How many of us were told when we were young that “sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you?”. Were we taught to ignore our feelings and disregard any inner-pain as if this didn’t really exist because they were just ‘words’ and there wasn’t a bruise, break or any other obvious sign to prove these words had injured us?
I often smile at my five year old’s fascination with bruises – that we can be bleeding on the inside and yet there is no blood on the outside. How can this be?
What else could be going on inside us that we can’t always see on the outside?
Imagine if we were taught from a young age that “everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy” – as presented by Universal Medicine? Wouldn’t that mean that words have energy as well?
Just to know this to be a possibility would go a long way in confirming what most, if not all of us, have felt at some time in our lives – that people’s words can carry just as much of a punch (if not more so, sometimes) than their physical actions.
A word can be expressed with love and yet the same word can be spoken with hate. Even the words ‘I love you’ can be spoken with true love and appreciation for another in one instance, or with the intention of pleasing, getting something, with underlying resentment, bitterness or sarcasm on another occasion.
It appears all too easy to be fooled by ‘words we want to hear’ and ‘need’ to hear, and in that we too readily overlook the energy they are coming with or the punch that they can carry.
My experience is that these energetic punches do bruise us over time and can affect the way in which we relate to all others as a result – if we have not initially discerned the energy of spoken words and how they feel to us in-truth, at the time.
Imagine the enormous healing for all of humanity to simply realise that words carry energy. Wouldn’t this go a long way to confirm what many of us perhaps already know to be true?
Wouldn’t we then be more equipped to know where someone is coming from? Know how we feel in our own body when words are spoken to us? And be far more discerning about our own energy when we express words to others?
by Deborah
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
It is always great to look at our part in the situation, and as you say heal our hurts and stay observing.
Absolutely, ‘that people’s words can carry just as much of a punch (if not more so, sometimes) than their physical actions.’
We can’t avoid or control the quality in which we are spoken to, but being aware of that energetic exchange, our implication in it and its consequences, makes possible a deeper understanding and new approach towards what comes to us.
We can not, ‘avoid or control the quality in which we are spoken to’, however, it helps to understand that what they say is an energy coming through the person, and the quality of expression is connected to what consciousness that person has aligned to.
Words expressed as bruising, cutting, biting etc, can linger in the body unless we are aware of the energy that the speaker is aligned to.
Because we are not taught the fundamentals of life that everything is energy, we are then left wide open to how we are with people and how they are with us. We are completely fooled by words because we don’t discern the energy behind them and because of this we are poisoned by them. Jealousy is particularly toxic and this can be directed towards us from an early age from our parents and siblings. So we could say we are poisoned from a very early age and so is it any wonder we are a sick society?
True Mary, the same words can be spoken by different people, but have a big difference on the person when they are delivered, ‘We are completely fooled by words because we don’t discern the energy behind them’.
This makes me realise that we are always communicating either love or not love. Even though, it could even be just an everyday, practical exchange, it is always either love or not love. It is not what specific formation of words get uttered, but it is energy first. And now I am realising how little movement I actually allow to even consider my responsibility in that at every opportunity.
Yes, worth remembering this, ‘that we are always communicating either love or not love.’
The bruise example is a great one. We seem to have pictures of what abuse and harm is – anything less than that can get ignored and its existence even denied. Yet if we choose to let our body talk and pay attention to it, even honour it, the bar would be raised enormously. A lot of what we may term quite normal and civil would be clearly seen as the abuse that it really is.
Deborah I personally look forward to the future when we will all be taught again from young, that everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy. I have no doubt this will happen, we are just not there quite yet.
I second that Mary, at present it is not a healthy situation, ‘It appears all too easy to be fooled by ‘words we want to hear’ and ‘need’ to hear, and in that we too readily overlook the energy they are coming with or the punch that they can carry.’
It can feel like I’ve been dumped on or hit at times when in a direct conversation or within close range of a loveless or insensitive conversation. Or I can feel my own loveless comments boomerang straight back at me when I utter them. Nominating when I feel these moments helps them not stick and hang around.
A persons tone can give away much more of the underlying intent than the words can. Even louder, if willing to feel such, is the energy behind the words that expose the intent like a billboard. This can even be discerned through communication technology such as email or text.
Spot on Richard, war of any kind will not serve and when words can not be used to support ourselves legally then maybe we can continue to provide a barrage of Truth over the internet? And Maybe if the injustice continues we could learn to hate the ill-use-of-words as much as some have learnt to hate wars, then as we stand up to represent the Truth, Truth-in-words, Energetic-Truth-of-words as a responsibility to share how a foundation of Truth shall not be moved or swayed by lies and innuendo, so the Truth the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth will be known.
“Expression is everything”, “The pen is mightier than the sword”, “In the face of weapons of war, my songs avail as much as doves in the face of eagles,” “the tongue is mightier than the blade,” are all quotes from different eras availing us of the power of words and when we come to understand, the True relationships and energy words carry is super important to understand-the-energetic-Truth-of-words.
Maybe we could make-up a word for the immense scarring that can take place so we understand the true value of how critical the lies and innuendo can be to our way of living? Something like reprehensible-anguish, torturous-wrong, reprehensible-torture or reprehenguish!, torturrong!, reporture!, Hm, maybe seeing it is the media we are talking about, reporture seems to fit?
Our current way of education fools us into believing that the mind knows best and that our intelligence comes from our minds. This has led us to believe only what our minds tell us and this is why we have ignored our bodies to the detriment of our health. Is it possible that if we listened more to our bodies and less to our minds our health would improve?
Very possible Mary. This is another area of corruption, where what we have been fed is lies, ‘Our current way of education fools us into believing that the mind knows best and that our intelligence comes from our minds.’
I have been feeling this recently reading some comments on newspaper articles and social media. The words used are not abusive in themselves, but the tone of what is written is, and you can distinctly feel the disdain in the words and they are hurtful and harmful. We really need to consider very much the words we use in all forms of communication, but also the way we deliver them. All it does is provoke further reaction and further hurt.
We do have to be aware of how we are when we communicate, what is our purpose in sharing something, is it to harm, or is it coming from love, ‘The words used are not abusive in themselves, but the tone of what is written is, and you can distinctly feel the disdain in the words and they are hurtful and harmful.’
Words, their true meaning, the way we express them, especially seeing our True expression holds so much towards our evolution and will bring us back to Love as Love is a True movement of us in our full expression. So deepening our relationship with words so we can delicately communicate and get rid of our blustering ways of the past is a forever part of our evolution.
Is it possible that crying is actually a mechanism of the body to help us let go of whatever it is that we’re sad about/ hurt by? Has anybody experienced an occasion where something has really, really hurt them, and after a good cry they have felt a surrender, a release of negative emotions and more capable to move on with their lives without being overwhelmed with thoughts and “what if’s”? Well this is energy, this is a release of overwhelming emotions which, if allowed to remain stagnant in the body become doorways for a preoccupied mind and ill health.
Words can hurt us especially if we hold onto the feelings and then internalise what we have been told. As an example growing up, it was common to be called stupid by the grown-ups, roll forward 50 years only to find that those words were still in the body and playing out in my daily choices. So, to say that words do not hurt us is not exactly true.
Abuse begins at the level of the tone of voice we use to mouth a word that will deliver the required vibration to the chosen target.
Yes this makes sense Liane, it is the tone the words are delivered in that makes the difference. Two people can say the same words but the one that uses a certain tone that comes with an energetic configuration is the one that will affect us the most.
This explains why when someone says something to you that you know is not true it makes you feel empty – because we feel the intention behind them is not loving.
A physical blow is received once. It hurts yes, but we can recover from bruises, even broken bones. Emotional and mental abuse can be taken up and repeated by others – hence the prevalence of online cyber abuse, which has caused some to become very depressed, take on self-harming behaviours and even commit suicide. When will those responsible for this media abuse take responsibility? When will we as humans take responsibility for our own actins and words? We always have a choice – to harm or to heal.
“It appears all too easy to be fooled by ‘words we want to hear’ and ‘need’ to hear, and in that we too readily overlook the energy they are coming with or the punch that they can carry.” These unseen energies can be felt when we are open to truly discerning, rather than hearing what we want to hear – or seeing what we want to see – and blocking out the rest. The ripple effect of hurtful words can linger on in ones mind.
The evil in words that can be so easily used, it is fatal. You just need to go online to look at the abuse that is leading people to take their own lives, or the level of domestic abuse, and we can see how harmful words are being used.
Our words and our tone hurt far more than physical harm at the moment I’d say. Because when you’ve got a bruise there can be support. Yet if someone was to speak to me in a disinterested/don’t care attitude which equally hurts, it’s like that isn’t seen as abuse or as harm-causing, when actually it is when we allow ourselves to be naturally sensitive.
The last month or so I’ve been more aware of how someone can say something yet I can also feel they are saying something else, energetically. It’s also proven that what someone says is usually not always what is being picked up by the one receiving it. About 20 % or so are the words and the rest is how we say it. It’s quite fascinating really. Proves that we communicate with energy not with words alone.
Being supported to read energy should be a foundational part of our schooling from young, before we even learn to read words on a page!
I so agree Fiona. However the adult teachers aren’t aware of the importance of this and I too wasn’t aware of the importance of reading energy first until I came to listen to Universal Medicine presentations .
Deborah thank you for your wonderful blog. What came up for me while I am reading your words is that we all are sensitive by nature, as otherwise we would not feel every single tone behind a spoken word. The thing is most of us are pretending to do, not feel what in truth is there as this seems a bit to confronting.
We are so super tender and sensitive that just the ounce of a tone in the voice that feels unloving is not just registered but experienced as painful, as we know ourselves and everyone equally to be of pure love in essence and everything that is not of the same love is hurting our innate nature.
It is so true that the words we use which either represent the truth or all that is not of truth, reveal the quality of vibration that is being aligned to in any situation. I love that this awareness is accessible to us all, to be able to navigate and respond with the truth that is needed to bring greater love to the lives we live, through developing a loving and honouring relationship with our essence, our truth within. It also brings to home the responsibility we all hold as to the quality we are living and expressing with and the impact this has on all.
A word spoken in anger, resentment, or mocking energy can be recycled a thousand times in ones mind, causing immense inner damage if we accept part of it as being true even if it is not, whereas any physical damage begins to heal immediately and this process does not have as lasting of an effect. If the spoken word is a sound vibration that comes into the body of another person to be interpreted, doesn’t it make sense that the quality of that vibration (either love or not) then will have a corresponding effect on its recipient? Simple physics, really.
Very well said, when people don’t like you but are nice we can feel it and before we know it we are compensating by trying to be liked, better, not disturbing and so on without being aware of that. It is important to feel it so we don’t take it personally and compensate but just can be ourselves.
When talking pain, it is the physical image of it that prevails. Words, therefore, cannot hurt us. Yet, the fact that they can hurt us say something regarding the accuracy of such image.
By far the greatest thing I have ever learnt is the ability to descern the difference between someone speaking from the head or their heart because the quality of the words spoken is vastly contrasting!
Goodness there is so much in what you have shared here and absolutely there is a responsibility that goes with the words that come out of our mouths “A word can be expressed with love and yet the same word can be spoken with hate.” The intention behind words can be felt with the ripple effect of the sound of the word, we know it, we feel it, we just don’t want to acknowledge it because then we would have to bring a much deeper level of responsibility to the way we speak.
The impact of words can quite literally knock us off our feet. I remember the saying “sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you” – it gives you no voice if words do hurt you and it also gives people a license to be as irresponsible and as hurtful as like by implying there are no consequences, however the consequence of words are massive – whether they are the truth or whether they are harmful – we cannot deny how much they effect our lives every single day.
From some time to now I’m becoming more aware about my expression. Particularly I’m reviewing how and why I express. I’m realizing that sometimes it is to distract myself, to get some recognition and acceptance, to engage and not feeling alone…all these are just patterns that I used from a very young age during the whole of my life. This blog brings me to be more aware about the responsibility that I carry when I express, and this is not just about words, it is about me, about how I am with myself from my presence. I’m realizing that sometimes it’s ok being in silence too, as it is this silence that gives me the space to discern when my words are really needed or not.
Words, are just words when are not lived. They feel like an empty vase. One of the things that inspires me most from Serge Benhayon is his way of expression. His words feel vibrant and full as they comes from a Livingness, not from theories or knowledge. When I saw him the very first time I could feel a huge difference between how he was presenting and the lessons that I received from some of my teachers at school in the past. I could see and feel the energy in words and the integrity from a heartleft man who is transparent and very humble in the way he presents.
When we stop being stuck in the mind and thus hearing words just for their intellectual content but re-connect to the body, feel the body and thus listen from and with the body, we will be aware of everything that comes with every word. The true intelligence is the whole body and never just a single part.
Yes, beautifully said Alexander. There is so much more for us all to live in this life, in this body and when we do connect to our bodies we realise that there is whole other level of intelligence, awareness and wisdom for us to be guided by.
“What else could be going on inside us that we can’t always see on the outside?” Re-learning to trust and honour my feelings rather than relying purely on what I see has brought far greater truth to the reality of life.
The feeling I get is how we don’t really want to embrace and apply this fact that ‘everything is energy’ in its entirety.
Using a bruise as an analogy to reflect that the energy of words can hurt illustrates this truth clearly.
The more we realise that we world we are in and are a part of, ourselves with our body & being included, are all purely energetic first, that more we will understand our responsibility for what energy we are choosing to align to at every given moment, and how it is this that impacts everything we do, say and experience.
We have a responsibility in the energy behind all words spoken or written. What is the imprint we are choosing to leave for another to pick-up? Lack of awareness comes into this if we are looking for an excuse to not be responsible.
It seems to me that the ‘sticks and stones’ saying is very often trotted out when someone is already upset by something that has been said. I can certainly remember it being said to me. But the point was I was already hurt by what had been said so it didn’t really hold any weight. Words are energy and they do hurt people. It is so very evident in what happens over social media and in emails, arguments and the like. We all have a lot of responsibility where words are concerned – not to use them as weapons – but the vessels of love they can truly be.
I have been fooled many times in life by the words I love you. I wanted to believe the words but I could never deny what came with them and I always knew it wasn’t love. So I guess I was not really fooled, it was more like opting to go with words over energy.
Absolutely Nikki, we can feel it, we just choose to not clock it because we don’t know how to handle what we feel, it is like we have not been given the vocabulary to clock it so it doesn’t affect us. Therefore the hurt we actually feel when we are on the receiving end of that irresponsibility or when we are the producers of that lie or pain, gets buried and builds a warning in our bodies that words cause pain. My sense is, that is where we go to distraction so we don’t have to take responsibility and address our own or another persons behaviour.
It hurts to accept that what we know is not love as love. Every particle in our body knows love and therefore we know what is not love.
With the increased number of suicides due to cyber bullying it would be hard to use that phrase in society these days.
Words definitely can be used to hurt another, I have found that it is not the words themselves but the tone in which they are delivered that lets us know loud and clear what the person delivering them truly feels, there have been many times where I have heard another say what they think you want to hear, yet the delivery gives it away, we need to be far more aware of how words are delivered and the energy behind the delivery too.
Words certainly can carry a punch and perhaps even more damagingly is when they appear to be ‘nice’ or softly spoken but underneath there is something else not so nice… And I agree it’s important for us to acknowledge that words do hurt at times because then we give ourselves the opportunity to process and heal why we felt hurt rather than just bury it and carry it round with us…
For a while I didn’t comprehend how words could harm someone, if anything I was not taking responsiblity.
It is only since attending Universal Medicine’s workshops that I realise I have ultimate responsibility in everything I do and say.
At work I was completing a module on consumer care and I watched a nurse say two words, one with care and attention which felt so loving and the same words with anger and attitude and that felt really harming and jarring to my body – an eye opener for sure.
I remember that saying and it was used usually after something nasty had been said. My experience growing up when I remember this being said was that words at times did hurt and the only answer was to say this saying, fight or walk away. I remember different words bringing out different things and at times the same word said in different ways from different people often made me feel differently as well. There was another saying around that time for me and that was, “it’s not what you say but how you say it” and this rings true for me. Anyone can say anything and yet the quality of what is said seems to be the key. I know in particular looking at children when they are spoken to you can grab a good gauge on how things feel when they are said. From my experience we are all feeling everything all the time and so even with the simplest hello we can feel the truth of what is actually being said, the quality of what things truly mean.
This is a great blog highlighting the importance of the words we use every day and how they have the power to harm or heal. Knowing this brings a responsibility with the way we express with everyone, Serge Benhayon is a true role model in expressing in a responsible and loving way that unifies people and asks them to be more – it’s such a powerful choice to live this every day.
Words can do lots of damage. At the beginning the damage may be invisible but at some point, it becomes visible and cannot longer be denied. We learn about words the easy way or the hard one.
“Oh my God, why hasn’t someone said this before?” But have we said it to ourselves? If you visit a GP who is overweight and smokes, will you listen to advice that you should lose weight and stop smoking? And with Serge Benhayon it is the truth of the way he lives in every moment that we feel and inspires us to come to this same truth.
That is very true Mary, if someone tells you to stop doing something that they actually do themselves then there’s no inspiration to change, whereas if someone lives and breathes that change then we can be inspired to also make that change.
“Imagine the enormous healing for all of humanity to simply realise that words carry energy. “Thank you Deborah for a great blog on the power of words and their energetic quality to either hurt or heal, it makes me realise the great responsibility I have with how I speak and the quality with which it is delivered and its lasting effects on others.
Spot on Debra, I had a massive bruise on my arm recently, it didn’t go away for 4 weeks and so it was unfortunately the topic of discussion quite a lot. What I came to realise over this time, is that as a society we are much more comfortable talking about external issues than we are asking someone why they are so sad everyday or why they are speaking so sharply to their kids? Words can hurt a lot more than any injury because often things that hurt us on the inside can go unnoticed by others and un-dealt with by us and thus they are not healed.
In my experience words can have a huge and very lasting impact on us, especially if we are not discerning of the energy that they are coming with… And it’s interesting how the use of some words has changed over time to mean the opposite of what they originally meant, which makes me wonder why that change occurred and is there something there that is trying to be concealed or kept hidden?!
I have learned, often the hard way, that we can be fooled by words, but what I have also learned is that we cannot be fooled by the energy that comes with the words. As small children we can feel this energy but unfortunately most of us are not supported to hold this natural ability and as a result we end up hearing only the words and are often deeply affected by those that do not come with love.
Great blog, Deborah. You are so correct in that emotional punches and the bruises they leave are more enduring and affect us in far more than physical ones. These bruises are more injurious in that they scar our way of being and not just the physical body.
All words are a vessel that hold an energetic quality that either represents the truth or not. Over time we have lost our sense to read the energetic quality or package that is delivered with the words we speak, write or sing with. As such we have allowed gross corruption, abuse and violence to be transmitted through words, which now is escalating to the life-threatening degrees, including an alarming number of fatalities, that we are witnessing today through cyber-bullying. So the illusion that words can do no harm is a falsity that can no longer be ignored. We are all responsible for the way we speak, the intent we speak with and we equally have the power to arrest the lovelessness we feel when words are not spoken with the love we all deserve to be met with.
Well said and very true Carola, cyber bullying or any sort of bullying wouldn’t exist if we all lived in a more responsible and loving way.
A great exposure on the harming effect of the misuse of words in both their delivery and true meaning. Energetic integrity and responsibility in the way we express to everyone, would bring many amazing changes to the way we respect and value people too.
Great blog Deborah.. perhaps the saying should be “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can hurt me more than anything if I don’t discern how they are being used” not so catchy but definitely true.
YES! OMG I would have loved to have been taught that in school. Taught how to deal with feelings and emotions that my body was sending me all the time. The alternative is to literally override, ignore, and cover over with myriad distractions, and I for one can attest the very fact that it all catches up with you in the end. Had I been better equipped to handle my sensitivity from an early age, I would not have had to go through the many dips of depression and anxiety in my 30 odd years. Instead I would have learnt to appreciate early on that my sensitivity is my strength not my weakness.
Great blog Deborah it made our own responsibility visible and palpable – there is no place to hide – the only way is to be open to the possibility that we all can feel energy in every second of our life.
You cannot tell me that the emotions we feel and can indulge in don’t have an effect on our bodies health and wellbeing. After all they are tangible and can be felt, and if we are honest, sometimes hurt as much as physical pain can. That we don’t think they are accumulating and having both instant and long lasting effects in our own bodies biochemistry and intricate workings means we are living in ignorant bliss and really need to wake up to the fact that everything we do feel and say counts. We all have much to learn as there is a science here that needs to be studied far more extensively with honesty, clarity and absolute integrity so it can be truly understood and lived.
If, as you say, we were ‘more equipped’, we would be far more discerning and take energetic responsibility for all of our movements; wouldn’t that be loving, harmonious and refreshing for us individually and for humanity. Thank you Deborah for your inspiration and wisdom.
For sure Deborah, words can either harm or heal and that is a science we all know so well, we only do not want that to be exposed. We all know how to manipulate or how to influence someone’s behaviors with words, so to me that proves that we know this, but in our irresponsibility we avoid being consciously aware of this fact and with that limit our understanding of what hurting someone to us means. We accept only the physical hurt we can do to one another but comfortably forget that words can even do far more harm and even can make people choose suicide as a way to escape from the hurt that has been brought to them by words.
It is the greatest gift that I reignited, to feel and discern the energy of another’s words and actions. Thanks to Universal Medicine to present the way and bring continuous tools to resurrect my sixth sense clairsentience.
I love your analogy here Deborah. When a physical force or blow hits us it hurts our body and bruises it. So, when we get emotional blows how can we not think we don’t carry a wound from them as words can be just as devastating as any physical blow.
Children are wonderful at bringing our attention to things and making us ponder further. Often words, and the way they are configured are aimed to put another person down, sometimes to the point of annihilation. Like wise they are used to manipulate, reinterpreting the truth to satisfy someones agenda and can be very destructive and hurtful in that sense. The more centred and full of ourselves we are the less the words can get to us and cause any pain. It is also our responsibility to not get hooked in by the emotion in the words and retaliate in some way and thus use the same kind of energy, albeit a different flavour, to express or communicate back.
When we don’t discern the energy that comes with the words we can be easily fooled by them-and if we don’t read the energy, we take it on. I can cut out foods and drinks that I know don’t work for my body- but if I’m still poisoning myself in other ways by taking on others’ emotions or energy then nothing has actually changed: I’m still finding other ways to poison myself. The question is why: why do we do things that deliberately hurt us? What is it that we don’t want to feel?
Deborah I agree for sure – if we can acknowledge that words carry energy then we are already more equipped to be aware of just what it is that they are carrying and can from that be more aware of how we truly feel to respond.
So true – we have got this double standard thing going on. We are very sensitive to the energy in words, and even without any obvious words, just by their configuration, our hurts can get triggered and we may go into reaction. But when we have needs and hear what we want to hear, we often allow ourselves to be fooled by what we hear.
The energy behind words may not register in the mind at the time but it is definitely felt by the body. To know the truth of any word spoken we only have to connect to and feel how our body is feeling for therein lies the truth of the word spoken.
“Everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy” A truth that if felt and lived would change the path of humanity.
So true. It seems to me that whoever initiated that ‘sticks and stones’ saying did so because they felt very clearly that words can hurt and it was an attempt to negate the very real pain they could feel. It is like a denial of the truth. If I tell myself this doesn’t hurt then I won’t feel it. The irony is they are using the very power of words to try to negate the power of words. Our language gives us away doesn’t it. How often do we say things like ‘it hit me that…’ or ‘it struck me…’ when describing a realisation that words have brought us. Another one is ‘take it on the chin’ – just like a punch – for that is what we feel in truth.
Words can do so much damage that as has been pointed out, can last a lifetime(s). I would go so far as to say they are one of the greatest weapons that exist for they can be deliberately used to manipulate, incite, influence, coerce, and deny amongst so many others. But when used to express truth and love, they are also deeply healing. So its not the words per se but the intention of and energy being chosen by the speaker that determines which master they serve. The Masters of equalness or the masters of separation and individualism.
Humanity had suffered greater damage through the misinterpreted word, than it has at the hand of any dictator or nuclear weapon. Just because we can’t see the bruise does not mean that it is not there. Our words are weapons when we do not speak them from the love within our heart.
So true Liane. A ‘war of words’ is not a saying that exists for nothing…
Excellent blog: words are full of energy and it all has a huge impact. I love what Serge Benhayon has presented, he has given us every tool to discern the quality of life and to live truth, it all comes down to a choice in each moment, and the all is in all of his works. The words that we say are a reflection of how we live as a whole and thus you can’t speak angrily if you don’t live with anger.
It is quite remarkable that from such an early age we are taught, via a seemingly harmless saying, to override what we feel at an energetic level. And so it is that we are reduced to living compressed and contracted in a world that will only hold ‘true’ what we can see with our naked eye and not the truth that we feel deep in our inner heart.
Thank you Deborah, words are powerful to heal or harm, it is all in the energy of the words spoken, the quality of energy can be felt when we are connected to our bodies.
So true Deborah. This was highlighted for me recently at work. Someone had sent me an email, unhappy with a decision that I had made, which in itself is ok. But there was one word in this email that on reflection hurt like anything because it was not my intention whatsoever. But I could feel the other persons hurt they were feeling because of my decision. All that was contained in one word. Very meticulously placed in the email to rock my foundation. It’s quite fascinating really as it shows how skilled we are in reading the energy behind words even thought we may not be consciously aware of it.
I agree Deborah and this can only start with us discerning the energy of our every thought, word and action.
Deborah I just love your analogy of how energetic punches bruise us deep within – for me this concept explains much about how our unresolved hurts, patterns and beliefs come about.
‘Imagine the enormous healing for all of humanity to simply realise that words carry energy’….
This reminds me of being smacked or hit with a wooden spoon (ouch) yes it hurts but nothing compared to what was said before and after. Words, before we remember how to read and feel energy, can have a lasting affect that can sometimes span a lifetime. I know I carried a hurt for many many years of ‘you will never amount to anything’ or ‘if you had a brain it would be lonely’. I mean what do you do with that? We would not have half the hurts we do if we learnt from young that “everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy”. We can then discern and see that it is not really about us and focus more on what game is actually being played.
It makes absolute sense that with everything being energy that words carry a quality that can be harmful. In fact the harm can be profound even without physical proof and can allow people in response to hurt themselves or others in reaction, scarred by what has been said… which is why I suppose they also say words can be weapons, for the destruction they can cause.
I agree wholeheartedly with you Deborah, it is all to easy to be fooled by words and to be tricked by their impact and energy. Often words spoken to us years ago ring in our ears and stay with us forever. Thanks to the invaluable teachings of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine this consciousness and harmful energy is being exposed.
“It appears all too easy to be fooled by ‘words we want to hear’ and ‘need’ to hear, and in that we too readily overlook the energy they are coming with or the punch that they can carry.” One day we will be taught this from an early age and not be deceived by ‘nice, good’ words that can carry evil energy, which is more insidious than outright unpleasantries, which are easy to spot and feel.
I know that old adage only too well, but we can usually overcome physical injury. However words can stay with us – the energy of them can haunt us. The recent All Rise videos on cyber abuse (www.allrisesaynotocyberabuse.com/our-films/) visually show the effects that bullying has on us. Yet the world has yet to wake up to this fact.
