It's an amazing and unique phenomenon when you experience the sensation. Riding a moving set of electrons which are pushing through a mass of water we call the ocean.
The initial step of relinquishing control over the situation is essential. Dropping into a wave means entering into a moment of temporary chaos and choosing to remain calm and react to what is in front of you ----rather than try to control the powerful moving mass of water.
The larger the wave, the less control you really have as a fleshly human.
The most fortifying events in surfing happen when no one is looking. There is no stadium of onlookers or even a parent warming a bleacher while watching you ride the wave. These moments do not edify the surfer with any sort of 'external approval'. And therefore they only add to the personal element of the experience. With so much happening while riding a wave---there is not a moment to think of who one is, where one is going, or why one exists. It is simply a moment of non judgment where as the rider experiences a true state of bliss.
Doctor Deepak Chopra put this experience into a very simple quote which exemplifies how to reach such a state. Surfing simply helps a person achieve it for 3 to 10 seconds at a time---the average length of a wave surfed.
“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue with ones self. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It's very important to be aware of them every time they come up.”
love the loss of ego. this is the greatest challenge in life, i think... and in our overhyped volcom surf culture, definately a challenge in the water. when was the last time you rode an entire wave prone on your board? rode a surf mat? gave a wave to someone who was struggling to catch one? losing ego in surfing is a compelling idea...
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