Sticks and Stones Can Break My Bones...

But words will never hurt me.

This statement is entirely false. Words are so powerful. They have a lasting effect on everyone. One small word said at a moment in time can either make a situation incredibly amazing or completely devastating. I think most people understand this, but I don't think very many people understand the physical effects words, and even thoughts, have on the world.

There is energy all around us. You can look at it as the light of Christ. We're all born with it, we're all given that blessing that gives us life. Not just humans have it, but every thing in this world! Christ created it all, and thus everything is effected. I want to share something I've learned about how words and thoughts effect this energy...either positively or negatively.

There have been studies done by Dr. Masaru Emoto on water where they put water into a vile and either tape a word onto it facing the water or the person holding the water focuses on a thought as they hold that vile of water. They have done it with different words such as "I love you," "charity," "wisdom," beauty," any positive word you can think of....but then they also use negative words on different viles such as, "hate," "anger," "fool," "ugly," etc. What they do next is, they freeze these viles of water into ice crystals. We've all heard that every snow flake is different, it's entirely true! Every drop of water is different and so each ice crystal that forms from these viles is different; however, there's always an interesting difference between the water that received positive thoughts or words in comparison to the water that had negative thoughts or words. The ones with the positive words form beautiful, complete crystals, whereas the ones with negative words are corrupt and unformed.

Water with the words "Love" and "Appreciation"

Water with the thought "Fool"

Water with the thought "Wisdom"

Water with the words "You make me sick I want to kill you"

I find this so interesting. Some of you may be skeptical, but there have been many studies taken with consistent results. Words and thoughts have a physical effect. Think about these pictures...how even one word made that much of a difference on a single drop of water. The human body is 73% water. Not only do other people's words and thoughts make a difference to us, but when we ourselves think negative things about ourselves and others or say negative things, we're only hurting ourselves. We are physically disrupting the homeostasis in our bodies. There's a phrase people say when they're really mad, "their blood is boiling" ...it probably really is starting to boil...that's what this picture looks like. If proteins in our bodies are boiled, they denaturize, becoming useless, and our body can't function like it should. (That's just a thought I had)

We need to watch our thoughts and our words. We can't control what other people say or think, but we can control our thoughts and reactions to their words. No one can offend us. David A Bednar said, "it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else... Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation." And so I would hope that we will be more positive. Think happy thoughts! :) Look on the bright side. Forgive those who say hurtful things, and in return think positive thoughts towards them.

I know this is easier said than done...but it is possible. One simple idea you can try is writing a positive word(s) onto a piece of paper like "I am loved," stick it in your pocket with the words facing you and it will make a difference if you believe those words.

I believe it.