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UNLESS one lives under a rock, there is no way to avoid the many "inner power" self-help techniques taking Earth by storm.
From the master of personal development, Tony Robbins, to the ancient-turned-trendy art of feng shui, to 2006's The Secret, it was clear the masses would be forever fascinated by explanations of why their lives reeked, and hungrier still for remedial guides.
This is no Western phenomenon. I know at least a few friends who swear by Robbins and The Secret, which even the Queen of Help-Me-Help-You, Oprah Winfrey, has praised.
The difference between these techniques and the even older precepts of religion and prayer is this: while you hope a Higher Being listens, helps you out and keeps you safe, these newer techniques count on nobody but you and what you do.
It is what you can do to enhance your qi, vibes, power, force field, positive feelings or magnetic resonance. Okay, so I just made the last one up but apparently you aren't supposed to discount anything.
Which brings me to a recent visit to a relative's house on Chinese New Year. My granduncle passed me a book called The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto, which he raved about. In a nutshell, Emoto exposed water samples to soothing music,...