It's Now About How Happy, Not How Full the Glass Is

Have you heard about the latest research about water quality coming out of Japan? It's even more alarming than that report about traces of pharmaceuticals showing up in our local water. If you've been in a Cafe Gratitude or other venues with hippie-dippy offerings, then you may have seen a book with pretty snowflake-like photos called The Hidden Messages In Water by Masaru Emoto. In this book and other publications put out by Emoto, you will find information about his research showing that words can influence the quality of water.

Mr. Emoto has experimented with taping words to bottles of water and then photographing the crystalline form of the molecules. He insists that positive words like thank you and chi of love have resulted in beautiful formations, while words like I hate you and You make me sick form mutilated or chaotic looking blobs. Beyond the printed word, Emoto has photographed similar results from water that was subjected to various types of music and prayer. He has also shown the same contrast between water taken from pristine sources and that from sources that are exposed to high levels of pollution.

Some insist that it's a farce; Emoto may be too selective about the photos he chooses to connect to words in order to demonstrate his theory. While refusing to repeat his experiments double blinded to reduce chances of personal bias, Emoto insists that his studies have shown that the power of words can improve or degrade the quality of water. He has even had his research team photograph molecules of water that have been "influenced" by foreign words so that they can prove that their results remain the same despite not knowing what outcome to expect.

Pseudoscience, or is there something to it?

Whether or not words or intent influence the structure of water may remain a mystery. Knowing that there is little solid science to back Emoto's claims, I still decided to tape words and images of positivity to my Brita filter. At the very least, my pitcher looks much prettier now and doesn't advertise the Clorox-owned company as blatantly. On another level, just seeing those words like Create with an open mind and Love definitely do have an influence over my mindset. And, after all, we humans are over 90 percent water.