| Sirius
Institute
Voice
of the Dolphin Newsletter
19th
Anniversary of the Sirius Connection Edition
May
22, 2004
ALOHA!
... to all our friends and supporters.
In March
1985, Paradise Newland swam with dolphins and connected strongly
with them. She was already a colleague and close friend
of Toni and John Lilly and envisioned places where humans could
live with and learn from the Cetacea (whales & dolphins) and
partner with them for our mutual benefit. She formed the Sirius
Connection to accomplish this goal.
It was incorporated
May 22, 1985.
We have
met, worked with and become friends with several dolphins and
worked with many of the people involved with the dolphins, among
them John Lilly and Hank Truby, (John Lilly's project linguist).
Paradise Newland and Michael Hyson come from this tradition.
We carry on so future generations can further develop communication
and understanding of these intelligent species that share our
planet.
Our goal
and vision is to partner with the Cetacea (dolphins and whales)
to learn from each other and to realize our potential together
as co-species.
Our Sirius Institute
is a community based dolphin/whale/ space research consortium,
with outreach educational programs, experiential sessions in areas
including: rocket science, robotics, biology, dolphins and whales,
interspecies communication, healing modalities, hands on play
and learning activities for children and adults.
Sirius
Institute's program is a comprehensive approach to improved ways
of being on this planet. Experience has shown we can improve
our lives by better birthing, child rearing, and educational methods.
Much of our approach is already well validated by existing research
and extended by direct experience. In particular, we have
learned a great deal from, and about, Cetacea that is relevant
to many areas.
Since arriving
in Puna a few days before the July 11, 1991 eclipse, we have brought
our projects quite a ways with our own resources, the Aloha of
many here and elsewhere and have accomplished a great deal with
very modest support.
We
have educated many people in the course of our work. For
example, through Paradise Newland's participation in the Hawai'I
County Committee on the Status of Women, DVIAT (Domestic Violence
Interagency Team), as well as direct outreach to the county,
state and federal levels of government, we are influencing policy.
For example, the Domestic Harmony Awareness project,
through concerts and especially the Domestic Harmony Awareness
Poster Contest, saw this year, for the first time we are aware
of, proclamations making November Domestic Harmony Awareness
Month.
We have created a musical
communication interface called the SongSwimmer and used
it to create dolphin and whale music. See www.planetpuna.com/CD
This is a recording of the first time the whales played
a musical synthesizer, real time, at sea.
To
advance these and other concepts to the next stages and bring
them to fruition requires substantial support, which we now seek.
We feel these are worthy projects with the potential to
better all our lives profoundly.
The
Sirius Institute is developing programs related to create more
harmonious communities by improving birth and child rearing practices.
Much of the work is inspired by what we have learned investigating
the Cetacea. The dolphins, especially, are directly involved
and we seek to integrate them into our lives through communication,
birth, therapy and other means.
As we approach
the 19th Anniversary of the Sirius Connection, we have
seen the growth of the Sirius Institute, *PlanetPuna* (our
domain www.planetpuna.com),
the Camp Paradise home education program, Pod Homes, community
concerts and other events and projects. We
create events, like local concerts or conferences; participate
in community meetings and projects; know and talk to many people
and share our knowledge. The indigenous Hawaiian (Kanaka
Maoli) people have hanai-ed (adopted) us and we have done
our best to learn of and respect this rich and vibrant culture.
Because
of this social dimension, Sirius Institute has grown into and
out of the local community of Puna, Hawaii where we are based.
We live where dolphins and whales are accessible
year-round. Our local community is knowledgeable about the
Cetacea and sympathetic to our goals. We have reached and
educated many people and continue to learn from our experiences.
We have begun to influence government policy at
the local, county, state level and federal levels.
We have
locations, teams, knowledge and experience. We are ready
to go. It is time to move forward.
The
Cetacea
...
are our counterparts in the sea - conscious, sentient, and waiting
for us to meet them halfway. We can learn from each other,
birth babies together and generally integrate our lives. We can
relate through swimming, play, music, birth, child rearing and
dolphin assisted therapy.
 The
Cetacea, the whales and dolphins, are members of the oldest indigenous
cultures on Earth. Since they are in the water, they are
extraterrestrials. They have contacted, interacted with
and assisted humans for thousands of years across many cultures.
Now we are reaching back to them, learning to interact through
swimming, music, computers, and the internet -- and the Cetacea
are responding to us. What can we learn from each other?
We now know
that humans are at least partially water adapted. It is
likely that we interacted with the dolphins and whales for thousands
of years, and, we feel, this interaction influenced our early
cultures. Our traditional partnership with the Cetacea has
been partially forgotten until recently, yet it is a strong thread
in our cultures. It is timely now to remember and expand
it.
The Cetacea
are playful, have affection for humans and are at least as intelligent
as we are, and, we feel, capable of communicating at a human level
with the proper interfaces. Some of their capabilities exceed
humans, like their short-term memory which is twice as large as
ours. Their ability to heal certain medical conditions is
remarkable. Therefore, the Cetacea are entitled, as humans
are, to rights and proper treatment.
Obviously,
much needs to change to make this a general reality for a majority
of humans. Some still think they are fish or good only for
food and other products and miss seeing the intelligent companions
that we see. At the moment, with over-fishing, pollution,
and powerful sonars, Cetacea are dying. Some are literally
starving. This must be reversed.
Attitudes
need to change, and they will change. As the reality of
Cetacean sentience is widely demonstrated, our awareness of the
Cetacea will increase and encourage efforts to keep the oceans
clean and productive. In partnering with the Cetacea we
will learn our mutual history and with their knowledge we may
better revitalize our oceans and the planet.
Millions
of dollars have been spent on SETI programs looking for intelligent
beings in the stars to have a conversation with. These are
worthy projects. At the same time, we can also be communicating
and learning with the Cetacea who are intelligent, extraterrestrial,
and here in our own
oceans. They are offering their cooperation. All we
have to do is follow their lead, and begin the process of learning
about each other.
To
communicate with the dolphins and whales, we need people ready
to meet and interact with them. Hence, projects suggested
below have to do with improving human society as well.
We
of the Sirius Institute have been following this path since before
its formation. We are demonstrating methods that meld the
Human and Cetacean realms to forge links to this ancient group.1cea
Part
II. Goals & Projects
Part
III. Articles
Part
IV. Sirius Connection Highlights
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