| I started researching dolphin swim programs and trips. | | | | their flukes (tails) or carryingthem on their rostrums |
| Later that summer, I attended an engagement party | | | | (their long beaklike jaws). As agroup we decided that |
| forfriends where I met Jon, a personal growth and | | | | we would come down to the bay for afourth day |
| workshopleader. He was leading a trip to Hawaii the | | | | and bring the dolphins a gift of leaves andflowers. |
| following Marchto swim with the wild spinner dolphins | | | | That last morning we carefully swam out with |
| on the Big Island of | | | | ourgifts, looking for the dolphins, but they had |
| Hawaii. Our mutual interests soon sparked into | | | | disappeared. Wehad not had a prior agreement to |
| romance. Isigned up for the trip and agreed to help | | | | swim with them, and intheir enigmatic fashion they |
| design the visualsfor his flyers and advertising. I was | | | | had quietly vanished. Wereturned to the beach, and |
| thrilled! In myimagination I immersed myself in the | | | | on the sand we created afarewell mandala of shells, |
| dancing waters of | | | | red hibiscus flower petals andyellow leaves. I was |
| Kealakekua Bay, I flew with the Goddess Pele over | | | | touched by the delicate beauty of ourfragile creation. |
| rivers ofunderground molten lava and sacred caves, | | | | It seemed appropriate that our lastencounter would |
| and I felt thebreath of balmy ocean breezes on my | | | | be with our group together standing in acircle holding |
| skin. | | | | hands, with the temporal beauty of naturespread out |
| As the months went by and we got closer to our | | | | at our feet. |
| departuredate, I began to wonder what the chances | | | | The teaching for me here was about the power of |
| were, realistically,of actually finding the dolphins. After | | | | the heart,of letting go and surrendering. What I |
| all, we were meetingthem somewhere out in one of | | | | learned was that weare enormously powerful if we |
| the largest natural bays inthe Hawaiian islands. I felt a | | | | choose to create out of love. Ifelt as though I |
| great sadness well up insideme as I considered the | | | | understood in a new way the old adage: Letgo, and |
| possibility that this encounter mightnot happen. For | | | | love will find you. With the distance of hindsight, |
| days I struggled within myself, wanting toprepare | | | | mymind would sometimes argue that I tend to have |
| myself for a very real scenario -- the likelihood | | | | a veryoveractive imagination and that I am a prime |
| thatthey would not be there. Over and over I've | | | | candidate forhearing and seeing things. How would I |
| observed thisdilemma between the doubting mind | | | | ever know whetherthe dolphins would have shown |
| and the heart. Theheart longs and aches, and the | | | | up regardless of anything Idid or felt? Wasn't it all |
| mind scrambles to protectus from disappointment, | | | | just a matter of random chance? |
| from failure, from disillusionment. | | | | Over the years, however, the truth of these |
| For days I prayed and had conversations with the | | | | experiences hasbecome more and more palpable. The |
| dolphinsin my head. Finally, I came to a place of | | | | dolphins are aconstant reminder to check in with |
| letting go. I let go ofmy attachment to seeing them. | | | | myself and to askwhether a wish for something or |
| If they chose not to come,that was okay. I would | | | | someone is truly comingfrom my heart. If the |
| still enjoy my vacation in Hawaii. | | | | answer is yes, then those things -- bethey people, |
| Nothing would be lost. In fact, everything would be | | | | projects, places, experiences -- seem to |
| perfectjust as it was. | | | | cometowards me. They do show up. It is not a |
| It was at this place of detachment, of letting go | | | | logical road. |
| andsurrender, that something miraculous happened. I | | | | If my desire is coming from a place of ego or of |
| was verybusy with work the week before we were | | | | trying tocontrol a situation, the outcome is less |
| scheduled to leave. | | | | predictable. The |
| I was putting in long hours, and I had countless | | | | "message" doesn't seem to get through -- or if it |
| details toattend to. Then, in the midst of all this | | | | does, itdoesn't seem to have much power. Over and |
| pre-occupation andnoise, I started to hear something | | | | over again, Ihave heard the communications to relax |
| else. I started to hear,faintly at first and then louder, | | | | andsurrender and let go. As a result, I find that I |
| small distinct chirpings andwhistlings. It became | | | | crymore, and I laugh more. I try to let myself be in |
| unmistakable -- it was the sound ofdolphins, and it | | | | the river oflife, no matter how scary it may |
| got louder. I don't believe this, I thought. Isignaled | | | | sometimes appear -- to gowith the flow rather than |
| back anyway: Thank you for communicating, butnow | | | | trying to resist it. I try following myintuition or my |
| I'm having a hard time concentrating. All week long | | | | gut, often down a seemingly illogical path. |
| itwas like being tuned into a very special and | | | | Ultimately, the power of Love seems to find a way. |
| exclusive radiofrequency. | | | | Itappears to be irresistable. |
| At the end of the week we flew from San Francisco | | | | Since these initial experiences, I have become familiar |
| to thetown of Kona on Hawaii. From the air I could | | | | withthe term telempathy, a phrase coined by Joan |
