Aqua Jest 2000 by P.J.
Roche( aquachimp@aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk )
It is possible to view
the various categories of swimming according to purpose
and attitude.
Amongst them, a new purpose for swimming is emerging.
Let me welcome you to a New World.
INTRODUCING
... Is about
having....... 
.......SAFELY......................
.....INVOLVING ...
........
.. .
......... 
..
All these combine to
create a form of Intellectual Swimming.
Welcome to the world of pop-Neuro-Physiology.
Part 1
1 
PLAYING
2 HAVE
FUN
4 Things to try to do and how to do them.
................Reverse
Front Crawl
............Reverse
Backstroke
..............Backstroke
Jive
5 More Things to do.
..............Reverse
Butterfly
..............Sculling
..............Reverse
entry
..............Underwater Explorations
7 Profit
and loss (possibilities and detractors)
Part 2
THE MORE TECHNICAL VERSION of how Aqua jest works
9 The
nitty-gritty of Aqua jest
10 The nitty-gritty continued.
Part 2
11 The nitty-gritty continued.
Part 3
Part 3
- Exercising the Analogy.
- The difference between Natural and Acceptable.
- Perception of play.
- THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT.
Aqua jest is a focused form of play and play evolves like some mystical magical interchangeable multidimensional adventurous exploration.
Aqua jest harnesses these qualities to exercise the brain and create greater communication between its parts, thereby enhancing the realisation of the mind.
Aqua jest is for the lay person to be able to observe neuro-physiological data and be able to do something with it. It is like having a map and having some autonomy to explore a new area, rather then being wholly dependent on a commercial agent who may have a vested interest in creating dependency.
It creates access to self-perpetuating perception abilities.
Whether for Personal or business use its benefits are immense.
The purpose of this document is to highlight a mere summary of examples to show the Personal &/or Business advantage of Aqua jest.
It shows its capacity to evolve and enhance the realisation of the Mind, creating new pathways of perception.
Aqua jest contains its own Magic making it as multidimensional, interchangeable, adventurous and as pleasurable an exploration as ‘Play’ itself. It is both the gift and the box it came in (An analogy, p.14).
Swimming might not be your thing. You might feel put off by many things, getting all wet isn’t in everyone’s taste. Then there’s; "How will I look?" i.e. physically or skilfully and other turn-off factors including the direction of interest shown by those who seem a tad obsessive in the sport. Indeed, interest in any Sport can often come across as a vacuous hobby given the limitations on the focus of such interest. Sport can even equate with a touch of nerdy dramatics, because of the bravado and self-important manner through which those particularly interested in a sport boast their competitive achievements, or those of others. Understandably, for those not interested in the same things, Sport can be so boring. That said, anyone who can do all 30 "even 20" strokes X 25m, consecutively, would impress me.
Technically, it is possible to benefit from Aqua jest, regardless as to whether you swim or not. In many ways, you do not have to go near a swimming pool
Aqua jest is a bit like listening to music in so far as you do not need to be a musician to tap along with a tune. This is because fun is one of the corner stones of Aqua jest and what qualifications do you need to be playful?
If you are afraid of swimming, it is unlikely that a non-technical paragraph on how to manipulate the brain will fully release you from that restriction. A giggle would have more success. Precisely why, will be dealt with in the more technical part of this article.
In the meantime …….
For a moment, forget about the name Aqua jest. Instead, simply think about having fun, because much of the essence of Aqua jest is about playing, having fun and goofing around in water, but with a little bit of Cerebral Focus, tucked away somewhere in the back of your mind.. With out the focus it is not Aqua jest .
- You do not even have to concentrate on the cerebral aspects when you experiment. In fact, concentrating on it can all too easily lead to a conscious over emphasis and distract your use of the essential tool of Aqua jest, which is FUN.
It is far more important that that you base the experiments on the pleasurable sensations you have derived from them. With safety in mind, explore how it feels when you do different things, i.e. explore the variances and degrees of pleasure which you attain through various experiments and explore the enjoyment of discovery.
Apart from having fun, it is essential that you sharpen your sense of alertness to the presence of those around you as well as the geography of the pool. Obvious though that might seem, it can be easier said than done and the last thing you want to have happen is that you’ve kicked someone in the head, or you’ve cracked your own head of the sides/bottom of the pool in attempting some new thing. Lest it need be said, avoid movements, which pose obvious dangers in respect of your current level of suppleness and general fitness.
