The Ocean of Love

It happened after the full moon in scorpio and after the sun eclipse... on May 5th, 2023, that this urge to start
writing came... For the last month I have been receiving messages ... to start writing...in English, since my soul
language is English... I pray , talk to God, myself, other beings, dream and express my deep emotions, feelings in
English..

So I bought 2 notebooks and several pens for that purpose.

I have been spending the last 3 days, at this place, called the 9th Heaven.. meeting interesting people, my age
and above.. and interestingly - or maybe not so much.. very soon the conversation was involving dolphins and
whales. Everyone of them was excited and very much interesting in hearing and learning more... of it all.
About my experiences with them, the knowledge that I have gathered in the last 11 years, since 2012. I find it
almost funny, since I have been trying to share my experiences with them since 2016... and not many were
interested then, to listen ti my stories.. And now, when I was willing to let go and turn the next page in my life,
seams like everyone I meet is eager to learn, to listen, to hear what I have to share...

At the same time they are showing this movie all over Slovenia - called - Whales, the keepers of the Planet.

3 days ago, there were 10 whales noticed by the island Vis in Croatia, in Adriatic Sea....

Maybe all these are the signs for me - just another little push, to share my story.
I would like to specifically emphasise that this is what it is. My story. It will include other people's experiences,
facts that I read about, stories, shared by the ones I have met in person. Never the less... it is shown my
perspective, how I see, feel, receive .. according to my life experiences, my seeing of the world at certain time in
my life... My awareness that keeps evolving, rising, falling, shrinking, widening...
I am well aware that I am only at the beginning of learning about life, with the tiniest grasping of what is going
on... only in this circle, right now, at the place in time as I see it right now. I am also well aware that all of this
will collapse into pieces and another will start...

Yet, somehow, there is a calling from "my soul".. to go ahead and share this part of my life..

It all began on my 21st birthday. I was a travel guide on a sailboat in Adriatic Sea, close to Zadar area. We were
spending 4 days at the sea and all I remember, is myself sitting at the back of the sailboat waiting for the sunset.
Suddenly, I saw a dolphin. First one, then two, three... after a few minutes around 20 dolphins , following the
boat. I was mesmerized. So much so, that I did not call anyone else to witness this. I was caught in the moment.
Feeling the love, the joy, the gratitude... Everything else disappeared. I was overflown with LOVE. The sun went
into the ocean.. and they left.. Only I was sitting there.. lost in time... when it hit me.. it is my birthday... what a
gift I have just received... way beyond anything I could ask for or imagine... Tears of gratitude were flowing down
my cheeks...

Only years later I have realised the significance of that event in 1987.

In 2003 was the first time I have visited Yucatan in Mexico, with my husband. My desire then was to visit the
pyramids in Chichen Itza, Tulum, Uxmal.. and Teotihuacan near Mexico City. Which I did, but was overwhelmed
by the sacrifices and the blood shed, connected to all the pyramids - at least that is how the events have been
presented to me at that time..
And then I have heard of Xel-Ha and a few other places in Yucatan, where you can swim with dolphins. Suddenly
all my focus has changed. I knew, I needed to have that experience. The second day of our stay at Playa del
Carmen - we went to see them.
I was able to touch his face, to swim with a couple of them... all of it lasted 20 minutes. My heart almost burst out
of joy, excitement that I felt. I was admiring the young trainers.. At that moment I would change my life - to be
with them in an instant ( I had my own travel agency then, 4 years old daughter and a husband... so in my mind
that was just a wishful thinking.. ). But I knew one thing - whenever there will be an opportunity to be around
dolphins - I will use it. (Will talk about dolphins in pools and captivity later.. at that time I was at the beginning of
my dolphin journey)

We came back to Mexico in 2004. I have organised the trip for families with children - mostly to share with them
the dolphin experience and to have one myself..
There really is no words to describe what affect dolphins have on humans. Adults and especially children.
That has been my way, since I have experienced Bali for the first time in 1995.
When I feel so good and excited about something, it just makes me very happy to be able to share this
goodness... with others. So I have guided about 15 groups to Bali. Then dolphins came ... and basically - took
over my life.

It did not happen in the way where I would plan it. It happened organically. Not all at once, not all in the easy,
smooth way. But it did.

Due to my work, which I loved - organising travels for people anywhere in the world, making their dream journey
that most of them took once in their lives... and I was able to travel myself twice a year - to my dream
destination.

One of them was Bora Bora. It took me 5 years to dream it, until I put my feet on the ground of the island in
2010. 7 years after my first dolphin encounter in Mexico.
The landing to Bora Bora started very interestingly. I've had 3 days to explore the island and the lagoon. It was
May and the rainy season has been officially over.
But - when the plane landed, it was pouring. Pouring, like the sky got torn apart...
I went to the reception desk and asked what was the weather forecast. The man politely explained, that
unfortunately it is not so good. Which meant 5 days of rain, with no sun.
I went to bed that night and prayed. Let me explain
here... I prayed maybe 5 times before in my life...I
would talk to my guides, ask for help and guidance -
yes... but this night, I was wholeheartedly praying ... if
I was given this trip and the opportunity to come to
this island in the Pacific Ocean that I have dreamt of
for so long.. Please, please let me experience it in its
glory, sunshine and the turquoise ocean... let it rain at
night , but please, let there be sun during the days...
I woke up at 7.30 am.. having my alarm set for 8.00
am. I opened the thick curtains... and the first sun rays
shined across the ocean right to my room. My prayers
have been answered. I have had the most beautiful
blue skied 3 days in Bora Bora (rained all nights). My
heart was full and that was my first acknowledgment
of the power of the prayer from the pure and humble
heart.

The days there were what I have dreamt of and more. The turquoise colour of the ocean (that has since for ever
been my favourite colour) was embracing me every moment of the day. The beautiful lagoons, the green, lush
forests of the mountains. I have also had my first shark experience there. They were offering a trip, called Shark
feeding boat trip. I found myself in the ocean, 2 feet away from around 10 reef sharks, who came for their fish
snack - given by the guide of the tour. They were 3 - 7 feet long, who send no signal of fear inside of me. They
were just there, enjoying the ocean, as all the rest of the fish. I was in awe... first, from seeing so many of them
at once.. and also by my reaction.. of really no fear at all.
I was later back on the patio of my over water villa, thinking of that event. Going through the messages that we
are given through the movies and other media, news, etc... on how dangerous, life threatening sharks were... and
what life experience brings you when with them in the ocean.

During my stay on the islands of French Polynesia, 5 of them, I have encountered sharks 3 more times... this time
not on an organised tour.. I was actually sipping my morning coffee in one of the over water villas at 7 am. The
ocean beneath was less than 6 feet deep. It happened twice, that the shark of at least 9 feet , would swim under
the villa. I almost dropped my coffee cup when it first happened. But he (or she) just peacefully swam by. No
splashing, no danger. Only very smoothly continued his morning swim. I have talked to the hotel manager - how
often does that happen ? He calmly explained that when the ocean is calm, when there is no people swimming,
screaming, splashing, the sharks enjoy their evening or morning swim around the villas, since it is their home,
their space - the ocean and we, the humans are the guests there. He also explained that in the last 30 years there
has been 6 shark - human interactions ... outside of the lagoons, in the open ocean. But never inside of the
lagoons.
These have been my first in person encounters with them.. and since then, all of the above has been confirmed.
Sharks are very important and loving beings, for all of us existing on this beautiful blue planet.

The island I was visiting after Bora Bora, was Moorea. Another beautiful, small, green island with many
breathtaking lagoons. Island in the shape of the heart. And boy, did my heart open.
The island itself is magical. Small, but very diverse. In the midle is the mountain, that has a tiny hole on the top of
it. Looking at it, is almost like looking through the loop. Wherever on the island you are, you can see this mountain
and is playing the role of a compass, so you never feel lost.

