Thank you for visiting this page.

Accepting the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) rules is easy once you understand dolphin behavior, how people have interacted with non-captive dolphins in the past and are able to intuitively communicate with them.

Dolphin behavior:

Unlike humans, a dolphin’s brain sleeps in shifts. This is known as unihemispheric sleep. The right and left side of the brain take turns sleeping. One half of the brain rests while the other half stays alert. The side of the brain that is awake keeps one eye open and keeps the dolphin breathing. It also helps keep a dolphin swimming.

Often busy at night, dolphins regularly come into protected bays to rest. When in rest mode, they swim slowly, go down for a few minutes and then slowly come to the surface to breathe before again going back down. When in an alert awake mode, they become playful and move about quickly. Spinner dolphins will often leap into the air several times in a row.

Prior to the new restrictions prohibiting anyone from approaching or interacting with dolphins, we were able to swim into the center of the bay to be with them. If the dolphins were in their awakened mode, we had many hours of playful and respectful interaction with them.

What prompted the restrictions to take effect?

As more visitors arrived on the islands, the idea of swimming with wild dolphins was appealing. Unfortunately, for most people, the only awareness of human/dolphin interaction was demonstrated by companies and hotels that offered swims in small pools with captive dolphins.

People were encouraged and allowed to hold onto a dolphin for a photo opportunity. Some grab onto a dorsal fin or its fluke to be pulled alongside for a ride.

Thinking this is how one behaves with non-captive dolphins in the wild caused a lot of concern for their population.

A popular pastime, the bays were often filled with many more people than the size of the pods. Harassing, chasing after the dolphins, reaching out and trying to touch or grab onto them became a problem. This was especially so when the dolphins needed their rest.

How do the new NOAA rules impact our retreat?

During the retreat, I will introduce you to a series of powerful and effective exercises and meditations to commune with dolphins and whales. Both can also be used to commune with nature and to communicate with domestic and other animals.

As part of your intuitive education, we will practice sending and receiving messages. We will share these messages with each other in our group gatherings. We will also learn to invite the dolphins’ energy and ask for awareness when they are nearby.

We often observe the dolphins and whales from our lanai and from the deck directly in front of the house overlooking the bay. We can still snorkel and swim in the bay. Should we see any dolphins, we are not to approach them nor interact with them. Rather we would keep closer to shore and to our retreat house. This is a great place to snorkel and see a variety of colorful fish. Occasionally, we will observe a large school of fish.

While swimming/snorkeling in the bay, if we notice the dolphins approaching us, we can slowly move out of their path. If they should suddenly surround us, we are to stay as still as possible and not interact or pursue them. Instead, we will embrace the gift of their presence and move respectfully out of their way once we are able to swim toward shore.