Wallace Nichols Closer to the water. Amazing facts about how water can change your life. Closer to water

Hello dear friends, dear blog readers!

Today I have an unusual news post for you: I decided to open new heading “Mom’s books” and thus entertain you with reviews not only on children's books, but also on adults 🙂

You asked me a lot of questions about what books I read, what interests me, what you can read interesting - so I decided to answer these questions through new heading.

Here there will be reviews not of parental books (there will still be parental books, but books for the soul 🙂 For self-development, health, creativity - In a word, for all sorts of useful and interesting books that I would like to read with pleasure in my spare time.

Of course, I want to start the column with a book my favorite publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber" . With a book called "Closer to the water".

Everyone who cares about environmental and health issues will surely find it interesting and useful, so I invite you to get acquainted with the energy of the ocean ...

Closer to water

Why do we love water?

We all love to go to the sea as often as possible. We like to relax by the river or lake, watch the fast flow of the stream or admire the power of the waterfall. But how many of us have thought about why this is happening? Where does this genetically programmed craving for water come from and why?

Why is it so good for us near the ponds, why is the movement of water so mesmerizing and hypnotizing, the way it mirrors, glistens and flickers? Its reflective surface attracts modern people. Probably the sunlit expanse of water was the most brilliant and bright of all that the cavemen saw. Water has attracted man for thousands of years, but why?

The answer lies in the work of our brain. It was to neurobiology that the author of the book, Wallace Nichols, a well-known marine biologist, conservationist, public figure, writer, decided to turn in search of answers to his questions.

How our brain reacts to water, for staying near ponds. What happens to our neurons and what hormones are secreted. Fortunately, modern science has the ability to "peek" into our brains and reveal previously unknown secrets.

Book "Closer to the Water" - This is a treasury, a real scientific treatise on water, its benefits and impact on humans. Wallace Nichols in one book collected the works of several hundred neurobiologists, biologists, marine biologists, psychologists, philosophers, doing a gigantic work.

Here you will find recent research findings which on the basis of MRI scans, readings of an electroencephalograph and other research projects show what effect water has on our body.

Nature, endorphins and swimming

The book gives a lot of information about how our brain works, about its neuroplasticity, about what substances our body produces when we respond to a particular stimulus, which parts of the brain are activated under what conditions, and even: from a scientific point of view the concept of happiness is explained, what it consists of and what we need in order to permanently experience happiness.

I won’t write about all this, so that it would be interesting for you to read the book 🙂 I’ll just say that we have a connection with nature on the physical, cognitive and emotional levels. We need the closeness of nature and water at the genetic level. That is why we feel so good at water - distracting from urban stress, we finally come to the source of stability, harmony and peace that water provides us with.

And also while swimming endorphins and endocannabinoids (brain products whose effect resembles that of smoking marijuana) are produced that weaken the brain's response to stress and anxiety. So swimming is very very useful 🙂

What I liked most about the book

Statement

I loved it simplicity of presentation of the book. Despite the fact that the book has a lot of information from the world of science - it is not boring, not monotonous and not abstruse. Everything is very accessible and simply stated - it is clear, even if you are not a neurobiologist 🙂

Logic books

As for me, the book is built logically very correctly: when you start reading a chapter, you get involved in the process so quickly that you can predict what will follow in the next and what conclusions will be. You are very happy when you realize that your thoughts coincide with the thoughts of the author.

Of course, i really liked the idea of \u200b\u200bthe book and what Wallace Nichols wanted to tell us.

Environment

We have all heard a lot about the need to protect the environment. But how many of us really care about this issue? Going to the supermarket and buying cod, we hardly think that the world’s stocks of this fish are practically depleted.

And, if walking along the coast, we will see clear water and smell pleasant smells, we won’t believe that pollution in our streams, rivers and other bodies of water has reached unsafe levels. Why think about protecting the aquatic environment if there is so much water around us?

