions.