Blue Mind (N.) : a mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment.

Water, this fundamental element, is something that humanity has cherished since the dawn of time. It is quite literally the serum of life. From our first experience of swimming in our mother’s womb we are inextricably weaved together: the body, the developing brain, the soul and this substance we call water. At birth we are 78 percent water and as we grow we continue to be captivated by its essence. Drawn to the water's edge, fully immersed in its sensory experience: hearing it, tasting it’s mist, smelling it’s aroma, splashing in its body. Poets write of it in swirling script, painters mimic it’s sheen, adventure seekers surf it’s waves, photographers capture it’s ceaseless motion in a moment of stillness, young and old alike are magnetized to submerge their bodies, and spend their most treasured moments along its edge. This is the spellbinding allure of water.

The Blue Mind movement - or groundswell as they describe it - is uniting psychologists, neuroscientists, geographers, educators, artists, explorers, researchers, athletes, and entrepreneurs to consider and evaluate this intrinsic influence that we all feel, but can’t always express why. The groundswell is led by marine biologist, surfer, life-long aquatic lover, and world water ambassador, Wallace J. Nichols. His life’s work is centered around bridging the gap between human behavior and appreciation of this significantly blue planet. By educating people on the remarkable benefits inherently existing within a healthy relationship to our waterways, he intends to shift the value equation of what water our water means to us. His notion is that when we accurately understand and convey all the benefits, anything that makes it inaccessible sounds absolutely and completely ridiculous.

So what are the purported benefits of your brain on water? Working alongside some of the most prestigious research institutes in the world, Nichols has unequivocally demonstrated that we function more efficiently and lead more fulfilled existences when we amend the water disconnect.

“Neuroscientists and psychologists [say] that the ocean and wild waterways are a wellspring of happiness and relaxation, sociality and romance, peace and freedom, play and creativity, learning and memory, innovation and insight, elation and nostalgia, confidence and solitude…and help manage trauma, anxiety, sleep, autism, addiction, fitness, attention/focus, stress, grief, post-traumatic stress disorder, build personal resilience and much more.”

— J Nichols

Partly the magic lies in the sensory simplification. Visually, the water's expanse is serene. There are no buildings, no billboards, no flashing signs, indeed there is some movement, waves, perhaps a boat floating by, but relatively simple input. Auditorily too, the sound of the moving water generally conceals civilized noises, like sirens, a ringing phone, or the motor of a vehicle. To take it a step further, when you enter the water your weight is cradled by the fluid. Even when sitting in a relaxed lounge position, you are coordinating hundreds of muscles, but floating in the water you are held. Visually, auditorily, and somatically you get a break from the utter overwhelm state that we are normally operating from.

When the brain gets this reprieve, it doesn’t go dark. There is no sleep mode activated. Instead, all of a sudden, there is space for creativity. It’s when you are struck with brilliant insights, innovative ideas, and ‘aha’ moments. Your brain is able to connect the dots in ways that were not possible in an overburdened condition. In this state, keep a notepad and paper nearby because when inspiration strikes you’ll want to capture it, and the train of thought may not be easily accessible again. The most successful civilizations throughout history subsist on coastlines or riveredges. Artists, creators, entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries have flocked to seasides and shorelines alike. Currently it’s estimated that 80 percent of the world’s population lives within sixty miles of the coastline of an ocean, lake, or river. We move to the water to increase our Blue Mind and that in turn increases our productivity. This is what is possible when we are liberated from the Red Mind.

Wait, what is the Red Mind?

Red Mind is a term coined by Nichols to describe the high anxiety fight or flight mode that has become so characteristic of modern society. It’s a state of fear and chronic stress that can be attributed largely to our very connected world (aka information overload). Red Mind is useful to complete tasks, meet deadlines, and generally get stuff done. But without a keen awareness of balance, Red Mind will run you to the ground. Inundated with screens, decisions, and rumination, Nichols describes Red Mind as the one that asks, “What does this mean to me? How do I process this information? How am I going to respond? What does this person really mean?” Whether it's a text message or a news clip or a headline or a billboard, the brain struggles to tune it out or turn it off causing a mild to high level anxiety that is incessant for most people who are connected into this network of modern living. On a cellular level, this mental fatigue and chronic stress will begin to physiologically deteriorate the body. Of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States, all of them are either caused by or exacerbated by chronic emotional stress.