According to the principle of constancy of the object, as well as the statement “out of sight, out of mind” we do not pay attention and do not concentrate on things and events that we did not witness. This suggests a logical conclusion: until we see with our own eyes how animals die in oil film, how tons of industrial waste flows into rivers, from which we then drink water - we will not think about protecting and respecting the environment. But do we really need to see all this in order to take action?

First step

While reading a book before my eyes shots from science fiction films regularly appeared (as in Interstellar)when our Earth became unsuitable for life due to millions of tons of garbage, climate change, sand storms and floods, and humanity was forced to establish colonies on other planets.

Are we really moving to such an end? To the destruction of our home, our planet?

Unfortunately, now few people care about the protection and respect for the environment. While drinking water flows slightly from our faucet, albeit of dubious quality, and the store shelves are full of products, we do not reflect on the fact that this may not happen tomorrow. Due to our neglect of the environment and water in particular.

Let's face it. We all know that nature needs to be protected and my post will not be a discovery for you, but - it is unlikely that you and I will be able to influence global processes. Unfortunately ... We will not stop emissions of industrial garbage into reservoirs on a gigantic scale, we will not be able to affect greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, but elementary things, such as where to throw garbage and take a plastic cup or mug from a house with us for a picnic, we we can influence. And most importantly - we can teach this to your children.

Near our house there is a beautiful lake. We often walk with him, feed the ducks, breathe fresh air, build Easter cakes, but in this lake already you can’t swim for a long time.

This year, large wooden signs signal this, which stick out directly from the water at a distance of 100 meters from each other (last year such warning signs were placed around the lake, but, unfortunately, they did not stop anyone and people swam and bathed with might and main, by the way, babies - but that's another conversation).

You can’t swim in our lake for one simple reason: it is terribly dirty. Of the 5 meters of the depth of the lake - 1 meter is a mule, and at the bottom are batteries, tires, scrap metal and other things that, frankly, it’s hard for me to imagine how they could get into the lake at all. What moved a man who, instead of handing over scrap metal to a collection point, threw it into the lake ...

The Blue Marble Project

Once, Wallace Nichols offered all listeners of his lecture on environmental protection to take with him - a glass ball that personified our planet - its view from space. These balls had to be given to the person who reminded people that we must all be grateful to each other and to our beautiful world. Millions of balls have been distributed throughout and still remind us that we must protect our home.

Each blue ball reminds us that we are connected to each other as physical and spiritual beings. It also symbolizes the deep relationship between people and our planet.

Finally

Book "Closer to the Water" I liked it very much and turned out to be really close 🙂 It is full of evidence that water is good for humans in terms of physical, cognitive, sensual, material, creative, productive, spiritual, and of course, in terms of enormous health benefits generally. Therefore, it is simply blasphemous for us not to protect and protect it.

Remember, I said that until you see the problem with your own eyes - it will not be close? I think that this book provides an opportunity and without seeing the problem penetrate its contents. I am sure that for many it became the beam that illuminated the environmental problems and showed them in a slightly different light. The ray that made it possible to more thoughtfully protect the environment and protect water resources.

I'd like to believe that everyone who reads the book will find in their pocket a small ball of blue marble, embodying their concern for the environment, which I sincerely wish you all 🙂

Dear ones, take care of yourself, your children and the world in which we live! I embrace you all!

With love,

Marina Kruchinskaya

About the book

Who is this book for?

Read completely

About the book
This is a landmark book from a famous marine biologist, water advocate and public figure, in which he talks about the effect of water on our health and well-being.

Why are we drawn to the sea every summer? How does being near water affect the brain and body? Wallace Nichols answers these and other questions, revealing all the advantages of staying in water or even around it, using the latest developments in neurology and biology and the experience of a wide variety of people: leading athletes, top scientists, former military personnel and talented artists.

After reading this book you will learn how proximity to water can improve your productivity at work and in life, make you calmer, reduce anxiety and stress.

