photo Sea-Water Amplification (SWA), Ilha do Pico, Azores, Atlantic Ocean

The ocean stores invisible reminders of its presence. It shapes the way we move. It permeates the bodies of the sea as we breathe in salt air. The ocean’s presence is a visible reminder that the ocean is really in us. This statement is not just a metaphor. If we are to take it seriously, we should further explore the role of direct experience in developing connections to blue spaces with respect to internal complexity and dispersion. This is the true meaning of empathic connection to the natural world.

We cannot paddle, swim, sail in the same water twice. Each new contact is absolutely different. How does the water feel? How does it look? How do others feel when they move in it? (Journal entry)

Immersion in the medium means feeling closer to nature. Expanding the connection with nature. For example, swimming in the ocean makes this connection easier to obtain, because swimming in the wild is an intense multisensory activity, and immersion of the whole body in the ocean or other marine-aquatic environments can stimulate a unique natural engagement that is different from that experienced in other activities and forms of learning.

photo Sea-Water Amplification (SWA), Ilha do Pico, Azores, Atlantic Ocean