Of all the natural resources upon which we depend, water is indisputably the most important to human survival. Our bodies are largely water, in fact, and our health is adversely affected when we experience even slight dehydration. The right amount of water, neither too much nor too little, is vital to growing the food that feeds us. Given the essential nature of water, you’d think humans would be keenly aware of every detail and drop of it.

And yet, as Alick Bartholomew points out in The Spiritual Life of Water, “The real significance of water is its role as a medium – for metamorphosis, change, building and recycling, nourishment, information transfer, energy exchange, and balancing.” In short, water is intimately bound to every aspect of our lives, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Despite that, we waste it, pollute it, and take it for granted.

Anyone reading The Spiritual Life of Water will find not only a new appreciation for water but also a respectful awe. Beginning with Bartholomew’s exploration of just what water is – a liquid, solid, and gas, a carrier of nutrients, a massive power source, a repository of subtle energies-- Bartholomew goes on to fill more than two pages just to list water’s basic characteristics.

All of the hard facts about water suggest that it is a miracle substance, performing magic as smoothly and easily as it flows downhill. In fact, this first section of the book –the part that should be dull and detailed-- reminds the reader again and again just how amazing water is while doing nothing more than being itself.

In part two, Bartholomew considers water as the source of life. Referring to the work of Mae-Wan Ho, who specializes in the study of the organism, Bartholomew suggests that water may actually qualify as a living organism. Pointing to tests that show water associated with collagen exhibits a “high degree of quantum order,” we must then consider the possibility that such a marriage constitutes a basis for sentience.

Such a theory will find favor with those familiar with Masaru Emoto’s research into information imprinting on water.

“If the quality of water improves or deteriorates according to the information to which it is exposed…. The human body is likely to be more healthy when receiving good information (energy) and to suffer when exposed to bad energy.”

Alick Bartholomew, part of the editorial team that published Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, has pulled together a whole and wholistic view of our dwindling water supply. Alongside the facts, he spells out a multitude of reasons that we should wake up, pay attention, and take action to restore the finite foundation of our existence. The Spiritual Life of Water is likely to be the pivot upon which a new realization of our connection to nature turns.