Wallace J. Nichols, a sea turtle biologist who is attempting to connect neuroscience with the ocean, wants to save the ocean not by sharing alarming data with the public, but by discovering how the brain’s emotional center is lit up by open water.

BLUEMiND is a look at the ocean through the field of neuroscience. His research takes him to meet fishermen and to coastal villages where he encounters people with a common appreciation for the ocean’s beauty, abundance and mysteries.

“We have the power of happiness on our side,” is a comment that is easily understood by the open water swimming community.

The empirical evidence to prove this point is overwhelming – across borders, cultures, ages, generations, genders and bodies of water. Check out the decibel level of an open water swimming event at the start of a race and the completion of a race. The amount of conversation, laughter and emotion, among both friends and those who have never met each other before, is vastly greater and louder after a race than before. Swimmers talk about their common experiences and the level of camaraderie and mutual respect are tremendously enhanced.

Check out the level of emotion and ties that bind a group of individual before a solo swim or marathon relay before the start and after the finish. For swimmers and their support crews, solos and relays are life-altering events that produce strong feelings and positive emotions throughout their lives.

Open water swimming changes the before from the after, proving Wallace’s observation and belief.

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source