Don’t let other things distract you from having fun, such as concentrating too much on learning. Exploration, experimentation and discovery set the scene for learning and just as they naturally blend into experience, so too will you observe, take in, take note and soon exploit the new information by starting the cycle all over again using it.
Don’t worry about trying to learn too much at once. It is easy to worry about whether the movements you have created are bad for you. True, inappropriate routine movement and bad posture can result in damage and loss, but it is often all too easy for a sense of not knowing how to assess such things to create loss by being the lead cause of doubt and worry about your own posture and movements. Don’t let others worry you too much on that point, particularly those outside of the medical profession who may have a vested interest in such anxieties, unless under direct, informative otherwise qualified direction.
Don’t be in a hurry to worry about the immediate function of your discoveries. Take one step at a time. Don’t worry, have fun and be happy. Immerse yourself in the amusement of fun. Play with the humour of it all. Enjoy. Play!
Forget about doing it as an ‘exercise’ and how many calories you may or may not burn off. Forget about suppleness and strength except in terms of safety. Seek prior medical advice if appropriate.
The sheer variety of movements and challenges will go some way towards achieving those goals anyway.
There is a paradox regarding Aqua jest.
It is the most basic form of swimming, yet it is generally perceived as only for the most advanced swimmers. Currently it has been shown mostly to advanced-qualified swimming instructors.
I find that quite odd! In fact, I find it peculiar that most of the ideas mentioned in "Things to do and how to do them" are NOT already in existence and named.
The non-technical version of how Aqua
jest works
It does so, via three main routes:
By exploring/exploiting the experience of
the individuals aquatic movement, as well as the
sensations derived from the water through the movement.
That includes the emotional, psychological and physical
experience, as well as developing &/ or unlearning
dimensions of preconditioning.
Sometimes, because of how the brain works,
the conscious perception of the experiences can be
manipulated by a sense of humour.
When animals ‘play’, we view it as a sort of training experience. We, on the other hand, have the anatomical cerebral where-with-all, to indulge in the appreciation of comedy and FUN.
Therefore ‘Play’ in human terms is more evolved. The comic value of Aqua jest exploits that quality.
There is a part of our brain, which is
chiefly concerned with ‘self awareness’, i.e.
the centre of our thoughts and how we view ourselves and
the world around us.
In other words,
We think, therefore we are, in so far as we perceive. It is through HOW our perceptions change, that we may predict what we will become, (to be or not to be, reveals as many answers as questions). Without having to know every detail of how the mind works, one can harness this ‘introspective’ quality to assist the other aspects of the experience of the comic aquatic exploration, with the additional element of how our ‘ancestral’ brain responds when we are in water.
Imagine a video of someone doing the crawl, being played in reverse. That is apparently what this looks like and what you have to achieve.
So ,first you adopt the pose of floating face down, with arms stretched out beyond your head.
Then move your legs as if you were on a bicycle and peddling backwards, but you can barely reach the pedals with your toes.
As you bend your knees, allow your foot to adjust to the position it would be on the bicycle, i.e. normal position. In this position, you use it to try to ‘drag’ the water towards your torso.
At first, try to get the leg movements right before proceeding onto applying the arms. You may need to use a float to balance and control the arms at this time.
Whilst practising on the legs, note whether you are travelling in a straight line.
If safety permits, take note of your position using an underwater maker (tile lines) and then close your eyes for a few seconds and whilst applying the leg movement, follow the line by trying to imagine the position you travel. On opening your eyes, before standing up, note how different your position is from where you expected to be. That is useful information to work on even with your eyes open.
Albeit slowly, you should have travelled backwards. Well that’s obvious, of course, but I mention it because from experience of showing others, the capacity for disorientation mixed with the habitual Crawl movements, can confuse most people, to the point of not understanding at all. It’s not so obvious then!
And now try the arm movements.
The reverse crawl might look like the crawl being reversed on video footage, but don’t be fooled by that.
CHEATING is involved especially when you’re trying to get the hang of it.
In order to grasp a particular part of this, you will need to revert back to the forward crawl, to exploit a practise/exercise technique.