At that time there were no boats yet, taking you whale or dolphin watching...
All that came a few years later. However, there were 2 dolphins in the fenced ocean pool by Intercontinental
hotel.. for over 20 years. People could come close to them, learn about them and also touch them. That was the
only possibility in all of the French Polynesia (the size of Europe) to swim with dolphins (at least that was the
information that I was given at the time). And yes, of course I was there in the morning, at the time when they
open. My interaction with them here, was different to the one in Mexico. No life jacket, only the diving mask. What
happened was, that I could hug the dolphin around his body (a bottlenose around 9 feet long) .
He was just floating on the surface, next to me and I
put my arms around him. His skin was warm and felt
like velvet. Then his trainer said to me.. take a deep
breath... and we dove underwater, dolphin and I. To
me it felt full speed, I did not know what to expect. My
heart was pumping like it wants to jump out of my
chest and after a while I let go of him. He just came to
the surface and stayed next to me. I asked the trainer
if I can do it again and he agreed. This time I was
ready. I took the deepest breath I have ever taken in
my life and we dove again. We went from one end of
the pool to another, around 150 feet... and we did it
again...
I felt at home. In my heart, in my body. I felt I could
go on for ever..and to the open ocean.. just to be
among them.
3 dives were the maximum number, allowed at that
time... I looked into his eyes for the longest time..
hugged him once more and said goodbye.. A part of
me knew, this was just the beginning..
The rest of my trip was me - being in Heaven. I was
walking 3 feet above the ground. My smile was from
one ear to another. Everything was happening "in the flow" and nothing could spoil my mood. The days were
sunny, no more signs of rain.
All of my dreaming of the last 5 years, that was about the islands, the beautiful lagoons , the ocean, Bora Bora has
been taken over with this encounter with the dolphin. And yet, I was not aware, of how very much...

Next year, in May 2011 I was organising another group to Bali. I was the "technical" organiser and a friend was
the "spiritual" leader of the group.
It was the first time that I have been a part of the spiritual group. I have seen and experienced the island with
different eyes this time. Yet - the most important moment of this journey and what has affected all of my future
life, was not related to Bali. One of the women on the group has been showing the photos of Hawaii, of the Big
Island, to be precise.. where she has been a year prior. And then she said something, that changed my life. She
was saying : "And then one morning, my friend and I went for a swim to this bay and swam with 50 dolphins for 3
hours."
I wasn't paying attention to her story until I heard those words and I've asked her to repeat what she has just
said. She explained that there are 3 bays on that side of the island, where many times you can swim with free
dolphins.
I knew at that moment, that I will be there. Did not know how and when, but I knew.

The Universe aligned my life in the way, that I was on that beach the following year - Summer of 2012. I came
with my daughter, my friend and her 2 sons. We camped at that beach for 3 days.. but - no dolphins. I can't say I
was not a bit disappointed, since I have had visions of me in that bay swimming with dolphins that hole year. But I
had plan B. Joan Ocean - I call here the guru of dolphin swims and anything connected with dolphins or whales..
She has been swimming with them for more than 40 years. She is living on the island and in 2012 was still a way
to go swim with dolphins with her, to have her as your personal dolphin guide. So that was my plan B.
I went alone. The others stayed on the beach. This was the treat - to ME. And the treat it was.
There were pods of 500 and more dolphins that we passed with the boat and then swam through. I do not recall
every moment of those 4 hours, going off and on the boat. But I do remember the break. When everyone was
enjoying their lunch on the boat, but I stayed in the ocean... looking for dolphins to come by... and then I see
Joan - in the ocean as well. And then they came, 50 or 60 of them and we all swam together. Joan on one side,
6, 7 dolphins in between, I on the other side. They did not swim away... they were swimming in our speed.. and
then they dove down, into the dark blue deepness. The sun rays were making reflection in the ocean, like a spiral
going deep.. and the dolphins were diving down, circling around this spiral. I was masmerized by the images .. but
at a certain point it became too much .. I needed to look away , to bring my head above the surface and breathe.
Joan just smiled at me and swam on..
This was the first time when I realised, that there is much more there, then "just playing with dolphins in the
ocean". I always knew , dolphins were much more then other beings in the ocean. But here I got a glimpse of
where they can take me, you.

