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#1838 - Thursday, June 24, 2004 - Editor: Jerry  

This issue is dedicated to Jacques Mayol and the movie based upon his life, The Big Blue.

In Power Vs. Force, by David R. Hawkins, the author analyzes the spectrum of levels of human consciousness and creates  a map of consciousness, shown below. Each level is assigned a number from 20 to 1000, progressing logarithmically. Calibrations are done through kinesiological testing which is based upon the theory that your body 'knows' what is true at any instant and reveals it through muscular response. The complete methodology of testing is explained in the book.

About The Big Blue, Hawkins writes: "We have made calibrations of various kinds of redords of athletic achievement, including movies. Of all of the movies about sport studied, the French film The Big Blue produced the highest calibration. This is the story of the world's deep-sea diving champion, Jacques Mayol, the Frenchman who for many years, until very recently, held the world record. The movie calibrates at the extraordinary energy level of 700 (universal truth). The movie itself has the capacity to put viewers into a high state of consciousness; the manager of one movie-house which showed it described audiences wandering out of the theater lost in silence or crying with a joy which they could not describe.

"The movie achieves an accurate depiction of the world's greatest deep-sea diver in elevated states of consciousness through the use of slow-motion photography. A subjective sensation of slow-motion, beauty and grace is frequently noted in higher states; time seems to stop and there is an inner silence despite the noise of the world.

"We see throughout the film that Jacques Mayol maintains this state by the intensity of his concentration, which keeps him in an almost constant meditative condition. In this mode he transcends ordinary human limitations, enabled to achieve great feats through altered physiology; the deeper he dives, the slower is his heartbeat, and his blood distribution concentrates almost entirely in his brain (as does that of the porpoise). ...

"The subjective experience of effortless bliss also occurs in other types of exceptional physical performance, such as that of the world-famous Sufi dancers known as whirling dervishes, who, through, discipline and exhausting practice, become able to move effortlessly through space over long periods of time with dazzling precision."

Editor's note: I watched the dvd of The Big Blue yesterday and confirm that at the end of it, one is left in a state of simply being and flowing. The movie also happens to very entertaining. There is a review below along with links to others.

Jacques Mayol
The Dolphin Man

Jacques Mayol, holder of a dozen world breath-hold diving records, was the first man to descend to 100 meters (330 feet), a feat he accomplished in 1976. He followed this with yet another record breaking drop to 105 meters (346 feet) at the age of 56. 

Jacques born in 1927, died in Italy in December 2001 bringing to an end a life-long passion for diving and becoming one with nature and the sea.  He split his life between Italy, the West Indies on the island of South Caicos and Japan. He also collaborated in the writing and production of many documentary films. His physical performance was enhanced by his knowledge and practice of Yoga, other oriental disciplines and his study of philosophies. Jacques Mayol’s life was the subject of Luc Besson’s film The Big Blue (Le Grand Bleu). In that film, actor Jean-Marc Barr’s character was based upon Jacques superb physical performance in deep breath-hold diving and his remarkable bond with dolphins.

http://www.thejacquesmayol.com/

The Guru of the Free-dive

"To hold the breath effectively, even though it seems paradoxical, it’s best not to think about holding it. You need to do it without thinking; you need to become the act of non-breathing itself."...

From: "Homo Delphinus, The Dolphin within Man"

Excerpt from
HOMO DELPHINUS: The Dolphin Within Man
by Jacques Mayol

Everyone in the Caicos Islands knows Jojo the dolphin, from the humble lobster fisherman to the American multimillionaire who built his luxury home at the edge of the magnificent beaches along Providenciales and Pine Cay.

He even enjoys popularity among the dogs, including those who do not hesitate to jump into the water from the beach to go and take a closer look at him. There was that white terrier who used to keep Jojo company for hours. Just to play together along the Pine Cay beach or even go far from the coast, swimming alongside each other.

I spent a long time admiring them, meditating on the "pure" relations between species. I told my friend and Japanese painter Shomei Yoh about it. He too is a great lover of nature, dolphins and the canine species. His books, with few words and a very simple style, with illustrated images that make people stop and think, are widely read in Japan.

Even though he never visited the Caicos Islands (but I told him so much about them and Jojo, it's as if he were there), his philosophy on life, nature and "ten thousand things from Tao" is such that I was unable to resist including a few of the drawings in the book. I consider them to be absolute gems.

