As dive
buddies go, Archangel Michael is a pretty cool buddy to have!
I was in my
40’s before I learned to scuba dive. My husband, Pat, was 11 when he first
learned to dive. I could use the excuse that I was raised mostly in Kansas and
therefore scuba diving wasn’t the first sporting activity on our list of
weekend recreation! Whereas Pat was raised in Florida where spring, gulf and
ocean diving is common place. Finally, at the ripe old age of 43, I was guided
in meditation that it was time to learn to dive, not so much for the joy of
diving, which of course, would be the result of learning to scuba dive, but in
order to get over the fear of diving.
I have
written in other blog posts some of the things I have learned diving, but I
never told the story of Scuba Diving with Archangel Michael!
Unbeknownst
to me, I was very frightened of breathing underwater. The fear was raised in me
even prior to the sessions in the pool with full gear. Just reading the book
and sitting in the classroom sessions was making me nervous. It doesn’t help
that the classroom work, which is very necessary, is all about how not to harm
yourself under water either by running out of air, getting too much nitrogen in
your body, not breathing consistently enough so that your lungs over expand
with the change in air pressure in the lungs or coming up from depth to quickly
and over expanding your lungs. These are all just in the beginners’ course
instructions. They were frightening enough to not even mention the more
advanced “fears” of getting snagged on something and not being able to free
yourself or getting so loopy mentally at depth due to nitrogen narcosis that
you start to make unwise decisions that you haven’t encountered since your
partying days in college.
The stress
of taking the class was starting to affect me physically. But, I had heard it
was the highest plan to get over these fears and take the class, so I did.
Now comes
the pool work. We were learning how to use our gear properly in a regular
swimming pool. I am short, but even I could stand in the four foot water and
know there was no way I could drown. But, drowning was all I could think about.
I continued to work energetically to clear and heal the memories of drowning in
prior lives and the reason I had drowned in those lives. It was helping and I
knew intuitively and intellectually that recognizing these fears and clearing
them would be the only way to get over them. But I was still nervous.
Then comes
the weekend of the open water dive, which means you are in a lake, quarry,
ocean or sea, where you will demonstrate certain skills like being able to take
off your mask under water and then put it back on, clear the water and continue
the dive. You do the same taking the regulator out of your mouth and recover
from that situation to simulate if someone accidentally kicks the regulator out
of your mouth. Again, all of these skills are to prepare you to not be
surprised or frightened by anything going amiss.
I learned to
dive in Northern Virginia where the open water dive was in a quarry that had 10
feet visibility. The conditions were not conducive to someone who is already
fearful becoming less fearful. Not being able to see underwater only further
increases the isolationism of the fear. Unless you scuba dive with Archangel
Michael!
My
instructor’s name was Mike. If finally dawned on me to look at him and imagine
that he was Archangel Michael. I would be lying to you if I said that I had a
miraculous transformation that day because of feeling the legions of guardian
angels diving with me, but it did help to abate my fears and slowed my panic
breathing down to a much more reasonable rate. I was able to perform all the
skills necessary to complete the course and even performed an “extra” one. I
had been so nervous that I bit through one of the little pieces on the mouth
piece of the regulator while I was at depth. This was right before we were
supposed to practice the skill of “running out of air and having to ascend but
not ascend too quickly” due to the over expansion of the lungs upon ascension. I
had to decide…hmmm floating piece of plastic in my mouth as I ascend while
breathing out or take the piece out at depth and purge the mouth piece of the
water. Prudence called for taking the piece out at depth. I did that and all
was good.
I know
having the comfort of knowing Archangel Michael was with me really helped me
learn to scuba dive.
My husband
and I have a scuba dive trip coming up soon. I was talking with Archangel
Michael to see if He wanted to go! He said He was more than happy to go scuba
diving with me, but that I didn’t need Him anymore. I am confident enough with
Who I AM, that I would be just fine and totally enjoy the trip whether He was
with me or not. So, instead of relying on Archangel Michael for my comfort and
protection, I will simply thank Him for all His help in the past and raise a
glass of Australian wine to Him and to my instructor, Mike. Thanks, Mike and
Michael. Namaste.