We are watery beings originating from a watery past and water is everywhere. It's the blood in our veins, the plasma in our cells and the tears that we shed. It's the rain that falls from the sky and the springs that bubble up from inside the earth. And it's the rivers that endlessly flow and the oceans that cover most of the planet's surface.
Music that resonates to the powerful rhythm of water connects us to a depth of feeling that is almost inexpressible in words.
Water is our ancestral record, the collective unconscious that holds the blueprint of our experience and watery music haunts us with memories, dreams and reflections. It taps into our instinct and our intuition and pulls us into the feminine realm of feelings.
When our bodies move to the music of water, we find ourselves swirling and swaying in continuous smooth patterns. Water is endlessly fascinating, forever shape-shifting, constantly in motion. Moving in circles and spirals, it creates an intricate pattern, a subtle dimension. Like the tide that ebbs and flows, it follows a rhythmical cycle.
Likewise, when we surrender to the music of water, we become like a wave on the ocean … ebbing and flowing, rising and falling, moving in circles and spirals. And just like water, the flow is sometimes very gentle and light, sometimes strong and chaotic.
The best instruments for watery music are the guitar, the piano and the harp. Drums are good too. Not the deep down bass of earthy music nor the staccato beats of fire music, but the soft round rhythms of something like tablas where each beat falls into the next like drops of water.
In fact, the rainstick is pretty good too and any kind of rattle. The sound of water music makes us want to shimmy and shake: belly-dancing is a prime example of the undulating nature of this element. Watery music ranges from the emotional to the seductive to the hypnotic to the soothing. Good examples are Handel's Water Music, Gabrielle Roth's Waves, Jonathan Goldman's Trance Tara, and any New Age music with sounds of the sea or dolphins.
Listening to this music just let yourself sink deep inside, follow the flow, no need to control or hold onto anything. Allow your emotions to wash through you, cleansing and refreshing your very being. Surrender to the power of the Goddess of the Sea.
You are not in control, let yourself be taken by the flow of life: you cannot stop it, it is a powerful natural force. Your whole body melts, becomes liquid. There are no edges, just circles and spirals. Just like water.
By flowing with our feelings, we are renewed, just as free-flowing water cleanses, purifies and heals.
Like gentle rainfall, it refreshes and quenches our thirst. Like a river gushing downstream, it washes away the dirt and heals our wounds. Like the hypnotic lapping of the sea-tide, it quells the pain and soothes our soul. Like a bubbling brook, it brings innocent delight and playfulness. Like a still lake, it brings clarity and peace of mind.
Here is a simple meditation you can do whenever you need to welcome the water element into your life. It's great to do it when you feel stuck or angry or uptight in any way. It will bring a cleansing energy to mind and body and return you to peace.
Start by sitting cross-legged or on a straight-backed chair. Close your eyes and take a few moments to ground yourself - become aware of your sitting-bones on the ground beneath you, the weight of your body being pulled down, the base of the spine and how the rest of your body is aligned over this anchor point.
Now get in touch with your breath - just watch how your breath comes and goes as you gently inhale and exhale through the nose. As you continue to focus on your breath, become aware of how it rises and falls within your body, just like a wave rising and falling, like the tide ebbing and flowing.
Let your breath go deep in and out of your belly and let yourself be aware of any feelings that may arise as you do this - they may be pleasurable feelings or they may be feelings of discomfort - either way just let them be released with your breath, let them wash through.
Imagine your breath as a stream of water, so that each time you exhale, you are letting go of any feelings that have arisen. If anything is particularly uncomfortable or difficult to let go of, really imagine this energy being cleansed, dissolved, washed away by the river of water that is your breath.
Allow this river of breath to wash right through your whole body, imagine every cell being bathed - you may find that your body starts to sway a little, to create a gentle rhythm as breath ebbs and flows - let yourself be carried by this energy, imagine your whole being is bathed in the cleansing power of breath.
When you feel you have let go of as much as you are going to, allow your breathing to come to normal and any movements in the body to gently come to a standstill. Bring your hands to your sacral area/belly/hara . . . and just feel!