Deborah, those words we hear and the energy in them affect us and often like that bruise it’s not obvious, but reading today I had an aha – each time we’re hurt by words and we are, if we’re not honest about what we feel we numb ourselves more so over time we shutdown from the world – this has a huge impact and can last a long time. The punch we get is obvious and we know it and see it but the words which hurt build layers over time which affect us more – words count and most of al energy does, always.
Deborah to accept and live in a way that honours what we feel that words affect us and that we are impacted by energy, and to not deny that is important- if we brush aside the hurt caused by words we dismiss what we feel and we often take that further by suppressing or denying those same feelings, so we walk away from what we feel when we deny the power of words. And we cut ourselves off over time from our own feelings – ‘everything is energy and everything is because of energy’, this is a great truth shared with us by Serge Benhayon and the more we feel and live this the more we see and understand ourselves and the world.
‘Imagine the enormous healing for all of humanity to simply realise that words carry energy. Wouldn’t this go a long way to confirm what many of us perhaps already know to be true?’ – Beautifully said Deborah, if we all lived this truth we would feel a greater responsibility in how we expressed to each other at all times.
The effect on many people of cyber-bullying is clear evidence that the energy in words can be very harming. It is interesting that we also have the expression ‘The punch line’ which are words that are designed to hit you.
I agree Mary, the words written through cyber-bullying can be vey harmful to the recipient and others that are drawn in by the damaging hurtful comments often with the result in causing depression and in some extreme cases even committing suicide indeed what could be more harming than that. It is so very important to feel the integrity and the intention behind the words. When we truly know who we are, then it is not so easy to be swayed or hurt by harmful comments, for we don’t take them on, that is, we don’t question or doubt ourselves. We feel the energy that is behind the spoken or written word and we know to trust our feelings.
I have many times been fouled by words because I heard what I wanted to hear. To truly hear and feel words expressed we can discern it energetically and allow ourselves to feel the intention behind it so the truth of the expression is felt.
We can be so often fooled by words and the intention and energy they are delivered with. “Imagine if we were taught from a young age that “everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy” – as presented by Universal Medicine”
It certainly would be great if we learnt to discern and speak up if words came with a “punch”
This really resonates with me as I am learning these strengths; to discern, feel and speak up; a work in progress.
I am also pondering the other side of the coin, that is , the energy in which i deliver my words!
Words are indeed a powerful weapon. Words heal or harm with the effects enriching our lives or leading to deep hurts. The effects of verbal abuse are massive in the way it diminishes people and leaves scars that are unseen on the surface. The person who is speaking in a harmful way also gets affected but can’t feel that because they have to be disconnected from themselves in the first place to be able to speak offensively.
Being aware of the hurts we carry is essential to healing them. Everyone should be taught when we are kids that words can truly cause lasting harm, then we would be more care-full when we express and more aware when another has harmed us with their expression and less likely to bury these hurts only to have them control our lives well into adulthood.
Reading this again today remembering that if I had a bruise or a scrape from falling over I would want to show this off and share this with another child – yes it was comparing ‘my bruise is bigger than your bruise’ type of thing! but it was more open and could very much be seen. To be hurt by words was so completely different I would resort to hiding up or not speaking and feeling totally confused and stressed. As Barbara shares “never under estimate the power of words”. A great sharing Deborah.
Reading this, this morning, has supported me to self reflect on where I have minimised feelings. Both in myself and, consequently others…
A great reminder thank you Deborah, our world is lost in a sea of meaningless words. Conversations we hear on television and radio are often disrespectful and critical of another not to mention other forms of media such as magazines and newspapers. Could this be one of the reasons that there is so much heartache and sadness in the world? the fact that we hurt each other daily with our everyday gossip and meaningless chitter chatter. We are compounding the love we are not. – It is about time we all raised the bar by a long way and started to confirm the Love we are.
How many times during the day does our mood change? For some of us quite often: one second feeling great, the next second feeling horrible. This blog is a great reminder to discern the energy behind everything, words, chairs we sit on, food, a building we enter, a book we open, a song we listen to…
I agree Deborah We should never under estimate the power of words and, more so, the energy behind them. When we truly accept that everything is energy and, therefore everything is because of energy, as presented by Serge Benhayon life will change dramatically. As you say Kim our bodies all recognise truth. Only through disconnection of body and mind can we be fooled into accepting lies. This speaks volumes in light of the state of the world and the lies rampant in society. Listening and responding to the truth and wisdom of the body will lead us to the energetic integrity and energetic responsibility so lacking in society today.
I would say that words are far more harming than any physical abuse simply because it can be dressed up as ‘good’ or ‘acceptable’ conduct between people. And as well as the words it’s the tone that is another important factor that is often overlooked or not considered in its impact on us. A tone can say A LOT about a persons intention and yet we take no notice of it. I often don’t play ball when people say ‘I am fine’ with a tone that says ‘I am exhausted/frustrated/overwhelmed etc’ because it doesn’t support that person at all to go along with the surface face of ‘I am fine’. How much do we truly know a person if we completely ignore things like tone and go by what that person has put out for the world to perceive them as?
I had often thought what it would have been like to be brought up knowing everything was energy. So much more love and responsibility would have to arise. This is a truth I share with my kids, I love seeing how my 6yr old just gets it, and is already learning to consciously choose what runs his body. It’s a truth that should be shared with all.
Beautiful kimweston2, it is awesome you are raising your children to be energetically aware.
I totally agree Deborah, it is all to easy to underestimate the energy and power behind our words. One thing I have found is that I’ve always felt in my body when words were spoken of untruth or words were spoken of truth. Even though we are not taught words are energy, our bodies have always known.
Words can harm just as much as physical abuse and this is something that we have to be aware of when communicating with others.
Living this way brings far greater understanding of others and of ourselves to everyday situations. This is so because the reading of what is happening energetically allows us to be more observant of life and less absorbing of what is going on.
Spot on Joshua, we get less caught up in the pain but instead see it for what it truly is, energy at ‘play’.
Brilliant Joshua, This is so true. I have experienced this and I do not feel exhausted because I have chosen to not absorb but to observe people.
Simple medicine that we can live every day
This is a great little blog. For it’s a common saying about the ‘sticks’ and the ‘bones’. I was hit with lots of sticks and I even broke a few bones (from other sources of injury; not sticks), yet it’s the words and energy behind such words that still impact my being to this day. This thinking must infiltrate the rigidity and stupidity of what’s common place in society and schools around this subject. Awareness of bullying is building, but unless the causes are discussed energetically, no doubt any solution is mundane and ineffective.
It occurred to me as I was reading your blog Deborah that if anyone doubted the truth in what you have written they need look no further than the spate of online bullying that has emerged in recent years and the subsequent consequences. Words do indeed carry energy and have enormous potential to do harm as well as good.
There is so much truth in your words, Deborah. I am also realising that the energy in words can smoulder away long after the event and cause countless other hurtful words to be said to hide the hurt.
