Spiritual
Significance of Water
“The
true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
Albert
Einstein
Here’s
an example of just how random and weird the world is today: I was looking up the
spiritual significance of water, and in the middle of a page about the importance
of hydration was a poster with Einstein’s picture on it, and the quote above. So,
my imagination began to run amuck—did that mean I should stop seeking knowledge?
Did it mean I should come up with imaginative ways to experience water? Was the universe trying to send me a coded
message by way of Dr. Einstein’s poster? (Probably not—I don’t get many coded
messages from the universe—nor from anyone else, for that matter)
Maybe
it just means that I am easily distracted from my original plan. (that sounds
about right) Anyway, the fact that we have gotten nearly a foot of rain in the last
36 hours has me thinking about water a lot. It makes me wonder why we don’t use
those pipelines that aren’t being used for natural gas and oil to send water
out to the western states, where there is crippling draught. The deep south is
truly becoming semi-tropical. We have regular rainfalls so heavy you can’t see
anything beyond five feet. So much rain that ground water seeps through the
concrete floors of basements. I expect palm trees to start sprouting up any moment.
We know
our planet is about 70% water, and with global warming, the tropics are
expanding, the ice caps are melting, and the oceans are rising. We also know
that our bodies are about 60% water, and that hydration is essential. According
to the NIH, we should be drinking around 2 liters of water a day—more if we
exercise.
Because of the importance
of water to life, all religions have water rituals as part of their regular practice.
Hindus bathe in the Ganges. In Islam, Muslims practice “Wudhu” or ritual
washing of the body inside and outside before prayers. One of the pillars of
Judaism is the “mikveh” or ritual bath taken by women just before their
marriage and after menstrual periods. And, of course, Jesus’ ministry began
with baptism in the Jordan. Today we christen babies and baptize teenagers in coming-of-age
confirmation rituals.
Also,
water is spiritually significant as a symbol of wisdom, peace, and parity. It symbolizes
the human spirit and the interconnectedness of all creation. Water represents divine
generosity; and the flow of the unconscious material into consciousness. As
a symbol, it provides a container for the opposites—healing and suffering, protection
and vulnerability, change and constancy, calmness and rage. (Symbols &
Health website; “Spiritual Significance of Water” by Amina Shazi) The presence
of water is the basis for determining whether life exists anywhere in the
universe.
Clean,
potable water is something that, here in America, we take for granted. Until
the Flint, MI lead disaster, we were relatively oblivious to the importance of
water, and how incredibly fortunate we are to have clean, running water in our
homes. We buy massive amounts of bottled water and cast those plastic bottles
into trash cans, then into landfills, or onto garbage barges for dumping into those
same oceans that cover more than half the earth. There, they contaminate the
water and the fish that we catch and consume. Full circle—beginning and ending
with us.
If,
indeed, the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination, let’s
put on our “thinking-caps” and come up with some imaginative ways to honor the
generosity of the earth that gives us water, and therefore, life.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment