About Us

Hello and Namaste’

My name is Teresa Wagner and I’d like to tell you a bit about myself and my work and relationship with whales. (For more information on my animal communication and animal loss and grief work, please visit my other site: www.animalsinourhearts.com)

The overall purpose of my work with the whales is to provide opportunities to deepen the understanding, communication, intimacy, and harmony between whales and people in ways that serve the healing and growth of both species:

• To bring together groups of spiritually oriented people to swim with and communicate with whales while in the company of other like minded, like valued humans. . .people who recognize that whales are more than their behavior and biology, who have open hearts, open minds, and open spirits to be with the whales as soul peers in sacredness, and to offer the whales love, compassion, healing energy and abiding friendship.
• To share messages from the whales--their stories about their lives as whales and their guidance for us as humans--and to teach others how to remember and use their natural telepathic ability to communicate with whales themselves.
• In encourage and inspire people who love whales and the earth to express this love in active ways to help reduce the suffering of whales, and make their ocean home safe from human predators and pollution.

St. Francis in my Big Sur garden, wearing a whale fluke necklace from the Dominican Republic. Photo copyright Teresa Wagner

I’ve included some biographical information about myself below to give you a sense of who is behind this web site. However, what is much more important to me than the experiences of any one person is a truth that impacts us all: We need the animals and they need us. We are soul peers in our journey together on earth. We are all here to support, learn from and serve one another--each in our own unique ways, and not just in one direction but reciprocally--in matters of the heart and through the challenges that come up in the journeys of our bodies and souls. In our interconnectedness with whales, may we find our way together in peace, respect and great love.

Some of My Professional and Educational Background

I began having conversations with whales in 1988, when I had an encounter with a North Atlantic Humpback Whale in Stellwagon Bank, off Provincetown, Massachusetts. I began my professional animal communication practice in 1991, though I’ve talked with animals since childhood. Since 1999, I have been facilitating sacred swim journeys with humpbacks in Silver Bank, off the Dominican Republic. Today, I continue to maintain an active private practice, teaching schedule, and am writing a series of books on our relationship with animals, including, of course, the whales.

For several years, I've specialized in the field of grief and traumatic stress, and remain passionate about how these issues impact people who love and care for animals. I have facilitated pet loss support groups and workshops since 1986, authored the audio book Legacies of Love, A Gentle Guide to Healing From the Loss of Your Animal Loved One, a number of CDs and created an extensive web site of supportive material for people grieving the loss of their animal companions. As lead faculty person with the Animal Spirit Network's Animal Loss and Grief Program of Study, I teach a number of classes both for grievers and those is support roles to grievers. I am also deeply concerned about the pet overpopulation epidemic and the trauma this creates not only for the animals but for animal welfare employees as well. For eight years I conducted compassion fatigue workshops for animal shelter workers throughout the U.S. and maintain an in depth section on my web site as a place of solace and compassion fatigue education for the people who do this work. For the animals, I developed the Animal Relief Formula of flower essences in tandem with FES.

I’ve been honored and privileged over the years to work with thousands of clients in my practice, on my trips and in my classes from the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, and Taiwan.

My traditional education includes a master's degree in counseling from Villanova University, and an undergraduate degree in psychology and criminal justice from Alvernia College, earning both degrees and graduating with honors while working full time. My post graduate work includes studies in counseling with Carl Rogers at the University of Nottingham, England, and an organization development program at Columbia University. I’ve also completed the Clinical Training Program in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the National Center for PTSD, Dept. of Veterans Affairs and studied at the Grief Recovery Institute. Home in Big Sur, CA. Photo by Kath QuinnI am a member of the Association of Death Education and Counseling and have presented at their international conference.

My healing arts education includes animal communication with Jeri Ryan, flower essence training at FES, Desert Alchemy and Perelandra, energy healing training in Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch and psychic studies with Evelyn Isadore. The animals, however, remain my constant teachers.