This is such a lovely sharing about the power of words and the impact they can have on another. Remembering my sensitivity as a child and often what was said by teachers left me feeling very stressed/anxious. So each day my mother told me that very verse of ‘sticks and stones’ it never took the pain away of what I felt it was just a distraction to get me to go to school. It is so true how we can hurt/harm another with our words and the tone in which we use to deliver them. It is only since being reawakened to the fact that “everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy” as presented by Universal medicine that I truly understand and also very aware of how I converse with another. Thank you Deborah.
Thank you for sharing the fact that words can be just as harming if not more than physical actions.
It’s true that we can use words to mould us, belittle us, harm us.
I love what you present here about energy in words. Yes they can come as a loaded gun or a blanket of support.
For example, I used to be very self depreciating in how I spoke to myself, and as a result I was extremely submissive and played small.
But as I have been more honest with all of this and have started to value myself more and more I have noticed a huge change in my body, my openness, and also how I am with others. The more I appreciate myself, the more I appreciate others. Energy of words has a huge value that has been amazing for me to see.
That old adage never felt true to me. We all know the pain that another’s words (or silence) can inflict that at times are far more hurtful than any physical wound and far more debilitating because they go to the very core of who we are and challenge our beliefs about ourselves. The snide comment, the throw away line, the joke at another’s expense…and often when we speak up we are accused of being oversensitive or imagining things. When this starts at an early age it can have the effect of gradually wearing us down. When our feelings are dismissed in this way and we are unable to have the space to express how we are truly feeling, the hurts have nowhere to go but to be buried deeper within our bodies. The power of what Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon presents is that it’s important to acknowledge and value our feelings as that’s the body’s way of letting us know whether or not something is true and it’s important to honour that.
Thank you Deborah for sharing this beautiful insight into energy and words . So true if we were educated in confirming that we already do feel energy and were allowed to live in the awareness of what we do feel ,all that lay hidden behind niceties would be exposed for what it is.
Thank you Deborah, I agree that most of us have not considered the damages of what words can bring. What I also feel though is that if we begin to feel and discern what people are saying whether it is true or not, then these invisible ‘punches’ will be exposed and seen as punches, and then we are less likely to take them on, and truly be affected or hurt. So there is a truth in that “words can never hurt us” – if we know who we are. And to understand ‘why are they saying this’? ‘What is going on for them’? ‘Where is this coming from’? ‘Why am I reacting to this’? In this understanding we can de-personalise the ‘punch’.
Words are far more powerful that we care to admit, evident in how so many words have reinterpreted if not completely reinvented meanings.
True that Helen. If it wasn’t for the power of the spoken and written word – our world would be infinitely different.
I know from personal experience words can be just as damaging if not more so then physical blow to the body. At least you can apply first aid to a bruise, a few bad words are a bit more tricky to heal.
This can easily be seen in primary school where children are more likely to cry from harsh words rather then falling over.
I have experienced this too Luke. The energy behind words that hurt us can be stored in our body if we choose not too heal them whereas with a cut or a bruise our body naturally heals it.
Agree chanly88 and it is some what ironic that the issues of being emotionally damaged aren’t seen as serious as physical injury when in most cases physical injuries heal by themselves and we have no say in the matter i.e. a small cut.
Whereas emotional healing can require a willingness to look at the issue. The body is easy the latter can be a bit more challenging.
So awesome Deborah, I can relate to your blog 100%. I have experienced this: ‘that people’s words can carry just as much of a punch (if not more so, sometimes) than their physical actions.’ This is so true for me, I have found that in the past I have been carrying hateful words or the harmful energy behind an expression directed towards me without me even acknowledging or realise I was carrying it. It is not until I stop to feel, to let go and to heal that hurt do I then realise how much it has affected me. Words are very powerful, like you said ‘everything is energy’. I can’t actually physically see the energy but I can feel it. So, how people direct their energy towards me, I can definitely feel it and it can affect me. I have learnt how I can choose to not allow or absorb other people’s energy. Learning to not to absorb and not to react, but to be aware and detach.
Wow Deborah, there is so much truth in what you express, words do indeed carry energy and to be taught to know this is such a powerful tool. It definitely brings greater responsibility to the way we express.
This is a great sharing exposing the power of our expression either harming or healing with each word spoken… the responsibility is immense for the quality is always felt even when not seen.
Gosh Deborah the words ‘Sticks and stones’ certainly brought up memories from my early childhood. My mother constantly told me this each and every day I went to primary school – I repeated it constantly going up the school pathway – which only distracted the energy I would meet once in school. SInce becoming more aware about energy (through the presentations of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine) – realising now it was the ‘words will never harm you’ which actually caused me the most pain of not wanting to go to school in the first place. A great sharing thank you.
My children are in primary school and the first time I heard this expression ‘sticks and stones’ was from them, not that long ago. I thought it was a pretty good saying until I read this blog. I thought that when someone attacks you with words and if you choose not to absorb that energy then it can not hurt you. I thought that this was what it meant. So the message in ‘Sticks and stones’ is in fact teaching us to not feel so you don’t get hurt. I totally get that now. Thank you!
I also realised, by supressing our feelings or pretending it’s not there is extremely harmful. I can see how this way of supressing our feelings can lead to very unloving behaviours and actions. So, bottling it up and hiding our feelings simply leads to explosive behaviours, which then causes more harm, so on and so on, creating a vicious cycle of harm towards ourselves and others.
As children Marion we knew that this saying wasn’t true because we DO feel the pain and hurt that words can cause and being taught to deny the pain is the pathway to burying the hurt.
Deborah you are so right in sharing the importance of the energy behind the words not just the words being spoken. I know I have not been discerning with this in the past and how incredibly freeing it is to have this awareness and to take a deeper responsbility with what I express.
Thank you Deborah and Sharon, I agree, the pen is mightier than the sword!
Lovely blog Deborah. When the energy behind the spoken word is felt it is easy to see why they can be hurtful and have a lasting impact on the recipient.
Well said Deborah. The harm and hurt that can be inflicted by words can have a deeper and longer lasting impact than a physical blow. Understanding how energy is in everything as presented by Universal Medicine has enabled me to feel and be responsible for everything I say and how I say it.
Loved your blog Deborah. What if we were taught that everything is energy and everything is because of energy, and the next time we felt the ‘harm’ coming at us through words/a look/a movement, we spoke up and named what was really going on – that part of us that shines would continue to shine and bring more light to the world. That which attempts to shut us down and render us powerless would be rendered obsolete. I love that, the choice is in the hands of Humanity and starts with us living our truth and showing the way.
We have so much might in what we say. One day it’s going to be taught in schools.
Wow Deborah love this crisp piece on responsibility-through-word, and so true re the physical bruises and bleeding on the inside, very reflective.
And your words here addressing the energy behind a spoken word: “My experience is that these energetic punches do bruise us over time and can affect the way in which we relate to all others as a result – if we have not initially discerned the energy of spoken words and how they feel to us in-truth, at the time”, show us the importance of not just of the person speaking to be aware, but equally us as the recipients of such words.
