The human capacity to imagine the world from another’s perspective is referred to as mentalization. Among humans of diverging backgrounds and views, this practice has the potential to decrease class divisions, social inequalities, and the threat of violence and extremism. It is possible to mentalize with any living thing including our animal cousins.

Consider for a moment your pets. You care for them and they reciprocate your affection. You know when they are hungry, when they are hurt, and when they feel sorry (that is unless you have a cat, haha). Our ability to connect with other beings on an intellectual and emotional level is a profound gift, and at the heart of this connection is mentalization.

Many of us have seen an Orca in captivity. I remember my astonishment the first time I saw one. In my eyes, they were truly dragons of the sea, and I fantasized for a time about being a whale trainer if only to form some connection with these majestic creatures.

As I grew older, and wiser, I began to learn more about how Orcas live in the wild. I learned that Orcas have complex social lives and emotions just like you or I. Many orcas live in social groupings called pods, consisting of between 5 – 30 whales. In most cases, orcas spend their entire lives with their pod and share unique vocalizations, which allow them to communicate. Orca families are tightly knit and they travel hundreds of miles together foraging for food and seeking favorable sea conditions.

For this exercise, begin by finding a position of relaxation and allow your gaze to rest. As your mind begins to slow think of yourself as an orca. Imagine the vast sea around you as your domain. Imagine for a moment the sense of freedom you have in its expansiveness. This is your home and it provides to you all your needs.

Now, notice that you are not alone is this vast ocean. You are surrounded by brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, grandparents and even great grandparents. Together you share a common language and a common purpose. You love them and you have no concept of a world apart from them. This is your life and it is filled with freedom and joy.

Now, imagine one day you are chased by strange creatures in loud floating vessels. To your surprise, they trap you in undersea webs, which separate you from your family. You are afraid, and your terror grows as they begin to hoist your once weightless body out of the water, leaving you defenseless.

When they lower your body back into water, the first thing you feel is relief, but as you become aware of your surroundings, you realize there is nowhere to go. The once vast ocean you are accustomed to is gone, replaced by a sterile, white tank. To make matters worse, your family is not there and this makes you scared and heartbroken.

Over time, you become aware of others like you in this new place. At first sight, their presence gives you joy and relief, but this quickly fades as you realize that these whales are not from your family. Not only are they not familiar to you, they cannot speak their language, and they are aggressive to you. All of you are forced to share the same small collection of spaces, and they welcome you by raking your body with their sharp teeth.

To make matters worse, the strange land creatures try to feed you dead fish. You resist (you have never eaten a dead fish in your life), but the more you hold back, the more the other whales punish you, until out of hunger and fear, you eat. You think that is enough, but then instead of giving you the dead fish when you are hungry, the land creatures will only give it to you under strange conditions. You are confused and afraid, and whenever you fail to perform, your stomach hurts, and the other whales become more aggressive.

After a while, you learn the “tricks” to get the dead fish, but the reward is never enough to sate your hunger, and slowly the hope in your heart is replaced with anger, knowing that the creatures who captured you will never release you and your family and the vast ocean that was once your home will forever be little more than a distant memory.

Now turn your mind to your human family. Imagine if you or a loved one faced a similar experience.  How long could you tolerate these conditions before you went mad? Now, imagine there was someone who could alleviate your suffering, but who was unaware of it, or worse, didn’t care about the state of your condition. This is the situation faced every day by Orcas in captivity. Their condition is a providence of human greed, and all of us are complicit in their suffering if we choose to do nothing.

I dedicate any merit generated by this exercise to all beings. May all Orcas be free.