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34 Photo credit: Bianca Des Jardins

AQUAMATION: ENDING YOUR LIFE IN THE WATER

Aquamation, a new cremation technique using water, made its appearance in Quebec in 2019, and Quebecers took notice. Éric LeSieur, owner of the LeSieur funeral complex and the first owner of an aquamation machine in Quebec, explains that, while the strength of fire may scare some people off, water seems to be a gentler and less radical option.

Aquamation lets you keep as many memories as cremation. Since the family still receives an urn with ashes, the stages of mourning remain unchanged, allowing loved ones to let go of their deceased in a healthy way.

The scientific name of the process is alkaline hydrolysis. This is the same process that occurs in nature when a body lies in the ground. A combination of freshwater flow, heat, and alkalinity is used to accelerate the decomposition of the organic matter. Kept to a suitable temperature, the water never reaches its boiling point. While the body is made up of 65% water, the solution helps dissolve human tissue. At the end of the aquamation, the bones are reduced to dust and deposited in an urn. From an environmental standpoint, aquamation offers the lowest impact of all end-of-life options. Using electricity, the process consumes much less energy than traditional cremation, and above all, does not rely on fossil fuel combustion. A source of life and hope,

of dreams and the absolute, water can be the

memory of life and the memory of death. A symbol as powerful as it is evocative, it represents the original character, the life force marking the most crucial stages, contributing to the health of the body, soul, and mind.

*Some restrictions may apply. Factors such as the season, outdoor temperature, or health measures related to COVID-19 may influence the availability of the Flø massage in hot water. Please contact Strøm Nordic Spa to check availability. Thank you for your understanding.

Sources

Au coeur de l’eau. Aquamouvance — Au coeur du mouvement. Au coeur de l’eau, 2020. Au coeur de l’eau. Aqua-massage Veechi — Au coeur de l’eau au coeur de soi. Au coeur de l’eau, 2020. Bébé d’eau mouvance. Plaisirs d’eau pour parents et enfants. Aquavie Mouvance, 2019. Brunelle, Anne-Laure. Accoucher dans l’eau, ce moment incroyable que j’ai vécu. Huffington Post, January 31, 2019. Institut Amelis. Balnéothérapie : ses bienfaits sur la santé des seniors. Institut Amelis, August 21, 2020. Juillet, Laurent. L’accouchement dans l’eau en 10 questions. Doctissimo, April 16, 2019. Les éclaireurs. L’aquamation, un procédé écologique de crémation par l’eau. Radio-Canada OHdio, March 21, 2018. Martory, Julie. L’accouchement dans l’eau. Passeport Santé, July 2016. Ouimet, Sophie. Relaxant Aquamassage. La Presse, December 13, 2016. Simard, Myreille. Le bain thalasso pour bébé, un rituel d’accueil unique. Maman pour la vie, October 7, 2019.

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Humanity and Water: Mirror of a Multi-Dimensional Relationship

By Jacinthe Roy-Rioux, world and spiritual life collaborator

THE FASCINATION OF WATER — Why are we drawn to water? Why are humans who are near water lighter in spirit and rested in body? Is water a carrier of energy? Science explains the remarkable effects of water on our health and well-being, while the writings and traditions of the world bear witness to the inevitable link that unites us to its virtues.

Philosopher Gaston Bachelard once said that “water is the organ of the world.” But what happens when our most complex organ, our brain, resonates with the fundamental characteristic of the planet, water?

THE BLUE MIND

In his book Blue Mind, doctor of biology Wallace J. Nichols brought together a group of scientists, psychologists, researchers, educators, athletes, explorers, businesspeople, and artists to answer this question. His finding: oceans, lakes, rivers, pools, spas, and even fountains can considerably influence the mind. The appearance, sound, and smell of water have an impact on the brain. When it comes into contact with water, the mind is filled with a deep, immersive, and invigorating peace. This contact improves performance, increases calm, decreases anxiety, and may thereby increase professional success.