I’ve often felt the harshness, anger, niceness or hollowness in words from people, yet it’s the more subtle ones like jealousy or comparison that are more hard to detect. I do wonder that if there can be physical punches that bruise on the skin, whether the same might apply with words, and that somehow the energy can carry enough force to imprint itself onto a body and equally create a bruise. Just goes to show how care-full we need to be about what we are communicating from our body either vocally or silently and the harm that it can cause.
“Imagine if we were taught from a young age that; everything is energy and therefore everything is because of energy”
Yes just imagine; what a very different world we would live in.
Imagine also an education system that had it’s foundations based on this truth and taught that energetic “punches” do far more damage than physical hurts.
Thank you Deborah for your inspiring blog.
Discerning energy should be taught in school. As you say Deborah we can say a sentence that is word for word perfect with another yet be world’s apart energetically, one will kiss you and the other will bruise you. And with a flip of the coin we should all be responsible in how we speak to another.
Deborah, words actually harm us way more than many of us care to admit. The pain from some words can be carried through out our whole lives. I feel that it is of great importance for humanity to begin to take responsibility for how we speak. As you say it is the energy we use to speak, that can either heal and support us, or hurt us deeply.
Super true Deborah. I remember once saying that it doesn’t matter what people say, but it’s the way and how people say things that hurt or that counts. I’ve sinced realised I was talking about the energy that is behind the words and the energy that they are spoken in. This is much more insidious and can be much more damaging then we realise.
How often are we ‘fooled by ‘words we want to hear’ and ‘need’ to hear, and in that we too readily overlook the energy they are coming with or the punch that they can carry’. I love your article Deborah and in particularly your analogy of how words can be delivered to bruise. It is so true and brings a new depth of understanding of my responsibility of how I express myself. Thankyou.
So true, Deborah. If we were left to trust our feelings, instead of being told to override them, that would enable us to understand how we could affect the others in the same way as well, and learn our responsibility in the way we live.
Absolutely Deborah, I agree fully that words carry energy!
There is so much communication going when you talk to someone and only a very small amount of that is with the words, the words would then come with whatever energy that person is standing in. Also body language is communicating. If we choose to override what we are feeling and reading energetically and make it only about what we see (physical) and hear (words) then we are going to be in trouble as a human race.
After spending years in a physically violent relationship, I can factually say words are much more damaging than a punch. You know when you have been punched, it also comes with a reminder that lasts for weeks in the form of a bruise. Words can harm us without us even realising we have been harmed or to what extent. Words also stay with us in the back of our mind for years festering away.
We know from when we were small children the power of words and the intention behind them. How words are delivered can be very hurtful. We don’t talk about this any where near enough, and now we are faced with more foul abuse (including online and anonymous) than every before. Maybe if we start to say more, if we start to say “that’s not ok to speak that way” then we would start to see a change in how we say what we need to say.
Great sharing Deborah, you have dissected that so well for me. The sticks and stones may break my bones… And words have also energy that is just as harming. And to discern words for what energy they are laced with. Thank you for your insight-fulness.
Wow Deborah that is a great blog. What you exposed here is very important and very needed. For me everybody knows unconsciously that what you described is true because we all get this bruises because of the energy behind the words – the question is why we don’t allow ourselves to feel it consciously????
Awesome blog Deborah, I agree we can feel the energy that comes with the words we say and are said to us. I remember growing up being told to ignore the harsh things people would say, and push aside what I was feeling. The thing is, the more we do this we become disconnected from what we are feeling, and it is easier to live in a way that does not honour how we feel, or accept that it is ok to simply feel it all.
I remember that line clearly as a child, we were told to thicken our skin and let the words roll like water off a duck’s back. Yet the reality was and still is that words hurt. Yes the pain is terrible when you’ve been hit, but it is on a surface level and you have the knowing that as time moves so to will the pain. Being abused verbally is shattering and there is no cure for it, the words go deep inside us and can crush us such is their power.
As you say Tony, being verbally abused is shattering, even if we are expected to just shrug it off. Recently I have been allowing myself to feel any hurt that results from any verbal abuse, and do not try to shrug it off. One of the (unintended) consequences of this is that people get to see the effects of their abuse. By putting on a brave face, or toughening up, we take this away, and so as a society we are more easily able to disconnect from the pain that we cause each other by our harsh ways, or hurtful words. By not allowing ourselves to show our tenderness and vulnerability, we lessen the likelihood that others will do so too.
You’re right Catherine, in saying nothing after being abused and simply taking it on we are basically allowing the abuse to continue time after time. A lot of the abusive comments I witness in the building industry are men trying to be funny and put each other down in a fun way (there is no such way). But the fact is the comments that are made have a bite with them and they do hurt but if we acknowledge that they hurt then our masculinity is questioned so therefore not many men call the abuse and the cycle continues.
A great article Deborah. I can remember speaking the words of this simple saying ‘sticks and stones…’ however whenever I said then or thought of them it was because I was feeling hurt from what someone had said to me. And I was using it to override my feelings of being hurt. What you have shared highlights the responsibility that we have when we speak or write to each other and the importance of discerning the intentions behind words that are being shared.
I find it hard as a school teacher to hear teenagers swear so much and so aggressively. It is now simply the norm to use foul language constantly. If only we all knew that words are energy and can impact those around them we would be more responsible with our choice of words.
The word as resistance, the word as a vehicle for truth, the words as a vehicle to express how you feel, the word as a vehicle of communication and understanding between people. These are expressions I came across during my life. It was only when my path crossed with Universal Medicine that I became conscious of the fact that words that are seemingly normal can harm big time. What we say and how we speak make a huge difference.
It is so true what you say, Deborah. One of the things that can make the verbal ‘punch’ so much worse than the physical one is that it is internal. This means it can be covered up and not noticed by an observer, and often not even by the recipient, until the harm is extreme, unlike the results of a physical one which will more likely be dealt with at the time.
So very true what you write about here. If we let words be used in any old way, shape or form we are all left with this abrasiveness between one another where one persons ‘truth’ is completely different to anothers ‘truth’. Even tones have a punch behind them I am discovering in peoples words and the more I acknowledge and question them it brings out more conversation and a release of whatever may have been loading such charged words.
At school we learnt to say “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” in defence of the playground bullies as they tauntingly tried to incite fighting. But words ARE powerful, they can be deeply hurtful and indeed insidious in nature. It is great that you bring this to light Deborah, thank you
Yes, I remember that saying about sticks and stones that adults say to children, and yet I suspect that children know full well that words do hurt, a lot. They may not know the word ‘energy’, but they know that the pain that words cause is real. It is the adults that sometimes like to kid themselves that words needn’t hurt, and not to consider why in fact they do.
I remember that saying about sticks and stones when I was a child. By adhering to it, I had to pretend that I didn’t feel hurt by the words of others, when the fact was they did sometimes hurt a lot. As adults some of us still pretend we are not hurt by words, because we don’t want to be labelled as ‘sensitive’ when in truth we are sensitive. Speaking up about how I truly feel has been a great learning for me and something that feels very self honouring.