This has been my "only" swim with them on this trip to

Hawaii, since we've had only one week to spend on the
the Big Island. I was not alone, and we all desired to
see experience islands as well... But I got "my
swim"and knew, I will be coming back for more.

So I did, in Summer 2013, only 1 year later. I joined

Joan Ocean's seminar - that included 1 week of
swimming with free dolphins. We would go out with
the boats in the morning and had gatherings at her
ranch in the afternoon. Only years later I became
aware of the full affect that seminar had on me and
my life.

The Big Island herself has very powerful, transformational energy. Hawaii are the islands, most distant from the
shores of the mainland in the world. And the Big Island is the most active vulcano in the world. The elements of
the ocean and fire together is the combination that changed my life so much. Like the lava, burning just beneath
surface of the island has brought to my surface all and everything that is not belonging to my essence, of who I
am. And the ocean, like the soothing embrace of a mother, was hugging me and cooling off, washing away my
wounds.

All of this is only becoming the full painting now, in 2023, 10 years later.. and the puzzles are still coming together.
During that week in 2013, I felt like I have come home. The island, the ocean, the dolphins, the spirit of Aloha. I
felt like the first time in my life - I have arrived. Like I don't need to go anywhere else, I have found "my place"
under the Sun. I felt love on every step... just stepping out of that plane .. the warm air, the scent of plumeria...it
felt like a soft cloud.. welcoming me home. The aloha spirit was present on every step.. the slow traffic, kindness
of the cashiers at the grocery store, drivers waving the Shaka when passing by... Every greeting was a warm hug,
no arms stretching hand shakes, keeping the distance. Hawaiian greeting was a hug, when proper, accompanied
by the kiss on your mouth.. with no sexual energy, only open hearts... love sharing at every breath.
I felt like my entire being has been embraced with soft , loving spirit of Aloha.
And then - there were dolphins. Each day of the seminar we swam among hundreds of them. It seamed surreal.
We were dropped off the boat into the ocean and pods of dolphins swam by. At the last drop, they stopped and
stayed among us for 20, 30 minutes. I remember I have been transferred to another state of beingness.
Everything was so different to what I have ever experienced. My mind went from the state of observing to the
state of being. I just was. And what was happening, I was a part of. Not active in mind, active in being.
So much has happened in that one week that has affected my ways of looking at the world, life, understanding of
ways how life is, that is forever changing still today, almost at the speed of light. All I knew was - I wished for
more. More of it all, the island, the dolphins, the aloha... In mind I was thinking - I could move to the island in
four years, when my daughter finished high school. But someone, who was also attending the seminar, said to me
- you will be living here next year. It was like I had been hit by the lightening. That was the time when there was
so much talking about earthquakes coming, the floods, vulcanoes erupting.. and I thought to myself - what if I
won't be able to travel, to fly in four years, what if I miss the chance and I will never be able to live here. And
what do I do for the 4 years- waiting for my life to happen ? The seed was planted so deeply inside of my heart -
that in May 2014 I moved to the island - with my daughter and my dog.

All the doors were opened - I got the perfect house , my daughter had been accepted to high school, with long
waiting list - in a week.
We've had a couple of months before school started though. We've had the Summer to enjoy. To get to know the
island, but mostly, to connect with dolphins.
The house we rented was perfectly located above the 3 bays, where dolphins came to swim in the mornings. Each
day we would drive from one bay to another and probably 20 days of the month, we swam with them. Not with
the boat, but simply, by swimming from the shore. It is still, to this day one of the most incredible feelings . The
fact that free dolphins decide to come to you and swim with you. I remember, it took me almost a year.., that I
came to the point inside of me.. where I was able to be at one beach and someone would tell me that dolphins
were at another bay.. and I would not jump and drive there. That I was able to relax and stay where I was,
knowing that there is the next day, and I will still be here and dolphins will still be here and I will swim with them
again, soon -meaning in a day or two and I do not need to catch every single possibility to be with them, around
them. My friends, who have been living on the island for ten and more years said at that moment - Welcome
home, you have finally arrived.

