utilities and life

Our urban lifestyle requires huge inflow and outflow of things we take for granted.  As a result there is a constant digging up, laying down, pulling through, clearing out and all manner of other activity to get electricity, sound waves, water, waste and all sorts in and out through invisible channels.

What are the invisible things that we need to keep spiritual life alive?  What needs to flow in and out of me if I am to be the kind of person I hope to be?  John records his mentor making some surprising claims about himself in this regard.  
There was a festival which featured a ceremony of poured water, recalling two historical events: A time when people in the desert were saved by finding water, and a time when they were given foundational writings for spiritually orientated lives.  During this high day, he stood up among the crowds of people "and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the writings have said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'"
The image is attractive, but the claim seems over the top.  Could a person really be the key to spiritual life?