What do you see down there?

[Fondueset]

Invariably people ask me this if the see me coming out of the water. One guy lectured me for 10 minutes on the importance of bringing a 'goodie bag' - so I could bring back all the 'cool stuff' I found.

My replies range from 'It's about the space' to a sort of weird laugh that came out when I was trying to figure out what to say.

Right now the water here is about 38F. I freedive alot in a large bay off Lake Michigan - which is, technically, an Inland sea. Because of the conditions this time of year there are no boats. On some days I can see over 100 feet. It seems like a million miles - like the vast, pervasive immediacy of cosmic space, like my own personal playground. I can move stuff around and it'll be in the same spot in a couple of weeks. Last summer I was out in lake michigan - just sitting on the bottom. I could hear the deep, resonant thrum of a passing freighter - the sound was an auditory picture of awesome vastness.

What do I see down there? ah, you know; mostly rocks 'n shit.

 

[BatRay]

I wonder if the goodie bag lecturer was a diver?
It's tough to describe what it's like underwater. To me it's an amazing fantasy world, except you get to dive instead of walking, which is as close to flying as I'll ever get. This amazing world is everywhere; in the seas and rivers and lakes, and every time I see one, I want to go in and see what's down there. It's more than just seeing. It's the sounds and sights and sensations, and it's impossible to describe to anyone who hasn't been there.
Nice post Fonduset.

 

[naiad]

What do I see down there? Tiles...

Must get out of the pool...

 

[BatRay]

Yes but have you counted them .

 

[Akoni]

Last time I went diving I found this on the bottom of the lake:

Bad viz as well

 

[naiad]

Yes but have you counted them .

Counting tiles is like counting contractions. I don't dare to do either!

101... 102... 103... ... 150... :hungover

 

[BatRay]

How about naming them .

 

[lungfish]

Maybe its not only what we see but what we feel.... I mean, bradycardia combined with O2 saturation and a lot of time to meditate combined with achieving a scientifically acknowleged altered state of being creates a unique platform to observe reality from. Then observe things like a living ocean, living reefs, living blue water..... What do I see? My camera helps me show you but neither my camera nor I can really articulate that feeling..

 

[cdavis]

Its definately what we feel along with what we see. I've tried more times than I can count to explain that combination of "see and feel" to non-divers and can't do it worth beans, but I sure know it when I see it.

Connor

 

[DeepThought]

Last time I went diving I found this on the bottom of the lake:

Bad viz as well

Even shitty viz I'd say.

What do I see? for me it's sometimes nature, sometimes it's the fishy/coraly psychedelia, sometimes it's the alien landscapes, sometimes it's the space, sometimes it's my eye-lids. I agree with the comments above that it is much more than about the sense of sight.
When asked 'why' I usually describe it as 'underwater moving meditation'.

 

[Akoni]

Even shitty viz I'd say.

I was gonna say crappy viz

 

[naiad]

How about naming them .

I know some of them quite well by now, like the ones that are in front of me during statics. Others I am not so pleased to see, such as the ceiling tiles I find myself staring at when things go wrong.

Seriously... why do I dive? Mostly for the feel of it, it's hard to describe. And because for as long as I can remember, I've liked the water and the things that live in it...

Lucia

 

[Jon]

Some friends and I were talking about this one time and I swore that the next person who asked me this I was going to respond with
"I see dead people"rofl

Actually, that seems to be one of the first questions people who've never dove before have: Have you seen a shark?, have you ever found a dead body?, how deep can you go?

As far as the sh!tty vis goes......

 

[Akoni]

Seems I'm not the only one on the world with shitty viz!

 

[lungfish]

Here is something that I see down there....