Beginner's Guide To The Third Eye

THE WILDQUEST EPISODE

• Krista Rauschenberg • Season 1 • Episode 4

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This episode features Amlas the Director of Wildquest, a retreat based in the Bahamas on the island of Bimini.  Wildquest encompasses so many forms of healing it’s difficult to condense it down to one thing.  It is primarily a human-wildlife encounter with the star of the show being Wild Dolphins, but within each day you are given rare opportunities to transform in really significant ways.  Be it through encounters with the ocean, mother nature, wildlife, adventure, human connection or all of the above.  I don’t think it would be possible for anyone to spend time at this retreat and not walk away transformed and revitalized. 

Our willing participant is Leslie, an Account Director with a global PR agency who visited Wildquest for the first time in May of this year and has generously offered to share her experience with us. 

Amlas:

Long time ago, I realized that, I didn't want to do something for money. in order that I can collect money and go and do something that I want to do, because it seemed like a strange equation. It means I waste my life, making money to go and do stuff. I want to do what happens if I die, before I go and do what I want to do, then I've wasted it, the people who are there. They want to be there because that's what they enjoy, and it's their passion, you know, really my passion as well to share, what happens there. It's a remarkable thing. Yeah, I feel very grateful.

Krista:

Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to the Third Eye, the podcast that delves into the profound realms of spiritual experiences, exploring the dedicated practitioners and various modalities that guide us on our transformative path. Together, we will explore the mystical, the magical, the enlightened, and the sacred. In each episode, we pair seasoned practitioners, spiritual experiences, or healing modalities, and a willing participant to share their experience in working together. We will explore the unique insights, stories, and wisdom gained from their own profound journeys, unveiling the extraordinary narratives that shape spiritual seekers and practitioners alike. My name is Krista Rauschenberg and my work as a healer has emerged from hundreds of hours of certified training, spiritual initiations, direct experience, and deep personal work. I have been employed in the healing arts as a postpartum doula, an advanced Akashic reader, an Akashic breathwork practitioner, and a writer. Facilitating and educating people through their personal, spiritual, and healing journeys is my greatest source of happiness.

El:

And I'm Elle Larson. I use sound and space to help balance internal and external environments. I've practiced holistic healing modalities for over 20 years, and my work includes Tibetan bull sound healing, feng shui, reiki, and shamanism.

Krista:

Welcome once again to The Beginner's Guide to the Third Eye where we demystify the mystical. We have such a special show today. I couldn't be more excited to share this experience with all of you. Today's show features WildQuest. It's a retreat based in the Bahamas on the island of Bimini. Bimini is located in the Bermuda Triangle, so it sits in a very powerful energetic vortex. Wild Quest encompasses so many forms of healing, it's difficult to condense it down to one thing. It's primarily a human wildlife encounter with the star of the show being wild dolphins, but within each day you were given a rare opportunity to transform in really significant ways. Be it through Encounters with the Ocean Mother, nature, wildlife, adventure, human connection, or all of the above? Mostly all of the above. I don't think it would be possible for anyone to spend time at this retreat and not walk away truly transformed, at minimum revitalized. So let's welcome our guests for today's wild quest show. Amlos is the director of wild quest, which she established in 1995. So it's been in existence for almost 30 years. That is an incredible success story. And it goes to show that wild quest is so needed in the world. And our willing participant is Leslie Jones, who is an account director with a global PR agency who visited WildQuest for the first time and is generously offered to share her experience with us. Welcome, ladies! Ellen and I are so happy to have you.

El:

Thank you for joining us.

Leslie:

Thank you for having us.

Krista:

Amlas I would love to start with you and get a bit of a background on how Wild Quest came about. So what came first Bimini or the dolphins?

Amlas:

Well, actually my partner and I, didn't start Wild Quest. We had some friends who went and swam with dolphins in Key West and they had a very powerful experience. They didn't expect it it was a by chance kind of thing. And they had a very powerful connection with dolphins and realized that, these weren't ordinary animals, there was something mysterious going on, there was something very powerful going on. So they wanted to start some kind of retreat where what was triggered in humans, Was allowed to grow. And it was really, something of the heart when a human meets a dolphin it's a bit like meeting the master. If you've ever had the joy of meeting someone who's enlightened. It's a similar kind of experience. And now after 25 years, that is, the main reason I continue to do it. They saw that this is a possibility where we can bring people and people can be brought to their heart. And if we create a safe place where that experience can be nurtured, that little flower can be nurtured and be allowed, that this is really a service to humanity, and it's really a feeling that's what the dolphins want to help. They realize that we need help. So this is that was the kernel of the start of Wild Quest. I was thinking last night about it. Actually, there's actually only two really powerful things in my life where there was a moment where I knew that was my path and somehow with the dolphins when our friends started this I knew, even though at that time, I ignored it because our lives were so different but then again, as existence tends to do, a year later, we bumped into them again. We had dinner with them in Miami and what came out of my mouth was, oh, I guess we're going to be working with you. And they said, what do you mean? I said, well, I don't know. I said, it just came out of my mouth. We then began working with them and then became partners with them decided that Bimini was a better place and the water is clearer, the dolphins are much more conducive to connecting with us. And in Key West, at that point, there were too many boat operators. It was becoming a nightmare. And actually now, of course, in the States, it's illegal to swim with wild dolphins because there's too many people doing it all at once, and if it ever became like that in Bimini, then I would stop doing it. And I would actually, try and make it illegal in Bimini, but somehow in Bimini, We seem to be protected by a bit of a bubble. It hasn't become this mad house of lots of operators. Most of the time we're the only people out there. There's maybe two other people so we then moved to Bimini with them started getting the setup organized there. It was all very chaotic at first. And then they had various health issues so then we took over so it was a kind of a serendipitous journey.