Reflect on the movement required in the forward crawl, to allow you to turn sideways to breathe. One arms comes back, whilst the other takes its place. This ‘leading’ arm provides you with balance and anatomical direction.
Without following through to the full rotation of the arms movement, try to remain in the breathing position whilst applying the normal forward crawl kick. Sometimes referred to as the sidestroke.
That exercise is not essential to succeeding, but applying elements of it does assist in making the reverse crawl into a more fluid movement.
An attitude of ballet movement will help considerably.
Now test your co-ordination with reverse arm movements. It is remarkable to see this being done outside the water and then instantly lost when in position in the water.
In general the reverse crawl is an assortment of common crawl mistakes, with a little extra help by way of deliberate reverse arm movement and a bit of cheating.
The cheating involves the use of the lead arm.
As it moves up into position (as distinct from down in forward crawl), use it to maintain your buoyancy, by momentarily waving it back down, quickly returning it to position for the other arm to take over the lead position.
Absorb the sensations. Move fluidly. Experiment and explore. Enjoy.
Needless to say, ensure your path is clear.
As with the reverse crawl, this is best learnt by acquiring the leg movement first.
Imagine you are on a bed, watching T.V. the remote control is by your feet and you can’t be bothered getting up properly for it, so you use one foot to claw it up to within arms reach.
The reverse backstroke leg movement is not as exaggerated as that, but you get the idea.
Expect to think you are getting nowhere for the first few seconds, then suddenly it happens.
It was the only technique, which at first, I found gave me a cramp and it was a lower leg cramp.
Without wishing to empathise the obvious, the arm motion is in reverse of the normal backstroke arm movement.
However, it is not identical. It can afford to be much more relaxing and rather then the palms being used to push the water away, they are employed to assist buoyancy.
Along with either of those alternate-arm backstrokes, there are also the double-arm backstrokes and unsurprisingly, they can be applied forwards or backwards.
With these, the feet are used purely for balance. No kick! Unless you want to experiment.
The reverse double-arm backstroke has been described as an upside-down-reverse-butterfly.
I don’t understand why this one is perceived as ‘new’.
There’s a clue in the name.
This time you’re going to consider a variation on the conventional backstroke.
As with the previous strokes, the arm movements are brought into it last, except that this time they are employed much sooner.
This is an ‘attitude’ stroke more than the others are. The emphasis is more on ‘dance’ than humour.
Therefore it requires much more emphasis on fluid movements.
Start of with a bit of jive with your arms by your sides, erm, in the backstroke position.
Think a dance-attitude style of walk.
Jive that walk, albeit backwards.
Rotate your shoulders with the rhythm of your flow.
Lift them right up alternatively.
Relax your arms.
Finally, brings the arms into play maintaining as much of the above as possible and that’s it.
Personally, I haven’t got this one to my own satisfaction, yet. I can do it reasonably well if I do not incorporate the breathing bit. Possibly not a good style for knee problems.
It’s difficult to describe this one, because most of the aquatic sensations are the same as in the conventional Butterfly. Therefore there is very little new angle to exploit, except the kick.
Bend your knees and kick back hard, as if trying to harness velocity to propel yourself backwards.
Next to the doggy paddle, they don’t get much more basic than this.
Sculling is a very natural movement. So natural that I did not know it had a name.
Ever thread water during which you used your arms to keep you up? That was probably exploiting sculling.
Imagine you are listening to a piece of classical music and you were performing conductor’s movements by a flowing sideways figure of eight movement, albeit a fairly elongated figure of eight.
That’s pretty much it, except that you exploit it to maintain buoyancy and adjust it to create propulsion.
At times it can be adjusted so much as to push or pull the water away and in sculling latterly one hand is pushing the water away whilst the leading arm pulls it nearer.
With practise you should be able to scull floating forwards, backwards, latterly, (X2), with a weaving motion and even in circles.
Added to that you can scull with your arms at your sides or beyond your head (known as the ‘grave’).
Try to keep your toes above the water line, but avoid constantly stooping to look at them.
Avoid allowing your torso to ‘dip’ underwater excessively. You should appear as a fairly straight line, not a V. Legs can be applied to kick, flick, push, pull, claw, alternate/ together, or dolphin glide.
Ever find that as you try to dip forwards to dive underwater, your head and shoulders are the only ones that seem to make it, temporarily and then all of you comes bobbing back up to the surface, unforgivingly?