The antidote is Blue Mind. Your laptop won’t be following you into the swell. The TV won’t plug into the river. Disconnecting from the stream of information, and reconnecting with nature's streams. Reconnecting with nature as a whole. Reconnecting with yourself. Reconnecting to those around you. At the shoreline your breath slows, your heart beat slows, your skin temperature cools. It’s a mammalian survival response that has been ingrained into us for millions of years. Clean water is quite literally, life. We have evolved to position ourselves very well relative to water. To sensually recognize it, the way it smells, the way it ripples, the way it feels on our skin. The cerebral cortex sends a signal; simply, “water, good.”

In cultures all around the world, in religions and traditions everywhere, as far back as we can see, the symbolism of water is one of nourishment, purification, healing, serenity. It represents fluidity and emotion. This is not a new concept. This is an ancient concept that we have distanced from. In a world that has disregarded the intuition, that has divorced emotion from institution, that requires quantifiable evidence to trust in the validity, it is time to reunite water and spirit. And with the high tech equipment of today, through EEGs and fMRIs, we are able to demonstrate exactly what is happening neurochemically to substantiate that innate allure of wild waters that we all are so familiar with, yet again marrying the scientific with the spiritual experience.

So how to apply these concepts?

It’s as easy as finding and jumping into your water! To be fair, it can prove more challenging for some than others depending on our communities, but everyone has their water no matter where they are geographically living. So answer this: What is your water? Do you have a bathtub? Do you enjoy long showers? Is there a public pool? Does your city have a big fountain? Are there man made ponds or lakes nearby? Find your water and prioritize it. Take care of the water that is available, enjoy it, and make it a life goal to leave it better off than you found it, so that the next generation can reap the benefits too. Make it a daily or at least weekly habit to interact with this element.

As a quick hack, just to begin calming your mind when you need it most, you can play water audio in the background or pull up a video of the swelling ocean on the screen. Our sensory input is not so advanced to completely separate the imitation from reality, and positive impacts have been found on our brains, bodies, feelings, thought processes, and social interactions by even so little as this exposure.

Water is medicine. You can apply it as preventative care, or you can harness its healing properties to restore harmony in the body and mind. Many studies are being conducted looking at the effect that experiences in water, such as a white water rafting trip, can have on people who suffer from PTSD. Unsurprisingly, the results have been fantastically positive and effective. The implications don’t stop there, as Nichols posits every single human, no matter their position in life, can be positively influenced by water therapy. The research thus far is unequivocally supporting his theory.

Imagine a future where we fundamentally understand these mechanisms in our brain to the point it is accepted as common truth. Where it is accepted and usefully applied to institutions, to academia, and to health care providers. As normalized as the concepts of a clean diet and regular exercise are key to health, imagine a future where we are prescribing Blue Mind therapy to those who need it the most. You need to go down to the shore for at least 30 minutes a day and just breathe. Grab a surfboard. Rent a kayak. Learn how to scuba dive. Take a dip." What if our medical system embraced these concepts as another pillar of wellness juxtaposed to hydration, movement, and whole foods? What if our education system were to teach the vast lifelong cognitive, emotional, psychological, social, physical, and spiritual health benefits of water to children? How would a world like that differ from the one we breathe in now?

This is not only possible, but I’d argue it’s necessary to living on our water-based planet.

“We have this Blue Mind response to healthy water and it serves us well. Neurologically, neurochemically, physiologically we respond to water in a special way that is worth understanding and leveraging for personal health benefits, but global benefits as well.”

— J Nichols