Dolphins as Midwives – the Latest Scam
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Earth in Transition
June 2013

And now, with dolphin-assisted birth, DAT [Dolphin Assisted Therapy] is taking another step in the exploitation of both species.

What to say about the hapless, happy couple who flew from South Carolina to Hawaii in hopes of having a "dolphin-assisted birth"? It takes the scam known as dolphin-assisted therapy (DAT) to a whole new level.

Heather Barringer, who’s due to give birth in July, and her husband, Adam, say they’ve been led to this after experiencing "signs" all through her pregnancy.

"It is about reconnecting as humans with the dolphins so we can coexist in this world together and learn from one another," Heather told the Charlotte Observer. "Dolphins are very intelligent and healing which in turn calms mother and baby for the whole process."

Dolphins are indeed highly intelligent. Smarter, frankly, than this couple, who have been spending much of the pregnancy living out of their car, hippie-style, and taking odd jobs as needed.

But the plan has captured the attention of news media around the world – and that's a boon to the Sirius Institute of Hawaii, which is seeking your donations so that they can sell lots of dolphin-assisted births and even "dolphinize the planet."

It’s hard to know exactly where to draw the line between delusion and scam, but it's always drawn with $$$ signs – and no less so when the "therapy" is in Sedona, Arizona, the New-Age capital of the United States, hundreds of miles from the nearest living dolphin. That’s where Linda Shay and David Rosenthal can bypass the ocean entirely at their Dolphin Heart World and introduce you to the dolphin living inside of you.

One of Linda and David's Dolphin Energy Sessions will set you back $111, while a Personal Journey Session ($188) may bring you an actual message "from Dolphin, other spiritual sources, or your soul." After that, you can go on a Journey of Discovery with Archie, who is described as "the Dolphin aspect of the Archangel Michael" and "spokesdolphin for the Cetacean Spiritual Council that has guided our service in the world from the beginning."

Better yet, you can pay $1,222 to join a Dolphin Attunement Session.

At one such session, as captured on video, one of the participants seeks advice from a dolphin or her inner dolphin on whether or not to leave her job at a dog training school. On the one hand, she doesn’t believe her boss is running the business with integrity; on the other, she needs the money – as is apparent when you see her big toe poking through a large hole in her sock. So she writes each of the two options, stay or quit, on a paper plate and asks The Dolphin to guide her while Ms. Shay shuffles the plates and puts them face-down on the carpet. The dog trainer lady then says the magic words “Field activate!” and chooses one of the plates. The guidance is clear: Stay at the dog training school.

Well, at least that way she'll have enough money coming in to pay for another weekend session and more guidance from The Dolphin.

And now, with dolphin-assisted birth, DAT is taking another step in the exploitation of both species.

As far as we know, while the Sirius Institute has been around for several years and money has certainly changed hands, no dolphin-assisted births have yet taken place. But scientists who understand the nature and behavior of dolphins are alarmed – and for both species. Certainly, dolphins are among the largest-brained, highly intelligent, socially and culturally complex of all animals. But they’re not reincarnations or ambassadors of the Archangel Michael, and if they take a dislike to you, or indeed become attracted to you, they can do a lot of damage.

According to Paradise Newland, founder of the Sirius Institute, one dolphin "will help massage the baby down." After all, she says, "What could be easier than having a dolphin help your baby be born?"

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