Nichols gives a name to the human-water connection: the blue mind. The blue mind refers to the neurological, psychological, and emotional changes that our brain undergoes when we are near water. This is a natural state that we know instinctively, but which many of us have forgotten, too distracted by the modern world. This state is characterized by a feeling of calm, peace, unity, general happiness, and satisfaction in the present moment. It is inspired by water and the elements associated with water, the colour blue, and the feeling of immersion. The blue mind illustrates not only the essential nature of our connection with water, but also the importance of getting closer to it.

INNATE LOVE

In 1984, biologist and naturalist Edward O. Wilson coined the term “biophilia” to describe his hypothesis that an intuitive link between nature and humanity is ingrained in the human genome. Humans are instinctively connected with nature and water on a physical, cognitive, and emotional level. The concept of biophilia refers to the innate human need to integrate with the natural world. Having lost their bearings, modern humans must reconnect with their fundamental love for living beings. An innate love that is as strong as it is vital. Visual contact with water and nature has reassuring and beneficial effects on the brain. It’s as simple as that.

In his book Blue Rooms, American author John Jerome adds an important element to all this: entering water also means experiencing the present moment in total closeness. Intimacy is born between the self and water. “The Earth is beautiful because of water,” explains John Jerome, using the most eloquent examples. In Jerome’s work, water is neither a commodity nor a resource, but rather an evolving framework of escape, pleasure, and reconnection.

From the psychic joys of swimming to the presence of water in the natural world, the author’s vision transports us into a meditative space that soothes the soul by changing the way we perceive what might at first seem commonplace.

THE SACRED WATERS

Purifying, invigorating, and charged with history and spirituality, the sacred waters of the world have one thing in common: they never exist alone. Interacting with all living beings, they bear witness to the universality of a special bond: the union between the faithful and the divine.

Among the Egyptians, in the time of the ancient civilizations, the Nile was a fully fledged god, venerated and honoured for its waters, its fertile soil, and the abundance produced by its floods. Further east, the Ganges is recognized by the Hindus for its sacred and purifying waters that free the believer from their sins and the souls of the deceased. In the southern United States, the Mississippi River, recognized as “the father of waters,” is historically the sacred river of the Mississippi people, home of the spirits of nature. A force that carries both meaning and memories.

Each river has its own unique cultural, symbolic, and ritual relationship, but similar characteristics can be observed from one region to the next: the creation of emblematic stories, a privileged relational dynamic, water as a source of life, the cult of offering and purification.

THE POETICS OF WATER

By observing water and its mysteries, philosopher and poet Gaston Bachelard bears witness to the depth of water through contemplation, reverie, imagination, and the psychoanalysis of symbols. An essay on the poetics of the subject that navigates still waters and clear waters, demystifying the morality and the speech of water.

By capturing the image of the sky and nature, the body of water mirrors its own scenery. A new reality emerges from its reflection, a form of unity devoted to creative reverie. Multiplying images and possibilities, the infinity within the dreamer is as deep as the waters they observe. Here, water becomes a muse or an unlimited source of inspiration.

Streams, rivers, waterfalls, and seas have a voice that humanity naturally understands. Water is experienced as a long silence: “There is always an extraordinary silence… We could hear the water sleeping” (Pelléas et Mélisande, Maurice Maeterlinck).

To immerse itself in silence, the soul seeks out sleeping nature. To soothe itself, it turns to still waters.

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY RELATIONSHIP

Examined from the perspective of science, spirituality, philosophy, or even poetry, the connection between humanity and water transcends ideas, continents, and years, offering us an observation that is as simple as it is fundamental: near water, humans find themselves and soothe themselves. Regardless of its scale, this contact with water is undoubtedly positive. From the riverbanks to the sea, including spas, pools, aquatic gardens, and fountains, water reunites, gathers or isolates, warms or cools, purifies, lightens, transports and comforts, always making an impression in the process.

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