The doorway to the deep

Exploring the parallels between Freediving and creative flow                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 July 25, 2023 | [Read Online]( The doorway to the deep Exploring the parallels between Freediving and creative flow [Cole Schafer]( July 25, 2023 [fb]( [tw]( [in]( [email](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20The%20Process.&body=The%20doorway%20to%20the%20deep%3A%20Exploring%20the%20parallels%20between%20Freediving%20and%20creative%20flow%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.getthesticky.com%2Fp%2Fdeep) During the 17th century, there were reports that fishermen would dive 50 meters down to the sea floor and hold their breaths for over 20 minutes as they hunted and gathered from the planet’s underwater gardens. Scientists shrugged the stories off as nothing more than folklore until the sport of Freediving became mainstream in the 20th century and Freedivers were reaching depths of up to 700 feet while holding their breaths for upwards of 22 minutes. The Aquatic Ape Theory suggests that modern day humans evolved from apes that lived the majority of their lives in and around water. While most believe the theory to be bullshit, nobody can deny the fact that humans display some astonishing aquatic abilities. If you were to dunk a newborn in water, they’d instinctually hold their breath and kick their arms in a breaststroke. 7,000 years ago, there was an ancient civilization called the Chinchorros who lived somewhere along the coast of what is today northern Chile and southern Peru. Archeologists studying Chinchorro mummies found cases of “exostosis” where the bones inside their ears grew across their ear canals to protect their eardrums from repeated exposure to water. Today, this phenomenon is commonly seen in Freedivers. In A24’s The Deepest Breath, Italian Freediver Alessia Zecchini talks about the high she experiences upon entering “The Doorway To The Deep”. At around 40 feet, the Freediver is sucked into a soundless vacuum where gravity reverses and she is suddenly pulled down as the ocean draws her further and further into the abyss. As I listened to Zecchini talk about the weightless feelings she experiences in “The Doorway To The Deep”, I couldn’t help but make parallels between it and creative flow. While the stakes are fortunately much lower, creative flow feels as if you are existing lightyears away in a silent universe where the laws of gravity no longer apply. To be granted entrance into “The Doorway To The Deep” be it creatively or aquatically, we must relinquish control. We must do the work of swimming downwards inside of ourselves, entirely undistracted, until we can’t swim any further and then we must let ourselves fall. By [Cole Schafer](. P.S. I once wrote [a spoken word piece about water](. It feels relevant, today. P.P.S.If this newsletter left you feeling inspired, do me a huge favor and tell one person to [subscribe](. [tw]( [ig]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © The Process 228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United States [[beehiiv logo]Powered by beehiiv](