Rocks

I was there visiting the Esalen Institute, a New Agey place built right on the cliffs of the ocean. Esalen was founded in the 1960s, inspired by the work of Abraham Maslow and others, as an experiment with spirituality + psychology. I think the 5Rhythms technique was invented there.
The place has an incredible appeal. It just feels right. And although it has turned into a business, this feeling cannot be reduced to the people that make money from it.

If there are rocks, it’s great cause the water is flowing with force and I like to climb over the rocks and stuff. On and on I walk through the water. With the water up to my knees.

L.M. That’s what I meant when I said that the ocean is precious. → My uncle still goes to the rocks on top of the ocean to fish. The rocks are very dangerous and sharp and steep – and he’s 70. Fishing is a very unfair business. My uncle is often staying on the rocks with his fishing rod until 4 am. And I often wonder, what is his relationship to the ocean, actually?

My mother told me that my grandfather was an alcoholic and when he got drunk he became very aggressive. So the family would → escape to the shore. They had a primitive relationship to it, they considered it their savior. Moreover, they used to catch lobster and octopus to eat because those are the things that they could get on the rocks. Back then you could still find crabs on beach. My mom helped with making nets.

Throughout my childhood I would submerge myself in the sea according to different parts of my body. As a toddler, I was told to not go deeper than my knees and a few years later no deeper than my belly button (NAVEL NAVAL) until I was up to my neck in the water in my teens. And all the time I would spend hours snorkeling over the surface, peering down into the water upon all the various seaweed and .

Everything was magnified on the ocean, the waves, the tides, the rock pools, the cloudscapes, the acoustics, the invigorating flights of fantasy, etc.

I was into rock pooling as a kid also, meaning I’d observe for hours what lives within the rock pools when the tide is out, and also during the night. One night I even discovered tiny sea worms that would explode instantly when exposed to torch light. This marine phenomena seemed to defy all reasonable explanation as I could not find information about such a sea creature ever existing. I’ve always wondered if it was only a waking sea dream.

I was by myself on the beach + throwing rocks. I would just sit + watch the ripples the rocks made on the surface. I still love walking on the seashore, feeling the wind on my face + listening to the waves. I just sit + watch the horizon and what is behind the horizon. It opens up a lot of ideas about how movement occurs. From France, you can see England from across the channel. When I was in Marseille → I was thinking of Algeria when looking out into the sea. There’s a moment of connecting through the horizon.

The nets should be well protected. Otherwise, they are damaged within hours. There are systems of chains to prevent big rocks from tearing the nets.

Even when the sea is at its wildest etc. It will always be frightening only if you try to contain it. If the rocks were not there, it would just keep on rolling. If you don’t fence it in it will keep on rolling, it won’t attack. Eventually, the rocks will have to go.

Like in the Orkneys → which is an island group above Scotland. On one of the islands is the Old man of Hoy which is, essentially, just a very tall and long rock surrounded by water. A car commercial was shot there, for which the car had to be flown on the rock by a helicopter. The driver had to climb into the car from a hole underneath it because there was no space on the rock to enter the car from the side.

I spent some time in the Shetland Islands in Scotland. To get from mainland Shetland to Fair Isle you either take a boat, which is called The Good Shepherd, or a plane. I became very seasick when I took that boat. That was strange because the water was calm. The waves crush the cliffs all the time so there’s an almost invisible current.

One of the most amazing things that happened to me on Fair Isle was the following: I was standing on a cliff (it was not dangerous.) I had binoculars and was looking through them at birds all around me. Suddenly, I had the feeling that I could touch the birds because I could not see the land through the binoculars, it was covered by the black edges of the viewers.

So it felt like there was just ocean + birds + me + no land. It felt like I was flying with them. It felt like there was no difference between what they were doing and what I was doing. It felt fantastic. I was too close to the cliff to walk around. I get scared really easily.

T.v.A.I would say it's more the smell of rocks.