Message in a Crystal?

by Jane Fritz & r & Tsunamis in Asia. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Glaciers melting around the world. Japanese water researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto says these natural events are urgent messages from water -- nature's way of bringing attention to the impacts of global warming, pollution, disease and even war.


Emoto should know. His lifelong quest has been to understand the mysteries of water. If only we understood water, he says, we might be able to change the world for the better as well as heal our individual ills. After all, 70 percent of our bodies are water, and 70 percent of our planet is water.


Emoto says he understands how water feels -- really. His laboratory experiments have shown that respectful communication with water is the first step. Using a special microscopic technique to capture and photograph frozen water's crystalline energy, which he calls "hado," water's unique language and characteristics become visible.


Photographs of water crystals resemble lacy snowflakes or diamonds when human messages like "thank you" or "I love you" are communicated to water through words (written or spoken in any language), thoughts, art or music. Water typically responds favorably, appearing quite beautiful.


The opposite is also true. Water turns ugly when the human message is ugly. Emoto says it is in the water crystal that its true nature is revealed.


America's fascination with Emoto's radical work on water has been largely a result of the popular Northwest film, What the #$*) Do We Know? The success of the documentary was a real surprise to skeptics of its basic tenet: applying quantum mechanics to human consciousness to understand spirituality and further human potential.


Science writer Michael Shermer, however, considers the movie the latest dish of New Age pabulum. In his article, "Quantum Quackery," in Scientific American (January 2005), he debunks the film's message: "They attempt to link the weirdness of the quantum world to mysteries of the macro world ... In reality, the gap between subatomic quantum effects and large-scale macro systems is too large to bridge."


Nevertheless, Emoto's popularity is on the rise in this country and around the world. He now has four published books, including two that have been on the New York Times best seller list -- the most popular title being The Hidden Messages of Water.


For the last five years, Emoto has traveled the world from Austria to Copenhagen to speak about his work, often near beautiful bodies of water. Invited by Sandpoint's Gardenia Center and its community of alternative thinkers, Emoto paused between lectures in L.A. and San Francisco to squeeze in a visit to the Panida Theatre last month. His two-hour media presentation, delivered in Japanese with the help of an interpreter, garnered a standing ovation from an enthusiastic and near sellout crowd -- not to mention ample book sales in the theater lobby.


Such glowing public response has intensified Emoto's mission with water. He now believes that it's possible to purify the water on the planet simply by expressing love and gratitude to it as a form of what he calls "hado prayer." He believes this simple act can also transform the world by raising human consciousness and healing our own watery bodies. The World Day of Love and Thanks to Water, held in late July, was instituted three years ago as the focal event to help make it happen.


In addition, Emoto has visited the United Nations with his message and he also met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Sun Valley this past September to share his belief about water's potential to get the earth back into balance.


With world peace as his goal, Emoto seems to have a pretty good following. In Sandpoint, he had the audience sing John Lennon's "Imagine" together. As the image of a water crystal emerged on the screen, there were tears in people's eyes and a palpable sense of unity in the room. The "Imagine" water crystal will be featured on the cover of his U.S. publication, Love Thyself: A Message From Water -- along with this message from Yoko Ono: "Wishing a beautiful hado to be sent to the world. I heartily endorse this book." Dr. Masaru Emoto, dream on.