Working as a animal communicator between animals and humans, I often speak of the importance of using our thoughts wisely. This article gives a scientific understanding of how our thoughts and words are powerful vibrations which have a definite affect on our lives.
-Karen

Watch Your Mouth,
How Words Can Hurt—and Heal

By Leigh Donovan

We have all heard the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” As sound vibrations, however, words contain tremendous positive or negative power and thus can be used to hurt or heal. Exploring words as energetic vibrations allows us to gain a better understanding of their great power.

Even before there were actual words, sound was considered sacred. In ancient traditions, significant attention was placed on the vowels, which were said to be divine. The power of sound, speech and vowels was considered to be one of the great creative forces in the universe. Many religious texts, including the Bible, describe speech as the precursor to all of creation. Looking at the use of words in this way gives them much importance. As we explore words from this perspective, we can begin to understand how they affect our thoughts, feelings and experience of the world.

What is in a word?
The vibration of a word affects us on many levels. Words influence the activity in our brain and energy body, which in turn causes changes in our physiology. Studies of the effects of words on water, conducted by researcher and healer Masaru Emoto, Ph.D. of Japan, provide a framework for understanding the true potential contained in the words we speak.  In his book The Hidden Messages in Water, Emoto demonstrates how different words cause molecular changes in the structure of water based on their vibrations.

According to Emoto’s research, water treated with positive words, such as “I love you” and “thank you,” displayed beautiful hexagonal crystals. In contrast, water treated with negative words, such as “I hate you” or “you fool,” did not form crystals, but rather chaotic, fragmented, blob-like structures. Emoto says that spoken words have vibrations and that water can be imprinted with these vibrations.

Indeed, everything in the universe is connected through the Law of Vibration. Based on this law, everything vibrates and is in a constant state of motion. Modern science tells us that, like everything else, the human organism is not only a physical structure made up of molecules, but also a complex of energy fields. Physicists have replaced Newtonian Mechanics, which held that the universe was composed of solid, fundamental building blocks, with the theory of Quantum Mechanics, which views the universe as layers of particles, waves and electromagnetic fields.

The brain on words
As a vibratory instrument, our brain transforms sensations such as thought and sound into frequencies that affect our body. In our brain, there is a vast network of neurons that discharge waves of electrical energy in different frequencies and patterns called brain waves. There are four types of brain waves, categorized by their frequency: alpha, beta, theta and delta. Each brain wave type is associated with specific levels of functioning and consciousness. Although the brain operates using all four frequencies, there is always a dominant frequency, which determines an individual’s state of mind.

All of our feelings, emotions, and behaviors originate from the brain, and our brain cells are affected by the thoughts and words that we choose. The vibration of thoughts and words causes the cells in the brain to vibrate. The brain, in turn, responds to this stimulus by sending off electromagnetic signals, or brain waves. The amplitude of the vibration of brain cells is determined by the amount of concentration and focus put out in connection to the thought or word. These cellular effects give rise to key brain functions, including mood and behavior.

As sound waves, words have a frequency. Due to this, they can affect the frequency of our brain waves. The repetition of certain words or phrases can induce particular brain waves and cause shifts in both heartbeat and respiration. In his popular book Healing Mantras; Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing, Thomas Ashely-Farrand explains that different words and sounds cause various shifts in brain wave activity. “Gradually, the vibration of the mantra begins to override all of the lesser vibrations.” The cerebral cortex can become charged or positively stimulated by certain types and frequencies of sound.

Sound healing using tones, mantras, affirmations and chanting all have similar effects. The combined effect of sound vibrations during such activities can be observed in the brain with an EEG (electroencephalograph). During these types of activities, there is an increase in alpha activity within the brain, which is associated with relaxation, expanded awareness and creativity.

Soothing syllables
In the article, “Language of Healing” published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, Patricia Cramer, who is the founder of vibrational healing massage therapy, talks about the healing power of words.  According to Cramer, “a person feels and responds to every word that is said, heard or thought, even when talking to their selves.”  This is based on neuro-linguistic theory, which posits that our nerves actually respond to the words we think, say and hear.

On a very simple level, Cramer talks of using words deliberately so that when we speak, we cause healing and change to occur. This involves using language in a manner that sets the process of healing in motion, rather than using language in a manner that reinforces a problem.

Cramer says an example of healthy speaking is saying “I’m glad that you are feeling well again,” rather than “I’m sorry that you were ill”.  Such a phrase uses language that places the focus on the desired new condition and refers to the malady or problem in the past tense. This allows the brain to retain the reference to the desired activity as the most recent and vivid.

When we examine words as instruments of power and ourselves as fluid, ever-changing beings, rather than solid, permanent masses, we open up a whole new world of possibilities. Instead of the reactionary state that so often defines our existence, we are able to be the master and creator of the circumstances and conditions we desire. We all possess innate and amazing power, and words are simple yet extremely important tools we can use to actualize this potential. When we speak deliberately and with intention, we wield this power well.

The late Yogananda, a great teacher from East India, said, “Words saturated with sincerity, conviction, faith, and intuition are like highly explosive vibration bombs, which when set off, shatter the rocks of difficulties and create the change desired.”

As we tune into our breath, body and mind through practice, we become more sensitive to, and aware of, how words affect us. When we understand how our brain responds to the words we say, we can better comprehend their ability to sway our emotions, thoughts, perspectives and behavior.

Words shape our reality. They are tools for expression and creation. As vibrations, words set things in motion, start a certain course.  By taking this awareness with us into our daily lives, we can be a positive force, both in our own lives and in the lives of others; we can use words to heal rather than harm.

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Leigh Donovan is a health & wellness writer and holistic health coach based out of Savannah, Georgia. She is passionate in her exploration of all things healing, and holds the personal belief that everything can be healed by addressing the root cause or origin of the dis-ease. As a health coach, Leigh supports sensitive individuals, women and children on their journey towards increased wellness by working with their diet, lifestyle and psychospiritual habits and beliefs. As an intuitive empath, she fuses her professional training in human behavior & holistic nutrition with intuitive guidance about what the client needs–creating big shifts in a short period of time. Leigh offers one-on-one telephone and in-person coaching in the form of highly effective three month or six month programs. Find out more at her website http://www.healthbewithyou.com. For more from Leigh, check out her blog http://www.aspiritfull.wordpress.com

 

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