CNN iReport

The Restless Spirit of the Sea 

- 22^nd February 2009

My spiritual quest began late in 2008 when a friend and mentor was charged for a crime he did not commit; this charge went against everything I knew about him, and the incident turned everything I believed in on its head; dazed and confused with with no where else to turn, I returned to spirituality for comfort and guidance.

This spiritual quest took me 11,000 miles from the west coast of America to a green homestead in Janda Baik, a small town of about 1,000 residents, tucked deep into the foothills of the central mountain range of west Malaysia. A winner of the Aga Khan award for eco-friendly architecture, this homestead together with the surrounding rainforest jungle and its raw energy made a perfect spot for spiritual adventure.

So, it was on December 6, 2008, at Janda Baik, Pahang, under the guidance of JP and Tari that my spiritual journey officially began ...

Fast forward two months to February 8, 2009. I am back in Janda Baik with the same group for the next level of the spiritual experience. As with the prior retreat, we ended the 2-day session with A 'progression', a meditation process that enables us to look into the future by a few years.

What was startling about this progression was that the input received from each participant was like a piece of a big jigsaw puzzle that told the story of impending natural calamities.

In our mind's eye, we saw cities with tall buildings below ominously dark skies with rolling angry clouds, turbulent sea waters, rising water levels, tsunamis, fallen trees, leveled land, destroyed homes; and beneath the earth's surface, were slowly shifting tectonic plates; collectively these stills painted a picture of ruin, death and destruction from natural disasters.

Wanting to know more, we meditated on the two most obvious questions - where and when?

The answers pointed to the Asia-Pacific region, namely India, from Kerala to the Malabar Coast, Sri Lanka, Riau and Java islands and Sulawesi in Indonesia, the Philippines, and parts of Borneo and Australia.

Time-wise, the tectonic plates would slowly start shifting in March 2009 causing an earthquake related tsunami around July. The shifting plates will continue through the third quarter of 2009 and cause another earthquake cum tsunami about October.

So what does one do with this sort of premonition? Do nothing, adopt a wait- and- see approach, post a world-wide alert, or take some middle of the road action?

Well, I had decided to wait -and- see till I noticed an alarming sequence of events:

→ Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 200 melon-head dolphins were stranded in Manila Bay in the Philippines. Scientists attributed the unusual phenomenon to a "heat wave" or possible "underground disturbance", which disorientated the creatures; and

→ Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - An underground earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale with an epicenter 21 miles below the sea level hit Mandano, the northern most city on the Sulawesi island of Indonesia. A Tsunami warning was issued, but later withdrawn.

So herein lies the reason for our note to you: the melon-head dolphins, the earthquake in Sulawesi, and the results of our progression.

For what it is worth, this meditation group will be holding a universal prayer for Saesha, the "Goddess of the Sea" on the 22^nd of February 2009 in Asia with the intent of collectively coaxing Saesha into minimizing her destruction.

Whatever your faith, and wherever you are, do say a short prayer to calm the restless spirit of the sea.