alternative medicine circles, dolphins have been cited as having special
capabilities that enhance healing potential in people with a physical
disability, including spinal cord injury and dysfunction.
ages, man has had a special
fascination with dolphins. This
relationship continues to be acknowledged today by many diverse sources. Dr. John Lilly determined in his studies of the human brain
and interspecies communication possibilities that man may rank behind
the dolphin in terms of cerebral development as measurable in mammals.
The U.S. Navy has also recognized the dolphin’s intelligence
capabilities and has been using them for highly specialized missions for
over 20 years.
Even ancient cultures speak of connective links to
the dolphins. One
such culture existing to this day is an Australian aborigine tribe known
as the Dolphin People. They believe their ancestors were the souls of
dolphins who were slaughtered by sharks and then reborn as the first
Science’s challenge science to view all
information from all sources -
not as an obscuring veil - but as insights pointing to truths.
Dolphins are highly social creatures, and they
usually live in pods of varying size. They are mammals who nurse their
young and must surface to breathe.
In the wild, dolphins can live up to 50 years. Like
humans, dolphins have a large, complex brain, especially the area
associated with higher cognitive functioning.
Dolphins navigate through their aqueous environment using a
highly sophisticated sonar system. They emit a focused blast of
ultrasound vibrations, which, in turn, reflect off objects before
returning to the animals.
Their powerful sonar can penetrate up to three feet
through sand and mud with resolution significant enough to distinguish
between a dime and a penny. Due
to this power, scientists believe that dolphins can view the inside of
our bodies similar to a sonogram performed on pregnant women.
Indeed, dolphins are fascinated with pregnant
women, honing in on the unborn fetus. Furthermore, they often focus on
individuals’ specific areas of impairment, as well as places
containing tumors. Many times people who swim with the dolphins can feel
himself being scanned. As if bypassing the ears, the sound resonates in
the bones, traveling up the spine.
Dolphins appear to facilitate healing through
mechanisms not readily reconciled with modern medical precepts. People
frequently report that they become euphoric after swimming with these
loving, graceful, and joyous creatures. In turn, an uplifted spirit
seems to infuse beneficial healing effects into the mind and body.
Numerous people who have serious illnesses and depression have reported
dramatic, long-term, favorable changes in their emotional state.
Scientists now know that these emotional changes
(which last much longer than the “high” experienced from the release
of endorphins, the body’s natural opiates) can initiate a cascade of
health-enhancing hormonal and physiological changes. Children with a
variety of developmental disabilities have shown remarkable improvements
after dolphin-assisted therapy. Learning, cognitive abilities,
concentration, communication, and ability to relate to others all
In addition to possessing a direct therapeutic
effect, dolphins appear to enhance other therapies. For example, the
Upledger Institute recently treated individuals with a variety of
disorders with dolphin-assisted, craniosacral
therapy. The therapy was completed in the water with, and in near
proximity to, the dolphins. Many beneficial effects were observed beyond
levels normally realized, including pain reduction, increased ease in
breathing, muscle relaxation, enhanced strength and flexibility,
increased appetite, and better sleep.
Furthermore, the dolphin’s sonar echolocation
apparently reduced various tissue restrictions, including adhesions
resulting from past surgeries, scarring, or trauma. Based on these
positive results, the Upledger Institute is in the process of
establishing an ongoing dolphin-assisted, craniosacral therapy program.
Arndt, a paraplegic since 1988, participated in this pilot program. He
is an actor, writer, poet, and a playwright who once worked with
Tennessee Williams. He
recorded his experiences with the dolphins in a journal. Following is an
excerpt. (contact Arndt at john.arndt@Juno.com
to obtain a copy of his dolphin experiences)
Therapy this morning, my Lord, what a morning!
First we went for a "structured swim” with two pregnant
dolphins. The regular
stuff, dorsal pulls, imitative games, kisses, and pets.
Then into a pool with a dolphin named Tina, a young female, and
a very strong girl. Tina
would go to my feet and blast energy up from there; it was completely
powerful. Suddenly my feet came alive with a pulsing energy.
pulsing energy went through my body and into my lower spinal cord.
Every time Tina would blast from my feet, I would get a
"therapeutic earthquake" from my first lumbar vertebrae down
into my sacrum. All my tissues in the lower part of my body were
literally shaking with energy. Talk about sending a shiver up the
spine, this was the ultimate.”
