When we practice awareness we're present, in the flow of energy, we feel the rising and falling fluctuations of the body-mind in the form of breath, thoughts, sensations, actions. We are also able to note the calm spaces between these fluctuations knowing that the mere act of paying attention carries us forward more fully conscious. A few weeks ago I was enjoying the open sea that stretches out as you step off Hayama beach. Flanked by protruding rocks the shallow waters offer a small haven for sail boats and beginner stand up paddle boarders, with the enticing view of Oshima Island looming in the distance for those drawn to ocean endurance challenges. As I swam through the clear water, buoyed up by the salt and spurred on by the mid-day sun I found myself slipping into a calm and easy rhythm that I never feel in the confines of a pool. The surface swell was no more than a foot high but it was enough energy to add to the experience. I became aware of the small waves lifting and pushing me, then lowering and slowing me as revolutions of crest and trough passed. With time I began to see the physical waves in the same way as body-mind sensations, equating the crests with cycles of positive experiences and the troughs as less so. But as I swam further judgements about the rising and falling waters dissolved. Neutral sea-level position became a kind of basic awareness of the flow around me, and my (inter)action through it. Notions of advantage or hindrance fell away, only movement remained, and a blissful stillness that pervaded everything. At times small sets of several waves overtook me, at other times the flat sea lulled me to the point where my mind wanted to wander off again. The trick was to keep returning attention to the present moment. Waves or not, remain fully immersed in the sea of experience, honing technique in order to feel more fully each stroke, each movement through the water, each waves push or drag, the current, the density around one. To sense also when to move with the flow and when to surrender to it. To choose to swim or to float or to even dive below. Whatever we do in the water, the more awareness we can bring the more we can let the flow teach us. *Disclaimer, Waiver, Apology, Warning: Essentially meditation cannot be spoken about, only experienced. The more one says, the crazier one can appear.
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The roots of homeopathy can be traced back to the time of Hippocrates around 460 – 370 BC. Cases of poisoning were treated with diluted solutions of water containing the poison itself. Even in extremely diluted solutions it was recognized that the water took on the characteristics of the toxin, and it was thought that the greater the dilution, the greater its efficacy. The water was believed to essentially copy the molecular information of the substance (toxin) and it was this copied information that acted as a cure. In 1988 French scientist Jaques Benveniste discovered that medicine diluted with water to the point where the medicine was no longer clinically detectable was just as effective as the undiluted medicine. Curious about the idea that water can copy information Dr. Masaru Emoto, an alternative health practitioner, decided to take high resolution photographs of ice crystals from frozen water frozen at -20 degrees Celsius. Believing, as modern quantum physicists do, that “Existence is vibration” he expanded the experiments by first exposing the unfrozen water to sound vibrations, in the form of music and spoken words. Tap water will not form crystals because the chlorine destroys the molecular structure found in natural water. By contrast, any form of natural water (hot springs, glaciers, lakes, rivers above and below ground) easily produced crystal of varying quality. Emoto's book The Hidden Messages In Water shows the photographs revealing amazing crystal formations that lead him to claim that water responds, and arranges itself to, sound vibration as well as written forms of communication. Through various controlled, and uncontrolled experiments, using natural, spring and distilled water he exposed samples to classical music, group meditation, prayers, and words written on paper (themes of love and gratitude being the most effective) which yielded beautiful, well-formed concentric crystals. Water exposed to heavy metal music and derogatory words failed to produce anything but distorted malformed images, some of which actually bore resemblance to the structure of cancer cells. Because water not only copies but also retains information, Emoto posits that water possesses memory. At Fujiwara Dam a Shinto priest's incantation over the water cleared the water considerably. A group meditation at another lake in Japan prevented an annual outbreak of pungent algae from forming. This led Emoto to conclude that the “energy of human consciousness and words... thoughts have the power to change water and other substances.” He began to call water the “master listener” - able to perceive, absorb and reflect the vibrations of the world. He also documented cases and took photos of crystals to show that water also changes in response to a person's gaze, mood and even an individual's physical health. He further realized that water exposed to any stimuli retains the new structural information long after the stimuli have been removed, thus showing the vast and long-lasting effects of pollution. Emoto believes that due to these attributes, not only can water be used to heal us, but it also has the power to cleanse and regenerate itself. He makes the radical claim that our emotional happiness is linked to the state of water on our planet and, like Schauberger before him, Emoto emphasizes the importance of ensuring that water retains its vitality by allowing it to constantly flow. Natural water circulates throughout the planet in the form of clouds, rain, lakes and rivers, and seeps down to become groundwater which eventually re-enters the ocean and it is this constant movement that allows it to absorb the information from minerals and salts that gives it life supporting properties. Exposing water to high pressures in long rigid pipes causes its memory retaining structures to break down, resulting in stale depleted water. Water must remain free to be vibrant and of real benefit to us. Emoto's findings have implications for medical treatment, environmental policies, political agendas, water purification treatments, and global economic prosperity. Blending the mystery with science has begun in the practice of purifying water reserves using ultrasound vibrations at frequencies opposite to those of the unwanted toxins. And Joan Davis at the Zurich Technical University has demonstrated how we can counter the effects of our current treatment of water by introducing small ice crystals into water which allows the minerals to be retained and thus results in the water growing healthier crops. On a personal level Dr. Emoto recommends blessing your water before you drink or use it, in order to cleanse it. In his experiments the most concentric crystals were formed when the words "I love you" and Thank you" were spoken. This month a study was published in Environmental Research Letters that revealed truly massive amounts of groundwater stored under the surface of the African continent. Though not all the water can be extracted the total volume of water mapped is about 660 000 cubic kilometres - 100 times more than "the annual renewable freshwater resources" of Africa, and 20 times greater than all the freshwater lakes. Lying in rock basins, between layers of rock, or in some cases held within the rocks themselves, most of the large underground reserves or aquifers have been found in Northern Africa particularly Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Chad and Algeria. They are mostly the result of rain or snow that fell in the region about 5 000 years ago and seeped through the surface to the sedimentary and more porous rocks below. On a continent where 300 000 000 people lack access to safe drinking water and only about 5% of arable land is irrigated this is an incredible discovery. Access to clean water is the key to all forms of social development, through which communities' health improves, economies strengthen, education is prioritized and the production of goods becomes possible. Several concerns are already being voiced. Conventional large-scale drilling and pumping of the biggest reserves poses political and environmental questions. The groundwater is essentially a non-renewable resource - just like oil, coal, or silver. When it's all gone, that's it. The potential for mismanagement is also worrying. There are too many stereotypical but tragically true cases of corrupt leaders forsaking the needs of the people for profit, partnered by unscrupulous multinational corporation. Coca Cola, Pepsi and Danone are in a water war to corner the bottled water market of Mexico - another country where due to it's population distribution an alarming number of people lack adequate water supplies. Coca Cola's supremacy in the soda market was largely due to the unheard of number of concessions it was allowed by the government to utilize Mexico's groundwater supplies and rivers. The fact that former president Vincente Fox was also a former president of Coca Cola Mexico raised questions as to the relationship between government and the beverage corporation. A further issue is the removal of vegetation and forests that often occurs when large scale extractions take place which would ultimately be detrimental and offset any short term water gains. Land devoid of plant life is unable to remain stable and precious top soil can be lost to wind and run-off after rains, nor is it able to trap water and create the very aquifers that have been found. For many, the huge amounts of water offer hope against the constant vulnerability they face in harsh and changeable climates. Whatever is to be done with the water it's clear that a great deal of thought needs to go into the planning, with the long-term needs of both the environment and the end users in mind. A good start would be to make all processes as transparent as possible, and to acknowledge our connection to all species, nations and the planet through water. Sources: "Huge" Water Resource Exists Under Africa, BBC News Coca-Cola and Water Resources in Chiapas Although almost two thirds of the planet is covered by water, less than 1% of this is readily drinkable. Since 1993, March 22nd has been designated as International World Water Day to highlight the global issue of safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Earlier this month the UN announced that it has met it's Millennium Development Goal of improving access to clean drinking water ahead of the 2015 deadline. Compared to 76% in 1990, 89% of people now have improved water supplies. Of the remaining minority, a staggering 40% live in sub-Saharan Africa. The problem is compounded by the related widespread lack of adequate sanitation, another signifier of poverty and disease, particularly in India where almost 630 million people don't have access to a toilet. Unsafe water and sanitation causes 80% of all sickness and disease. The solutions proposed are comprehensive and cover changes to education, legislation and agricultural practice, with sustainability being the key factor. Digging wells and boreholes, harvesting rainwater, protecting rivers, lakes and springs, water filtering and purification