Word

The Power Of Your Word by Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls

The Power of Your Word. Do you have any idea just how powerful the words are that you speak? Your word is the most powerful thing you do. Your word can create or destroy. Your word can heal or harm. How careful, how deliberate are you with this most powerful sword called your spoken word? We are going to examine the power of the word from various perspectives here. We will see how different groups and different philosophies use the power of the word so that you can get a firm grip on just how powerful the word is, and then you will take responsibility with full knowledge and understanding of what you are creating or destroying when you speak your word. Introduction Frank Deidrich wrote: “Most of us underestimate the power of our words. We sometimes miss how our words set a tone. A few words can make someone‟s day, or shatter it. Words can inspire someone to buy, or to go away without buying. Our words can move someone to do their best work, or to work against us. Your spoken words serve either to build up or to tear down. They serve to empower and inspire, or to disempower and hurt. Words are either life affirming or destructive. For this reason we should choose our words carefully.” “The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human...like a sword it has two edges, your word can create the most beautiful dream, or your word can destroy everything around you.” (The Four Agreements, Don Miquel Ruiz) When you are talking to someone ask yourself this question: “Who am I being and what is the impact of my word on the people around me?” The power of your words lies in the intention behind them. Is it your intention to create a resolution or to be right? Do you intend to help the organization accomplish its mission or to satisfy the need to take someone down? We communicate best when we are clear about who we are and what we intend. This kind of clarity prevents us from saying words that are harmful to ourselves and others. It may prevent us from engaging in harmful gossip and complaining.

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Clarity vs. Gossip Gossip is usually destructive. It is often a careless use of our words. We just aren‟t thinking about how we are affecting others. Sometimes gossip is mean spirited and intended to cause hurt. Whether gossip is careless or intentional, it causes pain. We may be hoping for a little humor or self justification, but the results of gossip are anger, suspicion, embarrassment, and fear. These creations of gossip negatively affect morale, service, and productivity. You cannot both care about someone and gossip about them. If you think back to the last time you either heard or offered gossip, it probably didn‟t make you feel good. Gossip disempowers us. Clarity vs Complaining Similar to gossip is chronic complaining. Complaining about people and situations makes us feel and look powerless. Managers who complain in front of their employees lose credibility as leaders. Chronic complaining leads us into a dead end street where there is nothing to be done. We become victims who are powerless to change anything. While venting frustrations to a trusted friend can be helpful in releasing negative feelings, complaining to everyone tends to reinforce negative feelings. Like gossip, chronic complaining disempowers us. The Power of Your word to create or destroy The meaning of no or yes The authority you have over others The belief that others have in your word -can create health or dis-ease. Faith Healing Faith healing is all about the power of ones word. Faith healing is founded on the belief that certain people or places have the ability to cure and heal —that someone or something can eliminate disease or heal injuries through a close connection to a higher power. Faith healing can involve prayer, a visit to a religious shrine, or simply a strong belief in a supreme being.


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Faith healing is believed to have begun even before the earliest recorded history. In the Bible, both God and holy people are said to have the power to heal. In Medieval times, the "Divine Right of Kings" was thought to give royalty the ability to heal through touch. Through the years, up to and including the 20th century, there have been numerous reports of saints performing miracle cures. The "main requisite for curative effects" is "the patient's belief in the practitioner's assurances." And, having a positive attitude seems to enhance the body's healing capacities (Nickell 1993: 134). Faith healing is real and effective and depends on the client to believe the word of the healer. The healer becomes the authority figure for that p erson‟s life. And so whatever the healer speaks is what creates the client‟s reality. A doctor who makes a misdiagnosis and his patient dies from a cancer he never had. A pastor who lays hands on a parishioner and declares that tumor gone and so it is. The power of your word. What about the power of your word to your children? How did you get some of your non benefiting beliefs? By believing what your parents told you! The down side to faith healing? You might choose to believe someone who is not speaking the truth. You might choose to believe someone who is telling you to believe something that does not benefit your own life. You might choose to make that person an authority figure for your life who is primarily motivated by fame or money. The power of the word can be used for both good and bad. One review published in 1998 looked at 172 cases of deaths among children treated by faith healing instead of conventional methods. These researchers found that if conventional treatment had been given, the survival rate for most of these children would have been more than 90%, with the remainder of the children also having a good chance of survival. A more recent study found that more than 200 children had died of treatable illnesses in the United States over the past 30 years because their parents relied on spiritual healing rather than conventional medical treatment. Finally, a few "faith healers" have been caught using fraud as a way to get others to believe in their methods. ***


