– by Aruna Ladva Brahma Kumaris, London, England, submitted by Etta Stevens
“Words are things. You must be careful, careful about a calling people out of their names,
using racial, pejoratives and sexual pejoratives and all that ignorance. Don’t do that.
Someday we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things.
They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your
upholstery, and your clothes, and finally into you.” – Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou understood the power of words and she knew that “words are things”. Anyone who came to Maya’s home who was abusive, swore or used racist language were shown the door and kindly asked to leave. She refused to entertain any negative type of language, she did not want that toxic energy to linger in her home and stick to her walls. Maya had witnessed first-hand the power of words in her childhood and Maya fully understood how destructive they could be. Words can mean the difference between life and death. Maya reminds us that we should never underestimate the power of our words.
In years gone by, we would not dream of polluting our own home, that sacred space in which we live. Sadly, look at how easily we pollute our own minds! Words have a direct impact on our mind, other people, our environment and definitely our relationships, or should we say karmic accounts. No wonder we are suffering on so many levels. The prevalence of “bad language” is such that we have normalized it as part of our daily speech, such that we do not even notice when we are using it! We have forgotten the value of sacred space, and the most sacred space is within our own minds. We become unaware of how the energy of subtle violence remains and acts upon us unchecked like some invisible gas.
Today we use words so casually, and in such a loose manner without giving any thought at all as to the true nature of their impact upon others and on ourselves too. We must realize that thoughts are energy manifested in the form of words and then the grossest form of all as actions. When we fail to find the right words, we often become lazy and resort to swearing to express our emotions. This is more than just a bad habit. Remember that thoughts are the seeds of actions. It is not just a matter of venting in the moment as we may think. But words are powerful tools. Anger and abusive words do more damage than we realize.
Truly if we were to ask ourselves: Did we express ourselves well? Was our point conveyed? Did the other soul understand us? We may have got a reaction, but not necessarily one that was useful. A reaction from fear will create further problems in the future. Swearing is again just another form of anger manifesting in words which we have expelled from our mind.
Words of abuse or oaths spoken are really the energy of anger in motion. How often do we raise our volume thinking that we will be heard more? Simply because we can shout the loudest will mean we have expressed our emotions but that does not mean that we have communicated well. In fact, we will often see a deterioration in the quality of our relationships because of such expression. Do we only want others to recognize our anger and see us? Yes, we are heard; but we are not understood or respected. If anything, we gain people’s attention but for all the wrong reasons. That attention would be based on fear, not love, respect, acceptance and understanding, these qualities are what the soul deeply desires and make for better relationships.
Mistakenly in this case, the ego mind will think it has gained a victory when, in reality, the mind has gone into loss and scored a home goal! We fall into this habit with words, of “expressing” ourselves, using expletives in our language with anger. This does not serve us. Still, we remain under the illusion that anger and swearing come from a position of power and control. In so doing we fail to see the subtle damage that our words are having on ourselves, for our health and in our relationships. This is a position of weakness for the soul, where we set ourselves on the path for further depletion of energy. We begin to react more with anger out of habit and the use of inappropriate words, we normalize this behavior and feel no guilt or shame. Indeed, we fail to even notice that we are using such language! Slowly we find ourselves trapped by our own reactive behavior, and we travel on a downward spiral of loss of power, and in the long run unhappiness and isolation. We may get a temporary ego kick but that will not last long.
Remember that the force of anger is destructive. The ego-mind loves to keep us in the grip of dis-empowerment. Anger works against us, it is not a power, once that negative energy has built up then that anger will find an outlet anywhere that it can, and it becomes very difficult to control. The secret is to find a way to transform this energy early on.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me.
Bones mend and become stronger in the very place they were broken and where they have knitted up; mental wounds can grind and ooze for decades and be re-opened by the quietest whisper.”– Stephen Fry
Words of hurt take longer to heal because they scar the mind and memory. The physical pain can often be forgotten and healed. But what about those mental and emotional scars on the mind and heart? That emotional pain is held at the level of cellular memory. Our bodies carry the
memory of this pain and suffering for years.
We must be more mindful of the words we use and understand the power that words have on our mind. Sometimes they influence us deeply and almost imperceptibly, like a silent arrow that hits its target, equally there is suffering, and sorrow experienced by the piercing of the arrow of words. Yes, and how do we know that we have been hit? Quite simply we are unhappy, we can feel burdened by the pressure and emotional pain of a mental and emotional wound.
Many people do take care of their living space and spend so much time, money, and energy on Feng Shui to get the right energy flow in their homes, making changes here and there.
Then why do we neglect to do this with our minds? Our mind is the 24/7 living space for the soul. We must be careful what we put into that sacred space.
We need to pay attention to our language and take care of the following:
- Words
- Tone
- Volume
- Attitude
- Vibrational imprint
- Repetition – adds force to the words – whether good or bad
- Influences
Words form the basis of our language, but words also carry a powerful energy and vibration. You may have heard the story about the bow and arrow. The lips are like the bow, the tongue is the arrow, and the words are the arrowhead.
Who knows where those arrows will land and who will be hurt by them? Once those arrows have been set free, we do not know what damage they will do. We need to be more mindful in our choice of words and the way in which we use words. “Radiate an energy of serenity and peace so that you have an uplifting effect on those you come into contact with.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer
If you still think that these “swear” words, and unholy words are OK, then ask yourself: Would you be happy to say them in front of your children; parents; grandparents or boss? Would you feel a little uncomfortable that there might be some come back because of the language you have used? Even with yourself: Would you be happy to hear and receive such words directed at you? Probably not. Most of us would be either offended or feel disturbed or upset about them. Why? Because we know that words carry a force, an energy that makes an impact on our mind at a deep sub-conscious level. We are left with the feeling of having been hit by some energy force, and we feel hurt too.
And let us not forget the law of attraction, always at work… that law acts like a magnet. What we send out, always comes back to us… like an arrow! It is Time… to choose whether to bless or curse ourselves by the words that we use in our daily communication with other souls.
Meditation is free, are you?
I am conducting a live ZOOM CLASS every TUESDAY MORNING AT 10:30 AM. Zoom ID 883 5755 2192 Password: 123 Also, our Hollywood Library Classes have resumed. Every MONDAY morning in the Hollywood Library at 10:30 AM and TUESDAY evenings at 7PM.