all have their roles. But the overwhelming message is that really what is required is a fundamental shift in our consciousness in terms of how we relate to water as a natural, and possibly the most important, resource. Most importantly, developed world countries need to recognize that water and energy are mutually dependent resources. Many countries are making commendable efforts to help meet demands through recycling and desalination plants. These processes are energy intensive, and the production of energy requires water. In fact all forms of production use water. Depending on the climate and methods used, producing 1 cup of coffee can use 140 litres of water, 1 glass of wine 120 litres, 1 glass of beer 75 litres, 1 glass of milk 200 litres, an egg 135 litres, a bag of potato crisps 185 litres, a hamburger 2400 litres, 1 beef steak 7000 litres and a new car 148 000 litres. Currently more than a billion people on Earth have to make do with around only 5 litres of water a day to wash, cook, clean and drink. Investing in water stressed communities yields tremendous results. Charity: water and Water.org continue to show how a donation of as little as 20$ can gift another human being with safe drinking water. For every 1$ invested in water, sanitation and hygiene programs there is an estimated 8$ return in improved local economies and lowered healthcare costs. Children are able attend to school, women are free to pursue jobs, communities can feed and improve themselves. Anyone reading this is privileged and there's a lot we can do: The minimum is to be more aware of our water and energy consumption. As consumers we can support local farmers. We can be aware of where of how and from where large corporations obtain their resources and produce their products. We can make the effort to seek out fair/direct trade products and even request suppliers to stock fair trade products. And if you'd like to support the Good News Campaign to gift a community with its own clean water supply please follow the link and make a contribution. I'm typing this blog in fairly comfortable conditions. My laptop is plugged in, my stomach is full, the kitchen and dining room lights are both on, the heater is gurgling comfortably next to me, music is playing and I have a bottle of fresh water mixed with lemon juice to ward of any colds. Of all these luxuries the last one is most on my mind. Almost a billion people worldwide don't have access to safe drinking water. A billion. Almost impossible to believe but tragically true evidenced by the number of people (overwhelmingly children under 5 lacking strong immune systems) that die from preventable diseases linked to dirty water and lack of basic sanitation. According to charity:water more people die from unsafe water than from violence and war each year. Water.org states that a child dies from a water related illness every 20 seconds. Communities lacking access to safe water and sanitation are at all sorts of risks. Women are vulnerable to harassment and attack as they walk long distances. The relentless daily weight of water leads to early back pain, and they are prevented from attending to their homes, children and any kind of economic activity. Children able to carry water miss school because of the basic need to survive thus ensuring the cycle of poverty, and in some cases private water distributors hold humans to ransom with exorbitant prices that further cripple struggling communities. Good News Campaign In cooperation with local partners charity:water has assisted over 2 500 000 people in 19 countries to have access to safe water. They don't give handouts - they empower communities to enrich their own lives. All donations are tax deductible and 100% of each contribution is directly invested in their projects. They have a tracking system that shows how each dollar is spent, as well as Google GPS coordinates to show proof of completed projects. Through drilling well points and setting up distribution points charity:water is helping to promote health for villages, schools and clinics, and creating a platform for economic growth too. The need to have fresh drinking water and proper sanitation is so fundamental to life that anyone can relate to it. I'd like to use my 40th birthday to help fund a project, and so I've set up the The Good News Campaign on charity:water's associated collection site to allow my friends and anyone else to join in. The target amount of 5000 USD will ensure that a village of 250 can begin taking steps towards health and prosperity. If this interests you, you can help invest in people through the link above. And please spread the word. Blessings and thanks. Grant Sources: charity:water water.org There is a common misconception that a wave consists of water traveling over the sea surface, when in fact it is energy that is moving through the medium of the water giving it a particular shape. An analogy would be that of a whip that is cracked. Energy snakes out from one's hand along the length of the whip to deliver a nasty sting but the whip itself doesn't actually move freely towards the target. At sea waves are generated by wind energy which disrupts the sea surface creating haphazard patterns. Over time these disturbances become arranged into more coherent patterns which we see as waves. As energy passes through the medium of the water it does cause the water to move, but only slightly, and the molecules return to their basic positions once the wave has passed. Pretor-Pinney, author of The Wave Watcher's Companion, writes that basically waves just "borrow" the water briefly to express their form. The wave energy transfers from molecule to molecule very quickly without ever attaching to just one position or part of the water.
