In the late 1980s, Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto began looking at water in a new way. His experiments involved directing words into water (“imprinting” it), then freezing it and viewing the ice crystals under a microscope. The words could be spoken, thought, or written on paper and taped to a bottle containing the water. What he discovered was that words and ideas could visibly alter the water's structure.

Just as each snowflake is unique, Emoto found that each word or emotion produced a unique shape. When the words love, gratitude, and peace were projected into the water, it froze into beautiful shapes. Thoughts such as “I hate you” caused distorted, broken forms. The vibrational energy contained in human thoughts changed the physical appearance and the molecular shape of the water. Interestingly, it didn't matter what language was used. The words love, amour, amore, and the kanji symbol for love all generated similar snowflakes.

Emoto published his findings in several books, including Messages from Water in 1999 and The Hidden Message in Water in 2004, which document his research with photographs. His studies were also featured in the controversial film What the Bleep Do We Know. Although traditional scientists have questioned his discoveries, Emoto's work reflects a basic principle of magic: Thoughts, emotions, and images create physical results.