Women experience this problem more.
An ambition to be playful helps enormously and women are better positioned to exploit such mirth.
Hop like as if you are in a sack-race, with arms by your sides, but on your decent, tilt your whole body, keeping it relatively straight and allow your feet to sort off, go out from under you, creating a reverse gliding movement.
As soon as you near total submersion, use your arms in a reverse breaststroke motion to propel yourself further down and back.
At this stage most people should be nearly horizontal and closely parallel to the floor of the average shallow pool and their arms stretched out ahead of them.
Next, you will want to stay down there for a second or two at least.
Gently, but quickly do a breaststroke motion to propel you forward, or alternatively apply a variation of sculling to ‘lift’ the water, so as to bring yourself down further.
This technique can also work in deep waters with a little practice.
Equally you ‘lift’ yourself ‘off the water’ to return to the surface.
As seen in the reverse entry, sculling can be applied underwater also. It can be applied in as many ways.
Again the style of leg use is optional, but preferably together in the dolphin glide. Ordinarily they can be exploited whilst remaining facedown.
Guess what! There’s a way to scull underwater, face-up and without getting water up your nose and without the need for a nose clip or similar.
This technique allows you to spiral at any water level also.
Water up the nose is really a terrible experience. I don’t recommend it.
If you wish to attempt this one, do so slowly and cautiously and accepting that even with experience it can fail due to complacency.
Imagine a small cartoon child pouting. Nose pulled down, nostrils tightened and mouth pursed.
That’s it.
Thereafter you will be independent able to scull or generally swim at any water level, in any position.
Summary of
things to try to do (with keyword reminders)
- Reverse front crawl (arms reverse motion, buoyancy re-flick + feet cycle in reverse & sidestroke gain)
- Reverse backstroke (more relaxed arm motion, with buoyancy scull + feet cycle)
- Double-arm backstroke (no kick)
- Reverse double-arm backstroke (toes out of water + buoyancy scull)
- Backstroke Jive. (dance into the swim)
- Reverse Butterfly (velocity back-kick)
- Sculling (musical conductor’s figure of 8, adapted to push/pull/mixed) Forwards, backwards, to both sides, weaving and in circles. Also arms applied latterly or stretched overhead.
- Reverse entry/dip. (sack-race hop, fall/glide backwards, + forward breaststroke or adapted scull)
- Under water explorations (The child’s pout) Scull forwards, backward, sideways, be that face up or face down and with arms applied latterly or ahead + spiral, rotate, somersault.
Amounting to at least 11 underwater styles to explore and experiment and over 15 at water level, excluding the 4 conventional strokes. Making 30 stroke styles to begin with.
Ever wonder, about how most of the predictions which are made at cornerstones of time, turn out to be more like millstones around some necks?
That may be because as society changes, so do perceptions. By evolving, we gain more wisdom through a greater capacity to perceive. Predictions are often made on the strength of advanced technology, but without the wisdom to match it.
Alas, we are now so scientifically and technologically advanced, that we are in danger of getting what we wish for, albeit just to be proved right no matter how damming the consequences.
The advantages for the individual, who engages in ‘Play’ and particularly Aqua jest, are numerous.
There is the enhanced functions of the brain, leading to the capacity to perceive concepts which others miss, albeit usually right in front of them. Added wisdom is a business advantage. The only other commercial value may be in being well paid to provide (mainly) adults, with PERMISSION to Play. Adults can do strange things to justify an investment.
On a more basic, but still very useful level, Aqua jest is an excellent way to notice little muscular imbalances, which were previously hidden, but nonetheless affecting style and ability.
It tackles the fear of unfamiliar water in a more head-on way than the Shaw Method of Swimming, but in others areas it is almost indistinguishable from it. The main differences are probably that Aqua jest more deliberately explores adventure and discovery rather than maybe finding it.
- It certainly combats the boredom of conventional swimming habits.
It seems, it provides an element of entertainment for onlookers, in respect of its innovativeness gracefulness and of course comic value!
Re-invents the wheel? It may seem a little cheeky to put another label on what could be assumed people do already, e.g. mucking/goofing around in water and PLAY. However, not much ‘play’ goes on in pools unless floats are involved. We tend to play more at the beach.
- Aqua jest provides legitimacy to play. It evolves. From Mood to Gains.
