Blue Mind for Wellbeing

WellbeingNatureMindfulnessLearningWritten by Mark

21 Mar

I was recently invited to present at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) national training conference on the topic that I call boating and a blue mind. And that got me thinking, again!

Why is it that I enjoy being on or near the water? The sea, rivers, and lakes. Specifically, in boats and sharing my passion for boating with others particularly sailing in small dinghies and large yachts? There is something quite magical about harnessing nature and travelling across the sea.

Why do I enjoy the water so much and being in a boat on it? Well, it makes me feel good! It makes me feel very good! It makes me feel better! I have a completely embodied experience - it's physically engaging all the senses; seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching it can be emotional and at times spiritual. We can be excited, or in awe, or calm and relaxed, or we can be frustrated, or tired and hungry. It is also intellectual; the thinking, the problem solving, where am I, where am I going, and how do I make this boat work more efficiently? How's the rest of the crew doing?

What I particularly like about the water, especially the sea, is that it connects me to myself, to others, to other humans, and it also connects me to the “more than human world” - it connects me to the weather, the sea, the rocks the coastline, the birds, the dolphins, and the wildlife. I can smell the sea. I can smell the amazing ecosystem, and moving in time and space, in a fluidity, just makes me feel good!

I have known these feelings for years since I was a small boy on family holidays at the seaside town of Broadstairs in Kent. More recently I have read the book called Blue Mind - The surprising science that shows how being near in on or underwater can make you happier, healthier, more connected and better at what you do. It is by the author Wallace J Nichols who has trawled a lot of the scientific research that shows both physiologically and psychologically tuning into and developing our blue mind is good for us. Research shows that nature is therapeutic, promotes general health and well-being, and blue spaces in both urban and rural settings enhance and broaden cognitive, emotional, psychological, social, physical, and spiritual functions. Nichols argues that a blue mind is a mildly meditative state characterised by calm, peacefulness, harmony, and a general sense of happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment.

We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal in us what is broken. Water quietens all the noise, all the distractions, and connects you to your own thoughts.

Chronic stress and anxiety cause or intensify a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. Being on, in, and near water can be among the most cost-effective ways of reducing stress and anxiety.

Neuroscientists and psychologists add 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, wonder and awe, empathy and compassion, reverence and beauty — and help manage trauma, anxiety, sleep, autism, addiction, fitness, attention/focus, stress, grief, PTSD, build personal resilience, and much more.

Why am I interested in taking time to develop my blue mind? Well, it makes me feel good! It makes me feel very good! It makes me feel better! Green Hat workshops can work with you to achieve this blue mind state of being.