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The Word... In Chanting, Wazifa and Meditation Practice: The great power of verbal practices such as chanting or as the Sufi religion calls it, wazifa, does not arise solely from the repetition of the words or sounds. While there is power in all forms of vibration, the greatest power of spiritual practices as chanting, wazifa or meditation arises from the moments spent not thinking about the self. The greatest obstacle to spiritual progress is one's own ego, that is, one's excessive concern for one's own self, and every moment spent not thinking of the self is indeed a great step toward spiritual awakening.

Certainly there is great merit in thinking about and being immersed in the harmonizing influence of inspiring words and sacred sounds, since such high ideals will help to create great intentions, but the greatest gift of chanting, wazifa and meditation is to simply stop thinking about one's own self. When all of that noisy chatter about one's own opinions, one's own problems, one's own difficulties, and one's own situation is finally silenced by selflessness, then the answers and solutions will begin to emerge from the perfect clarity of silence. Indeed, listening proves to be even more powerful than speaking. And we discover that the greatest of powers did not arise from the word, but rather the greatest of powers has arisen from the unlimited, calm depths of silence. The Art of Incantation “The reason the word of God has power is because God spoke it. The root of the word magic is found in the Hebrew language and means to mutter or utter. So the meaning of the word magic is the power of the word.”

The magical and religious texts of the Egyptians of all periods contain spells intended to be used against serpents, scorpions, and noxious reptiles of all kinds, and their number, and the importance which was attached to them, suggest that Egypt must always have produced these pests in abundance, and that the Egyptians were always horribly afraid of them. The text of Unas, which was written towards the close of the 5th Dynasty, contains many such spells, and in the Theban and Saïte Books of the Dead several Chapters consist of nothing but spells and incantations. Many of which are based on archaic texts, against crocodiles, serpents, and other deadly reptiles, and insects of all kinds. “Magic words are naturally as old as conjuring itself, echoes of the rhythm and vibration of creative power. Medieval conjurors first began using exotic words to give their performances an air of authentic secret knowledge. Whether they


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employed pseudo-Latin phrases, nonsense syllables, or esoteric terms from religious antiquity, these magicians were doing far more than merely adding a bit of enigmatic audio to their visuals. They were enhancing their specific illusions with a universal mystery: language as an instrument of creation.”

The Power is in How You Say It It has been said that the „secret‟ of magic words is this: “It doesn‟t matter what you say as much as it matters how you say it!” It is generally recommended that you vocalize as much vibration as possible, “as you would any mantra. Emphasis on each syllable, so that you can hear it resonate and feel it vibrate within you, is the key. The sound of any power-word or name seeks and harnesses that power. When this sound is combined with concentration and visualization, you stir the energy and power to which you are heir” as a magic practitioner. The very act of “speech is the „Open Sesame,‟ the magical power.” Note that the act of speech is where the magic is. Kabbalah scholar Phillip Cooper reminds us that “No word or statement contains power— power lies within the mind of the person who speaks those words.” 14

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Here again we see the power of the word is contained in the emotional gas that propels the vehicle, the intention, something I have already talked about many times. If you are not familiar with this truth, go to my website at www.shamanelder.com and read the Power of Intent.

NLP Igor Ledochowski calls it The Power Of Conversational Hypnosis: “How to quickly and easily put people under your spell and get them to do what you want. “ Igor got many of his ideas a long time ago when he saw a rebel psychiatrist in a wheel chair speaking to a bunch of doctors, psychologists, and therapists. Just talking to them. Igor actually felt sorry for the paralyzed old coot... until that room full of skeptical professionals started to do exactly what he told them to do. You see, he had used hypnosis ... right in a conversation ... to make those tough-minded subjects laugh, scratch, stand up, and sit down on command. The elderly heretic was named Milton Erickson. He was the greatest hypnotist of all time.


