The Power of the Word
To heal or to harm?
We express our thoughts in words. We translate our sensory experiences into orderly signs that we then express in writing or by talking. We use an impressive amount of words every day without being aware that these words we say have fantastic power. The word is the embodiment of thought, although sometimes expressing thought in words is like trying to fill an ocean with morning dew.
The power of the word can terrify you when you understand the countless ways you could use it. The word can make you instantly access states you thought were forgotten, it can make you go from agony to ecstasy in a few moments.
The therapist, the coach, the priest, the trainer, the investigator, the doctor, the politician, the crook, all know how to use the power of the word. Some use it to heal, others use it to harm.
Once you understand the power of the word, once you understand how to use the word, you begin to understand that great respect is required for its use.
You begin to understand that you need to strengthen your moral integrity; that you need to use it carefully. You reach a stage where you can so easily influence people, and accidentally overthrow their universe, change their beliefs, impose your own beliefs, and make them take action whether you do it willingly or not.
Then you must carefully control all these capabilities. You must attach paramount importance to the ability of the word. To heal or to harm? That is the question!
Probably the greatest satisfaction you can get is to notice that through the power of the word you helped someone to change for the better, to enrich their map of reality with solutions to the problems they face, to change their limited views, to help them evolve.
Some outstanding personalities of the world treated with respect the art of using the power of the word and used it only to change for the better the destinies of mankind. Some others did the opposite. It is your choice how to use it.
Oh, but this choice is tough! Very tough indeed! It can seem very rewarding when you get followers to do your bidding, to lay down their lives for you. It can make you feel like a god. Or a demon?
Can you imagine what it would be like tomorrow if all of us would use the word respectfully when addressing each other? How many useless things, how many dramas, how many wars would have been avoided if this had happened?
Maybe you think I’m talking utopian stuff and nothing can be really put at work. So, let’s talk about history a bit. Great real historical personalities who have managed to change history through the power of the word.
Mahatma Gandhi
Having the opportunity to know the reality experienced by thousands of Indian immigrants who were victims of racial segregation, Mahatma became a powerful voice for the recognition of the rights of his compatriots. He launched at the mass level the concept of revolt based on peaceful resistance, called Satyagraha, a form of a radical rejection of any collaboration with the British authorities.
Mahatma had become an idol, a true political leader, and some worshiped him, as they recalled, as a messenger of divinity, his struggle over the years eventually leading to British withdrawal and the creation of an independent Indian state on August 15, 1947.
Adolf Hitler
Whether it is speeches against multinational companies or campaigns aimed at strengthening voter confidence in governing parties, these practices have been effective throughout history. Undoubtedly, Hitler’s rise to power is one of the examples in which the populist rhetoric and propaganda made him seize power in Germany and became chancellor.
Adolf Hitler was aware of the power that propaganda can play in gaining confidence in front of the masses. Many of these practices facilitated Hitler’s rise to power with the incredible support of a large section of the population, who believed in the ideals preached by Nazi propaganda.
Conclusion
Now, populist propaganda seems to be still successful, and the exercise of control over the masses is much easier thanks to the means of communication to which access is much easier.
Now, it is your turn to decide. You have the power of the word. Then choose! To heal or to harm?
