There are days on the deep line when the waters of Bali are so full of translucent life that the ocean seems like evolutionary stew. So many different jellyfish and combjellies, wriggling, pulsating and spiralling elementary forms of life. If you look closely the shapes, bio-luminescence and varied means of propulsion are all mesmerising. They seem unchanged by millions of years of evolution.
Some days Amed bay is thick with these delicate and unlikely creatures. One is reminded quite forcefully that the ocean is the place where all life began, the womb of Mother Earth. The ocean is a source of livelihood, a playground and even a dumping ground, but above all it is a birthplace.
There are free-dives when one is particularly relaxed and centred in the moment. When time seems to slow down, the mind becomes quiet and a sense of uterine peace unfolds. Even as the body runs low on air, and contractions start in the belly, curious feelings can arise, spontaneous womb-like comfort or a strange sense of home-coming. These subjective experiences are in a evolutionary sense true. The ocean is essentially the womb of Mother Earth and the first home of all life on this blue planet.