A grain of truth

There is no doubt that words have power. Their meaning shapes our beliefs, drives our behaviour, and ultimately creates our world. Our words are powerful. They carry our thoughts, our ideas, our feelings and our intentions. Words contain our state of being, both positive and negative As author Yehuda Berg states, “Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity… Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” Their power arises from our emotional responses when we read, speak, or hear them. For example, say the word “fire” while having a braai, in the workplace, or in a crowded theatre, and you’ll get three completely different but powerful emotional and energetic reactions.

So many of us are in the habit of using the same negative words repeatedly. The problem is that the more we hear, read, or speak a word or phrase, the more power it has over us. This is because the brain uses repetition to learn, searching for patterns and consistency as a way to make sense of the world around us. You may not remember the exact date of the First World War, but chances are you know the 9 x table off by heart because you repeated it over and over again, drilling it into your subconscious. Repetition is the most powerful tool to imprint something into our minds and keep it there.

Negative self-talk is so dangerous. Nothing has more power over our circumstances than the words we tell ourselves. When we assign a word or descriptor to ourselves and believe it (however ridiculous or untrue), we embody it.

A Japanese scientist, Dr Masaru Emoto, has given us physical proof that our thoughts, intentions and words affect the physical world. He discovered that water droplets that had been repeatedly exposed to positive or negative words, profoundly changed the water’s colour, shape, and symmetry. Dr Emoto believes that human consciousness has a direct effect on physical reality.

In his famous rice experiment, Dr Emoto placed rice into three glass beakers and filled them with enough water to submerge the rice. To the first beaker, he stated the phrase “Thank you,” “You’re an idiot”, to the second, and ignored the third.

A month later, the rice that was thanked fermented and gave a pleasant smell. The rice that was affronted turned black, and the rice that was ignored began to rot.

Regardless of whether you are sceptical of Dr Emoto’s experiments, there is no doubt that words have power with which we create our reality, so speak words to yourself that are kind, loving, positive, uplifting and encouraging.