Dolphin Love - The Healing Of A Heart
by Gayle Lawrence

Imagine the heartbreak and grief of a mother losing a 15-year-old daughter in a sudden automobile accident. The shock would numb you initially; denial of this horrific news might last for weeks. Then the grief and pain of the loss of your child would be all consuming.

Even though this tragic senseless accident had occurred 3 years earlier, Shirley still found herself feeling disconnected from the world of the living. As a veteran surgical and ER nurse at a large Ohio hospital, death and dying had been part of her life for the past 25 years. Patients always received sensitive and loving care from Shirley, yet years of experience had taught her to remain emotionally centered in the face of suffering and loss. But even this extensive resume of dealing with death left her ill-prepared for the phone call she received one Saturday morning 3 summers ago informing her of the accident that stole her daughter Jessica’s life.

Counseling, therapy, support groups, and her own spiritual practices of yoga and meditation had all been very helpful but Shirley had emotionally shut down. Erecting a cement wall around her heart was shielding her from the risk of loving again but it also held in the repressed pain and denial she was still hanging onto. Her work lost its meaning, her relationship with her husband was estranged; she was functioning daily but akin to a "dead woman walking". She was slipping away. Who or what held the key that might free her from her inner prison of despair?

Last July, as the anniversary of Jessica’s death loomed near, Shirley found herself on a trip with a group of women for a wild dolphin encounter designed as a personal – spiritual retreat. Much work is being done with dolphins, autistic children, and emotionally – physically challenged individuals. The dolphins seem to be able to reach these individuals in a way that transcends the traditional medical scientific process. The positive emotional effect the dolphins have on people is amazing. Researchers know that as dolphins scan with their sonar they send out powerful frequencies through the water. This "sound therapy" appears to offer a source of healing. If swimming with a dolphin could pull an autistic child back into this reality from an unidentifiable void, perhaps they could help Shirley find her way home also.

The first day out, Capt. Vikki, the charter boat guide took the group to an area she called the dolphin playground. As the boat floated with engines off, the beautiful music that Vikki played to call the dolphins was the only sound that broke the silence.

Shirley's gaze was fixed on the surface of the water, watching and waiting expectantly. She was feeling a little strange, as if there was an invisible presence around her. Suddenly she saw a group of dorsal fins break the surface and swim in rhythm with the music toward the boat. Emotion stirred in her chest, tears welled in her eyes, what was happening here?

A circle represents the feminine principle and the continuity of life, there is no death, we only change form. The dolphins seemed to be sharing this message with Shirley as they swam in slow circles around the boat, beckoning her to join them in the water. As she put on her snorkel gear she felt a compelling need to be with them. They were pulling her, calling her, coaxing her to come into their healing circle of life. The dolphins magic was beginning to work, Shirley could not resist their powerful spell.

Upon entering the water she was flanked by two dolphin escorts welcoming her into their world. Suddenly the dolphins were all around her, constantly in motion, twisting and turning beside her, circling then darting underneath her. They were an exhilarating spectacle of creative, vibrant joyful life. They scanned her with their sonar, bombarding her with their frequency, their powerful energetic web of love.

They cajoled and teased her to dive with them and she responded. Shirley was not consciously aware that the dolphins were teaching her how to play again, to open to life, to feel joy. As she danced with the dolphins she began to sense a freedom from pain and despair. Her heart was swelling, challenging those cement walls that had held it captive for the last 3 years. At that moment Shirley found herself gazing into the eyes of a single dolphin who had magically appeared right in front of her. As the dolphin and Shirley held each other’s gaze, her heart, begging for release, burst open with emotion, the cement walls shattering and dissolving.

Sobbing away 3 years of heartbreak and pain she surrendered, the dolphins stayed close offering their support. Yet through the tears she could feel a glimmer of hope she thought she had lost forever. Instantly, when she acknowledged this spark of joy she clearly felt the presence of Jessica with her. The dolphin’s vibration of joyful healing had guided Shirley to that bridge of love that connects one reality to another. Shirley then realized that she had not lost her daughter, Jessica was and would always be with her.

Returning home with a rebirth of inner strength and the courage to move forward in her life Shirley felt a fresh desire to be fully present in her marriage. To offer her husband the love and support that he so desperately needed to heal his own pain over the loss of their daughter. Her time with the dolphins had also brought to light the fact that traditional nursing was no longer her primary focus. Yoga was her real passion and she wanted to teach, combining her nursing background with this ancient practice of over-all mind body health. For her this trip was truly a transformational Journey of Discovery, facilitated by a pod of very wise and surprising teachers from the sea.

Spiritual and physical healing can come in many different forms. When all else fails …….perhaps swimming with a dolphin holds the key.

Gayle Lawrence operates Journeys of Discovery - Unique Travel for women. Her next wild dolphin swim in the Bahamas will be July 29 - Aug. 4, 2000. If you would like to join her for this magical experience, contact her at: sevensisters@cplx.com. For descriptions of her other trip offerings visit: http://www.cyberpathway.com/journeys