Initial Contact
Surprisingly, I can trace my initial contact with the house by the sea to a specific night of dreaming. In the summer of 2010 I took part in a month long hiking trip with the organization outward bound. On the last night of the trip (that is, the last night we were out in the woods), we took part in a tradition where each of the hikers were broaght to a different patch of the mountain without food or shelter, and told to use the survival skills we'd accumulated over the last trip to "survive" for a day and night. Of course, we were given a sleeping mat and a bag of pack of supplies, but we were told to try to fast for the day. I'm sure someone can explain the symbolism or the thinking behind the "challenge," and I don't mean to claim that fasting led me to some greater spiritual state, but that night, fighting to get to sleep in the summer heat in my makeshift hovel, I dreamt of swimming through a vast sea, reaching a tiny island, on which stood a small, two story house.
It's my belief that this "kernel" form of the House by the Sea was inspired by a single shot from the studio Ghibli film "Spirited Away" which had percolated in my imagination over many years (the house from Kiki's Delivery Service is also a contender for the source of some of the imagery).
