The 7 Steps of Rebreather Enlightenment

The Seven Steps to Rebreather Enlightenment
By Stuart Ford



Come in, Come in my young journeyman. I see you are a seeker on the path of Rebreather Enlightenment. Sit - let me tell you of the way before you.

Tis a difficult and challenging path for all, some steps are easy for some but none are easy for all. Before we begin let me warn you tis a long and expensive journey you face but one filled with adventure, travel to far off lands, great people and even treasure for some!

Well I see you are still with me journeyman so let me begin ….



This step is where we all begin and must see break free from, this is where the dreaded bubblers or even worse they who must not be named seek to poison you with tales of woe.

You doubt that Rebreathers are for you, tales of woe, of mistakes, of sorrow are presented to you passionately, jokes involving shovels or insults are thrust upon those nearer enlightenment. Tis easy to flounder at this step but you must break through and move on to become a seeker.



You have broken free and are no longer a monkey – welcome seeker.

Tis often joked that you are joining the dark side – this as a result of the ill-informed meanderings you suffered as a monkey.

As a seeker, you are seeking the knowledge and the truth. You must speak to all who are nearer enlightenment than you. Your questions are keen and your mind is sharp. I hear your questions echo towards me:

• Why do you dive a Rebreather?
• Which one is it?
• How does it work?
• Where is it from?
• How much is it?
• How many Rebreathers are there?

…. and on they go.

Those seekers who do well, discover one of our fountains of knowledge where many lords of rebreatherhood gather to drink and discuss the path to enlightenment.

That fountain is www.rebreatherworld.com use it well journeyman.



Welcome journeyman, you have come far and now are well on your way to enlightenment.

Many find this is a truly challenging step, there is considerable expense both financial and time in mastering this step, with many new skills and hours to spend training.

You must put the knowledge you learned as a seeker to good use, selecting your Rebreather and your instructor.

It is important that you do this step well as it truly is the foundation as you move ever closer to enlightenment.

Although perhaps the most difficult step very very few fail here. This step it is said by many gives the greatest pleasure to you – as when mastered you may float free and silently amongst the citizens of the deep.



Step 4 can be a painful step to watch for those who are further towards enlightenment, fortunately for most tis a relatively short step.

The evangelical Rebreather diver now after only a few short hours thinks he knows everything about Rebreathers, they are the only way to dive and his particular unit is absolutely the best because of x, y and z.

At this stage, the evangelical diver is very vocal and can alienate new divers and those further towards the path of enlightenment (who he should still be learning from) and even non-Rebreather divers. Tis often the case to see pages of well-written arguments on why either their Rebreather or style of diving is the best.

Fortunately, most seekers of enlightenment leave this step quickly behind them as they move on.



As we move towards enlightenment we realise that our journey is very much work in progress and we need to build on our solid foundation.

The Progresser has passed through the Evangelical stage and realise they do not know everything but must continue working towards enlightenment.

In this step the journeyman starts to examine the pros and cons of his unit v others, he questions how he does things and often under takes further specialised training be it Trimix, cave or Rebreather. It is common for many journeymen to have multiple Rebreathers at this step or to change their unit for another.

The Progresser initiates many varied and challenging discussions with other journeyman towards enlightenment – you can often find them around one of our fountains of knowledge.



Sith Lords are truly those who have mastered the dark side of diving as others call it.

They understand the intricacies of many Rebreather models and diving styles and have done the type of diving most journeymen either desire or are in awe of.

Their outlook and knowledge is not just based on what they read, but is based on what they have validated or indeed discovered for themselves as true pioneers.

Most Lords are quiet around the fonts of knowledge as they are usually out there doing what they love.

However, we are blessed with some that share their knowledge and wisdom and are blessed by a rare few that create new products that make the steps to enlightenment easier for all.



Little is known of how one reaches the pinnacle of enlightenment.

Some say that builders do not progress steadily through the steps of enlightenment but are granted divine inspiration to become builders.

As builders are so busy inventing new and improved units, they are rarely seen around our fountain of knowledge, but much can be learned from them.

There seems to be many styles of builders and they each have different philosophies, it is hard for those journeying on the lower steps to decide whether one is right for them or not – the key is not to be influenced by Evangelicals thinking when they are several steps below the builders!


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