Krista:

Wow. In that year that they told you about it. And then the year that you had dinner with him and decided you're going to work with him. Did you yourself swim with wild dolphins?

Amlas:

No, I didn't even remember it in that year. It was only when I met them again by chance, it was almost like a light bulb came on in my head and it just came out of my mouth. I hadn't even at that point met dolphins. My, my interest was really the human connection. I'd been working a lot with other humans. so it was totally out of the blue. My history isn't with marine mammals, I'm a mathematician by training. So it was really out of the blue.

Krista:

I'd love to know what was the human connection that you were participating in?

Amlas:

I was working, in human development waking up basically. I did a lot of primal work with people in therapy work in a certain sense, and meditation.

Krista:

You were primed.

Amlas:

I was primed already. Yeah. I was, yeah. And it's interesting, it's amazing how existence works, because looking back I see how, I'd never owned a business before, I'd never been a businesswoman, I never thought I would own a business. But when I look back, I'd had many different skills along the way that really helped and contributed to what flowered in Wild Quest.

Krista:

I have to say watching you work, you hold incredibly powerful space. Having you on the boat, the days that we had you on the boat, I felt so safe and secure. Without, having to put yourself in it, you're have this presence, I guess is the best way to say it. So I felt it. And then tell us about your first encounter with dolphins.

Amlas:

It's still the same even after, so many years that whenever I see the dolphins, there's just this childlike, I could, I feel it in my heart and there's this joy that just comes out. And even now. Because sometimes, you look for dolphins for a long time. Sometimes we don't see them, but then when they come, I always feel this kind of joy coming out. And so that was from the very beginning and still hasn't left me, it's just like, wow,

Krista:

one of my favorite things is on the boat when we do find the dolphins and see the dolphins that ooze and Oz and the childlike little noises that we all make we all go into, probably the purest place in our heart, and without worrying about what it looks like we're talking like little kids the relationship comes so naturally

Amlas:

it is a childlike thing and, I think we tend to forget. To be childlike, but there's so many gifts in being childlike, that we can continue to play and be amazed and live in wonder,

Krista:

I believe play is one of the biggest ways to heal trauma. It's a form of liberation and a form of freedom. And it gives you a completely different perspective. So the dolphin, just the impact of it takes you there so quickly. So what kind of impact have dolphins had on your life other than what we just discussed? Can you see the transformation in you? What do you hold dearest in mind? to your heart and soul in terms of what they've given you?

Amlas:

For me, it's really about presence, it's about being in the present moment. And for me, that's my journey of life is like, this moment is all we have, and so how can I Live totally in this present moment because, the mind can go into the future and the past but that's not life. Life is happening here and now. So for me, it's about a passion for really living life and really squeezing the juice from each moment. In Wild Quest, there's many different aspects. It's not just the dolphins, I really love to live in community. We have usually eight crew members. And so at the weekend, the community is eight and then, 20 people come and the community expands during the week and contracts again. So living in community in kindness and caretaking and safety and fun. I always say at Wild Quest, it's totally fine to be exactly who you are. You don't have to pretend to be someone else. If you feel like crying all the time, cry. It's fine. If you want to laugh all the time, laugh. Whatever's happening it's fine. And emotions come up a lot around the dolphins. There's a lot of tears. I don't know if when you were there, it was like that. Sometimes when people make that connection people drop into their heart and they feel connected and they feel seen and they feel accepted. And that usually brings tears, of just this kind of feeling of expansion of oneself, and so it's a magical thing.

Krista:

It truly is. You described it so well. I've never been able to put it into words but yes, that's exactly been my experience and Leslie's as well, which I'm sure we'll talk about in a second. You've mentioned it when I was there that, this is like a bubble it's an energetic vortex. Would you characterize it that way?

Amlas:

It seems to be. Yeah. When you come and there's been 30 people hanging out, babbling around on the boat for seven hours a day, eating together, doing dishes together, meditating together, laughing together, that creates an energetic vortex in a way and it allows people to relax more and to really open. and expand. And so, it's an awareness when people leave that, hey, you are in an altered state, so take care of yourself as you leave, be aware, and not just rush into, life as normal or jumping in your car and driving, yeah, it's an awareness.

Krista:

Do you think that, the folklore of the Bermuda Triangle and that there's an energetic bubble or vortex there. Do you subscribe to that at all? Do you see that or feel that or have you experienced that?