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What made his hypnosis so powerful was that he had spent almost 60 years learning to hypnotize his subjects without them knowing it.... and hypnotizing them inside of a normal-seeming conversation. NLP is a set of principles and strategies that teaches you how to use the power of language (linguistic) to program (and influence) a person‟s mind (neurolo gy) to achieve a particular outcome. Persuading others to take action on your behalf. Interestingly the power of the word as used in Neuro-Linguistic programming was first put to use by Petrus de Abano (c. 1250-1316) Let‟ s talk about some applications of NLP. There are countless areas where modern persuasion and social influence techniques are used. As a general rule, it is easy to manipulate people using words. As the result, the Mental Manipulation methods and even rapid hypnosis induction techniques are now widely accepted as everyday practice. Unfortunately, using the covert hypnosis and other tools from the neurolinguistic programing toolkit is often used "against" us - think about NLP in sales, mass media, advertising, TV and internet, online and in person courses and workshops, manipulation and politics - all this is the fact of our everyday life.

During the last decades this psychology has had a huge impact on our society. New powerful techniques were developed (just to name few), such as Core Transformation and EFT (emotional freedom technique or emotional freedom therapy) that can blow away phobias and negative memories. Positive change hypnosis (that comes under many names) is used to achieve changes and to make them permanent. Finally, the Timeline Therapy, one of the most amazing altered states techniques is combining all techniques above, and to alter the person's past experience! We can even learn to influence our internal organs directly; all these are based on the power of the word. The Power of One word. The Power of "and" One of the most powerful words in the English language is “and”. From daily communication to negotiation to conflict resolution, “and” has the power to lower emotional temperatures, engage and motivate another person, support, develop and grow co-operative relationships built on mutual trust and respect.


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When used in place of the word “but” the effect is the other person feels heard and has the experience of their thoughts and ideas being listened to and in turn listening to you.

Finally, Our power to do harm is exceeded only by our power to do good. A simple, sincere apology (given without expectation of return) can heal a relationship. An uplifting word at the right moment can change a life, launch a career, or convince someone to go beyond perceived limitations. By consciously looking for evidence of greatness in others, and by using our words to tell them, we help others to build confidence. When we sincerely speak well of others we uplift ourselves. There is great power in making the commitment to keeping our words as positive and life affirming as we are able. As an affirming presence our influence grows. We feel better about ourselves. Constant negative speech imprisons us and prevents us from finding joy and success. Developing the habit of speaking well of self and others frees us to enjoy life more. We become a blessing to ourselves and to others. Our spoken words originate from our thoughts. The best way to increase the positive power of our spoken words is to clean up our thinking. We must become willing to think well of ourselves. Constant self criticism needs to become unacceptable. We free ourselves to think and speak well of others by thinking well of ourselves. Consider practicing the following: 1. Affirm life in your thoughts and your words. (To affirm life is to build up, to nurture, to support, and to bless) 2. Refuse to gossip. Commit to saying only words that are uplifting or helpful to others. 3. Refuse to listen to gossip. Compassionately tell others it is beneath them to gossip. 4. Refuse to indulge in complaining about another person.


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5. Refuse to dwell on self critical thoughts. Learn from mistakes and move on. 6. Intentionally look for positive qualities to think about yourself. Make a list often. 7. Intentionally look for positive qualities in others. Tell them. 8. Don‟t take the words of others personally. Their words are more about them than about you. Let go of your grudges and your hurts and wish others well. This practice will make you happier. 9. Do not allow negative emotion to control you. Accept it. Be willing to let it go. Stop feeding it with negative words. Choose words that will refocus you on who you are and what you really want. 10.Gossip and complaining are distractions and a misuse of your energy. Decide what you really want and apply your energy to it. As you become more life affirming in your thoughts and words you will experience more joy and success, and your sense of well-being will affect others. More people will trust you and want to help you. Your life will change. Affirm life with your thoughts and words and you will find that your organization, your family, your community, and you will benefit greatly.

Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls has been a practicing Shaman for over 50 years. She recently received a dispensation to reach out to those who have a desire to learn about a Shaman’s path and now offers an online course at www.shamanelder.com. Many people on this earth have been Shamans in other lives and only need to reconnect with their lost knowledge and skills to bring shamanic healing back to Mother Earth and its peoples. This is Shaman Elder’s goal. You can receive a FREE CONSULTATION by writing

[email protected]

Copyright 2010-2037 Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls. NO reprint allowed. This is just one of a weekly series of lectures that Shaman Elder Maggie presents to all her students. If you liked it, why not take her Shaman Apprenticeship 101 course. Anyone can learn the 20 tools and skills she teaches as practiced by her own family ancestry in Siberian Shamanism. You can begin today at www.shamanelder.com


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