- Aqua jest is a focused form of play. Play is natural, yet some of the visual elements of Aqua jest have been described as unnatural and even silly. On mentioning to someone that I’ve worked out how to do the front crawl in reverse, I was asked; "Have you no shame?"
There is the " thou shall not do anything other than the 4 conventional strokes" police to contend with. These people are all too easily irritated by an unconventional approach to swimming, probably because their notions of correctness might stem from the manner by which money affirms credibility, as it does for competitive swimming. In that regard, I would compare the selective influence of Money to the recent Microsoft debate.
Common sense care MUST be exercised as in all forms of play. Care not to be hurt or hurt, nor infringe on others. Nothing is without risk.
Just as it can be calculated that The Alexander Technique is a form of re-educating the Cerebellum through mindful control, and therefore The Shaw Method of Swimming also, so too does Aqua jest.
- The Brain stem is thoroughly stimulated.
- Aqua jest particularly, targets the ‘co-ordination’ function of the cerebellum.
- Its ‘postural’ education is enhanced by the co-ordination challenges.
- The ‘alertness’ function of the cerebellum is mostly stimulated.
The roles of the Diencephalon Zone are also brought into play considerably.
The complexities of playful actions sharpen
- The control of familiar procedural motor skills.
- The experience of variations of temperature and water pressure.
- The memory receptors.
- The status of the Autonomic Nervous System, via the influence of varying physical actions, temperatures, pressures, and positive emotional attitude.
At this point it gets impossible to separate the Cerebrum & Cerebral Cortex from the rest of The Brain. The considerable variety of stimuli afford by Aqua jest, exercises a fuller involvement and teamwork of the entire system, including the body. This Cerebral Buzz encourages the laying down of new Pathways, whilst affirming desirable existing routes. Exploiting ancestral aquatic influences.
Examples include;
- The manner by which a sense of humour can manipulate the emotions. Which in turn shuts down unhelpful images in the consciousness and overrides other emotions of a negative vent.
- Other two-way consequences, such as mediating emotions, controlling muscles and sharing sensory information from everything.
- The combined marriages of several other pathways such as the Joy of Discovery, Amusement, Fun, Playing, Mirth, and the Pleasure of a variety of physical sensations.
- Exploration requires Ideas and Arousal of Action on those ideas.
- Physical action prompts a Response from the rest of the system.
- Learning can Lead to Planning, which can arouse Feelings and these are Considered on with Thought and Reflection. Creating a Decision, leading to action. Preceded by Mood Adjustment, Influencing the Autonomic Nervous System, leading to Co-ordination with the action, providing Meaningfulness to the Experience. Revealing Realisation/learning. Returning to further planning.
- Learning can provide a new Focus, a new Perception and can be a process of UN-learning, as well as Re-learning, or new Pathways. It can develop Introspective Avenues for Mindful Control.
- There is seemingly endless play between the varieties of conscious intellect, all of which are in turn Relayed to the Limbic System for Reference, or the Cerebellum for Dispatch to the Body.
This document contains more detailed information to allow the general public to define Aqua jest, then any other document I’ve seen, for a host of related ideas. That difference is in it self, revealing.
Aqua jest tries to be devoid of waffle or hocus-pocus. Its essence is a combination of sciences, fun, research, imaginativeness, the art of movement, recreational exercise, adventurousness and a willing honesty. It provides an opportunity to digest some of the related scientific data on the brain and for the average person be able to do something with it. Aqua jest evolves. It explains why we learn.
Although it is necessary to have some understanding of the neuro-physiology of the Brain, this is not intended to be an anatomical textbook. Therefore, the emphasis is on the interest to Aqua jest, rather then full, detailed anatomical geographical data of the brain.
There are 3 zones of interest
- There are the Ancestral portions of the brain.
- The Diencephalon (modern mammalian portion).
- The Cerebrum (intellect dept.).
At one time it was believed that source of certain psychological and medical *traits, where to be found in various parts of the body as well as the brain. For example, it was suggested that certain mental faculties lived in the liver, heart and brain. Science is as unlikely to find the ‘soul’ for example, as it is a noun, encrypted in a cell or two, yet we each have a name.
The seventeenth century French philosopher, Rene Descartes, seemed to believe that the mind existed in a separate dimension from our accepted/assumed experience. As if our presumed experience of life was a consequence of radio signals being transmitted to our brains from elsewhere.
