The Sea Turtle

I spent the fall of 2015 in Malaysia helping an old friend get a non-profit, My Bright Futures, up and running. I lived on my own in Malaysia for 3 months. I was set up pretty well with all the things I really needed, a bathroom, some communal kitchen space, and most importantly AC. However, I was lacking a stable internet connection in my apartment. I spend a lot of time on the internet (probably too much if I'm being honest), and this was a great opportunity to find other ways to spend my time, such as reading, exercising, and meditating. Meditating was something I was pretty new at, but I figured that living on my own in Southeast Asia was the perfect setting for getting started.

I tried different ways of meditating, ranging from attempting a complete emptiness and stillness of mind, to focusing on a particular idea or principle, to merely cyclically counting my breaths. One day I decided to try an imagine myself in a nature setting to find some kind of connection with the earth and peace or whatever. I sat and tried to imagine myself in a forest, in the mountains, in the desert, on the beach, etc., but all of these, despite being beautiful, didn't feel quite right.

I remember settling on the beach, and feeling like I was almost there, but not quite. I stood up and began to walk towards the water. The sun was shining, the sand soft, warm and clean. I looked out across the vastness of the sea, calmer than I have ever seen it before, the perfect shades of blue stretching out endlessly beneath an equally beautiful, cloudless sky. The setting was simple, and beautiful in its simplicity. After taking in my surroundings at the water's edge I took a step in the water, wading deeper and deeper. I continued to walk deeper into the water even after I was completely submerged, impossibly yet naturally weighted in perfect balance to where I could walk naturally along the ocean floor, yet still feel the buoyant weightlessness one feels underwater.

At last I fount a spot to settle. The sand extended out from below me outward in rings. I sat in meditative position and finally felt that I had found the nature setting the universe had intended for me. After moments of stillness, the ground beneath me began to rise. And ride. And Rise. The sand on which I sat quivered downward as the hard mound beneath began to rise from beneath it, until all the sand was gone and I was sitting hard, almost rock like surface. I noticed large, organic, geometric patterns below me. I swam upward and then toward what must have been the front of this structure and was greeted by a face. The gargantuan object that had risen from the earth was a giant sea turtle. I looked into its eyes, and it into mine. I reached out and put my right hand against its head in-between its eyes, and then closed my eyes while we connected.

My eyes opened again and suddenly I was surrounded by a family of sea turtles, floating out in the middle of the sea. The swam circles around me, spinning, flipping and twirling gracefully. One of them swam up to me, rested the top of its head under the palm of my head. I patted and pet him a few times. He swam floated a few inches higher until my hand rested on the edge of his shell just behind the head. We made eye contact and the turtle nodded at me. I held on tighter and nodded back.

We shot through the water. I held on tight as the sea turtles gracefully swam through rapid under currents. The ride was smooth, thrilling and unpredictable. After a while I let go, but was not left behind. Somehow I was able to keep up with them on my own now, and swim freely in jst as fun a fashion. After a while we finally settled to a stop, where I was surrounded by the family once more. They all swam closer until I was caught in a sort of undersea group hug. We broke the hug and they swam away.

I was one of them. My spirit animal was a sea turtle.

Image courtesy of Ralph Pace

The sea turtle is peaceable, wise, and lives its life in serendipity. It travels freely through the seas, but carries a bit of its home wherever it travels. The young are forced to become independent from an early age. Their life is lived both on water and on land. As continued my sojourn in Malaysia and traveled through other islands of Indonesia, I couldn't help but notice these among some other connections I had with the sea turtle.

I hope I never forget that experience and how i felt while meditating that day. My friend Sam has a similar experience. I believe that meditation can have wonderfully positive effect on all people. It calmed me, helped me to feel less stress, and to better focus my efforts and energy. Accidentally discovering my spirit animal was definitely an added bonus. Sam and I both feel that this revelation of sorts has helped us feel more at one with nature and with Mother Earth. We wish to help those who want to find peace through meditation, and a closer connection with the Earth through finding their spirit animal.

Hit us up if you feel ready for the spiritual journey, if you would like to join us in the Spirit Animal Kingdom.