Since that time, I have started to relax. Even in the ocean my attitude towards the dolphins has changed. Where
before that, my attitude has been in chasing mode .. not so much physically .. I have been swimming in their
speed .. letting them come to me .. but on the inside I have been like - begging them .. hey, I am here , will you
come to me, do you see me ? My entire being was so excited, all the time. I am here and you are here .. and I am
so cool that you decide to be around me and swim with me. Please, don't go away, stay a little longer , I don't
have enough yet, please, please, please...
And then, after that time, when it happened that I stayed at the beach and have decided not to run anymore..
everything else relaxed, and my entire experience with dolphins changed. I have not been in a chasing mode
anymore. I was there, in the middle of the bay.. just floating.. and the dolphins would come and go, come and
go... 3,4,5, 10 , 20 dolphins would swim by me, made circled around me.. left, and then came back... I knew they
would come back...

After that moment, I was certain this was my life now. And it will stay like this - forever. Or closer even - I was not
thinking. I was living in the moment. I felt alive in every fibber of my being. I was living my dream, that I didn't
even know I've had. My heart was wide open and all the main aspects of life that dolphins represent with who
they are : joy, love, play, flow.. was all I was.

It took me 18 months of living on the island, before I bought the underwater camera - I wanted to be fully present
within my experience with them. Nothing in between. Not worrying where to put my hands, what angle of them to
catch. Just me - and them.

I remember one day, a few months into me living on the island, I made an experiment. You see - I love the touch,
of people, hugging people, I also do massages, body work. Even before that, where ever I traveled, I've always
tried massages of the country I visited. I just love to touch and being touched.
And even - with the trained dolphins in the pools or fenced ocean, I was allowed to touch and hug dolphins I have
interacted with. But here - in the open ocean I was explained - how I was not suppose to touch anything, not a
dolphin, not a turtle, nothing that lives in the ocean. The fact is, that humans carry different diseases that by
touch can be transferred and harmful to ocean beings. Dolphins especially have a very thin layer on the top of
their skin that protects them.. and by touching them, we can remove it. So basically I understood - no touching.
But then one day, there was this dolphin, who swam only inches from my body. I got used to swimming with my
mask, snorkel and fins and my arms along my body.
The dolphins feel when I am totally relaxed in a loving,
grateful mode.. my heart open... in the state of being,
not asking anything from them, just purely enjoying
our togetherness, sharing this moment in time. Then
at one moment, a thought came. I bent my arm, so
my hand was at my shoulder, turned outwards, still
totally close to my body. In my mind I said to him -
just if you want to, you can touch my hand.. ever so
slightly, just for a second.. it is here, available to you..
if you desire. And we swam like that, him 1-2 inches
away from my hand... probably for 5 minutes. He
would not, even for a second, touch my hand. Then I
"gave up" and brought my hand back, with stretched
arm along my body. At that moment he speeded up,
jumped in the air, just a few feet in front of me, turned
in the air several times and landed on his back right
next to me... I started to laugh.. and got the
message... Just be, and enjoy the ride... you are fully
receiving all that you need . My heart opened even
more and I was in the state of bliss the rest of the
day...

