Words are Energy

One of many, many learnings of this year's JourneyToJohnOfGod has been an increased conscious awareness of the power of my word.

As Don Miguel Ruiz says in The Four Agreements . . .

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

I have had any negative words that I have spoken or words that had been shared in confidence with me that I spoke to others come back to me and come back to me so quickly here that I could not deny the effect they were having.

When I begin to speak negatively about someone who isn't present it feels painful . . . as if I'm putting a curse on them and they don't know it.
And I don't want people doing that to me.
So I stop.
(More of the time)

Sometimes, when I'm in the presence of people who begin to gossip and speak negatively, I tell them that it doesn't fell good to me and I would prefer that they didn't . . .

Baby steps.

When I speak or write, I use the vehicles of words to carry meaning, as well as energy, from me to other people. I may be writing a love letter, a work-related memo, or an entry in my blog. Whatever the case, each word I speak or write has a life of its own, a vibratory signature that creates waves in the same way that a note of music creates waves. And like musical notes, my words live in communities of other words and change in relation to the words that surround them. When I am conscious of the energy behind my words, I become capable of making beautiful music in the world. I don't want to create disturbance or distraction.

I try to continually remind myself that my words have an impact on the world at the level of energy and to be more conscious, more sensitive.

A fun way that I increase my sensitivity to the power of my words is by making a list of my favorite words and then noticing the energy they contain. This is like learning to consciously play an instrument that we have been playing unconsciously for most of our lives, and the effect can be startling and delightful. I am growing more comfortable and confident playing the instrument of language . . . Here's to more beautiful messages, creating positive energy every time I write or speak.

Off the top of my head:

My favorite words in English: love, aloha, inpiration, serotonin, cinnamon, organic, coconut, psychoparabolic, avocado, xiphoid process, rendezvous, pistachio, mitochondria, super, visceral, paradigm, hallucination, dopamine, popcorn, hoax, and tutti frutti.

My favorite words in Portuguese are: acabou (it's over), chakara (smal farm house), faca (knife - "give me the faca"), sempre sohindo (always smiling), xi-xi (pronounced "she-she" . . . means 'to pee'), propoganda (advertising), por du sol (sunset), tranquilo (relaxed) and my personal favorite beija-flor (literally: kisses the flower . . . English: hummingbird).