Amlas:

I don't know. I'm not particularly esoteric myself. Bimini's been our home really for 25 odd years. And it's a funky little island. It's only 50 miles from Miami, but it seems to be protected in some way from mass particularly around the dolphins. It seems to have a bubble around it. I found some website somewhere where it was talking about the ley lines on the planet. And coming from England, I'm familiar with ley lines. It's the energy that go around the planet. The places where there's many lay lines that cross those are the major megalithic sites like Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids or Machu Picchu, and it said there's seven or I think it was 11 major points on the planet where there's many lay lines crossing and Bimini was one of them.

Krista:

Wow.

Amlas:

And Something made sense to me. It was like, yeah that's what it feels like. There's some kind of powerful vortex here, that isn't recognized, I feel it and it feels like, it's also protected.

Krista:

I've had different experiences where I've been in community, and it feels really good. And all of those things that you described exist, but there's something. In Wild Quest where it is amplified beyond like I get so high when I go there. So I think it is what you've created there, and the safety and security and the love there it is a love bubble, but I feel like it's charged somehow some way. It creates an incredible transformation. And really, everyone that I've seen go has their arc of transformation. They come to life again which is beautiful to watch and then beautiful to participate in.

Amlas:

Yeah I think there's many aspects of it, one is we're living close to nature with the sunrise, the sunset, the tides. There's a lot of science these days about living in blue, being by the ocean, being in nature is very rejuvenating and transformative. And it's what we're craving people who live in cities. It's living in community with like minded souls, you know, living close to nature, sleeping well, eating well not having to think and stress about anything. And then, of course, the dolphins are the icing on the cake. So I think all of these, come together as a pot for helping people to begin to see their life in a different way. And what I see happen is people find the courage to become more themselves and to make decisions that serve them better in life. Many, examples I can give, like, people leaving toxic relationships, having the courage to go home and say, okay, I'm scared. I don't know how it's going to go, but this is not working. Or whatever toxic is happening in their life, being able to have the courage to take that step towards something that's more nurturing and nourishing for themselves, which for me it's a huge thing, because that's the direction we all should be living in,

Krista:

And don't you think that elevating to a place and having a taste of what I should feel like in my life on a daily basis, their tolerance completely changes. So it's giving you the gift of awareness of, wait a minute, I can feel this good. I could feel this good all the time. I would just have to go home and change things that don't allow me to feel good that are creating barriers. Against my pleasure in life my connections in life. I think it levels you up, and then you go home and then, with courage get rid of the things that don't allow you to elevate that way.

Amlas:

Right. I would say it's like, Whatever we've created in Wild Quest, in our little community, if we can create it there, other people can create it anywhere, it's like, you just have to decide that's what you want, and take the next step, whatever that step is, and existence will also come and support you, once you have a desire to go in a certain direction.

Krista:

I think some people have no idea that it can exist that might be their first experience of sure, me and connection yeah it has the potential to offer a huge awakening. And It's incremental, right? Like someone will take it as much as they can, or it'll meet them where they are and take them to their next level. What a gift, my goodness. And think of all the people, over almost 30 years, all the peoples that you've impacted, that must feel incredible.

Amlas:

For me, it's good news on the planet. If I think, the Wild Quest tribe out there and all over the world, there's so much bad news, but I don't like to focus on, but for me, that's the good news. It's like, wow, there's all those people out there, all those juicy people, it's not all bad. There's some good stuff out there, I imagine it as little lights going out, and everyone's shining their lights around and about I like that kind of visual imagery,

Krista:

And it lights us up that's such a beautiful visual.

El:

I'm curious about the dolphins. Do you recognize the same pods or do you ever recognize the same dolphins?

Amlas:

Sure. Yeah, we recognize, we see Atlantic spotted dolphins as well as coastal bottlenose. And sometimes we see offshore bottlenose, but yes if they have certain scars or marks, it's easy to recognize, and of course, obviously, the longer you're around them, it's easy to distinguish one from another. So yes, we do know quite a lot, quite many dolphins. Yes. And we do them, sometimes you may not see some for a long, long while and then suddenly they'll come back because they travel I think, quite far and wide it seems sometimes they go up north or they may go south, but guess there are a lot that we recognize yet,

Krista:

Even by personality to write.

Amlas:

Some of them, yeah, there's some that you think, oh, she's here, let's see how she is today, because, she usually really loves to come and connect, so yeah, there are different types, I don't know if we're anthropomorphizing with them or not, but it does seem that they do have different kind of personalities.

Krista:

It must be wonderful to see them have babies and those babies grow.

Amlas:

that's always really special to see, the little tiny babies. That's very cute. Of course. It's always really fun they're healthy. The pod's good. They have babies all year. They don't have a certain season.

El:

I'm curious about this specific connection with the dolphins. For instance, we can have unconditional connection with our pets and this heart opening that happens is it like that with the dolphin, but amplified in certain ways

Amlas:

yeah, sure. It is similar, the difference being, of course, that these are wild and free animals and they're not domesticated, we don't feed them, I don't know what they get from us, we don't give them anything, obviously a pet, you're feeding a pet they're dependent on you for their security and their life. So it's a very different dynamic. The magic really with the dolphins is that it is a similar experience but these are wild and free animals and we're not giving them anything in return. It's not a business, it's not a business deal.

