They floated in like moonbeams. Old. Gorgeous. Calmed by a velvety blueness of deepest parts of the ocean. They said: connect to us daily—no, that’s probably too hard. Connect to us often! When you meditate, or when you feel like it. Write down what we say. Do this for three months and see what happens.
I did, each time I meditated, for three months. Then a year. Then I kept going because who wouldn’t want to talk to highly evolved swimming mammals that have been on the planet for millions of years, traveling the seas, singing to each other?
Recently, I was at the after-funeral party for my father-in-law, in the kitchen talking to my son and my nephew. We were all sad and happy to be with each other and my nephew said something about how his parents never let him play video games.
I said I’d lost that battle in my house. I didn’t want my kids playing video games at all. But they did—for hours--and finally I said, “Fine. Have at it. But for every hour that you play Fortnite, you have to go outside and take a ten-minute tree bath.”
“I don’t remember that at all,” said my son.
“You did it a few times,” I said.
My nephew shook his head and reached for a beer. He said, “Aunt Rebecca, I love you. The crazy hippie shit that comes out of your mouth…”
Good, I thought. Everyone needs a crazy aunt. One who wears red pants in her 50s, draws cats, says crazy shit, and talks to the whales when she meditates.
The whales are great at advice.
They said, your job is to approach your work with a glad heart! That’s all. That’s money. First, make yourself happy--the way you are right now. Or, do some other thing that makes your heart lift, even if it’s a good cup of coffee and time with the cat. THEN go to work. That way you can send your happiness to others.
They said: All humans have a song that is unique to you, a note that only you can hit perfectly. Find this note, you knew it as a child. Cherish it, celebrate it, and love it. There is no other song like it and it will not exist after you are gone. Sing it always! That’s what we do all day long in the bottom of the sea. This is how we hold the world. This is how we find each other a thousand miles away.
Once, I asked them what to do about my wrinkles.
(I know. Here was a chance to connect with ancient beings who are said to hold memory of the planet, and I wanted to know what to do about my face. What can I say? I woke up that morning, looked in the mirror, and thought, Good Lord! What happened?! All I did was sleep!)
They said, You look like what you look like. Don’t ever think about it again. But, okay. On days you do not like what you see, drink in the moments where you were in love with life. When your heart soared—savor that feeling. Do you remember? That time you danced all night and walked through Manhattan alone, in awe of the buildings? And you went through Grand Central station at 5 am and it was quiet as a church, and you and that cerulean ceiling were so in love with each other you could have danced on those painted stars? Remember that feeling. Swallow it. This is how you build your radiance. This is excellent for your face. Your skin absorbs everything, especially love.
On the day before my mother decided to end her life by quitting dialysis I said, “Please tell me what I need to know to get through tonight and the next few days.”
They said, You are about to enter the forest of the unknown. Walk towards this with courage and trust. You are going into battle unarmed, shining your heart’s light. Let it lead. You will feel alone and know that you are never alone. This dark road has golden jewels placed along it. Be awake for them and pick them up when you see them. They will help you navigate these deep waters.
They were right. The road was dark, but there was jewel after jewel after jewel: music, my sisters, my nieces, my father, my husband driving to and from Ohio, five hours each way, so my son could leave school and touch his grandmother’s face one last time.
I love this way of being. I choose it more and more and that’s where I am happy—singing to the water. Listening to the trees talk about how much they love stretching, to the whales who sound like Buddha, Jesus, and a thousand sages, all tied up in one.
Another time I said, "Dear whales, what do you want me to know this morning?"
They said, Look, today, with your soul. Your eyes see one thing, but your soul has SUPER-Vision!
I said, “How?” and they said, Oh, it’s so easy!!
(They always say that: everything is easy for them.)
They said,
First, look around you. Then close your eyes. Drop into the center of your being, where your soul lives. Look again. You will see, know, or feel something. Write it down to ground it.
Do this all day. Soon, you will know everything.”
Later, I went for a walk. I looked at the hillside I walk by daily. My eyes saw a sloping field, covered with snow dotted with trees. My soul saw the seedlings, sleeping, waiting to grow. It saw the bedrock way below, that has been here before humans walked the earth. All of it was singing softly, waiting for spring.
Two geese-Canadian, known for monogamy-flew overhead.
I said, with my soul, “Good luck with your marriage! I hear your divorce rate is way lower than ours!”
They said something back—I don’t know what, it didn’t matter, all I heard was that glorious call I’ve loved forever.
My eyes saw them grow smaller in the distance.
My soul saw devotion, grace, and the power of wings.
you are one of those bright gems in my life. Thank you for shining your beautiful light unabashedly!
A blue whale adopted me in meditation. I love swimming with her and her baby.