Hawaii Workshop – Learn to Journey and Spirits of the Reef

Comments Off

May 13, 2008

On August 16-18, 2008 I will be giving a 2 day introductory workshop in Kona, followed by a special 3rd day of communicating with the Hawaiian reef. I am very excited to be finally sharing this magical work. When I was journeying in Bonaire the spirits of the ocean would regularly direct me to Hawaii and say, “These are the spirits you will be working with to bring this to life for people.” And so it is.

First of all I would like to say how excited I am that we will be hosted at a lovely home in Kona – (see the pics.) Thank you Dana for sharing your fabulous home with us! The first two days will be all about learning to journey and talk with animals, and of course connecting with our personal helping spirits. We will dance our animals and learn how to get their advice for ourselves and others. The second day we ask the teachers to help us with more advanced animal communication requests: Discovering hidden things about an animals unknown past, and connecting with animals who have died. And we will finish the day learning how to request a simple open ended healing for an animal, guided by our compassionate spirits, of course!

Day three we hit the water! We will visit a a great snorkeling beach and connect with the animals and plants there up front and in person. Then we will journey to them and meet their spirits, and the ancient spirits who will bring us amazing lessons about all of life. It is such a joy. If we are lucky we will meet Dolphins. If we are luckier we will meet Parrot Fish, and if we are even luckier still, we will be given a sweet teaching by one of the tiny and exquisite Wrasses. My deepest hope is that we are graced by the spirit of Coral itself, the backbone of the reef and life herself. (just think for a moment about all the places adorned with fossils from previous coral communities, places like Carlsbad caverns, for example.) Wow!

I promise you will meet Parrot Fish, Wrasses and Coral. We will just have to sing the Dolphins in to accomplish the first in person. Their spirits will be there in our journey’s though.

You can register for the workshop at www.spiritlearning.com/kona. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

My deepest gratitude to the following for making this workshop happen:

  • Carolyn Bjur in Chicago, for visualizing this and making it happen – THANK YOU!
  • Liz Dacus for organizing this on the Hawaii side. THANK YOU!
  • Dana for lending us your incredibly beautiful home and for your beautiful heart. THANK YOU!
  • Deb Decker, for telling the world. You are the best. THANK YOU!
  • Spirits of the reef, for working with me through thick and thin – especially you Tarpon, THANK YOU!

Here is Deb’s press release

Aloha!

  • Share/Bookmark

Categories: Reef Life, Shamanic Exploration, animal communication, blog, workshops.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Dolphins

Comments Off

May 1, 2008

At 5:00 PM we left Key West and headed back to Parmer’s, our boring hotel in Little Torch Key for our final night of four. The next day was the treat of all! Dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key. What to say that has not been said before!

We signed up for a Dolphin Encounter, where we interacted with a mother, Marena and her yearling calf Kyle. They did all the tricks with us, including Marena towing us around the pool hanging onto her dorsal fin. What a complete blast! These dolphins are caring gentle and love to play. Matt is really the one to tell how it changed him.

Matt approaches understanding his encounter from the evolution based frame of mind.  “First off, just coming into such close contact with another earthly life form that is so intelligent, more so than other domesticated animals. And you just can’t help but think that these beings didn’t follow the same chain of evolution as us, because they are as intelligent as us, how can this be unless it is a parallel path to us?” Matt went on to share his amazement at how the dolphins teach each other the behaviors, and how closely knit they are when doing group tricks like leaping and spinning.  Most of all I was taken by how curious the dolphins are about people, just as we are about them. They just sat and watched us, just as we do them. We appreciate each other as equals.

I was taken by how much they delight in our delight, in delight itself. My horses are clicker trained, and I have seen the reciprocal joy first hand, but not to the extent that I felt it here. These sweethearts want nothing more than for all of us to be in love and in joy. I believe it is a reflection of two things: the Dolphin Research Center is positive and  honoring, and the dolphins themselves are powered by native joy.  A crappy place could probably diminish this passion in them. Certainly dolphins are indeed wild animals with their own ways. I have known divers who were beaten up by wild dolphins. Maybe this was just the dolphins not realizing the diver was a fragile playmate. Maybe it was the dolphin expressing territorial rights. Or maybe the dolphin mirrored the diver’s attitude.

My communication with these dolphins was straight forward.  “Who is your favorite trainer?” A thin blond woman (There were two of them, but Matt thinks it was Jessica, who was very enthusiastic and sweet.) “Tell me about what makes you happy?” Getting a spin perfect, sliding on a slick surface (like a seal), sex, the quietness of night, a low whistle that one of the trainers gives when he comes out alone and gives back rubs, helping small kids who are “special needs”. This came from a large dolphin named Delphi.

