Tag: Nature’s Teachings
Reflecting on Whales–Part II

Reflecting on Whales–Part II

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Feb 20

Yoga under stars and half moon. Calm seas. Message received during yoga: Navigate by the stars….and even when I can’t see them doesn’t mean they are not there. 

Today’s whale encounters were centered around a male and female whale in their dreaming/resting state. I was able to drop into meditation with the female and felt my mind expand. I saw the Universe through her mind and floated, suspended in awe.

When I looked into her eye I felt a strong connection to her mind, like I could see constellations of the sky. It was as if the Universe was contained within it. Last year I came away from my humpback whale encounters suspecting they spend their time dreaming and connecting with the Universe while in the warm, tropical waters of the Dominican Republic rather than simply sleeping. This experience strengthened that idea. I could feel her connection with the Cosmic Mind, Universal Consciousness.

As I ‘saw’ this in the whale, I asked to be shown directly and opened my mind to her mind. It’s challenging to explain my experience in words so I’ll summarize with this: When I felt completely filled with Universal Consciousness, there was a huge rush of emotional energy that moved throughout my body and out through the top of my head. We had been still and quiet together until I felt the rush of energy explode like a fountain from my head…in that exact moment she twitched, gave a final look at me and then ascended to breathe. It felt as if she ‘said,’ Okay, you got it!

Although I am concerned about the biology of whales and the science behind their survival, the call to which I respond is a spiritual one. The energy with which they live and move and have their being in the sea is profound and connects me to that aspect of my own being. I believe they are planetary dreamers and their dreaming is absolutely a necessary part of the web of energy that connects all life on the planet.

Unlike science–which begins with a hypothesis and is followed by asking questions, gathering and examining evidence and seeing if the information can be combined to a logical answer–a spiritual connection is very subjective with little proof. That doesn’t bother me, though. For me it’s very real and profound…life-changing. Experiences like this help me expand my mind, think about life differently and hopefully apply that to all situations in my life.

I stopped trying to label mystical connections with animals and places long ago. I am simply grateful for these moments of expansion that lead to greater understanding…of species other than myself and of my soul’s journey with them.

 

 
Reflecting on Whales–Part I

Reflecting on Whales–Part I

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February 19th

The tip of the orange orb peeked from behind the horizon. Rapidly it climbed in the east, transforming the light blue sky to deep azure striped with brilliant tangerine clouds stretching overhead. I closed my eyes to breathe in the day and when I opened them all color had vanished from the misty, wispy cloud-beings. Their white skeletons hung colorless, no longer blushing with radiance. What an awakening they had as their tails painted the heavens.

Now the whales breathe their white hot breath in the distance. They weave magic in this place that lifts all heaviness. Their freedom gives me freedom and so I awaken to the magnificent life–the magnificent, abundant life.

Earlier, as I watched the sun rise…no, before that…after yoga under the half moon and stars when I sat on the top deck of the steadily rocking boat, I struggled between being in-the-moment–absorbent, sponge-like, of the indigo water, blue sky and orange clouds–and diving into my writer’s mind that wanted to begin weaving words.

With determination I remained open, receptive and gifted myself the present…the Experience–wind on my face, sea spray baptizing me with holy water. “Wait,” I said aloud. “Be here. Feel it. You will remember.”

So I surrendered to the day, to the beauty and longing of my soul to be free of thoughts and words and plans.

Now I glance up from the writing and a whale blows in the distance. I am drawn deeper, deeper into their weaving, their magic as I leave everything else behind.

~~~~~

I leaned my ear against the side of the boat. Arias and riffs of deep, booming base and high whistles vibrated through the hull and created an opening in my heart. Tears trickled down my tilted face. We actually heard the whale song over the purr of the engine. We stopped, turned off the outboard motor and listened. Amazing! Never saw the singer but he serenaded us through the watery depths as we floated motionless in the Atlantic Ocean.

Also had a nice visit with a mother humpback and her baby in the water. It was a delicious day which I consumed with gratitude. 

Juvenile humpback showing off that beautiful fluke!
Blue Heaven

Blue Heaven

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In Three Sisters Spring, a highly-visited spring in central Florida by manatees and people watching manatees, there are areas set aside as sanctuaries for resting manatees. Humans are not allowed to follow them past the barriers and the manatees know this. They head to these quiet places to rest and seek respite from the colder river.

I totally understand their desire to hide from massive amounts of people in this ‘warm’ water haven. In fact, I have often wanted to request a sanctuary for humans that simply want to float in stillness and quiet rather than be among those kicking, splashing, talking, yelling or crowding manatees….where is my sanctuary?

Earlier this week I found it. Two days in a row I had the spring to myself. Well….there were fish and a cormorant and maybe a sleeping manatee but there were no other humans. I floated face down watching the spring bubble up 15 feet below me and dropped into a deep stillness that comes when I’m in water, in my happy place.

There was no splashing, no loud voices…it was an amazing experience of beauty and peace.

Ripples of light reflecting off the sand created a wave of rainbows in constant motion. Bliss…delight…wonder…awe.

Suspended weightlessly, the spring and I were one.  There was nothing except those moments of harmony. What a time of renewal, of restoration.

One afternoon there was a large, sleeping manatee. I swam far away and past it to the big spring for my meditation. The manatee and I held space for each other to rest and relax with no expectations or demands. All encounters are not face-to-face. Perhaps some of the most profound are not even in close physical proximity.

I felt so alive and wonderful after spending so much time floating, drifting in stillness.

If you know me, you know I love manatees and whales and sea lions, whale sharks, dolphins….but what I love almost more than an encounter with them is giving them their space and honoring their need for rest and stillness. Cultivating respect for others…accepting their choices to engage or withdraw…and doing the same for myself leads to increased inner harmony and balance.

Wouldn’t it be great if we all could do that for each other and all species? That would perhaps be heaven. For me, it was Blue Heaven.

 
On Winter

On Winter

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Winter is challenging for many, especially those of us used to wearing shorts and flip flops in January. With potential icy bridges, even my Saturday early-morning yoga class is out.

So I sit in bed, surrounded by my two boys. Buddy is curled against me as I work and Stanley is dozing at the foot of the bed. They seem quiet, reflective even. Maybe they dream of breakfast or chasing each other on wild dashes through the house. It seems they are subdued, quieter than usual.

Colder weather invites us to slow down, stay indoors and go within like nature does to survive. It’s not only about surviving cold temperatures…this going within. It’s part of the balance of growth.

There are times of intense action and growth, such as spring and summer, so there must be time to rest and recharge. John O’Donohue, in A Celtic Pilgrimage, spoke of winter as having the fullness of spring contained within it. The design, the blueprint…it’s all there in winter, at rest. And when the time is right, the plan leaps into action.

So it is with our lives. We need times of rest and contemplation to practice deep listening. These periods of going within give ideas space to grow and take root and when the conditions are right, they will burst forth with exuberance.