Who is this book for?
This book is for those who love the sea and the ocean and want to learn more about how proximity to water affects health.

about the author
Wallace Nichols - author of "Closer to Water"
Marine biologist, conservationist, public figure, author. Creator of many projects aimed at protecting wildlife: oceanrevolution.org, seethewild.org, grupotortuguero.org and others. He explored the ocean and visited expeditions on all continents. He has written over 50 scientific articles, spoke on National Geographic, Animal Planet and other channels.

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To be precise, there are 118 of them. This figure was confirmed Head of the Metropolitan Department of Housing and Communal Services Hasan Gasangadzhiev.

But this does not mean that everywhere you can rush into a pond or river with a hoot. Not. You can swim only in 11 green areas, in 45 places there is a beach. And another 62 points on the map are places of mass recreation. By the way, we’ll rest from 9.00 to 21.00 - it was at this time that rescue units were on duty in the parks and recreation areas.

Happy new summer

In 2011, up to 60 thousand Muscovites came to the parks on weekends. This year they expect up to 140 thousand. The difference is obvious, and it is just an indirect evidence of how little they occupied in green zones (or rather, how many destroyed them) under the previous mayor.

To develop parks is an idea moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Prior to this, some of them fell into desolation and run wild, others developed in a very obscure direction (such as VDNH and Gorky Park), lived spontaneously. Over the past 7 years, much has changed. Parks are definitely for the better. They became clean, comfortable, safe, stylish and interesting. This is for short.

Sports games, bike rental, summer cafes and attractions - all this is today in any park in Moscow.

Everywhere where swimming is allowed, rescue stations and first-aid posts operate, showers and changing rooms, toilets and garbage containers are installed, often already for separate collection. There is where to leave the car, buy a bottle of water and a sandwich.

On the shore you can find five-a-side football fields, beach volleyball courts, children's and fitness grounds. Every year, the beaches “tame” more and more - beautiful sun loungers and awnings, arbors, garden swings and “nests” swings appear here. Paths and paths were laid everywhere, lighting was carried out - of course, energy-saving. For a while you can become a real sailor - lend a boat or pedalo. Many summer cafes will not leave you hungry, and those who pickle barbecue from Friday will find a place in specially equipped picnic spots. About what and where it is located, navigation shields warn.

Summer for metropolitan parks is like the New Year. Everything is put in order for the season, new classes and venues are opened. And of course, beaches and swimming areas - where they are. And now we are ready to receive the pale-faced Muscovites on the Levoberezhniy beach in the north of Moscow, at the Big City Pond in Zelenograd and at the pond on Krasny Zory Street in Kuntsevo (conveniently accessible from the Khovrino metro station).

Last year, the Levoberezhniy recreation area was improved from and to: they planted a lot of greenery, made a single cycling route and a walking path that runs along the coastal and forest parts of the recreation area. The entire territory of the updated recreation area is penetrated by a network of paths and walkways, on them - wooden flooring or tiles. There is also its own small promenade with benches for relaxation. The shore of the Moscow Canal was strengthened, fencing was installed near the water: it became both comfortable and safe.

There are 7 more recreation areas under reconstruction - the Beach Club beach complex, ponds No. 3-6 at VDNKh, Bolshoi Ochakovsky Pond, Udaltsovsky Ponds, Central Pond, Chernevsky Ponds, Chernevsky Pond on the Tsyganka River. By August, they promise to open them.

As last year, outdoor summer pools will operate in Sokolniki, Fili, Severnoye Tushino and Luzhniki parks.

Without computer

The summer “movement” in the parks is non-stop: 19 thousand events have already been planned. There are big ones, like the Park Live international music festival in Gorky Park, and chamber ones - roller skating lessons in Perovsky Park, a festival of water lanterns just held in the ethnographic village of Bibirevo, and much more.

How much entertainment, so much and benefit: children's creativity and developmental clubs for kids, dancing and tennis, chess and skateboard, yoga and qigong gymnastics, fitness and billiards, meetings with poets and actors. In 26 parks, the Moscow Longevity program lures “silver” Muscovites with Nordic walking, physical education, zumba, etc.