Prior to my work with animals and the people who love them, I worked for ten years as training and organization development manager for RCA in New York City and New Jersey. Before my corporate career, immediately following the completion of undergraduate school in 1976, I worked as a counselor then a group home manager with adolescents for the Juvenile Justice Center in Philadelphia.

I have been named to Who’s Who of American Women, and received the RCA President's Award and and the Gwendolyn May Award for Humanitarian Work by the SPCA of Monterey County. I have been an invited speaker at numerous conferences of animal welfare organizations such as The Humane Society of the United States, American Humane Association, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and National Association of Professional Pet Sitters, and have served on the boards of several non-profit animal welfare organizations. My whale trip has been featured on PAX televisions network’s Animal Miracles show. My animal communication work has been featured on the television shows Beyond with James Van Praagh and the documentary Psychic Connection: Exploring the Spiritual Link Between People and Animals, in the books Communicating with Animals by Art Myer and Animals in Spirit by Penelope Smith, Species Link Journal, The Flower Essence Society's International Journal of Flower Essence Therapy, and various newspaper articles.

Animals and issues impacting them provide the core meaning, guidance, joy, and purpose in my life. Currently, I live with my beloved cat Little K, in Big Sur, California near the whales in the sea, amidst the redwood trees, banana slugs, chipmunks, birds, bats, foxes, little snakes and angels of the forest.

Sign at restaurant in Big Sur, from which we watch whales spouting.

Little K, next to a small whale sculpture on my desk.

The Big Sur coastline.

Smiling from the energy of the ocean.

My Relationship with the Whales

Animals are my family, my ancestors, my teachers, guides and in many ways, my reason for being on the earth. Probably like many of you, I love animals with all of my being. They have been part of my learning, my healing and been my primary family since I was a very small child. Though I did not meet the whales until I was in my thirties. I would not be the person I am today without their wisdom, support and love.

I had an encounter with a whale for the first time in 1988 off Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the waters of Stellwagon Bank, important humpback feeding grounds and now a national marine sanctuary. It changed my life irrevocably. While we saw dozens of whales that day from the Dolphin Fleet whale watch boat, this humpback came right to the side of the boat and stayed for close to an hour. I was mesmerized. I went on this whale watch weekend getaway just to relax with a close friend, having no idea that my life was about to be transformed because of a whale. The trust he showed in being so close to us astounded me. We had just listened to an hour’s talk by the on board naturalist about the history of whaling in these very waters. Clearly, there had to be whales alive in these very waters who witnessed the slaughter, who had lost family members or friends. For a whale to approach a boat with humans--the very vehicle and same type of beings who killed his kind--just stunned me.

Alfie, a North Atlantic Humpback Whale, photographed in 1988 in Stellwagon Bank. Copyright Teresa Wagner.

The moment I saw him I knew something profound was happening. I immediately fell in love with his physical presence--the indescribably beautiful white pectoral fins gracefully slapping the surface of the water, the grace of his movement as he rolled slowly over and over showing us his underside, movements which surpassed any human ballerina, and the whooshing sound of his breath--it was as if I was hearing the the sound of peace for the first time. But even more than his physical magnificence, it was what I felt between us that took my breath away. I knew I was with family. Though it seemed completely irrational at the time, I knew I was somehow home and but I didn’t yet understand why. I also knew I was in the presence of a great being. Every hair on my scalp tingled, chills ran down my spine and tears poured down my face. I was at one with this whale, a profound oneness I never before experienced with anyone, any species, anywhere. As I cried soft tears of peace, telling him over and over, “I love you, I love you, God Bless you and thank you for coming,” I distinctly heard him speak to me. He gently and very knowingly offered detailed, loving guidance on very personal issues in my life, and said he would be honored to continue to be available to assist and guide me further if I wanted this. The conversation felt as natural as talking with a wise, close human friend. I went home changed. And missing him. My traveling friend thought I had lost my mind as I talked about it on the way home. At the time we were both corporate up and comers, and talking about being family with a whale was just didn’t fit within the mindset of that world. But I could not deny what changed within me. Within a few weeks I became a vegetarian, gave away three fur coats (which of course I am ashamed to ever have owned), stopped killing the insects in my garden, and viewed the world and all of its animals very, very differently. I wasn’t the same person. It was the catalyst for my journey away from a corporate career and a conventional set of values to begin to find my true self, and to find ways of creating more meaningful ways to make a living. I could no longer pretend I didn’t talk with animals as I had since childhood. Meeting this whale, Alfie, changed everything. Corporate work completely lost its appeal. I could hardly do it anymore. A year later I moved to California and shortly thereafter began my animal communication practice after meeting and studying with Jeri Ryan.

