I'm a geek who ADORES documentaries. One that I enjoyed very much was "What the Bleep Do We Know?" that goes about trying to explain in an entertaining format theoretical physics and interesting concepts in the field. This video talks about one bit of research that intrigues many people, Emoto Water:
From Wikipedia: "Masaru Emoto is a Japanese author and entrepreneur known for his claim that if human speech or thoughts are directed at water droplets before they are frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be "beautiful" or "ugly" depending upon whether the words or thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water."
Many have disputed the findings coming from a man who not a scientist. However, a double-blind study was followed up on it and passed a peer review in 2006.
So, what are we to make of intentions upon the crystals of water? Might it be that our very emotional milieu could affect ourselves and those around us? I have heard people discuss in hushed voices "cancer" personalities. Is there such a thing? Well, first of all, most of us at some point have cancer, but it does not spread. Our immune systems are really at fault for whether it gets out of hand or we kill it off. So, if your emotional state is good and that does affect your immune system, then perhaps long-term stressors like a bad marriage or suppressed anger could aggravate the immune system, weaken it and make the cancer able to take over.
Still, we have much to learn about our state of mind and how it affects our own bodies and even the environment around us, but this is something to consider. If a Buddhist monk can make his heart rate slow and his body be able to sit in ice water without shutting down, then we can certainly say that the mind and body have a connection that is barely being tapped by the average person and perhaps sometimes even being abused by virtue of neglect.
If you don't mind, I think I'll take a few minutes to meditate with happy thoughts towards y'all.