And the unspoken rule “Summer without a computer” applies primarily to schoolchildren. In Perovsky Park, you can learn English without any tablets and smartphones. And don't be afraid: they won’t strangle with grammar. But the children will learn the names of animals, plants, planets, will solve riddles. There are groups of 7-12 years old and 13-16.

Sokolniki, on the other hand, claims the first place in the number of playgrounds - there are 14 of them equipped. One is adapted for children with special needs. In addition, there are three children's cafes and two summer clubs, a new “panda park” has been organized on metal structures with a long route of 700 meters. New - the project "Fan City". On this site, you can go through special corridors at different levels.

By the way

In the summer, the security of citizens on the beaches will be provided by 310 employees of the Ministry of Emergencies and 1000 public rescuers, for this they will organize 60 posts and use 140 swimming facilities. Emergency telephone numbers can be found on information boards in recreation areas.

To be precise, there are 118 of them. This figure was confirmed by the head of the capital's Department of Housing and Communal Services, Hasan Gasangadzhiev.

Rest of townspeople near the water on Lake Beloe in VAO Moscow | Agency "Moscow"

Happy new summer

To develop parks is the idea of \u200b\u200bMoscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Prior to this, some of them fell into desolation and run wild, others developed in a very obscure direction (such as VDNH and Gorky Park), lived spontaneously. Over the past 7 years, much has changed. Parks are definitely for the better. They became clean, comfortable, safe, stylish and interesting. This is for short.

Sports games, bike rental, summer cafes and attractions - all this is today in any park in Moscow.

City residents relaxing by the pool in Sokolniki park | Agency "Moscow"

AiF

There are 7 more recreation areas under reconstruction - the Beach Club beach complex, ponds No. 3–6 at VDNKh, Bolshoi Ochakovsky Pond, Udaltsovsky Ponds, Central Pond, Chernevsky Ponds, Chernevsky Pond on the Tsyganka River. By August, they promise to open them.

As last year, outdoor summer pools will operate in Sokolniki, Fili, Severnoye Tushino and Luzhniki parks.

Without computer

WHY DO WE LOVE WATER?

Water is the essence, form, mother and matter of life. There is no life without water.

~ Albert Saint-Gyordi, biochemist who secreted vitamin C

I am standing on the pier of the Outer Sandbanks of North Carolina, fifteen meters from the Atlantic Ocean. No matter where I look — to the left or to the right, forward, backward, up or down — only he, the ocean, is everywhere. I am wearing a headdress that looks like a blue bathing cap strewn with precious stones, and a thick black cable runs from the bottom of the back to the ground, like a tail. I look like an extras from the famous water musical of the American mermaid Esther Williams, who mistakenly got into the “Sleeping” Woody Allen. In fact, now I am one of the experimental subjects and I am here to study the reaction of my brain to the ocean.

The hat on me is the “nerve center” of a mobile device for conducting electroencephalography (EEG), invented by Dr. Stephen Sands, a specialist in biomedicine and a senior fellow at Sands Research. Steve is a big, burly balding guy. In appearance, it can be mistaken for a natural history teacher at a local high school, who at the same time coaches the school football team, or the captain of one of the fishing schooners mooring at the External Shoals. Steve lives in El Paso, a city on the San Antonio River, located somewhere between Long Beach and Houston. He used to do pure science for many years using brain scanning techniques, specializing in the study of Alzheimer's disease. In 1998, he founded the company Neuroscan, which became the country's largest supplier of equipment and software for EEG used in neurological research.