Next Day: “Starting at my feet, there is a
constant flow and movement of impulse, a indescribable gyration of
synergy that rotates and pulsates, ebbs and flows, buzzes and beats,
vibrates and harmonizes with a myriad of sensations that move up and
down my legs. This is more than I've felt down there since the night I
fell out of that tree. And
the location is different too… this morning, the energy web has
moved all the way down into my feet and pulsating upward from there.
It is warm, I would say an almost glowing awareness of my feet and
legs, tissues and bone. It
feels so fine.”
Although no one really knows how and to what degree
dolphins heal, a number of both scientific and intuitive speculations
have been put forth.
and Vibration: Scientists believe that the dolphin’s ultrasound
emissions have considerable healing potential from an energy and
informational perspective. Clinically, ultrasound has been used to
promote healing, for diagnostic imaging, and to destroy cataracts and
kidney and gallstones. Throughout history, sound - such as music,
drumming and chanting - has been used to promote health.
Physiologically, we now know that these sounds can influence heart rate,
breathing, muscle contractions, memory, and immune function. In terms of
energy, the dolphin’s ultrasound blast is four times stronger than
therapeutically used in hospitals.
this blast is delivered through water, which is 60 times more efficient
than air for sound transference, to a body that is three-quarters fluid.
It is believed that ultrasound resonance within the cerebrospinal fluid
is especially important due to the fluid’s key influence on the brain
and spinal cord.
Dr. David Cole of the Aquathought Foundation has shown that human
brain waves shift from high-frequency beta to low-frequency theta waves
after a dolphin encounter. Beta waves are associated with increased
concentration, alertness, and enhanced memory function. In contrast,
theta waves are associated with enhanced creativity, sensory
integration, and altered states of consciousness. For the sake of
reference, people exhibit theta waves in the fleeting moments when they
drift from consciousness into sleep.
Scientists believe that a brain-wave shift of this
nature strengthens the human immune system. Furthermore, after a dolphin
encounter, research has shown a synchronization of brain-wave activity
between the logical, analytical left brain and the intuitive,
imaginative right brain. These brain-wave alterations may explain why
people view swimming with the dolphins as a transcendental experience.
Dr. Cole speculates that these brain-wave
alterations are facilitated by sonar-induced cavitation. Basically, the
dolphin’s intense sound waves create alternating regions of
compression and expansion that form small bubbles in the cell membrane.
In turn, these bubbles facilitate the transport of key
neurological molecules from outside to inside neurons.
Energy Fields: Scientists also speculate that the dolphins’
therapeutic energy is mediated through human energy
fields. According to
human energy field theory (see Infinite Mind, Dr.. Valerie Hunt, Malibu Publishing Co, 1996),
disease has its origins in the energy field at an atomic level, which
then progressively manifests in the molecular, cellular and body-system
levels. Conversely, if the energy field is fixed, healing will progress
to the physical body. The human energy field responds to stimulus, such
as sound, even when the person experiences no conscious awareness of the
stimulus and before changes are noted in physiological parameters such
as brain waves, blood pressure, etc.
Because it is theorized that the effects of spinal cord injury
are stored in these energy fields,
mending the human energy field first will promote the body’s healing.
to speculation, dolphins can sense human-energy-field imbalances and
adjust their ultrasonic emanations. The
dolphin’s powerful energy may initiate an appropriate alteration in
the human electromagnetic field, which, in turn, will facilitate
Perspective: Elan O’Brien, who became a spiritual healer after a
transformational experience with the dolphins, says these animals’
energy represents an alignment with a greater consciousness. According
to O’Brien, the human nervous system programming usually prevents us
from realizing that alignment and expressing the natural order.
Dolphins, through their sonar and mudra-like movements, can shift our
programming patterns by changing the body’s electromagnetic fields. As
a result, the body’s limited belief structures are opened and changed.
conclusion, in spite of these speculations, no one truly knows how
dolphins mediate their healing. Is it merely a psychosomatic, feel-good
effect? Or does it represent some unknown healing mechanism that is
beyond our traditional perspectives of medicine? Clearly, enough
evidence suggests it is worthy of further investigation. However, it
remains to be seen whether mankind can set aside biases of superiority
to co-create new knowledge with the dolphins.
For a good overview on the subject, consult Dolphins
and Their Power to Heal by Amanda Cochrane and Karena Callen,
Healing Arts Press (1992). The web site www.aquathought.com
provides a list of organizations involved in dolphin-assisted therapy.
Photo and drawing credit Cindy Lohan and Shira Lightfoot, respectively.
from an article appearing in the July 1999 issue of Paraplegia
News (For subscriptions, contact www.pn-magazine.com).