Megaptera: loving kindness for a peaceful life

Throughout every ocean of the world lives a majestic mammal, the humpback whale. A stunning and kind creature; with a lifespan of up to 90 years and a weight over 40 metric tons.

This whale's body is very unique, with the iconic hump on the back, interesting tubercles on its head, and long pectoral fins; aptly named Megaptera in scientific terms, which stands for "big-winged."

The beautiful and complex song created by the humpback whale resonates through the water as a melodic symphonic dance, with repeated vocalizations, like a kirtan chant, differently arranged from year to year. This lovely chanting can last up to 30 minutes at a time.

These kind and gentle whales migrate up to 10,000 miles a year, undertaking one of the longest migrations in the world.

This species is renowned for its spectacular breaching as it "surfaces out of the water" and leaps out into the air, like a snowboarder taking flight. The tail slapping and whale blows can be observed from long distances, a magical spectacle of nature.

A once-known myth is that these lovely creatures are unkind. This is not true, as the humpback whale is a gentle and kind creature, very loving and friendly. They are curious and intelligent, as growing evidence even suggests they may be one of the nicest animals in the world.

The act of altruism has been observed in these whales, as they are genuinely concerned with the well-being of others and practice selfless compassion. This seems to be a genetic trait carried down through the generations, as they are curious and social, and display genuine benevolence.

Selfless love and compassion may be intrinsic, although these are certainly traits that can be developed and expanded. When we sense true awe and inspiration, as when we watch these whales in their habitat, our mind wires differently and an internal softening forms.

This experience is similar to when we listen to inspiring music, watch a beautiful sunrise, or even smell the coffee brewing in the early morning light. These experiences, these awe moments, train our minds, as we feel light and cheerful.

So, it is up to us to expand our loving-kindness and compassion; notice what incites internal awe and inspiration, and continue to practice it.

Through this, maybe we learn to explore this experience in other realms of our daily living, as over time, the mind will open to many more awe experiences, as it will begin to seek and find this feeling of benevolence and joy.

This loving-kindness and compassionate mind is our default mind; it may have just become layered over time by conditioning and other factors. With awareness and practice, we can cultivate this mind within us to flower and bloom, as it was always meant to be.

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The Dalai Lama reiterates this wonderfully with his statement:

"I believe compassion to be one of the few things we can practice that will bring immediate and long-term happiness to our lives"

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One mindfulness practice to connect with our altruistic mind is to come back to our breath. Notice our breath, in and out, as this trains our mind to notice sensations and the experience of the moment.

We can even internally recite while we breathe: Breathe in and internally recite the word "love", breathe out and internally recite the word "peace". Then alternate, breathe in peace, breathe out love. We continue this process for a bit, calming and directing the mind towards relaxed and serene inner spaces.

This mindfulness practice builds our altruism, and inquisitiveness becomes instilled internally; our external world will expand, and we begin to experience the awe and wonder around us and others. It is an amazingly expansive experience to live in our true awakened mind, where we are designed to be.

Seek out the experiences that inspire and elevate our frequencies, practice them often, and watch with wonder as they evolve over time. Let's continue to be inquisitive and explore experiences which turn us inward and invoke peace and joy.

A peaceful life is our birthright, as the wonderful humpback whale can teach us. We are all meant to be majestic and magical. With a heart of loving kindness and compassion, we become superheroes of our world. Then this naturally expands and illuminates others and everything around us.

This is where we rise above the water in a grand spectacle; reverberating the waters with waves of love, compassion, and joy.

Cheers!

Kether

Spunky Mind

"In compassion lies the

world's true strength."

Buddha