In 2008, Steve founded Sands Research, a neuromarketing company. This new area of \u200b\u200bscience is studying the reaction of the human brain to advertising based on information about behavior and neurophysiological indicators. “The reaction of people to stimuli of any kind, including advertising, includes both conscious (the essence of which can be expressed in words) and unconscious brain activity,” writes Steve. “This second type of reaction cannot be traced through traditional research methods.” Under the influence of a stimulus or stimulus of any type - image, sound, smell, touch, taste, pain, pleasure, etc. - groups of neurons are activated in the brain and a small electric discharge is generated. This indicates that mental functions, such as memory, attention, analysis of verbal information and emotions, have “turned on” in the cerebral cortex. So, the 68-channel full-spectrum EEG apparatus invented by Steve, thanks to the most accurate and thorough analysis of the brain area in which electric discharges occur, it allows you to measure literally everything - from the degree of total brain involvement in the process to the level of cognitive activity and attention, visual power and / or sound stimulation. The device also monitors whether the subject’s motor skills are involved and how much the recognition and memory circuits in his brain are stimulated. “By combining EEG scanning with tracking and analysis of oculomotor reactions, you get unique, but absolutely non-verbal data on how the human brain gradually processes information from the environment,” says Steve.

Steve’s research data is becoming increasingly interesting and popular in the scientific world. And this is not surprising, given the general skepticism regarding the effectiveness of modern sales promotion techniques. And Sands Research is conducting research on the impact of advertising on customers for a number of the world's largest corporations. Perhaps the most famous of them today is the "Annual neuro-rating of ads on Super Bowl games." It evaluates the neurological reaction of viewers to famous commercials, for which advertisers, by the way, pay $ 3.8 million per half minute. For example, Steve’s team evaluated the effectiveness of popular videos, which depict people sitting with their backs to the viewer on the beach looking at white sand and blue water, between them is Corona beer on the table, and the sound of waves is the soundtrack. This advertisement brought the brewing company worldwide fame, forever associating its name with a vacation on the tropical ocean.

Before traveling to the External Shoals, I spoke with Brett Fitzgerald, Business Development Director of Sands Research, for several months. Brett is a big lover of nature, he happened to work with bears in Montana. One day, after hearing about my attempts to find a connection between water science and neurobiology, he called me and asked if we could realize an interesting project together. I had not had time to answer yet, and Brett was already flying to me in California. We met on the shore, not far from my house, to talk about the brain and the ocean. And soon after that, I was already on a plane to North Carolina.

And today, Brett put a portable device for EEG scanning on me - this device is able to track the functioning of the human brain with the accuracy of the fMRI device. The data coming from the electrodes attached to my unusual bathing cap is processed 256 times per second. Subsequently, in order to analyze, the signal is amplified, which allows the researcher to immediately see which areas of the brain are activated. Typically, this data is used to examine customer reactions to new products that go on sale in stores like Walmart. This time, 68 electrodes connected to the cap were supposed to measure the smallest response of neurons in my brain when immersed in the ocean.

We were the first to decide to use this equipment near water (and even in water), so I was a little worried both about the result of the experiment itself and that the equipment might not work under water. Brett was also very worried, because my hat and the device connected to it were not cheap. In the future, they will surely create a waterproof device that can be used without problems under water or during surfing. But for now we could only hope that after such an adventurous testing on a pier soaked with salt water (and in the ocean), neither the equipment nor I would lose what is called a presentation.

The latest technology has only recently allowed us to penetrate the depths of the human brain and - the ocean. Thanks to technological progress, our capabilities in the study and understanding of the human mind have expanded significantly, which has led to a surge of new ideas regarding perception, emotions, empathy, creativity, health, healing and the relationship of a person with water. A few years ago, I came up with a name for this connection (between man and water) - the Blue Mind. This is a somewhat meditative state, characterized by calm, serenity, a sense of unity with nature, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction with life in general. It is based on water and everything connected with it, from blue to the words with which we describe the sensations that arise when we plunge into the water depths. Although many of these brain patterns and attitudes have been identified only now with the help of modern technologies and thanks to the activities of innovative scientists, the neural connections that create them have been formed in the human brain for millennia.

In recent years, the concept of involvement has penetrated deeper and deeper into Western culture. If earlier such practices were perceived as an alternative desire of some loners to comprehend the serenity of the East, today many now recognize the usefulness of such conditions. Nowadays, the focus and awareness inherent in the Blue Mind are engaged in audiences, and in corporate meeting rooms, on the battlefields, and in doctors' offices, concert halls and world resorts. And overcoming stress as an integral part of modern busy life makes this search even more relevant.

