Why Shit Happens

A reminder: You have learned that particles come in two types: the particles that make up matter, known as ‘fermions’, and the particles that carry forces, known as ‘bosons’. The difference between the two is that fermions take up space, while bosons can pile on top of one another. We call all this activity ‘Energy.’

Energy, however, is not made of anything. It’s just a fundamental concept closely related to time. That’s because energy just represents change in a system. We observe systems to change over time. When we say that everything is energy we also mean everything is in a constant state of change.

We’ve developed this concept called energy to account for the amount of change. For example, the amount of energy in the fuel of your car determines how far you can drive. That is the chemical potential energy in the fuel. Similarly with batteries, the stored energy (also chemical energy) allows a certain amount of things to happen, like powering your phone for a day. Money is potential energy. How much you have determines and changes how you live. Thoughts and words are also potential energy and in many ways I think of them more as a force than a particle.

Forces cause change in a system. Your life is a system.

Momentum is the property that is changed. The direction of your life is that momentum.

Energy accounts for how much change. The emotion and power of your thoughts and words determines the life you get.

This is neatly summed up by Barry Kibrick in an interview with me back in 2013.

The saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is not exactly true. In fact, words have a huge effect on you, from influencing your self-esteem to messing with your productivity and outlook on life. The Worry Monster reminds us of the effect when we don’t take control:

The biggest source of harm comes not from other people, but from ourselves.

“Words can change how people perceive reality,” Jack Schafer, PhD, wrote for Psychology Today. “They create filters through which people view the world around them.” The phenomenon is recognized by psychologists as the “illusion of truth” effect. That is, if you’re exposed to something often enough, it becomes your reality.

Because of that, it’s important to be deliberate about the words you use.

You have learned that thoughts and words are simply forms of energy. That makes them powerful forces. Because thoughts are created in 500 milliseconds it is unlikely that we can stop them forming when they are not in our best interests. Instead, what we can control is how we react to the thoughts. Yes, we can have better, bigger thoughts. Yes, we can change our thoughts to what we want instead of what we don’t want. Far easier, however, is to change the words we use to react differently to the thoughts we just had.

To understand this point say out loud ‘I feel really, really tired right now.’ How long before you yawned?

Now, say out loud ‘I could use more energy right now.’ How quickly do you feel uplifted?

This simple test is to show the power of words in your life and to demonstrate how taking a little more control on how you react to your initial thoughts with carefully chosen words can help. From now on if someone says “You look tired,’ your response is ‘I could certainly use more energy right now.’

Simple.

Highly effective.

Some report this single tool as life-changing.

The majority of people, however, pay little heed to the words they use and don’t understand that every word created as a reaction to a thought becomes its material equivalent. In many ways the life you have right now is the summation of all the thoughts and words you have emitted to date.

Here you get to play and have fun with a practical tool that is designed to help you change some of the self-harming words you use. In doing this, you not only change the general frequency of your overall energy field for the better, but you also create protection from the unhelpful power of the unguarded words of others.

Words are high energy

‘To see with one’s own eyes, to feel and judge without succumbing to the suggestive power of the fashion of the day, to be able to express what one has seen and felt in a trim sentence or even in a cunningly wrought word. Is that not glorious? Is it not a proper subject for congratulation? ‘

–Albert Einstein, 1934

As you have learned, string theory holds that everything in the universe is composed of tiny vibrating strings of energy. In this view, every particle in your body, every speck of light that lets you read these words, and every force of gravity that keeps you in place is just a variant of this one fundamental entity. The denser something is, the lower its vibration and smaller its footprint. In our world, humans interpret a stone as being denser than a tree and vibrating at a slower frequency. A tree is denser than a human. A thought, therefore, is one of the least dense things in our three-dimensional, five-sensory experience. Therefore, its first intriguing property is that it has one of the highest energies of anything we can conceptualize. A thought and its associated words can kill or cure. We can invent a nuclear weapon or a romantic moment. Similarly our words are as powerful. They can build or destroy… instantly. We have tools for protecting ourselves from the harmful words of others (coming up), but we need one to protect us from ourselves.

For a 24-hour period you will observe the words you use. You will also observe the words used by those around you. You will record your observations. For example,

1. Someone says ‘How are you doing?’ You reply ‘not bad.’ You could have replied ‘Fantastic thanks,’ Make a note of the phrase ‘not bad.’ Then keep count of how many times you use it in this period of observation. Saying ‘not bad,’ lowers your energy. Saying ‘Fantastic,’ raises your energy.

2. You see a commercial online for a luxury vacation. You hear yourself say ‘I can’t afford that’ or ‘It is ridiculous someone pays that much for a trip.’ You could have said ‘That is a beautiful hotel.’ Make a note of how you feel in each response. Note how those around you react to the same images and content.

3. Observe how often you use forward-in-time language such as ‘I wish, I will, I want, I hope, I can, If only, Maybe, one-day etc

4. Observe all the ‘against’ language you and those around you use such as ‘I can’t stand it when, I hate it when, He sucks The weather is awful. You look tired. I’m sick of… etc

5. Make note of all the negative words you use in a 24-hour period, such as ‘Can’t, Should, Maybe, Whatever, Or, But, Only, Busy, Try, I’d like to, Just, I don’t think so, Problem…etc

After 24 hours, take some time in nature to assess what you observed. Don’t be hard on yourself or those around you. Just make a mental note of how much of your words are an unhelpful variety. Now, take the most commonly used negative words and phrases and simply commit to changing them. Now whenever someone greets you your words are more like ‘Brilliant thanks. Isn’t it a beautiful day?’

Next pick one of the ‘against’ phrases you noticed yourself using a lot, like “I’m tired,” and change it to a positive one such as ‘I could really use more energy right now.’ Again, note the differences in how you actually feel.

Then make a conscious effort to eliminate all negative and limiting words from your vocabulary.

Most importantly, have fun. No one is perfect and even small changes make a big difference.

The Grocery Store Challenge Game

Mentality control is one of the documented habits of those who enjoy lives of adventure and success.

I want you to go to a grocery store that is not familiar to you. As you enter take a couple of deep breaths and exhalations. Compose yourself. You are not there to shop.

You are going to do two very slow observational circuits of the store. I want you to walk around, visit the deli counter, the wine section, the meat and fish counters, cheese section etc. and on this circuit behave as you always do… probably silently and inside your own head. At the various sections listen and take note of the soulless way most people are behaving. At the deli counter the people waiting in line are often sighing and fidgeting over the delay or the fact that the person ahead of them wants more than one item or can’t decide on what to buy. The person serving usually looks dead eyed and bored. Notice how hardly anyone connects. Such separateness everywhere.

Just do what you normally do, behave like you normally behave. Don’t judge them. Just observe.

Leave the store. Take a few deep breaths of fresh air and exhale and go back inside. Go back to the deli counter. When it is your turn to be served and the bored server says ‘can I help you’ look for her/his name badge. If no badge then ask her/his name. Compliment the name or ask ‘So, Roseanne that is one of my favorite names… how is your day going?”

Observe what those magic word bullets do.

Then show respect for their job by asking a question that requires their thought.

Now there are closed questions and open question. A closed question always gets a yes or no answer. Open questions start with how or what. “What’s the secret to making a really tasty sandwich?” “My sandwiches are always boring. What do others buy to make tasty ones. What do you recommend Roseanne?”

When you finish the conversation and get your package. Make sure to thank them and use their name.

At first, all this might feel false, but what you are doing is training your RAS to observe the very powerful effects of positive words.

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