I was working on the computer, got a ‘hunch’ to go to the beach…

Cool! Maybe its the manta ray! Maybe I’ll be able to free her up this time! I grab my dive knife and camera, just in case… (there’s no way I’m going to miss showing you the cutting of her fishing lines!)

I grab a dry towel, put on my swimsuit, then the phone rings and I get sidetracked…

The hunch comes back, “Get to the beach now!” Grabbing my still-drying wetsuit off the clothesline, I race for the car and hit the gas…

There’s several places I park… which one? What the heck, I head for the south lot…

Unloading my gear, I start talking with a group of divers who’ve just gotten out of the water (The ocean looks awesome!) Suddenly one of them points toward the water, “What’s that?”

My neck snaps into position… every sense on alert, I scan, excitement building… Is it the manta ray? Am I finally going to be able to free her of the fishing line?

A dark black blob, eighty feet from shore, moving slowly south… Manatees!

I’m off in a flash… running down the beach to get ahead of them, carrying my dive flag and buoy, heart pounding…

I’m five years old… singleminded… totally excited, racing for the sheer fun of it!

A few hundred yards and I stop, panting… I unravel my floatline, tie it to my gear, wade into the water (brrrr!), put on my mask and fins and kick away from shore… I want to get into position far enough ahead of them so my heart rate is calmed down by the time they arrive…

(If you cannot see the video, click here)

I used to lead manatee trips… its been a few years, but I’m re-inspired after today! If you’re interested in finding out more info, join the email list at www.PlanetaryPartners.com

8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Upcoming – Christmas in Bimini! Dec 22 – 26, Swimming with Wild Dolphins & Activating our Joy!

Joe Noonan, Founder
Planetary Partners
An author, speaker, life coach and spiritual guide, Joe leads leadership retreats around the world and facilitates self awareness programs for those on the path of awakening.
A guest on National Geographic, Fox TV and Oprah, Joe reflects back to people that this world is already a Heaven on Earth, and that the tools to find joy in the moment are around and within us. That harmony is inevitable and that innately we all just love each other and sometimes we forget — he is here to help us remember.

Wild Dolphin Trips – http://PlanetaryPartners.com/Dolphins…
Everyday Ecstasy Blog – http://AJoyfulNature.com
Self Awareness Programs – http://PlanetaryPartners.com
Corporate Leadership Seminars – http://QuantumLeadershipProject.com
Joe & Jen’s Adventures – http://TheWideAwakening.com
Join Joe on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-Noo…

Join our email list for upcoming dolphin trips, workshops and other events – http://PlanetaryPartners.com
Planetary Partners advocates, educates and celebrates conscious co-creation on an individual, local and global level. We offer workshops, meditations, events and trips that awaken our divine connection with Nature.
Download our free radio shows and seminars at http://PlanetaryPartners.com
Join our 5 day trips Swimming with Wild Dolphins in Hawaii & in Bimini, the Bahamas, http://PlanetaryPartners.com/dolphins…

“Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God” Tielhard de Chardin

The ocean can be a scary place… I used to have nightmares of sinking in it as a kid. Its BIG and DEEP and full of weird stuff including SHARKS!!!

(Scared yet? ;)

The ocean is also a place of fathomless beauty and wonder… a place we go to to be baptized and reborn.

A few weeks ago I taught half this group how to snorkel. Some were strong swimmers, some didn’t know how to swim, and some were scared of the ocean. It was the beginning of a five day dolphin trip that Jen and I were leading. Day one is ‘get friendly with the water’ day, and its one of my favorite.

These brave adventurers brought their brand new masks, snorkels and fins into the water. After showing them how to adjust and wear them, they each got coached in putting their face into the water and breathing thru their snorkel. Not an easy feat! Putting your face IN the water and inhaling is counter-intuitive. It takes a bit of practice and a lot of trust.

Then, once everyone’s floating comfortably face down on the surface, I taught them each how to to do a surface dive.

Yup, virgin first-time beginner snorkelers learning how to freedive – it was awesome to behold how their excitement lead them thru their fear.

The whole thing took less than two hours… Like learning to ride a bike, now they have a skill for life! I get so inspired watching people overcome their fears, I’m often moved to tears. (I’m sure it was the salt water… ;)

Twenty years ago, I taught my former mother-in-law how to snorkel… she was scared but was curious to see what we were so interested in. I remember getting her to float on the surface of the ocean and keeping her face in the water… it took a few minutes, but then she got the hang of it…

Then the magic ensued…

She stopped thinking about the snorkel and began to notice the fish life at her feet… Watching her from a few feet away, I could feel the shift… she began swimming slowly along the shoreline, following the nooks and crannies of the rocks, and for the next fifteen minutes, didn’t lift her head out of the water once…

And when she did, she was radiant! The same radiance I saw on these friend’s faces – the beautiful innocent look of wonder…

I’ve seen this happen so many times; once people get a glimpse of life under the sea, they become enraptured.

The very next day, our group of first time snorkelers were swimming and playing off the back of a boat in forty feet of crystal clear blue water with the wild dolphins; they were ecstatic!

Take on something new; it will open your horizons.

And we swam with the dolphins!