The Power of Words (And How To Use Them)

The Power of Thoughts and Words

Today I want to unpack just one little drawer in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, on the power of words in your life and in your relationships.

All day long words run through our head, and out of our mouth that influence the energy we step into and walk in each day. If Death and Life really are in the power of the tongue as biblical Proverbs say, then it's probably worth considering how the words we use, use us.

In this post you'll learn why your words are so powerful and worth waking up to. You'll also get a start on selecting your own powerful words or "declarations" for a happier healthier life.

I am responsible for my life.

On the subject of healing the body, Norman Cousins, American Political Journalist and author <Anatomy of an Illness> says the only thing more important than knowing that your quality of life is all-important is to "assume responsibility for the quality of your own life." Its a tough way of saying that you have more power over your present and future life than you may realize. And the energy you send out into the universe via your thoughts, your words and your deeds has a ripple effect that in quick time returns to you multiplied. Becoming "mindful" of the words running through your head and then out your mouth is really tricky, and like any worthwhile skill takes time to develop. It’s taken a lot of practice to identify my own positive and negative energy and gravitate towards the positive in my thoughts and the words I speak.

Changing your mind

What I now know is, if I don’t like the life I'm experiencing... it is high time to change my mind. Our thinking in the present moment is actually our point of power in the future. If you continue to believe that you’ve blown it, things never go well for you, or that you will never quite heal or overcome that annoying weakness or have the relationships you want, then you are probably right. You never will.

“Mind is the master power that molds and makes. And man is Mind, and evermore he takes The tool of thought and shaping what he wills Brings forth a thousand joys; a thousand ills. He thinks in secret and it comes to pass, Environment is but his looking glass.” (James Allen’s classic, As A Man Thinketh.)

Jesus Christ taught “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37) Interesting. He also said, “Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.” And, “If ye do not watch yourselves and your thoughts and your words, and your deeds…ye must perish.” (Mosiah 4:30.)

That’s some ‘boom, boom, firepower’ our words carry. And it’s one firearm you can't pawn off on anyone else. No other human can take the steering wheel and direct another's mind. And no matter how we are feeling physically or emotionally, we are still mentally free to think any thought we choose. That, my friend is the most powerful tool you and I have to change the way we experience life, starting NOW.

 

More of what you Don't Want

The best way to get more of what you actually don’t want is to keep thinking about it, and brooding over it, talking about it and worrying about it until you feel gut wrenched and upset. Keep in mind that everytime you verbalize (publicly or in private) that you don’t deserve this or that, or you can’t do this or that, or that you are less important than something or someone, every cell in your being hears it and acts accordingly to bring into existence whatever you declare.

 

More of what you Do Want

Rather than letting your feelings take the lead, select and direct your thoughts first. Just for fun, flip it around. State what you DO want to experience in a straightforward, positive way. This definitely takes a focused attention and some steady practice up front, because negative messages are far more common in our everyday environment. The best way to give yourself more of what you DO want is to imagine it, get excited about it, and act just as happy and grateful as if it was already happening. Then thank God for every indication you see that it’s on its way.

You see, the words we speak live in front of us and we step right into them as we go about our business. Why not create a field of powerful, supportive, ‘larger than life’ energy to walk around in all day? Want to remind yourself daily of the truth about your possibilities? Want to feel more hope? Less isolation? Or become ‘one’ with an attribute or experience you’ve long admired? Turn it into a positive statement and declare it to the universe as a part of your morning routine. And remember, it’s only hokey if it doesn’t work.

Getting Started

If you've never done this before, here are some examples. These are some of my declarations past and present. And just for a second I was feeling a bit shy about revealing what I'm working on. It’s a little like inviting you to tour my underwear drawer. But, I really have nothing to hide there either...except maybe those zero carb dark chocolates no one knows about...

 

Declarations for the New Year

I am experiencing my life as simple and easy. I am energized and fit, balanced and free of all disease.

Relationships

I experience my intimate relationships as blossoming and growing effortlessly. I forgive every person, place, circumstance or event that have contributed to my pain in the past. I believe others are doing the best they know how and I hold them blameless. I am full of light and truth, God's peace and love. I teach only Love, for that is what I am.

Time and Money

I flow easily within the structure of time in my day. I experience myself as on time for all my commitments. I enjoy having all the time and money, all the love, support and friendship I need. I am good with money. I’m always flowing in more money than I am flowing out. I spend it with integrity & have fun with it.

Mission

I add value to other people’s lives. My life improves as I lead others. I'm a great and powerful listener. I'm attracting like-minded people who want what I have to offer. I'm confident, charismatic…and kind. I am a generous giver and an excellent receiver. I influence others to find their truth.

Unseen Help

I am grateful for the powerful support of ministering angels in accomplishing my righteous desires today." I end my declarations by thanking God for the help heavenly influences give me. And it is mind boggling what they can do. Then I spell out what I want heaven's help with today. Some of these statements are new experiences I want to have. Others have long since been accomplished, and I want to continue claiming them, ...because their arrival in my life has brought me so much joy. And honestly, everyone of them has a story.

Make a list

Choose a few of these that resonate with you, or build your own list as you imagine the emotional, spiritual, physical quality of life you want to be living. Start out simple so you can eventually memorize and recall them when you need unslumping throughout the day. When I first fell into ranks with claiming my energy for the day, my body was heavily weakened by autoimmune disease. I was in a lot of pain, plagued with fatigue, anxieties and a heavy, heavy heart. I felt like I was ‘in over my head’ on so many levels and every one of my declarations were goals and dreams, as yet unfulfilled. It felt fake…until I caught this magic spark. Go Full Out!

