I discovered, quite by accident, that some of my most original ideas popped up while I was in that altered state of consciousness that runners know well — a nearly thoughtless condition in which the rational mind is temporarily put on hold. . . . I believe that experience must be fairly common, though I have heard few writers speak about it. . . . John Sayles also discovered how to unlock the doors of creativity by altering his consciousness through swimming and running. "One of the reasons that I like to swim," he states, "is that I get good ideas then. Or when I'm running. With that physical activity and lack of other input, I can put myself in kind of a trance. I fall into a state that's not totally conscious fairly easily. And I think that physical exercise usually helps you to do that, especially swimming." Water is an ancient symbol for the unconscious mind, so it is particularly apt that fresh ideas for Sayles bubbled up during swimming.
— Larry Dossey, Healing Beyond the Body