Read more: http://www.thejacquesmayol.com/dolphin.htm

The material below is from http://www.soka.nu/filmer/bigblue/index-e.shtml

Stefan Danielson writes:

Maybe one of the best movies ever made? My favorite director, Luc Besson, and one of the best composer of moviemusic, Eric Serra, makes this movie something spectacular. When you have seen The Big Blue you also want to swim around with dolphins

This cult classic har been famous for its gorgeous photography (both on land and underwater) and dreamy ambiance feeling mostly created by the fantastic music, so just float away and see it!
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The simple way of saying what this film is about, is to say that it is about the struggle between two free-divers. Both trying to beat the other's record, and while doing this they go deeper and deeper riscing their lives to be the best. But the story is far from as simple as that. The film tells about Jacques Mayol's (Jean-Marc Barr) love for the sea. He still wants to live by, or even in, the sea, even though his father died in a diving accident when Jacques was young. He has known Enzo Mollinari (Jean Reno) since they both lived on the same island in Greece when they were young. Enzo is now the world champion, but Jacques just as good as him. While they compete, Jacques' far from simple life is made even harder when he meets Johana (Rosanna Arquette). They fall in love, and then the problems start. Jacques doesn't really know how to handle this, and he still wants to spend most of the time diving and having fun with dolphins. He thinks it's better "down there," meaning the deep also known as the big blue. So without telling to much about the end, the question is if Jacques will kill himself by just staying down at bottom of the sea, or if he loves Johana enough to come back to the surface. Movie facts: The Big Blue / Le Grand Bleu Released in 1988 by Gaumont French version: 132 minutes long European version: 118 minutes long US Version: 119 minutes long Long version: 168 minutes long Produced by: Patrice Ledoux/Gaumont Directed by: Luc Besson Story written by Luc Besson Screenplay by: Luc Besson & Robert Garland Music composed by: Eric Serra Cast: Johanna Baker: Rosanna Arquette Jacques Mayol: Jean-Marc Barr Enzo Molinari: Jean Reno Doctor Lawrence: Paul Shenar Novelli: Sergio Castellito Uncle Louis: Jean Bouise Roberto: Marc Duret Duffy: Griffin Dunne About the different versions: This film has actually been released in three incarnations. The 132-minute original french cut (you can only find this video in Europe) featured a marvelous score by Eric Sierra, but for some reason the film in america was cut down to 119 minutes and rescored by Bill Conti. Practically dumped by its distributor Fox in America, aside from the new score, whole scenes were lost, including many largely wordless passages seemed "too abstract" for American audiences. Perhaps most controversial was a "happier ending" tacked on to the film... A few years ago, there was also a long 168-minute Director's Cut first released in Europe and on Japanese laserdisc, recently now also available in US. The DVD-version released by Columbia Home Video in US is the director's cut (168 minutes) with some extra features: digitally Mastered Audio & Anamorphic video, Photo Gallery: International Ad Campaign, Isolated Music Score and 3 Theatrical Trailers. You can of course also buy The Big Blue (directors cut) on DVD in Europe. Bessons director's cut adds little story but slows the contemplative pace until it practically floats in time, and he here has restored Eric Serra's synthesizer-heavy score. Most importantly, he has restored his original ending, which echoes the fairy tale he tells Joanna earlier in the film and leaves the story floating in the inky blackness of ambiguity. Important places to the enthusiast: This unique epic adventure/romance was filmed over eight months on locations from the Riviera to Sicily, Corsica, Greek, Paris, New York and The Virgin Islands. Important places in the movie are Amorgos (beautiful Greek island), Taormina (romantic city in Sicily) and the mountains in Peru.

Poster    Jean Reno      Luc Besson Luc & Mayol  Mayol & Enzo

You can buy The Big Blue on video/DVD at Amazon, CDnow, Games and Videos. Buy the soundtrack from iMusic. Buy the poster from AllPoster.com These are all excellent links: Le Grand Bleu Good pictures and soundclip. Grade 4 Big Blue Script The script to the movie; French & Italian Home of Webring Le Grand Bleu Webring Grand bleu, Le (1988) Internet Movie Database  Grand Blue shrine Some text and links to images. Grade 3 The Big Blue Interview with Mayol. Grade 3 The BIG Picture review Review by Bob Banka Big Blue - Directors cut Review about the directors cut-version DVD Review Good review about the DVD-version

One of those moments when you know you're watching a special movie. It is a brief dialogue between Jacques, who had just completed a challenging dive, and the woman who becomes the human love interest:  

- I know you...

- We just met a few minutes ago

- In the lake?

- No, in the hut!  

~ ~ ~  

After watching this movie you too may not be separate from the lake.
--Jerry

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