When did you last turn to the sea – and experience ocean connection?
We all need the ocean, so much more than we really know or understand. We need to experience the power of ocean connection: of what happens when we come together with the sea.
There have been so many moments in my life when I have turned to the sea – for solace, for escape, for companionship, for peace.
In rage, in grief, in exhaustion, in hopelessness.
And she always brings me what I need. Without fail.
Has that been your experience too?
When ocean connection brings you something unexpected…
It’s true that often, what I get is quite different to what I thought I needed…
I wanted escape, but I ran into a gaggle of swimmers who lifted my joy. I wanted to be held, but the sea tossed me back out, wrapped in my own courage. I wanted to weep, but instead I found awe that transformed my grief.
And whatever unfolds, however unexpected, there is always constancy. That horizon is always there. The waves are always rolling in and out. The pebbles are always turning, clacking and smoothing.
There is always presence, woken within me as salt tasted on my lips.
And bouncing ions that enrich the air in my lungs. As I open to breathe in the vastness of time, the sound of the gulls, and the rhythm of constant planetary movement.
The infiinite possibilities of ocean connection, in right relationship
The sea has been my mentor, muse and medicine for years now. And yet, the possibilities of what is to be found here feel just as infinite as when I first laid eyes on her.
Each interaction only reveals how much more is yet to be understood or experienced. How many more of the sea’s gifts remain to be uncovered, wave by wave.
Over time, I have learnt that she welcomes all who come with reverence and gratitude. And I offer myself compassion for how I used to approach her. With barely an acknowledgement. Taking what I needed, before dashing off again, consumed by the busyness of life on land.
These days, I ask permission to enter. I bring a song, and usually a smile and a little laughter as I walk in. I borrow a pebble from her shores, and drop it with a blessing as her cool water reaches my waist. Before I leave, I lie back and present the ocean with my love, an open channel to my heart, rippled out through the water.
It’s an energy that changes everything. And one that I am learning how to ripple out on land, just as she guides me in the water.
Rippling out the benefits of Ocean Connection
The more we connect with the sea – with the nature that is also part of us – the more this connection can guide us into deeper harmony with ourselves. And with the world to which we belong.
The more accepting we become of our own dark and our light, the more possible it is to be with our emotions, sometimes. To witness them as they arise like passing swell from the shadows.
The more able we become to release judgement of ourselves and others,sometimes. To bring compassion to the tenderness, sometimes. To allow our own humanness, and forgive.
When we connect to the sea of life, we are more able to find the calm clear horizon in the face of all that arises, within and without. In a moment of traffic frustration, of sadness, self-doubt, fear or anger, we can return to the taste of salt on our tongue. To the deeper breaths we take on the shoreline.Â
And yes, the more aware we also become of all that is out of alignment in the world. Of the disconnection that so many of us feel – and all that requires change.
Yet at the very same time as she opens our eyes to this, the sea offers us a doorway. A path to change. To evolve. To deepen, in connection. To the water, and thus to ourselves. To each other.
If you are curious about deepening this connection, come join me for the last ever offering of Ocean Altar: The Journey.
Officially this final offering will run from 7 to 30 June, but you can start gently as soon as you sign up.
