The Power of Rhythm and Going with the Flow

I just returned from Tahiti, where my daughter Elyse and I had a wonderful experience with whales. Elyse is eighteen and it was her first time swimming with them. My last whale excursion was in 2019. Since I had not been with the whales for several years, I’d forgotten how powerful their loving energy is. 

During part of the trip, I wasn’t feeling well. As a result, I stayed in the boat and didn’t swim. I watched Elyse in the water, worrying at one point that she had been out there too long, that she would get too cold. I had to breathe deeply to keep my vibration up. The breath helped me clear out the negative, fearful voices. It helped me let go and trust the experience. 

I realized that this trip was a lot about her and I separating as she becomes a young adult. 

The moment I allowed myself to be in the moment, in acceptance of what was, I noticed that Elyse was having an amazing encounter. There was a baby whale that stayed near her while the mother was nearby. I watched as Elyse became part of this loving triangle and I felt myself enveloped in the energy as well. 

Whales connect us to the rhythm of life. They remind us to go with the flow. The lesson for me was to let whatever was in my heart unfold and happen. The trip wasn’t exactly as I’d imagined, but it was being created moment by moment, on a more collective level. 

Afterwards, Elyse said,” I don’t even know what happened out there. It was wonderful!” She was amazed not only by her encounter with the mother and baby, but also with the way the boat’s captain communicated with the whales and seemed to understand them telepathically. 

The whales opened our hearts, giving us an experience that was beyond words.

On our last morning there, Elyse and I were having brunch. We had a gorgeous view of the ocean. Tahitian performers in face paint played the drums and, in the distance, we saw a whale slamming his tail with the beat of the drum. 

This wasn't the first time we felt like the whales were participating in our activities. It had happened during the whole trip, several times, as if they were saying, here we are! 

Once we were back home, I hosted a birthday party for myself and my brother-in-law. We both turned sixty and I wanted to celebrate him especially because he had a massive heart attack when he was forty-five. He was in a coma for two months and not expected to live, yet he made it to sixty. 

The one wish he had when he woke from the coma was to teach his sons to play music and perform. That’s what he did. His boys performed at the party, opening for one of my favorite Chicago bands, Win Noll and the Rockin Souls.

First, I shared my travel story with family and friends, and explained how whales, as the highest-vibrational beings on the planet, connect us to the rhythm of nature. I invited others to join me in a drum circle. I wanted to express the joyfulness I’d seen in the whales. 

I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant. As a deaf person, it can be uncomfortable for me to show the world who I really am and how much I am guided by vibration. But even those who were unsure at first or holding back began to melt into the rhythm and loosen up. By the time the band took the stage, everyone was dancing and singing. 

 This was exactly the joyful celebration I had envisioned, filled with my favorite music and my favorite people. 

There is so much power in music. It sends the vibration of love into the world. As the music played, I thought about the fact that an oil pipeline runs through in my backyard. I know that when I have these celebrations of love, the vibration travels through this pipeline. The fossil fuel links us to our ancestors; in much the same way, whales are the record-keepers for humanity.

We are all one. In fact, in what felt like a Snow White moment, we saw a hummingbird buzzing around the bird feeder like it was blessing us!

Everything is vibration. Each vibration adds to the collective. 

When we allow ourselves to make noise, to be heard or to joyfully beat our own drums, we raise the vibration of the planet. 

When we trust in our own rhythm, anything is possible.