{"id":1591,"date":"2025-05-30T14:23:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T13:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindfckd.co.uk\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2025-06-06T15:10:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T14:10:11","slug":"rice-rice-baby-manifest-mould-and-preserve-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/mindfckd\/2025\/05\/30\/rice-rice-baby-manifest-mould-and-preserve-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"Rice Rice Baby: The Rice Experiment That Can Manifest Mould and Preserve Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Can good or bad vibes really be spoken into existence? We explored the science of this rice experiment (and the not-so-science) to find out. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Masaru Emoto<\/a>\u2019s Rice Experiment, first conducted way back in 1999, looked at the physical, observable power of affirmations and insults, as he hypothesised that our words can have impact on a biological level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Emoto\u2019s initial research was with water, looking at the effect directed emotions have on how it behaves and freezes, but he moved onto something more solid, and eventually gross: fermenting rice. Yum! Basically, he had three equal containers of rice, one of which he spoke badly to, one he complimented, and the other he left alone. And he never even opened the containers, it was the pure intent of his directed language that he believed would be the cause of any change. His findings were that the loved and affirmed rice did not grow mould, and instead turned just a more yellowy colour. Whereas the insulted rice grew far more mould far quicker than either the control or loved rice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we\u2019re all for kindness and positive affirmations, but skepticism would suggest that in the same way we can\u2019t speak a degree into existence, or money into a bank account, we can\u2019t love mould away from rice, or hate mould onto it. But according to Dr Emoto, the intent of our language can absolutely have this effect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we dive into the last 25 years of research in this area, we had to get an idea for ourselves, so I got my lab coat on, and the kettle boiling. Whilst there\u2019s debate on what the exact conditions were, it\u2019s thought that Dr Emoto\u2019s original experiment and a lot of its subsequent replications use uncooked rice in water, and involve a lot of sitting around for a month whispering to their containers. But who has the time to wait around for 30 days? Not us! And that\u2019s not exactly MindFckd style, so we\u2019re speedrunning the experiment in slightly different conditions with cooked rice and full blown profanities and positivity instead! It’s only Day Two of our experiment, so keep an eye out for our findings down the line on our YouTube<\/a> (and this article!) and keep up with our socials where you can find thrilling rice updates as they arise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experiment is used largely to emphasise the importance of kindness and that even our language can have true physical impact\u2026 so everyday we\u2019re telling a rice pot to get fckd, and documenting every step of the process, look out for that journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, the experiment is all about intent, and Dr Emoto didn\u2019t believe it mattered what the rice overhears, so I will admit I dropped all the pots and swore profusely near them all on Day One – luckily a controlled variable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s so great we finally have a way to make rice absolutely disgusting and release a load of anger; Dr Emoto has given a real two birds one stone solution for the fuming rice haters. We\u2019re always looking for new, better ways to ferment rice to a dangerous level, but is there any truth to the efficiency of this? Well, even his initial research was quite disputed. \u201cDr. Emoto\u2019s experiments were neither controlled nor measured, a necessary requirement to be fulfilled if one wanted to prove that it was the new factor of specific human intention that was causative,\u201d Stanford University professor Emeritus William Tiller said. And she\u2019s not the only one that refuted the research, with many saying it was not done under far from scientific conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the elephant in the room is that we are conducting this experiment in a newsroom here at MindFckd HQ, so not quite a laboratory setting either, but we\u2019re keeping as many control variables as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harriet Hall, who reviewed Emoto\u2019s book about his experiments, gave it the honour of being \u201cthe worst book I have ever read. It is about as scientific as Alice in Wonderland.\u201d But there are many who believe in and have used Emoto\u2019s experiment, most successfully on a personal level. Because let\u2019s be real, there\u2019s only so many uses for moulding rice, and once you\u2019ve ruined an enemy\u2019s sushi platter, it gets a bit useless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to spiritual healers this is a pessimistic way to view this starchy pseudoscience, and the notions. \u201cI think there\u2019s absolutely a correlation between negative self-talk and illness for example,\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course there are other experiments that test the power of positive affirmation, people speak kindly to their plants to help them grow, and I suppose praise their children to make sure they don\u2019t grow internal mould, but it seems there\u2019s not been a fool proof, quantifiable way to measure if there are any real physical effects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physicist Matti Pitkanen<\/a> believes while Dr Emoto\u2019s research has small flaws, the reasoning and \u2018science\u2019, is sound, and published an updated view on the rice experiment last year. \u201cIt goes deeper than just words,\u201d Pitkanen said. \u201cEverything has a positive or negative effect and is interconnected, you can literally view it, and if you have to show it on rice for it to be believed, then so be it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This might sound crazy but I started speaking positive to my hair and it\u2019s been growing full and long. When it was shorter, I would call it stupid hair that refused to grow and it remained stunted.
Positivity is key \ud83d\ude09<\/p>— Onome (@nomziiee) September 23, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>