As I sat cross-legged on my cushion, preparing for my yoga session, a gentle voice urged me to “Think of a peaceful time when you were filled with tranquility. Focus your awareness on that experience and keep it in your mind as we carry on.” I was flooded with such images:
*I sat on a bench in a rough structure, high on the banks of the Telen River in East Kalimantan , enjoying the comparative cool of late afternoon after a hot day working in the rice fields with my hosts. I watched the wide brown river slowly meander around the bend to the South.
*I paddled alone in a simple wooden canoe around Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve in West Kalimantan. The day was calm, and I could see the low brushy trees reflected perfectly in the still lake water. Each canoe stroke disturbed the image as it entered the water, but the perfect vertical symmetry soon returned—reality above, reflection below. The silence was only disturbed by the canoe paddle breaking the water’s surface and an occasional cry of a kingfisher—a brilliant turquoise flash—as it swooped across the water before me.
*I lay in a hammock strung between two tamarind trees on the island of Alor in eastern Indonesia. Waves broke on the beach a few feet away, and I could see other islands in the distance, beyond the white sand and beautiful clear blue sea. A light breeze kept the air at a pleasant temperature, and I had an interesting book in hand.
I was unable to choose, so I simply imagined all three.
Today, I began reading a book entitled Blue Mind, by Wallace J. Nichols (Back Bay Books, New York, 2014). Its subtitle initially put me off: ‘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’. But I’m finding it fascinating, especially so in light of the recent experience at yoga, when I selected such water-focused experiences as times of outstanding tranquility. The book’s author contends that we have a special affinity (and emotional need) for water, based partly on our evolutionary background (we came initially from the water). He argues that the time has come to incorporate more serious attention to emotion as we examine ourselves scientifically. The book is full of interesting findings from neuroscience (and elsewhere)—only recently available because of advances in medical technology—that support the idea of a special human connection with water (and also with the color blue).
As I read, I wonder how much the shortage of water in the Middle East might contribute to the perpetual conflict that seems to bedevil the region. An interesting thought…I read on.