The Water We Drink

“Don’t drink the water,” was a suggestion someone made before our trip to Mexico. I’m happy to report that hotels took several measures to ensure the water we consumed was clean and safe.

Being surrounded by water, it was natural to reflect on its beauty and importance. Our bodies are mostly water. Plants and animals depend on it. What would life be like in its absence, or would life exist at all? If you haven’t thought about it much, it is time to do so. Unfortunately, many don’t think about issues until they affect our pocketbook (finances). Well, that time is here! It is said that water is the next oil and will become as costly. Goodness, I remember when they began selling bottled water and wondered who would ever pay for it. Now, we in the U.S. throw away nearly 70 million water-bottle containers a day. Visit this website and watch the counter in the lower right sidebar tally up http://www.container-recycling.org .

So during the trip, one of the things I pondered was whether it was safer for people to swim in the ocean or stay at the pool … safety aside, which is cleaner? Opinions differ, but the need for water awareness is crucial not only from a survival and global-warming perspective, but because water is one of the five Feng Shui elements (and 2008 is a water year).

We are what we think. One of our recommended authors is Dr. Masaru Emoto. In The Hidden Messages in Water, Dr. Emoto demonstrates that our thought processes affect water. Just as life is about movement, change, and flow … so is water. A dense body is dehydrated and is more apt to hold toxins, thus why we’re supposed to drink a lot of water. In Hidden Messages, Dr. Emoto’s freezes water and photographs how it crystallizes. When projecting commanding (forceful) thoughts the water becomes distorted. I can’t help but think about frogs and species that are becoming more deformed or extinct because of what we’re doing to water and the environment. Then, when projecting productive (supportive) thoughts, Emoto’s crystals are quite lovely. In my opinion, his work aligns and confirms classic Feng Shui principles.

We are what we consume. Evidence makes a case for purified water. I personally noticed a difference in my health when we installed a whole-house purification, deionization water system in the 1980s. Anyone who visits notices it too. Everything tastes better and guests love their skin after showers.

I don’t believe in coincidences so upon my return and reviewing mail, there in the pile was information regarding water. It inspired me to take pen to paper (or, in this case, fingers to keypad).

Something that affects drinking water, swimming water, and our health is chlorine. Here’s information from the Medical College of Wisconsin. According to the U.S. Council of Environmental Quality, “cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine.” Simply stated, chlorine is a pesticide; as defined by the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) whose sole purpose is to kill living organisms.” I saw children, adults, and birds drinking pool water.

Breast cancer, which now affects one in every eight women in North America, has been linked to chlorine. A Hartford, Connecticut, study showed that “women with breast cancer have 50-60% higher levels of organochlorines (chlorination byproducts) in their breast tissue than women without breast cancer.”

I mentioned our guests taking showers. A warm shower opens the skin’s pores so we absorb more chlorine. The steam we inhale while showering can contain up to 50 times the level of chemicals than tap water since chlorine vaporizes much faster … visa vise chlorine gas (chloroform) goes directly into our bloodstream. For more information, visit Global Healing Center.

There is good news! Chlorine is one of the easiest substances to remove from our water. As the above sites attest, no one will argue that chlorine serves an important purpose and that hazards of doing away with chlorine are greater than or equal to related health risks. Manage your environment consciously, or it manages you!© We are what we think and consume.