In Bonaire this February I spent a morning interacting with a wild pod. They told me where they would be and when, and I went to greet them, and was always just a little bit late. Finally I was able to see them, swim out to them and be with the trailing members of the pod, a mom and her calf, as they dove beneath me. Nothing even close to touching distance. The Dolphin Research Center discourages all interaction with wild dolphins because it causes dolphins to loose their wariness of people. They cited cases where moms teach the babies to approach boats for food hand outs (the center implied that this was in replacement to teaching them to fish) and that the offered feed wasn’t the correct food for them. The more serious concern to me was that the dolphins would then be unafraid of the wrong people – people who would molest them by plugging their air holes, and worse. This is a concern that I must ponder as I head for Hawaii in August, with the hope of connection with spinner dolphins.

  • Share/Bookmark

Categories: Florida Keys 2008, animal communication.

Tags: , ,

New pages hold new content

2

February 7, 2008

I am moving my new reef journey posts onto pages, and I will catalog them here. That way it will be easier for you to follow along.

March 14, 2008: Your Journeys to Heal the Land. The first is a series of Journeys by Lyn Benedict to heal the Open Pit Mine and the old mining tunnels in Butte MT.

Feb 6, 2008: Journey to the reef to help a woman who is crossing over. I learn that Barracuda is helpful in escorting the souls to the other side. That there is a dark hole in the bottom of the ocean where souls cross through to “heaven”. That the heaven is very similar to place on the other side of the shimmering portal, but that it is much more deep, and that coming back is hard to do. And I have a delightful middleworld experience with my two Spotted Eagle Ray friends.

Feb 14, 2008: Valentines day and I am thankful to be alive and well. What a week. Forgive me for not posting. I have spent the last 7 days overcoming decompression sickness, otherwise known as the bends. I am exhausted and happy to be heading home on Saturday.

  • Share/Bookmark

Categories: Reef Life, Shamanic Exploration, animal communication.

Tags: , ,

A journey with the Spotted Eagle Rays

Comments Off

February 7, 2008

spotted eagle rayToday I returned to Bari’s Reef, and this time I entered the water at 4:30. At 4:35 I was over the sand, and at 4:36 I was dancing with an Eagle Ray, then two. They were grazing together and they didn’t mind me one bit.

I spent 50 minutes swimming with the pair today. I got so close that I could see the smallest color patterns, even on their super thin tails. They were not put off in anyway, not in the least bit shy. I was close enough to touch them, but I didn’t attempt it. It just seemed incorrect to try. I have petted shanks and sting rays before. They didn’t seem to mind. I’ll have to journey to the Rays and ask them how they would like it.

Yesterday I did several sessions before starting my diving day. One was for a dog in Holland, and Spotted Eagle Ray came as a healing spirit. There are times when I want something so much that I figure I must be creating it. I thought that I had succumb to ego and was forcing the journey, but the Ray assured me I was not. And then to prove the point, the spirits started my next journey by merging me with an ostrich embryo who was trying to hatch. It was so vivid and bizarre. I was struggling to peck the shell, and felt exhausted and wanted to give up. Then I felt a surge of power in my abdomen, and I gave it one more hard peck and POP! I saw sunlight. I felt air, and my mom was there in all her glory. My siblings were chirping and I had all of life before me. How glorious! Clearly I didn’t create that – I didn’t have the foggiest idea how it connected to the client, and no sense that it was important to me. But maybe it was. Maybe I am hatching a new way of working by connecting with these reef animals.

When I was done with my clients’ journeys yesterday, I journeyed to the Eagle Rays to ask if there were anything I should be aware of when I was swimming with them. The Ray I was talking with said he preferred if I didn’t chase him. He said that it reminded him just a bit of a shark, and sharks are bad (the predator), and that he also didn’t want me to touch his tail. So I tried my best to stay along side. Once I got in front while the Ray was involved in digging, and that was a mistake. I must have startled him, as his eyes are all covered in sand when he is snouting through the bottom finding crabs. I apologized and we were fine.

I took my Reefmaster camera today, and it failed. It seemed to be taking pictures just fine, but not one recorded on the memory card. This is the third replacement camera Reefmaster has sent me in one year. As a side note, I do not recommend Reefmaster. Sniff! The pictures were so promising. I can’t replace the camera here on Bonaire. You will just have to journey to the animals to see them for yourselves. I did find some good footage on line though. Check this video out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ohHgtyoiLY&NR=1

  • Share/Bookmark

Categories: Reef Life, Shamanic Exploration, animal communication.

Tags: , , , ,

Seeking Dophins

1

February 6, 2008

Bonaire – Feb 6, 2008

The neighbor came over last night completely ecstatic. He had been diving (of course) and when he surfaced a big pod of dolphins was passing by farther out in the ocean. It was impossible for him to swim with his diving gear on, so he went to the car, stripped and drove down the beach to get ahead of the pod. He went in with only his mask, fins and snorkel and swam like a mad man to reach them. There were over a 100 he said, and they played with him on the surface and under water. He is a young fellow and can free dive pretty deep. This I must do!

I journeyed to dolphin, who works with me frequently, and asked for the best plan. She said they would be passing by down town at 9:00 AM. So at 9:00 AM I was there, and sure enough, so was a small pod. I tried to swim out to them, but it was impossible. They were too far out, too far gone and the boat traffic was scary. So I came back and asked again. “Meet us at Donkey Beach.” They don’t actually say the name of the place, they show it to me. I jumped in the car, made a quick stop to get a flash card for my camera, and when I got to donkey beach one of the dolphins was at the shore! The rest of the pod was further out. By the time I geared up it was too late again.