I believe that every human has their own unique path to knowing God, to remembering the Divine in all beings and within themselves. I also believe we each have a unique path to learning how to love and be loved. For some of us, these paths are the lined with animals--being with them, near them, exchanging love with them, being guided, taught and inspired by them, and at times just looking at them. And for some of us, the animals that speak the loudest to us are the whales. For the first moment I saw Alfie and the other whales on that first trip, I yearned to be with them whenever and wherever I could. And so I did. I have returned to Stellwagon Bank many times since then be reunited with these great beings who continue to guide me, have traveled to Alaska and Hawaii to be with them, and of course, see them right here where I live off the California coast. Over time, I remembered having many lives as a humpback, and that my first lives on earth were as a humpback. So the yearning to be “home” with them as I struggled with human roles and challenges made more and more sense.

Though it was always a thrill and sacred experience to see them, it also began to feel alienating and even painful to be on boats in the company of others who didn’t feel any spiritual connection to whales or held little respect for them. I often found myself with people who saw whales as merely the focus of their latest ego driven adventure, or perceived whales as merely interesting objects to be studied or photographed. Though I have great respect and admiration for the scientists who study whales in order to help them, their perspective seems to be narrowly limited to only physical behavior and biology of the whales, precluding even the possibility of telepathic or spiritual connection (the exceptions to this, in my experience, are Roger Payne and Marsha Greene). This attitude, often shared also by naturalists on boats, often left me feeling lonely on whale excursions, feeling like I had more in common with the whales in the water than with the humans on the boat. I began to dream of being with whales in the company of like minded people. I wanted to share the joy of the connection and share the messages the whales were continuing to give me. And for years I dreamt of being in the water with them, in their home, looking into their eyes.

One year I was sure this dream was about to come true. It was during a dark and challenging period of my life when I was spending a great deal of energy on conscious, painstaking healing from several years of having been raped as a child. I was given an opportunity to be with humpbacks in Hawaii. The trip would have been almost free and I was invited to join a Kahuna healer who loved whales and swam with them almost every day during their winter months near the islands. I was beyond thrilled. I spoke to my whale guides to thank them for this great gift but was devastated by their response. They told me that it was not yet time. That if I came in the water with them at this time, it would be too soon--that I was still too depressed and feeling far too alienated from humans to be able to have the ecstatic experience of entering the water with the whales to want to return to land. They said I would rather leave my body and stay in the water with them than return to human life on land. They were right, but I didn’t care. I wanted the comfort of my family, to be understood and loved. This I always felt with the whales. To feel it even more intensely with physical closeness in the water and then die would have been perfectly fine with me. But Alfie said, “No Teresa. If you go on this trip, the whales simply will not be in the water any time you enter.” He said this with the gentle yet firm determination of an elder protecting me. Deep, deep inside me, I understood but on the surface I was angry and deeply sad. My life was falling apart around me, living with terrifying flashbacks that came when I least expected them, making it difficult to work or to enjoy life. Life felt so hard at that time, and I furious that I was being told to forego such a wonderful pleasure being handed to me on a silver platter. I screamed and yelled and cursed at the whales. Then I begged and bargained. I promised I would come back out of the water to land afterwards if they would just let me have this experience. They explained that my dream would come true, that I would swim with them someday, Uncle, who is family. Photo purchased from Dancer Fleet.this lifetime. But that for now, first, I must learn to fully trust and love my own kind. This made me very, very sad because I didn’t know how to do what they asked. They gave me homework I didn’t know how to complete. I was frightened and felt so very alone. Yet, as time went on I realized I wasn’t ever alone. I had guides, teachers, friends and animals on earth and in spirit who helped me and healed me, the most prominent of whom were the whales. They helped me every step of the way.

