The Power of Words

During this journey I’ve be on, I’ve thought a lot about words, which may seem strange considering I’m a communication professor who primarily teaches writing.  For years, I have taught the value of words and picking just the right one to concisely communicate one’s purpose.  I’ve explained the importance of connotative vs. denotative meanings: how the words “cheap” and “inexpensive,” although they basically mean the same thing, conjure up very different mental images.  I’ve stressed how the poor placement of words in a sentence may alter the writer’s true intention: “My father took me to my first horse race at the age of 8” – he’s got to be the youngest father in history!  I’ve pleaded with students to stop using “they” as a pronoun for everyone and everything.

Yet those aren’t the “word rules” I’ve been thinking about.  In a previous post about affirmative prayer, I talked about focusing on positive outcomes and the idea that what we put out in the universe comes back to us.  That includes the words we choose to speak.  Since I was first diagnosed with cancer, I’ve tried (and been mostly successful) with avoiding words like “sick” or “ill.”  I had cancer, period.  I felt just fine, so I didn’t want negativity worming its way into my psyche.  Since my surgery, I’ve tried to avoid saying I have cancer; it was removed and is no longer in my body.  I’m on the path to wellness, I’m healing, I’m getting stronger.

As I have been thinking more about the power of words, I have come across several readings reinforcing this thought.  Last month, I read the following passage in my daily devotional: “The words I speak and write carry energy and power, so I choose them with care and clear purpose . . . My chosen words are sacred.  What I send into the world returns to me multiplied.”  More recently, I came across another reading taken from “The Twelve Powers of Man,” a 1930 book written by Charles Fillmore, a leader of the New Thought movement. He taught that one of the 12 powers is at the root of the tongue and that the throat is “the door between the formless and the formed,” meaning that words shape ideas into reality.  He said that “every word makes an imprint.”

I believe this to be true.  Our words can have enormous impact on others – they can console, nurture, motivate, teach, celebrate, degrade, hurt.  Why wouldn’t our own words not affect us, as well?  I have worked in public relations for 29 years and understand the concept that perception is reality.  If you or others around you perceive what you say to be real, those words elicit very real emotions and reactions.  Have you ever wished you hadn’t said something because of the effect those words had on someone?   If my words create my reality, then I choose a reality where my words work for good and bring encouragement, positive energy and healing to my life and the lives of those around me.

“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose” —  Isaiah 55:11

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