As divers, we are blessed to experience Ocean Soul. We are convinced there are special powers in the ocean and science continues to affirm this is a fact. As fragile humans, we want to live by it, play in it and swim on top of and below it.  Divers certainly are forever curious about seeing, photographing and even experiencing unobtrusive interaction with underwater life no matter the risks and/or financial costs this may require.

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WHY? Why do we fragile, land breathing humans place such a premium on being as close as we can to the ocean (even paying a huge premium to live near it and being willing to re-build over and over again next to it no matter the destructiveness to our property it may bring)? We believe it’s because of the mighty powers of Ocean Soul.  Once you experience it, you can’t get enough. Divers always describe how elated, vibrant, energized and young they feel after diving in the ocean.

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• Perhaps it’s the bio luminescence and micro organisms that we ingest through our regulators.

•  Perhaps it’s that marine species posses special energizing powers that transfers to us a bit when we dive.

• Perhaps it’s that the reef’s (soft and hard coral) natural, incredibly efficient, circular symbiotic nutrient feeding ecosystem adopts us humans temporarily when we dive near it and our inner souls are nourished in a way we don’t yet understand.

• Perhaps it’s the ever changing, powerful underwater currents that energizes us.

• Perhaps it’s seeing that species for the first time that you forever wanted to see.

• Perhaps it’s the purity of the marine life (they aren’t in bad moods or good moods, they are just living, surviving purely without emotion and prejudice in their three dimensional world).

• Perhaps it’s the heightening of other senses that we don’t use on land.

• Perhaps it’s the beauty of the silence.

• Perhaps it’s that incredible  high we get from being perfectly weighted so we can glide effortlessly (“neutrally buoyant”, or as I now refer to it as “naturally buoyant” – thank you Steve Prior for teaching me this terminology) only achievable otherwise in outer space.

• Perhaps it’s witnessing  vertebrates and invertebrates change colors, witnessing electric currents sent through their bodies as if they are from an alien planet, coming in all odd shapes, vibrant colors and sizes.

• Perhaps it’s the gracefulness of rays effortlessly ripping against the current, the awe inspiring power of sharks, the intelligence of octopus, the cuteness of cuttle fish, the astonishing micro world of thousands of tiny species all living on one underwater leaf, the gazillions of varieties of nudibranchs, the back and forth calming rhythm of surge, the ever changing tide, the witnessing of wrecks with their astonishing history now frozen in time, the science of diving, the adrenaline rush of exploring a brand new dive site, the camaraderie within the dive community both underwater and on land, the vast amount of diver continuing education available, the concern for our environment, the realization that the oceans need our care and protection, the intelligence within the diver community consisting of some of the smartest minds on earth, the necessity to wear such a huge amount of gear to survive just for a short period of time in the underwater ocean world.

• OR could it be when we dive we are really just returning home to where we all came from?

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Whatever it is, Ocean Soul is so mighty powerful and addictive. It’s been a major part of my life for over 4 decades. As such, I wanted to give back and devote this site to the dive community. It’s free to use and free to contribute to it. Enjoy and please email any suggestions you have to Woody@DiveInfo.com. Your feedback and suggestions will never be ignored and will shape the future of our site.

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One final but VERY important thought. We applaud all dive agencies, all methods of learning, whether recreational diving, technical diving, open circuit diving, closed circuit diving, and free diving. We respect and also applaud dive shops worldwide, dive vacation operators world wide, dive equipment manufacturers worldwide. We are all united with one singular goal. We want to continue to explore the underwater world and experience Ocean Soul safely,  peacefully and without destruction of any kind to this alien world we are so blessed to visit. Therefore, whatever your method of learning, teaching, or diving is, we applaud you all. We just want you to be part of our online community and thank you for being full of Ocean Soul!