Latter on came ‘Phrenology’ which suggested that such *traits could be attributed solely to certain part of the brain.
The current view is of a co-operative communication between various parts of the brain, with, in some incidence, a more dominant or Leading area. Mind and Brain are seen as one.
The MIND and Mapping its
influence on Aqua jest
For this purpose I shall refer to the Mind and Brain as separate, although that is not really possible, because it is through the activity of the brain by way of assimilating, processing and responding to internal and eternal stimuli (positive or negative) that the Mind can come into being.
The mind can also be viewed as having various dimensions, the routes of which are shared around the zones of the physical brain and influenced by its activity and the Body.
.
They consist of 3 main headings;
- The Intellect/Reflective characteristic.
- The Emotional Influence.
- And Homeostasis communication (Balance) between those two and the physical universe, be that internal or external to the individual.
The levels of input from Emotion to Intellect, is by far the greater. Therefore emotions can influence intellect far more then intellect can influence emotion.
However, deliberate intellectual manipulation of areas of the brain, which governs emotion, can stack the deck, to coin a phrase. Employing a sense of humour would be an example.
Similarly, the Homeostasis between mind and brain can be hugely affected by the influencing relationship between the brain and the input from the rest of the body, which in turn can be transformed by the marriage of Posture to Exercise. Here lies the value of The Shaw Method of Swimming.
The nitty-gritty continued. Part 2
Depending on which reference book is consulted, there can seem to be some variations on this subject.
In the main, the Brain Stem, which is a sort of extension of the spinal cord, is seen as the primary ancestral portion of the human brain.
The Brain Stem in turn is made up of various parts, which seem to have evolved at slightly different rates to each other.
Together they distribute information to and from the rest of the brain. Information such as motor, sensory and auditory impulses, which it receives from the eyes, ears, movement of the head, or from nerves through out the body, via the spinal column. Added to which, it is responsible for vital vegetative reflexes, such as breathing, heartbeat and blood pressure.
The latter of these functions are of interest to those who wish to study the ‘mammalian diving reflex’ phenomenon. This phenomenon is triggered by sudden immersion in cold water. It is more prevalent in cases involving children and assists sea mammals to hunt for longer periods.
The fact that it emerges in cases involving humans shows that we still have some vestiges of ancient ancestral aquatic traces and we can access them also! This is of importance in Aqua jest.
Grafted on to the Brain Stem, is the Cerebellum and this is often categorised as entirely separate.
Nevertheless, it is an ancestor of the modern mammalian portion and its function relating to mobility is so crucial that either its purpose was redefined by evolution, allowing the brain stem to share its load, or pre-cerebellum beings didn’t get around much voluntarily.
The cerebellum controls involuntary/subconscious
skeletal movement required for
co-ordination, balance and posture. Therefore it is the
main target of the benefits of The Alexander Technique. To test
it, observe your position, close your eyes, move, stop,
open your eyes and compare your expected position with
reality. Automatically,
you can see the role Aqua jest can play.
A further benefit of of
activating this area can be viewed from the fact that the
cerebellum also assumes
a role in emotional development and dealing with emotions
such as anger and pleasure etc.
The cerebellum is also active in connection with ‘Alertness’ and because of the extent that alertness is vital in practising Aqua jest, lest hurt or be hurt, it follows that the cerebellum is being very actively employed.
The cerebellum may control certain emotions and related development, but it does not generate Emotions.
This is done in the Diencephalon region, which is more often referred to as the mammalian brain, or The Limbic System.
However, it functions unconsciously, relaying the information elsewhere along with other information, inline with the Cerebral Information Network (all 3 zones).
Along with generating emotions and relaying information, it performs several equally important duties.
It can shut down various neurotransmitters creating selective limitations of function within the Cortex (intellectual department/Cerebrum). In turn it can be instructed to damp down undesirable emotions.
Controls the Endocrine System as well as sending its own hormonal messengers to the body.
Plays a role in controlling familiar motor skills, e.g. cycling and Swimming. Plays other memory roles.
Interprets temperature and pressure e.g. cold water and water density/depth or Touch.
Receives sensory impulses from the smooth muscle of internal organs (Viscera)
It also controls and integrates the rest of the Autonomic Nervous System.