The amazing effect of water on the human mind does not mean at all that it can replace all other efforts to achieve the described state - water, rather, complements, strengthens and expands your efforts. This book should not be considered either as a guide to meditation, nor as a detailed analysis of other techniques for achieving a more conscious life. If you use the “water” metaphor, we can say that it provides you with a compass, dexterity, sail and wind map.

In an era when a person’s life is full of stress, increased anxiety, technology, career problems and hospital bills, when we are increasingly moving away from nature, and true privacy is becoming increasingly rare, it is extremely useful to lose all this and disconnect. As the American writer John Jerome wrote in his Blue Rooms book, “in the ritual morning diving, diving into water, at this short, deeply personal moment, there is a wonderful feeling of absolute solitude. Only me and water participate in swimming, there is no one else and nothing else. “At the moment when the water surrounds me from all sides, I feel blissfully alone.” Open your Blue Mind and your ports of arrival will become visible.

In order to learn how to better navigate in these depths, over the past few years I have gathered a very diverse group of scientists, psychologists, natural scientists, teachers, athletes, travelers, businessmen and artists. Together we decided to answer one very important question: what happens when the most complex organ of the human body (brain) meets the largest part of our planet (water)?

As a marine biologist, I am familiar with water no worse than with land. And in my opinion, oceans, lakes, rivers, pools and even fountains have a huge impact on our minds. Intuitively, we understand this: for some reason, Corona chose an ocean beach for its advertising, rather than, say, beer depots. And of course, there are quite rational explanations for our habit of going to the river, sea or ocean at the most important moments in life. But why are we doing this?

Looking from the pier to the endless Atlantic Ocean, I try to imagine how the sound and smell of water affect my brain, I notice what emotions it awakens in me. I am well aware that for some people the ocean causes fear and tension, but I have completely different feelings for it - awe and deep, comprehensive and restoring strength feeling of peace and peace. Taking a deep breath, I imagine diving and starting to plunge into the waves raging around the pier, and black cables are stretching behind me. And as at the moment when my feet touch the water, the electroencephalograph sensors show fear and excitement. I imagine Dr. Sands carefully peering into a monitor, watching the data continuously coming to his computer.

Water is filled with light, sound, air - and my mind.

OUR (EVOLVING) ATTITUDE TO WATER

Thousands of people lived and live without love, but not a single one without water.

There is something in the water that attracts and fascinates us. And no wonder, because it is the most ubiquitous element on Earth. Without it, as without air, life is simply impossible. Take, for example, the fact that oceanic plankton is the source of more than half the oxygen of our planet. There are about 535 million cubic kilometers of water on Earth, and 96 percent of it is salty. Water covers more than 70 percent of the globe; 95 percent of the sea depths have not yet been studied. From a distance more than one and a half million kilometers, our planet looks like a small ball. A photograph of the Earth, taken by American astronauts from space, is called "Blue Marble". From a distance of 150 million kilometers, our planet seems like a tiny pale blue dot. “It was rather strange to call this planet Earth, if it is, of course, the Ocean,” the famous English futurist writer Arthur Clark once cleverly remarked.

This simple metaphor - blue marble - serves as a reminder that our planet is predominantly water. “There is water sine qua non, that is, an indispensable condition for the existence of life on Earth, and, apparently, in the entire Universe. Thus, it is justifiable that NASA, in its eternal desire to find life in the Universe, follows the “seek water” strategy. Lynn Rothschild, an astrobiologist at the Ames Research Center, a NASA branch located in Mountain View in California, says: “This may not be the only fluid medium in which life can arise and be maintained, but its abundance in the Universe gives it a head start over alternatives . Water remains liquid in a wide temperature range, and does not sink in the solid state, therefore, water bodies are covered with ice. And we people need it. ”

People have always sought to be near water. According to experts, 80 percent of the world's population lives no further than a hundred kilometers from the coastline of oceans, lakes or rivers. More than half a billion people make a living through water. Two thirds of the global economy are based on activities in one form or another related to water. About a billion people worldwide use water-grown foods as their primary source of protein. (It is possible that omega-3 fatty acids, which are ingested as a result of eating fish and shellfish, played a decisive role in the evolution of the human brain. Later you will find out that the seafood market today has become global - and even several decades ago it wasn’t possible imagine.) We use water for drinking and washing, at work, on vacation and on travel. According to the US Geological Survey, each American spends between 300 and 400 liters of water every day to "meet his basic needs." In 2010, the UN General Assembly declared: “Clean and safe drinking water is one of the fundamental human rights. It is necessary for a full life and the exercise of all other rights. ”

However, our natural connection with water is not limited to economic considerations - in other words, the fact that we need it for cooking or prefer to settle closer to it for reasons of convenience. In time immemorial, our ancestors emerged from the water and evolved first from waterfowl to crawling, and then to bipedal ones. In the early stages of development, the human embryo has a gill slit, and we spend the first nine months of life in the womb in the aquatic environment. At birth, our bodies are almost 78 percent water. As you age, this figure decreases to more than 60 percent; while the brain is 80 percent water for the rest of its life. The human body as a whole has almost the same density as water, which allows us to swim. In its mineral composition, water in the cells of our body is comparable to sea water. The well-known popularizer of science, Lauren Aisley, once compared a person with "a path that water can choose if rivers are inaccessible."

Water inspires us. We like to hear its sound, breathe in its aroma, play it, take walks around it, depict it on canvas, surf, swim and fish, write about it, take pictures and capture it for a long time in memory, walking along the shore of the reservoir. Throughout the history of mankind, one can find many examples of the close connection of man with water, described in works of art and literature. For example, “I'm beautiful in water,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote. Water gives us energy of various kinds, whether it is hydraulic energy, hydration, the tonic effect of a handful of cold water splashed out in the face, or the refreshing effect of the soft, rhythmic sound of waves running onto the shore. Immersion in warm water has always been used as a means to restore bodily and mental balance. Water determines many of our decisions - from the choice of seafood that we eat, to the most romantic moments of our lives, from the location of our homes and ways of spending leisure time to the sports that we do. “Humanity has honored water from the first days of its history, and for everyone it means something of its own,” writes archaeologist Brian Fagan. Instinct tells us that when we are near the water, we become healthier, happier, less stressed and feel more at peace and in harmony with the surrounding reality.

In 1984, Edward Wilson, a biologist, naturalist, and entomologist at Harvard University, proposed a new scientific hypothesis, which he termed biophilia. Its essence boiled down to the fact that a connection with nature and living organisms with which we inhabit the planet is literally “embedded” in human genes at the instinct level. Wilson suggested that since b aboutthe bulk of evolution — three million years and one hundred thousand or more generations of lives (before humanity began to form communities and build cities) —people spent in the bosom of the wild, which means they must love the natural environment from birth. Like a child who depends on his mother, human survival has always been associated with nature. Therefore, just like love for the mother, we also have a connection with nature on the physical, cognitive and emotional levels.

You have not come to this world. You came out of it like waves from the ocean. And you're not a stranger here.

Love for mother nature is filled for man with the deepest aesthetic meaning. The philosopher Denis Dutton, who studied the relationship between art and the theory of evolution, believed that our vision of the beauty of nature is the result of our deep connection with natural landscapes, against the background of which human survival as a biological species took place in the past. In 2010, during a speech at the TED conference entitled “Darwin's Theory of Beauty,” Dutton substantiated his findings in terms of evolutionary psychology and confirmed them with a 1997 poll on contemporary preferences in art. In particular, the scientist noted that when people were asked to describe a beautiful, from their point of view, landscape, they called the same details - an open space covered with short grass, with a few trees. And if water was present in it - either a pond, or in the form of a blurry bluish haze in the distance, indicating the proximity of the water surface - the landscape became much more attractive.