El:

That's true.

Amlas:

That's the amazing thing they can be wherever they like in the ocean. they can go from naught to 60 like that., if they don't want to be there, they can be gone. And yet they choose to come and connect with us. Look us right in the eye, bring their babies, it's a wild animal. There's no other wild animals that I know of that will bring their babies. Literally I've seen mamas. The babies hang underneath the mom in a protected area. And sometimes in the water, the baby, if it's young, we'll go to the other side of the mom, so that the mom's in between the baby and us. And then the mom will go and she'll push her baby towards us. And then the baby will go. And then the mom will push her baby towards us. And it really is like, Hey, it's okay. They're okay. You don't have to be worried, and then the baby will come like. the magic of it is that these are wild and free animals and it's on their terms, they are choosing to come to us, which is remarkable, it's totally remarkable, it's the same feeling, I think this opening of the heart, in the present moment, with a pet it's a bit like a marriage, I'll love you forever thing. Whereas with a dolphin, the love is, not this agreement or business. It's just in the present moment, just like this connection in the present moment.

Krista:

My first experience with the dolphins was the last day and getting in the water when we see them is called a drop. And it was. The last drop on the last day, and I've had experiences. They'd swum by me. It was breathtaking. It was just enchanting beyond belief. Everything about it, being in that blue water, just looking at that color, getting in the water with the sun and the warmth and the coolness of the water. All of it was just incredible. But I was floating and the pod of humans was behind me and I just went off on my own. It was just floating and I was looking at nothing. The dolphins were somewhere around us, but I just had this moment on my own. And the next thing I know, a dolphin came up and was right here. And I looked at it and it was right here and we looked each other in the eye and it was. Breathtaking, of course, but then it swum around and it was facing me. It's nose was facing me eye to eye. Now it's squared off with me and then it dipped its nose down towards my heart. And it's so gnarled my heart. Something happened where my heart just expanded beyond what I had ever experienced before in my life. It was physical, I physically felt it. And then the dolphin swam off. I swam up. I came up out of the water and just burst into tears involuntarily, burst into tears. It was one of the most incredible experiences I've had in my life. Metaphysical, energetic, however you want to characterize it. But it was In that moment, that changed a lot for me. And it wasn't that you would think that Oh, my heart was open. And it was, this beatific experience it was, but it was also that all the pain and heartache I was carrying that had to come out too. So like I had like a detox effect where I had to process a lot. It broke it open. Yeah. But it also allowed for like a purification. That was interesting. Yeah. So those dolphins are powerful creatures that live with us on this earth. And I think any interaction you can have with them it could be incredibly medicinal and truly life changing. Yeah. Yeah.

El:

And Leslie, you're you're nodding. Can you speak a little bit on that?

Leslie:

Absolutely. When I was there, there was two moms and two babies and we got in and they were swimming all around. That's what blew my mind I'm not exaggerating when I say a baby came up and they were down at the bottom and came up and did like a loop de loop right next to me going up to the surface. And I pop up and was like, did anybody else see that? Cause I just got the most magical moment ever. I was like, Oh my God, the thing looked at me. and had no fear and was, 10 feet from me, it just blew my mind. That these animals, these creatures will let us have the privilege of swimming with them and not swim away. You really just float there and watch them and they do their thing and they have no real fear of you.

Krista:

They're really playful too. Like they invite you to play a lot of the people that can free drive and go and swim and twirl with them. They'll get into these patterns of movement and they'll just move with humans. So they invite you into their dance, which is profound. Leslie. you work is a director for a global PR firm. And I can only imagine how stressful that type of work must be. There must be elements of crisis management that you're tasked with. So going on vacation, must have many layers for you and levels of decompression. Would you agree with that?

Leslie:

Yes, I think I share what, a good portion of America and people around the world, just the daily grind of work and I work from home and so, days can run together. And yes, I do take my vacation days very seriously and I definitely look at vacation for decompression versus, going 50 miles an hour and doing something, straight for a week.

Krista:

So before going to wild quest, what were your expectations if any, and had you had any kind of expectation of a metaphysical experience or an energetic awakening or shift?

Leslie:

No, not at all. In fact, I was apprehensive about doing it. I didn't find it myself. A friend found it for me and and talked me into it.

El:

Yeah,

Leslie:

I didn't know if I could say, I didn't want to point any fingers, but by the 10th time of asking to go, asking me about,

El:

yeah,

Leslie:

I was like, okay, you caught me on a good day. I'll do it. But I had a lot of apprehension and definitely no expectations of anything. I was going for vacation.

Krista:

So give us a little overview.

Leslie:

I think my biggest apprehension was the group. It was the most diverse range. From 15 to 85, from Denver to, Amsterdam, and all in between, and somehow it worked. It was the zaniest. Hodgepodge of people. I worked from home. I lived by myself. I was like, how am I going to, not only being around, I think it was 17 in our group at 17 people, one or 20.

Krista:

Yeah.

Leslie:

But I just didn't who are the people that are going on this. And, I don't know what I was thinking, but.

Krista:

You were apprehensive about being with strangers.