He then points out that we too are constantly changing, though much slower of course. The atoms that make up our adult bodies are not all those with which we were born, and should we live long enough it's fair to suggest that all atoms and molecules will eventually be replaced, making us a completely different and new being from who we were on our first day on Earth. Like the waters both within and outside us, our very physical nature in which we invest so much energy and identity in, is in constant flux. We are continuously breaking down and forming up, transferring old material for new, borrowing atoms from the world to shape ourselves! And so like waves that borrow water for their energy to flow, could we not also be seen as energy borrowing temporary forms to express ourselves? In 1835 the French zoologist Dujardin discovered protoplasm, the magical and mysterious, and formerly secret, ingredient of life. To paraphrase Marks, protoplasm is 75% water and is found in every living cell of all living, and only living, organisms. Protoplasm is the stuff that is "alive" in animals and plants and is believed to be the first life form on Earth. Humans cannot create protoplasm, we have to receive it from plants or plant-eating animals. Despite difficulties in actually defining just what protoplasm is, its clear that without it life cannot exist. Surfers live for the death of the wave. In its last moments the breaking wave offers a place for us to play. But as Pretor-Pinney states energy never dies, it only changes form. So the end of the wave is not really the end. Some of the energy converts into sound waves as the crashing of surf, some energy become small tremors felt on the beach as the wave meets the shore or reef, and some energy even converts into heat through the friction of rocks and sand. If we are energy, or soul or spirit, then where does our energy go when we end? Does it continue to a place of rest as in Heaven, is it converted and recycled as in reincarnation, is it reabsorbed by the universe for other use like the atoms that we discard? What other manifestations of energy are there that we can't even imagine? Our planet is alive not only because water exists, but because it circulates. Water's movement accounts for, amongst others, the presence of weather, migration patterns, varying zones of vegetation, and land purification. Similarly, we rely on the circulation of our blood to maintain the supply of oxygen and nutrients essential for life.
Chemically, blood and seawater are quite similar. The sodium, potassium and chloride ions in blood are also found in the oceans, as are the dissolved gases oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, since all cells need these to function. In 1897 French scientist Rene' Quinton made the discovery that human cells could actually live in seawater. In a bizarre and daring experiment he removed virtually all of a small dog's blood and replaced it with a saline solution that was essentially diluted seawater. The liquid was called "isotonic" because it's concentration of salts and minerals was the same as that of blood (9 parts per thousand). The dog, named Sodium (presumably after the formula for salt - sodium chloride), accepted the saline solution and returned to full health within a week after the treatment. Sodium went on to live a further five years in good health. Since Quinton's breakthrough saline drips have saved countless lives. 50 years later his studies were successfully replicated on dogs of varying breeds. Questions have of course been raised about the implications of this strange compatibility for other mammals. And because isotonic seawater is essentially a living substance, researchers now believe that Marine Plasma, also called Quinton Serum or Ocean Plasma, can actually be used to protect against illness and cell decay due to its ability to rejuvenate cells. My brief article Our Bodies of Water has more interesting facts on water and its importance for us. Why should we care what happens to sharks? Most shark species began to differentiate about 64 million years ago but their origins date to around 400 million years ago. They've survived everything including at least five ice ages and the extinction of the dinosaurs. Until now. Due to longline fishing (which uses up to hundreds of baited hooks attached to a main line to catch indiscriminately) and finning (a barbaric and lucrative practice where the sharks' fins are usually removed on board and the live sharks then tossed overboard where they sink and drown), certain areas are showing shark population losses of up to 97%. Somewhere between 73 - 100 million sharks are estimated to be slaughtered annually through finning alone, which serves a huge market for the traditional Chinese delicacy shark fin soup. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN Red List) of the 440 known species, almost 100 are now either vulnerable to, or under imminent threat of, extinction At the current rate Hammerheads, Mako, Blacktip, Whitetip, Bull, Whale, Nurse, Thresher and even the much maligned Great White sharks could all but disappear. The documentary Sharkwater (2007) helped raise awareness about the crisis and demonstrated the power of education and conscience when Costa Ricans took to the streets to oust blackmarket operators there, reaffirming the marine reserve of Cocos Island as a safe haven for sharks where both longline fishing and shark finning are illegal. Now for the good news of 2011. March: Costa Rica updated existing legislation to also protect the seamounts (submerged mountains) around it which ensures that the coral life and nutrient rich waters can continue to supply food for its abundant migratory and resident species. Ecuador has similar laws protecting the sharks and wildlife of its Galapagos Marine Reserve, as do the nations of Palau, Guam, Honduras, The Maldives and The Bahamas. July: Taiwan made waves becoming the first Asian nation to pass legislation designed to limit shark finning. Culturally linked to mainland China, Taiwan is a huge market for shark fins, meat, liver and, oil. New measures require boats to return with fully in tact sharks so that fins are removed on shore. A public awareness campaign was also launched to try and dispel certain myths such as the belief that sharks don't get sick. September: California, a huge Asian and seafood market, followed the examples of Hawaii, Washington and Oregan in passing a bill to ban the sale of shark fins. At the same time, Richard Branson joined retired basketball star Yao Ming in Shanghai to raise awareness of the plight of sharks in Shanghai. October: The Marshall Islands, a collection of atolls in the Pacific, dedicated a massive and unprecedented almost 2 million square kilometres of ocean to the preservation of sharks by banning not only all forms of commercial fishing of sharks, but even the trade or possession of sharks or any shark parts. And four days ago Toronto began preparations to do the same pass laws banning shark fin products. Shark finning is terribly cruel and longlining is excessive and wasteful. But these laws are also necessary because they're based on other sobering and important facts. Sharks are not just the apex predators of the seas. They are the gatekeepers of a vast, complex and inter-related ecosystem and keep the balance in check by controlling the other species. Without sharks, other fish would multiply disproportionately and gorge themselves on the reefs and plankton vital for all species, including our own. By some estimates plankton is responsible for producing up to half the world's oxygen. It's also a major factor in controlling carbon dioxide since it absorbs the gas easily. Upsetting the oceans ecosystems will create massive upheaval for all life on earth. It's up to us to keep the balance. We know too much to keep losing sharks to greed, customs or fears. Protect sharks. Their fate may be our own. Sources: Marshall Islands Creates World's Largest Shark Sanctuary Costa Rica protects huge marine area around Cocos Island The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species Taiwan Set to become First in Asia to Ban Shark Finning at Sea Why is it that we so often use water during blessings or baptisms?
This thought was on my mind as I returned from visiting my brother Mark, sister-in-law Emma, and nephew Harrison last month. One of the things on my holiday "to do" list was to perform a blessing for my Godson, and all I really knew was that in order to do so we needed to be near the sea, and to use water. Now back in Japan and re-reading William Marks's The Holy Order of Water it occurs to me that, apart from the obvious connotations of birth, cleansing and purity; not only is water quite simply life, but it's also connection. The water flowing along the rugged coast of East Lothian is connected to the water pulsing into the wide arc of Sagami Bay through a constant global procession of clouds, rain, hail, snow, ice and groundwater gathered for a time in lakes, wells, rivers, glaciers and seas. Some of this water arrived here from outer space in the form of ice showers, or trapped inside comets. So on a macro scale the water here connects earth to the stuff of the cosmos. Water, like life, is always all around us. And of course in us. We humans are water beings, sustained by it from the instant we're conceived for the rest of our lives. We are, in fact, physically of water. When Harrison lived inside Emma he was 90% water. Now at 15 months his tender body is about 78% water. His rapidly expanding little brain will always be around 85% water, as will 90% of his blood. When he's old and grey he'll still be mostly water, and a brilliant composite of all the salts and minerals nature can flow through him. The same as flowers and trees. Touching some of that seawater to Harrison's forehead, the traditionally recognized seat of consciousness, was a way for me to mark his arrival, and celebrate a spiritual birth connecting him to every living thing on the planet, on a macro as well as a micro level. Just a few days before, we'd gone for a walk and I showed him the sea and told him it was a gift for him. I hope he always feels connected to himself and to life, and that he grows up to be a guardian of the earth, and its waters that link all life. When he's older I'll show him the sea again and tell him that he is water. For now though, it would be great if he'd just agree to having his hair rinsed. |
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