The Legend of the Golden Dolphin

Now, before I get the chance to tell you about my secret world, I wanted to say that my methods are unconventional, in fact they've been called borderline crazy, absurd, and even insane from my colleagues in the scientific community, those afraid to imagine the endless possibilities of our ancient aquatic links, and especially the friends who know me. No wonder my husband got scared and left when I went babbling on well, maybe more like an obsession, about my parents’ notations and clues in their little black book… something that later revealed to me ”the legend of the golden dolphin.” If I had known then what I know now, would I have still made the same unpredictable choices? Possibly, except I would definitely NOT have married Steve. Yet if I didn’t marry Steven, then I wouldn’t have gone on my broken heart path, and you know. Sometimes in life, the stuff we think aren’t meant to happen, does and then eventually, treasures are thankfully revealed. All in all, this amazing adventure in the deep waters of Oceania I hold dear because of my parents’ little black book. That book that took me beneath the waves into uncovering a remarkable mystery. Yet, whoa… I’m getting way ahead of myself.

Ok, proper introductions.

I'm Dr. Siri Livingston. Born in the deep south of Louisiana, and traveled to countries like Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Hong Kong, and Singapore before the sweet age of seven. My dear English parents were both astronomers, and were fascinated by the wonders of our world and beyond our solar system. I was named after Sirius, also called the Dog Star or properly as Alpha Canis Majoris, which is actually the brightest star in the night sky and twenty-five times more luminous than our glorious Sun. While we traveled, I can remember my mother saying to me, “No matter where you are in the world Siri, your star will guide you.”

After they perished in an airplane crash, the will bestowed me their leaf-bound little black book, worn pages filled with their hunches, theories, algorithm codes, and what I took to be their undiscovered secrets. That was when I was eleven, and soon after was brought up by their closest bush friends in the last place they were exploring, outback Australia near Cains.

Part of my parents’ studies was mapping the ancient world over our modern day celestial skies. Their little black book held clues to our world, but also my life’s journey. At an early age, I discovered my innate animal and marine connection, and as luck would have it, was able to stow away, legally of coarse, to assist a local oceanographer during his excursions out to the Great Barrier Reef.

Beneath the waves, my spark of the sea became IGNITED and ALIVE! Crystal blues, shining fish, emerald greens, swirling sea grasses, singing whales, cruising sharks, peaceful sea turtles, glowing coral, and then the delightful dolphins, who captured my heart and soul… which leads me into this crazy life I now lead.

So, three years ago I went on a “walkabout,” an Aboriginal Australian term and society practice for going on a solo journey as a rite of passage. One that typically involves loads of walking and soul searching out in the deserts or boonies, and in Australia that can feel one and the same. Traditional this wilderness period is set aside for manhood, yet in modern day, if one is friends with an Aboriginal Elder, you may be invited to go on one of these quests. This was the case for me. Over the years of researching dolphins and marine life, I had befriended a Bunjalung Elder, Willy Walker, so naturally I shared my parents’ little black book with him. In the storytelling nature of Aboriginal life, we “talked story.” And over time, Elder Willy shared with me his culture’s Dreamtime, a parallel world to ours where life and phenomenon are one, with the dots and lines of our relationships interwoven with the ancestral Spirit Beings of The Dreaming. Our very existence on planet Earth, the stars, and everything we do, say, and feel are affecting this “dreaming.” This allows for being custodians of the land, water, and skies. These indigenous practices are what we would call in modern day language, a futurist environmentalist. Willy’s eyes would always seem translucent, as if he was contacting this other world as he spoke.

The day came when my walkabout began. Elder Willy dropped me off near his sacred desert territory, and as I started walking in the direction of a large red rock outcropping, a nearby kookaburra was playfully teasing me with his lovable call. These native Australian birds are robust and boisterous once they get talking, yet it was a comforted sign, especially when I promised myself (and Elder Willy) I was going to spend at least three nights out here. Making a wildlife friend is actually a relief, mostly because you don’t really have to explain yourself… they just accept you for you.

Getting divorced is a kicker, right into the guts. I guess my heart is waning too. Maybe more than I’d like to admit. I thought Steven loved me for who I am, yet realizing now… maybe not. He didn’t want me to change, He didn’t want me to explore. He didn’t want me to follow my dreams. He only wanted me to focus on him. Yikes! That’s not the life of a bright star, is it? Not in my little black book. Yes, now I have my own, in honor of my parents, where I can jot down my theories, new discoveries, and dolphin wonders. And that dog star, Sirius…. well, it’s all woven into this beautiful story… so, after three days of stars, silence (if one doesn’t count my kookaburra friend), and solitude… I came out feeling lovely, with a relaxed smile on my face that Elder Willy said had been sorely missed.

Now, onto being guided by Sirius and my dolphin adventure!

In my parents’ little black book, they had various algorithm codes and coordinates which emphasized an area between northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and yes, Sirius.

After I returned from my walkabout, I set up my office inside Orion, my sturdy 28 foot triton sailboat, and under lamp night after night, I configured and triangulated my parents’ clues and notations into a workable map.

What I found near the Coral Sea was a .3 x .3 x .3 mile area in the right center of the Torres Strait, known by sailors to filled with many reefs and perilous to navigate, as Captain James Cook discovered in the late 1700s.

I thought, why not me? I’m living the 20th century dream in my trusty fiberglass boat, and with proper gear, as well as following Sirius and the star system my parents taught me, I could sail there. Anchor, dive, explore. DISCOVER!

So, my plans unfolded. Checking weather systems, currents, and waiting day after day. Finally, a perfect weather set of sailing circumstances. Using my old compass, my parents’ sextant, a modern echo sounder, diving gear, underwater camera, and additional navigational tools, I set sail. Told Elder Willy that I was following Sirius into the dreamtime. He just smiled widely at the Port Douglas dock.

Within a few hours, the winds had taken me quickly across to my mapped coordinates. As I anchored and prepared my gear, the winds softly stopped. This was the moment where I felt my parents’ presence with me, just before heading over the side of the boast into the sea. A calm came over me, so I adjusted my snorkel mask, fins, rope, and tank. All good to go.

Bloop! My world becomes an aqua blue… and checking my waterproof compass on my watch, I start swimming towards the oceanic triangle. The ocean has always felt like my home, a place where I can be me, a place of wonder. I have 45 minutes of oxygen on my tank, so taking in my aquatic surroundings, I keep pace knowing it will take me about 15-20 minutes to get to the latitude and longitude of what my parents lead me to explore, as well as what I hope to discover. The currents swiftly take me across and downward, and I near the mapping area, I see a light flicker nearby. Following that sparkle, I come around a large brain coral that’s close to five feet tall, and before me is an old buried chest nestled among the seagrasses and corals. As I swim up to chest, I brush off some of the sand on top, and what appears before my eyes is a golden clip in the shape of a dolphin.

The rest is history in the making. The Legend of the Golden Dolphin chest is now in the Australian Museum. It dates back to Atlantis time, 424-328 BC. In ancient Greece, Plato spoke about finding this golden dolphin to be the beginning of a new order. A new way of living back in union and harmony with Nature. Much like the stories Elder Willy has told me about dreamtime. A living treasure worth more than gold.