 

Stand against wimpy declarations

You’ve gotta go full out with these. Claim them with POWER. The whole point of speaking Declarations to the echoey bathroom walls is that energy follows words. Repeat the statement several times, until you can imagine what it would feel like if the statement were actually true... right now. How joyful or appreciative would you feel if that thing were actually true?

THAT is the energy you want to exist in today…the joy and gratitude of having all the love, or support, or ‘on it’-ness now. Don't save that gratitude and enjoyment for later.

Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of things to come.” When your mind and heart “get it”, get the feeling of being in possession of that trait, or that experience, hold that energy. Because, when we exist in the energy of what is wanted, we command it in.

15 years ago, I took my laminated card of declarations out jogging with me each morning and would speak them loudly and boldly to the empty streets. Eventually I needed no card and could shout them to myself in the car, the bathroom shower or closet with each new day.

Give your inner self a daily reset by pumping up your energy field with all the unrestrained love and enjoyment you can hold. Believe it long enough to really feel it, and then choose to exist in it. Stating the words “I live a charmed existence” to yourself in the mirror every morning will begin opening your spirit eyes to all the ways that statement actually could begin to be true.

Unseen help will emerge and you’ll begin collecting your own stories of unexplained miracles to treasure and to share. The belief that you live a charmed existence precipitates more and more experiences that confirm it's so. Take that little bit of resulting joy and spread it around, smear it all over your friends and loved ones.

Claim the same feeling of gratitude you’d have if your life had ended, but then you were given one more week to live. Once you've created your list of goals, hopes and dreams this year in the format of positive declarations, monitor the energy you spend your days in and ramp it up whenever you get feeling slumpy.

Raise your own vibrational frequency by claiming who you are and what you’re about ...in the car, in the shower (better vocal reverberation there) or quietly and earnestly if circumstances require.

By recalling and speaking positive truths about your eternal possibilities, you raise your own vibration closer to the energy of joy and gratitude. And THAT my friend is where heaven and earth meet. Feeling the energy of Gratitude, not Griping, opens the windows of heaven to pour out blessings. It magnetizes your good desires to find you faster.

You will know the truth of what I’m saying, by how it feels when you experiment with it yourself. Messages from the Savior are always hopeful and uplifting. Thoughts that discourage or demean, thoughts of disapproval and despair are from another source, not Him.

In Real Life...

One awesome thing about powerful declarations is that they work at a moments notice. In October, Brett and I set out with some friends to climb Mount Washington in Central Oregon. The night before was sleepless for me. I was achy, feverish and nauseated, but I really, really wanted to do this hike with Brett, it would be his third and perhaps last attempt to summit this mountain. So, we got up at 4:30am to hit the trail at 6. An added challenge was, we could find no clearly marked trail to the top and getting off the mountain before dark at 7pm would be tough.

The approach to Mt. Washington was pretty gnarly. As Brett guided us, I hiked through nausea, spotty vision and lightheadedness (from thin air and the flu) Reaching the Summit block was thrilling, because Brett had not made it this far in two previous attempts. We gloried on the summit after climbing three pitches, with plenty of exposure to the shaley drop 3000 feet to the valley below. It was intense…and we lived. The setting sun interrupted our victory dance on top and we began the trudge out.

On very little sleep and a weak stomach the descent felt brutal about 2 hours down the mountain. With daylight dwindling, we thought we could save an hour by cutting through a section of burned out forest to beeline toward the car. Darkness fell, and the burned out forest quickly became hard to navigate because of the dense new forest growing up through the lattice of felled burned trees. And we were scrambling to get out of there.

My bones jarred with each pounding step downhill. No stops to rest on the descent...at all. You get the idea. My body was feeling far from “energized and fit, balanced and free of all disease”, I thought I was gonna die. Before I died though, my mind caught hold the thought that now would be a GREAT time for some Jedi power to kick in. That’s it! I pulled out the declaration about not dying in a darkened forest and shouted at the night, “I am ENERGIZED and fit, balanced and free of all disease” and, ya know what else? “I love my life," I shouted for good measure.

I said it a few times, with purpose and then realized we could no longer see any landmarks above the trees for the dark, moonless night. My brow furrowed. We did not know where the trail was. We only knew we’d intersect it eventually...that is, IF we were still headed in a northwesterly direction. We were already an hour past sundown and...did I mention we were stumbling in darkness? I felt wretched again.

“Not so fast” my inner Jedi exclaimed. I forced my eyebrows up and began composing a rhythmic chant to accompany my heavy footfall. “I AM ENERGIZED and FIT, balanced and free of ALL disease!" It took about a minute for the energy to flow. The pain and extreme fatigue I felt with every jarring step lifted to make way for a little bit more energy. How cool is that? The uplift was palpable, undeniable. So I did it again…and again…and again. Then 30 minutes later, just as I was negotiating some kind of angelic rescue deal with God, we intersected the trekking trail and whooped and hollered for joy – the going was SO much easier. After hiking 13 miles over twelve straight hours, we did it. We conquered the mountain.

 

Embracing what is.

And so it is. In both the physical and spiritual realms, the pathway smoothes when first we learn to love it. Declare your magnetizing power in positive words daily and feel the difference it makes in your own energy today. Begin declaring and even expressing gratitude for the healing that you know is possible, but hasn't quite fully arrived. See what magic you can create with the energy of your words in the journey ahead.