5 mins read
Thank you Lily Dale Spiritualist Church
Yesterday I had the honor of celebrating the first Sunday of the New Year with the lovely folks at the Lily Dale Spiritualist Church. Afterwards they had a lovely assortment social hour where we talked about all sorts of fantastic subjects.My Talk was on the power of words. I shared how certain words can either lift or harm a person. I also spoke of the power of words that are never spoken:
-
I love you
-
I am proud of you
-
I should have listened to you
-
I am sorry
-
You can do it
-
I believe in you
Funny how we have great difficulty with these words to those that we care about. As a Medium I regularly convey messages of these that were not said. Martin Luther King, Jr said it best:
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
I spoke of the problem with the word Perfect and when looking for it; it sets people up for great disappointments. I also spoke that words are very spiritual and that we should always speak positively and choose them carefully. I took the example of a simple sentence and how different words change how one would feel when used:
Colleen you look _______________.
-
Adequate
-
Nice
-
Pretty
-
Beautiful
-
Exquisite
Think about it, what word would you like to hear?
I gave another example of power of words These were phrases that were used with me on a particular day all wearing the same dress I am wearing today:
-
You can’t go out looking like that, that dress makes you look fat
-
I love that color on you!
-
You look nice today
-
Great Dress – Where did you get it?
-
Did you lose weight? That dress looks great on you!
I can tell you that the one I focused on was the negative comment. I had to really sit down and think about what others said to me that day on how I looked. Words have power. Remember that. Once you say something it can only be forgiven, it cannot be forgotten…
I shared my love of Twitter and the majority of my talk was about #my3words. I shared how a complete stranger to me had such an impact on my life with such a simple idea. Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan on Twitter) got me to think about it.
Shared my words from 2015: Fearless, Compassion, Persistence and 2016: Patience, Steadfast and Genuine. The side benefit of 2016 was Spirituality, Growth, Faith. Then I shared what three words I discovered while preparing this talk and how I got to them looking for just the right story to share:
-
Forgiveness – Shoes on the Mantel
-
Ties to Principle 8 – We affirm that the doorway to reformation is never closed against any soul — hear or hereafter
-
Forgiveness is not a single act, but a matter of constant practice. – Diana Gabaldon
-
-
Trust – The Color Red
-
Ties to Principle 7 – We affirm the moral responsibility of individuals and that we make our own happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature’s physical and spiritual laws.
-
“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do if you do not act upon them?” Buddah
-
-
Love – The Empty Box
-
Ties to Principle 6 – We believe that the highest morality is contained in the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
-
“I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.” Mother Theresa
-
After sharing my three words I had everyone take one of the three words that they drew before the service started. And asked each of them to pick one of them that they believed that symbolized what the church mean to them. That they as a community may like to adopt this as a way of Spiritual Growth. I shared the list of words that the members gave, and I then shared the three words I thought should be the words for this church: Community, Connection and Compassion.
It was a pleasure speaking and share my thoughts. I look forward to doing it again in the future. I left with two final thoughts:
Words have magic. Spells & curses. Some of them, the best of them, once said change everything. Nora Roberts
May I offer you these words for the year 2017:
-
12 Months of Happiness
-
52 Weeks of Laughter
-
365 Days of Success
-
8,760 Hours of Health
-
525,600 minutes of Blessings
-
31,536,000 seconds of Joy
