Communicate and Swim with Humpback Whales
Learn More: Books, DVDs, and Classes
Inspirational Fiction
Sounding, Hank Searls.
A remarkable novel written from the perspective of both whales and humans. Excerpt: "For there was a prophecy, believed by almost all sperm, and the massive, gentle blue whales, too, and certainly by every dolphin in the sea. The prophecy was that someday man, most promising of the mammals Cetecea had left ashore, would evolve enough to understand cetacean beings." |
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Whalesinger, Welsyn Wilton Katz
Set in Point Reyes National Seashore, California, this novel is a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl Marta, and the profound experiences of her relationship and communication with a mother gray whale. From this relationship, she leans a great deal about herself and life. |
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Whalesong — A Novel about the Greatest and Deepest of Beings, Robert Siegel
Written entirely from the perspective of the humpback whale, this is a fable of Hruna and his journey into love, mystery, and spiritual awakening in the waters of the world. The book serves beautifully both as a journey into the world of whales and as an allegory of our own spiritual quests. |
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White Whale A Companion Volume to the Novel About the Greatest and Deepest of Beings
The sequel to Whalesong, this is the enchanting story of Hralekana, a magnificent great white whale, in a fast-paced tale of adventure, intrigue, and spiritual discovery set in the oceans of the world. Excerpt: "Wherever on the water the winds shall find you, wherever the moon or the sun shall move, deep in my heart I will breathe deeply with you." |
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The Charged Border: Where Whales and Humans Meet, Jim Nollman.
Amazon review: Nollman doesn't know why his encounters with whales and dolphins move him so, why they are such profound experiences. Yet he senses that therein lurks some elemental nuggets that cold change us... |
Whale Books for Children
I Wonder If I'll See a Whale, Frances Ward Weller
A delightful children's book with beautiful illustrations about a young girl's poignant first whale watch experience. Excerpt: " 'Ohhhhh. There's a whale,' I whisper to myself. And then there is a hush. I look at Trunk, and he at me. It's not a game. It's more like church. He seems to know I've come in peace." |
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A Garden of Whales, Maggie Steincrohn Davis
A book of wonder, hope, and the love of a young boy for the world's whales, his work to help them, and their profound connection. Magnificent color illustrations. |
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The Whale's Song, Dyan Sheldon
A Touching story of Lilly, whose grandmother tells her the story of the whales she loved as a child. How she waited by the ocean, with a special gift for the whales, and how they finally came to her, with a special gift of their own. Lilly longs to see the whales herself and to hear their mysterious songs. The whales fill her dreams. She believes they will come; they do, and she hears them call her name. Stunning illustrations. Note: This book was the inspiration for including the ritual of gift giving to the whales during our Journey to Love with the Humpback Whales trips. |
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Whale, Judy Allen
A moving story of a near tragedy for two humpback whales during the Valdez oil spill. It seems only a miracle can save them. . . and it does. Enchanting and full of hope and the power or prayer. Note: Teresa found this book at the Valdez Museum when she traveled to Valdez, Alaska on a pilgrimage to honor the animals who died in the oil spill. |
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A Symphony of Whales, Steve Schuch
Amazon review: The whale speaks only to Glashka. This is both a gift and a responsibility. When Glashka discovers thousands of whales trapped in an inlet, she finds strength from her gift and derives courage from her responsibility, bringing her people together to rescue the whales. |
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Humphrey, the Lost Whale: A True Story, Wendy Tokuda.
