Hydration and dehydration. Accessing clean H 2 O. Filtration, purification, and revitalization. Lymphatic drainage. The memory of water.

We are predominately water. Water is such an essential part of us, we can go without food for longer than we can sur viv e without water. Without at least 8-10 glasses of fresh water every day (water, not coffee or tea or soda), we become dehydrated, our kidneys become taxed, and our gut can't absorb food properly. The lymphatic drainage system has no pumping muscle like the cardio-vascular system has the heart, but must rely on the natural flow of fluid through the body and limbs. When you are dehydrated, your lymphatic system becomes congested with waste products and toxins. Since our internal bio-terrain is mostly water, we need to actively organize clean supplies of quality water in our environment.

Given the current state of Los Angeles water, that means you have to either carry fresh water with you all the time in containers that will not leach toxic plastic molecules into the water (glass is best, or hard #7 plastic bottles that are kept out of the heat), or have spring water delivered to your home and workplace, or install water filtering or distilling systems to remove chlorine and other harmful chemicals, like benzenes that leach into water supplies from gasoline and petroleum products. (Putting a filter on your showerhead is a good idea as well.) Hydrating with tap water is better than dehydrating, but if you only hydrate with tap water, your body will eventually take on the qualities of the tap water in your area. Check your city water division's Annual Water Quality Report to learn about water quality in your local water source. In Santa Monica where I live, the 2003 Water Quality Report showed the city's local Arcadia well had trace amounts of trichloroethylene (ppb) as well as 1,4 dioxane from MTBE contamination from a gas station, and this was after the well had been shut down for 6 years for clean-up funded by an oil company in agreement with the city. By 2003 the city felt the trace levels of trichloroethylene and 1,4 dioxane were acceptable for human consumption, but I personally prefer not to have any exposure at all, so I have spring water delivered. Looking at the annual fishing guide in your area can be informative as well. The guide will identify which fish are so contaminated by toxins in the water that they are unfit to eat or must be eaten only occasionally. Such fish consumption warnings tell you something about the water quality in those areas. In Southern California , urban runoff that flows through the sewers into the ocean during heavy rains brings highly toxic unfiltered and untreated chemical cocktails from the concrete layer covering urban landscapes directly into ocean water where surfers and swimmers can be exposed. Be mindful of when and where you're immersing yourself in contaminated ocean water. Heed any signs warning of contaminated waters after hard rains.

So not only water supply, but water quality is of utmost importance. Because H 2 0 is a highly bondable molecule, it has "memory". In other words, its ionic structure holds the trace of chemical bonds it may have made in the past, even after the bond is broken. For this reason, many people choose to "revitalize" their water after filtering or distilling it, because while the toxins may be gone, the trace memory of the bonds may still be there, and when you drink the water your cells may respond as if the toxins are still present. Two people who have drawn the most international attention to water's capacity to remember past biochemical-energetic bonds are Johann Grander who developed Grander Water Technologies that put vital frequencies directly back into water through entrainment and Masaru Emoto who has published several books raising public and scientific awareness about water's communicative, memory-based characteristics.

Because Western industrialized cultures have heavily polluted fresh water supplies as well as oceans, clean water is becoming a competitive industry and a hot political issue. How you negotiate the current situation in regard to clean water supplies in your area can make a tremendous impact on your health. It will take action and advance planning on your part, but once you set up your clean water system, it is easy to maintain. If you find yourself carrying bags and bags of plastic water containers to the recycle bin, you may want to consider a more efficient and cost-effective method to secure your fresh water supply and spare the earth more plastic garbage. Global warming will surely make access to adequate drinking water a hotter and hotter issue in the coming decades, so the other side of the clean water issue for all of us is water conservation and protection. Don't put anything down your drain or in a street gutter or in your washing machine that you don't want to end up eventually in your water supply or that of someone downstream, or eventually, in the oceans. That means buying biodegradable detergents and washing your car in a car wash where they have a collection filtering system rather than washing it in your driveway. And it means using fresh drinkable water as the shrinking, precious resource that it is. The journalist Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight , points out that humans already consume more than 50% of the planet's freshwater, and our global population is expected to double from 6 billion to 12 billion in the next 50 years (18).

When we feel the need to connect to the essence of water in our lives, we are connecting to the need to flow and revitalize, to move freely, to cleanse and to replenish, to be fluid, to bond and immerse ourselves, and to be immersed. When we are thirsty, that thirst must be quenched, because the need for water is non-negotiable. When we thirst for something in our lives, that means it is essential in some way to our very sur viv al. And that's why when you hear yourself saying that you thirst for change in your life, you had better listen up and prepare to act. Thirst is not an emotion, it's a need. Because of that, walking around dehydrated every day (a common experience for people who drink lots of coffee and/or who work in large buildings) is a clear sign that you need to reconnect with your body and focus on self-care. Deepak Chopra, MD in his book Boundless Energy suggests to people with chronic fatigue to drink hot quality water every 30 minutes (water that has been energized by boiling and then cooling to a drinkable temperature) to begin the detoxification and healing process. I follow this practice whenever I feel tired. It's also a longstanding piece of wisdom among bodyworkers to hydrate before seeing clients. Doing so opens up channels of perception, energy flow, and intuition. Clients benefit from taking up this practice as well to maximize the effects of their sessions.