Being close to nature saved my life when I was a depressed teenager, and for that I will be forever grateful. So when I see a delicate blossom, a lizard, a sunset, hear a bird’s morning call, feel the wind on my face, I give thanks. Thanks for the beauty, the mystery, the enormity, the elemental, the unpredictable raw and wild upon which all of Life depends. And over the years of acknowledging Her, Mother Nature, She occasionally graces me with an insight, a response, a glimpse of something more.

Several weeks ago I had the privilege to sail in Hervey Bay, breeding and birthing place of Australia’s East coast humpback whales this time of year.

Sailors know about dolphins’ attraction to classical music at sea, so why not whales? We saw whales nearby and let Schubert fill the Bose speakers. Within minutes five whales surrounded the boat. They danced to Schubert’s concerto: swimming slowly under the boat, around the boat, flapping their flippers and slapping their tails. Close to these graceful giants I feel a rush of awe at their majesty and power .

Any one of those 30 tonne mammals could have destroyed our boat in seconds. Looking at their eyes , hearing their songs, I feel certain they know who we are: humans who have brought destruction and dis-ease to this Earth. Apparently whales live in a place where blame and forgiveness don’t even exist.

After an hour of the whales staying so close, I was more than humbled. It was as if my heart and chest were literally being expanded. Not like a warm and fuzzy feeling, more like a shattering of pre-conceived limitations, a challenging stretch beyond where I have gone before. Simultaneously a low voltage electrical charge seemed to be running through me, as if the entire atmosphere was highly charged. . (Now I know this is sounding frighteningly New-Agey,  YIKES!, but at the risk of losing credence, I am committed to revealing my authentic experience. * This was an alcohol, drug and sugar free event.)

On the periphery of my vision I could see a  web of light, pure light, connecting the whales and the water to the sky and the beyond. The whales amplified what I had previously only imagined, or seen in Alex Grey’s artwork, but now actually encountered. I knew then: the whales are weaving the sacred geometric meridians of Earth’s holographic songlines as they have done forever.

Nature informs me in downloads. It was suddenly clear that I too, was equally involved in this toroidal Universal force. Along with the understanding came a responsibility to amplify and activate my Self, in order to participate fully in this web of Life.

We anchored close to ‘K’gari’  (Fraser Island’s traditional Butchulla name).  From shore kookaburras burst out in laughter; to the west, breeching whales punctuated the orange sunset.  I lay on the foredeck to watch the view, only to find myself crying under a blanket. Tears, pouring down the sides of my face. Immersed in their presence, I ached with grief, a stirring of some ancient memory that my narrow perceptions veil daily. I cried for all the lost wisdom, the Indigenous wisdom, the wisdom of the Nature that humans are destroying.

Although our human audio capacity can only access a small percentage of the song whales sing, we are still vibrated and informed via sonar. I can only compare the feelings to a ‘holy’ experience, or realisation, but not a conceptual realisation.  It was as if my entire centre, the place where I located myself, was shaken awake to it’s core, and my circuitry was recalibrating  to find the new location. Somewhat exciting and unsettling was the understanding that the new location was not fixed, because of it’s constant interrelationship to everything else in the visible and invisible world.

And I HAVE to be deeply moved by such a raw and fierce connection to Nature. I long for the wisdom that all ancient earth people have known through their immersion in Nature. An immersion so total and intimate that there was no separation. Not a connection to that tree or butterfly or mountain. An awareness of I AM the tree, the butterfly, the mountain.

The whales are known to carry the wisdom of the Sacred Feminine, diving deep , open and receptive. Indigenous peoples have known whales as the record keepers, the holders of ancestral memories in our DNA codes, keepers of the Akashic records, the singers of songlines, singing each moment into existence.

Several days after returning home I questioned, how could my experience, an epiphany, be translated to be of service to others? Pretty unrealistic to think that everyone would be able to (or be interested in!) hang out with the whales in Hervey Bay!  I laugh at myself. The whales provided me a glimpse of what is happening continuously in Life, even a glimpse of the sky  could tell me that if I listen. I bow in gratitude to the teachings of Love and Grace that the whales have granted me.