| Healing Powers. For most people, dolphins are a symbol of freedom, grace, serenity and joy, They also hold a mystical, almost magical, ability to uplift the human spirit, to help heal the body and mind. ----------------------------------- We need to have great kindness and compassion for one another when facing such a challenge as the cancer of a child, and so the dolphin demonstates his awareness and concern for those around him. Just as we need to interact as a family unit and wider community in order to share support, information and advice, so too the dolphins communicate with one another, and provide support when it is needed. The dolphin's intelligence symbolises our quest for information and knowledge in these uncharted waters. The low vision of our survivors may be reflected in the eyes of the dolphin, yet his ability to cope so well in the deep blue can give us hope that living with low or no vision is possible, and possible with much success. Finally, we all hope and pray for healing. The mystical healing power of the dolphin represents that hope we all have within us for the healing of every child diagnosed with cancer. If you do not have a child with cancer, but came to this page at random, I would like to encourage you to visit the Dolphin Friends Pages section created for friends of a diagnosed family. It is designed to increased the understanding of the challenges families actually experience on a day-to-day basis, and is full of ideas - direct from parents themselves - about how friends can help show support in a positive way. |
| Highly intelligent. Like several other species of dolphin, the bottlenose (featured on this page) has a brain-to-body mass ratio equal to that of a human being. They are among the most intelligent of animals, and continue to be the focus of much research regarding this. |
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| "Reason" by Ling. |
| Here are a few reasons the dolphin was chosen as a unifying symbol for this section. They are: Just like us... Affectionate and sociable Caring towards others Highly intelligent Have low vision? Sociable with Humans And healing Powers |
| Just like us. Like humans, dolphins are warm-blooded mammals, and they only give birth to one baby (calf) at a time. They are also very sociable, and live in close knit communities called ‘pods’, but it is common for dolphins from different pods to interact with each other. Dolphins live for an average of 40 years. |
| Affectionate and sociable. Dolphins are very affectionate creatures and use their pectoral flippers to stroke one another, as much as to steer through the water, thus increasing the social bond between them. Dolphin "friends" swim together face to face, their flippers touching as they do so. They often express close bonds through elaborately synchronised and extremely harmonious swimming. |
| Caring for others. Dolphins are very sensitive to the suffering of their kind. There are many documented cases of dolphins coming to the aid of another, whether known to them or not. For example, if one dolphin is in physical difficulty, other dolphins will support it with their bodies so that it's blowhole remains above the water, allowing it to breathe. They have even been known to come to the rescue of humans in difficulty. |
| Low vision? It is widely accepted that dolphins communicate and navigate using sound waves. However, there remains much debate about the animal’s visual ability. Visual centres within the brain of a bottlenose are much less developed than auditory centres, and this suggests the ability to process images is significantly less advanced than sound processing skills. In research situations, supplimenting visual materials with audiotory information gives the dolphins much greater chance of succeeding. |
| Sociable With Humans. Dolphins are frequently found swimming close to the shoreline, and regularly approach boats in the open sea. Although some experts believe swimming with dolphins should be discouraged, the dolphins largely appear to enjoy the experience, and actively seek human company among coastal communities around the world. |
| Copyright © 2004, Orphans of the Cancer Storm. All Rights Reserved. |
| "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path - and leave a trail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ |
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| ORPHANS OF THE CANCER STORM |
