Connecting with water

[smogie_michele]

I have a few spiritual goals for the year, one of them is to work on my relationships with all of the elements. I am extremely connected to Air with Earth as a very close 2nd. My connections to fire and water, however are lacking.

I've been working (successfully) with fire, but I still have a hard time with water: I'm not comfortable with it, I am awkward around it.

For those of you who have a good connection with water, what are some things I can do? Any rituals, prayers, books I can read? Any input would be appreciated

[Sakura Blossom]

I would suggest sitting near any running water you have nearby or anywhere you could travel to nearby to do so. (: The more you're around something, the more easy-going you are with it. I don't have much work with the elements but I've found simply "immersing" myself in them helps greatly! And with water, you actually can! Haha. (: I don't know much else to suggest but hopefully that helps a little bit.

[smogie_michele]

It absolutely does help. Maybe I just need to take a figurative and literal plunge and go to a lake... I'm nervous around water, have been my whole life. I should just force myself to jump in and not get out until I'm happy, lol.

[Sakura Blossom]

Well, of course be safe! Haha. So if you don't know how to swim, then don't just jump in needless to say. But if you do know how to swim, then totally! (: Just sitting in it and letting yourself feel relaxed near it helps. Or you could do something you enjoy while sitting near it, so it creates a state of relaxation that you can later equate to water (conditioning at its best!) haha. I'm glad it could help!

[Xiao Rong]

In addition to all these other great suggestions, I would say one super easy way to start is ... to hydrate! The next time you are very thirsty, get a nice, tall glass of ice cold water. Drink it as mindfully as you can, paying attention to the way it looks tastes, feels, smells, and sounds. Pay attention to how you feel before you drink it and after. What does thirst feel like, in your throat, on your tongue? Think about how every living being depends on water, and how crucial it is to our entire planet. The water you drank has cycled the planet for billions of years, in the form of ice, vapor, fresh, and salt water. It has been snow, rain, sleet, drizzle; it has traveled the oceans and rivers and seen glaciers and the stratosphere. What would it be like to not have ready access to water? Give thanks to the water for nourishing your life. Sometimes we assume that we need to jump into a pool in order to experience a connection to water, when it is really around us every single day!

Recently A Sense of Place, a Pagan Patheos blog posted an article on other great ways to connect to water.

[Seraphin]

I really like what Xiao has suggested! If you're going to do this, I suggest to do it for 24 hours! This will help you more to connect and feel the sensation of emptiness, of desire for sustenance of the water element.

Now the key to do it easily is: starting 24 hours before the super-hydration , drink one cup of water every hour. Throughout the day, consume a lot of water. This will not fill you up, since liquids are absorbed very fast. Yet it will ensure that you've absorbed enough fluids during the day to start the hydration.

Don't drink syrupy beverages, sodas, chocolates, coffess and such. Best bet: Pure water. Second best: fruit juices.

At the final meal, drink a few glasses and then before taking sleep drink a cup of warm water to put a smooth finish on your pre-hydrate prep.

[smogie_michele]

wonderful suggestions. thank you all!

[Muirìn]

Water totally being my element, I would also suggest something very easy: wash!
Ok, more like, if you have a tub, take a bath. After an exhausting day, have a hot bath, maybe with some essential oil you like in it. Start by immersing your feet, feeling the water, you can even wiggle your toes a bit! ^^ Then immerse yourself bit by bit, until you can lay down and allow yourself to be surrounded by water. Feel how all your worries float away from you and dissolve.
If you don't have tub, then just use your shower, going from your feet upwards, until you can let the water flow from the top of your head to your toes. Really feel how good this is, the water surrounding you, protecting you like a shield on your whole body, but at the same time taking your worries down the drain.
These are really simple method, but if you really focus, it should definitely help!

Bright day to you!

[Naudia Threng]

This is what helps me (water is my main element. I love it.), take a bowl of water, put your hand in it. And then just feel for its energy. Feel its ability to destroy anything. Then feel its ability to heal, it is a destructive force but it can still soothe and calm and hydrate. And as your hand is in the water, feel all of those things. Imagine the energy of the water soaking into your very essence.


But that's just what helps me.