Leslie:

Yeah, for a long time and on a boat for, day in day out and having every meal together. I was like, I don't know about that. And, once you're on Bimini, you're on Bimini. So, and like I could just get in a car and go home. So there was that apprehension, but that was the most beautiful thing to me. And I said this exact thing when I was there is that the dolphins are the icing on the cake. It's the people and the experience that just blew my mind. We had a lot of dolphin, encounters when I was there, luckily, but even if we hadn't, it still felt special. and I admit it, I was sizing people up. I was like, Oh my God, I don't know if I can be with that woman for, five days straight. And she ended up being hilarious and funny and, one of my favorites. So, admittedly, and I'm ashamed of it. I was Oh God, I don't know about this. And then by the end of it, I'm like, my people, my pod.

Krista:

So, if I remember correctly, within a few hours of being there, Leslie is a very dear old friend of mine. I know you very well. You don't let people see your emotion. You get the job done. You're, you're a very strong, powerful person. And if I may share within a few hours of being on the island, the tears, the impact of it all, just being there, something about, the energy there created this cascade effect where you were crying inconsolably and couldn't regulate to go to dinner that night.

Leslie:

Yeah. I was like, oh my God, I don't even know where this is coming from, like what is going on? And it was like, I just met these people and I couldn't even go to dinner that first night'cause I looked like I had been punched by Mike Tyson. I was in sad shape and I could not stop. I obviously was holding in so much stress and holding on by a thread and getting there was such a release. I could not stop it if I tried. I couldn't even really pinpoint what, it just was like this mosh pit of emotion, but I wasn't really like sad. It was this release and it caught me totally by surprise. That's when I knew it was different than a vacation. It felt like therapy

Krista:

it seems as though you're having a pretty incredible release transformation. We are on day two and yesterday was a pretty cathartic day for you. Yeah.

Leslie:

Yes.

Krista:

Aw. And we were talking about having the ability to release and it's as though this place has created some form of catharsis where you have been incredibly emotional more so than normal and as much as that can be dysregulating and bring up a lot of stuff it's ultimately a really healthy experience. Would you agree with that?

Leslie:

Yeah, it's kind of like after you cry you feel better. Or after you throw up. Yeah, seriously. It's a little bit

Krista:

like throwing up. Emotions. If you crash into a tree. And so you were saying that, the energy here, even though you can't see it, there's something going on. Is that how you said it?

Leslie:

Yeah, well, um, yeah.

Krista:

There's something happening here.

Leslie:

Yeah, well, we didn't see any dolphins, but there's a dog here.

Krista:

Wait till you see the dolphins. Yeah, so,

Leslie:

said this dog has helped me get a little more vulnerable and let some shit that I had been suppressing big time. So yeah, for those of you just listening in, I've been crying for about the last 10 hours and I couldn't tell you exactly why. I could tell you a couple of things.

Krista:

It's just a giant purging, correct? I'm sad and then I'm happy.

Leslie:

I'm sad about the dog then I'm happy he's being taken care of.

Krista:

There's a dog here that's tied up to a tree

Leslie:

but they're taking care of it.

Krista:

They're taking care of it. Leslie's been sitting with it for hours. But I think it's the emotional trigger that she needed to kind of start the process of this emotional purge.

Leslie:

I mean, she's my dolphin. So, yeah. Thanks for opening the floodgates, Callie. Appreciate it. That's the dog's name, by the way. So, yeah, I'm holding steady, but at any moment I could spontaneously combust into tears. And if you asked me why I was crying, I would say, everything and nothing. Not like, wah, just like, tears were flowing and I'm not even

Krista:

Sobbing.

Leslie:

Yeah, it's not

Krista:

Deep catharsis Yes. I think too, you're not someone that is emotional by nature. No, I'm a suppressor. Yeah. And a survivor. And you know, you just get the things done.

Leslie:

Never complain, never explain.

Krista:

Right. That's Leslie's,

Leslie:

well I stole that from Queen Elizabeth. But it works for me. It still, yeah, it works. It fits.

Krista:

Have you noticed that whatever you were able to release there, has it brought a different level of awareness have you made any changes?

Leslie:

I think I'd need more than a week I'm stuck in my ways. Admittedly

Krista:

has your perspective changed like your tolerances to things

Leslie:

I think it's so different from your day to day work life, and that's typical probably of any vacation but it was so vastly different in contrast, it was more of like what is out in the world and in this experience, it just, I want more of that.

Krista:

Has it impacted your relationships at all? Or your, relationship to work, your relationship to friends or family?

Leslie:

The things I stress about probably ridiculously, I need to let some of that go, it's just does not matter in the grand scheme of things I hate the cliche of don't sweat the small stuff, but you get jolted out of the stuff that you think matters, by doing something like this and then you come back and it's like, it just doesn't matter.

Krista:

I think that frequency of love to like getting a dose of that medicine, it just changes your perspective.

Leslie:

Yeah, that was another big thing because I'm usually by myself most of the time. But reaching out being more connected with my friends I would definitely say that has been something I was nourished by being around. I was surprised at how social I was and got to know people and

Krista:

game night that was incredibly successful, all on your own. That was huge for you.

