My name is Tobin Browne, and I started saltwater | still because I was tired of pretending I had it all figured out.
I’d spent years consuming wellness content that promised transformation in 21 days, spiritual teachings that claimed to have all the answers, and self-help advice that suggested healing was just a matter of thinking more positively. And whilst some of it was genuinely helpful, most of it felt like drinking saltwater—promising to quench a thirst it only intensified.
What I was actually looking for was honesty. Space for the questions that don’t have neat answers. Permission to sit with both the light and the shadow without being told to rush past the difficult bits. A place that acknowledged that mental wellness and spirituality aren’t separate territories but overlapping landscapes, and that navigating them requires more nuance than most content allows.
So I created that space. This blog is my attempt to write the kind of honest, unpolished reflections I wish I’d found when I was looking. It’s not a guide. It’s not a system. It’s not a promise that if you do X, you’ll achieve Y. It’s just one person—me—trying to make sense of what it means to heal, to seek, and to simply be human in a world that wants quick fixes and tidy narratives.
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saltwater | still explores two interconnected themes: mental wellness and what I call “Being & Becoming”—the spiritual dimension of existence that doesn’t require doctrine or certainty.
Being is about presence. About sitting with what is, even when what is feels unbearable. About acknowledging the full spectrum of human experience—the anxiety, the grief, the doubt, the mess—without rushing to fix it or spiritually bypass it. It’s the mental wellness work of learning to be with yourself as you actually are, not as you think you should be.
Becoming is about transformation. About the quiet (and sometimes loud) evolution of consciousness that happens when you stop resisting your own growth. About spirituality without the requirement of belief—agnostic seeking, questions without answers, the recognition that there’s something sacred in being alive even if you’re not sure what that something is or where it’s leading you.
Together, Being & Becoming capture what this blog is really about: the honest, messy, nonlinear work of staying present whilst simultaneously evolving. Of holding space for who you are right now whilst making room for who you’re becoming. Of integrating rather than transcending. Of being fully human whilst exploring what might lie beyond the purely material.
I write about shadow work and small rebellions. About the loneliness of being known and the magic hidden in ordinary moments. About spiritual bypassing and the power of doing nothing. About maintenance mode and ascension. About what nourishes and what just makes us thirstier.
None of it is prescriptive. None of it claims to be the answer. It’s just honest reflection from someone who’s still navigating the same territory, still learning, still becoming.
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I should be clear about what this blog is not: it’s not therapy, it’s not medical advice, and it’s not a substitute for professional support. If you’re struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a qualified therapist, counsellor, or mental health professional. If you’re in crisis, contact a crisis helpline in your area.
What I offer here is reflection, not treatment. Companionship in the questions, not solutions to the problems. A reminder that you’re not alone in the messy middle of becoming, but not a roadmap out of it.
A note on professional support: The content on this blog explores personal experiences with mental wellness and spirituality. It is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re experiencing mental health difficulties, please seek support from a qualified therapist, counsellor, GP, or mental health service. In a crisis, contact emergency services or a crisis helpline immediately.
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This blog is for people who don’t yet know where they belong. For those navigating the overlapping territories of healing and seeking without a clear map. For anyone who’s tired of toxic positivity but hasn’t given up on the possibility of something sacred. For the sceptics who still wonder. For the believers who still doubt. For everyone living in the in-between.
If you’re looking for certainty, you won’t find it here. But if you’re looking for honest company whilst you sit with your own uncertainty—whilst you do the slow, patient work of separating the saltwater from the still—then you’re in the right place.
I’m glad you’re here.