Summer 2023

C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 161 of explaining,” he says,“but during lockdown it made sense to people.”Those were dark times.“Everyone was dealing with stress and chaos, we were los- ing all kinds of things left and right, whether it was the loss of a loved one, one’s health, a career or dreams. Interacting with water in myriad ways helped people to cope,” he says.“It was no coincidence that swimming pool, boat and hot tub sales went through the roof during that period. It became clear to people that when beaches were closed—as they were at the begin- ning of the pandemic—they realized the role water plays in their lives for health is nonnegotiable.” One anecdote speaks volumes about the power of water. “When I do presentations, I’ll announce to the audience that I’ve asked my team to remove all water bottles from the room and lock the doors.Then I’ll say, ‘You’ll get a drink of water in three hours.’ Every mouth in the room goes dry instantly.”Then he says that he doesn’t really have a team and that the doors are open. But the point is made. The worldwide surfing community is a prime example of the way aquatic activities bind humans together. Nichols’ ambitious goal is to make Blue Mind a practice for all the nearly eight billion people on the planet. Though he’s logged thousands of hours under water on SCUBA, Nichols prefers freediving for its yogaesque purity and simplicity. Freedivers learn to manage their breathing, and he says the sport is the Blue Mind theory personified.