Its communication between the Cerebrum makes it is, The Centre of the Mind over Body phenomena. These are just some of its functions and influences. There are others of little direct interest to Aqua jest, such as interpreting pain, controlling appetite, thirst, etc.
Further information is available in the books mentioned in ‘References to Landscape the Mind’.
The nitty-gritty continued. Part 3
The CEREBRUM and
Cerebral Cortex (intellect dept.)
For some odd reason this if often referred to, simply as ‘the cortex’, which is in fact a form of tissue.
Many creatures have a cerebrum, e.g. frogs, pigeons, chimps etc. It is largely due to the differences within the human brain that makes us what we are and what we are, is as we perceive everything to be. Having a means to adjust how we perceive is one ambition of Aqua jest.
It has functions in relation to the control of gross muscle action, i.e. voluntary and learned. It also regulates muscle tone. However, these functions are regulated or shared by the cerebellum.
It receives several sensory impulses, e.g. visual, auditory, smell, and taste.
It can affect the functions of limbic system in survival circumstances
It mediates the impulses/urges of the limbic system.
It is thought to play a critical role in the process of learning, involving long term and short term memory.
Contained within its 4 lobes can be found various centres of human characteristics such as language, humour, religious/spiritual belief as well as the various forms of consciousness, e.g. thinking, thoughts, reflection, meaningfulness, planing, attention, arousal, focus, free will, orientation, conceptualising and many more to be uncovered.
Most of these characteristics combine into a single Intellectual State.
It is here, particularly in the frontal lobes that the realisation of the mind is perceived.
Sometimes the unfamiliarity of Aqua jest, causes certain experiences to be sent down to the ‘emotional department’, which can’t quite decide on it, so returns an open verdict, allowing the intellect more control to exploit it and having done so, the ‘emotional department’ can utilise the results for future reference.
This is of importance in combating the fear of unfamiliar water. Fear can be irrational. It can make a body of water seem more like as if therein lurks the embodiment of some predatory evil.
The intellect can instruct the limbic system to dampen down the negative feeling, such as fear, via a mere attitude of simple mirth.
That in turn permits the individual to witness entirely new experiences, which involve every one of the senses, except smell.
Together with the combination of a sense of humour and the various positive aspects of learning, the limbic system can construct new positive emotions, whilst not loosing sight of a sensible, respectful attitude to unfamiliar water.
Briefly, the intellect department receives information relevant to it, sending most of it immediately down to the limbic system for emotional referencing and on return, ‘considers’ it for action/response and its filing system.
It is probably the most activated part of the brain during Aqua jest.
Sometime later, the swimming instructor who had been holding public swimming classes at the same venue, prior to my membership, suggested I join his class. I was having problems with the reverse butterfly, so I decided that although the lessons looked strictly conventional, there maybe some thing I might acquire to help me in the direction I was looking. I had no formal swimming exercises in my repertoire. He was and is regarded as an Authority on swimming.
Thereafter, I must confess it got annoying when someone admired what I was doing and assumed he had thought me. Since then it has been introduced to advance-qualification swimming instructors.
Emergence, seems so New Age, but it does visualise how the idea of Aqua jest started to come about. As one purpose/focus of experimentation was being explored another would emerge, I began to see that such experiments could be utilised to deal with the fear of unfamiliar/deep volumes of water and then, gradually, I noticed other uses. My mental capacity was changing. More ways of visualisation and perception were emerging. I began to rationalise with a greater sense of wisdom and understand what I could not even see before, e.g. I reflect on how previously, I would sometimes hesitate and feel a bit like the rabbit caught in the headlights, when someone mentioned "Left" or "Right". My reaction stemmed from the fact, that for those moments, the words meant nothing to me, because temporarily, I was unable to grasp that they were directional concepts, as distinct from merely directions. A bit like being unable to open a file without first opening the one before it. Where once, as a consequence of accidents, my limbs displayed a will of their own, now they no longer do so.
There is a useful analogy, which helps to define the multifaceted nature of aqua jest, in so far as it describes the various things it can be, separately or as one, obvious or not, as it does for the characters involved, either as participants & /or otherwise.
An entrepreneur, deduces that gift packaging is of more (independent) commercial value, for children of a certain age, because they seem to appreciate it more. Then floods the market with expensive, but empty ‘gifts’.
