"HELP, I'M FRIGHTENED OF WATER". Ainsley’s story of becoming 'dolphin like'.

"I have never been in a swimming pool. I was drowned in at least one other life and am terrified to lose the ground from under my feet, particularly in the water. can’t bear to put my head under water. Can you help me?”

After having met Ainsley on a dolphin oriented workshop he called me months later – having been nudged by his hyperspace "dolphin pod" to do something about his fear. I gave him a rough outline how I could be working with him, releasing his fear of water and find the joy in being caressed and supported by water. After only three sessions and an insatiable will to progress Ainsley was for the first time in the deep end of the swimming pool, under water, totally spacing out. It felt to me he was going off into another world, feeling totally safe.

Ainsley's progress:

After the first session:

A little quote from my diary:

"I have been wondering if, now that i have started the aqua healing sessions, the various water issues I have been having will now end.

Over the years there have been many water things happening to me; back in London a pipe under the bath leaked, the water heater leaked, the toilet cistern leaked and the toilet bowl broke – in a different toilet in the same house the cistern leaked. here in Cornwall the seal around the bath leaked, the shower unit leaked, the walls leaked, the window leaked. the toilet cistern valve broke and water leaked down the walls, flooding the kitchen; is it my imagination or is there a pattern here?"

Could it be that all I really needed to do was connect with the water element and embrace it, take it into myself fully and accept it, just so that it could stop having to shout at me?

After the second session:
"Thank you for your congratulations; I really feel that I have truly accomplished something here, I never thought that I would enter the water so willingly and, to be quite honest, for all those years I could never see the point of immersing myself in water - except to bathe and even then there were some parts of me that would stay essentially dry."

After the third session:
"I did not realise that I was so far gone, if only I had realised how much fun being underwater was I would have done this years ago. then again - if I had, then I would not have found your connection and the loving assistance that you are giving me. From that point of view I am glad not to have learned before."

After the fifth session:
I sent Ainsley to have a pool session without me.
" Well I did it! In the pool by myself without any aids of any kind, other than goggles and nose clip. My lower end still has a tendency to sink but I am getting the idea of using my legs and feet to propel myself through the water.
I don't think I need any more water confidence sessions but I would love to have at least one more water massage, I did miss that today."

Ainsley tells his story:
"I had never been in a swimming pool. When I was in the sea the water did not pass my mid-thighs and once when I was sitting in the water near the edge of a large pond my partner swam past and the waves sent me into a panic which made me spend the next fifteen minutes picking the mud out from under my fingernails. Even having a shower had me in a panic situation if water went into my ears.

Several meditations I undertook showed me that I had drowned in at least two previous lives and I realised that this was keeping me from wanting to enter any watery place: however, I did not feel that I was actually missing out on anything.

Another workshop introduced me to the idea of a spiritual dolphin pod-mate: she took me to places that I had never even dreamed about and told me and showed me some beautiful things. Recently I attended another workshop, this was dolphin related and my pod-mate took me again into places that I found wonderful. Another attendee at this workshop was Delphiris, whom I had met several times before but there had been no "connection" between us, this time however my pod-mate gave me a push and we talked for a while, I found that there was a spiritual connection between us, the teacher that I had been looking for was here with me. After this I had a few other things to do but within three months I was contacting Delphiris to ask if I could have the water confidence treatment that she offered.

Delphiris gave me an outline of what she was going to offer me and ask me to do; she insisted, quite correctly, that everything that she said was only suggestion and not an order. So at no time did I feel that I was "under pressure" to perform yet since I had decided to gain the confidence to be in the water I really wanted to get on with all of this work. I was, of course, terrified and in my first wet session this caused me to miss my footing on the bottom step in the pool and I plunged into and was completely immersed in the water. Delphiris said when she saw this that I had taken myself to the second level of her training before she had even given me the first. It was actually at this point that the real fear vanished and I was left with only the residual nervousness about entering the pool and the water.

Just a couple of weeks later there is something I would like to quote from Delphiris. After only three sessions and an insatiable will to progress Ainsley was for the first time in the deep end of the swimming pool, under water, totally spacing out… it felt to me he was going off into another world, feeling totally safe."

This was indeed how I felt; I really could not understand why I had not related to water before and there was a real comfort involved in being completely enclosed and almost cocooned by water. Delphiris was there to protect me but she had to surface three times to breathe while I was staying underwater. Over the next couple of weeks Delphiris gave me a few new techniques to integrate the movements of my upper body with my legs and....

This week I went to a private swimming pool alone, unsupervised just to play in the water by myself, lovely. Thank you Delphiris, for showing me what I can do if I just have the confidence and will.