The Spoken Word

  Last night my husband asked me if I had a headache (I must not have been looking very well) and my answer to him was, "I am just tired".  "You are now a master workman and your tools are your words.  Be sure you are building constructively."---Florence Scovel Shinn   Did I really want to define myself as "tired"?  

In the Life Skill of Cause and Effect (or the Law of Attraction) "words" play a big role.  Dr. Ranae Johnson writes, "Consider what a useful role your self-talk plays in your creative flow.  Developing an ear for self-defeating language can be a useful skill."   I am catching myself at times speaking negatively about myself; things such as, "I am so forgetful", "I'm so stupid", "I'll never figure it out,", etc... and even in a joking manner our words still create.  As I write these statements (of which I have been guilty of expressing) I am seeing how harmful they can be (and with awareness comes the ability to choose differently).  And would I tell a friend that they were stupid or that they would never figure it out?  (If I did, I don't think I'd be a very good friend!) 

In the Life Skills manual Dr. Johnson lists some common negative statements with their counterparts:

"I would like to welcome you here"(but..)  to  "Welcome!" (with feeling-without qualifiers)

"I'll try to (giving myself an instant excuse for failure) to "I will do it!" (with conviction and commitment)  Just this morning at Curves I announced that I "tried" to come in everyday!  I caught myself on that one.

"I am....negative feeling- like sick or angry or sad...(I AM is your highest statement about yourself.  Consider how this statement could limit you."   to  "I feel...(a description of feelings rather than of selfhood)

"I don't get angry anymore" (represents statements of negation and because you are giving energy to the negative behavior, it will grow)  to "I express peace in all my doings (a statement of fact yet to be experienced ---faith as in "faith" it til you make it"

"...but..." (negates or invalidates all that has been said before the word)  to  "...and..." (or rephrase to omit the word "but")   I have a friend who at Church, someone told her that her hair looked really put together that day. (there might as well have been a "but" in that statement because she negated her complement with the qualifying statement after the original complement!)

Dr. Johnson states, "Consider how powerful the spoken word is and how easily it can be changed.  Becoming aware of your language may put you on the path to cleaning up your life."  If we hear ourselves stating the negatives then maybe we'd better check our thoughts since that is where it all begins.  

Last night we were watching some children of a dear friend for a little while when I heard her twelve year old daughter say, "I'm so stupid."  We all caught that instantly and had her change her words (even my friend and husband recognized that those words were not helpful to her).

One of the February posts was titled, "Be Impeccable With Your Words."  It is one of the Four Agreements that will free us from our limitations.  The more we think and "speak" positively, the more positive and hopeful our lives will be.  From The Four Agreements: "Why your word?  Your word is the power that you have to create......Through the word you express your creative power.  It is through the word that you manifest everything.  Regardless of what language you speak, your intent manifests through the word.  What you dream, what you feel, and what you really are, will all be manifested through the word......it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in your life."

Be aware of your words for they will show you your thoughts, and 'as a man thinketh, so is he.'