And then, there were also different kind of experience... My friend told me to tally relax next time I am with them
and to close my eyes. So next time, when a pod of around 100 dolphins came to the bay, I swam away from the
rest of the swimmers. Around 30 dolphins followed me. I was floating on the surface, with my arms and legs
slightly spread apart. My had was in the water, I was breathing through the snorkel, my eyes were closed. I felt
totally safe. I knew the bay very well by then. I knew its currents, I knew where was the line between the bay and
the open ocean. I was still ways on the inside of the bay, though past the middle line. The ocean there was deep,
colours beneath me dark blue. I don't know exactly how long my eyes were closed. Minutes. When I opened
them, there were about 30 dolphins bellow, forming spiral with their bodies in an upright position, like they would
be standing in the ocean, feet at the bottom, head on top. They were forming the spiral , from my body , going
down into the deep blue. I have only seen that form for a split second, since from the moment I've opened my
eyes, they left the form and went into their regular swimming mode. Yet - this image has stayed vividly with me til
today, almost 10 years later.
Since then, they took me among their pod many times.. 20 - 30 of them would swim around me and they would
guide me away from the rest of the swimmers, to the side of the bay with shallow waters (3 -5 feet ) and we
would swim there for 5, 10, 15 minutes then they would leave and joined the others.

Looking back now, living in Slovenia, in Europe, my left brain being activated again, I only now see, how much I
have really been in the state of AWE, in the state of GRACE, while with them. Each time I was alone with them,
there was no more ego, no more of I am special, no more - of anything... I just WAS, there, among them, almost
like being one of them. I usually spent an hour or a bit more with them at one time. Then my "being" was full and
I would go lay down on warm lava rocks or the sand . To rest, to enjoy that state of being into which "they put"
me. It was really me, all of my bodies, adjusting to their state of being. Whatever followed during the day, was
done from that state of beingness, awareness. I would usually swim with them in the morning, around 8 am, so
by 10 my "regular" part of the day would start.

I remember thinking, how my first 50 years in this world were spent in the "ordinary" ways of earning money,
struggling, going through different stages.. and how now it is time for the rest of it .. to be spent like this - living
aloha, swimming with dolphins, surrounded with people who have also seen, experienced the world, life as we
knew it and are now together gathered here, to enjoy life in Hawaii-nei.
Life, however had different plans... But let me stay with dolphins a little longer.
I remember at one time, I was in the middle of the bay with around 50 dolphins, when a group of "new" people
came in, to swim with them. I knew they were new by the way how they swam. They were trying to catch the
dolphin by their tails, they would stick out their camera holders straight to their bodies, getting as close as
possible, swimming with their arms over heads. Basically all the things you learn not do, after you swim with them
for a while ( or you have a proper guide to instruct you so). I was first swimming on a side, just observing their
behaviour. I could feel my body becoming tense, my muscles everything but relaxed. I had almost swam to one of
the man - misbehaving, when I saw a dolphin swimming just in front of him. As the man stretched his arm, to
catch his tail, the dolphin moved further, just enough to get away. That happened 3,4,5 10 times. Then the
dolphins just dived deep into the blue. I got the message ! Do you really think we need your help ? That we can
not handle these people ? Why do you think we are here ? Why do you think we come here - to be around you,
people, every day, again and again, to be with you ? It does not matter wether it is the first, the second, third or
the hundredth time that you are with us. The only thing that matter is - that you came. That you gave us the
chance, to be with you, to be around you. For you to remember - who you are. So do not get out of your flow,
your grace, your open heart -in order to help us. We know how to do our job. So just relax and stay in your flow,
your joy, in the state of grace and remember who you are and why you came here : one - to the planet Earth,
second - to Hawaii.. and to be with us, among us. Wherever you go, wherever you are, remember this state - of
how you feel, who you are, when you swim among us. Don't let any circumstances or people take that away.
Always return to this state of beingess - you know how, and where.

At that moment I was not aware, how much I will need that - that advice - how deep in my soul, of every cell in
body that message has been engraved. At that time I just took it, in regards to new swimmers and me, not
allowing myself to be disturbed by them and staying in my flow.

Each day I was more and more in awe. Of their abilities and even more so of me being a part of it, witnessing it.

TO BE CONTINUED... ( kindly disregard the grammar and my English... this was all written in the flow..)

With love and aloha. Tadeja - Nai'a Sophia