Dark of the Moon Magic… Honu (Sea Turtles) Emerging.

I am next to The Caribbean Sea
at Maya Tulum Resort in Tulum, Mexico.
I not only create and facilitate retreats,
I go on-retreat regularly...

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I am next to The Caribbean Sea at Maya Tulum Resort in Tulum, Mexico. I not only create and facilitate retreats, I go on-retreat regularly. Most often my personal retreats are ‘attended’ by only myself but I also love to go on group retreats as the community that is co-created can be profound.

I am here at at a retreat facilitated by my Beloved friend, davidji. I am sleeping in a cabana literally right on the beach, the continual sound of the ocean, flowing through my soul.

I titled this post ‘Dark of the Moon Magic’. What did I mean by ‘magic’? One aspect of magic invites a childlike wonder in sheer delight of the unexpected, a moment of grace that captures our full attention and delights our soul. Not knowing the ‘how did this amazing thing possibly happen’ potentiates the experience and allows us to be fully present with the simple profound awe of being alive. 

Last Sunday was the night of the new moon, the dark of the moon when she is not visible. On this night the stars are extra brilliant and being outside is quite dark. I am happy Maya Tulum has no outside lights on the beach (and a few very soft lights in the resort) which made it particularly dark. I left our evening session sometime after 10 and had gone back to my cabana. Even though I was quite sleepy and my bed was calling, the stars and the ocean called louder. I went to waters edge, laying on my back, taking in the magnificent sky. Orion was straight overhead and shooting stars were frequent. People have asked me when I first became a ‘seeker’… A seeker of meaning, a seeker of The Divine and a person who continually asks the question… ‘Why am I here?’ I can say it was in childhood, spending long summers sleeping out in the back yard, looking at the stars and letting my mind wander.

That dark-of-the-moon night, laying on the beach, I was thinking about those childhood experiences, remembering the awe of it and trying to wrap my young brain around the immensity of time, space, distance and ‘what is out there?’  I was feeling a little wistful for the innocence and sheer wonder of those childhood experiences.

At the same time, davidji and another dear friend Jennifer, were also on the beach. As we later figured out, we were only a very short distance apart, each of us called outside by the wonder of the sky, although in the deep darkness and roar of the ocean, we did not see or hear each other. After a while of watching the stars, davidji walked up the path to his cabana and a couple minutes later, Jennifer walked up the same path heading to hers. 

Now Jennifer has a profound and powerful story of her own (and when she writes it, I will link it here) and the short version is Sea Turtle is her Totem Animal. She had set an strong and frequent intention to someday be present with their hatching. In that respect, this is the Magic of her creation, davidji and I just had the magnificent opportunity to be ‘invited’ along.

So as Jennifer walked up the same very dark path in the sand, she used the light of her phone to check for any Hermit Crabs, so not to step on them. As she did she saw movement as the first baby Sea Turtles crawled out of their nest. We had all walked on that path multiple times and did not know (no one did) it was the location of a nest. It was right next to davidji’s cabana, so she quickly got him and I (only a few feet away) saw her light and the three of us began our dance with the turtles.

There were hundreds of them. They came out of the sand intent on only one thing… A powerful single minded purpose… The ocean. When there is a moon they actually see the light of it reflected off the waves and that is how they know where to go. There was no moon so we quickly realized, they were following the light of our phones and davidji's flashlight. We began guiding them home across the beach. There was a berm of seaweed at waters edge that they had to manage to get over but the power of their focus kept them moving. 

We were in the middle of hundreds of turtles with very little light and at one point they were walking all over my feet. I will never forget the incredible joy of that feeling… Little scrambling flippers, tickling my feet.

davidji and I took photos, Jennifer, who was completely present in the experience of her intention, did not. My video ended up being mostly darkness with flashes of the turtles in the light. I almost considered not posting it or editing it, yet realized it accurately captured a few moments of the experience. We were giddy as children, delightfully playing in the dark.

We all have marveled at the synchronicity that brought us to share the experience. There are so many people staying here at Maya Tulum, yet we three were able to dance with the Sea Turtles. It took only about 20 minutes so we had no time to do anything but surrender to the magnificence of the moment.

We all heard some kind of call, some desire to be (alone) on the beach that night… With the ocean, with the stars. The message: Listen to the voice of your Heart, of your yearning. With attention to that voice… Magic can occur. And while Sea Turtles, emerging with the New Moon, is quite remarkable. Magic is all around. Be willing and open to the potential for surprise. The potential for wonder. The remarkable power of intention.

And I will always carry with me the feeling of hundreds of newly hatched Sea Turtles, with a powerful… Single. Minded. Purpose. I can still feel that energy on my feet! 

I will be forever Grateful. I will always be delighted to have shared the experience with Beloved friends.  

There is bit more of this story… Of the last turtle in the nest… I will write it later. For now, I invite you to watch my shaky, mostly dark video (below photos) of our voices and some baby Sea Turtles. Swimming to sea. Life is magnificent. 
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Crossing the seaweed

Following the light

Jennifer, davidji and I after all the little ones were safety in the sea...