They taught me patiently and lovingly as I made "mistakes," from small to painful and traumatic. They were always there when I needed them, and still are. I often "go home" to them to to celebrate the joys of my progress, or to ask for help or support when I am feeling challenged or lost. They are always there for me, bringing me strength, solace, understanding and tender love, and often helping me get up or go on when I think I can’t.

The whales kept their word, and nine years after that squelched opportunity to be with them in the water in Hawaii, in 1999 my friend and client Sierra Goodman made my dream came true of being able to be with whales in the water. Sierra had just begun doing dolphin swim trips (www.divinedolphin.com) and learned that the company with whom she chartered also went to Silver Bank off the Dominican Republic for humpback whale swims. She felt it would enhance the experience for the group to have animal communicators on board invited Penelope Smith and me to join her. I thought I died and went to heaven when I received her request. I was beyond thrilled. I had not known that it was legal anywhere in the world to actually get in the water with whales. I was just beside myself with joy at the opportunity.

Photos left to right : Holding hands with my friend Elise Pouilot while gazing as the whales, photo by Jodi Frediani, given as a gift.
Me offering Reiki to a calf and mother, photo by Diane Dunkman, given as a gift. My friend Joan Beattie and I being del

Being with the whales on the surface from a boat is very exciting. I remember being in a Zodiac in Frederick Sound in Alaska with feeding, sounding, breaching and spouting whales 360 degrees all around me and being in awe. Yet exhilarating as such experiences are, on the surface we really see only a small percentage of the whales’ bodies. Even with breaching, we see the whole body for only seconds. But under the water--oh! the entirety of their magnificent bodies is in full view under us, in front of us, and slowly approaching and moving all around us. There is a stillness, an otherworldliness, a presence of grace when with the whales under the water that is the closet thing to heaven on earth I have ever experienced. I was transformed to a better part of myself on that first trip, and knew I had to return. I owe a great thank you to Sierra for starting this great expansion of my life.

I have now had the glorious experience many times over of slipping off the side of a small boat to join my beloved humpbacks in their water home. Remembering it, even as I write this, makes me tingle, smile, cry. There are not words adequate enough to describe the joy, the miracle, the magic of being together. Being with them brings me to a state of bliss, of pure love and absolute peace.

Me offering Reiki to a Humpback Calf. Photo copyright Elise Pouilot.Every year, since that first trip in 1999, I have organized groups of people who love the whales and want to swim and communicate with them in Silver Bank. It is a pilgrimage for me to be with the whales. It is going home to visit, honor, play with and talk with my first family on earth. Being with the whales for me is like an Irish American visiting Ireland, an African American visiting Africa. I feel my roots when I am with the whales, I remember where I’ve come from, I feel the love of my ancestors, their wisdom, and their journey inextricably tied to my own. I feel the light and love of whales shining through to my soul.

I’ve talked with the whales regularly everyday since that special reunion in 1988 in Stellwagon Bank. Sometimes it is for my own guidance, sometimes it is to talk with whales in peril, and sometimes it is to translate for other humans what messages a particular whale may have for them. Bringing other people to be with the whales and helping them learn to hear the guidance the whales have for their individual life journeys is one of the greatest privileges of my life. My year revolves around the whale trips. It is my Christmas, my annual family reunion, which I joyfully anticipate all year long.

If whales speak to your soul also, or are part of your life path I hope you will join us on one of the Sacred Swims™ trips, or, another whale journey that is just right for you. I wish for all of us who deeply loves the whales the perfect connection of time together in the water, in our hearts and souls, and integration into our lives all that they teach us. May we love them, listen to them, and help to keep them safe.