The Transparent Hypnotist

He would sit for hours or at least what felt like hours to my wee bottom that experienced the cold, hard wooden bench. But he never seemed to notice any discomfort, his or mine. Instead, gazing into the aquarium at a local park, it would keep hold his fascination above all else.

“Look Ellie! See that fish, the one by the glass, looking at me? He is talking to me.” 

“What is he saying?” I would respond and my grandfather would weave the most fascinating stories about the life of the fish. 

Often the story would begin with, “Well, luv, he says I should come and join ‘im. He wants me to meet his wife and have a lovely meal of seaweed.”

Then there were the times my grandfather would remain silent, staring fixedly into the dimly lit water. If the current Ellie could go back to those moments, I feel quite sure she would see all the markings of a trance. But the younger Ellie had no idea about such things. All she knew was that when her grandfather appeared unaware of the word outside of the aquarium, he would loose all the tension and worry from his face. What she also discovered was that if she asked for certain things, like a bit of chocolate, when they left the aquarium, her grandfather seemingly would have a desire for something chocolaty, too. They would stop at the little store down the street and her grandfather would choose the confectionary that Ellie had mentioned earlier and share it with her. On days when they were just walking or doing other tasks and she would ask for such a treat, he would respond in the negative

“Ellie, you know your mum does not allow for such things before our next meal.”

Hmmm.

So whether I am just craving a bit of candy, the presence of my grandfather, or some form of nostalgia, I still find myself intrigued with those creatures who live in aquariums. Hence you will notice the ad in the right column of this blog for “Dolphins blowing bubbles.” Maybe you thought it was silly for a hypnotism blog to have such things on it - what is this nonsense about dolphins blowing bubbles? Now, maybe you will understand a little more why I would put such things here (do click on it). 

Maybe the phenomena of dolphins blowing bubbles seems meaningless, but I assure you, it is not. Here is the thing, the dolphins at Sea World have begun to do something quite unique. They have learned how to not just use their blow holes as biology dictates, but have to use them as a source of amusement. They create large bubble rings, much like a child who learns to blow soap bubbles through a special wand. Just like humans, the dolphins seem to find much enjoyment with playing with their water bubbles. 

What also makes the dolphin bubbles special is that this playful behavior has just been recognized (by us humans). Though I am not an animal behaviorist, I am all about human behavior, so I can see the appeal to studying this phenomena. Perhaps even more interesting is the human reaction to the dolphins. People are fascinated (recognizing a commonality in play?), so fascinated that Sea World has made it part of their marketing effort. Ingenious! Seriously. If you have not visited their website on dolphin bubbles, it is really interesting.

I can imagine myself young and small again with my grandfather larger than life. I can imagine us watching these dolphin bubbles and I can hear my grandfather concocting great tales of bubble Olympics. Or I can imagine him silently engrossed in the spectacle. Then I can take it a bit farther and hear my own self mentioning riding the Manta coaster. Eventually, my grandfather would take my hand, leading me away from the dolphins and suggest we try our hand with roller coaster  (something he was normally not so keen).