What is the Way of Water?

One can take immense wisdom from water itself and the copious ways to relate to it. Water is life-giving, flowing, cleansing, and sustaining. It can yield and cut through mountains with its capacity to dissolve. Water always finds its way on the path of least resistance, opening or going around blockages by creating a new path when it is unable to move through. Water is what brings a seed to life and helps it grow. It is what keeps us healthy, supple, and full of life. Our bodies are 95% water, so physically, we literally ARE water. We simply cannot live without water, which is why it is an important element to understand.

Generally speaking, the “Way of Water” is the path of the feminine. It is a way of being that can bring balance to our lives in this inflamed and stress-inducing world.  The Way of Water invites us to slow down in ways that can help us realign and move with more efficiency and effectiveness in our lives. It is about finding the balance between the ‘fire of doing’ and the ‘water of being’.

In the Taoist tradition, there are two paths to awakening; the fire path, and the water path. Fire path uses conscious effort with force to reframe one’s mind, body, and emotions. Water path uses effort without force to dissolve and release anything that is not “real” that brings one back to their essence. The way of water is about getting back to our essence through the art of contemplation.

The Way of Water encourages us to take regular moments of pause. To stop, breathe, and reflect, even if it’s just for a minute or two. It is a path of daily contemplation that grows our awareness of life experiences. It asks us to engage not just our minds but our intuition and deeper inner wisdom. It allows us to balance our service to others with service to ourselves. And by taking care of ourselves we can be available in a more effective, impactful, and fulfilling way.

The Way of Water invites us to creativity and can assist in further disrupting the over-active cadence of modern life. It engages “the 70% rule”: to give 70% and reserve 30% to ourselves for regeneration and renewal…preserving life by not giving everything 110% of our effort. Of course there are moments where we need to give it our all, but those moments should be occasional and not how we live our daily lives.

In addition to sustaining the physical life of our body, water responds to our thoughts and emotions, and transmits vibration and frequency. It is a carrier through which energy and information can be both stored and sent. Remember, the entire body is immersed in water. It was recently found that in acupuncture, the meridians (paths through which the life energy flows) are actually water channels that electrical signals can move through. They discovered this when they found a particular hydrophilic acid that draws 1000 to 1 water molecules along the meridian lines in a cadaver. Scientists were never able to prove the existence of the meridians before this discovery, despite the fact that Chinese Medicine has been working with them successfully for centuries.

Furthermore, in Chinese Medicine, our kidneys store our life essence, and they are the yin (feminine) water element. The kidneys regulate water in the body, in our blood, urine, and tissues. In our modern world, we are being faced with kidney issues and adrenal failure on a growing scale. We are “burning out our kidneys” with too much fire and not enough water. The aging process is, in many ways, a process of dehydration and our bodies lack of ability to retain water. When our tissues become depleted of water, our eyesight worsens, our skin wrinkles, and our bones become more brittle. Nourishing our water element and keeping our kidneys vital to balance the fires of inflammation are essential for us to live healthy, productive, and fruitful lives.

Keep in mind that it is balance we seek and that water is not better than fire, nor is the feminine over the masculine. Too much water can create a flood and also become stagnant, dampening the flames of motivation and creative inspiration. We need heat in the body to keep us moving, we just happen to live in a time where inflammation, stress, and distracted minds are out of control. The Way of Water can offer perspective and bring much-needed balance without putting the fire out.

What are the benefits of inviting the Way of Water into our life?

Better Health & Vitality

We have all heard the saying “Fountain of Youth” in regards to longevity. The saying exists because water is the essence of life and as mentioned above, is key to our health and wellbeing. Living a water path life can help improve our physical, emotional, and mental state by increasing our natural vitality and enjoyment of life.

Cleansing & Renewal

Physically and energetically, water cleanses and leaves us feeling renewed. It is why we all crave a shower to start or end the day. Across the globe, people are drawn to play in, soak in and just be near bodies of water. Immersing in water allows us to relax and clear our bodies and minds and simply feel better.

Scientifically speaking, naturally flowing water is full of negative ions which are perfect for discharging the positive ion build up our bodies get from modern daily life. Our exposure to EMF and other sources of positive ions has increased dramatically in the modern age. Laptops and cell phones charge us up with these positive ions which can lead to increased inflammation and disease. A shower, bath or just immersing your hands or feet in cool water after a long time on the computer can help you feel refreshed.

Cultivating our Receptivity

Most of us spend a significant part of our time in an active masculine headspace, unconsciously thinking and then projecting thoughts outwardly. When the mind is in a quiet, receptive, feminine state, it can absorb information and learn new things. It can facilitate intuition and a connection with our “higher knowing”. When we make decisions and move through life aligned with this, we experience more ease, flow, grace, a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Peace

When we balance the elements inside of us, we invariably feel more peaceful. Our thoughts slow down, our bodies relax, and there is a general sense that life is okay. As the world around us brings more uncertainty and we face the unknown future, the Way of Water can help all of us surrender to and meet each day with more calm and more trust. We may not be able to control what happens, yet we can slowly but surely better control how we react. We can experience a better world as we grow our resilience and move through each day with the clarity, presence, and ease that the balancing energy of water can bring.