Leslie:

I know it was, you would have thought I was putting on a Broadway play and it was like one game, but that's my kind of anxiety is being in front of that many people. And it sounds so silly, but I wanted it to be such a success and it ended up getting rave reviews. I'm not going to lie, I was so nervous and even things like that. Like I just was out of my comfort zone a lot of the time there

Krista:

Yeah. we got so loved up. Each and every one of those people became so near and dear to my heart. I loved them so much. Yeah. That's what, yeah.

Leslie:

And I wasn't expecting that. I'm not really that spiritual or, metaphysical and I'm like, am I going to be the outsider? And I cannot say enough. If anybody's listening to this and thinking about doing it and they're apprehensive about being with 20 strangers. It works somehow. If it worked for me I'm a good barometer for getting out of your comfort zone. There was a commonality of everybody being there for the same purpose and everybody got along it was like being at camp better food.

Krista:

It's incredible. Thank you, Niketa. Yeah.

El:

I'm curious about Bimini. How have you seen the island change since you started going there?

Amlas:

Yes, it has changed. There's a big resort that's grown up on the north end of the island and they've even built a pier and cruise ships come in. Life is changed, like nothing stays the same, if everything stays the same, you're probably dead, life is changed. It hasn't been done in any kind of remarkable way. It's done raping and pillaging and, there's been a lot of fights about how the resort was built, but it has grown. But, it doesn't seem to have affected what we do there because luckily, it wasn't done on purpose. Our retreat center is really. Tucked away if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't even, know it's there We're in this little protected bubble in our retreat center and the boat docks right there. Sometimes I realize I don't go out of the gate. From one week to the next, I'm just in the retreat center. We get on the boat, we go out and we come back and we, he's in the retreat center. So, if it has changed and, unfortunately it's not changed with much awareness or care for the environment. It doesn't seem to affect what we're doing. It doesn't seem to affect the dolphins. So hopefully it will continue,

Krista:

one of the things I noticed is your relationship to the locals there. I can imagine you consider yourself a local at this point but they have such reverence and respect for you and your group, as you do them, it's such a joyous place the locals there are so lovely. Their respect for you and your respect for them, does add such a huge benefit. To a guest experience there as well. And it goes to show, what you're doing in the water with the dolphins and for your guests, that extends out to the people that you're sharing the space with, the island with.

Amlas:

Well, I'm always aware that we are guests in their home, as it's a bit like when we go out on the ocean, we're guests in the dolphins home. And so we act accordingly and it's similar on the island, I feel, and yeah we have been there a long time and the locals do love us. They're not really quite sure what we do. They know we take people to swim with dolphins, but the tourists that come to us are quite different from the tourists that come to Bimini tend to be fisher people, fisher people tend to rely a lot on alcohol for their enjoyment, which is a very different vibe. I'm not against alcohol in any sense, but, they're very sensitive, the Islanders, they know there's something, and sometimes when we're meditating, or something will happen, I'll say it was, it's like our church because they can relate to church, and so they really respect and they love us, a lot of the taxi drivers call. They're like, what do you do? We bring them there on a Monday and when we come and pick them up, on a Saturday, like, what do you do to them? It's like the house of love. This is like the house of love, and I said, that's it, the house of love,

Krista:

come on. That's incredible that they would know. That's says a lot, doesn't it?

Leslie:

I'm gonna have one of my favorite memory. I've got a million, but the one when we're coming back from dinner, because I don't know if you were in the car, but we had what was our cab driver's name? It was

Krista:

there.

Leslie:

And we had some name, like a celebrity's name, like,

Krista:

Oh, no, that's right.

Leslie:

Do you know, I'm lost. Here's the cab driver that you usually get.

Amlas:

Block there's block or

Leslie:

Tron or

Amlas:

block.

Leslie:

Yeah. I think he said H&

Krista:

R block. That's right. H&

Leslie:

R block. Sorry. One celebrity H& R block. That was him. We were, blasting music. Anytime you got in a car or, on the bed, you're sitting with different people. It's just a different group. It wasn't like people glommed onto each other. Like it was just whoever got in the van on the way home, gotten, got a NISP. And we were like, I think it was like a Neil Diamond song and we were all karaokeing our buns off in the car. It was just so funny and so energetic. I was so energized by the time we got back in the bed. I don't think I fell asleep for like an hour,

Krista:

it really is a giant dance party masquerading as adult I

Leslie:

dance,

Krista:

oh

Leslie:

my god,

Krista:

I dance in my lifetime.

Leslie:

Oh my God. And just silliness and everybody. Again, the risk of sounding like a broken record, you really cannot judge, a book by its cover. Cause I ended up being like, Oh my God, these people are my new pod.

Krista:

Yeah, we've kept in touch to it's family. It's more family, more love, more support. It's beautiful.

Leslie:

Sitting here going, how can I get back there? They're sure. Can I think, can I pull this off? The wheels are spinning, like more vacation days to have left. Can I squeeze one more of these in And

Krista:

you'd probably go alone this time, huh?

Leslie:

I don't know about that, but

Amlas:

we have a lot of women come alone. A lot of women. Oh

Leslie:

yeah. Oh, I would be perfectly comfortable doing that. Yeah. If anybody is listening that thinks, Oh, I don't know if I could do this, but you totally could.

El:

Yeah,

Leslie:

absolutely. feels like an extended family. I don't know how else to describe it. You would feel very safe and comfortable.

Krista:

You also have such a solid structure to it. You fly in to Fort Lauderdale on a Sunday, Monday morning, early. You're picked up and you're taken to a charter flight. Which is what 30 minutes to the island and by Monday afternoon, you're on the boat out on the water. Everything just runs like clockwork. There's never a moment where, I didn't understand what was going on or hadn't been told. So, yeah,

Leslie:

y'all are very, it's very buttoned up.

Krista:

Yeah.

Leslie:

Relaxed.

Krista:

That's what's so extraordinary about it. I was saying that the staff have such a big responsibility, for our safety out on the boat in the water. And yet you'd never know that they're thinking about that part of it. Everyone feels like they are having, incredible enjoyment. Yeah.

Leslie:

Prepping the boat, prepping the food, prepping everything. I know they're scurrying around behind the scenes and there's probably stress that we don't see. They never showed it once, but it was definitely organized. I feel like in a way I'm high maintenance, like I need a tight operation. In order to feel, safe for me personally. And I was like, okay, these people know what they're doing, but it didn't feel regimented or. Controlled.

Krista:

Everything's fun.

Leslie:

Felt like camp in a way and the best way that I could describe camp. You had a schedule, but it didn't feel like, Oh my God, give me a second.

Krista:

I like that we have the morning. So free. Just to linger and chill. And then we have so much time on the boat. It's like, how long are these days? Everything feels so relaxed and yet rich it's like time stand still or something.

Leslie:

Yeah. And it's even fun. When we had that rain shower, it was still fun on the bed.

Krista:

That rained out on the boat. How quick are they? They knew the rain was coming. And the next thing I know, everything's canopied up and snapped and secure, and then we're all huddled in playing games on that back table. So much fun.

Leslie:

This is really making me wanna, I'm sitting here scheming goFundMe for Wild Quest trip number two, would that be inappropriate?

Krista:

Just your family.

Leslie:

Yeah. And you.

Krista:

Yeah. And me. Big shout out to the crew. They're just extraordinary people. Each and every one of them. I'm in awe of their gifts and their skills

Leslie:

I have to give a shout out. To Dipti, but also Kathleen. Wow. What a find., as close as you can get to a living mermaid. I wish I could talk to her every day. She has the most calming, soothing, authentic love of what she does. That woman is one in a million. Half the time I thought it was a dolphin and it's her down at the bottom, taking the coolest pictures. I'm like, Oh, it's Kathleen.

Krista:

That's another thing we forgot to mention aside from going out on the boat and swimming with the dolphins, there a classes available Kathleen did this incredible movement class that was Part yoga, part expansion in your energy and your body. I did breath work and had an incredible experience. So there's also these healing protocols and modalities that are offered that you can take if you want, you don't have to. So you offer so much more. And then the food is just, I was about to say the

Leslie:

food we have to touch on the food is incredible.

Krista:

Yeah, by one woman. So all this to say, it's a very special place. And anyone that goes to be enriched and revitalized and changed and filled with what is I think the most powerful medicine on the planet, which is love. And anytime we can open our hearts and allow more of that in. It can only benefit us, the people around us. It will telegraph out to the people that we love and the people that they love. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

Leslie:

For such an amazing experience. I'm glad to be part of the Wild quest pod. It's funny. I want everybody to know about it, but I don't want everybody to know.

Amlas:

To think of it as an open secret.

Leslie:

Yes. I'm like, do I really want to tell people about this? Cause I want to keep myself, but I'm going to spread the gospel of wild class. I did say at the end of the week, and I really do feel this way, if there was no dolphins all week, I still would have given the trip a 10 out of 10. The dolphins to me were that added special magical bonus, but it was all the other things that came together that you're not going to find anywhere else or on just a regular vacation. And I can name 10 things that all just magically came together. Still blaze my mind that wild dolphins swim up and can do a little loop de loop right in front of your face and not be scared of you, I'll take that with me forever. Thank you. And if y'all have any openings, if y'all need like an assistant carrier, well, I know they're in karaoke, but like an assistant I don't know her

El:

job to change her life. So I can break

Leslie:

the sand I'll be the official Cat feeder I can just be part-time. We can start part-time and see how it goes.

Krista:

she'll send you her resume? Yes.

Leslie:

Yeah.

Krista:

Amlas, what do you see for the future of Wild Quest

Amlas:

well, I trust that, Wild Quest will continue, it's been going now, for so long it feels like it's doing a beautiful thing and I trust it will continue to do its beautiful thing you know that's really all I can hope for.

Krista:

Before we wrap up, I want to let people know how to get in touch with you. The season runs from April to October?

Amlas:

Yeah, we usually start in April through to October, you can check the website, wildquest. com and there's a schedule page and it tells you, what's happening each week. There's a contact page as well. We have a lovely lady, Nala, who works in the reservations office and she's very helpful if you have any questions or anything like that. Her phone number and email is also there on the website. So yeah do check it out.

