Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.
First used around 1862 to have people refrain from verbal bullying, the old playground adage would like us to believe that words never harm. The truth is that words, negative or positive, have the power to hurt, or to heal.
Quantum physics has determined that matter really doesn’t exist, that everything is just energy in different states of vibration. Words have a vibration that affects matter on a molecular level. In his studies, Japanese Scientist Masaru Emoto found that water exposed to positive words and intentions formed beautiful, symmetrical crystalline structures when the water was frozen, while water exposed to negative words and intentions formed disorganized, asymmetrical structures.
The human body is roughly 60 percent water; the brain 75 percent. Our brain responds to words by producing feelings. Negative words spark the fight-or-flight response. The brain perceives a difference between how we’re feeling and how we think we should be feeling. Feelings of pain or discomfort occur to motivate us to find a solution.
According to the research of Dr. Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman, when words of positivity or optimism are in our mind, we stimulate parts of our brain that affect our inclination to act. In their perspective, a positive view of yourself will bias you toward seeing the good in others, whereas a negative self-image will lead you toward suspicion and doubt. The more we are surrounded by positive content, the more we start to view ourselves and others differently, in a positive way.
If words can impact the structure of water to the degree Emoto suggested, imagine the feelings produced by words of comfort or kindness. Alternately, the feelings fostered by the negativity of much of what we hear these days engender a much different response. Looking at it from a broader perspective, the impact on a classroom, a town, or a country can be uplifting or foster fear and hatred, something that seems all too common these days.
Think of how you feel when you read a piece here at Kind Over Matter. How does this contrast when you read much of what constitutes social media these days?
Words have the power to shape our reality. The script we run in our own minds reflects how we feel about ourselves. Positive affirmations can open a path to success, to peace, even to enlightenment. The harsh dialogue we often have for ourselves leads us down a different road. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’ re right.”
That old “think before you speak rule” is still true, though sadly often ignored in these troubled times. THINK stands for: Is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? If the words we say are spoken in consideration of these five things, the energy we bring will be much different than what many of us are feeling these days.
Imagine what the world could be if we all came from a place of positive energy, bringing light and healing to ourselves and to our planet.
