Reflections on Mind and Ocean
words by RJ Roush
I touched upon this subject in my first blog. The feeling of calmness and presence that is acquired when one is in a remote field camp is unparalleled in many ways. We have time to observe our surroundings, to think and appreciate them without interruption. We become tied with our environment and it's changes in ways that are difficult to replicate in cities or towns. You take away most appliances and electricity, cars, roads, money, plumbing, internet, and even most of the people and your left with a simpler existence--more minimalistic, but at the same time more expansive. I've come to realize that all this holds true on Kure Atoll, but there is also an additional piece to the puzzle of serenity: the water.
Here on Kure we meet and see the ocean daily. We smell it in the air, we hear it's waves slapping sand on the beach, we even breathe it in when the wind brings salt spray from white caps on the rougher weather days. It surrounds us, inundates our lives, and whether we are conscious of it or not, has a substantial effect on how we think and act.
Spending time near water often leaves one in a relaxed state. Something about the way water flows, subdued yet forceful, intent on taking it's own direction while at the same time yielding to all that comes in its path. Something about the sounds it can create, churning and sloshing, constantly rhythmic and calming. You can follow it with your eyes and will never be looking at the same thing once. If you're like me, you could stare contentedly at the surface of a running stream or the tumult of a shorebreak for hours. The motions and sounds of water is enough to catch our attention, but seems to hold it at a distance so that our minds are free to contemplate other matters. If you live near a body of natural water, then you likely already know what I'm talking about. If not, then you should probably visit the nearest lake, river, or ocean to understand what I'm trying to describe.
For my family and I, the connection with water was clear. It was inherited and ingrained since I was young. I grew up a five minute walk from the closest natural water source (albeit a somewhat grimy bay) and we would go to Stinson Beach and Bolinas, CA many times a year. Nowadays, when the family is scattered around the country we still take at least a week out of the year and spend it in the dunes of our favorite beach, doing little more than reading and watching waves. A few weeks back my mother sent me one of her favorite quotes from JFK which attests to this connection we all have:
"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea whether--it is to sail or to watch it--we are going back from whence we came."
Even recently, I came upon an article in Surfer Magazine describing the work of Dr. Wallace J. Nichols which brings this bond with water into the light of scientific scrutiny. His work is based around the concept of the "Blue Mind" which represents a state characterized by calm, creative, peaceful, and genuinely contented being. Nichols has taken modern neuroscience technology and applied it to people in and around water to see if there is a scientific reasoning that can be put to this feeling.
Nichols as well as other researchers findings have shown that being in and around water can release a host of different neurochemicals with positive and beneficial effects like dopamine, serotonin, GABA, oxytocin, endorphins, and even endocannabinoids. This feeling around water can be easily taken for granted, but has been readily observed by our species since our origins. The parts of our brain that respond to water and send out signals to release these chemicals are basal, such as the brain stem, and are considered to be a link to ancestral mind. And so I have to wonder, if the ocean has this kind of effect on our human minds, what does it do to the seabirds and marine mammals we share this island with? Can this state of mind be seen across species?
Of course there is such a thing as too much "Blue Mind." It should be countered with "Red Mind" which is often what we have more than enough of in todays media-engorged, consumer-driven, and fast-paced society. "Red Mind" is brought on by more stressful situations that require immediate response and produces neurochemicals such as norepinephrine, cortisol, and glucocorticoid. A healthy mind is a balance between the two.
It would seem that on Kure we may be in a state of perpetual "Blue Mind," but with the conservation work we do daily, we get our fair share of "Red Mind" and stressful situations. Things such as bracing the camp for hurricane force winds or going out in a downpour to see if the runway is flooding can be mentally and physically taxing. Regardless of how much we've done, though, and how dificult work may have been, I still find myself going to the beach and embracing the water's medicine at the end of the day. This connection is obvious to me, and likely obvious to many of you as well. Take advantage of it. I'll say it again, if you don't know this feeling I've been describing then you should spend some time at your nearest natural body of water and take note of how you feel before and after.
-Original Surfer Magazine article: "Blue Mind" by Maxwell Klinger, June 2015
-Or check out the book if you're really interested: "Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do." by Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D.
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