So okay. There's this guy, Masaru Emoto, who wrote this book called The Hidden Messages in Water. And people debate about it, whatever -- I haven't read the book myself, but understand the premise, and it's interesting if true. My understanding is that it basically suggests that water is capable of reacting to thought/emotion, in that it will crystallize in different patterns based on the thoughts/feelings projected into it. They said something about this in What the Bleep Do We Know!?, and that's all I know about it.

It's an interesting idea, anyways, and makes me think of some tests people have run involving replacing morphine with saline solution and diluting pharmaceutical drugs in any amount of water, and showing the same effect. This much is apparently true, as tests have shown, while a lot of people question Emoto's method, and  just plain don't know how to explain these pseudo-placebo effects.

In any case, helen99 decided a while ago to try filling a few bottles (such as those used for holding mead and other alcohols) with water, and labeling them with things such as Love, Joy, and Health. If nothing else, it's good to have some active placebos around, right? She likes to experiment -- so do I.

She'd been doing this test for a while without my knowing about it, and I'm not sure to what effects. But it came up yesterday, and I thought about how horrible my health has been for the past few years, so she decided to lend me the Health bottle she'd been using after filling it with fresh water. This bottle has been used for this a couple of times already, along with the other bottles. Each of them have been washed with soap and water, and refilled with filtered tap water, and then drank from for some time now.

I placed the Health bottle in my room  last night, in a nice cozy little spot on the floor nearby my stack of school books, etc. It's in a nice little place on the floor where I don't go since I'm not back in school yet, and can be left unbothered, but still be visible from the mattress I sleep on, and sit on while using this computer. Placebo effect -- go!

Well, I didn't notice anything when I got up this morning. I had my breakfast, did my quick email check, and run out the door to mechanic shop before work.

Tonight, though, I come home, and after entering my bedroom, notice there is water on the floor. I then notice that there is a large shard of glass sitting next to the Health bottle. It's a pretty clean break, too; just a couple tiny speckles, a long crack in the bottle, and this one, large shard.

We have no idea what caused this to happen. These are sturdy bottles, this is normal water, and it's been filled this way a couple times before along with its companion bottles. There have been no significant temperature shifts or anything, and the other bottles are still fine.

I can't help but be reminded of the fact that I've had issues in the past couple of years with somehow managing to shatter imperial jade without even having to touch it. I am told, too, that one of the prominent metaphysical properties of jade is healing. I understand that traditionally it is considered to represent purity and/or purification.

Tonight, we are trying a fresh bottle with the same label. We filled it up with the same water, but let it sit open for a while, even left some extra space of air at the top, let it sit halfway closed, opened it up again, etc. It's now sitting in my room, and we'll see what, if anything, happens to this one.