Image credit: Amanda Yum via Unsplash
Dr Masaru Emoto is well known for the Emoto Water Experiments that he conducted around 1999.
These experiments were designed to prove his hypothesis that human consciousness, and intentional thought, can change the molecular structure of water.
He believed that humans could change or effect the molecular structure of water by sending positive thoughts and speaking positive words over it. Likewise, humans could also disrupt or damage water's molecular structure through negative intentions, speaking or thinking harmful thoughts towards the water.
According to Wikipedia, "his water crystal experiments consisted of exposing water in glasses to various words, pictures, or music, then freezing it and examining the ice crystals' aesthetic properties with microscopic photography. He claimed that water exposed to positive speech and thoughts created visually "pleasing" ice crystals, and that negative intentions yielded "ugly" ice formations."
See them for yourself here.
He believed humans could repair or clean up polluted water sources through thought, prayer and visualisation.
The general public was knew to the idea that water has consciousness, and that there are messages from water but were intrigued by the possibilities of hidden messages in water pictures!
His book, Hidden Messages in Water Dr Emoto Hidden Messages in Water was a New York Times Best Seller because other people believed there might be some substance and truth to his work.
Water consciousness and intent
What we now know is that human consciousness through meditation and prayer can change matter (water for instance, and human cells – the building blocks of the body).
There are now many voices sharing their stories of recovery from serious illnesses such as cancers, autoimmune diseases, life threatening allergies, through thought alone.
It’s a fascinating field and scientists in well known institutions around the world, such as Harvard University, Yale, University of Southern California, and Stanford University are starting to pay more attention and devote more research dollars and time into learning more.
There is also growing evidence from studies being conducted in schools and prisons that meditation (conscious intentional prayer) can also make a big difference in places such as schools or prisons, resulting in reducing those challenging behaviours that often occur in groups in these institutions, such as bullying and physical violence.
Praying with Water
We can conduct our own water experiments too, by creating a gratitude prayer for water.
Important Note:
The word prayer here is used here as simply a term for a solemn request for help or an expression of gratitude, thanks or appreciation, appealing to universal consciousness.
Whether you call that God (Good Orderly Direction), or Buddha, or Jesus, or the Dalai Lama, or Muhammad, or Moses, or the Pope, or St Francis of Assisi, or Confucious, or Archangel, or Angel, or Roman God, or Greek God, or Viking or Norse God, or or other religious figure, spiritual deity, or supernatural guide of your choice is your prerogative.
The word “prayer” in this instance has no ‘religious’ or ‘dogmatic’ undertone but is a general term for an earnest hope, or wish, an invocation to call for support or aid from both within and without.
What is Holy Water?
According to Wikipedia, Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, OR derived from a well or spring considered holy.
But, we don’t need to wait for this water to be bestowed upon us.
We can bless water ourselves and make it holy using our conscious intention, just as Dr Emoto’s experiments suggest.
We can use a holy water prayer for protection, for courage, for peace, or as a holy water prayer for home, keeping our family and loved ones safe.
We can use this blessed water to heal something that is showing up in our body such as inflammation, or pain, or some kind of disease (dis-ease) in our system.
Our bodies are made up of up to 60% water, so it makes sense to align with this special liquid and bless the water we drink.
Blessing the water we drink can do no harm but it may well influence the health and wellbeing of our body.
How to make Holy Water
When I first started using a prayer for water, I printed it off in a word document and read it to myself as I drank from my water bottle.
These Super Sparrow 1000ml Water Bottles are the ones I use – I have a yellow and a pink one to help me keep up with drinking my daily water intake.
I’ve had them two years and they look like new.
Totally recommend.
But I wanted to bring more of a ceremonial element to this prayer as it felt too important to not do so.
How to Bless Water Spiritually with Gratitude
Now, I pour my spring water from my bottle into one of my gorgeous pink-hued or blue-hued Pokal Glassesfrom IKEA.
They also come in clear.
When I drink on the go (one of the eight glasses of water I try and imbibe throughout my busy day) I stand in a spot in my kitchen where the sunshine beams in.
Or I take my glass to my teal velvet lounge and sit peacefully for a moment.
I close my eyes and begin to FEEL the energy of gratitude.
Feeling gratitude before I start this water blessing prayer is vital.
It doesn’t matter what you think of to feel gratitude or appreciation.
The key is to FEEL gratitude in your heart, the sensation of open-hearted love and appreciation for something in your life.
Take a moment and FEEL it.
Feel grateful for the delicious hot cup of tea you had upon waking, or for the long, warm hug you had with your partner before work, or the bird who sang sweetly to you as you took your morning walk.
Feel grateful for the abundance of vegetables growing in your garden.
Or that the supermarket was still open last night when you finally got there.
Or for a blue sky day, or rain after a dry spell.
Feel grateful for something in your life, something that happened in the past 24 hours –
- the yummy curry you had for dinner
- for the hot bath you took before bed
- for your favorite perfume scent on your skin today
- for the kind words from a friend
- for the decadent kiss from your lover upon waking
- for your favourite lip stick shade that boosted your mood this morning before you headed out the door
Find SOMETHING to be thankful for.
Just one small thing to be grateful for.
That’s all you need to begin.
Think of it UNTIL your heart literally begins to swell, and you FEEL the muscle expand in your body, open up, fill with love and joy and bliss.
(Not happening? Keep practicing!)
This is the state you must be in before you drinking water with blessings.
Then, only then, can you continue.
Image credit: Tatiana Briday via Unsplash
How to do a Water Blessing Ceremony
Next, say the words in the water verse out loud, either BEFORE you drink, as an invocation.
