Episode 5: One With The Ocean

Original Belonging

In episode five, I introduce my connection with the sea, a reverence passed down from my female lineage. I’m then joined in conversation with Dr. Easkey Britton, a surfer, artist, filmmaker, and marine social scientist who lives in County Donegal, Ireland. She shares stories about her original belonging and her passion for connecting human vitality with the health of our blue planet.

I loved the ocean early on, living only four miles away. The expanse of the sea connects me to the divine, the feminine, to primal energy. I tell the story of my mother’s love for the ocean in the Rockaways, in New York, where she once was a bathing beauty. I share my tale of empowerment as the sea becomes my place of refuge, accessible by bike. Coming of age in the LA suburbs, I sensed my FBI agent father’s fear escalate as he watched an emboldened free spirit take hold of me. When I began to write at age 14, I felt the primal energy of motion, like flowing water, awaken in me as a reassurance. The ocean became a mirror to my soul.

After sharing my story, I welcome Dr. Easkey Britton who explores her through-threads of elemental healing, the spiritual intelligence of water, and restoring a sense of belonging. We discuss Easkey’s family connection to the sea in Ireland, her coming-of-age years as a champion surfer, her blue heritage, and her ongoing work in ocean therapy. Easkey’s creativity has a deep connection with the ocean. Her work in art, marine science, and social ecology focuses on the health of water as a mirror of the health of society. Water is wise; it is the ultimate life source as it moves through all our bodies. The planet’s health depends on it. If we care for the ocean with reverence, we begin to restore that which has been lost.

Topics Covered:

(04:21) My life is a love story for the sea

(08:51) The ocean as wisdom’s metaphor

(24:41) Easkey Britton joins me in conversation

(36:59) Oceanic belonging

(43:08) Irish mythology’s connection to land and language

(49:14) From surfer to artist to marine scientist

(57:49) Role of ocean therapy in the healing journey

(1:04:03) Ecologies of care

Resources Mentioned:

• Pauline Bewick
• Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
• Manchán Magan
• Robin Wall Kimmerer
• The Red School

Dr. Easkey Britton

• Dr. Easkey Britton | website
• Dr. Easkey Britton | Instagram
• Finisterre | Instagram
• Ebb and Flow | book
• Saltwater in the Blood | book
• 50 Things to Do by the Sea | book
• Surfboard portrait credit: Will Cornelius

Stay Connected:

• mauraconlon.com
• @orginalbeloning on Instagram
• Maura Conlon on Facebook

Credit:

• Podcast series production by Media Midwife Ahri Golden
• Podcast series launch by The Wave Podcasting

About:

In this series, I explore how the significant influences and archetypal events experienced in our first 14 years of life set the stage for what is most meaningful throughout our adult years. In times of transition, a voice wonders: who am I at the soul level, at my essence? Our earliest resonant moments of awe–what lit us up–offer direct access into the root system of our original belonging.