Love & Gratitude

About two weeks ago my wonderful mother gave me the the book, "The Hidden Messages in Water," by Masaru Emoto.

The basic premise of the book involves Japanese scientist Emoto's experiments with exposing water to certain external stimuli, such as music or pictures, freezing the water, and then photographing the resulting images. Emoto is always sure to take before and after photos, often times with some surprising results.

After years of research, Emoto believes very deeply that the fundamental structures of water can be and are indeed effected by anything from music, to vocalized & written words, to pictures, to thoughts--to really any sort of external influence or stimulus. Emoto has found that speaking words like "love and gratitude" with sincerity results in intricately formed crystals of astounding beauty, while saying things like "you fool" to water results in damaged, hazy crystals. Furthermore, Emoto writes emphatically about the necessity of expressing this love & gratitude to everything, especially human beings, as we are made up of 70% water ourselves. If unkind words forms damaged crystals in the fundamental structures of water, what could they do to our own cellular structures or psychological constitution?

It seems to me a very worthy question indeed. And an empowering one at that. Could simply feeling or thinking love and gratitude towards a glass of water improve its quality or vitality as one guzzles it down? If anything, one would surely enjoy every sip with that sort of awareness in mind during a glorious guzzling session.

One thing I've realized lately is this: if what Emoto says is true, how could I possibly integrate such a philosophy into my own life? After all, I have been drinking and cooking and swimming in water my whole life without much notion of the effect my own thoughts and feelings have whilst interacting with the liquid goodness that is H2O. So how could I create a lasting impression in my own state of being that actually shifts the way I interact with water or anything else on a day to day basis? Welp, Emoto assures the reader that it is becoming more and more possible everyday to carry out these water crystal experiments in a cost effective manner. And if I were the type to utilize micro-observational technology and all sorts of other scientific gizmos and gadgets, I might just give it a try. But this is not my way. Fortunately, Emoto supplies any even easier, more accessible, and possibly more poignant means of proving to oneself the impact of our own thoughts and feelings.

Emoto recommends taking a look up in the sky from time to time for a little cloud observation. But instead of simply appreciating the shapes and forms of these nomadic sky creatures, try a little experiment. Focus on a cloud, and really direct your attention at its shape and size, taking in all the details. Then, with all your imagination and and feeling, pretend that the cloud is slowly beginning to dissolve. It might be better to start with a small, loner cloud, and then work towards a massive cloud city. Anyhow, continue to focus on the cloud, imagining that it's slowly dissolving. Really focus your attention on it with deep concentration, but don't strain. Just enjoy the experience. After a little while, say or think something to the effect of "thank you for having dissolved," and continue to imagine that the cloud is dissipating. Keep this up until it melts away, and you have just provided yourself with an amazing first hand experience of the power that our own thoughts and feelings have on our reality. In this case, on clouds, which are very subtle amalgamations of H2O, no?

My brother Hunter and I were bouldering in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in El Dorado Springs, Colorado some two weeks ago. When we reached the top of the foothill we could see both Denver and Boulder, as well as the tiny town of El Dorado Springs. The sun was shining warm and bright, and the sky was almost completely clear but for a few clouds. We had both just finished Emoto's book, so we were curious to see if what is he said about the clouds was true. So we did just as Emoto said...

And what were our results, you may wonder? Well, I wouldn't be writing about a failed experiment(s), would I? If you find the find the idea hard to believe, I surely do not blame you. All we could do was look at each other & laugh in disbelief, both for the first cloud and the second cloud. Even looking back on it now seems more like a dream than something that actually happened in this world, in this reality of mine (& ours).

But don't take my word for it! Go on and give it a try! And bring a few friends along as well to multiply the effect. The more imagination the better, right? It might not even be a bad idea to read Emoto's book beforehand. In this way, one can be theoretically prepared for the experience. And if the experiment is successful, perhaps drinking a glass of water will never be the same again? I can say for myself that I much more inclined to feel love and gratitude for every sip I take. Mmmmmmm water.