| see themoonlike lava landscape of the west shore. | | | | Ocean,who has spent years swimming with the wild |
| We arrived atour beautifully situated hotel south of | | | | spinners in |
| town, ate dinner andthen headed for bed. We were | | | | Hawaii. Telempathy is a combination of telepathic |
| scheduled to wake up early,at 5 a.m. the next | | | | andempathetic communication, or empathy at a |
| morning, to carpool to Kealakekua Baywith our | | | | distance. |
| wetsuits and snorkel gear. In the haziness of | | | | Empathic communication occurs when we experience |
| earlymorning light we sheepishly greeted one another, | | | | theexact sensations of someone or something else |
| coffeecups in hand. My heart hammered in my throat. | | | | with whomwe are emotionally close. My own |
| The momenthad arrived. Would the dolphins show up | | | | experience has shownme that dolphins tend to be |
| for their date -- aninvitation made through the ether | | | | extremely empathic. They seemto have the ability to |
| and precipitated in theheart? Slowly, we drove the | | | | feel the pain and emotional state ofanother being. |
| winding road down towards theglistening waters of | | | | This, combined with their echolocation orimaging skills |
| the bay and pulled into a sandy parkinglot. Large red | | | | -- the ability to project clicking sounds |
| hibicus flowers lay strewn across the ground. | | | | (created in the air sacs beneath the blowhole) out in |
| I walked toward the beach, and then I saw it -- the | | | | front ofthem, then interpret the soundwaves as |
| splash ofa single dolphin jumping just off shore. | | | | they are reflectedback, thereby determining the size |
| I was so astonished that I started to cry. I realized | | | | and distance of foreignobjects -- seems to make for |
| then that ifthis was to be the only contact we had | | | | a very sophisticated form oftelepathy. I am reminded |
| with the dolphins allweek, I would still be | | | | of a woman in our group on ourtrip to Hawaii who |
| extraordinarily happy. To me, they haddecided to | | | | was pregnant. She didn't go into thewater for the |
| keep our date. Later, at the end of our swim, Ispoke | | | | first couple of days because she felt tired fromthe |
| briefly with an old Hawaiian man who sat watchingour | | | | flight. When she finally did, she was surrounded |
| foray out into the water. He grinned and | | | | bydolphins who seemed to show a particular interest |
| quietlycommented, "They haven't been here for | | | | in her. Itwas if they knew she was carrying a child |
| weeks, but todaythey are here." | | | | and neededspecial attention. The combination of |
| We did find a huge pod of dolphins -- or perhaps | | | | these two skills -- theability to be empathic and also |
| they foundus. They showed up on each of the three | | | | to "see through things" --makes the dolphins |
| days we hadhoped to swim with them. It was | | | | especially suited as "healers" (by theirvery presence) |
| magical and extraordinarilydreamlike -- like being in an | | | | and as messengers, perhaps even cosmicmessengers. |
| altered state of reality oranother dimension. In the | | | | When people ask if dolphins have changed me, I say |
| evening Jon led us inmeditations. "Visualize," he said. | | | | that Iseem to have more dreams now and fewer |
| "What more do you want tocreate for yourself with | | | | plans than Iused to. I hold my dreams out in front of |
| the dolphins?" My inner vision hadbeen flooded with | | | | me and then letthem go. Invariably my dreams show |
| brilliantly colored pictures of the dolphinsever since | | | | up in unexpected waysand sometimes in new forms |
| our first swim in the water. It was like watchingmy | | | | -- here we are, it's time,here's the connection or the |
| own inner nonstop movie. I wondered -- was I | | | | opportunity. I worry lessabout the details and spend |
| creatingthe pictures, or were the dolphins sending | | | | more time putting color into mydaydreams, adding |
| them to me? As Isat quietly attending to the in and | | | | scents and enjoying the warmth of thesun on my |
| out of my breath, I sawmyself gazing into the eye | | | | skin. |
| of a dolphin as it slowly swamnext to me. Then | | | | In the midst of great change or loss I am reminded |
| another one leapt high up in front of me. | | | | to trustthat everything is unfolding perfectly. Stay |
| The next morning I found myself transfixed by the | | | | calm, listen andcatch the next wave. I try to practice |
| gaze of adolphin as he gracefully swam past me. | | | | living in dolphin time. Tome dolphins live in circular time |
| Then a loud splashcaught my attention as a dolphin | | | | as opposed to linear time. |
| leapt into the air, sprayingme with water. I laughed | | | | For many of us life appears to move in straight lines, |
| out loud. They must have gotten mymessage. Or | | | | butperhaps it is more accurate to say it moves in |
| maybe I got theirs. | | | | manydirections at once perfectly synchronized. We |
| One of the things we discovered was that the | | | | are notseparate from one another, but part of a |
| dolphins likedplaying a game with leaves. They | | | | much greater podthat has its own intelligence. Our |
| particularly seemed to likethe large yellow leaves that | | | | job is just to tune in andthen get out of our own |
| floated out from shore. Thedolphins would pass them | | | | way. |
| from one fin to another,sometimes catching them on | | | | |