Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Totem Tuesday: Dolphin Medicine


Dolphin Medicine
by Felina Lune Kavi


“Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time.  But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.” –Douglas Adams

Keywords:  Playfulness, Spontaneity, Spiritual Enlightenment, Prana (Sacred Breath), Sound, Articulation, Sociability, Intelligence, Self-Awareness, Change, Revitalization, Limitlessness, Dreams, Intuition, Altruism, Compassion, Salvation, Unconditional Love, Trust, Peace, Harmony, Inner Child, Natural Rhythms, Reception, Emotional and Psychic Sensitivity, Detachment, Progress, Soul Communication, Healing

Dolphin is a very intelligent animal that dwells simultaneously within two realms:  Water (emotions) and Air (intellect).  Not only are they one of the smartest animals, but they also have compassion for other beings.  They are especially drawn to children, and awaken a sense of playfulness and spontaneity that speaks to the Inner Child within us all.  They are known for helping those in need and being very receptive to those specific needs.

In one recent story, a local dolphin named Moko saved two beached Pygmy Sperm Whales in New Zealand.  The whales had been stranded for hours when Moko showed up and led them through the sand bars to safety.  There have also been many accounts of pods of dolphins circling people shipwrecked in shark-infested waters, leading them to shore.  

Dolphins’ compassion and receptivity to children, especially those with special needs, has proven beneficial as a type of therapy for children with autism or mental/physical challenges.  Dolphins are innate healers, not only caring for the sick or injured among their own pods, but also for those of other species.  

In these therapeutic interactions, the dolphins react instinctively to children immediately after they enter the water with them.  They swarm to them in a nurturing impulse, especially when the children are challenged.  Studies show them drawn to those children with special needs more than others.  They blast them with sonar, reading from the information that travels back to them that the child has special needs, and they are very gentle with these children.  Autistic children blossom after their interactions with these creatures.  Studies with terminally ill children receiving Dolphin Therapy have shown the Dolphins blasting cancerous cells, glands or tumors with sonar.  These children appear to receive a deep soul healing and are often more at peace with their own eventual transition as a result. 

Dolphin medicine is powerful because it comes from a place of unconditional love.  People with this totem are often drawn to helping and healing others, particularly those who need it most.  They have the Soul of a Healer, and are often drawn to careers that provide healing assistance to others in need.  Like the Dolphin, they understand that love is one of the strongest forces in the universe; its energy capable of transcending all barriers.  

Their unconditional love of all is inherent, though sometimes lost in the lessons of adulthood.  But it is ultimately rediscovered to direct their soul to where their medicine is most useful.  Dolphin awakens the ‘Christ Consciousness’ or the ‘Divine Within’, yet those with this totem will encounter many situations in their lives that will challenge this ability to give unconditional love.  These lessons are to hone and perfect this ability, not to weaken it.  Though some may become lost and mistrusting of others as a result of these challenges…not recognizing them as opportunities for growth. 

One of these lessons must test their ability to learn the distinction between compassion that can genuinely assist another, and taking on another’s pain for them.  Those with this totem are so drawn to helping others who are underprivileged or otherwise in need, true champions of the underdog, that they are often drawn to those with issues (such as drug or alcohol dependency or other debilitating conditions)…believing that they can heal that wounded soul, sometimes to their own detriment.  

They often experience a sort of ‘Christ Complex’ because of their draw toward taking the burden of pain from others to save them from themselves.  They go through these lessons to learn that they must not take another’s lessons from them.  Therein lies the greatest challenge for those with a Dolphin totem.  A certain amount of detachment is necessary for the best use of this medicine, otherwise the emotional pain of these experiences can weaken their innate abilities to heal from a place of love.  This is the nature of the dolphin, which symbolically lives between the realm of emotional attachment (water) and intellectual detachment (air)…there must be a balance between.

Dolphin teaches the medicine of Prana, the ‘Chi’ or ‘Life Force’ that enters the body through breath.  People with this totem may find that focusing on their breathing will help them to balance in times of stress or anxiety.  Dolphin recognizes the ebb and flow rhythm of all life and teaches to become one with the environment.  Because of this connection, those with this totem may find that a strong spiritual foundation and connection is key to their progression in life. 

Those with a Dolphin Totem will have very deep emotions that will be predominant in their lives.  Dolphin teaches how to integrate them so they do not overwhelm.  Just as the Dolphin must surface for air, a person with this totem must learn how to balance with detachment from the pain and suffering of others so that they can assist others without being pulled under by tumultuous waters and drowned.  

In watching how dolphins within a pod take care of those who are sick or injured, you can see how those with this totem are often found caring for those in their family in a similar situation.  Emotions run high in these situations, and they must always remember to come up for air and allow themselves some breathing room every once in a while, to maintain their ability to take on that Caretaker role.

Except for their sense of smell, the senses of the dolphin are much more advanced than that of humans.  Their skin is also very sensitive, and though it is wounded easily…it also heals itself miraculously. Those with this totem are very sensitive souls.  And though they don’t necessarily have a ‘thick skin’ when it comes to being hurt by others…they can take a lot of abuse and recover from it better than most.  

However, this sometimes presents a very real problem for them because, since they are drawn to wounded individuals because they want to rescue them…they often find themselves in abusive situations and stay in them much longer than they should.  But just as the dolphin has been found to learn from previous experiences, so do the people with this totem.  

At some point in their life, the highest expression of all the lessons they’ve learned about love click into a certain balance and harmonious expression.  They become the healer who, like the Dolphin, teaches others to fish rather than only providing them with fish.  By their example, their love for all and their gift of understanding and compassion for all living beings on our living planet casts a wider net, rather than focusing that healing light on one or just a few others. 

If Dolphin is one of your totems, these and many other lessons will be prevalent in your life.  Dolphin will encourage you to refine your mastery of this medicine.  If you see a dolphin, but it is not one of your totems, respect it as a messenger for that time.  You may need its medicine for what is happening then or what is coming up in the near future.  You may find that your Inner Child is being awakened and your sense of joy and playfulness must be cultivated.  Or perhaps lessons of the Caretaker or Rescuer are coming into your awareness.  However these messages reach you, Dolphin urges you to balance, breathe, and let your love and compassion flow to where it is needed.

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