inspiration
DEEP BLUE CONNECTIONS
Extraordinary Encounters with Dolphins by Bill Van Arsdale
F
or the past dozen years, Amlas McLeod has been leading wild dol- phin encounters in Bimini, Bahamas, enabling swimmers to experience trans- formative changes through encounters with this extraordinary marine mammal. “Wild dolphins often enjoy in- teracting with boats, but most are not interested in being close to humans. As soon as you get into the water, they dis- appear,” McLeod explains. “The Atlan- tic spotted dolphin species near Bimini is unusual in that they are comfortable connecting with people, and seem to enjoy it as much as we do. Amazingly, they actually include us in their pod activities during these encounters.” These spotted dolphins often swim very close to the boat, jumping up or turning to get a better view of folks on McLeod’s catamaran. Once overboard, swimmers revel in how the animals playfully move and twirl amongst them and often come within inches as they glide by slowly enough to make pro- longed eye contact.
“You cannot help but get the sense that you are interacting with a highly sentient being; the feeling of direct con- nection is remarkable,” says McLeod. “I am most affected by my quiet connec-
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tions with the elders that will just hang in the water with me. Sometimes, they will close their eyes and simply rest at my side. Their presence is one of total, unqualified acceptance.”
People who swim so intimately with these dolphins depart feeling they have “met the master,” as McLeod puts it. Comments from guests returned via
TripAdvisor.com (
Tinyurl.com/7n8khqf) report how the experience puts them back in touch with who they really are and empowers them to make changes in their lives. “Connecting with these special dolphins somehow brings us into the ‘here and now’ in a profound way,” says McLeod. “We drop out of the mind and into the heart. There is this feeling of expansion, connection and being one with everything. When people return home, they often report that they have started to let go of things in their lives that no longer serve them, allowing them to become more true to themselves.”
For more info, visit
WildQuest.com.
Bill Van Arsdale is a contributing writer who recently swam with the dolphins near Bimini.
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