So I asked again, and they showed me the place called The Lake. Whoosh! This time I was prepared to get in the water upon sighting, but I wasn’t prepared for them to be so far off shore that I couldn’t see them. Fortunately two young people came up and told me, “The dolphins are right in front of that boat” pointing to an approaching boat about 500-1000 yards away. The kids swam like torpedoes and met the pod. I am not that fast but I did reach the tail end of the pod. I got to swim over and near about 10 dolphins as they passed by, but none surfaced with me.

I felt an incredible energetic calm come through me as I was near them. That could have been dolphin energy, or it could have been the endorphins kicking in from my mega swim to reach them. It was nice and the dolphins were magical. I had the camera, and when there was a group very close I aimed it, but alas it didn’t take the picture. Back in the car I asked again, and they said to come again tomorrow to a different place farther north at 7:00 AM. I look forward to it!

  • Share/Bookmark

Categories: Reef Life, animal communication.

Tags:

Swimming with Spotted Eagle Ray

Comments Off

February 5, 2008

spotted eagle ray

It is February 4th, 2008 and I am on Bonaire for two weeks, scuba diving. My neighbor stopped by yesterday evening and said, “The rays feed in the shallow sand at Bari’s Reef around 4:30-5:30 in the evening. Be there and hang out, and I guarantee you will see them, and sting rays too.” So today I planned my afternoon around that promise.

Bari’s Reef is one of the many dive sites that line the west side of Bonaire. Most of them are marked by yellow rocks, and they have buoys anchored at 15 feet, typically at the start of the reef. Divers rent trucks and load them with tanks and head out to explore the abundant life.

On the surface my mission matches my fellow fin-foots, to see the unexpected and marvel at the beauty of it all. But my social purpose is to connect shamanically with the spirits of the reef, building my cosmological knowledge and bringing new sources of healing to my practice.

When I first introduced myself to the reef creatures, swimming along side them and hoping to connect, I got blank stares. These animals do not stand up and volunteer straight away. This is a fluid discovery process for me; there isn’t a recipe. So far I learned that they respond to me after I have courted them both under water and in shamanic journeys. I am not sure how this works or what it all means, but I want to learn.

I haven’t journeyed to eagle ray yet. Today I went to meet the rays in person, to introduce myself as a friend and to observe their beauty and ways. I will describe that now. Then later I will journey to them. After that they may become helping spirits when appropriate. I’ll share these things with you as they unfold.

Spotted Eagle Ray. The shallow sand is filled with life. I got there early and waited 45 minutes at 15 feet, moving very slowly. The water is a bit murky right now because it is the rainy season. I can see clearly for about 15 feet, then things become vague. 30 feet away was a grey fog bank. I scanned the horizon and kept an eagle eye out, until the soft swaying of some grasses caught my eye. But they weren’t grasses at all, they were garden eels, my first garden eels ever, and one of the fishes I had on my list to try and find this trip. I was moving so slowly they were not alarmed. But as soon as they did see me, whoosh, down into their holes they went, and they stayed there for as long as it took for me to leave. After 10 minutes of hovering very quietly I decided to slip away and circle round from another direction. A few minutes later they were out dancing again, half their bodies emerged from the sand, swaying like cobras in a basket. This time their alarms went off when a trunk fish came prowling. These adorable triangular shaped fish have puckered lips that probe every hole for goodies. In a world where fish are very wary, trunk fish have the run of the place, as some of them secrete a poison when threatened.

 

trunk fish

 

After 45 minutes of this floating in a cloud of white sand and misty horizons the can of life on my back was diminishing. I had about 15 minutes before I went into damned fool mode. Then suddenly he was there in front of me, calmly floating with waving wings. Small white spots on the top of the body and a face that is the image of an eagle, give the ray its name. His underside is pure white, and his rat thin tail is the length of his body over again. This particular ray’s tail had an interesting jointed turn at the end, like a small bent finger. He has a dog like mouth and snout, and he makes precision attacks in the sand, digging for his delicious crab dinner, leaving a 9 or so inch indentation, not unlike a hole that a Matsutake mushroom picker leaves after lifting a buried gem in the forest duff. (I digress, but Matsutakes and their hunters communicate shamanically, as the mushroom depends upon the hunter to disperse its spores. “They just call to you” the long time hunters say.)

The eagle ray and I swam side by side for at least 5 minutes, maybe 10. He showed me his softness. I offered my heart. The connection was tentative, but warm and filled with good will. Finally it was time to say goodbye, and we separated. Now I will journey to Eagle Ray Tribe and court them formally. And then I will return to the water at dinner time again, this time with my camera!

Here is a place to learn about Spotted Eagle Rays

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/SERay/SERay.html

 

 

  • Share/Bookmark

Categories: Reef Life, Shamanic Exploration, animal communication.

Tags: , ,

Website maintenance by W3C Compliant | Add URL Directory