Words witness to the state of our spiritual health

By Mary Regina Morrell
Catholic Online

"The heart of the wise instructs his mouth." Hebrew Proverbs

My father was a walker and for anyone, especially a child, who walked with him the experience was inevitably a formational one.

One day, as I examined the rain collected on hydrangea leaves, my father remarked, "Do you know the power of those little drops of water?"

Well, at eight years old I certainly had no idea, but the question left a space ripe for filling with all the information I could gather over the years.

That's why, when I heard about some new research which indicated that water is responsive to thought and emotion, I just had to discover what it was all about.

A Japanese scientist had been studying the affects of environmental conditions, music, emotions, thoughts and even words, on the molecular structure of water and had documented his findings through the use of a dark field microscope with photographic capabilities.

When viewing his amazing photographs, it was easy to understand the "why" in the difference between the stunning works of art that were frozen crystals from pristine waters or the murky, unstructured, ugly crystals from heavily polluted sources.

However, the photographs of the frozen molecular structure of water exposed to thoughts, and especially to written words taped to a jar, were jaw dropping.

Prayers, affirmations and even the written name of Mother Teresa resulted in frozen crystals of insurmountable beauty. Evil thoughts and words of hate, including the written name of Adolf Hitler, resulted in frozen crystals that appeared misshapen and repulsive.

According to author Stace Sharp, "These photographs show the incredible reflections of water, as alive and highly responsive to every one of our thoughts and emotions. It is quite clear that water easily takes on the vibrations and energy of its environment, whether toxic and polluted or naturally pristine, either within our selves or surrounding us in others and the environment."

Now, certainly, without having actually read the study of this Japanese scientist or commentary by other scientists regarding its accuracy or plausibility, I could not completely accept its veracity.

And while the possibility was absolutely fascinating, it ultimately led me to think more about the power of words than the power of water.

Without a doubt, words have the power to heal and to hurt, to build up or to destroy.

They also tell the world who we really are.

As a wise minister once wrote, "The words that fall from our lips reveal the thoughts and desires of our hearts. Our words proclaim to those around us our attitude about life. The tongue is, most definitely, an indicator. It is an indicator of more than just personality traits. The tongue is an indicator of spiritual character."

We must ask ourselves if our words, so obvious to sight and sound, or our intentions, though hidden from all but the most insightful of people, create well-being in the world or pollute the environment.

In the end, we are responsible for what we say and what we write - and in this day and age of electronic communication we are inclined to do a little more of both than we should; often, without thinking through the ramifications for ourselves or for those who we may have injured.

It's a human frailty, we all suffer from it.

Perhaps that is why, for the health of our spiritual and emotional lives, we should make the psalmist's prayer our own: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer."

Contact

Diocese of Metuchen
http://www.diometuchen.org NJ, US
Mary Regina Morrell - Associate Director, Office of Religious Education, 732 562-1990

Email

mmorrell@diometuchen.org

Keywords

water, words,intentions, spiritual

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