Douglas E. Noll, Esq.
September 2004
“If you
cannot say something nice about someone, don’t say it at all!”
Remember your mother or aunt or grandmother telling
you that. As it turns out, she should have said, “If you cannot
think something nice about someone, don’t think at all!” Thoughts
apparently have far more power on the physical level than we have ever
believed.
This spring I was given a copy of the English
translation of Masaru Emoto’s “The Hidden Messages in Water.” (Beyond
Words Publishing 2004, Hillsboro, Oregon). Emoto is a Japanese
scientist that had spent most of his career studying wave forms in
water. He began to study the crystalline structure of frozen
water, comparing photographs he took of pure and polluted sources of
water. One day, as serendipitous science often happens, a lab
assistant pondered out loud what would happen if water were exposed to
thought forms.
Emoto designed the experiment by writing out several
messages in Japanese and taping them with the message facing inward to
the water. One message was “You make me sick!” and the other
message was “Love and Gratitude.” He kept several control samples
of exactly the same water isolated from these two experimental
sets. He let the water sit for a day, then froze samples and took
pictures of the crystalline structures. The difference between
the control and the two samples was more than remarkable; it was
astounding. The control formed an amorphous crystal with no
defining characteristics. The “You make me sick” sample formed a
distorted, ugly, yet complex crystalline structure. The “Love and
Gratitude” sample formed a brilliant, beautiful, highly complex
crystal. Needless to say, Emoto was as surprised as anyone.
He repeated the experiment over and over with the same results.
He sent out copies of his photographs and methodology to other
scientists, who replicated his work. Then he began experimenting
with different thought forms, different people, and different music.
For example, the crystalline structure formed by the
thought form “Adolph Hitler” was asymmetrical and ugly, while the
structure of the water exposed to the thought form “Mother Teresa” was
complex, bright, and symmetrical. Many other examples are
presented in Emoto’s book.
Emoto concludes that, as the mystical sages have
been saying for ages, our thoughts literally affect physical
matter. When we consider that our human bodies are over 90
percent water, the power of thought becomes highly significant.
As I read the book and studied the photographs, the relationship of
Emoto’s work to peacemaking and conflict exploded in me. When I
walk into a peacemaking assignment, the thoughts of the parties are
invariably hostile, angry, frustrated, fearful, and
anxiety-ridden. The relationships have broken down to the degree
that the parties need outside assistance to help them resolve their
dispute. Accompanying the conflict are negative and sometimes
hateful thoughts directed back and forth like invisible missiles.
Emoto’s work suggests that the negative thoughts in
a conflict literally change the crystalline structure of the water in
our bodies. Perhaps the change is not permanent nor necessarily
debilitating. The fact that a physical change is very likely occurring
should give pause for thought. Without being too speculative, I
think that when parties in conflict are assaulting each other with
negative thought forms they are unconscious of the subtle physical
effects they may be causing.
The good news is that positive thought forms of
peace, harmony, loving kindness and compassion seem to have the
opposite effect on the physical structure of water. The
crystalline structure is pure, clear, brilliant, complex, and
beautiful. The implications are profound. I can choose to project
negative or positive thought forms towards those around me and perhaps
influence in some small degree the physical structure of their
bodies. Given sufficient intention, power, and focus, I suppose
the effects could be increased.
In peacemaking, I am now highly aware of my own
thoughts. I am taking care to be aware if I generate a negative
thought and try to stop it immediately. In peacemaking sessions,
I am consciously and silently creating positive thought forms, while
outwardly paying attention to process. I am finding it very
challenging to stay focused on all of these tasks simultaneously, but I
also see the significance of developing the skill.
If you haven’t read Emoto’s book, buy a copy.
His work is also featured in the documentary film now in national
distribution “What the !@#$ Do We Know!”
(www.whatthebleep.com/crystals). Check out the photographs and
decide for yourself.
Douglas E. Noll, Esq. is a lawyer specializing in peacemaking and mediation of difficult and intractable conflicts throughout California. His firm, Noll Associates is based in Central California. He may be reached through his website and email at doug@nollassociates.com
© 2004, Douglas E. Noll