Welcome to the Good Tidings podcast with host Larry Harper, Founder of the Good Tidings Foundation. This podcast is all about highlighting the good in people and what individuals are doing to make an impact in this world for the benefit of others, and it aims to inspire a community of givers! Today, Larry sits down in Davenport, CA for a conversation with Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, one of his own more recent personal mentors and the author of the best-selling book Blue Mind.
As the conversation begins, Wallace shares about himself and what motivated him
to write his book. His childhood love of being underwater was the likely impetus behind his decision to go into marine biology, but it also sparked something else in him. Wallace wanted to know what was going on in his own mind when it came to his love of water. He wanted to know the science behind “the brain on water”; however, as things turned out, he had to write the book on the topic in order to have one to read! The writing process brought with it challenges, but Wallace was excited to see progress being made in the field of neuroscience, and hopeful that a prevalent awareness of blue mind could make its own positive contribution.
“Blue mind” is a mildly meditative state that one enters when near, on, or under any form of water. Blue mind shifts a person to a place that is calm, more connected, and more creative. It reduces stress and lowers both heart rate and breathing rate and has shown to “heal” the brain. Wallace explains red mind (the opposite of blue mind), as well as the way in which blue mind functions as an antidote. The ocean has had tremendous positive effects on people with PTSD, addictions, autism, and more. Larry and Wallace chat about how being in the ocean has helped Larry’s fight against dementia. The ocean provides a way for addictive tendencies to be reoriented, and because of the awe and wonder it evokes, it also produces in people greater compassion and empathy.
Wallace’s love for the water takes concrete form in many ways, and one of them is his charity in support of sea turtles. This charity, SEE Turtles, works on behalf of sea turtles out of both the knowledge that it is transformative to be around sea turtles and the awareness that conservation efforts are needed on their behalf. Along a similar vein, Wallace tries to get to the heart of threats against the ocean by tackling the lack of creative apex leadership and related breakdown in value equations. As the conversation wraps up, Wallace shares about his annual conference, his practice of giving away blue marbles, his book club, and the greatest givers!
You can learn more about Wallace J. Nichols, as well as his upcoming conference and book club, on his website.
Learn more about Blue Mind and SEE Turtles.
Learn more about the Good Tidings Foundation.