Describes how a migrating humpback whale mistakenly entered the San Francisco Bay in 1985 and swam sixty-four miles inland before being led back to sea by people concerned for this welfare. |
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The Boy Who Lived With the Seals, Rafe Martin and David Shannon
A powerful story of a human boy who feels more of the seal world than of the human world. Eventually he chooses to live with the seals, yet continues to honor and give gifts to his human parents. A very important story to "normalize" feelings of belonging more to the animal world than to the human world. |
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Seal Child, Sylvia Peck
The story of a young girl's love of the sea, seals, her dog, and a new best friend. A story of loss, grief, and transformation. A must read for all lovers of the ocean and marine mammals. |
Whale Photography
Gentle Giant, At Sea with the Humpback Whale, Tsuneo Nakamura
Stunning photographs of humpbacks both under and above water, mostly from Hawaii. |
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Mitsuaki Iwago's Whales, Mitsuaki Iwago
Clear, detailed, very close photos of humpbacks both under and above water, in every imaginable "pose:" lunge feeding, baleen, fluke shots, breaching, aerial shots of feeding, bubble nets, and swimming, and underwater shots of adults, calves and groups from many angles. The beginning of his book includes his journal of experiences photographing whales, followed by many pages of actual photographs, ending with the quote: Let beauty abide. Leave the Divine in peace. |
Humpback Whale Natural History
Among Whales, Roger Payne
Considered the world's leading expert on whales, he is well known for discovering that humpback whale vocalizations can be classified as songs. Excerpts: "It is this sense of tranquillity, of life without urgency, power without aggression, that has won my heart to whales. . .whales offer to human beings a lesson. They demonstrate to us that our ancient and ignorant belief in the inherent supremacy of our species over all others is utterly wrong." |
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Humpback Whales, Phil Clapham
Comprehensive overview of humpback whales in layperson friendly terms and format. Also includes excellent photographs. Clapham is a Research Associate at the Smithsonian Institution. |
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The Moon by Whale Light, Diane Ackerman
Amazon synopsis: In a rare blend of scientific fact and poetic truth the acclaimed author of A Natural History of the Senses explores the activities of whales, penguins, bats, and crocodilians, plunging headlong into nature and coming up with highly entertaining treasures. |
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Birth of a Humpback Whale, Robert Matero
For ages 9 - 12. Amazon synopsis: A baby humpback whale is born in the waters of Hawaii. She nurses frequently and quickly gains the layers of blubber she needs to protect her later in the cold arctic waters. This account of the life history of humpback whales details the whales' migration to Arctic water in summer, their food and hunting techniques, and their enemies. It brings the reader the beauty of the humpbacks' lives and reveals their important place in the animal world. |
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Whale Tales: Human Interactions With Whales, Peter J. Fromm
American Cetacean Society review: Fascinating pages of the kinds of encounters with cetaceans that you dream of, or might have had. Nonfiction. |
DVDs
Humpback Whales with Joan Ocean 38 minutes
This film takes you deep into the blue waters where the humpback whales are alongside human swimmers quietly exploring a respectful and fascinating friendship. The whales are vastly intelligent, curious and gracious. The more we open our minds to them the more we learn about ourselves and the world around us. |
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Whales of the Silver Bank, Volume I from TJ Productions 65 minutes
Enjoy fantastic above water and underwater video of the gentlest of giants, the humpback whales. A perfect gift for any marine mammal enthusiast or whale lover! Bonus Feature: "Song of the Silver Bank" A 30 minute recording of the complex song sung by humpback whales in the breeding grounds. |
The Whale Video Company offers an entire series of 14 videos of North Atlantic Humpbacks — all worth seeing and highly recommended! Though we've described only three below, we recommend contacting them to receive information about each one. They all include superb surface footage of whales in the Gulf of Maine. Eductional, inspirational, and great gifts! Awesome Whales for Kids is a great gift for chidren, grandchildren, birthday party gift and perfect for teachers in the classroom.
Beyond Belief: The Humpback Whale
Highly recommended. Filmed from a Dolphin Fleet whale watch boat off Provincetown, Cape Cod, this tape is made from over 800 whale watch trips. You will see great surface footage of breaches, tail lobbing, spy hopping, flipper slapping and whales just floating near the boat. Whales filmed are North Atlantic Humpbacks, the same group we see in the winter in Silver Banks. |
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Salt & Friends
This video introduces the viewer to twelve different humpback whales. The grand dame of all whales has to be Salt, the first humpback whale given a name. You'll see and hear why she and others were given their names. You'll be entertained and educated by their different personalities, their differences in feeding styles and their curiosities about people, even bringing their calves up to and under the boats! For those of you who've been on my trips: footage of Uncle (aka Sockeye) is in here! |
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AWESOME Whales For Kids
..was produced to put you on the boat, at least it will seem like you are there enjoying the whales and the boat ride. 67 minutes in length, all of it whales and dolphins. It is dedicated to showing the awesome nature of whales. "If there is a better way to expose children to real whales without really being out there on a boat we haven't seen it." Cetacean Society International Newsletter Whales Alive July 2006 |
Classes
Wisdom from the Whales—Sharing 21 Years of Conversation
A four hour webinar (held over two sessions) designed and presented by Teresa for people who would like to learn more about the whales’ stories about their own lives as as whales, their personal messages for humans, and what they have to say about the tapestry and purpose of our existence together on earth. This is not a class about archetypal stereotypes about whales, but rather sharing information from actual conversations with whales over two decades. Also included are meditations with the whales during the class and over 100 stunning humpback photographs. |
"Consciousness is not related to species, breed, intelligence or ego.
