Did you grow up with that sing-song rhyme? “Sticks and stones might break my bones, but words/names can never hurt me.” It was childhood spell casting; a tool for children to use against ill-willed words or name calling.

The thing is, it isn’t true. Words/names do a LOT of harm and cause a LOT of hurt…in more ways than just hurting feelings.

First let me lay the ground work with some research.

In his studies, Dr Masaru Emoto found that water exposed to positive words and intentions formed beautiful, symmetrical crystalline structures when the water was frozen, while water exposed to negative words and intentions formed disorganized, asymmetrical structures.

Dr. Emoto also studied how sound affects water.

The Emoto music studies demonstrate how certain types of sound, like classical music, generate beautiful crystalline patterns, while heavy metal music, generate ugly and distorted crystalline formations. 

https://mywaterfilter.com.au/blogs/learning/how-water-responds-to-thoughts-and-emotions#:~:text=In%20his%20studies%2C%20Emoto%20found,intentions%20formed%20disorganized%2C%20asymmetrical%20structures.&text=Water%20Has%20Memory

 Other research shows that speaking nicely to plants will support their growth, whereas yelling at them doesn’t. It seems that plants react favourably to low levels of vibrations, around 115-250hz being ideal.”

Plants are comprised of up to 90% water. Research suggests that they’re more sensitive to their environment than we may realize.

For example, a 2004 study published in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces found that a sound of about 1.4 kHz can stimulate endogenous growth hormone production in chrysanthemum plant cells. This may trigger seed germination and better plant growth overall. For reference, 1.4 kHz falls within the normal range of the human speaking voice.

In 2007, a team of South Korean researchers found that playing music at about 70 decibels (comparable to a normal conversation) activates two genes that play a role in plant photosynthesis. The researchers also found that a higher sound frequency would elicit greater gene activation. In other words, sound induced an epigenetic effect on the plants that could potentially boost growth. (This is relevant to human health, by the way, as a growing body of epigenetic research shows that negative emotions and stress can trigger changes in an organism’s DNA which may contribute to the development of chronic disease.)

Finally, as reported by the BBC and other news outlets, a month-long study by the Royal Horticultural Society found that tomato plants grew faster if they were able to “listen” to recorded male and female voices. Recordings were played through headphones that were positioned directly onto each tomato plant’s pot, and all the tomato plants in the experiment were exposed to the same surroundings (soil, care routine, and so on). In the study, female voices triggered greater growth than male voices. The exact mechanism behind this observed phenomenon is still being investigated, but many researchers propose that the vibrational energy from sound has a beneficial impact on plant cells.

https://alkalineherbshop.com/blogs/posts/does-speaking-kindly-to-plants-really-help-them-grow

So now let’s connect ALL the dots.

Humans are 60-70% water. Water is in your blood, in your cells and in between your cells.

Women tend to live longer, right? Maybe that has something to do with why the tomato plants who listened to female voices tended to have greater growth? Not only do women thrive with good girlfriend relationships and all that conversing, but they have the benefit of HAVING a female voice that echoes throughout their body as well. In addition, they tend to work with other women as well. So, by our very nature it seems that our voices contribute more than the just the wisdom of our words.

Thoughout my daughter’s life, I repeatedly quoted a Zen teaching. ‘Your environment is stronger than you are.’ Imploring her to be mindful of the company she kept and the environments she was choosing. The research about plants and water being so strongly affected by words and sound frequencies would tend to support this.

It’s imperative to choose schools, jobs, friends and even communities that support us in loving and positive ways, because every interaction in those environments impacts not only our mental/emotional state, but also the water in our bodies, similarly. This research gives new insight into the phrase ‘hurting one’s feelings’. Maybe we can’t just ‘let it roll off our backs’ because it is literally affecting our physiology. Maybe having ‘hurt feelings’ are actually the real experience of these disorganized, asymmetrical structures in the water in our bodies.

Could it stand to reason that these disorganized, asymmetrical structures might be contributing to the development of illnesses? Could these structures be the beginning of cancer or heart disease?

Thusly, it’s also imperative to assess what you view on television and the internet, as well. If words and music are affecting the very structure of water, and we are made of up to 70% water, then it stands to reason that words and music are affecting our very structure as well.

Makes sense, right?

Well, how about the way you think about yourself and the way you talk to yourself?

What effect do you think that is having?

If words spoken to you from OUTSIDE yourself can negatively affect your physiology, then it stands to reason ALLLLLLLLL the negative self-talk and thinking is also having a very negative impact on your physiology. It kind of reminds me of the line from the 1979 psychothriller, When A Stranger Calls, ‘the call is coming from inside the house.’

Our view of ourselves is more damaging than anything anyone can ever say to us…and there is plenty of proof of the damage they can inflict. But it is we who continue to stab ourselves repeatedly with a self-deprecating knife of thoughts, beliefs and words.

We raise up flags and shout ‘you offend me’, but how often do we offend ourselves? How much less would we be offended if we didn’t have a constant loop of offensive self talk running through our minds on a daily basis?

Before you say ‘that’s different’ ask yourself if you would be offended if anyone else spoke to or about you the way you speak to or about yourself.

Words have power. Thoughts have power. Because thoughts and words are energy and energy IS power. The beautiful part of this is that we can undo the damage done by upgrading our relationships, our workplaces, our home environments, but most importantly, by upgrading our relationship with ourselves.

Changing takes practice, attention and intention. Sacred Medicine can expedite the process as well as ensure more successful results. If you’d like to work one on one to understand how energy is working in your life, please feel free to contact me to reserve your spot on the wait list.