Suspension
Photographer, Ben Touard
With the balance of buoyancy and gravity, there is a moment of embryonic suspension. A world of its own, between life, death, and re-birth. An immersion in liquid space, a formless dance with the fluid universe. This is the abode of dissolution and creation, fused into an endless instant.
Structures of Water
The structures of water are endlessly creative! The photo above is from the gallery collection of Ben Thouard, the French surf and water photographer working in Teahupoo, Tahiti. The underside of big surf waves is a myriad of crazy water structures, vortexes, tubular flows, bubbly aeration, and under surface illumination. “Vicinal water” is a term that describes the different and more crystalline structured water found on the edges or membranes of these flows. It is a state of water that is structured and stacked more like ice but able to morph and flow. There is a great book describing the attributes of this type of water by Gerald Pollack called “The Fourth Phase Of Water”.
Let water be your guide
If you are wondering where to go, let water be your guide! This is the essence of the “way of water”. Acknowledging water as a higher power, a creator of life, a sustainer of life, and a powerful agent of transformation. The above image was taken at Playa Sonabia in Northwest Spain. It is such a magical and dynamic beach, craggy mountains in the background, open rolling meadows with cows grazing, and a large tidal flux on the beach that has about a quarter mile of sand at low tide and mere feet at high tide. There are a lot of weathered and softened volcanic rocks on the edges of the beach that are sculpturally striking in appearance. There are little tidal pools next to some of the racks that create perfect places to play in the water. When we rented an Airbnb place in Sonabia, which is a very small village a short walk from the beach, I played in the water and danced on the sand multiple times per day. So invigorating and renewing!
Valentine’s Water Love
It was a snowy 2025 Valentine’s Day in Ouray, Colorado! Just outside the Ouray Hot Springs Pool that I visit daily for my workout and water fix, I saw this young woman, lovingly and patiently creating a Valentine’s snow sculpture. She was just starting the snow person when I went to the gym and over two hours later was putting the finishing touches on the big snow heart and the little snow heart. She lives in Alaska near Anchorage and is a ski racer and coach, but also very interested in snow and ice sculpture. She is in Ouray for an extended stay to climb at the Ouray Ice Park. She was very enthusiastic about how much she loves Ouray and mentioned if she ever leaves Alaska, she will move to Ouray. There are so many ways to love and create with water!
Telling a Story of Water
Water has continually written my life story! From my watery beginnings floating in the womb, to my very first word uttered, “arsh” which I pronounced as the sound of water emerging from my parents kitchen faucet The above photograph shows the icicles hanging from a red sandstone cliff on a bend ofHighway 550, traveling south from our home nearing Ouray, Colorado, which is home to the Ice Climbing Park and you can see why. Almost every day I make the drive to go soak and swim in the Ouray Hot Springs Pool. I admit it, I am a water addict, a true “Aquaholic”. Water and stone, I love you!
Water and Stone
Water and gravity are the masterful writers and stone is the recording tablet for all events of life on earth. When you look at this photograph that I took on the edge of the Gunnison River near Dominguez Canyon, it tells an ancient story, which can be investigated like a detective in a crime scene. If I were to file a report, I would say; “A geologically recent boulder rolled off the sandstone cliff above, probably loosened by water and freezing temperatures. With the assistance of the unseen hand of gravity, it rolled down the embankment and landed on top of the older Pre-Cambrian Granite which was sculpted by the river water flow.“ The time-scene is a revelatory moment, uncovering the history of geologic events which occurred millions of years ago, and the immediate moment, the watery dance of the river, a gentle breeze caressing the grass, and the shape-shifting clouds drifting high above the canyon walls. Welcome to the ancient present!
Water is the Master Stone Carver
I traveled to the Escalante River near Delta on a fairly warm day in late December to scout for possible places to do cold dips in the river. I had read that during run-off season the river is too high to be entered safely, but thought in the dead of Winter, the water should be fairly placid. I went to a place about twelve miles along a dirt road that mostly follows the Escalante River called Potholes Recreation Area and Campground. It is a short walk to a cliff area that gives a great view of the river below. The rock in the lower area and around the river is all a type of hard precambrian granite and over many years of erosion created by the action of water there are some amazing pools! I took a cold dip in two places after finding a way to descend the canyon cliffs to get next to the river. There was nobody else around, just me and the very alive, cold water stream.
Frozen Bubble
This is so cool, a bubble blown in freezing temperatures and then photographed. I will try to make some.
Beautiful Creations of Water
A few weeks back, Vanessa and I, and our dog Rosie, were taking a walk out in back of our rental near the Uncompahgre River between Ridgway and Ouray and noticed the most dramatic examples of surface hoar frost I have ever seen. Some of the frost crystal were four inches in height and made a forest of little ice trees. Upon close inspection, you can see the exquisite patterns of the way water vapor freezes, similar to snowflake architecture but with vertically oriented flat blades . Once again, I am blown away with the creativity of water to produce such amazing beauty overnight, simply using moist air, freezing temperatures, and a base layer of snow!
Ice Lake
Ice Lake is one of the most popular destinations in our area of the San Juan Mountains. The lake is located between Ouray and Silverton and the lake basin is surrounded by spectacular high peaks. The turquoise color of the water is unique and in this photo by Lars Leber, the lake is quite still and very reflective. The temperature of the water is always super-cold and makes a great, brisk cold plunge. Come visit!
Immerse in the fluid universe
Immerse in the fluid universe which is continually morphing, dying, and being reborn.
Move like water
Move like water, fluid and undulatory. “Undulatory” means wave-like, and captures the essence of the unique movement of fluids and water. The mobilization and subsequent release of our watery tissue creates waves and oceanic tides of cellular movement. This the creative crucible, where life began and continues to be renewed.
Fluid Ground
Finding our ground in fluid is the best way to stay in the “flow” state. Our original home was in the amniotic fluid of our mother’s womb, so we all have a deep cellular connection to fluid and water as our original substance of creation. We like to think of “ground” as something solid and stable, but in actuality, everything is in a constant state of flux and movement. Therefore, following “The Way of Water” is orienting to fluids and flow as our original and true state of being.
Pulsating Bell
Our diaphragm is like the pulsating bell of a jellyfish. The shape and tissue of the diaphragm facilitates a very basic undulatory and pulsating movement that carries our life forward.
Primitive Undulations
Primitive cellular undulations are the basis of life. This video demonstrates that basic pulsatory movement of jellyfish in their deep sea environment. A very simple undulatory movement from a form of life that is mostly water. So, the appearance is akin to seeing water moving within water. In our body, the diaphragm is like a big jelly fish. When it is free to move, it undulated and sustains our inner watery organs and facilitates the intake of vital respiration.
Primordial Pool
Play in the primordial pool, the place where life begins, and has continued to proliferate since the dawn of time on our planet.
Embryonic Regeneration
Embryonic regeneration is the way our bodies renew vital functioning. I call it “embryonic” because it echoes the original generation of our bodies in the womb, where cells form and migrate where they are needed to build a human form. We all still have that capacity to renew and heal even after significant damage to our body-mind. Water plays an integral part of this process, both in aquatic bodywork and immersion therapy. When the body is floated in a womb-like environment, embryonic regeneration emerges in a big way and provides the necessary healing and re-patterning.
Water is life and life is Water
Water is life, and life is water, they are inextricable and interchangeable. This is why I worship water as my creator and creator of all that is alive on this planet. Why pray to a god in the sky, or follow a religion based on some miracles that supposedly happened in the distant past? What is most sacred is written into our watery cells from millions of years of the evolution of life with the elemental creator, Water!