Or repeat them in your head, WHILE you drink, as a thought, an intention.
I recommend learning this blessing of the water off by heart.
Putting the time into learning something by heart gives a rocket booster of energy to your practice.
It’s a rare thing to learn something by heart these days, but the gifts of rote learning something that is special to your heart are endless.
It means the blessing prayer will live inside you, and you will no longer have to carry a piece of paper with the words of the prayer to bless water on it.
You can repeat this blessing water prayer each and every time you drink.
Or you can make it more of a daily ceremonial event, saying the blessing for water once a day.
Tips for a Spiritual Blessing to Activate Water of Life
When I want to create a ceremony for water, I have a smaller handmade ceramic cup made by a local artisan that is used specifically for my water blessing ritual and nothing else.
You might like to find, make or buy a special water blessing cup too.
Your cup can be made from pottery or earthenware, wood (just like the “Kuksa cups” Swedish folk use daily for their morning coffee or camping trips), stainless steel, enamel, or copper too.
I recommend looking at the water with love first, focusing on the water in the glass or ceramic cup so intently that you can almost see it come alive.
If you like, you can take a special spoon and stir the water before you drink also.
Stirring the water, first clockwise until it forms a vortex, then abruptly stopping, before restarting the stirring in an anti-clockwise direction, is a method used in biodynamic preparations for agriculture.
(I’ve seen and experienced the magic of this unusual gardening exercise many times over the years so stirring is definitely something I include)
I dedicate one minute to stirring the water and that amount of time feels right.
I use a bamboo straw to stir, but you can use a stainless steel straw or a spoon.
Experiment for yourself.
You can also sweeten the scene with tiny bunch of spring flowers in a vase, and light a candle before you begin.
Example Water Ceremony
My ceremony looks like this:
- Lighting of the candle
- Bringing up the feeling of gratitude and appreciation
- Looking at the water with that open-hearted warm sense of gratitude in my heart.
- Stirring the water for 60 seconds.
- Letting the water settle and be still.
- Saying the words out loud before I drink.
- Closing my eyes to block out the senses so I can focus my attention inwardly
- Picking up the cup and drinking the water slowly, imagining it going down into my body, plumping up my cells as it flows and travels around the digestive system.
- I imagine it sweeping up any unfriendly visitor that is attempting to sneakily befriend my body and make itself at home when I’m not looking, ready to clear the rogue out with the gush of water next time I pee.
- I also imagine the water FLOWING gently but determinedly through my body with ease, and non-resistance, feeling the channels it goes through and around as springy, bouncy and elastic (in the same way our healthy veins and arteries should be, not calcified or arthritic)
- Sitting quietly with my eyes closed once I’ve downed the glass of water, staying in a state of gratitude for a minute or so
- Snuffing the candle out at the end.
I end the ceremony by giving a nod of thanks to the maker, the Universe.
Do the same for whoever that is for you.
Colonial Candle Snuffer & Candles for Ceremony
The Colonial Candle Snuffer pictured above is the one I bought from Park Hill on Amazon.
I also love this wrought iron Love Heart Candle Snuffer and was torn between the two.
I also have a beautiful bamboo tray that holds the snuffer and the handmade Japanese Warousoku Daiyo rice wax candles and miniature candlestick holder I use in my rituals and ceremonial practices.
Image credit: Keren Fedida via Unsplash
An Example Blessing for Holy Water
AMBER'S WISE SAGE WATER BLESSING 2024
I am grateful for this sacred water that gives and sustains life. I quench my thirst with this liquid love
As I receive this water and it flows through me, may I recognise the magical nature of all the earth's water
May I strive to always care for and protect the source lovingly
May it nourish my life force & energy and make me feel alive & enthusiastic
May it bolster my state of tranquil calm, trust, peace, ease & non-resistance
May it flow freely and autonomously around my body, aligning with the abundant currents that move around, towards and INTO me
May it be medicine for my heart, mind, body, soul and spirit
May it keep me healthy, and heal and repair when necessary
May it gather up any impurities and cheeky interlopers it finds and kindly sweep them out
May it hydrate and confer safe protection from harm on all the cells and organs in my body and keep them happy 🙂
May it help my buoyant open heart to move blood through my arteries and veins simply and easily, and keep these channels elastic and flexible
May this water bless me with sunshine and fill me with love and light, wisdom and insight
May it grow the wisdom potential in me.
May it remind my judge to practice loving kindness to the ‘defendant’ – it is not my role to accuse. It is to be fair in response. It is to listen, to seek understanding and practice humanity to all humans, and to remember, there but for the grace of God go I.
May my judge stand in all four perspectives of the story, and CHOOSE compassion, empathy, kindness and benevolence (the quality of being well meaning) over criticism, disapproval, and fault-finding.
May it illuminate the way and give me goosebumps when I’m on track
May it always give direction to my soul's calling, so I live with purpose and meaning
May it strengthen my optimism, positivity, playfulness & curiosity
May sprinkle my soul with awe, wonder, joy and laughter.
**Interlopers – something that becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted, or welcome, or are considered not to belong. See interlopers as non-threatening opportunists*. They are not malicious, just take advantage of situations that appear in front of them.
*Opportunists – something that takes advantage of opportunities as, and when, they arise regardless of planning or principle
Healing blessing
May this water blessing ritual bring light and joy to your world too!
Please feel free to edit or adapt it to suit your lifestyle, your beliefs and your needs.
Water blessings are an amazing tool for our spiritual wellbeing and the more people doing this practice, the more powerful it may become.