Krista:

And we'll put that on our website as well. So wild quest. com. All right guys. Thank you so, so much. Almost lovely. To see you, Leslie. I love you. Yeah, thank you. Thank you ladies. That was awesome. Take care. Thank you. Bye-Bye. Bye. Bye. Hi, we have just landed back in Fort Lauderdale in the real world and feel like emotions are How would you describe it

Leslie:

raw

Krista:

Raw like thunder and raw like

Leslie:

kind of a boil A festering boil.

Krista:

So tell me about your trip. What were the highlights? What were the things that were unexpected? Give me your best overview.

Leslie:

I would say that it's weird the one thing I noticed this was like a mini rehab it had a lot of the elements of what you do and therapeutic wise, but

Krista:

none of those practical underpinnings, like that's not their purpose. Oh yeah. No, but it had

Leslie:

that same s feeling structure. Right.

Krista:

I mean, inadvertently they are rehabbing people.

Leslie:

it makes you open up, just add the therapeutic qualities of that. I'm not a spiritual person. and I got a lot out of it. No, it was more the release and I would say it was a. It wasn't a typical vacation. I would describe it as magical.

Krista:

That's big for you.

Leslie:

I know. I don't use that word. I actually make fun of people for using that word. I would use that word for this.

Krista:

Tell me what properties were magical to you.

Leslie:

I would say the, the group dynamic. I don't know if we just had a really special group or if it's special every time. I don't know. It's just fascinating to me that you can bring together, however many that was, 19 people from different countries, different ages, different genders, just so hodgepodge of different, backgrounds and everything, and we all bonded like freakishly. So much

Krista:

love and acceptance. I I felt so safe there. So unjudged.

Leslie:

I agree. So yeah, I felt like I, like I said, I felt like I had a tribe, I mean, not a tribe, a pod.

Krista:

Yeah.

Leslie:

For those of you listening in, I live by myself. I am not a social butterfly. I like to be with people one on one, so the first couple of days with that many people were a wee bit jarring for me and then you kind of ease into it and get to know people and you know.

Krista:

Yeah, you opened up to everyone and everyone really responded. To you as well. There was a lot of bonding going on, the level of safety. I think for me there's some energy there that just opens your heart up and allows you to connect.

Leslie:

I would definitely say there's something, I wouldn't say something in the water, but it's definitely as we know, I spent, I did have a lot of releasing of tension and emotions. At first it didn't feel okay to cry. I mean, I was like, I can't even get a dinner cause I'm so embarrassed cause I've been crying. And by the end of it, I could have cried my face, I mean I was crying my face off. Leaving everybody. Yeah. Like you get to where I'm like, oh my God, these people must think I'm the biggest freak on the planet. And then it was like, they don't care. They did not care. Like they totally fine with it. They weren't like, there wasn't any judgment for me being emotional, which in my family it's like show emotion and

Krista:

your judgment.

Leslie:

Yes. We're not a big show emotion family, so that was really hard. How's that? How that working for you? Yeah, seriously. So I was not feeling comfortable that first 12 hour. But that was my own stuff. Yeah. Because they had a dog there that anyway, a big animal lover and I wanted to take it home with me as usual. So, being out on a boat is just healing in and of itself. And that water, yeah, the dolphins were icing on the cake, but that wasn't transformational for me as much as throwing all these people together and having it work out so perfectly and just the right balance of activity and rest.

Krista:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The food was amazing cooked by the sweetest woman. And there's so much love put into it. Yeah. The unsung

Leslie:

hero of Wild West.

Krista:

Also, one of the guests in one of the sharing circles said, that this place restores her faith in humanity and I certainly

Leslie:

felt that

Krista:

because you walk in and you're with strangers and by the end of it, each and every one of them has their own light and level of happy and contribution and connectedness. And everyone brings something would you come back again?

Leslie:

You know, if you'd asked me that at the beginning of the week, I would have said no. And now I am open to it for sure.

Krista:

Yeah, it was amazing.

Leslie:

But, you know, my policy is the people make the place.

Krista:

Yeah any last thoughts?

Leslie:

No, just other than I was a skeptic and um, I'm still unpacking a lot of stuff as I said, but I'm, I'm feeling the, I'm feeling the vibe that it's putting out.

Krista:

And does this help you understand and or believe that we are all energy and there's a ton of energy exchange that goes on? Yes, and that's not

Leslie:

really, I come from a family of medical doctors, so

Krista:

yeah,

Leslie:

that's not my problem.

Krista:

Just saying

Leslie:

the word vibe

Krista:

for you I think is a big leap too. Yeah,

Leslie:

I know, I don't even know where that came from.

Krista:

I noticed it. Yeah. Yeah. Alright, thank you so much. My pleasure. My pleasure. Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Beginner's Guide to the Third Eye. For more information about the show, visit our website Beginners guide to the third eye.com. For show inquiries, email us at Guide to the Third i@gmail.com and visit the shop page on our website to find many of the products suggested by our practitioners and participants. And if you would be so kind, please leave a review and follow us on your go to podcast platform as it helps build our audience. Thank you. See you soon