The Paradox of Water
Water extinguishes fire, but water is comprised of two highly flammable elements - hydrogen and oxygen. In chemistry two hydrogen atoms fused together with one oxygen atom, create a new compound possessing qualities that are the opposite of its original basic components.
The basic elements are flammable gasses, and the compound they create is a liquid (at the average earth temperature) that suffocates fire and resists all combustion.
Water, with its structural paradox, is one of the elements of life and one of the secrets, for it is well known, that without water -there is no life. Water is one of the things unique to our planet, making it conducive to the development of life. But, what is water? What is water's secret?
Grace
Kabalah sees reality as comprised of an endless combination of ten basic qualities it refers to as "The Ten Spheres." Water flows down to the physical world as a manifestation of the sphere of Grace.
Water is present in every part of the world. There is almost nothing that is completely dry or entirely lacking moisture, and it is in this light that Kabalah sees the sphere of Grace as present in every place, and further more, as the basis for all existence. Just as there is humidity or water in some form in everything that exists on earth, so is Divine Grace present in all, though, at times its presence is regarded as a great secret.
Water Personality Types
Water is the main natural dissolvent (only ammonia dissolves more materials than water.) Water's ability to dissolve makes it an excellent conductor of information.
Materials dissolve in water and flow with it from place to place, and in this way for example, create many communicative messages in the bodies of plants and animals.
Water contains opposite electrical charges in its basic compound (ionized hydrogen carries a negative charge and ionized oxygen carries a positive charge, therefore, water molecules have a positive and a negative side.) Water is an excellent electrical conduit, used by living bodies to pass information between the different organs of the body.
In many diagnostic methods that are based on a basic categorization of people into types that correlate with elements, those seen as "water types" are people who have as a main characteristic the tendency to "flow" in relationships. Water types are people that pay more attention to the feelings and emotions within a relationship.
Water - more than anything else on the planet - is attracted towards the moon, and this causes the changing tides of ebb and flow, this is felt largely in oceans and lakes, and in a small way also influences the state of water in our own bodies.
One of the emotional expressions of ebb and flow are mood swings. People that are "water types" often move between situations of emotional ebb and flow. Sometimes they experience feelings of fulfillment and abundance expressed as euphoric happiness and optimism, and at times they experience the receding tide of emptiness and depression.
Bypassing Obstacles
Water also knows how to bypass obstacles in a fascinating way. The wave movement characteristic of water knows how to bypass an obstacle standing in its way, and to recreate itself anew after passing the obstacle. This is also true for electromagnetic waves and for every kind of wave, but we see this especially in water.
Water is resourceful, and if there is any way to bypass an obstacle, or escape from a closed container - water will find it. Is this not a great secret of life? The secret of resourcefully overcoming the obstacles standing in our way.
The circular and wave properties of water give it the secret of this way of moving through reality, which in Kabala we see as a feminine way of moving, as opposed to the masculine more linear, more segmented, straight forward way, that doesn't know the secret of bypassing obstacles and re-gathering itself on the other side.
The masculine linear way requires bringing down obstacles in order to continue on its path, and doesn't know the secret of circular waves that succeed in dealing with reality by finding a different perspective. Water finds creative alternatives for getting out of situations that are stuck.
Keep Flowing
But, if water doesn't flow - it becomes stagnant. Standing water turns stale. Living water flows. And in this way too, it is important for water personality types to flow, to move, to change, because if they are still for too long, they become mentally stagnant. There is water within us all - some more and some less - therefore it is very important for all of us to allow the flow, the movement and the change. Because, when the water within us doesn't flow, something within us becomes stale and unhealthy.
The Water Below The Earth
And, beneath the face of the earth there is underground water. The earth is the place on whose face we live and run our lives. The face of the earth signifies in the language of dreams and mythology, the face of our "normal" mental reality. Below the surface of the conscious level, in the depth, deep feelings are hidden along with deep sensations, and the deep conceptions about life that cannot rise completely to the surface.
On one hand this underground water brings fertility of sensation, feeling, and creativity, but on the other hand, the mental underground water is likely to overflow, to maybe even 'drown' awareness, and to flood and dissolve the stable ground beneath our feet.
This delicate balance, between the need to hydrate the face of the earth with underground water, and the danger involved in the underground water rising too close to the surface, has been discussed by learned men of the Talmud in the wonderful legend of King David, who requested that the underground waters be raised, until, there was a danger of water flooding the world. David sought, according to the same Talmudic legend, a way to find the right balance that would allow the water to be close enough, but not too close.
Respect For Water
Water contains great intelligence. The next time you drink water or enter it with your body, you may want to pay attention to it as something that contains great secrets that allow us to live here.
The respect for water is respect for life on the face of the earth, for the life of the body and the soul, and this respect is an opening to the secret of being. As has already been explained by wise men of every religion - the great secrets will never be learned from books.
The great secrets are learned from developing the ability to listen and to pay attention with respect and humility to all that surrounds us. And so, as the ancient Chinese proverb says: "When you drink water - think of the fountain."