It's a result of a soul's choice to embrace opportunities to grow."
~ message from a whale
Watch the Whales!
The next best thing to actually being with the whales is to watch their grace and magnificence on film (and those of us who are "whale lover junkies" watch as many of these as we can in between trips to be with them!). The following DVDs take you so close you'll feel as if you are in the water with them or on the whale watch boats with a bird's eye view. Enjoy!
~ Perfect Gifts for all Whale Lovers ~
~ Educational and Entertaining Gifts for Children and Grandchildren ~
Swimming with Whales of the Silver Bank DVD
from TJ Productions 65 minutes Enjoy fantastic above water and underwater video of the gentlest of giants, the humpback whales. Bonus Feature: “Song of the Silver Bank” A 30 minute recording of the complex song sung by humpback whales in the breeding grounds. |
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Swim with Humpback Whales DVD
38 minutes This film takes you deep into the blue waters where the humpback whales are alongside human swimmers quietly exploring a respectful and fascinating friendship. The whales are vastly intelligent, curious and gracious. The more we open our minds to them the more we learn about ourselves and the world around us. Joan’s new DVD shows her with the majestic and powerful Humpback whales and includes images of the whales swimming with people, breaching, spyhopping and nurturing their babies. This meditative film produced and directed by Lisa H. Denning, features Joan’s voice with music soundtrack. |
The Whale Video Company offers an entire series of 14 videos of North Atlantic Humpbacks — all worth seeing and highly recommended! Though we've described only three below, we recommend you check out all of their work. The best and most comprehensive surface footage of humpback whales available!
Beyond Belief: The Humpback Whale Highly recommended. Filmed from a Dolphin Fleet whale watch boat off Provincetown, Cape Cod, this tape is made from over 800 whale watch trips. You will see great surface footage of breaches, tail lobbing, spy hopping, flipper slapping and whales just floating near the boat. Whales filmed are North Atlantic Humpbacks, the same group we see in the winter in Silver Banks. |
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Salt & Friends Introduces the viewer to twelve different humpback whales. The grand dame of all whales has to be Salt, the first humpback whale given a name. You'll see and hear why she and others were given their names. You'll be entertained and educated by their different personalities, their differences in feeding styles and their curiosities about people, even bringing their calves up to and under the boats! For those of you who've been on my trips: footage of Uncle (aka Sockeye) is in here! |
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AWESOME Whales For Kids Produced to put you on the boat.. at least it will seem like you are there enjoying the whales and the boat ride. 67 minutes in length, all of it whales and dolphins. It is dedicated to showing the awesome nature of whales. "If there is a better way to expose children to real whales without really being out there on a boat we haven't seen it." Awesome Whales for Kids! is a perfect gift for children and grandchildren Visit our Facebook Page to view many photos of Humpbacks: |
Talk with the Whales
There are whales—some in body and some in spirit—who very much enjoy sharing their wisdom to help guide humans on earth. These communication "readings" with the whales tend to focus on the whales providing specific guidance, encouragement and support for the issues and questions with which an individual may be struggling in their journeys on earth. The whales seem very familiar the challenges of life on earth for humans and are eager and ready to support us as we find our way here.
The first year I facilitated a whale swim trip, in 1999, I asked the whales beforehand what they most needed from me to bring the whales and people together. They said, "When a person decides to come on one of these trips, there is a whale who hears the call of their soul wanting to be close to the whales for the purpose of their growth. In response, there is a whale who will be waiting and ready to support them, inspire them and to guide them through their next stage of consciousness. Tell the people we are here for them, and if they want or need help hearing our messages, make yourself available to help with the translation."
That began a tradition of facilitating communication between people and whales, both during the actual whale trips at sea and for anyone who desires guidance from the whales at any time. Sometimes people want to speak just with the whales, and sometimes they combine talking with the whales and their Spirit Guides and animals.
Whales seem to speak a form of consciousness we are beginning to re-explore in our own inner natures. They help us chart our interior wilderness. We can hear whales singing. If we pay attention and let them live, perhaps we will hear them speak, in their own accents, their own language. It would be an extravagant reward to experience, by empathy, a different band of reality.
~ Joan McIntyre, Mind in the Waters
Whales are my elders, my ancestors and guides. They are my first family. It brings me great joy to connect people and whales.
If you would like help connecting with them in a conversation regarding any needed support, encouragement and guidance in your life:
E-mail us to schedule an appointment
Wisdom from the Whales Webinar
to hear messages from the whales