What is ‘play’, when it is not a structured game? Are they natural? Apparently so! Comedy, Humour and Fun are only possible because of how our brain works. It’s a matter of reasoning, filing and finding meaning to the incoming information.
We can play with words, e.g. To Give is to Receive. The previously mentioned analogy, involving the entrepreneur, provides an exercise in being able to perceive an assortment of elements, (identities, concepts etc.) We can play with its elements, e.g. Roles can be seen to be reversible, whilst other, unseen characters are there to be found. There are seen and unseen concepts and dimensions to be uncovered also. They can be individual or merged, either simultaneously or separately, making an exact total number very difficult to arrive at, e.g. "market" leads to marketing, packaging, selling, sellers, communication, buying, customers, value, business, commercialism, income, taxes, employment, satisfaction, disappointment, retail therapy and so on. Play evolves the mind.
There are numerous people who utilise ‘Play’ as forms of instruction and even therapy, especially where children or adults with learning difficulties are concerned.
So, if it can be useful for them, then how much more useful could it be for the more fortunate intellect?
The difference between ‘Natural’ and ‘Acceptable’ is what we make it to be. We Think therefore we Are, applies to the games we play also. Whether we play a game of Chess, or manage to find playful satisfaction merely by deliberately deciding to feel cheerfully playful, as a kitten might seem to do with imaginary games, is irrelevant. But oh, how contagious the latter can be!
Perception of play : We are how we perceive ourselves and the world around us. Including our perception of our place in and relationship with it. Such abilities are inherent to us naturally, and that is why, whichever form of play we engage, is ‘Natural’, but only in so far as our social and/ or personal conscience will permit.
Life may not be a game, but living certainly is. We have rules, which are influenced by other rules, themes, concepts, ideas, assumptions, programming, so called ‘certainties’ and even files.
Sometimes, I find that there are limitations on what ‘Play’ is perceived to be. It is as if the ingrained dignity of status sub-rules, have restricted perception, creating a paradox, whereby, One needs to find a way to discover how to perceive, before One can realise, that is precisely what Aqua jest is.
In computer terms, Aqua jest is like a new Browser.
The science of how aqua jest works is so far relatively theoretical. In one book, I found mention of the hypothalamus as being the centre of the mind over body phenomenon. Whereas, in another, more specialised and up to date book, that conclusion was not mentioned. However, within the detail of the latter, One could see how that conclusion could fit.
It is that method of rationalising that I’ve applied to how Aqua jest might work, over and above other forms of play. Every theory has to be considered, however briefly.
There is a problem with the theoretical monopolist advantage of Aqua jest and it is in the form of The Mr. Steven Hawking, who is the worlds leading physicist. His physical limitations would suggest that he does not goof around in water, but maybe he does for all I know.
Either way, he is a very resilient individual and resilience is borne out of wisdom, so he must be very wise as well.
The neurological explanation for Resilience is another matter.
In researching this subject, I have used a small number of books as reference points.
They include;
MAPPING THE MIND, by Rita Carter, which was probably my favourite.
PRINCIPLES of ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY (sixth edition), by Gerard J Tortora
& Nicholas P. Anagnostakos
And the ever popular, BLACK’S MEDICAL DIRECTORY edited by G. Macpherson
In one particular book, much was made of the wonders of modern science and rightly so.
Nearly every medical reference will list copious varieties of drugs, which will lift you like a plane and take you where you need to be.
If the MIND is the New World of today, then one facet of Aqua jest is to provide the individual with more autonomy to travel there and explore/develop. However, sometimes the terrain needs a plane.
The Information supplied here about the anatomy of the brain is very limited. No mention has been made about several specific parts, e.g. the Pineal Gland; the only item not duplicated between the brains two hemispheres, technically equally ignored.
The purpose of the technical data included is to assist in conveying the concept of Aqua jest and is neither intended, nor suitable as a studious reference. Those with more interest in such matters are advised to refer to more appropriate avenues of information, especially in respect of the contents which are based on current thinking, but are as of yet only proven by ‘negative’ tests
As for the physical activities mentioned, which have evolved in the creation of Aqua jest, they are only suggested to provide ideas for your own imagination. All have been done safely, but as in many things, there is no substitute for the absence of supervision of COMMON SENSE.
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