Yes Deborah, I heard that saying so many times growing up. Words and actions hurt us deeply and it feels much harder to heal those than from a bruise.
I can relate to feeling very hurt by the words used when growing up and guarding myself against the energy behind the words.
Recently I have been reading things about cyber-bullying and it seems to me that there is no difference to the spoken word or typed word – they still hurt.
Thank you for such a reminder about the effect of what we say, or type can have.
I remember as a child at school how hurtful words can be and it did indeed feel so much worse than a bruise. If children were taught the true impact and energy of words we would have the opportunity for humanity to grow in understanding and responsibility.
What a great analogy you use of the bruise to express the impact that the energy of words have. “Imagine the enormous healing for all of humanity to simply realise that words carry energy”, this so true.
Great questions you have raised here Deborah, thank you. This is such an important topic, regarding the quality of spoken, sung and written words. We’ve seen through stories of children and young adults taking their lives due to bullying, the majority of which was through the written word online, just how much of an effect the energy behind words has. Supporting people to be aware of and discern energy and not dismiss what they feel is so needed.
Words, yes to ponder the intention behind the words that we use and to consider how they are used is vital. I have often trusted my feelings over words, but that use to hold me back from expressing. I am learning to trust myself and express truth as I feel it to be. Thank you for highlighting how important it is, to consider how we use words and the effect that they can have on others and ourselves.
A great article, we can all express from love.
I agree Deborah, I was taught that saying growing up, but actually words, whether written or spoken, have immense power. Words said with hate and malice can crush people, and words said with love and truth can raise people up and give them strength. To be responsible for every word we say can be hard – perhaps too big a commitment for many, but one day it will come to a point where it will be needed, because currently freedom of speech is allowing abuse to go unchecked, and true loving words are not often enough felt.
In my experience, there have been many cuts, bruises, broken bones in my life… all of which have healed pretty quickly. They are obvious and easy to see where the damage came from. However, there are words that were spoken to me at school, at home, at work, that I still carry the injury around with me… I’ve buried them deep inside where they continue to hurt me years later.
Words carry an enormous power, and we have to learn to speak and communicate with integrity. I am still learning to take responsibility for what I say to others, as they do of course also have an enormous power to heal.
I agree Simon and have had the same experience as you, words do carry an enormous power, as does our body language. Being lied to for me is worse than someone punching me, it lessens my trust in them and in turn has a knock on effect with others if I dont fully allow myself to see why they were lying to me. We are also told ‘its only a white lie’ but thats damaging still in-itself as it fosters mis-trust in society and has no basis of truth or integrity.
Great expression, Thank you Deborah. I fought a lot with my brother as we grew up, and I have forgotten it all. However I still remember cutting comments from teachers and friends…… “Imagine the enormous healing for all of humanity to simply realise that words carry energy.”
So true Sueq2012, I can recall with total clarity cutting comments from teachers and friends. They stick with you in a way that a cut or bruise heals and is long forgotten.
Oh so true Debra, thank you for your article giving a clear understanding of the effect we have with every word.
We have created a world that focuses so much on physical – all that can be seen and touched – so if we can’t take it (hurt caused by words) to the laboratory – we prefer to dismiss it! But this is not to be dismissed.
My children have always said that they would prefer to be physically punished (if they had to be) rather than by words. Their worse (as in most painful) punishment was to be ignored!
Great point Deborah. So many of us walk around in our lives and live from the pain of an “inner bruise” from words not expressed with love. So common is this, that much of humanity accept this as “normal living”. Living from a hurt which happened long ago and making all decisions from that place. It would be great if we were all taught the power of the words we say and how we say them to others, and the potential damage this can do. We all feel the damage at some time or other, but are not always so keen to see how we may cause damage to others when we express without love.
Thank you Deborah. Your article is a reminder of the importance of expressing love in both written and spoken communication.
Thank you – as I read this I recalled that as a child I cried far more often because of what someone had said to me than because of any physical hurts. I would often run to my mother in tears because someone had said this or that to me and I felt deeply harmed in some way. As Carmel has said how different it would be if we were taught about expression at an early age.
Thank you so much Deborah. I could so feel how much we have pushed aside those feelings of having been wounded by someone’s careless words. How we put on a brave face to show the world that we are ok, when really we have been hurt. How long do these hurts collectively fester inside of us?
How very honouring, to know that the words we use have such power – that we have a responsibility to ‘first, do no harm’ when it comes to our speech, our use of language and written communication.
Deborah, you have so beautifully spoken truth here. Breaking down that old belief that as you say we are taught from young that names can never hurt us. It feels to me more like we harden ourselves by putting up a protection, or closing ourselves down to not truly feel what is in a word, in effect not only then is the names/words hurting us, but in choosing to shut down, we are hurting us.
Hi Deborah, it’s great to have these kind of fallacies exposed – our lives are governed by so many statements that are simply untrue, and to have them exposed for the lies that they are helps us to trust what we feel and have always felt. Wouldn’t it be great if our education included sessions where the younger children are believed when they express what they feel, and older children are helped to feel once again the impact of their own and others’ expressions.
Absolutely true – what is spoken always contain an intention. The quality of that intention will either harm or heal. All of us know the intention behind our words – just as our actions and thoughts – whether we admit it or not. Thank you for reminding us to be conscious of the responsibility we hold!
I love your comment – “all of us know the intention behind our words”. This is so true – and means that each and every single one of us can choose to be aware and real about the effect of how we load our speech, etc.
Yes this is a great comment and hands the responsibility to us for that choice.
A very insight-full blog, thank you for sharing this Deborah.
So beautifully expressed, Deborah. Words, spoken AND unspoken, have an enormous and far reaching affect … in many cases life long. To learn to discern the intension behind the energy and become aware of the ensuing consequences is a must and a preventative for potential heart-ache.
Thank you for sharing this… our words can really hurt people yet we have grown up not taking responsibility for this… or at least I know I have.
Love it, Deborah. Thank-you for putting the truth so very simply. We need to call “harm” for what it is – whether physical harm, or that enacted through words (verbally, in print, broadcast…). Everyone knows the truth of this – we’ve all been hurt by words – and yet we have accepted and allowed so much that has deeply harmed to go unchecked. What an amazing world we would live in, if we were all confirmed from childhood, in the knowing that words can and do hurt, if expressed without love – and that we can say “it’s not ok”. No-one need numbly accept such abuse, and it is indeed a continual learning to be responsible for our very own expression, that we don’t perpetuate the cycle.
Spot on, Deborah. Thanks for the truth and love of humanity you have expressed in these words.
Yes, I can remember being told by my mother that words will never help me when I was very young and upset about something a person had said to me. How right you are to point out just how hurtful words can really be to us, especially when we are not taught that everything is energy. Otherwise it just becomes another belief, that we can’t be hurt by words, therefore we go on to bury our feelings more deeply within us.