Each year I am honored to take animal loving people to meet free-swimming dolphins in the Bahamas. On our week-long retreat, we float in warm turquoise waters and celebrate these wild and joyful beings. They invite us into their home, smiling into our souls. Every encounter unique. Each experience memorable.
We talk to our new friends from our hearts. Curiously, they swim to us, mingling through our pod. Under water, we hear their sonar clicks, a method in which dolphins assess those around them.
Many experts research the unique powers of dolphins. They’ve learned that dolphins communicate with each other long distance, they use sounds as names for each other, and they help one another with their sonar. Many people believe dolphins bring joy, love and peace to those who interact with them.
In the years that I’ve been taking groups to these wonderful retreats in Bimini, I’ve realized the dolphins are not only welcoming us into their world, but they are also calling us forward. Their desire to help humans is represented by the fact they come to us in the open ocean. People attest new feelings in their hearts with increased happiness and well-being after close up swims with these beautiful ocean creatures.
With a belief that dolphins have the power to heal, I went to Bimini seeking their help after a sad and difficult time in my life. Months prior, my brother Dan lost his life due to a sudden heart attack. We were very close. I was devastated. Tragically, in my family this cause of death is hereditary. Just five years earlier, my older brother Tim had also succumbed to death by heart attack. Losing both of my brothers was painful beyond belief.
No words can describe what we truly feel when our loved ones pass on. Sadness, yes. Tears, of course. And, for me, I experienced a tremendous ache deep in my chest that lasted a very long time. Heartache is not just an expression. It is a tangible physical sensation.
I Took My Sadness and My Aching Heart to the Dolphins and Made a Request.
Please help me release this deep sadness from my heart.
Though hopeful, I was unsure what could possibly occur.
As always with animals, my philosophy is to be open to all possibilities and allow them to show me the way, so I allowed the dolphins to orchestrate what they would.
Bright sunshine and daily excursions out to sea welcomed opportunities to relax. As I enjoyed warm swims, playfulness began to brew within me. I wanted to move more like a dolphin. Repeatedly, I would practice diving below the surface toward the white sandy bottom and buoyantly spiral upward as I returned for air.
A trio of young teenage dolphins joined us. Playfully they zoomed through our pod, capturing glances into our eyes like Paparazzi capture photos. Suddenly they descended some 30 feet down to join pod mates at the ocean floor.
As I witnessed them from above, I felt the urge to mimic their graceful fluid movements, or at least attempt to be somewhat graceful. Another dive, descending about 6 feet until my need for breath said return. Rising to the surface, I was startled by the teenage trio, zooming straight towards me. Unexpectedly, they were directing themselves between my body and the surface just a few feet above. Without thought, my back arched, my arms tucked to my sides, and my chest rose up toward the blue sky. There they were, three magnificent dolphins, their bellies within inches of mine. They slowed down, gently passing over me as each one looked into my eyes with their deep soulful eyes. Time was suspended.
The trio disappeared. I pulled the snorkel from my mouth and gulped in new air as a giant WOW came bursting out of me. Amazing. Utterly amazing. Then I realized what I had physically experienced while they swam over me. I felt a sensation of a blunt tugging in my chest. Something I’ve never known before. It felt as if the dolphins were raking the grief right out of my heart. Had they heard my yearning for help? I believe they did because the heartache had vanished.
On our final day of the retreat, with a much lighter heart, I played freely in the water. During my final swim, I practiced the deepest dive I had yet to accomplish. Pushing down with confidence and returning upward with ease. While twirling up I realized I was not alone. Four dolphins were arriving from various directions. I floated up while turning and looking at each new friend. They, in turn, were each spiraling individually with me, while simultaneously swimming in a circle around me. So graceful, as if choreographed. We rose together toward the light of the sun.
Tears Filled My Eyes.
My healing heart was comforted by each one of them. They continued to respond to my yearning for help by bringing me into their dance of pure love.
The moment was exquisite. And, it was remarkably fortunate that Atmo of WildQuest was nearby with his underwater camera, capturing the moment.
I will never be the same person I was when I went to the dolphins with my broken heart. I arrived wounded, but I returned revived. The dolphins gifted me with a love unlike any other. They shared their beauty, grace and healing powers with me. For that, I am eternally grateful.
My gift in return is a promise to the dolphins … I will continue to bring people to them in Bimini, people who wish to receive their unique and powerful exchanges of love.
All photos by Atmo of WildQuest. See more at WildQuest.com.