Swimming in Awareness: Beluga Whale & Meditation

Beluga Whale

Meditation is often spoken about as a single practice, yet it holds many pathways into presence. Two of the most grounding and transformative approaches are open awareness meditation and Vipassana meditation. While each technique offers something distinct, both invite us into deeper contact with the mind, the body, and the world that quietly supports us.

What is Open Awareness Meditation?

Open awareness meditation is the practice of softening your focus and allowing your attention to rest on whatever arises in your inner or outer experience. Rather than concentrating on a single point, you give yourself permission to gently notice sounds, sensations, thoughts and emotions as they come and go.

Psychologically, this broadened attention reduces cognitive rigidity and makes space for clarity. Neurologically, open awareness decreases activity in the brain’s default mode network, which is associated with rumination. As a result, you become less entangled in your inner commentary and more connected to the simple truth of the moment.

Open awareness reminds us that presence is not something we force. It is something we allow.

What is Vipassana Meditation?

Vipassana, meaning “clear seeing,” is one of the oldest mindfulness practices. It teaches us to observe the changing sensations of the body with patience and curiosity. Through noticing sensations arise and pass, we learn directly about impermanence.

From a psychological perspective, Vipassana strengthens emotional regulation by training the mind to witness discomfort without immediately reacting. Neurologically, the practice reduces amygdala reactivity while supporting the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for perspective-taking and intentional choice.

This combination of presence and insight helps us meet our inner world with compassion rather than judgement.

A Moment of Meditation at the Gym

Recently, I finished a workout and decided to end the session with a meditation. I sat against a wall as the lights dimmed around me and played an RnB song that felt grounding. As the music settled into the background, I connected with my breath. Slow, full inhales through the nose filling the lungs and stomach, followed by long, intentional exhales.

As my breath deepened, an image began to form. I visualised a beluga whale gliding through open water. The ocean was a deep, clear blue. Light filtered through the surface, shimmering in soft patterns. I could almost feel the chill of the water, yet it felt more soothing than cold. The viewpoint was as if I were watching from beneath the whale, witnessing its gentle movement and the world above glowing like a distant sky.

Within that imagery, I felt peaceful and content. Isolation did not feel lonely. It felt purposeful. It was a space to breathe, to reset, to be with myself without demand.

As I stayed with the whale, the themes of freedom and wandering surfaced. What at first felt like drifting slowly transformed into intentional exploration. The whale was not lost. It was simply moving through its world with ease and curiosity.

For years, the elephant has been the animal I resonate with most deeply. Yet in that moment, the beluga whale offered something I didn’t know I needed. It reflected the part of me that longs for space, softness and fluid movement through change.

Where These Practices Meet

Both open awareness and Vipassana create room for this kind of experience. They open the door to observing what arises naturally, whether it is a thought, a sensation, or the unexpected imagery of an animal guiding you into stillness. They invite you into the inner landscape where meaning can be discovered rather than forced.

In that moment at the gym, open awareness allowed the imagery to unfold. Vipassana allowed me to stay with the sensations it brought. Together, they created a quiet shift from drifting to exploring, from being carried by life to consciously moving with it.

A Closing Reflection

Meditation is not always stillness in silence. Sometimes it is the soft glow of gym lights, the echo of music, the rhythm of your breath and an image that carries you into deeper understanding.

Whether through open awareness, Vipassana or simply pausing to breathe, we find our way back to ourselves. We remember that freedom can be gentle. Exploration can be slow. And presence can appear in the most unexpected places.